It can be read, outside of some of the trappings and language, as a kind of historical-fantasy tale with which plenty of people today are familiar. We still tell monster tales, albeit usually not in alliterative verse.
Life in a Medieval City Review
We’re all supposed to be getting away from the stock, default medieval Europe-inspired fantasy settings, because they’ve become passe. It’s true such settings can be overused, but they are mostly overused because so many authors fail to utilize books like Life in a Medieval City.
Wind and Truth Review
Entire subplots of the book read like anachronistic polemics on mental health, and the result is a robbing of depth from most of the characters who powered the series’ earlier installments.
Some Thoughts on Character Death (And Resurrection)
We can all agree there are fates worse than death, but death can still be considered the “ultimate” consequence because it is, at least under normal circumstances, final.
A Historically Adjacent “Adaptation”
I was intrigued by how well the riddle’s tone and contents, read through the lens of referring to a travelling minstrel increasingly unneeded by his society, could map into the world of Impressions, and especially the druids’ fate.
Wheel of Time Series Review
A literature professor claimed the difference between “plot” novels and “real literature” is that plot novels cease to be enjoyable once the reader knows how the story goes, while real literature retains and even deepens in its significance and impact upon successive readings, after the reader knows “how it ends.”
A Memory of Light Review
After so many books spent preparing for the Last Battle and Rand’s climactic struggle against the Dark One, we finally witness it. We witness it for almost a thousand pages, since A Memory of Light is basically a very, very long final battle scene.
Rhythm of War Reread Reflections
They are good stories, but between my changing tastes, and the increasing salience of Cosmere trivia, I do not enjoy them as much as I once did, and that’s a sad fact to recognize.
Towers of Midnight Review
If you ask me my favorite Wheel of Time book, though, my answer is immediate and certain: book thirteen, Towers of Midnight.
My Niche?
These are stories that aren’t historical fiction, are not set on Earth, but are set in a world very analogous to Earth, with strong inspirations from real history, and with “fantastic” elements which are…I want to say subtle, but that’s not quite right. Tightly integrated might suffice.
IGC Publishing 