Well let me say one thing, if nothing else, Robert Jordan loves the set up. Once again the pace has been a dead crawl for at least 3/4's of the book. Actually in this book its at a pretty steady but slow pace until the last 100 pages really. And this is a loooong book. However, I do like how things happen at the slow pace. Lots of great Forsaken drama going on in this one. There's more character development and chatter at the differences between men and women. There's the battle for power in Rand Al'Thor's head between him and the mad Lews Therin. And there are some other fairly interesting developments that I do not want to spoil.
But by the time you get to the oh, I don't know 800th page, you start to wonder, is this the book where no big huge thing happens at the end? Which is pretty much how all the books have been, though the first 3 had a lot more going on during the bulk of the book then the second 3. But, no disappointment once again Robert Jordan hits you with some pretty nutty occurrences. I won't go into detail, but know that crazy shit happens at the end.
So, just to talk a little about Robert Jordan's writing style, I'd like to bring up his pacing. This is one of the things that has bothered so many people who have read his books. This is the reason many people I know have never made it to the end of the series. I guess the issue is, that to call the climax of Robert Jordan's books a crescendo I think would not be correct. Instead they're more like an abrupt accelerando or tempo change. And the worst part is, by the way the books are written through the beginning, they make you think that it will go on at that pace for the rest of the series. Which is why I understand discouragement. At the same time, for me, the occurrences at the ends of the books are quite jarring. This may have been his intention, but at the same time it almost feels more like he was biding his time. Surely you don't want the important things to happen too quickly, but at the same time, you wonder why there's only one in each book. I guess I'm coming to the question "of are all the books necessary?"
Dangerous grounds surely. And it is his series not mine. Like I said, it may very well have been his intention. And I also admitted to enjoying much of the slow parts, even if some just seem like milling around. They do set up a lot of things and offer flavor and context. But the pacing manages to throw me off every damn time. Anyway, on to the next one "A Crown of Swords." We'll see how this one unfolds.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
Book Review: The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao
This is the story of an evil curse and one man's quest to defeat it through love. This is the story of a family of Dominicans and their immigration to the US. This is the story an obese uber nerd. There's a hundred ways I could summarize this book, and they all happen simultaneously. Couple this with writing that is at times deep like poetry but always fast paced and keeping you turning the pages. The book is epic, the scope impressive, this all coming from a guy who loves multi-volume 900 page fantasy epics.
The language in the book is striking. It is told in a conversational manner but mixes in Spanish expressions (if you don't speak Spanish, you can still get the gist or even figure out what the expressions mean. Junot Diaz is a master of this). Also every page is loaded with nerd references that will make even the slightest nerd go "what! no way Jose!" The book really almost reads too fast. Once I started it, I basically wanted to spend all my time reading it. But because of the pace, it would not be hard to finish it "by accident" in one sitting. Or at least less sittings than I'd rather have. It's a joy to read.
I knew the author was good, I had read his book of short stories Drown. The best part is, the stories of Dominicans in the US and Latin American immigration are a topic that has never really appealed to me. Or at least hadn't ever before. But in Drown I was so captured by the dudes amazing writing style. He pulls you in. When I heard that he had written the novel, and what the premise was, I knew I had to read it. Who else could basically turn a real life, legitimate fucked up Latin American dictator (Trujillo), into basically Sauron. Yeah he does this, but you won't know how until you read the book.
The language in the book is striking. It is told in a conversational manner but mixes in Spanish expressions (if you don't speak Spanish, you can still get the gist or even figure out what the expressions mean. Junot Diaz is a master of this). Also every page is loaded with nerd references that will make even the slightest nerd go "what! no way Jose!" The book really almost reads too fast. Once I started it, I basically wanted to spend all my time reading it. But because of the pace, it would not be hard to finish it "by accident" in one sitting. Or at least less sittings than I'd rather have. It's a joy to read.
I knew the author was good, I had read his book of short stories Drown. The best part is, the stories of Dominicans in the US and Latin American immigration are a topic that has never really appealed to me. Or at least hadn't ever before. But in Drown I was so captured by the dudes amazing writing style. He pulls you in. When I heard that he had written the novel, and what the premise was, I knew I had to read it. Who else could basically turn a real life, legitimate fucked up Latin American dictator (Trujillo), into basically Sauron. Yeah he does this, but you won't know how until you read the book.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)