circlesofbooks

[circlesofbooks]

Monster also really suffers from Second book syndrome, where the first installment is relatively self contained, and succeeds at telling a complete story, with a satisfying arc, whereas the second one spends a lot of its word count setting stuff up for the next book, and dealing with the aftermath of the first. It definitely makes it feel like a step down from how tight the arc of Traitor is.

Tyrant is definitely a step up, although not to the same peaks as Traitor. (It’s also like a billion pages.

I see all of the raving about Baru, but I never see actual discussion of the sequels? Like, I loved the first book, and then Monster was a HUGE letdown (with maybe only one scene that had the magic of the first one?). Is that just me? Should I even bother with Tyrant? Am I going mad that apparently no one on Tumblr who does Baruposting has anything to say about the sequels?

I mean to a first approximation all the baruposting is about the first book because it's the best one (also it's much easier to shill the first in a series without spoiling things). Though, like, I recall a decent number of posts/jokes/memes about Tau or Yawa or Svir?

Anyway I would really say Tyrant is as good as Traitor but imo it is significantly better than Monster, and also provides a lot of pay off and resolution and catharsis in terms of character arcs and the last two books worth of table setting. If you've already gotten through Monster would strongly recommend giving Tyrant a try, at least.

[circlesofbooks]

22 in 22

Rules! Choose 22 books you want to read or goals you want to achieve in  2022. That’s it! It can be a mix of books and goals, or 22 books, or 22 goals…. it’s up to you. 

I got tagged by @st-just​, and thought that this was probably a pretty good excuse to finally make a blog to actually post on. 

1. The general goal is 50.

2. I loved Slouching Towards Bethlehem, and Notes of a Native Son, so read more essay collections, and more Baldwin and Didion in general

3. Read more non-fiction. Some of the best books I’ve read over the past few years have been non-fiction, including maybe my favourite book ever. 

4. Nona The Ninth Tasmyn Muir is a given, since I enjoyed the other two so much. 

5. The Jakarta Method, Vincent Blevins, recommended by half the people I follow, although I don’t anticipate it being a particularly cheery read. 

6. Against the Grain, James C Scott, since I’ve been meaning to pick it up for years now. 

7. House of Leaves, which I should probably have already read to be honest, given that basically everyone that I’ve heard talking about it has been saying interesting things. 

8. The Hard Crowd By Rachel Kushner, contemporary essay writer. Recommended by a trusted source, and I’m curious to see what the form looks like today. 

9. Perhaps the Stars, Ada Palmer, waiting for it to come out in paper back so that it matches the others, will almost certainly enjoy it, although I’ve heard it gets weird. 

10. The Odyssey. The Iliad was, amongst other less enjoyable attributes, very interesting to read, and from what I’ve heard, this has a slightly more narrative structure. 

11. Wheel of Time. People are blogging about it, and I do have a weakness for big epic fantasy, which seems to fit the bill here. 

12. The Emperor of all Maladies, because St-Just mentioned it on their list and it sounds cool.

13. Always Coming Home, because it’s Le Guin, and its formally interesting. (and I feel bad about not finishing it the first time I tried.)

14. Queens of the Abyss, because its currently sitting right next to me. 

15. Some kind of biography of Talleyrand, if I can find one with good reviews.

16. Tecumseh: A Life by John Darwin, since I enjoyed his other book After Tamerlane so much, and since I know so little about Native American history, although maybe worth checking the reviews first, see what its reception was like. 

17. More Daniel Woodrell, since Winter’s bone was so fucking good.

18. Fredrik Logevall’s Embers of War, because its already on my to be read list. 

19. Some Discworld, because its honestly strange I haven’t read any of them already

20. Give a Practical Guide To Evil another try, see if I can get to the point that it gets good. 

21. Some Dickens, probably should at some point, not that I have a great idea of where to start. 

22. Oh, and the other two books in the Southern Reach Trilogy. Really should have read those before as well. No time like the present.