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Alicia Wright Brewster
Bear with me here. I haven't figured out this BookLikes thing yet.
Currently reading
Steelheart
Redshirts: A Novel with Three Codas
On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft
A Princess of Mars (Barsoom, #1)
Steelheart (Reckoners, #1)
Olympus Confidential (Plato Jones #2)
I recently watched all of Battlestar Galactica for the first time. It was amazing...and now it's over. Looking for something to fill the void it left in my life.
Digital ARCs are available on Edelweiss, in case anyone is interested. I think I'll wait for the release date. I want to see what my GR buds have to say first.
My book of the month discussion/argument with Kenya Wright, Megan D. Martin, and D.T. Dyllin (wherein Megan and D.T. are wrong) about the Opportunist: http://www.fantasyfloozies.com/2013/07/book-of-month-chat-opportunist-by.html.This is the June book of the month to be featured on my blog. It's not one I would have picked for myself.
I wasn't particularly a fan, but I do understand why a lot of people like it. For me, both the main characters were selfish jerks, and their backstories didn't come close to accounting for their flawed choices. All their problems would have been solved if they'd been honest with each other. I couldn't root for them because I didn't like them. They showed little respect for their relationship throughout, so I couldn't bring myself to care.
I liked the ending though.
This is not a bad reference, but I wouldn't recommend reading it cover to cover. Maybe hit the table of contents and view the topics that seem worthy of your time. There were many topics that address issues beyond my control, and many others just aren't relevant to me personally.
Pre-read reaction, October 2011:I have only a vague idea what it's about. But it's by Sanderson, so *cue droning robot voice* . . . I will read it. I must read it.
Now:
If an author came to me and said: "I have a great idea for a magic system. These guys called Rithmatists draw in chalk on the ground, and their chalk drawings have power. They can draw chalklings, which can be given instructions. Some chalklings can actually injure people, especially the wild chalklings. Those guys are dangerous!" I would tell this author: "Have you lost your mind? Chalk bad guys? Ooooh scary. I'm shaking in my boots here. Oh wait, I'm actually not. And I'm also not wearing boots—cause it's summer."
And I would be wrong.
Joel, the main character, has always wished he were a Rithmatist, although he knows he can't be. He's studied Rithmatic lines and knows more about them than many Rithmatists. So when a few Rithmatists are kidnapped, Joel inserts himself into the investigation and proves helpful.
The kidnapping mystery, though interesting, wasn't even the best part of the book. And I don't believe there was enough information given to the reader (at least not for this reader) to figure out what was going on before everything was revealed toward the end. I would have preferred to have a chance at guessing the ending. But that's fine; I still loved the book. The ending did a good job of tying up all the threads in the story, and introducing a new thread to be explored in a sequel.
Throughout the book, without overwhelming the reader, Sanderson presents Rithmatic principles that help us understand his magic system in better detail. the book includes renderings of some Rithmatic defenses, as well as chalklings drawn by some of the Rithmatist characters. While I imagine some people might flip right past the renderings (which I don't think would make the book any less enjoyable), I examined each one. Sanderson put so much thought and detail into this magic system that I couldn't help being dragged along for the ride.
Even before reading this book, I was a fan of Sanderson's. Now I'm just awed.
