Tag: Discworld

Book Review – The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett

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The Last Continent

The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett is the 22nd novel in the author’s comic fantasy Discworld series and the sixth in the Rincewind sub-series. Following the events of the previous novel, Interesting Times, Rincewind finds himself once again to be a stranger in a strange land, this time in Fourecks (or XXXX), a continent relatively unknown to the rest of the Discworld. It is a desolate and arid place full of surprisingly jovial people and terrifying wildlife. Though at first simply trying to survive as best he can, it would seem destiny once again has a mission for the put-upon, subpar wizard, one that will have him embarking on a odyssey across the landscape, making him a hero among the locals whether he likes it or not.Read More »

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WWW Wednesday – March 16, 2022

Ryan5 Comments
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

I’m still reading Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur, but I haven’t read any more of it since last week. Also, I’m between books, so nothing else to say this week!

Recently Finished

The Last ContinentOver the weekend I finally finished reading The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett, and I should be finished writing the review soonish. I’m generally less enthused about the Rincewind books, especially as they’re often tours of times/places on the Discworld, which involve a fairly formulaic style of humour, but for some reason this one really resonated with me. This is also notable since this seems to be the last one of that type, based on how it ends. Rincewind’s long, strange, multi-novel odyssey is finally over. I suppose the reason might be that this one especially didn’t take itself seriously, with a plot that I’m honestly puzzling over a little. I doesn’t really matter, all things considered, but I keep wondering…why did all this happen again?

Reading Next

A Black and Endless SkyOkay, I’m seriously going to start reading A Black and Endless Sky by Matthew Lyons soon. It’s a little harder to set aside time for, because I only have a PDF copy of it, but it’s officially next up for priority reading. It sounds like it’s going to involve possession and a spooky road trip across a desolate American Southwest, and I hope that includes isolated eerie incidents as the characters deal with their own issues along the way. We’ll see. I’m also still thinking a lot about starting The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America by Matt Kracht, but I’ll try to finish Milk and Honey first.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – March 9, 2022

Ryan1 Comment
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

Last night I got a little further along in Milk and Honey by Rupi Kaur, reading through the section of poems called “the loving.” It was enjoyably sentimental, sensual, and positive in contrast to the previous section, which dealt with pain and mistreatment. I don’t have much else to say about it other than I’m continuing to actively enjoy these poems, which is nice.

The Last ContinentSince last week I’ve gotten much further along in The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett as well, thanks to my schedule being a lot freer than I was expecting it to be. I would have preferred I have it finished by now, but I wanted to make sure I got my review of We Were Liars finally posted. I’ve not mentioned before, but this book is very much another novel exploring the world cultures of the Discworld, invariably parodying something in our world (in this case Australia and Australian culture), but this time around it’s resonating with me a lot more for some reason. Rincewind and the Wizards have been on bizarre respective journeys, and while I still can’t tell where it’s leading over 80% of the way into the book, I’m eager to find out.

Recently Finished

Spiritfarer The ArtbookOver the weekend I decided to read Spiritfarer, The Artbook by Thunder Lotus Games, which is an art book put together by the development team behind the video game Spiritfarer. I just recently finished playing it, and I’m really surprised at the emotional impact it had on me. In it, you play as Stella, whose new job is to ferry spirits from a strange spiritual world to the afterlife, helping them move on in the process. I knew it would deal with death and grief going in, but it made me cry a lot more than I was expecting. I bought this ebook as a sort of thank you for the experience, and it included lovely illustrations and earlier concept art behind the characters I’ve gotten to know so well and unveiled more of their backstories.

Reading Next

The Dictionary of Obscure SorrowsOnce again, I still intend to start A Black and Endless Sky by Matthew Lyons next, and it’s only a matter of time now since I’m so close to finishing The Last Continent. I have thoughts about some supplemental reads bouncing around in my head too, though, since I’m worried about staying on top of my reading this year. It’s a toss up between The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows by John Koenig and The Field Guide to Dumb Birds of North America by Matt Kracht. The former is newer and will likely be more thought provoking, but the latter I’ve had longer and I expect to be fun and light, especially since I’ve actually gotten a little more familiar with local birds. We’ll see if I make a decision over the next week or not. I should probably finish Milk and Honey first.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – February 23, 2022

Ryan2 Comments
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

The Last ContinentSince last week I’ve managed to get much more meaningfully into The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett, nearly 120 pages now. I actually had to reread what I had already gone through before my post last week, because as it turns out, my tired brain really didn’t absorb all of what was going on that night I tried starting it. So far I’m feeling much more intrigued about this book than I was expecting, especially for a Rincewind novel, because it has been surprisingly strange. Over 100 pages in and I’m not entirely sure what that plot is supposed to be yet, only that Rincewind is meant to do something that higher powers are guiding him toward, and it has something to do with fragile spacetime.

Recently Finished

Nothing this week! I have neglected my comic books, which I may go about correcting by next week if I can settle on a volume to read.

Reading Next

A Black and Endless SkyThough I had a few books I was really considering for my next read, I’ve decided that what I must start next is an ARC I received several months ago called A Black and Endless Sky by Matthew Lyons. I have actually reviewed one of his novels before too, and though it had some issues, I enjoyed it quite a bit overall, which made me eager to accept the digital copy of this I received. Due to my working schedule I probably won’t have it done by the time it is published in mid March, but I’m hopeful I can have a review up close to the date, which is what I would prefer. I’ll be going in remembering very little of what it’s supposed to be about, which is ideal for me when it comes to horror.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – February 16, 2022

Ryan2 Comments
www_wednesdays

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

The Last ContinentLast night I started reading The Last Continent by Terry Pratchett, the next Discworld book I need to read, though unfortunately I was far too tired and struggled to get a meaningful amount of pages into it. Nevertheless, the 20 or so pages that I did read introduced some unexpected stakes to this book, as the Librarian of the Unseen University is apparently deathly ill, with the other faculty members concerned that he is not long for this world. I’m assuming that this won’t be the end for the character, but I’m immediately intrigued about what could possibly be threatening his well-being in such a way. I was so sleepy while reading all this, however, that I think I’m going to have to go over it one more time before I move forward.

Recently Finished

We Were LiarsOver the weekend I surprisingly finished reading We Were Liars by E. Lockhart. I had a feeling it was going to be a fast read, but I didn’t expect how much I would power through it over those two days. Overall, I liked the book quite a bit. The characters and mystery kept me intrigued and there was an energy to the writing that kept me propelled through the narrative. As far as the twist is concerned, I wish I could say I was really surprised by it, but it was within a predictable ballpark. Credit where it’s due, however, I like how Lockhart seemed to commit to a certain aspect of it not being up to interpretation. I will try to get a review up of this fairly soon, but I’m a little behind at the moment, so it may be a bit before it gets up.

Scott Pilgrim Color Edition Digital OmnibusI also took some time to power through the rest of the Scott Pilgrim: Color Edition Digital Omnibus by Bryan Lee O’Malley yesterday, which I’m happy to have finally completed. It was a really enjoyable reread that reinvigorated my love for a story I hadn’t engaged with for over a decade. I haven’t got much more to say about it as a whole, except that I continue to appreciate how much more nuanced this book is than the film adaptation. The more I think about it, the film really doesn’t do it justice. Though stylized, it’s ultimately about relationships and growing up, especially the ways that we stumble and/or fail along the way. The film really did just adapt the style while leaving a lot of the substance behind.

Reading Next

My possibilities feel a lot more open now that I’ve finished up with Scott Pilgrim, since that was a much longer graphic novel than I usually pick up. I’ve still barely started The Last Continent, so I’m not in the mood to commit to a specific novel to read next just yet, but I will definitely start getting into more of my graphic novel selection soon. I actually just brought home a bunch of comic book issues from my parents’ house, many of which were left unread, so I might finally get around to some of them. We’ll have to see, as reading issue by issue wasn’t quite my cup of tea with physical comics.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

Top 5 Books I Read in 2021

Ryan3 Comments

This is hardly an original thought, but it feels especially surreal to me that 2021 has already passed us by. I’m not sure I like how much recent events have me being hyper-conscious of the passage of each year. It’s certainly been an eventful year personally, however, with some significant life changes. My second job, which has me doing a fair amount of freelance editing on a regular basis, is giving me a lot of valuable experience, but reading lagged behind as a result too.

Nevertheless, I can still look back at the year and consider, as I do every year, my top five books among all that I read. This is not ranked in any particular order, these are just my five favourite reads from 2021.Read More »

Book Review – Jingo by Terry Pratchett

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Jingo

Jingo by Terry Pratchett is the 21st novel in the author’s comic fantasy Discworld series, and the fourth in the City Watch sub-series. After being submerged in the Circle Sea for hundreds of years, the island of Leshp suddenly resurfaces. Being exactly halfway between the city of Ankh-Morpork and Al Khali (the capital of Klatch), both cities lay claim to it for its strategic value, escalating tensions between the two. With Ankh-Morpork having a sizable population of Klatchian people, these mounting tensions begin to cause unrest within the city’s population, much to the chagrin of Commander Samuel Vimes of the City Watch and his loyal watchmen, who want nothing more than to keep the peace. After a visiting Klatchian prince is almost assassinated, it is up to the Watch to track down those secretly responsible, whom seem hellbent on ensuring that the war is inevitable.Read More »

WWW Wednesday – October 13, 2021

Ryan2 Comments
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

The Grip of ItEarlier today, I decided to squeeze in some time to finally start reading The Grip of It by Jac Jemc, my first Halloween read this year. It was Thanksgiving and my birthday this past long weekend, so while I brought the book just in case I found some reading time, it surprisingly didn’t happen. I’ve only read a token amount really, only the first few chapters (about 14 pages), but I’m really enjoying the tone that’s being set so far. It’s mostly been about a couple buying a new house, but the way things feel immediately off without being outright scary has been great, the use of one detail in particular making the house strange without being such a big red flag that you think you would reject it in their position.

Recently Finished

JingoI’m really pleased that last week I was able to finish reading Jingo by Terry Pratchett. If my schedule had gone a little differently, I’d probably still be in the middle of it right now. Even with it all said and done, I honestly feel a little at a loss for words about it. This was a really good Discworld novel, with some particularly great elements sprinkled throughout, but I still feel like reviewing it will be a little difficult. Is it possible, so many books into a series, that a book can be so solidly written it actually becomes unremarkable? I hope that doesn’t sound too harsh, but it feels apt all the same. I was too busy to review since last week, but I am hoping I can have one up by Friday. Fingers crossed.

Reading Next

The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath (2)My second Halloween novel will be ‘Salem’s Lot by Stephen King, but that’s a little further down the line at the moment. I have, however, finally gotten a copy of the graphic novel adaptation of The Dream-Quest of Unknown Kadath by H.P. Lovecraft, adapted and illustrated by I.N.J. Culbard. I first read the story in the collection Dreams of Terror and Death a couple of years ago, and while I did enjoy it at the time, due to Lovecraft’s weaknesses as an author I anticipated it making an even better graphic novel. Now that I’ve got my own copy of the adaptation, I’m eager to dig in and see it more visually realized.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – October 6, 2021

Ryan3 Comments
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WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

JingoI’m still reading through Jingo by Terry Pratchett, but I’ve actually managed to make a lot of progress since last week. As chance would have it, my workload has been a lot smaller these past few days, so I’ve had more time to buckle down and read more quickly. The timing has been impeccable, in a way, as I really want to get started on my Halloween reads. I feel in an odd spot with this Discworld book, because I really like it, it doesn’t feel too formulaic, yet there isn’t anything I’ve been finding especially remarkable about it either. I just think it’s quite good, and the simplicity of that is making me feel like reviewing it will be a challenge. Hopefully I’ll have my thoughts in better order after I’ve finished it.

Recently Finished

Berserk 33I also took some time in the past week to read two more volumes of Berserk by Kentaro Miura; I specifically read volumes 32 and 33. Volume 32 brought about a thrilling conclusion to the battle taking place in the harbour between Guts and the invading forces of the Kushan Empire, before pivoting into the greater conflict separated from the main cast. The way the main villain is being represented as a saviour-like figure, nigh-untouchable, really has me curious about how he’ll eventually be confronted. Volume 33 gave us a lot of good time with the main cast at rest, having finally embarked upon their sea voyage to a fabled land. The war with the Kushan Empire back on the mainland seems to have reached a climactic point too, and I really want to see what the fallout of that will be.

Reading Next

I still have every intention of reading The Grip of It by Jac Jemc next, by first Frighteningly Good Read for this year. With Jingo so close to finished, it’s only a matter of time until I can get it started.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.

WWW Wednesday – September 29, 2021

Ryan2 Comments
www_wednesdays

WWW Wednesday is a weekly book meme run by Sam over at Taking on a World of Words. Check out her post and others over on her blog!

The Three Ws are:

What are you currently reading?
What did you recently finish reading?
What do you think you’ll read next?

Currently Reading

JingoSince last week I’ve made some decent progress on Jingo by Terry Pratchett, about 110 pages to be specific. I’m enjoying this book quite a lot, which is shaping up to be a decent mystery that seems to be about conspiracy to start a war. What I’m finding most intriguing and hilarious is the fact that the inciting incident that sparked tension between Ankh-Morpork and Klatch is the emergence of an island in the middle of the sea, which both city-states try to lay claim to. We haven’t seen much about it yet, but at first I was expecting it to be analogous to Atlantis. It would seem, however, that it’s actually a lot closer to R’lyeh. I’m curious how much this will factor into the story or just be a gag, as I’m not sure if I want an eldritch horror actively thrown into the mix.

Recently Finished

Berserk 31Though my birthday is not for over a week yet, a friend of mind gifted me with three new volumes of Berserk by Kentaro Miura. So, last night I decided to read through volume 31, since it’s been a little while since I continued the series. I enjoyed it a lot, though it was a more action-heavy volume. This is of course all well and good, but it also means that there wasn’t a lot of forward movement in the plot. A battle broke out at the harbour while they were trying to flee the city, and by the end of the volume they’re still in this harbour. This book further cemented the fact that there are two significant villainous forces at play in the story at the moment, though, and I really like the way this is making the overall conflict less clear-cut.

Reading Next

The Grip of ItWith the Halloween season upon us, it’s only a matter of time before I start my first spooky read (after I finish Jingo). For me this year, that book will be The Grip of It by Jac Jemc, a haunted house story that I’ve had a copy of for a little while now and have had my eye on for even longer. It’s not especially long, so I’m hoping I can get it finished quickly and move on to at least one other horror read for October. The freelance editing work is feeling easier and easier as I get more of it done, so hopefully I’ll be able to better balance out work and reading in the near future.

Until next week, thank you for reading! Feel free to share your own post down below.