While it lacks the frenetic pacing and excitement of learning the fundamentals of the world, the sequel has other strengths. It feels like it eases into the world and takes a beat. It’s also a bit longer.

I really like the main character and how inclusive the fiction is. He’s sympathetic and the opposite of a chosen one. He’s all support and tactics, all while being awkward with people but trying his best, and seems to be on the ace spectrum, and maybe bi/pan? He doesn’t try hard to figure it out and just rolls with situations in a clueless teenager type way. I like that he’s queer but whatever that identity is is coming about naturally and it doesn’t define him, as a lot of teen fic tends to be purely about that experience.

All the other characters probably don’t get as much spotlight time in this one, and I was worried the larger overarching questions that are interesting wouldn’t be touched on in this one, since it’s a lot more about school and exams—thankfully the later half of the novel shifts gears and the things I liked the most about the plot and setting were touched on.

There’s some new complexity to the magic, a couple new characters, and as usual, the fight sequences are fantastic. The audible narration felt like it was a bit better than the first book as well. All in all, it’s similar to the last one. I wouldn’t call it particularly thematically deep, but it knows what it’s doing and does it well. It’s lots of fun and makes for very addictive fiction.

A young girl dreams of becoming a hero, levels up her inventory skill, and recruits other quirky side characters to go beat the demon king. Most jokes land, especially regarding NPCs surrounding the quest (my favourite being an angst teenage fairy); others don’t quite, such as with Dirk. But it’s a clever novella concept that plays into its strengths.

It’s also narrated extremely well for the audible version and it’s well worth the $7 CAD price point.

Easy 4 star moved to a 3 star as it ironically continually coached the messaging with elitism and moralism. Loved the prose and structure otherwise.

The narration from Tim Robbins is spot on and a perfect choice too. Some reviewers on Audible didn’t like it. Baffling.

I may write something on this over on my medium because I find this so interesting. Perfect interplay between comedy and reality; truth being stranger than fiction. Honestly, that the US government reacted to intense demoralization from a war with similar ways in which Hitler desperately sought additional power through similar absurdities, is just so on point for the relationship institutions have when they accrue power and deal with loss of agency.

Anyway, I liked this book a lot lol. If I write a piece I will link it in the review. It may be that the narration boosted this from a 3 star to 4 star book for me. Very good delivery of just wild material. Especially some quotes from people.

I did not find it difficult to follow. It was chronological, though I suppose he goes out of the narration to comment on things sometimes, both for humour or needed context. It felt fairly normal to me, structure wise. It’s the rest that’s whack. People who find some of it devalued because it’s the truth from his perspective and it undermines actual truths, I suppose that’s true to some degree—but not the Point as detailed in the final chapters.

A product of its time, no doubt. But still quite fresh and interesting. It’s not immune to the problems of racism and stereotyping of Inuit culture. It vacillates between progressive and cringe, but I find that to be true of every comic from the time period, to be honest. It’s worth a read if you’re into comics and want to consume some history. Very interesting takes on conflicts and resolutions sometimes.

The hardcover from the Kickstarter is pretty nice but they did not account for the gutter. It’s sometimes pretty hard to read pages where dialogue is jetting out toward it. Took me a long while to get to this, had it packed away in a box for years.

Different enough from a standard fantasy affair that I was always interested in finding out what happened next and hungry for details about how the world works. There’s a wonderful sense of dread from the start that loosens and tightens as it goes, centering on the tension between Csorwe and her mentor.

The least interesting aspect was between her and the people that vie for the mentors attentions, but it made sense for the character arc. It certainly feels like a first novel in a series but also ties up plot threads enough that it’s not just bait.

The world and magic were the most largest draws for me; characters being secondary to that pull. But it’s certainly welcome after going through a lot of standard fantasy lately that just didn’t resonate at all. And other fantasy novels are almost tombs in comparison. Will pick up the next book in this series for sure, I think.

This was alright. Certainly feels like traditional sci-fi. I think if you’ve read a lot in this genre, nothing here will blow you away. The prose are serviceable, the plot is fine. The point is about humanity not being able to really understand truly alien elements and not center themselves. The most interesting concepts are a throughline in the genre and appears in newer things probably better, such as the 4th? (I believe) Expanse book.

It’s fun and does what it says on the tin. Nothing wrong with that.

I loved this. Clearly, it was written to be spoken aloud, the narration by Lorna Raver is spectacular and showcases how good the prose and flow are (I couldn’t find an edition with her as the narrator so chose an edition with a picture I liked best instead).

My favourite thing about this is the commentary on how old fashioned it is, and some of the characters are, yet how surprising some of the plot is. There is a constant ebb and flow of anticipation and a sense of inevitability that never comes. Another thing I liked was that just enough lines were dedicated to the effect the words in a conversation had on the characters. You always have a strong sense of what the character is thinking or feeling without needing to be let into their heads, often through metaphor or similes.

It also has one of the best endings of any book. It’s very elegant and the whole thing is enviable in its mastery.