Avid reader here. I'll just come out with it...i really enjoyed it. I thought it really beat a lot of contemporaries that are coming out today. It's not a linear tale. A lot of the things you might find meaningless have a purpose and it comes around later. With the d & d scene: i get it, i hate when writers suck their own dick too. But dude.... That's HOW people talk when discussing D&D! I have never heard anyone describe their D&d world without flexing their knowledge. And that goes for a lot of the book, i thought (for better or for worse) a lot of the dialogue was pretty realistic for today's age. I started this book expecting it to be kinda exactly what you described. Finished it pretty impressed. No, it didnt change my life and i can think of a lot of better stuff. But simply compared with other stuff coming out today or in the last 5 years, really good. I did get hints of wokeness but it was so incredibly mild. It WAS very movie like which i didn't mind. Overall i thought it struck a great balance between teling a story and being more literary. I will say that i always finish a book though, there's only one book I've never finished, naked lunch for obvious reasons. I like that you didn't just hop on the "it's great" band wagon though and thought for yourself. But i would be interested to know what you think a good book is.
Not gonna lie, that sounds like a bad GM. While it’s cool to come up with an intricate setting, you have to respect your players’ agency and not railroad or force things on them. Wendig has an unfortunate habit though of not really respecting his reader’s agency or even intelligence in some regards. Especially if you read his “how-to” blog.
I wonder how many books could be cut down to 150-200 pages if stuff that didn’t serve a story were cut. But that’s not something that I’ve found all too bothersome, really. If a passage or scene isn’t serving the overall narrative or themes, and instead serves characterization, tone or setting or is otherwise subtextual I think it’s fine. Haruki Murakami had a lot of seemingly pointless chapters in 1Q84, but the characters and writing still made it enjoyable to read. And some of them stuck with me more than the major plot points. I guess I enjoy just being left with a sense of wonder, not understanding why certain scenes/chapters were included. But... everything in moderation. Sometimes they do take it too far. Great vid, man.
Thanks! Totally agree about all your points. It's either character or plot moving forward, preferably both. I find that if scenes are even well written and entertaining, they may feel off when you get the end if they aren't contributing to something.
I got through it. I'm not proud of that. It was not fun. It has a good concept. That said, I instantly went to find reviews because I thought maybe I just missed something... You saved yourself some time. Fair review.
I've just read this book and found the basic premise to be good, but the execution could have been better. Besides the occasional and weirdly shoehorned in woke talking points of race, gender and sexual orientation, I found the excessive use of "fucking" and "shit" became annoying rather than gritty. The dialogue was often unconvincing and felt like a bad attempt to show rather than tell.
Yeah Wendig does appear to be part of that movement. Politics aside, I agree with your comment on the writing. He can be slick when he wants, but sometimes his style gets the better of him.
@@JasonFuhrman it's the first book by Wendig that I've read but unfortunately won't bother with any of the others because of his writing style. There are much better horror writers out there.
@@ockhamsshaver4330 yeah his writing style is not for everyone. The Star Wars book I read of his was even more experimental with the prose. After trying a couple of books from him, I don't think I'll ever revisit his work again, either.
Aw, dang! I JUST started this book...sorry I'm a little late to the party. I watched your review and then looked up the low ratings on Good Reads...they pretty much mirrored your comments. I think I might be good on this one -- a la donating it to my local thrift store. I'm good on political propaganda being forced down my throat. Ugh. 🙄 Thanks for your review~! ***Edited to say*** You have a new sub!
I listened to the audiobook of this and that was even hard to get through. I wanted to dnf but instead I just listened really fast. 😂 The whole book was a let down. Nothing happened. After, I found a video of Chuck discussing the book, it was 1.5 hours. I got zero information on what it was actually about. It pretty much was the same as the book, lots of talking and no substance. Thx for making this vid and confirming my thoughts.
I stopped it too but ended up finishing because I hate not finishing what I started. Not a fan of the hints of woke bull shit throughout the book but it was probably a low 7/10
I'm only about 45% of the way through it. What is the "woke bull shit" in the book? I don't think I've come across it yet or I've just missed it completely.
This is a good review. I was trying to explain this book to my friend in my book club and I just couldn’t! It was very confusing. I can see how people can say he was trying to be woke because of some of the stuff Jake would say but I didn’t think it was like….overly done. I thought it was kind of similar in theory to the show behind her eyes (the book is on my list lol) But yeah I finished it and I was still confused. I’m gonna continue down my rabbit hole to figure it out! Great video.
Appreciate the kind comments! I was hoping Chuck Wendig had improved from my first exposure to him, but oddly enough, he seems as unedited as he was back then. I guess people are reading his stuff because he keeps getting deals.. The page length should have clued me in haha
Avid reader here. I'll just come out with it...i really enjoyed it. I thought it really beat a lot of contemporaries that are coming out today. It's not a linear tale. A lot of the things you might find meaningless have a purpose and it comes around later. With the d & d scene: i get it, i hate when writers suck their own dick too. But dude.... That's HOW people talk when discussing D&D! I have never heard anyone describe their D&d world without flexing their knowledge. And that goes for a lot of the book, i thought (for better or for worse) a lot of the dialogue was pretty realistic for today's age. I started this book expecting it to be kinda exactly what you described. Finished it pretty impressed. No, it didnt change my life and i can think of a lot of better stuff. But simply compared with other stuff coming out today or in the last 5 years, really good. I did get hints of wokeness but it was so incredibly mild. It WAS very movie like which i didn't mind. Overall i thought it struck a great balance between teling a story and being more literary. I will say that i always finish a book though, there's only one book I've never finished, naked lunch for obvious reasons. I like that you didn't just hop on the "it's great" band wagon though and thought for yourself. But i would be interested to know what you think a good book is.
Not gonna lie, that sounds like a bad GM. While it’s cool to come up with an intricate setting, you have to respect your players’ agency and not railroad or force things on them. Wendig has an unfortunate habit though of not really respecting his reader’s agency or even intelligence in some regards. Especially if you read his “how-to” blog.
You Quit this? Wow. I’m Loving it😎👍🏻
Hey glad to hear it. Just wasn't for me.
@@JasonFuhrman Fair enough. Everyone likes different books, it’s what gives us plenty to chat about 😷😎👍🏻
I wonder how many books could be cut down to 150-200 pages if stuff that didn’t serve a story were cut.
But that’s not something that I’ve found all too bothersome, really. If a passage or scene isn’t serving the overall narrative or themes, and instead serves characterization, tone or setting or is otherwise subtextual I think it’s fine.
Haruki Murakami had a lot of seemingly pointless chapters in 1Q84, but the characters and writing still made it enjoyable to read. And some of them stuck with me more than the major plot points. I guess I enjoy just being left with a sense of wonder, not understanding why certain scenes/chapters were included. But... everything in moderation. Sometimes they do take it too far.
Great vid, man.
Thanks! Totally agree about all your points. It's either character or plot moving forward, preferably both. I find that if scenes are even well written and entertaining, they may feel off when you get the end if they aren't contributing to something.
I just started this book and I find the events interesting so far. That's sad I saw this review. Now I have to really finish this book real fast
The ideas are interesting. It was the execution that I didn't like. It felt far too disjointed and meandering. It needed more momentum.
I got through it. I'm not proud of that. It was not fun. It has a good concept. That said, I instantly went to find reviews because I thought maybe I just missed something...
You saved yourself some time. Fair review.
Thanks for letting me know. Part of the reason I do these videos is to warn others as well haha
I was about to read it. But probably won't now. I don't have time to waste on meaningless chapters
Happy to save you some time :)
I've just read this book and found the basic premise to be good, but the execution could have been better. Besides the occasional and weirdly shoehorned in woke talking points of race, gender and sexual orientation, I found the excessive use of "fucking" and "shit" became annoying rather than gritty. The dialogue was often unconvincing and felt like a bad attempt to show rather than tell.
Yeah Wendig does appear to be part of that movement. Politics aside, I agree with your comment on the writing. He can be slick when he wants, but sometimes his style gets the better of him.
@@JasonFuhrman it's the first book by Wendig that I've read but unfortunately won't bother with any of the others because of his writing style. There are much better horror writers out there.
@@ockhamsshaver4330 yeah his writing style is not for everyone. The Star Wars book I read of his was even more experimental with the prose. After trying a couple of books from him, I don't think I'll ever revisit his work again, either.
Amen. A derivative, confused and jumbled work. And yes, the woke crap…as soon as you forget one bit, here comes another. I quit with 80 pages to go
Aw, dang! I JUST started this book...sorry I'm a little late to the party. I watched your review and then looked up the low ratings on Good Reads...they pretty much mirrored your comments. I think I might be good on this one -- a la donating it to my local thrift store. I'm good on political propaganda being forced down my throat. Ugh. 🙄 Thanks for your review~! ***Edited to say*** You have a new sub!
Thanks!
Good review. I felt the same way about this book. Wendig is really good writer, but this book did nothing for me.
Thanks! Yeah I think he has the line by line skill, he just needs to get the bigger picture down.
I listened to the audiobook of this and that was even hard to get through. I wanted to dnf but instead I just listened really fast. 😂 The whole book was a let down. Nothing happened. After, I found a video of Chuck discussing the book, it was 1.5 hours. I got zero information on what it was actually about. It pretty much was the same as the book, lots of talking and no substance. Thx for making this vid and confirming my thoughts.
Yeah sometimes audio can make the story better depending on the performance. It's too bad that wasn't the case. I really wanted to like this one
I stopped it too but ended up finishing because I hate not finishing what I started. Not a fan of the hints of woke bull shit throughout the book but it was probably a low 7/10
I hate not finishing too, but giving myself permission when something isn't grabbing me has been a great decision.
I'm only about 45% of the way through it. What is the "woke bull shit" in the book? I don't think I've come across it yet or I've just missed it completely.
There is no "woke bullshit".
This is a good review. I was trying to explain this book to my friend in my book club and I just couldn’t! It was very confusing.
I can see how people can say he was trying to be woke because of some of the stuff Jake would say but I didn’t think it was like….overly done.
I thought it was kind of similar in theory to the show behind her eyes (the book is on my list lol)
But yeah I finished it and I was still confused. I’m gonna continue down my rabbit hole to figure it out! Great video.
Appreciate the kind comments! I was hoping Chuck Wendig had improved from my first exposure to him, but oddly enough, he seems as unedited as he was back then. I guess people are reading his stuff because he keeps getting deals.. The page length should have clued me in haha
I really enjoyed the book. You seem bitter.
It bittered me