Lee Hunts

Just over a year ago, I was diagnosed with epilepsy, something that has the potential to progress to grand mal seizures, meaning I could lose consciousness and convulse on the ground. That is a story of its own, I suppose. But this is a different story. After being diagnosed, I was put on medication, and I had to be switched to a new one after the doctors decided that the previous medication was not sufficient to address the problem. A few days ago, I experienced a mild seizure, or what you could call an aura, and the doctor increased the dosage of this new one. A couple days later, seemingly unrelated, I had to print, sign, and scan a document—and then send it to my doctor. I fulfilled this obligation. Or so I thought. That leads to yesterday. Yesterday was a completely normal day. I had the morning shift at work. I was not able to work on one of my projects that day, but I planned on working on the other that night, and there were several books that I was reading as well. Basically, ...

I just finished reading The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny. This is a mystery/thriller novel  in a larger series called Three Pines. Inspector Armand Gamache is at the center of the story, a man of principle and character, who lives in the titular tight-knit community. In this particular entry, he is asked by an old friend to run security for a speaker who proves to be particularly controversial. From there, the story explodes, as people begin to react to the speaker's presence and message in volatile ways, leading to a body, as you can imagine. Overall (No Spoilers) This was meant to be a quick and simple read for me. But it turned out that it really wasn't. The story was getting on my nerves from the outset for writing craft reasons; then, it started to show moralistic tinges that rubbed me in the wrong way. Instead of the quick read, I got over-analytical, and it took way too long to get through. This is probably because I read it rather than listened, but I wanted to get...

I just finished reading the final book in The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, The Unbeliever. The Power That Preserves is probably the darkest story in the series, with the first one starting out at the Land's default state. In the second, the reader begins to see the slow decline, with the climax of that coming into full view in this entry. Covenant comes to the Land for his third time, for one last push to stop Lord Foul, something that was hinted at in the very beginning of the first entry. Forty-seven years have passed from that moment, and now everything has come together. No Spoilers Characters As is obvious from the first two entries of this series, as well as from Donaldson's writings on what fantasy is, characters and themes are probably the most important aspects of the story. Worldbuilding, too, but I think that is better covered in the part on themes. This is where Donaldson delivers on his story in spades. Thomas Covenant I speculated that Covenant was not the actua...

I just finished reading the whole Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff Vandermeer. I decided to read the whole trilogy before writing this, in part because I am participating in a read along on Jason Fuhrman's channel. Regardless of my reasons, I think reading the trilogy in this way helps shape my perspective for the whole story and especially each entry in the series. I will cover each entry on its own and also talk about how my thinking has changed as I continued on into the later entries. Annihilation (No Spoilers) Premise The first entry is an incredibly interesting story in its own right, given the format that it takes. It is presented as a journal written by a woman who has been selected for an expedition into a place called Area X. This location is a mysterious place that has appeared from seemingly nowhere, and now an institution known as the Southern Reach is tasked with trying to understand it. The woman, known as the biologist, is now part of the twelfth expedition, entirely ...

What's up morons? I just finished reading The Illearth War by Stephen R. Donaldson. This is the second book in The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, in both the original trilogy and in the overall ten book series. This is the second time that Covenant has been dragged to this world, and he finds himself in yet another situation where he is responsible for the existence of The Land. In this entry, he is both the same and different all at once. We get to see the subtle influences that his prior adventures have brought onto him, and also the continued bitterness that his leprosy has battered into him. So, what did I think of it? Let's find out. No Spoilers Covenant's Influence and Role I The first thing that I think is worth talking about is Covenant's impact on the story from a world building and plot-based perspective. I'm actually asking myself questions about the focus of the story. While the series seems to be about Thomas Covenant, as the series is named after him, ...

I just finished reading The Forever War by Joe Haldeman. This is a military science fiction book that was written in 1974 by a Vietnam war veteran. This "Forever War" is essentially a conflict between the human race and an alien species that they know nothing about. They are essentially clueless as they plunge into what could potentially be an existential conflict, but this is the only thing that can be done. More importantly, there is a special focus on the return to life after war, as the soldiers try to adapt to their new life after being abroad for so long. This is where some interesting scifi spin involving relativity comes into play. So what did I think? Let's see. No Spoilers Core Premise Right from the outset, it is worth commenting on the key scifi element that was added to the story. As I mentioned above, the story tries to focus on the characters having to return home from war, as much as the war itself. And Haldeman has a genuinely fascinating way of exploring...