A few weeks ago, I wrote about how I prefer shorter fantasy books over the enormous epic fantasies that have become so typical for the genre—and for the most part, that is still true. However, my recent experiences with Louis L’Amour are prompting me to rethink some of that, or at least to recognize that …
Continue reading “When Longer is Better: The Novels of Louis L’Amour”
About midway through the third book in the Chronicles of Amber, I came to the realization that these books are the perfect length for me. They’re about as long and as fast-paced as a typical L’Amour novel, which is to say that they’re less than 200 pages and feel like they’re less than 100. If …
Continue reading “This is why I love shorter fantasy novels: Sign of the Unicorn by Roger Zelazny”
Rhythm of War is the fourth book in the Stormlight Archive. Congratulations if you’ve made it this far! I won’t go into very much detail about plot, since this is a fourth book, but we do get point-of-view chapters from Navani, Kaladin, Adolin, Shalan, Venli, Dalinar, and some other more minor characters. My brother tells …
Continue reading “Piper Reviews: Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson”
I have made the executive decision to drop all but four of the books on my currently reading list, not because I don’t plan to read them, but because I need to finish these ones first before I can move on to the other ones. Specifically, I need to finish The Fourth Turning, which may …
One sure sign that I’m in a reading slump is that I’ve got about a dozen books in my “currently reading” list—which of course means that I haven’t picked up most of them in several weeks, perhaps even months. But is this the cause of the problem, or merely a symptom of it? It could …
Continue reading “How many books should you read at the same time?”
Brandon Sanderson is known for his massive, door-stopping tomes, but after reading The Emperor’s Soul, I think might like his short fiction better. Of course, “short” for Brandon is still a decent-sized novella. The world is rich and full of magic and history—but Brandon doesn’t explain all of it, just the parts that are relevant …
Continue reading “Joe Reviews: The Emperor’s Soul by Brandon Sanderson”
It’s been a while since I did one of these library trip posts. We were busy with family for most of the holiday break, but we’re getting back into our family routine right now, and that means weekly library trips! Here are the ones I checked out today: Exit Strategy by Martha Wells: The fourth …
