Lee Hunts

I just finished reading The Company, by K.J. Parker. This is not exactly a fantasy novel, but it certainly has that aesthetic. It takes you back to medieval times, and it captures the aesthetic of what you could call a grimdark fantasy novel; the catch is that there is no magic in the novel. It is a very dark, heavily character driven novel. People often criticize it by saying that nothing happens (until the very end), but that's because they go in expecting large and momentous events to unfold—kind of like a fantasy novel. The plot of this novel is very subtle, and it's more about the character dynamics than anything else. But another thing, which I think a lot of people miss in relation to this point, is that there is a certain way in which the story is told, which affects how people perceive its pace. We will get into the specifics below. The basic premise of this book is that Kunessin, a former military general, has returned home. He is making contact with all of his old wa...

I just finished reading Unwind by Neal Shusterman. This is a . . . Young Adult Dystopian novel that I threw on my shelf after someone mentioned in a review that the concept of "unwinding" was incredibly disturbing. I knew that because this was a YA novel, that my enjoyment would be curbed, but I also knew that there was potential for creativity when it came to terror, given that they can't really rely on the typical avenues of horror, like excessive gore, SA, and other adult trauma. This can be really hit or miss. For this novel, the basic backstory is that the pro-life and pro-choice factions in America boiled over into a second Civil War. This culminated in a bloody stalemate, where both sides agreed to a compromise called "unwinding." Abortion is made illegal, but from the ages thirteen to seventeen, parents can choose to have their child "unwound." This means that they are disassembled and all of their pieces are used as organ donations. As long as...

I just finished reading Ten Little Ni—Ten Little India—And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. This will be a quickie. I normally prefer the deep, immersive novels—especially the character studies. What I want is something to make me think, as well. Novels like these are not usually up my alley, not because they don't make you think, but because they make you think in different ways. Christie is actually a master of making you ask questions and rethink things. Even if you think you've spoiled yourself, you might end up convincing yourself otherwise later in the story. While books like these are thin in the character department, and I especially felt that way in the beginning, they are a masterclass in taking advantage of what you could call underdetermined theories. There are multiple theories that fit the available evidence, and notably, these theories are incommensurate: they cannot all be true at the same time. You need to keep reading to find more evidence to learn whi...

I just finished reading Gone Girl, by Gillian Flynn. Finally, finally, after countless years, I have come around to reading this book. This is the first time, and I have never seen the movie, even. I was spoiled on the major twist of the story, so I kept putting both of them off. Now, that said, I think the twist would have been quite obvious on a meta-level if only because I've read Flynn's two other novels—admittedly, she is a bit of a one trick pony. The good thing is that my assumptions about the context of the major twist were actually wrong, so there were a lot of unexpected things in this novel. It was a wild ride, to be sure. This book apparently kickstarted the domestic thriller craze that is now commonplace today. At the very least, it came at the very beginning of the trend. It begins with Nick Dunne, a very normal husband, waking on his fifth anniversary to speak with his wife, Amy. Later in the day, he returns home to learn that his wife is nowhere to be found. He ...