the_pale_woman's Reviews (542)

Re-read. I originally read this right out of high school when I first started becoming personally invested in reading novels. I would pick up just about anything during that time. When I found Vonnegut, it felt like a diamond in the rough. I found it easy to relate to his cynical mindset and enjoyed chuckling at the ever-present sarcasm. Cat's Cradle was my favorite, along with slaughter-house, of course, but I'd say, after reading much of his work, I enjoyed most of it. Cat's Cradle hit me particularly hard the first time around. It felt like my kind of book. Like I was part of this karass. 

Now, after what seems like a lifetime of books, I'm sad to say it feels less profound. Time and experience have dampened its effects. There is an idea here, but I don't think it was executed to my current reading standards. I just want more and different things out of my literature today. This re-read was probably more enjoyable solely because of my personal nostalgia for it. Yes, there are some good lines and some interesting symbolism. It just didn't stick the same way it did before. 

This book, League of Dragons, was satisfying. However, it did not feel like the end of the series. Yes, the war comes to a conclusion, but the ending did leave much to be desired. I wouldn't call it a disappointment. It just felt short. As if this was not a planned ending but an opening for more adventures. I would even go as far as to speculate that scenes were cut to keep this book at a similar length to the others. 

On the series as a whole, I would say it was truly something special. I thoroughly enjoyed every book but one (#8). The bond between Lawrence and the dragon Temeraire was a joy to read. I'd highly recommend the audiobooks. Simon Vance does an incredible job with the dragon voices. Quite humorous. If you're a fan of dragon fantasy, this series is a must-read. I'm not claiming it's perfect, but I would call it exceptional. 

I was more than a little disappointed in this read. I fell hard for this series, but this book has threatened its spot in my list of favorites. 

I don't think it's a spoiler to say this starts with Lawrence getting amnesia. In hindsight, I might have wanted to be warned, and I generally dont even read the synopsis of a book before diving in. Amnesia is easily one of the worst plot devices, in my opinion. So, I found the first half of this book to be incredibly frustrating. The story took the amnesia plot one step further by adding in the ridiculous complexity of not allowing any character to explain the past to Lawrence. It's stupidly reasoned that it might harm his already weak mind. 🙄 So, the story bumbles about from one irritating moment to the next. His memories were restored by about halfway, but it was annoying enough to taint my earlier praise of all these books. I'll now have to say that these are great... but... you'll get to this annoying part... 

It's a real shame. 

However, I still love these characters and hope the next book, the last book, will give them a proper send-off. 

Really enjoyed this one. 👌 

❤️ Loved

Temeraire has his own little adventure in this one. I enjoyed every second. 

DNF 40%ish

I gave this one more time than it deserved. I should have put it down after the first chapter. I knew this wasn't for me, but I thought I'd give it a chance. Now I'm admitting defeat. This wasn't for me.

I hated the prose, the style, the punctuation, the characters, the plot, the endless self-indulgent dribble. It felt meaningless and boring. 

Can someone explain to me why this is so critically acclaimed? I'm confused. 

I'm eating these up. It's not perfect, but I'm in love with Temeraire and Lawrence. It's as simple as that.

I'd highly recommend listening to these on audio. Simon Vance did a wonderful job with the dragon voices. It's incredibly charming. 

To be honest, I didn't completely click with this series right off the bat. Don't get me wrong. I thought it was well written and definitely interesting, but I was slightly skeptical about the story as a whole. I found the first book compelling but lacking in direction. However, after finishing Demon in White and now Kingdoms of Death, I find myself utterly hooked. I'm enjoying this space epic interspersed with constantly reflective philosophical internal monologs quite a bit. 

Kingdoms of Death was a particularly interesting read, given that we learn so much more about this universe and the enemy in this cosmic war the story centers around. One world/ culture visited in this book had some fun and interesting 1984 references. I'd recommend the additional read if you have the inclination. I also liked seeing this hero struggle. Hadrian Marlowe has to earn his titles, and I think he's coming along swimmingly. 

I've been listening to these books on audio. The narrator, Samuel Roukin, does a fantastic job, but the voice he gave a main character in this book was incredibly hard for me to listen to seriously. It sounded like the priest guy from The Princess Bride... maarrriiaage. It didn't ruin the book for me or anything, just something you might want to be prepared for. 

My only real disappointment at this point is the lack of wiki and lure info online. This is a dense series, and I'd like to at least be able to look up a list of character names, ffs. 

It feels almost nostalgic reading a volume of Saga so long after devouring the first 10 volumes over a year ago. That's a decent wait for a story of this nature, but strangely, I'm not mad about it.  I wouldn't say every volume of this series is a true banger. However, even my least favorite entries have been miles over other graphic novels I've picked up over the last couple of years. This story is something special, and I'd highly recommend it, even on-going as it is. It's also a fantastic place to start reading adult graphic novels for those new to the medium. I enjoyed this particular volume quite a bit. Just hope I don't have to wait as long for the next one.