The Lord of the Rings is nothing if not epic. In fact, it's the very definition. Still, I feel could have enjoyed it more if it wasn't so goddamn longThe Lord of the Rings is nothing if not epic. In fact, it's the very definition. Still, I feel could have enjoyed it more if it wasn't so goddamn long! I remember reading the Hobbit right before I started LOTR and I was excited because I loved the Hobbit. But comparing the prelude to the sequels is like comparing day to night. The Hobbit was faster paced and shorter! Shorter! (Pun definitely intended) I felt like Tolkien could have shortened the LOTR series by 200 pages at least if he stopped being so descriptive and trying so hard to explain the scale of the world. I can appreciate the work he put into this and how he tried to make it realistic but I wasn't reading this EPIC fantasy series for a shot of reality...It certainly does begin to ramp up toward the middle and end and I would totally recommend the LOTR series to any hardcore fantasy buffs. If you're not such a strong reader or have a short attention span I recommend skimming, a lot of skimming. These books are definitely reread worthy if for nothing more than to memorize more of your favorite Gandalf quotes. Gotta love Gandalf!...more
The Great Book of Amber is trippy people! Roger Zelazny is unlike any other author I have ever read before. He is disinterested in details and gives cThe Great Book of Amber is trippy people! Roger Zelazny is unlike any other author I have ever read before. He is disinterested in details and gives cursory descriptions of areas and people. Instead he focuses more closely on plot and the thoughts of the main character. The plot always centers around the search for answers. The setting is quite unique and interesting to learn about. Zelazny never makes his reader go through info-dumps and I found it interesting to puzzle out the workings of his world, Amber.
The first five books star a man named Corwin, one of the nine princes of Amber, who wakes up with a strange case of amnesia. In the first book Corwin staggers through Zelazny's version of earth looking for answers. I enjoyed the first book the most, mainly because the beginning was killer!
SPOILER - Corwin wakes up in a hospital and finds he is being forcefully sedated. When the doctor tries to put him under yet again Corwin clobbers him with a crutch! (Now that's what I call a hook.)
The first five books where well written but upon reading books six through ten I began suspecting Zelazny of doing drugs. His plots for the character Merlin start taking erratic turns. Don't get me wrong these peculiar parts are fun to read. Made me wonder what he was taking when he wrote them.(I'm speaking of the Corridor of Mirrors and the in-between shadow chapters here) He even had one of the side characters slipped acid. They then promptly descended into an Alice in Wonderland dream-scape to wait for the effects to wear off. Despite these bemusing plot decisions I still liked the Great Book of Amber. I don't think I'll be rereading it for a while though......more