From 07f1c0eab79d2e60a8d511e0b4a65cde154e89b2 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: mms Date: Fri, 3 Jan 2025 16:10:40 +0100 Subject: feat: links --- content-org/reviews.org | 113 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 1 file changed, 113 insertions(+) (limited to 'content-org/reviews.org') diff --git a/content-org/reviews.org b/content-org/reviews.org index efe59de2..c8a42423 100644 --- a/content-org/reviews.org +++ b/content-org/reviews.org @@ -867,6 +867,119 @@ A true marvel you owe yourself to experience. ** TODO Monday Begins on Saturday (Arkady and Boris Strugatsky, 1965) +What do you get when you combine folk tales and socialisitic analysis? + +/Monday Begins on Saturday/ is yet another Science Fiction novel by Strugatsky Brothers I've read this year. +It is also the weirdest one of those! + +Aleksandr Ivanovich Privalov is a young programmer on his way to his new position. +His car breaks down, he meets strange fellows who recruit him to a nearby "Scientific Research Institute of Sorcery and Wizardry". +Yup - this is not run of the mill institute, as we're not dealing with boring stuf, like phisics. +Instead we've got magic, magical beasts and the pursuit to find happiness. +Nice combination, if you ask me. + +Strugaccy stray from western tropes. +Their adventure as writers started deep into praising socialism. +We'll go to space and show them all the nice things communism brings! +With time, they've abandoned the hope. +/Monday.../ was released right after /[[/reviews/books/hard-to-be-a-god-strugatsky-1964/][Hard to be God]]/ and they show striking similiarities. +The latter was a grim tale about the terrible nature of man, where happines does not exist. +This book is a funny novel about the terrible nature of the world, where happines is as real as a Baba Yaga. +It's also a great critical analysis of soviet ideas, but for that /[[/reviews/books/moscow-2042-1986/][Moscow 2042]]/ seems better written. + +- magic in mundane +- it is treated like any other science + +The idea is great, but it may be confusing for western audiences as it's rooted in Russian folklore. +I have more gripes with how the novel is constructed, as we're seemingly without a plot. +The Institute and Privalov (aka Sasha, don't ask me how) who is slowly learning about magic is the only element connecting pages. +The actual story is presented as series of disjointed stories, each with it's own begging and end. +Sure, some stories may conclude much later, but they don't build on each other. +The novel oconsistes of three parts, and each following is less and less guilty of that, but it's never a /novel/ in a common sense. + +The Institute is ocupied by wonderfully mad characters, much like Invisible Instutute from Discworld. +We've got a former grand inquisitor in chart of the Deparament of Meaning of Life; a director who has two personalities which have no idea what the other one is doing. +Some ideas are also amazingly creative - have you ever heard of using a geenie as a a bomb? +Each single part of the novel is great, but I had problrem with the complete set. +It's a collection of short stories with overarching plot. + +Personally, I loved the last part the most as the final mystery is revealed and it's very intiguing concept. + +So, as I've praised and recomended all Strugasky Brothers novels up to this, I have a bit of problem here. +As I've finished it a few months ago and had some time to digest it, I consider it another bullseye. +But when I read it, I sad much more problems, as the story-based structure is much less gripping that a full-on novel. +I'm glad I've read it, but I will never re-read it. + +** TODO The Courts of Chaos (Roger Zelazny, 1978) +CLOSED: [2024-03-24 Sun 22:27] +:PROPERTIES: +:EXPORT_FILE_NAME: time-of-contempt +:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :abstract My review of the second book in the Witcher saga +:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :aliases '(/blog/2024/andrzej-sapkowskis-time-of-contempt /brain-rot/witcher/andrzej-sapkowskis-time-of-contempt/) +:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :rating 3.5 +:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :image reviews/covers/sapkowski-time-of-contemt.jpg +:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :related '("Witcher Saga") +:EXPORT_HUGO_CUSTOM_FRONT_MATTER+: :relatedName Time of Contempt +:END: + +It's a stain of my honor - I am a Pole, but I've never read The Saga. +It's not that I've never read any of The Witcher, but somehow I always stopped after the short stories. +Last year I've decided to finally fix this. +I am a proud nerd for crying out loud! + +/Time of Contempt/ is the second part of The Witcher Saga, but it's also the 4th book about Geralt and his world. +Let's ignore the short stories for a second and let's talk about this book in context of The Saga. +Here it suffers from being the middle child: Andrzej is developing the characters and story, but it lacks a impactful begging and an end. +I haven't felt like that after finishing the /Blood of Elves,/ as it had a /begging/ and the ending was emotional. +Geralt reunited with Ciri. +The story is clearly not over, but we have a kind of closure. +We know she is safe and ready for what's coming next. + +Here? +Here we have no beginning as it follows the last book. +It was to be expected. +But I fail to notice anything new created here. +Yes, we've got /amazing/ development of Ciri (I can't wait what how her blood heritage will screw over everyone), but nothing more. +It just moves from scene to scene[fn:st], not spending any meaningful time anywhere. +After 300 pages of this, it ends with Ciri joining some random group. +I guess I will get to know them in /Baptism of Fire/, but I am not yet there. +Are they good? +Are they cool? +Who the hell they even are? +For me it was a huge let down. + +But the biggest thing missing in The Saga is humour. +Both, /Sword of Destiny/ and /Last Wish/ were hilarious. +It was not on Pratchett's level of humor, but Geralt was amazing when it came to deadpan. +Moreover, I have no idea how well it translated to other languages, as it was based on Polish humour, but: +the books were written for Polish reader who was expected to know /Szewczyk Dratewka,/ and therefore the way Geralt dealt with dragon was a funny refernce. +But this aspect is now completely missingm[fn:enemy-mine], but it was what made the short stories for me. + +The biggest problem for me however was the fact I saw two seasons of The Witcher TV Series[fn:netflix]. +It was terrible and had nothing to do with the book (luckily for me!), but the TV versions of Ciri and Yennefer were irritating at best. +Their book counterparts are not like that - Ciri is extremely cool and Yen is, well, not so bad - but the visual image is etched in my brain. +I finally start to have a separate personnas for them, but it was difficult. +Yes, to some extent Netflix ruined the books for me. + +I was never a fan of /fantasy/, as I always preferred /SciFi/. +Give me a blaster or give me death[fn:rand]! +If I found /Time of Contempt/ as a random book, I would not care for the rest of the series. +It was ok, but nothing to write home about. +Sapkowski has a great style and I very much want more, but he has not told anything interesting here. +I will continue reading The Witcher, but mostly because it *is* The Witcher. + +I liked reading /Blood of Elves/ much more. + +I give it 3.5/5. + +[fn:rand] If you get the refence know, that I am no longer that type of a person. +[fn:enemy-mine] We've got *huge* reference to /Enemy Mine/ in the single best part of the book, but it's not funny at all. +Sad, scary - sure; but not funny. Just like the movie. +[fn:st] ... /No one had a chance to interrupt/. +/It was really quite hypnotic/. +[fn:netflix] And not an episode more. +It was already too much. + * Movies [15/15] :@reviews: :PROPERTIES: :EXPORT_HUGO_SECTION: reviews/movies -- cgit v1.2.3