Reviews and Comments

Baptism of Fire resumes where The Time of Contempt left off.
After the events in Aretuza, and the brotherhood has fallen, a new organization takes its place.

Without spoiling too much, I think this is the best book so far.
The new characters fit perfectly with Dandillion and Geralt, just like Yennefer and Ciri do.
Geralt is reminded of the utter importance of working together, and he ultimately gives in and lets his companions travel with him.
The motifs of loneliness, the baptism of fire, secrecy, and even perhaps something others would conceive to be a 'not like the other girls' concept, I think it's also a book that speaks out against stereotypes of women, makes fun of myths, and of the false ideas in our society about various topics.

5/5.

In the aftermath of the Witcher Season 2, I decided to finish The Time of Contempt once and for all..

The Time of Contempt is the sequel to Blood of Elves. The geopolitical tensions in the continent have reached a peak, and the Nilfgardiaan threat has increased even more.

This book contains a brilliant geopolitical plot, a la A Song of Ice And fire. Combined with the deeper lore about the elves, the conjunctions, and the universe itself, it is a great fantasy novel. Not too thick, like ASOIAF, yet enough plot to talk about for hours.

Blood of Elves is chronologically the third installment of the Witcher series. I probably shouldn't have started with this book.

Nevertheless, I can say I thoroughly enjoyed it. It really reminded me of the brilliant series "A Song of Ice and Fire". The book has a great deal of world building, and the author even came up with his own language!

Additionally, the author uses a great variety of words, sending me to the dictionary countless times. And last but not least, the story is well written and made, the dialogue occasionally gets a chuckle out of me, and the story manages to make me forget time and space, as I'm completely getting moved into this story, this universe.

Escape from Falaise resumes where the lost prince left off.
It's pretty short, not as much humor as there used to be, and the attempts of making jokes have mostly failed.

I can't say I enjoyed this book. I will say this book is acceptable for what it is, as it only took me around 3 hours to read.
The ending was pretty predictable, or maybe I have just read too many books from John Flanagan. Anyway, the story follows the same pattern as all other stories. A problem occurs -> protagonist is sent to investigate and solve the problem -> something goes terribly wrong -> protagonist comes up with a plan -> plan doesn't really work out, yet through improvising it works out -> resolution / conclusion.

It's getting kind of boring, and the sole reason for me to read this, is because of nostalgia and tradition.

Alles wat er was is een teleurstellend boek. Het had veel potentie: Een groep mensen zitten vast in een basisschool en proberen te overleven op een paar korrels rijst en andere kleine dingen.

Maar toen ging het mis. Het begon bij de masturbatiescene van Merel. Ik dacht "Waarom zou je dit in een boek doen?". Dit zijn een van de dingen die mij het meest ergerde. Het irritantste was het feit dat er geen duidelijke afsluiting was. Geen resolutie, conclusie, of iets in die richting. Opeens zijn ze in Noord Dakota. Beetje vreemd vind ik.

3/5

This was the first book I've bought in hardcover in ages.
I'd heard this book contained illustrations, and from experience, I knew illustrations aren't very nice on an E-Reader.
And the illustrations didn't disappoint.
The book consists out of summaries of all the 15 books, and it includes 2 side stories about Skulduggery's background.
For anyone interesting in Skulduggery Pleasant lore, I'd start here.
It's well structured, and the added dialogue from various characters are also amusing (as always).

The testaments continues the story of the Handmaid's tale.
It revolves around three women, who can change Gilead forever.
The story was definitely more interesting than it's predecessor, however time lines were hard to keep track off.
Despite this, the tension was definitely more palpable than The Handmaid's Tale, something that I quite enjoyed.
Additionally, quotes like 'Shunammite once said she was going to ask Aunt Vidala what God liked for breakfast, which scandalized the more timid girls, but she never actually did it', made the book more enjoyable to read, as the humor was fitting, yet funny as well.
To conclude, I give it a solid 5/5, as I didn't notice any flaws, and enjoyed the book and it's philosophy very much.

The Handmaid's Tale tells a story of Offred, a handmaid during the oppressive, misogynistic regime of The Republic of Gilead .

Margaret Atwood has orchestrated a horrifying dystopia, one which even the most extreme anti-feminist couldn't imagine.

The story deserves a 5/5, because of the set up, the emotions, and the idea behind it

The Warlock is undoubtedly one of the best books in this series.
Josh finally choosing his side, and turning against his sister, and Machiavelli and Billy the Kid recognizing their own wrongdoings and attempting to stop Dee and Dare.
The plot in the past, at Danu Talis is finally being set in motion.
I think this book really sets a good setting for the next book, The Enchantress.
However, I also feel the story is a bit rushed and disorganized. It's chaos due to the different storylines, and the final meeting at Tsagagalal's house (did I spell that right?) is odd, yet very inspiring, since different foes have decided to put aside their differences, for the purpose of... killing someone.

Overall, I think it was a good book, just a little bit rushed. 4/5.