Tag: Politics

Andrzej Sapkowski – Blood of Elves | Review

Title: Blood of Elves

Author: Andrzej Sapkowski

Type: Fiction

Page Count: 316

Rating: 3.5/5

The issue that I had with this book is exactly the issue that I was worried about. I think I just prefer Sapkowski as a short story writer than as a novelist, although I will admit that he’s pretty good either way and so it’s not as though I didn’t enjoy this book. It was still all right, it just wasn’t as good as the short story collections.

Other than that, though, there’s a lot here to enjoy. As always, Sapkowski does a great job of asking the reader complicated moral questions, and I like that there’s a bit of a grey area between some of the good guys and some of the bad guys that keeps you guessing about people’s intentions. It’s got a lot of great political intrigue in a similar vein to A Song of Ice and Fire, although it’s by no means a knock-off.

There was even some interesting stuff on gender, because the Witcher has an apprentice who he’s teaching, and she happens to be a girl. There’s a lot of stuff on ethics too, because Geralt faces some difficult decisions along the way. Oh, and a war with the Nilfgardians is beckoning, too.

So overall, I thought this book was just okay, and while I would recommend it, I think I’d suggest going with the short story collections first as a way to ease yourself into the world and its politics. I should also offset this review by pointing out that I felt kind of similar to this when I read the first book, and then it sat with me for a while and I realised, looking back on it, that it was fricken awesome. I wouldn’t be surprised if the same thing ends up happening here. So yeah, there’s that.

Learn more about Blood of Elves.


Joseph Heller – Work | Review

Title: Work

Author: Joseph Heller

Type: Fiction

Page Count/Review Word Count: 92

Rating: 4.5/5

 

 

This book took me by surprise because I wasn’t too sure what to expect from it. I knew Heller as the author of Catch-22, which I still haven’t read, but this Vintage Mini Modern is basically an excerpt from Something Happened, his second most famous novel.

It’s basically all about the petty squabbling and politics that you get in an office job, and so because of that, I could relate to it. Recommended!

 

Joseph Heller

Joseph Heller

 

Click here to buy Work.