Eddie's Monthly

Still doing good this month, two books, one essay and 54 manga chapters. There is also no Dune this month; I too am protesting against the treachery of a certain t*itter user. In any case, without further ado, let's get into it:

Brave New World Revisited – Aldous Huxley

When I bought Brave New World last year, it came with an essay that the author wrote in 1959, when the original book had come out in 1932. In it, he goes over the thirty or so years since the publication of the book, and compares the present with his past version of the future. He says he was spitting, and that he was more right than he could have ever imagined. Was he? Well I have dissected this essay, which sometimes include tangents that are more akin to non-sensical ramblings, and you will get the answer in a future mini-article.

Keeper of the Jewel – Richard H. Stephens

The Southern Kingdom, home of the elves is not as united and peaceful as it seems. Alerted by the Fae that something is stirring, the Queen sends her daughter and only living child to be trained in Highcliff, home of the High Wizard. Not only does the High Wizard reside there, but dragons and wyverns — and their riders — are also stationed there to protect the Crystal Cavern, making Highcliff one of the most, if not the most, secure place in the Realm. The Princess that has been sheltered her whole life is in for a rude awakening, especially as her death would be the easiest way to destabilise the kingdom...

This book is the first in the prequel series of “Soul Forge” by the same author. This is the Ren Faire book. For those unaware, some of the good people of the café went to a Ren Faire earlier in July (which was sick btw) and while meandering the booths, my eye caught the stall of a writer. I was intrigued, and went to talk to him. He explained his series, and I picked up his starter book recommendation which is the first book of the Highcliff Guardian series, Keeper of the Jewel. Of the Soul Forge Series (his main baby), this is the farthest back timeline-wise. He did warn me that he was still a younger author, and that his writing would improve as the series go on (his wife's favorite book is the fourth one of the Highcliff Guardian series). What are my thoughts on this book? Well you'll have to read my upcoming mini-article about it to find out! (I will keep getting away with).

Dungeon Meshi – Ryoko Kui

Chapter 43 to 97 (the end)

It's so good. The story is great, the character design is goated, the pacing is good, the ending satisfying and I've even heard that the lion is fuckable. There is not much I can say other than read it, but most of you have already done so.

City of the Lost – Kelly Armstrong

I am always eyeing our resident bookworm Elisa's Reading Roundup's 5/5s, to see if there is something that would be my cup of tea. Considering the number of books she reads, a 5/5 from her is anything but meaningless. In her penultimate Roundup, I spotted “City of the Lost” the first book in a mystery/thriller/investigation series that received 5/5 almost all around. Sign me up. For the synopsis, please refer to Elisa's Reading Roundup: I Love the Yukon/ it's Such a Brilliant Place.

I was not as entranced as Elisa with this first book and would only give it a 3/5, but to distract you from this fact I would like to announce that this was my first book borrowed from a Canadian library, in other words, I got a library card and am supporting my local library!

Firsty, let me say that the book is good, but there are some somewhat minor flaws that took me out of it, spoilers ahead. The first one is the way Casey is setup: she is ultra-rich (her parents passed and left her with a 7-figure inheritance), she's wicked smaaaht (her IQ is 135 — it is mentioned twice in the book), she's a great detective (it is mentionned never shown) and to top it off, she's really attractive. I have no problem with the main character being a bit OP, but she is just too perfect and it is hard to find her relatable/compelling in the beginning. The odd part is that it is unnecessary; she never uses her millions of CAD, and once she is in Rockton it doesn't matter anyways cause they only use credits. They also could have just said she was smart; being a great detective implies it, without shoving IQ scores at us. This also ties in with how off the character introductions felt like in the beginning of the book: a couple sentences after we are introduced to Beth, she casually humble brags that she has a pHoTOgRaphIC memory. First off, photographic memory is a myth and the single most annoying trope ever. Second, it is never used, she never uses it in the entire book, so it is also unnecessary and makes that characters also not feel real. The mentions of IQ scores and pHoTOgRaphIC memory really ticked me off, and to be fair, it's only an issue for the first 50-75ish pages of the book, and not an issue at all in the second book.

My second main issue is with the romance. I will admit that I am usually not very fond of romance in my media when they are the main focus. But here we were sold with a thriller/investigation with maybe a side of romance, but that side really is taking too much space in the plate. There is absolutely no mention of romance in the synopsis and yet the whole later two-thirds of the book are mostly about the relationship between Eric and Casey, and maybe Anders too (yes, there is a faint love triangle). I wouldn't have minded it if it didn't take so much time away from the investigation, which I was really invested in. But the investigation takes the backseat most of the book, and the resolution is less than satisfying and comes out of nowhere. I'm also not a big fan of Eric, “brooding guy™” who talks with his fists (because the most you can get out of him otherwise is a grunt) and only understands violence, but becomes a clueless baby/bumbling fool around Casey (not understanding jokes when he was doing fine with finer language thing before/running out butt naked in the forest in the winter against a fully prepared assailant). Eric is a compelling character, but his development goes out of the window when cute/romantical/white knight moments need to be setup.

Now let's rapid fire all the positive aspects of the book, as it would take too long to go in depth, to end on a good note: the pacing is great, the setting — Rockton — is interesting, the premise is original, the characters for the most part are well written, the writing in general is good, the balance between keeping the mystery and revealing all your card is perfect, it was an easy read without feeling too simple or lacking complexity...

Lastly, fuck Diana.

Alrighty, that's it for this month. I will be exiling myself to France for two weeks next month (unrelated to badmouthing one of Elisa's 5/5 books), but you can expect two small articles on the book and essay I've read here. As I'll be back at my parent's place, I will most likely bring back a couple of books from my bookshelf, and mangas too. But I'll be busy, so don't expect too big of an August Reading.

Thanks for reading my logorrhea, Eddie