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ppkfs's reviews
142 reviews
Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco
5.0
I really felt like Casaubon when reading this. I thought I had a grasp on things, and then it proceeded to spiral everywhere at once.
The obvious comparison is Da Vinci Code, except where Dan Brown telegraphs exactly what is going on in such an obvious way ("aha, it is clearly the Catholic church but it needs a famous symbologist to be able to follow the trail!"), here there is no magical thread to follow. It sends you this way and that through the rabbithole of The Plan, and I spent far too much time trying to google various things to work out if they were real or just made up. It feels less like a book about some eccentric historians researching a Templar conspiracy and more like a portal to becoming part of the conspiracy yourself.
I found the middle section focusing on Belbo's past somewhat boring, but I do understand its purpose. Despite this flop in the middle, the way this book drew me in and kept me wondering was really something special.
The obvious comparison is Da Vinci Code, except where Dan Brown telegraphs exactly what is going on in such an obvious way ("aha, it is clearly the Catholic church but it needs a famous symbologist to be able to follow the trail!"), here there is no magical thread to follow. It sends you this way and that through the rabbithole of The Plan, and I spent far too much time trying to google various things to work out if they were real or just made up. It feels less like a book about some eccentric historians researching a Templar conspiracy and more like a portal to becoming part of the conspiracy yourself.
I found the middle section focusing on Belbo's past somewhat boring, but I do understand its purpose. Despite this flop in the middle, the way this book drew me in and kept me wondering was really something special.
Ficciones by Jorge Luis Borges
5.0
The review can be broken down into 3/5 for Artifices, the second half, and 6/5 for The Garden of Forking Paths, the first half. I do not believe I have thought so hard from so short of a story as reading through this collection.
The Gunslinger by Stephen King
3.0
The man in black fled across the desert and the Gunslinger followed.
I'm a massive fan of King, but I've tried to get into the dark tower multiple times to no avail. This time I finished the first book. It was alright, I suppose.
The setup of the whole thing is excellent - I cannot fault the suspense, the worldbuilding, the mystery. But that's about it for this book. I'm reminded of The Stand, my favourite of King's works - and I vaguely remember theories about Randall Flagg being the man in black, but I don't know any more - but it feels like just the opening of a book. There's Roland, he goes to some places, some encounters happen, and then it ends. It just feels like the intro part of a book, not a whole book.
Of course, it has still got to have one of the best opening lines of fiction.
I'm a massive fan of King, but I've tried to get into the dark tower multiple times to no avail. This time I finished the first book. It was alright, I suppose.
The setup of the whole thing is excellent - I cannot fault the suspense, the worldbuilding, the mystery. But that's about it for this book. I'm reminded of The Stand, my favourite of King's works - and I vaguely remember theories about Randall Flagg being the man in black, but I don't know any more - but it feels like just the opening of a book. There's Roland, he goes to some places, some encounters happen, and then it ends. It just feels like the intro part of a book, not a whole book.
Of course, it has still got to have one of the best opening lines of fiction.
Pale Fire by Vladimir Nabokov
3.0
It was certainly...interesting. I'm unsure what to say. I was a very big fan of the whole narrative style, but I think I just lack the academic literature views to really get the most out of this.