And I enjoyed A Song for Arbonne so much I had to start another GGK, All the seas of the world. Fantastic start as with all of his works. How is this author not more talked about? 📚💙

4.5 ⭐️ I tend to not like the sex in Kay’s books. I just gotta accept that but that’s why I deducted half a star. Everything else is absolutely fantastic. Maybe even the best ending to one of his books I’ve read so far?

I read the Sarantine Mosaic last year, absolutely fantastic!

The joys of autocorrect, of course it’s Guy Gavriel* Kay

A Song for Arbonne - Guy Gabriel Kay. I purchase and then savour these books because once I’ve read them all I’ll have to wait until more are written. Picked this up earlier on today because I felt like treating myself. 📚💙

To clarify, I think most people observe the generally agreed upon social rules of going to the cinema but there’s a sizeable minority who disrupt and it puts me off going to the cinema now when I used to love it

It’s such a shame that nowadays people can’t even go to the cinema without needing the stimulation of checking their phone. If you can’t commit to the 2-3 hours then you shouldn’t be going. Don’t ruin the experience for everyone else.

Dune part 3 and Avengers Doomsday coming out the same day could be a blessing. All the normie folk can sit on their phones and talk whilst watching Avengers whilst I enjoy Dune. I’ll definitely be watching Avengers when it comes out on stream.

I’ve had an incredible first quarter as far as my reading goes. Memories of Ice (Malazan), Ashes of Man (Suneater), The Pillars of the Earth and now reading The Stand are my highlights of this year so far. 📚💙🪐

Ashes of man… Ruocchio lets you knew it was gonna happen but it still hurts when it does. Iykyk 📚💙🪐

It’s wild isn’t it! I maintain books 8,9,10 could have been cut down and packaged as one big book. It’s only amazing from here! Hope you enjoy the last 3

Perdido Street Station is a weird Fantasy written like a Sci fi novel. I struggled at points through the first 30% but there’s been a development that seems to have kickstarted the plot into gear

no, it simply isnt.
People are talking about capital using gAI as an excuse to conduct mass lay-offs, about students losing learning because theyre being lied to about gAI in education, about the mass theft of the work of artists and authors to train LLMs, about CSAM and nonconsensual sexual images.

Every so often I come across a live performance I wish I could go back in time to witness. Primus at Ozzfest 1999 is one such set. Simply brilliant

Jujutsu Kaisen is so good

Malazan to fantasy fiction is what is Tool to music

Long weekend ahead. On taxi duties for my wife’s best friends hen do, Gotta paint the house ready for viewings in the next couple of weeks, followed by a late night watching Super Bowl. Gonna be shattered next week

16 yo me. Cersei is an evil woman.
25 yo me. Cersei is ambitious and does terrible things.
29 yo me. Cersei is no worse than any other character. She is a victim of being a woman in a man’s world. She is the “son” Tywin always wanted and whilst I disagree with her actions, I respect her 📚💙🪐

Overall I’d give this 4/5. A worthwhile read. The pacing, characters and basic plot were fine. The settings are fantastic, the imagination incredible.
📚💙🪐

Admittedly this might be difficult given the book is essentially a cat and mouse chase but I think there was an opportunity to have a stop or two last at least couple pages longer.

If I were to change the book in any way I would want another 10-20% added, with some more luscious descriptions and allow the setting/ characters to breath a bit more.

I found the pacing to be fine but it did impact how memorable each location is. Upon finishing I know I’ve already forgotten some of the amazing details mentioned in each separate place visited in the story.

I’ve seen some criticism about the pace but looking at the book and seeing it’s around 400 pages means that either not too much can happen or the pacing needs to be quick compared to the usual fantasy books tending to be on the larger side.

Not entirely a criticism but while parts are written beautifully other sections were a bit more functional. This may have been intentional to cater for a wider audience but I found myself craving some more flowery prose to complement the setting.

What a fantastic story. I loved the setting and all the wonderfully fantastical elements introduced throughout. It felt like a fairy tale, I understand and agree with the Studio Ghibli comparisons I’ve seen online.

It’s fantastic isn’t it! Very much suits the story as well

I can totally see that. I’ve got the feeling right from GOTM that a reread would be incredibly rewarding

Whilst I am taking a Malazan break, I am thinking of my Midnight Tides wish list:

More Pust
Whiskeyjack to return as an ascendant and start doing bits and pieces
More dragons
More info on the what heck the Edur are doing
A big old epic battle of the MOI proportion

I also went in blind, my wife picked it up randomly when post Christmas book shopping and agreed to read at the same time. I hope you enjoy it!

A lovely change of pace reading this. Yambao has a fantastic imagination, I’m really enjoying Water Moon 💙📚🪐