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Ross (3284 KP) rated Season of Storms in Books
Apr 23, 2018 (Updated Apr 25, 2018)
2-d characters (2 more)
fantasy-by-numbers
Frequent incongruent Latin/French phrases
More a set of short stories than a novel in its own right
* I received an advance copy of this book from NetGalley in return for an honest review. Formatting issues (many) have not been factored into the review *
To my knowledge, the books of The Witcher are split into the short story collection prequels (one of which I have read) and the full books (which I have not read). This book is somewhere in between being neither strictly a collection of short stories nor a focussed standalone novel in its own right. Chronologically, this book falls in between the stories contained in The Last Wish) though it is impossible to say quite where it falls (as mention of the stryga is made near the end, which begins the Last Wish I have to assume it comes after the flashback stories from that tome but before the overarching story linking them all).
It may be because I haven't read the full novels, but I find the Witcher to be a thoroughly bland and unexciting character and I have no connection with him. He has next to no personality and contributes nothing to the dialogue of the book. Similarly, all other characters are very disposable - they are either supposedly strong-willed sorceresses (who smell of flowers and throw themselves at the Witcher and are bedded instantly) or they are otherwise instantly forgettable.
I think Sapkwoski was trying to give the sorcerers a sense of academic snobbery but they frequently use Latin phrases, which just gets irritating very quickly. Similarly French words and phrases are thrown in willy-nilly without translation which gets annoying as well. This seems even more unusual when you realise the story was written in Polish and translated into English, with some parts kept in French or Latin. And then further when it is meant to be in a different world where French wouldn't be a thing.
The story essentially follows Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher) who loses his swords and goes on a quest to get them back, and just happens along the way to meet people who need his skills (like on Neighbours where one character leaves and another comes in through the door at exactly the same moment). This aspect makes me think this was meant to be a series of short stories stitched together. But unfortunately here those short stories are not finished up within themselves and you have a number of unsatisfying loose ends in the back of your head throughout.
As with The Last Wish, I found the ending very confusing and had no idea what had happened. It may be that other works fill in the gap and I will have that filled in time, but if so that makes this not a satisfying read in its own right.
Overall, I don't mind Sapkowski's writing in general, other than a few irritating bad habits and I like the overriding idea of the stories but find the execution, character development and overall world-building somewhat clumsy and throw-away. But as I say, this may be because (I think) I have read these in chronological order, rather than published order. I will fill in the gaps and work out if that is the case.
To my knowledge, the books of The Witcher are split into the short story collection prequels (one of which I have read) and the full books (which I have not read). This book is somewhere in between being neither strictly a collection of short stories nor a focussed standalone novel in its own right. Chronologically, this book falls in between the stories contained in The Last Wish) though it is impossible to say quite where it falls (as mention of the stryga is made near the end, which begins the Last Wish I have to assume it comes after the flashback stories from that tome but before the overarching story linking them all).
It may be because I haven't read the full novels, but I find the Witcher to be a thoroughly bland and unexciting character and I have no connection with him. He has next to no personality and contributes nothing to the dialogue of the book. Similarly, all other characters are very disposable - they are either supposedly strong-willed sorceresses (who smell of flowers and throw themselves at the Witcher and are bedded instantly) or they are otherwise instantly forgettable.
I think Sapkwoski was trying to give the sorcerers a sense of academic snobbery but they frequently use Latin phrases, which just gets irritating very quickly. Similarly French words and phrases are thrown in willy-nilly without translation which gets annoying as well. This seems even more unusual when you realise the story was written in Polish and translated into English, with some parts kept in French or Latin. And then further when it is meant to be in a different world where French wouldn't be a thing.
The story essentially follows Geralt of Rivia (The Witcher) who loses his swords and goes on a quest to get them back, and just happens along the way to meet people who need his skills (like on Neighbours where one character leaves and another comes in through the door at exactly the same moment). This aspect makes me think this was meant to be a series of short stories stitched together. But unfortunately here those short stories are not finished up within themselves and you have a number of unsatisfying loose ends in the back of your head throughout.
As with The Last Wish, I found the ending very confusing and had no idea what had happened. It may be that other works fill in the gap and I will have that filled in time, but if so that makes this not a satisfying read in its own right.
Overall, I don't mind Sapkowski's writing in general, other than a few irritating bad habits and I like the overriding idea of the stories but find the execution, character development and overall world-building somewhat clumsy and throw-away. But as I say, this may be because (I think) I have read these in chronological order, rather than published order. I will fill in the gaps and work out if that is the case.
Nick Lewis (2 KP) rated Love, Death & Robots in TV
May 21, 2019
What a stroke of genius
This series of short animated films is one of the best collections I have seen in a long time, the stories range from comedy to serious drama and even if you aren't a massive fan of animation, there is still a story for you, with the realist animation I've seen in a long time. Give it a go you just might like it.
starwarsluvr (236 KP) rated Cat O' Nine Tales in Books
Jan 30, 2018
I found myself surprised so many times in this book. I enjoyed the characters so much.. and they were amusing and funny. These are a collection of short horror stories but honestly they amused me so much I didn't feel as if it was scary but then something would happen and I'd think.. oh.. theres the horror lol. it was awesome and im glad i got to review it
Zuky the BookBum (15 KP) rated The Most Dangerous Game in Books
Mar 15, 2018
<i>So. Many. Short. Stories.</i>
Sometimes these kinds of weird, old school, random books really hook me, but I can't explain why. This is one of them. This story has the most simple of plot lines, yet it does so well to inflict fear and excitement into the reader.
I loved the writing. I loved the tension. I loved the plot. I loved the psychopath. I loved the ending.
Sometimes these kinds of weird, old school, random books really hook me, but I can't explain why. This is one of them. This story has the most simple of plot lines, yet it does so well to inflict fear and excitement into the reader.
I loved the writing. I loved the tension. I loved the plot. I loved the psychopath. I loved the ending.
The Marinated Meeple (1848 KP) rated Faceoff (2014) in Books
Feb 26, 2018
Multiple Main Charecters (1 more)
Short Stories
I love the idea of this book.
Enjoyed the idea of of multiple main characters interacting when normally this would be impossible. I love the crossover aspect, and I got to read a bit from authors I haven't experienced yet. a few of them i might want to follow up with and read their books based on it. This is actually brilliant marketing.
Heather Cranmer (2721 KP) rated Midwinterblood in Books
Jun 7, 2018
A real page turner! I've had this book for awhile and having read White Crow by Marcus Sedgwick and loving it, I decided to give Midwinterblood a go.
What am amazing book!! I finished it in less than 24 hours! It's like reading a bunch of short stories that are part of one big story.
I'd definitely recommend this book as it's definitely one of my now faves =)
What am amazing book!! I finished it in less than 24 hours! It's like reading a bunch of short stories that are part of one big story.
I'd definitely recommend this book as it's definitely one of my now faves =)
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