Tag: Books

What I Read in November 2024

~ Veselin ~ 1 Comment

I read 7 books, 1 gamebook, and 1 comics in November.

Best books for the month:

  1. Thraxas 11 and 12 – The march to free Turai is over, and the series didn’t end. Some serious questions are left for the unwritten book 13, like why are Thraxas and Makri glued together? Both books were 5/5s, and also short and easy to finish.
  2. Shadow of the Fox #1 – a human with fox features starts a journey to secure a world-dominating scroll. LOTR in a magical ancient Japan. Book 2 relied on superheroes and deux ex machina, and is closer to the bottom of this post than the top but was still interesting.

Worst books for the month:

  1. Claw of the Dragon – a gamebook where the choices don’t matter and you just read a few pages in a non-linear order to reach the final. Probably targets 7-8-year-olds from the pre-computer age.
  2. Monk and Robot – clever and thought-provoking but not as interesting as the other books I read in November.

Soul of the Sword by Julie Kagawa

~ Veselin ~ 3 Comments

In a magical world that feels like ancient Japan, a girl with fox tail will challenge the demons. She’ll have help by lots of random creatures, some of them interesting and others – less so.

The hero path has issues – the superpowers need super enemies. Thankfully, Yumeko’s superpower in book 2 is deception and she can’t just win by levelling up. She’ll need to figure out some clever ways out of the tough situations that keep happening.

The book is great. Gets 5*/5 and I’ll look for the final tomorrow. I liked book one more because the superpower was kindness.

Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa, Book Review

~ Veselin ~ 1 Comment

Yumeko is a half-fox teenager who wields illusion magic. She has fox ears, a fox tail, and is otherwise human. She starts on a long journey to fulfill a long-awaited prophecy about the end of an era. She would need to hide her non-human nature because most of the creatures around her wouldn’t consider her worthy if they saw the ears. Her main magic is her kindness.

The book is written in the POV style, with 3 different characters. Yumeko and Tatsumi are quite pleasant to read, and the third one shall not be named. The book is qualified as Young Adult but I’d say it’s not too juvenile.

I want more of it.

5/5

Monk and Robot, Book Review

~ Veselin ~ 3 Comments

I hated this book but it shook me, so it can’t be bad. Can it?

In a future so good that everyone is mostly satisfied, and so bad that it’s post-apocalyptic, a monk goes to the forest in a search for crickets. Finds an intelligent robot with a child-like curiosity. What happens next is a journey with no trouble, where both parties share their beliefs and try to uncover their purpose.

I can’t compare this work of art to anything else from my reading list. It’s more childish than Barbapapa or Paw Patrol. At the same time, it touches deep human needs, like Winnie-the-Pooh. The world is simpler than a cartoon, and the characters are stripped to their essence. Some scenes are romantic so in a sense, it’s not a fairytale and not appropriate for children. What is it then? Comfort Sci-Fi?

Objectively, this book is likely a 5 because the simplified and thought-provoking world is no coincidence. It was built the way Brandon Sanderson builds his magic systems. But I didn’t like how sterile everything is. There’s no jealousy, disease, or consequences for people’s actions.

So, comfort, innovation, philosophy, sci-fi-ness, and stickiness to my brain – 5/5. Print quality – 5+/5. But I gave it 4/5 on Goodreads because it didn’t make me feel good. There were no recognizable humans in there. I felt like each character can be a Paw Patrol puppy.

Jade City by Fonda Lee, Book Review

~ Veselin ~ 3 Comments

The jade city is a place where a small group of people can use the local high-grade Jade to obtain superpowers. Most people, including the foreigners, cannot use jade without losing their minds or can’t sense it at all. The power makes them greedy and hungry for more.

Two jade-controlling gangs are about to clash and break the long-lasting peaceful rivalry in the city. We’ll see the development of the conflict from the point of view of various participants – the old generation, the new generation, the power hungry, and the one who succumb to the greed.

Jade City, like many other POV books, introduces lots of context switching and is a slow read. My copy traveled to Blagoevgrad, Kyoto, and Lisbon until I finally completed it. It’s hard to say if all POVs served a purpose. I think most did.

4.5*/5 – I liked it but it took effort to complete.