Volume 10 of Solo Leveling, its a great story with excellent art across the board. But sometimes the way its split into the physical editions makes thVolume 10 of Solo Leveling, its a great story with excellent art across the board. But sometimes the way its split into the physical editions makes the individual segments annoying to read.
In this case it both started, and ended halfway through relatively major events for no particular reason except to create a cliffhanger in a place that doesnt do anything except deny people the conclusion to the arc for 8 months till the next book comes out, again assuming they dont read it for free online instead.
The translation in the books is still a bit smoother than online, its consistently good and doesnt fall off like a lot of other translations in the genre tend to do when people lose interest after the first few books. And the art is still excellent, with some great stylistic choices in the art for for both comedy and action while keeping true to the overall feel.
But man does this particular volume annoy me....more
A classic story I had never gotten around to reading, and one that I honestly knew very little of despite.. well everything.
Pulled from my partners shA classic story I had never gotten around to reading, and one that I honestly knew very little of despite.. well everything.
Pulled from my partners shelf this was a short, very methodical read that left subtlety at the door as it describes the fall of a group into a totalitarian state. Its well executed, and wonderful in how it delivers the subtle, and not so subtle changes to the farm backed by both the threat of violence, and the threat of the 'other'.
Would highly recommend, not for fun necessarily but perspective....more
Its still awesome to share a series like this with my girlfriend ;) And the overall quality of writing has stayed stable from book 2 (which is a markeIts still awesome to share a series like this with my girlfriend ;) And the overall quality of writing has stayed stable from book 2 (which is a marked improvement from book one). Its still Victorian Era romance, so the world building is not its strong suit but that really isnt the point is it?
This story is carried by the strength of the female lead almost entirely, she is grounded in a way none of the other characters are and in the scope of the story she really shines with her own very unique personality compared to anything ive seen from the author so far. Its also, very much at its core, this book series take on adding a Cinderella story and the take on it here in this world was fun to see executed.
Sadly the romance, outside of one very cute moment at the beginning, and one noble moment as the story begins is.. icky. There is a lot of blackmail, and coercion going on here and its *really* not okay. It doesnt matter how much the author tries to write the female lead with lovey eyes and saying internally its okay, its still not okay. Its marginally worse, because all the ick was very much out of character and it just feels weird having so many things changed just to make consequence free drama. It gets better as the story goes on, but that doesnt make everything before it more okay somehow. ...more
Continuing on with a series I get to share with my partner is awesome, and its even better because the quality of writing improved quite a bit.
We nowContinuing on with a series I get to share with my partner is awesome, and its even better because the quality of writing improved quite a bit.
We now deal with Anthony, and for the first half of the story the dueling of wits between him and his wife-to be was phenominal and genuinly a lot of fun. It drops away a fair bit by the end, and their dynamic shifts to one of love and not one of wit that was satisfying.. but its hard to not miss the loss of a really good early dynamic between the two of them.
The smutty parts werent anything particularly special, but still more than enough to get the imagination going and like the rest of the story a solid improvement from book 1 across the board....more
This book pushed most of my buttons for what I enjoy in a YA sci-fi/fantasy. It has its issues, but it was a lot of fun and with one notable exceptionThis book pushed most of my buttons for what I enjoy in a YA sci-fi/fantasy. It has its issues, but it was a lot of fun and with one notable exception the writing style flowed extremely well into a book that I could just sit down and read without taking much of a break despite its length.
Taking a better look at it it certainly has its problems even if I enjoyed it and finished it in a little under a day.
The writing style struggled with its tensing, its third person limited but it takes these weird point of view shifts for the characters that change everything up just enough to be jarring. I dont think it was ever actually trying to emulate a first person point of view, but the way things were phrased got a little inconsistent.
Every character, even the main character, feels shallow in retrospect. Weirdly they mostly all still have character, even if the character all too often go too far into "uncomfortably flirty" or "immune to charm spells effects due to social density" with very little middle ground. And I get it, its a story about teenagers basically just getting into college, but it felt a little awkward and forced at times even accounting for the genre.
The setting itself basically boils down to magic enabled by sufficiently advanced technology. We get all the comforts of modern (+100 to 200 years) with magic, but its really just sufficiently advanced technology with hard light projection. Is that how the book tries to explain it? No. Is that what it actually is? Yeah.
But you dont really read this story for the incredible scientific depth of its world building. You read it for the action, and when it comes to writing interesting melee combat with bells and whistles the author did do a really good job.. right up till the last third of the book at which point the action is still pretty good but fundamentally unnecessary to the actual story for about 100-150 pages. I read it, and still enjoyed it for what it was. But should it have been cut, left on the editors floor? Could you skip it (being maybe 20% of the book in total) entirely and not miss a single plot relevant thing? Probably.
It also does that isekai thing, where the main character knows his own RPG stats, or can look them up whenever they want to tell instead of show the characters strengths and weaknesses which.. eh.. Im maybe just oversaturated with that kind of thing after going through solo leveling in all 3 mediums. Its not bad. Ive just seen too much of it to get specifically invested in the character being excited about a number on a virtual display going up by 1 point out of 80.
But pointing out its flaws is one thing. The story was fun, I did get invested in the character, the action was exciting and overall id love to keep reading more about these characters and the story they told. The main character is competent, and genre savvy even if they start at a low point in overall power and it was fun to explore the world and the mechanics of the magic system as we went through. And unlike a lot of books that hit a lot of these YA powerleveling tropes, the story flowed extremely well both between characters, and in timeskips. I was both invested and wanted to keep reading right up to the point I turned the last page and remembered that book 2 doesnt have a physical version yet.
It has its problems sure, its far from perfect. But it was still a phenomenal time and im looking forward to more from the author....more
It tells a story of a group of thieves who mostly steal from the rich, but unlike Robinhood they keep the monTo start off, I really enjoyed this book.
It tells a story of a group of thieves who mostly steal from the rich, but unlike Robinhood they keep the money for themselves. Their driving motivation is the next job, the next scam, and the thieving itself completely disconnected from the morality of the stories we normally read about protagonist thieves.
The world building is left loose, left largely to the immediate perspective of the main characters and some quiet but excellent additions that make the world seem much larger than it actually is. The book does a great job of showing you the important parts of the world in a way that makes sense, with its own internal consistency in a fantasy world where the reader very intentionally doesnt know all the rules.
One thing that seemed a bit jarring was that sometimes the characters rushed to a decision, or made an extremely impulsive choice that wasnt in line with the rest of their character. And sometimes the characters were a little too shallow, just a bucket of tropes without any agency or motivation that lets you empathize with them.
Overall the story filled my head with ideas and concepts that I would love to try out in a rogue character in DND or some other TTRPG some day, and where sometimes the plot was a little slow it was an excellent book that I enjoyed cover to cover....more
Volume 8 isnt quite as good at 7, but it feels comfortable here with the MC. There is the problem of nothing really feels like a threat to him anymoreVolume 8 isnt quite as good at 7, but it feels comfortable here with the MC. There is the problem of nothing really feels like a threat to him anymore, but it is very satisfying watching him go through the motions as he prepares for the future and what he suspects is coming.
The overall arc doesnt shine quite like volume 7 does in this format, but its still a fantastic way to absorb the story and if I had to pick the manhwa would still be my recommended way to experience the story.
Volume 8 is currently the most recent out in english, even if the goodreads cover doesnt reflect it, so its going to be a while before I can officially check the last few books off my list....more
Volume 7 is maybe my favorite in the series so far, its packed with action and some extremely satisfying moments for the MC and quite a few others tooVolume 7 is maybe my favorite in the series so far, its packed with action and some extremely satisfying moments for the MC and quite a few others too. The quality of the manhwa is again excellent in full colour, and for this arc in particular it really shines to show off what exactly is going on....more
Adding volumes 5 and 6 to my read pile at the same time.
This section of the manhwa is.. a little weird. And odder still its a part of the story whereAdding volumes 5 and 6 to my read pile at the same time.
This section of the manhwa is.. a little weird. And odder still its a part of the story where I think the light novels and being able to really get into the main characters head, with his point of view and more detailed explanations of what happened did more for the story than the visual medium. The visuals are still stunning, and there was one scene that felt particularly heartbreaking here that the light novel just couldnt do justice.
Otherwise for two books that contain so much action it feels low stakes and slow, even if its nice to watch the main character really get to flew his new powers and take a victory lap before shit really hits the fan in the next volume....more
Adding volumes 5 and 6 to my read pile at the same time.
This section of the manhwa is.. a little weird. And odder still its a part of the story whereAdding volumes 5 and 6 to my read pile at the same time.
This section of the manhwa is.. a little weird. And odder still its a part of the story where I think the light novels and being able to really get into the main characters head, with his point of view and more detailed explanations of what happened did more for the story than the visual medium. The visuals are still stunning, and there was one scene that felt particularly heartbreaking here that the light novel just couldnt do justice.
Otherwise for two books that contain so much action it feels low stakes and slow, even if its nice to watch the main character really get to flew his new powers and take a victory lap before shit really hits the fan in the next volume....more
Ive read the manhwa before this, but now I have a physical copy to review. Because manhwa generally have a slightly lower word count I re read 2-4 in Ive read the manhwa before this, but now I have a physical copy to review. Because manhwa generally have a slightly lower word count I re read 2-4 in one sitting and I wouldnt be able to pull out specific instances.
First off, Volume 1-4 of the manhwa, or maybe halfway through volume 4 is probably about where I hope the 2024 anime will end up in its season 1 arc, but given its current pacing (we will find out in a few weeks) im not sure if it will get that far.
Each medium tells the same story but has different strengths and weaknesses. Outside of the weird ending of book 1, and two noticeable jarring breaks in the story so far the manhwa is better than either the light novel or the anime itself at its execution. The pacing of books 2-4 improved after book one significantly and it the medium still does a much better job of showing, and not telling you what is going on without having to take oddly timed breaks to have an internal monologue explaining the stats of something. A picture is worth a thousand words.
There are a few points that were expanded on effectively in the LN compared to either this or the anime. But on the whole this format seems to be best for telling the story and it is still a phenomenal story where it feels like the main character is cunning, smart and genuinely competent....more
Ive read the manhwa before this, but now I have a physical copy to review. Because manhwa generally have a slightly lower word count I re read 2-4 in Ive read the manhwa before this, but now I have a physical copy to review. Because manhwa generally have a slightly lower word count I re read 2-4 in one sitting and I wouldnt be able to pull out specific instances.
First off, Volume 1-4 of the manhwa, or maybe halfway through volume 4 is probably about where I hope the 2024 anime will end up in its season 1 arc, but given its current pacing (we will find out in a few weeks) im not sure if it will get that far.
Each medium tells the same story but has different strengths and weaknesses. Outside of the weird ending of book 1, and two noticeable jarring breaks in the story so far the manhwa is better than either the light novel or the anime itself at its execution. The pacing of books 2-4 improved after book one significantly and it the medium still does a much better job of showing, and not telling you what is going on without having to take oddly timed breaks to have an internal monologue explaining the stats of something. A picture is worth a thousand words.
There are a few points that were expanded on effectively in the LN compared to either this or the anime. But on the whole this format seems to be best for telling the story and it is still a phenomenal story where it feels like the main character is cunning, smart and genuinely competent. ...more
Ive read the manhwa before this, but now I have a physical copy to review. Because manhwa generally have a slightly lower word count I re read 2-4 in Ive read the manhwa before this, but now I have a physical copy to review. Because manhwa generally have a slightly lower word count I re read 2-4 in one sitting and I wouldnt be able to pull out specific instances.
First off, Volume 1-4 of the manhwa, or maybe halfway through volume 4 is probably about where I hope the 2024 anime will end up in its season 1 arc, but given its current pacing (we will find out in a few weeks) im not sure if it will get that far.
Each medium tells the same story but has different strengths and weaknesses. Outside of the weird ending of book 1, and two noticeable jarring breaks in the story so far the manhwa is better than either the light novel or the anime itself at its execution. The pacing of books 2-4 improved after book one significantly and it the medium still does a much better job of showing, and not telling you what is going on without having to take oddly timed breaks to have an internal monologue explaining the stats of something. A picture is worth a thousand words.
There are a few points that were expanded on effectively in the LN compared to either this or the anime. But on the whole this format seems to be best for telling the story and it is still a phenomenal story where it feels like the main character is cunning, smart and genuinely competent. ...more
I found this story as it was being created in a series of youtube shorts from a creator I already enjoyed and I pretty quickly got invested. There wasI found this story as it was being created in a series of youtube shorts from a creator I already enjoyed and I pretty quickly got invested. There was enough fan support to get it turned into an actual book and here we are with an extremely meta fantasy romance that breaks an in character fourth wall at a rate that would make deadpool smirk while still staying in character throughout.
Its a wonderful little story that has hints of high fantasy and a larger world but chooses to keep this story very personal and rather sweet. As a bonus, lots of tropes and the justified aversions to them written by an author who really knows her way around a stage fight. It hit all the right buttons for me and I finished it in one sitting.
Introduced to the author through tiktok where I quite often enjoy and respect their content I took a shot at one of their books about the moment I wasIntroduced to the author through tiktok where I quite often enjoy and respect their content I took a shot at one of their books about the moment I was able to order a hardcopy.
This is a series of 5 fantasy novellas that tell a story of friendship and growing past generational institutionalized bigotry and hate for 'the other' group.
The story is fun and the characters are each distinct in their voice and their banter. But we have some trouble from the novella format never quite getting to break away from the needs of an episodic story instead of one with more direct growth. The world building is also weak from the novella format, the story is on the backs of the main characters or nothing at all because there is little interesting or really explored to the word itself. The writing was good, and someone clearly actually trusted their editing team to actually catch almost every single error before it hit print which was a fantastic relief and not one we get to see in a story collection like this very often.
The one part it really nails is following the authors views, privately and publicly supporting the LGBTQ community. Of all the protagonists I dont think there isnt a single straight CIS character (one is sorta up in the air, we will see), and never once is it the diversity played for laughs or treated as anything less than perfectly normal, acceptable, and healthy.
Bonus points for maybe having the best written depiction of how 5.0 Oath Paladins work in practice that I have ever read.
Honestly? Its nothing special, it wont redefine a genre, but its nice to know it exists and that even if its never going to hit my top 20 its absolutely worth a place on my shelf. And if anyone wants some LGTBQ+ positive fantasy writing? You could do so much worse....more
John Scalzi is a writer who is more and more on my radar these days.
The writing and story structure, where you take this established concept and takeJohn Scalzi is a writer who is more and more on my radar these days.
The writing and story structure, where you take this established concept and take it very seriously, while deliberately taking the piss out of it for its multiple absurdities that still somehow work to tell an engaging real story with a likable main character.
It was easy to read, the pacing was solid and the humour as always for Scalzi hits me just right (I am very much the target audience here) and I loved its execution even as it got absurd while still being just the right amount of grounded, or grounded in exactly the right way.
A great way to kick off a new years reading :)...more
I dont know if I was just busy, or if the book was worse than I think it was, but this took me a long time to finish.
Its a mashup between World War Z I dont know if I was just busy, or if the book was worse than I think it was, but this took me a long time to finish.
Its a mashup between World War Z and the Zombie Survival Guide written with kaiju instead of zombies, but much worse than either of them for its individual parts. The survival tips, tricks, and gear doesnt really make sense in genre and the parts of it that do work are literally just watered down versions of what you can find either in the previously mentioned books or any survival guide online. And the survivor short stories where still the best part are seriously lacking compared to similar monster (even kaiju) short stories on reddit writing prompts.
Loses a few extra points for calling nearly every type of movie monster larger than 10 feet tall a kaiju....more
I read about 1/3 of it, going through the other 2 thirds via audio book whos execution is wonderful but nThe book felt good to read, and to listen to.
I read about 1/3 of it, going through the other 2 thirds via audio book whos execution is wonderful but not quite perfect.
The whole premise makes my nerdy heart happy. It takes Kaiju, acknowledges the absurdity, and explores some implications though a well grounded character who is still snarky and with a sharp wit. This was the right novel, at the right time. And I had a lot of fun getting to explore this remarkable silliness.
Its in no way a complex story if you are trope savvy, but there is joy to be found in an execution that lands it as perfectly as this one does :)
Sadly the audio version narrated by Wil Wheaton is much better than the written version, where a few typos and editing kurfeffles slipped through the cracks that Wil isnt there to smooth over. But going through this either way was a blast and I enjoyed it quite a bit for being such a silly book about sci fi :)...more
There are two parts to this book, both equally awesome for different reasons.
First is the novel itself. This is perhaps by far the least punishing we There are two parts to this book, both equally awesome for different reasons.
First is the novel itself. This is perhaps by far the least punishing we have seen for the main character, and where she doesnt get to show off all her hard earned skill, we do get to see a little bit of exactly why she is a protagonist, and why after 13 books her name is mentioned with some real trepidation. Its a low energy payoff to the growing story, and really lets it sink in just how far everyone has come.
As always urban fantasy is exactly in my wheelhouse, and maintaining a strong core to the story the author has still done, even in a story with reduced stakes, a great job of keeping mental health, ptsd, and all forms of recovering from trauma as central themes. Its a walk in the park of a story, there were never really any real stakes. But sometimes you just want to see the protagonist WIN. And book 13 really delivered.
But then we hit the short story at the end, and the author reminds us she isnt slacking off. In the guise of fairy urban fantasy featuring demigod level characters.. never once have I really seen "go to therapy!" as a core message being driven quite so well. Recovery takes time, it takes effort, and a lot of the time it takes help. We cant do it alone, no matter how much we might want to....more
I like Nylund's writing style for the most part. It has its flaws here and there (looking at Ghosts of Onyx in particular) but overall he consistentlyI like Nylund's writing style for the most part. It has its flaws here and there (looking at Ghosts of Onyx in particular) but overall he consistently nails the writing of hard sci-fi super soldiers and smooth combat that.. where its not super detailed? Still feels right, particularly for a setting based on a video game that certainly didnt have anywhere near this much thought put into it.
It doesnt quite capture the lightning in a bottle of The Fall of Reach that really dove into the modifications and psychology, but its a lot better than Ghosts of Onyx which didnt have any real character anymore. We get John back, we get Cortana back and we get to see their growth and their struggles even as they both follow their conditioning and programming.
Its nothing particularly standout, but Nylund still does sci fi super solders better than anyone else ive stumbled across....more
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