Reviews and Comments

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 a twist. In summary, this book is a fun bit of nostalgia, but throws you right into the depth of the world and lacks a little depth of story.

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, I struggled with the many stereotypes, the one-sidedness of the of the ways characters would respond or think, and many of the details seemed confusing or irrelevant. (For example, who actually understands the different names of the sword fighting stances, and am I the only one that is confused whenever the “Demandred” and “Damodred” are used out of context?) It didn't help that the story is rather slow moving at this point in the series. On the other hand it has been a very nostalgic experience. I was often reminded of when I read the earlier books, and I've felt very much connected to the story. Since starting with book 9 I have put the Wheel of Time down a few times, but I never considered not reading it until the end.

The final book (and the last two) make up for many of the problems I had in the earlier books. The story moves along quite well, there are many curve-balls to keep the reader interested, and the whole story reaches a very satisfying conclusion. This final work find a great balance between the expectation and hope of the reader has for the characters and a sense of realism of the price that must be payed. If you've reached this book, then you are probably used to it, but the only big negative for me was the detailed chaos. Every character seems to need to be present at every point off the story, even if their role or actions have no effect on the story itself. For some characters, like some of the forsaken, I even wonder why there are introduced at all.

In conclusion, the Wheel of Time series would probably not be the first fantasy series that I would recommend to new readers. It is, however, a classic among fantasy novel for good reason. So if you can overlook some of its flaws, or don't mind them (like me when I was younger), then I would certainly recommend reading the books until the end, especially if you are already a few books in.

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 enjoy the subject matter, and will be pleasantly surprised how amusing the book is.