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This book is absolutely astonishing.

Decided to re-read this one on a whim and there was so much I didn't remember. Just a really, all-around fun novel. It's particularly interesting to see this more lavish version of Peters' prose, which she refines but also streamlines through the later books in the series. Here, she's willing to make more comical asides and revel in setting the scene a little more.

I picked this up at the recommendation of another Bookwyrm user just a few days ago and tore through it in just two sittings. I very much enjoyed Clarke's first novel, but its difficult language and enormous size made it difficult to grasp the whole story. Piranesi is fast, almost breezy, but still has Clarke's incredible world building. The House—an infinite collection of halls and vestibules populated with unending statues, with a sea sloshing around the lower floor and clouds filling the upper—is an incredibly potent concept, and one I know will stick with me. If you love Borges, you'll love this book.

This is one of my favorite Cadfael books I've read so far. Unlike Summer of the Danes, the journey of Haluin and Cadfael is much more meaningful and interesting, propelling the plot as they go. Like a fable, Cadfael and Haluin blunder into what feels like another world, and discover secrets, mystery, and the miraculous. It's a keeper.

It's always good to reread the Táin.

I read The Táin for the first time as an undergrad and it was a revelatory experience. After 15 years, it is more than I remembered: bawdy, violent, bizarre, and hilarious in its extremes.

The second Cadfael novel iterates smartly on the first one, playing with points of view and obscuring the actual crime amongst a casual attrocity. The introduction of Hugh Beringar is a crucial addition to the series and his antagonistic debut solidly entertaining.