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The Southern Reach Trilogy: Series Review

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
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The Illearth War: Book Review

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,
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The Forever War: Book Review

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
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Lord Foul's Bane: Book Review

I just finished reading Lord Foul's Bane, which is the first book in the Thomas Covenant series by Stephen R. Donaldson. I decided to pick up this series because I particularly enjoyed Donaldson's Gap Cycle, which I have already reviewed in full. You can find the playlist in the description below. This series started to come out in 1977, so I was very interested in what Donaldson had to say about fantasy in that time. Let's get started. No Spoilers The Basic Premise The only reason I decided to check out this series is because I read The Gap beforehand. In many respects, I would say that the marketing of the book is particularly poor. Here is an example from the back of the book edition that I own: "He called himself Thomas Covenant the Unbeliever, because he dared not believe in this strange alternate world on which he suddenly found himself. Yet the Land tempted him. He had been sick; now he seemed better than ever before. Through no fault of his own, he had been out
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How to Read Books: A Controversial Perspective

For this post, I want to talk about some of the habits and tricks that I use to read books quicker and more effectively. I am a terribly slow reader. I have always had trouble reading books and especially staying committed to them when they are non-fiction. I haven't actually fixed the problem of reading slowly, as speed reading just damages your ability to comprehend what you are reading. What I have done is tweaked my own habits such that I actually get things done. These are not universal tips, but rather habits that I have adopted because they work for me. Will they work for you? Well, I don't care. You're a faceless nobody. I was motivated to write this after watching Better Than Food's video about the topic. I have additional commentary, namely because he focuses on fiction, and I often read non-fiction, too. I will link his video in the description; I suggest checking him out. Finally, I want to quickly explain some terms that I will be using throughout. When I w
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