Reviews and Comments

Jip J. Dekker

Dekker1@bookwyrm.social

Joined 2 years, 11 months ago

I enjoy stories that help me escape from the real world. That's why I often immerse myself in Fantasy books

microblog at @Dekker1@soapbox.network

This link opens in a pop-up window

Christopher Paolini: The Fork, the Witch, and the Worm (Hardcover, 2018, Penguin Books UK) 3 stars

A short little return to the world

2 stars

After finishing a huge series of books, I was looking to read some smaller and easier reads. This return to the world of Eragon had been on my list since I had seen it in a store and seemed to fit the bill. I think I was lucky that I did some re-reading of the old books before I dove in, since the author doesn't really re-introduce anything in the world. It is just assumed that you are still fully in the story (even though the last book was released quite a while ago). The story is split into three short-stories taking place in the world and sometimes with the characters from the original series. The stories are connected by chapters about Eragon, who is told the stories in some way or another. The stories are enjoyable, but there is nothing special and I was hoping for something more of …

Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson: A Memory of Light (2013, Orbit/Hachette) 4 stars

A MEMORY OF LIGHT

Book Fourteen of THE WHEEL OF TIME®

And it came to …

The end years of reading in the making

4 stars

Starting the new year by finishing the Wheel of Time series certainly feels like starting with quite an achievement. Having finished the series I find it hard to come to a conclusion about my opinion of the series. Above all this series is a well thought out (and carefully planned) fantasy epic. It really draws the reader into the world, and introduces many finer details that add to the experience. The authors put a lot of thought into how such a world would work. They don't settle for simplistic extensions of the world, but instead introduce many concepts and then let the ways these would be used depend on the characters in the story. Coming back to book 9 of the series, after finishing book 8 in 2015, has been a strange experience. I loved the books back then, and couldn't put them down. When I started reading again, however, …

Dan Schreiber: The Theory of Everything Else (AudiobookFormat, 2022, HarperCollins) 4 stars

This is not a book of facts; it’s a book of ‘facts’. Should you finish …

Review of the audiobook version of "The Theory of Everything Else"

4 stars

This book is a testament to how unorthodox thinking has often been at the forefront of science and the development of humanity. How some of the people regarded as our "greatest mind" had many crazy theories: some that brought innovation, and some that were arguably "bat shit" and maybe taken too far. Where would the world be without these eccentric thinkers? Dan is well-known from the "no such things as a fish" podcast, where he is often explores crazy theories with his fellow hosts. In this book he takes a very factual and complete approach, but with all of the passion that he puts forward in the podcast. Different from the "audiobook of the year" series, the audiobook is very different from the podcast, and requires a bit more attention to not lose the plot. I do, however, recommend the audiobook for anyone who does enjoys the podcast. You will …

Robert Jordan, Brandon Sanderson: A Memory of Light (2013, Orbit/Hachette) 4 stars

A MEMORY OF LIGHT

Book Fourteen of THE WHEEL OF TIME®

And it came to …

I've been reading the Wheel of Time books on and off for a long time now. Getting back to this series after so many years was somewhat challenging, when the books use so many borderline offensive stereotypes. On the other hand I cannot help myself from wondering about the epic build-up in these books and how it will all be brought to an end.

The last few books co-written by Brandon Sanderson have somewhat seemed like a breath of fresh air, and I have really enjoyed them. I cannot wait to learn how the story comes to a conclusion.