This was a disappointing finish. Not much action. And no interesting characters!
Over the course of the series, Novik introduced several interesting suThis was a disappointing finish. Not much action. And no interesting characters!
Over the course of the series, Novik introduced several interesting supporting characters, but we never got to hang out with any of them for longer than a single book. Emily; Emily's mom; Emily's boyfriend; the Chinese cook guy; even Granby was pushed to the background immediately. Tharckay (sp? I listened to all of these so I don't know how anyone's name is spelled) was interesting and HE was in more than one book, but he's kind of it.
This book had neither an interesting human character nor an interesting dragon character introduced. Nothing really happened. I almost hoped that (view spoiler)[Lawrence died, so that we could transition to Temeraire's next Captain. (hide spoiler)]But that didn't happen either. Oh well....more
Hey, all right, so I read this whole thing! I mean I skipped the description of all the spells, I'm not going to remember that anyway. But I legit reaHey, all right, so I read this whole thing! I mean I skipped the description of all the spells, I'm not going to remember that anyway. But I legit read basically everything else, hooray for me. How much I actually retain remains to be seen.
I've only ever DMed this here fifth edition, so I don't have a lot of basis for comparison (though I did play one, multi-year campaign of 4e). It seems like there's a lot shit for everybody to keep track of in re: their class, but the onus is on the player for that. With regards to combat mechanics etc, I do like the idea of advantage & disadvantage. I think it simplifies a lot of things, instead of having to remember +2 this and -1 that. Just . . . is it good? Advantage. Nicht so gut? Disadvantage. Doneski. Also it involves rolling more dice, and who doesn't like the excuse to roll more dice? Crazy people.
Now on to the Dungeon Master's Guide. Hold me.
P.S. Oh and without a doubt 100% my all-time favorite part is the "wild magic surge" table. Please oh please oh please let one of my players choose a sorcerer who takes the "Wild Surge" origin so that we can have the potential for the following whenever they cast a spell (this is just a taste, there are fifty of these):
-Illusory butterflies and flower petals flutter in the air within 10 feet of you for the next minute -You cast fireball as a 3rd-level spell centered on yourself -You cast magic missile as a 5th-level spell -You are immune to being intoxicated by alcohol for the next 5d6 days -You turn into a potted plant until the start of your next turn -You cast polymorph on yourself. If you fail the saving throw, you turn into a sheep for the spell's duration -Roll a d10. Your height changes by a number of inches equal to the roll. If the roll is odd, you shrink. If the roll is even, you grow -Your hair falls out but grows back within 24 hours -1d6 flumphs controlled by the DM appear in unoccupied spaces within 60 feet of you and are frightened of you. They vanish after 1 minute...more
Hmm. It's been a month since I read this but I will try . . . I liked it? I liked the first two parts more that the last. I didn't really see the poinHmm. It's been a month since I read this but I will try . . . I liked it? I liked the first two parts more that the last. I didn't really see the point of Lawrence's amnesia, but whatever. I like when things are happening in Asia, it's fun.
Not bad. I like imagining all the feathered Incan dragons. Again felt like there wasn't an actual, overarching plot, though. They just stumbled aroundNot bad. I like imagining all the feathered Incan dragons. Again felt like there wasn't an actual, overarching plot, though. They just stumbled around a bit, getting into a few scrapes and then getting out again, and then the book was over.
I did learn that an "invert" is what one might call a gay dude back in the day, so that was . . . educational....more
So, this was really very good. Very thorough and quite interesting, and man, has GRRM done any retconning that we can think of through the first five So, this was really very good. Very thorough and quite interesting, and man, has GRRM done any retconning that we can think of through the first five books of ASoIaF? No, right? That is pretty impressive!
Anyway it's fun to read everything and feel like you "know" the history of Westeros et al. And to try to pick up on any clues of what's going to happen next. I like how he repeats names throughout history, that is so true! I mean for reals how many Henries and Catherines and Maries were there in England. A LOT. There were a lot. Christ, half of Henry VIII's wives were named Catherine, and most of the rest were Anne. So it stands to reason that there are a lot of Aegons and Viseryses and Jeynes. (P.S. have you noticed that an AWFUL lot of Freys have Targaryean (sp?) first names? I mean I know there are a shit ton of them so they have to go everywhere for names, but still. Take note. I wonder if that means something)
This book is really big so it's difficult to read in the bathroom or even in bed. I mostly read it whilst eating breakfast.
The art is tremendous. And very consistent -- there were a bunch of different artists, but the styles all looked very similar.
My only complaint is that it NEEDS MORE MAPS. There were NO maps in the "general history of the kings of Westeros" section, and whilst there are some in the "history of Westeros kingdom by kingdom" sections, a) I didn't know that because I hadn't gotten there yet and b) there isn't an index listing of maps. That's kind of elementary, come on guys. There were no maps of Essos at ALL which is absurd. Aside from that, highly, highly recommended for fans of the series. ...more
Yeah, this one was a little "meh." They're in Australia and it's mostly empty and there isn't a lot of character . . . anything here. Not even interacYeah, this one was a little "meh." They're in Australia and it's mostly empty and there isn't a lot of character . . . anything here. Not even interaction, let alone development. And almost no action.
(Also what is up with the cover "art" on this version? I can't even tell how that dragon is facing . . . it's pretty terrible.)
And like, okay . . . obviously if you think too hard about these things, a lot of things about these books is sort of impossible. Like loading up the dragons with hundreds of people (although that doesn't happen in this book, since they've only brought skeleton crews to Australia with them). But she keeps going on and on about their eating, and it just really makes it impossible to avoid thinking about the fact that there is NO WAY that there would be enough food in the world to support so many (or even ANY) dragons. They can eat a cow a day? Come on. There's no way you could keep them fed. I wish she had said that they didn't need to eat every day, way back in the beginning of the series. Then one could argue that they wouldn't have enough energy to do all the things they supposedly do, but (for me at least) it's easier to ignore something like that, because I'm not counting calories or anything, than trying to ignore the fact that people are always bringing them animals and they're trying to eat kangaroos without completely wiping out the herds, etc. Whatever though I guess.
I like little Roland and Demain (sorry for any spelling errors, I listen to these books) and I like the new dragonets. But I do miss big Roland and Harcourt. My kingdom for a few more female characters, I'm dying over here, lady . . . ...more
Man, I almost want to give this four stars because I enjoyed it so much! But it's still just fluff, I don't know if I can give fluff four stars. We'llMan, I almost want to give this four stars because I enjoyed it so much! But it's still just fluff, I don't know if I can give fluff four stars. We'll see. It's a solid 3.5 though. (And I should say, in addition to fluff, there was definite actual WAR in this one. Like, people and dragons dying in horrible terrible ways that reminds one that war is a real thing, even if dragons are not, and it's fucking terrible.)
So Laurence was in a funk for much of this book because he's a traitor and whatnot and that's depressing, especially for a man as honorable as he. But about half of the book was told from Temeraire's "perpsective" (that is, still told in third person but from his viewpoint, you knew what he was thinking etc, I'm sure there's a term for that) and that was pretty fun. I like that dragon.
And there's so much ACTION in this book! I thought I didn't care much for reading about battles and such, but it was a blast! I don't know why these books aren't movies. I asked that question aloud the other day and Chris was skeptical and I said "but dragons! People love dragons!" and he said "but it sounds cheesy" and I said "but people love cheesy!" And they do! Man, and so many dragon-on-dragon battles in this one! These would all make awesome movies.
Anyway, yeah, dragons! If you are looking for a fun series that will take your mind off of whatever it is in your life that is stressful right now, you should read it. Washu recommends. Ah screw it, I'll give it four stars!...more
This was once again a very nice little book. This one takes place in Africa for much of the time, which is funWhaaaaat now that is a cliffhanger! Man.
This was once again a very nice little book. This one takes place in Africa for much of the time, which is fun. And it has a lady admiral! I know I've bemoaned in the past the lack of female characters in this series. But I have to admit that Novik is pretty good at having our hero be a product of his times, without being a huge dick. He seems more bewildered by women being able to, like, DO and THINK things, than really objecting to it. Which works for me because you're not whitewashing the past too much, nor are you giving us an unrealistic character for the times. (It's like what my brother said the other day about how people in period movies still sort of have the hair and makeup of whatever year in which the movie was actually made. And how that's not very noticeable at the time, but twenty years later you're like, "dude.")
And I like how lady airmen are like "I can't get married because then I'd have to obey you, and I can't be down with that." Like, not trying to change the institution of marriage really, just saying "my life won't fit in with that" and then not doing it. (view spoiler)[Although Harcourt DOES get married, and to a pro-slavery dude, even, so we'll see how that goes. (hide spoiler)]
It ends on a hell of a cliffhanger, but I don't want to rush through these so I might read another audiobook or two before getting back to it....more
This was perfectly fine again, very pleasant. Though this time there were like NO female characters and I'm starting to get a little worried that the This was perfectly fine again, very pleasant. Though this time there were like NO female characters and I'm starting to get a little worried that the author isn't as concerned about that sort of thing as I am....more
I like these books. These are officially my Guilty Pleasure books, my Beach Reading books. They're nice and comforting to me because they take place iI like these books. These are officially my Guilty Pleasure books, my Beach Reading books. They're nice and comforting to me because they take place in the early nineteenth century and they're fun because dragons. They're not all that complex but I don't even really care.
I do wish we could get some decent female characters eventually, though. I mean they're THERE, somewhere, but they don't have very many lines. Maybe next book.
This one takes place in China (as well as on a boat on the way to China) and there are lots of dragons there, and some of them are fancy. There's a lot of action in this one, guns and whatnot. It's fun....more
I don't really remember anything about Beowulf from the first time I listened to it, but I liked this translation. There's an introduction where he taI don't really remember anything about Beowulf from the first time I listened to it, but I liked this translation. There's an introduction where he talks about how there's a lot of alliteration in the original text, and then the text uses a lot of alliteration, so that was okay with me. I like alliteration, it's one of my favorite literary techniques.
The narration was good as well. (Although Mr. Hanks says "AHF-ter" in a weird faux-British way, though everything else was in an American accent; that was odd.) He makes it sound like an epic poem -- as does the translation, which is somewhat stilted, but I LIKE that in something like this. Very bassy and whatnot. Very regal. I liked it.
That Beowulf sure is an arrogant dude, though. "I am Beowulf, I am the best! Here, let me attempt to slay this dragon all by myself, even though I'm hella old and a bunch of warriors are right here behind me!" Whatever dude.
(In the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that I received a free copy of this audiobook in the hopes that I'd issue a review.)...more
7-28-2012 to 9-4-2012: Okay, so on second reading (actually, only listening this time) it still gets four stars. It's slow in the beginning but eventu7-28-2012 to 9-4-2012: Okay, so on second reading (actually, only listening this time) it still gets four stars. It's slow in the beginning but eventually gets going and gets me interested.
10-8-15 to 11-30-15: Uhh, third listen is not so generous. This thing is pretty boring. I don't care about most of this crap. I don't care about Dany, or Tyrion, or stupid Cersei, or Griff et al, or Aegon et al. Or Victarion. Just give me, like, Arya, and half of Jon's chapters.
There's too much "tell, don't show" in this one. Too many stories and histories. It was sort of cute in AFfC but now it's like "saaaaaaave it for A World of Ice and Fire."
Although I did forget, until halfway through the epilogue, what the actual very ending is and how badass/satisfying it is. Haha, finally!! Take that.
As for narration, this is marginally better than AFfC but he still screws up sometimes. And makes Dany sound like an old fishwife or something. Really, none of his accents are posh enough. At least Missendei doesn't have that cringeworthy "ah-so" accent, that was one voice where it's GOOD that he forgot what she sounded like.
Anyway I'm still excited for the sixth book if it ever happens I guess but oh man, it's going to be so bloated, isn't it? He should just start murdering tertiary characters, get this sumbitch streamlined again. That's never going to happen though, he's too big, it's all too big (that's what she said)....more
I listened to this audiobook from June 27 to July 28 2012. It was my second time listening to the book in audiobook format, but my first time listeninI listened to this audiobook from June 27 to July 28 2012. It was my second time listening to the book in audiobook format, but my first time listening to the narration by Roy Detrice.
I began listening to the book for the third time August 21, 2015, finished September 25.
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