Short one today. I finished reading the fourth book of the Wheel of Time Series, The Shadow Rising, soon after wrapping up work this afternoon. It might be my favorite of the series so far. At this point, I can say I see the reason behind WoT’s reputation in the fantasy community. Nonetheless, I think I’m going to take a break from it for a spell. While I’m enjoying the world Robert Jordan has built immensely, it’s not without its quirks. I can only take so many occurrences of a man throwing up their hands stating they could never understand women, or of a woman saying the exact same thing about a man, before tiring of it. It feels a bit like the old “men are from Mars and women are from Venus” comedic bit at times. It starts to feel a bit silly. And old school. Empathy or understanding across gender lines is no different than any other exercise in compassion. In any case, it’s still a brilliant world with an intricate history filled with intriguing cultures and characters. I just wish the characters could show a bit more self-awareness at times. I think I’m going to read The Sunlit Man, the last of the Year of Sanderson books, next. Maybe some Ursula K Le Guin.
I also finished The Fall of the House of Usher today. I have to say, Flanagan is still the best in the business when it comes to monologues. Some brilliant writing there. For anyone who watches the show, listen for a line about Frankenstein in the final episode. Absolutely devastating. Nonetheless, I struggle with stories that devote much of the their time to terrible people doing terrible things. I come to stories more often than not to find the structure and purpose so often lacking in the world around me. As a result, while I recognize some of the incredible writing in this show, it’s in some ways just not my cup of tea. Even so, I’ll continue to give anything of Mike Flanagan’s a shot. Incredibly excited for his Dark Tower adaptation.
All the best,
M. Weald
M. Weald 