zoeelizabethk's Reviews (642)

Things definitely started happening again, but I felt like pacing was a little bit uneven, and the ending was a little abrupt perhaps. We're definitely starting to wrap up, plots starting to wrap up, cool reveals, and it was a fun listen. I LOVED Egwene's chapters and Mat's continues to be awesome. Minor vague spoiler:

Spoiler

Thank goodness that Perrin gets a some closure on the current storyline, so maybe things will start moving again.

Sad that things will be done before too much longer.

The artwork is very beautiful, and really seems to evoke that gritty feeling. I read the book loooong ago, but even with that to kind of help, I felt pretty confused - lots of names that didn’t need to be spelled the way they were (petty pet peeve there). I had a lot of qualms with the book but I remember liking a lot of the character development and being impressed that that could happen with such a large cast, but the graphic novel does not lend itself much getting to know the characters for me. So just very little payoff for me for having to endure the gore and sex.

What a beautiful little book of art and lessons about the power of friendship and love! The calligraphy/watercolor drawings are simple, but all the more beautiful for that. There is no particular “story” this book is trying to tell, but is more of a collection of realizations and lessons learned from friendship. Some of the sentiments you’ll have heard before, but nevertheless they are touching reminders. This would be a good little coffee table book or a friendship gift for sure!

Very thought provoking book. I recommend everyone read it to at the very least challenge their assumptions and attitudes about their digital lives.

I am undertaking digital minimalism (perhaps to my folly) from the second half of the book, instead of following everything along in order with a digital declutter. Time will tell if I’m setting myself up for failure but based on things in my life I would rather focus on and nurture high quality activities instead of doing the digital detox first, partly because I’ve done detoxes before. Definitely what’s on my phone has changed and the challenge to choose high reward activities has been a good challenge.

I found the book very helpful, but I wish he would have addressed a little more about differing personality types in regard to this. Ultimately though he makes a pretty clear point that digital minimalism is variable and really a balance that has to be struck for each person, so I can live with that. I also found some of the psychology and background sections a bit tough to get through for me but I appreciated that he lays the groundwork for success.

Master of Poisons was a DNF for me, but I’m going to talk about WHY because I rarely DNF books (because I feel guilt towards the book) and because I actually got through 60% of the book before stopping.

Master of Poisons is set in an African-inspired fantasy setting. The Arkhysian empire now controls most of the continent that we see in the book, including a number of northern protectorates that used to be individual smaller countries/large tribes with their own customs and languages. These peoples are usually considered barbarian to some extent because of their connection with Shadowland - a sort of spiritual realm - and the use of some types of conjure - aka magic. These northern people, the sea “pirates,” and others are all connected through marriage to create treaties and keep the peace. Now, their world seems to be facing an impending environmental crisis due to poison sand, which seem to be linked to certain types of conjure or “spirit debt,” as well as environmental exploitation and industrialization.

Djola is from one of the northern peoples, related to both the empire and the sea pirates by marriage, and has become the emperor’s Master of Poisons. A note, because I had unrealized expectations: a Master of Poisons is really good at ANTIDOTES. A Master of Poisons is not a spy master (not really) or a poisoner. Anyway. Djola has come up with a plan to fight and cure the poison sand, but this would involve the rich giving up many comforts, and Djola ends up banished, but also sent on a mission to bring back proof that his plan will work. During his banishment, he works to learn an almost-forgotten magic that I think destroys and purifies.

Awa is a young girl, also from the northern peoples. She is sold by her father to the Green Elders, which are a community which includes magic users, shadow walkers, storytellers, spirit warriors, etc. But Green Elders are despised by the Empire, for not entirely clear reasons. They are much closer to nature and the spirits of the mountains and animals. Awa learns to be a shadow walker, someone who can navigate Shadowland.

After this a whole bunch of dark, and sometimes creepy, and definitely sad stuff happens. The 60% that I read took place over about 5 years. It’s definitely set up to be pretty political, which I’m usually very down for. The pacing is slow (and maybe a little uneven but not awful) and the prose is evocative and metaphor-heavy. I also feel like the plot was a bit unclear. I understood WHY Djola was in these situations, but just had no clear idea about what the endgame was. Get rid of poison sand, but just not very clear.

But all of that wouldn’t have really bothered me that much. So here’s the thing. I feel like the worldbuilding in Master of Poisons is SUPERB. There is so much that’s interesting here, I was very curious, wanted to learn more, and the world was super compelling. Except that I feel like Hairston’s lyrical prose kind of got in the way. There’s a lot of “foreign” words and you get dumped into the middle of the story to some extent, so there’s a lot of jargon that has to be navigated. Which would be totally fine, except that things do not get explained in any sort of timely manner. In chapter 8 I finally got a little bit of an info dump and I was rejoicing! Literally every time I got an info dump in this book I was so happy because I might finally understand something. But these explanations were few and far between.

60% through and I feel like it still hasn’t really caught my attention. If I was allowed to understand the world, I would be totally OK with having a slower pace. Maybe I’m just not smart enough, or am too literal. But this just feels frustrating. I kept hoping it would get better or the ending would have a really big payoff that would make it all worth it. Part of me still really wants to hang on and see it through because I just want a really epic ending, but I shouldn’t have to slog through over half of the book. Maybe I’ll pick it back up again, but I just have too many other books I need to read right now. I feel like I need to give Master of Poisons a lot of credit for potential and the fact that I really was interested, but nevertheless I just couldn’t finish. 3/5 stars

Thanks very much to TOR and to Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was a DNF. I watched the movie several years ago but the book setup was too long and I just couldn’t stay interested.

I’m not quite sure what to say about this book. I read it based on someone mentioning it to me who had not read it because one my reading challenge categories is “a book outside your comfort zone.” In some ways this book was simultaneously not as creepy as I expected, and much more disturbing than I expected. I don’t think it’s a bad book so I hesitate to give it a bad rating, but I don’t think I liked it. 3.5 stars.

I really enjoyed Od Magic. I read it for a challenge and I expected it to be just an "meh" book, but I ended up really loving it. I'm not entirely sure what the plot exactly was since there was really no overarching quest, no world to save, etc. Instead we follow the characters in their doings and just kind of learn with them. Things eventually come together for a broader argument about the nature of magic and power in the end and everything is masterfully tied up. I had no idea why I was there, but I enjoyed every minute of it!

You meet Brenden, a gardener, who is recruited by Od, a wizard and giantess, to come work as a gardener at her school in the capital of the kingdom of Numis. He makes his way there and must acclimate to life in Kelior. There we learn more about the school, the kingdom, and are introduced the other POV characters in the story. In Numis, the king controls the study of magic, and much of the drama of Od Magic consists in the fact that King Galyn wants to control magic. We explore the Night Quarter, hang out with Yar as he teaches at the school, go traipsing around with Sulys (the king's adventurous daughter), and the Night Quarter warden Arneth as he investigates a mysterious magician named Tyramin who has enraptured the city.

This is a classic fantasy that I really enjoyed, and I definitely want to read more by Patricia McKillip now. In fact the style reminded me a lot of Diane Wynn Jones. If you are a plot-driven reader, you probably won't like this. If you like characters and exploring a classic sword-and-sorcery kingdom, check it out! 4.5 stars

Wow, I'm both so happy and a little shocked that The Seventh Perfection worked for me! Imagine playing one of those older style PC click adventure/mystery games. You know, the ones where you walk up to people and they act as if you have talked to them, but you don't choose your words. The Seventh Perfection is sort of like that.

You (the reader) are Manet, a highly-trained slave of the God-king. And Manet is going through the novel looking for answers about something, and the entire novella is various people talking to Manet. I cannot really tell you much more about the plot without spoiling things. But it's basically a sci-fi(ish) mystery novella that immerses you into the story in a unique and very compelling way.

It is in 2nd person, which I know for some people is pretty much going to be a non-starter, but I really think you should give it a try anyway! I requested the ARC because the premise sounded super interesting. Then I found out about the 2nd person and I kind of freaked out. But it ended up not being like most 2nd person books I've tried.

And, wow, Daniel Polansky has blown me away, because even though you only every get one side of the conversation, there is a fully fleshed-out world and sense of place and atmosphere that is revealed to you by the end. While The Seventh Perfection is only about 175 pages, I really recommend that you take a little time to read this novella, because it will be a much better experience if you allow yourself to question and discover along with Manet, and to fill in those dialogue gaps for yourself.

I think Polansky has done a MASTERFUL job inviting the reader to participate in the story while not sacrifing on ideas, worldbuilding, and nuance. I think really focusing in on the mystery element made it feel more like a game and I was much more invested. No question that this is rather experimental, but The Seventh Perfection is an absolutely immersive reading experience, and I already want more stories like this. 4.5/5 stars.

Thanks to Tor and Netgalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.