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@unicornreviews
Let me tell you about this snazzy little place called Scribophile. It’s a peer-review site, where you earn “karma” points by leaving critiques on the works of others, then spend those points posting your own WIP for feedback. There’s also a forum for writing-flavored discussion, groups...
A moment of silence for everyone who loved the Hunchback of Notre Dame disney movie so much that they decided to read the book...
If White People Were Described Like People Of Color In Literature
This is hilarious and true.
NUMBER SEVEN THOUGH
I read The Final Empire on a couple of long flights this week and dang I am upset about Kelsier. :(
Of Poseidon (Syrena Legacy #1) by Anna Banks
Reviewer: Atalya
Genres: Fantasy, paranormal romance
Rating: 1.75/5 stars
Summary: (by Goodreads) Galen is the prince of the Syrena, sent to land to find a girl he's heard can communicate with fish. Emma is on vacation at the beach. When she runs into Galen—literally, ouch!—both teens sense a connection. But it will take several encounters, including a deadly one with a shark, for Galen to be convinced of Emma's gifts. Now, if he can only convince Emma that she holds the key to his kingdom... Told from both Emma and Galen's points of view, here is a fish-out-of-water story that sparkles with intrigue, humor, and waves of romance.
My Review: I read this in a day. I'm the kind of person who obsesses over books, and I can't leave them unfinished. There was something about Of Poseidon that didn't allow me to stop reading, but all the while I was reading, I was cringing. The plot is interesting enough--mermaids, am I right?--and contains a lot of humor. My problem with the book was a combination of the writing, characters, and the CONSTANT DOWNGRADING OF WOMEN. In the Syrena [mermaid] society, once a male Syrena reaches the age of 18, he goes off to find a mate that he will enjoy and can produce offspring. That's just great, right? Wait until I get into the characters!
Characters: The only character I had a decent amount of respect for was Rayna (a Syrena), who repeatedly pushes away Toraf, who got married to her without her knowledge. Apparently, Rayna could go and divorce him, but the King--her father--probably won't allow it. But immediately after Toraf kisses another girl, after being constantly rejected, Rayna decides she loves him and gets super jealous. Great.
Before this kiss, however, Toraf has no idea what personal space is, and can't take no for an answer when it comes to Reyna. He believes he has the right to her, and believes he sort of owns her. He f***ing married her without her knowing. Seriously. Despicable. I shudder.
Galen is one of the two main characters, and he lacks depth as a character. All I really know about him is that he's half fish, and likes Emma, the other character. His defining characteristic is his crush. Everything he does is about her. Like his best friend Toraf, Galen believes he has a right to Emma. He is constantly dragging her around wherever he goes, and even planned a trip to Florida, meaning missing school and flying to the other end of the country, without her consent. He is very controlling and threatens a guy Emma is fond of. Also, of course, Galen is unimaginably hot and every girl in school in madly in love with him.
Emma's mom, supposedly, is super strict, but allows Emma to go anywhere with Galen. Wait until you read the last chapter (though I hope you never do). This will aggravate you so much and it makes no sense.
Emma is simple. There's not much to say on her. Jessica and I make fun of her catchphrase, "ohmysweetgoodness." It's usually italicized. Ohmysweetgoodness. She's very pale, which seems to be really important because it's mentioned so often. She gets angry at Galen for threatening the guy she likes, but allows herself to be dragged around by him. Not much depth there, but I will say that she's funny.
Writing: There are a bunch of things that don't add up, like the fact that the mom is strict, but not really. Even when she lets Emma go to Florida with Galen and misses school for this trip. There are also these kinds of contradictions with some of the other characters that I can't say because of spoilers. One thing that really bugs me is the fact that when Emma holds her breath under water, she can still talk. Um. No. Not possible. Even if you might be part Syrena. You can't hold your breath and talk at the same time.
The main thing, though, that bothers me, is the fact that women seem to have little to no say in anything that goes on. I already mentioned everything about specifics in the "characters" section, but SERIOUSLY.
One of the things that originally drew me to the book (besides the mermaids) is the fact that it's told from both Emma's and Galen's POVs. The thing is, Emma's POV is in first person, whereas Galen's is in third. This seems interesting, but just kind of confused things and seems weird.
Overall: I will say that I enjoyed the plot. There were many funny moments. But it was predictable, there were contradictions, the characters were underdeveloped, and women were downgraded constantly. So I give this 1.75 stars, because 1.5 is too low for a funny book with a good plot and 2 is too high for the flaws I described.
I'm still getting over Ruin and Rising, so I decided to draw Alina. Seriously, this trilogy kind of ripped my heart out and then shoved it back in. In a good way.
Need a last minute gift? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered.
This is super awkward, because I actually got my dad the Brothers Karamazov for Father's Day. I think I might be a terrible daughter.
The Name of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss (3.5)
Rating: 3.5/5
Reviewer: Jessica
Publisher: Penguin
Genres: Adult, High Fantasy
Series: Kingkiller Chronicles #1
Summary: Told in Kvothe's own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen. The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature. A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.
Review: Don’t be fooled by my middling rating of this book; I have strong opinions on it.
I liked this book overall, but there were things I didn’t like so much, and those things were Denna. Despite it’s flaws (Denna), I bought the sequel and am actually super excited to read it. Later in the review I’m going to take a little detour to rant about certain flaws, such as Denna.
Dammit, Denna.
So I guess I’ll get right to it, then.
The Name of the Wind begins in an inn and is told in third-person for the first fifty-ish pages. I, knowing the majority of the book would be in a different setting and time, kept thinking of it as a prologue and getting bored waiting for the ‘real’ book to start. There was some interesting and important stuff in there, though, so I don’t think it will be a problem for most people.
Anyway, this Chronicler guy comes into the inn wanting to record the story of the legendary Kvothe, believed to be dead, but actually the innkeeper of the inn.
The book switches to first person as Kvothe tells his story.
At first I was rolling my eyes at the idea that someone could talk for roughly six hundred pages and with actual quotes and imagery, etc., but after reading further and getting to know Kvothe, I find this plausible. Take that how you will.
It’s maybe two hundred pages or so before Kvothe gets to the University to study magic (Or ‘sympathy’, I guess), but it’s interesting before that. Don’t be worried that this book is boring. The pages go by quickly, which is a nice change for a long fantasy book.
Things happen before the University (sorry about the vagueness, but no spoilers), and the only thing that bothered me was the angst, but even that wasn’t so bad. In fairness, Kvothe had reason to angst, and he usually angsts at somewhat appropriate times. The only reason I mentioned it at all is that he had several opportunities to better his situation, but he ignored them because of angsty reasons.
I mean, really.
There are some awkward metaphors, but they’re few and far between (at least until Denna comes along). I will say, I rolled my eyes quite a bit throughout the whole book, but I still had a good time reading it. It’s just that you get scenes where Kvothe will play a song that will move every single person to tears, despite the fact that people express emotion differently and have different taste in music. Scenes, not scene. Multiple.
Moving on.
I really became hooked once Kvothe got to the University. You meet characters who are fun to love or fun to hate, and it’s just nice. Well, not nice exactly, at least not for Kvothe a lot of the time, but nice to read about.
And then there was this scene. This really exciting scene, where my heart was literally beating fast (I get very invested in my reading). Thinking back on it, it really wasn’t super exciting. Actually, it was Kvothe playing a lute. But it felt exciting, because Patrick Rothfuss is cool like that.
It was probably my favorite scene in the book. Little did I know...it was where we meet Denna.
Here’s where the Denna rant begins. If you really like her and would rather not hear me trash her mercilessly, you can skip to the end where it says ‘rant over’ in bold.
Here we go.
I lied earlier. We first meet Denna when she and Kvothe are, I think, twelve-ish...? Maybe eleven, maybe thirteen? In that range.
They’re traveling together, and you know she’s going to be important because she has dark, pretty hair. To be fair, so does Fela from the University. I like Fela. Why can’t Fela be Denna?
Basically, Kvothe has a crush on her, she kind of leads him on then rejects him, and he’s sad. Your typical romance of twelve-year-olds. Except that it’s not, because I knew she’d be an important character later, but all we’re told of this important character is that she has pretty hair.
They have one conversation that we can see in which Denna’s all cryptic and Kvothe is impressed by how deep she is, then we get descriptions of her beauty and stuff like this:
I almost lost the sense of her words in the sweet fluting of her voice.
You know what? We actually lose the sense of her words when you ignore them to talk about the sweet fluting of her voice.
We get little recaps of what they talked about (some clouds, fanciful things, constellations, etc.), but we don’t get to actually hear the words. We don’t know Denna’s opinions, how she feels about anything, whether she’s quick with an answer or more contemplative. We don’t even know her speech patterns. Nothing.
You know what we do get?
Her skin was more luminous than the moon, her eyes wider than the sky, deeper than water, darker than the night.
And,
She smelled like road dust, and honey, and the smell the air holds the seconds before a heavy summer rain.
If Kvothe wants to harp on how pretty she is and how good she smells, fine, but all of that belongs AFTER she’s spoken more than eight lines. Yes, she’s spoken more to Kvothe, but to us, it’s eight lines. Do you want to know how many words? 77. Yes, I counted. Let me tell you, it didn’t take too long to count. 77 isn’t many.
Of course, they meet later when they’re older (but still only teenagers), and you know she’s so special because she can quote plays that Kvothe’s heard of.
They have a conversation that pissed me off so much that I read it out loud to several different people. Thanks a lot, book, you made me annoy my friends and family. In the conversation, Kvothe is trying to assign a flower to Denna. It’s supposed to be a little ridiculous, but...I mean...still.
He goes through a bunch of flowers, which gives him the opportunity to say things like:
“There is a brightness about you. But dandelion is common, and you are not a common creature.”
And,
“There is much of you that is both shadow and light.”
What is he basing this on? The few conversations they had when they knew each other as children for four days, or the small talk they made a little while ago?
I’d like to point out that at this time, Kvothe thinks Denna doesn’t remember them meeting way back when.
And then later Denna says,
“You remind me of a willow. Strong, deep-rooted, and hidden. You move easily when the storm comes, but never farther than you wish.”
What the hell? Where where WHERE is she getting this from? And the worst part? She’s right. And he’s supposed to be right about her. It would be one thing if they were judging one another before knowing each other well and were wrong, but they’re RIGHT. How can Kvothe make all these random judgements about Denna’s character, and then be right?
He’s right because Denna was made for him. Not in a romantic (I mean, sappy) soul-mates kind of way, but in a literal way. Denna was created to be a love interest. If she has ambitions, we don’t know about them. We don’t know about them because Kvothe doesn’t care about them. Remember, this is IF she has ambitions, because I don’t imagine she does.
We don’t get to see her personality, because it doesn’t matter. Her personality is whatever Kvothe wants.
You know what flower she’d be? A pressed flower. Pretty, flat, and lifeless. And yes, I am way too proud of that little comparison I came up with, but I did come up with it on the spot in like two seconds, so just let me have this, dammit!
So much emphasis is placed on her looks. I have never in my life read a book that focused so little on a major character’s personality and so much on her looks. And I read a lot of high fantasy, which is a big offender of skewed looks:personality ratios, especially with women.
Denna is blank. She’s supposed to be independent and mysterious, but sorry, I think she’s a sphinx without a secret. What are Denna’s interests? We know she likes plays/poetry because she finishes Kvothe’s quotes. We know she likes singing, because she accompanies him. Aaaand that’s about all we know. For someone who’s supposed to be a free spirit, she’s awfully chained to Kvothe.
I think Kvothe is delusional, and whether or not it’s intentional, it’s not fun to read! Delusional characters can be fascinating, but not like this.
I’m being harsh, I know. I’ve just read so many Dennas, and I’m so sick of them.
Rant Over.
To anyone concerned, Denna’s not the only female character. There aren’t many, but they’re memorable and different from one another. There are no token women or empty stereotypes, is what I’m saying.
Actually, there weren’t any cardboard characters at all, as far as I can remember. Even the minor characters who weren’t fleshed out were distinct and real. That was nice. There are some archetypes, but for the most part they’re done nicely.
I found Kvothe’s time at the University to be the most enjoyable part of the book. After he left, there was a little digression with a dragon that felt a little random, but the premise is Kvothe telling his life-story, so it doesn't really follow a plot arc.
It's important to note that the Name of the Wind doesn't have a focused plot and isn't meant to. Personally, I didn't mind.
Throughout the Name of the Wind there are interludes that jump back to the inn in third-person. Don’t worry, interesting things happen in those, too.
So there you are. I realize this review contained more ranting than actual reviewing, and I apologize.
Conclusion: There is both good and bad (Denna) in the Name of the Wind, but the good outweighs the bad. It’s fast-paced, engaging, and you should probably read it. If you go in wary of Kvothe's Gary Stu status (I didn't get into that much, did I?) and of Denna, you'll be fine. Go for it!
Sidenote: This alternate cover of the Name of the Wind is hilarious. Look at it:
I hate it...but I also kind of love it. You know? It's charming in its terribleness.
Are you fucking kidding me? Did we all just wake up in 1938?
why the fuck
i can't even think of anything to finish that sentence
One note = one vote. Like or reblog to vote for your state! Go New York! http://thefaultinourstarsmovie.com/demandourstars
Yes I'm reblogging via myself I'm voting forever until they come OKAY?!
One note = one vote. Like or reblog to vote for your state! Go New York! http://thefaultinourstarsmovie.com/demandourstars
One note = one vote. Like or reblog to vote for your state! Go New York! http://thefaultinourstarsmovie.com/demandourstars
I had this mental picture of Nico summoning ink-like shadows and disappearing into them, so I made this really short animation to give it a try !
The shadows were created from this free footage http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=71NVwY1J2ws&feature=c4-overview&list=UULxBCkZTCrdxw4qh1iz6F5Q . The video is web compressed so the quality isn’t so good, sorry about that.
I guess one could say I’m slightly Nico-obssessed at the moment ;P
April Fools Deaf Prank
exactly ten minutes into class, everyone in my english class mouthed what they were saying and we kept talking about the book, but just mouthing everything and after five min he started mouthing too but stopped pretty fast. basically we kind of watched him freak out and go insane.
I wish I lived in fictional new york, it sounds really easy to succeed there
From Sarah J. Maas’s twitter!
I have to admit, I miiiight have cried a little bit when I saw the title page. This book is so, so, SO close to my heart, and I can’t wait for you guys to read it this September!! <3
anything that has to do with nico di angelo suddenly becomes depressing and heartbreaking
