josiah17's reviews
239 reviews

Tentatively bumped to 5 stars after finishing the trilogy on 7/30/24.

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The blurb of this book, which I don't even normally read, really gave me false expectations for this book. I was expecting more excitement and another intriguing quest, but instead the plot kinda meandered and wasn't always enticing. However, this is probably the most emotionally impactful entry in the series so far. The character work, relationships, evolving dynamics, all of it is just generational by Hobb. And because of that, a seemingly stagnant plot never actually felt stagnant; so much was happening with Fitz's introspection and the evolution of characters and relationships. It was a rollercoaster. Tawny Man is finally giving me everything that everyone raves about when it comes to Fitz's entries in Realm of the Elderlings. I'm honestly really close to still giving this 5 stars, but I'll hold off until I finish Fool's Fate to let my thoughts solidify. Fantastic book.

(Loved all the connections to Liveship Traders too. Can't imagine people skipping that trilogy and missing all these references and crossovers.)

Edit 9/25/24: I think about this book and trilogy way more than I anticipated. I don't think Fools Errand is perfect, but it's so so lovely and it's 5 stars to me now.

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Original review:

After not loving The Farseer Trilogy, what a wonderful surprise this was. I wasn't particularly excited to get back to Fitz's story after such a fantastic trilogy in the Liveship Traders, but I was swept away with adult Fitz and his fatherhood. Adult Fitz is simply far more enjoyable to read about than Fitz as a teenager. Beginning this book with him, his son Hap, and Nighteyes on their little homestead was such a lovely treat. I actually care about Fitz now and his relationship with Hap and his companions. I absolutely love The Fool now and I was so happy to see Nighteyes again, and even Chade and Kettricken.

Hobb's prose remains just spectacular. It somehow felt even more enriching with this book, perhaps because this might be the most enjoyable book in Realm of the Elderlings thus far. The plot was not my favorite, and I felt some of the resolution may have been a little convenient. But it really didn't detract from the overall reading experience. Nor did I feel the pacing dragged at all when I felt it often did throughout the Farseer Trilogy.

I just had a great time with this one. The last 50 pages broke my heart and left me empty inside though. Which of course means I'm starting the next book immediately 😀

Nighteyes why couldn't you live forever 😭

Another highly entertaining Discworld novel. Loved Nobby and Colon getting some more page time here. As Pratchett always does, he provides more great social commentary, specifically on war and politics in this City Watch adventure. He's such a clever writer, always making things humourous yet impactful. 

Poor Nobby catching so many strays though 😭

Well, that's finally done. Unfortunately a very lackluster reading experience as a whole due to several factors, including this tiresome book. But it is still solid. McMurtry's writing is nice and the characters are good, albeit extremely irritatingly sexist and racist thanks to 19th century Texas. Clara—the only respectfully written female character—in particular felt like the saving grace of this book as it admittedly became more grueling to read. But the last 150 pages was quite enjoyable and wraps up things nicely. I really liked Newt too and the banter between Gus and Call was great. 

On a reread, perhaps I would like this book more when I'm not in a slump. But I'm extremely doubtful I'll ever try a reread. Altogether, a good book, but SEVERELY overhyped and frustrating.

Me too Murderbot, me too.

Murderbot truly is the extremely introverted and socially-awkward killing robot everyone says it is. So relatable on several levels. The plot didn't really do anything for me but it was fun nonetheless and I'll continue the series.

Well, I was really hoping I'd love this book, but I didn't. I did come to like it in the end, but it was still mostly a mixed bag for me.

Dan Simmons has good prose, but the execution of his writing ultimately lacked something that couldn't allow me to feel immersed enough throughout portions of the book. Part of that is his lack of description when it comes to the super futuristic technology and terminology he's created. 

The book is also structured in a way that I didn't expect. It's essentially broken into 6 different tales with an overarching narrative that sorta pulls them together. 

In order, The Priest's Tale kicked things off in a fascinating manner. The beginning of the tal added to my sense of confusion from the beginning of the novel where the overarching plot is introduced. But the end of the story left me wanting to explore more of this intriguing religion and the world of Hyperion.

The second tale was The Soldier's Tale. This one followed a military soldier of Palestinian descent  (awesome!!!) who falls in love with a mysterious woman he meats during a training simulation. A lot of the futuristic technology and weaponry is present in this tale, so I unfortunately the tale suffered from a lack of imagery and detail to me. But it has a really solid twist at the end which had me quite shocked.

Next was The Poet's Tale, which was somewhat interesting and presented more intrigue regarding Hyperion and the Shrike. Just solid altogether, with a good ending especially. 

Now, the following tale was truly exceptional. The Scholar's Tale was such a a brilliant stretch of writing. Completely emotionally gut-wrenching. I thought it was perfect, and almost makes this book reading just to experience that story.

The fifth story was The Detective's Story. Nothing outstanding. And actually pretty weird. A woman falling in love with an AI inhabiting the body of a human. Or at least I think that's what was going on. Pretty forgettable.

The final story was The Consul's Tale. A decent look at some of the oppression by the Hegemony, and another love story in a sense. The story ultimately provided a better look at the working factions of this fictional universe and the motivations and intentions of said factions. Or at least that's my perception. If you can't tell already, this book was definitely confusing and overwhelming. 

I'm still glad I read this book even if it didn't live up to the hype. Perhaps I could've set better expectations for myself had I know the structure of the book. Anyways, decent read. I can see why people like it, but I won't be reading more of the Hyperion series. 

Great conclusion to a well-written grimdark fantasy series. In the moment of reading the final 50 pages or so, I had thought Tomas's schemes were coming together perhaps too easily. And I partially maintain that perspective. However, in reflection, this book is simply more about spotlighting who Tomas Piety is revealed to be at his core. It's really about what people are willing to do for authority and power, and the cost of that. He's a very well-written, incredibly flawed character.

I had a great time with Tomas's memoirs. The final page wrapped the series up in such a beautifully tragic manner. I'm really going to miss McLean's vivid atmosphere and his perfected, distinct narrative voice for Tomas Piety. Fantastic stuff.  

What an incredible story. Encompasses so many highs and lows, hope and despair. It especially doesn't shy away from death and humanity's faults. Nausicaä's qualities of resilience, compassion, and selflessness are even more admirable and impactful because of this. Miyazaki truly is a master of storytelling.

This being my first manga means I don't exactly have a basis of comparison regarding writing quality and whatnot within the medium. But I'm certain it's going to be hard to top this extraordinary tale. Breathtaking art too. I love Nausicaä so much. One of the most insirpational characters I've come across in fiction. I'm gonna revisit this manga many times in the future.

Another good read with this penultimate installment in the series setting the playing field for the final book. New levels of grimdark were explored here. Extreme treachery, hidden motivations, ruthless means, and tense politics. All of this carried over from the last book, and maybe executed a little better. I really like McLean's clear and consice style of writing. There's no fluff, he just gives you the important stuff and focuses on the moments and buildup to where things go down. It's just so immersive and atmospheric too. He captures this violent and unsteady environment perfectly with his tone and words.

I'm unsure how I feel about a part of the ending, but otherwise I'm pretty satisfied with the way this story has progressed. Stakes are quite high now, and Tomas Piety will do anything to prevent another Abingon. 

Took me 5 days to read this because I simply didn't want to. As soon as I read the first two chapters and could immediately tell this was going to be the worst of this already mid trilogy. I would've dnf'd if this wasn't the final book in the series. But I plowed through.

Ironically, this has a legitimate attempt at some nuance to characters by Karpyshyn. Except he can't execute it whatsoever because the writing remains superficial and it's paired with such a clunky, shallow and unimaginative plot. 

And for whatever reason, Karpyshyn just decides to write third-person omniscient a few times when the entire series has been third-person limited? It was super jarring, seemed unnecessary, and just felt like another example of the poor writing quality throughout these books.

Simply not a good read whatsoever, capping off this underwhelming trilogy with further disappointment. A Sith like Darth Bane deserved better.