Lee Hunts

I just finished reading Beartown, by Fredrik Backman. This story is a about a small town in decline that is obsessed with Hockey. This sport is not only engrained within the culture of this town, but the town's economic future largely depends on it. For the first time in what seems like forever, the town has a chance to win, which will bring new opportunities to the town including people, schools, stores, and attention for their hockey team. This all rides on Kevin Erdhal, the star player who is carrying the team into the semi-finals and then the finals. But when a serious offense happens off the rink, the town is thrown into turmoil, forced to deal with the consequences in the variety of ways that they do. Overall, I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the book, though I think I am more positive than I am negative on it. Overall (No Spoilers) What I liked most about this story was the overall execution. In this case, what I am referring to is the portrayal of the town's r...

“That which exists without my knowledge exists without my consent.” I finished reading Blood Meridian, by Cormac McCarthy a couple days ago. This is considered to be Cormac McCarthy's magnum opus, a novel set in the mid nineteenth century. It follows the historical Glanton gang that infamously traveled throughout the west scalping native Americans and committing other wanton atrocities. Like every McCarthy novel, it is extremely violent and nihilistic, and is well known for that fact. Overall, I cannot say that I enjoyed the book all that much. I do not regret reading it, but it was rather tough to get through, with the combination of prose style, lack of characterization, and non-existent plot. I had to get the audiobook about twenty or so percent through to help me push through; finding the willpower to push through was actually kind of difficult. I almost DNFed it, too, but decided to stick with it. Overall (No Spoilers) As I said, while I did not enjoy the book that much, I did...

I just finished reading The Heroes, which is the second standalone novel written by Joe Abercrombie. This book is an account of three days of battle over a hill between the forces of the North, led by Black Dow, and the forces of the Union. The book is not plot driven, but rather focuses on the characters and the theme over the course of this very short period. Overall, the book is good. I don't think this one is near the top of my rankings for Abercrombie, especially surprising because I knew this one was a favorite among fans, but the book was still enjoyable, all around. Overall (No Spoilers) I think Whirrun of Bligh is my favorite character in the story. The audiobook gave him more or less the same voice as Casca, which made me draw a connection, though I'm not sure there are many more parallels. Either way, the voice was perfect. And the fight he has in the latter part of the book was both unexpected and amazing. I'm conflicted about how it ended, but not because I dis...

I just finished The Wisdom of Crowds, which is the third book in the Age of Madness trilogy, by Joe Abercrombie. As such, this book concludes the narrative that began in A Little Hatred and picks up in the immediate aftermath of The Trouble with Peace. What follows is a tense and epic tale mirroring key historical events that I won't mention for the sake of keeping this spoiler free. The Weaver's plans have finally kicked into gear, and now we get to the frenzied climax and the resulting horror of his actions. This book was quite simply amazing. I think it brought Abercrombie's best trilogy to a close. Overall (No Spoilers) Almost everything that I have to say about this story is positive. I'm not sure that there are any negatives at all, though I might have a nitpick here and there. The best part of the story, of course, is how everything comes together in the end. This book concludes the trilogy, ending the story in a manner that I felt was perfect. I will have to sav...