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If you want to get a good story from Dan Simmons that doesn't use the style that apparently Hyperion Cantos uses, try his horror novel "Carrion Comfort." It is a truly horrific "vampire" story, but worth at least one read through.
I’ve read Monster for the first time last year. I think reader-Merphy will like it, especially the main antagonist, but mother-Merphy is going to have a hard time.
Naoki Urasawa is my favorite mangaka of all time. I've loved every single work by him and Monster is my second favorite behind 20th Century Boys. I also don't enjoy mysteries too much but Monster is so much more than that and Mystery manga are a totally different experience than mystery novels I've found. And the villain, oh the villain. Gives me chills every time I think about them. I hope you enjoy it and hope you have a wonderful time reading all the books!
I expected One Piece to just be...you know, meh...just a fun, silly, light hearted adventure....now I'm at Impel Down and oh boyyyyyyyyy I'm glad I was wrong. This series is my new personality lmao🤣
@@rq2757 I took a full year to catch up as well. Don't rush yourself, just enjoy the journey at your own pace. It only gets better from here so if you're already liking it you're in for a treat.
We don’t have the same genre preferences (I really LOVE mystery thrillers), but I ADORE the way you review books. Your reviews are so considered and so fair! I love how you can separate your own feels about the book from the skill of the writer. There are surprisingly few booktubers who do this. I really just love everything about your reviews. Maybe one day you will convince me to give fantasy another shot. 😉
I would say the main driving component of Monster isn't really mystery per se, more like you get a VERY tangible threat shown early in the series, and most of the following arcs deep until later in the series are very oriented towards the looming feeling of "is it really possible for THIS to be causing THAT?". I'd call it more of a thriller than anything, really. I sincerely hope you will enjoy it, it is a fantastic manga!
Yesssss, I see Monster. Easily my fav thriller in all fiction, so hope you enjoy it. I would recommend it to read it with Phillip Chase cause it has a lot, and I mean a lot of discussion potential. Either way, I'm excited for your opinion on it
Had to pause to write this halfway through, I was OBSESSED with Burn Notice when I was younger and your reference just threw me back 10 years in the past like a frisbee. Wow. I think that was a great description.
I’m so happy you’re gonna give the Fitz books another chance because I despised Farseer but your Liveship vlogs made me continue and now the final Fitz trilogy is my all time favorite series. So both thank you and good luck Merphy!❤️
@@mckinneym.2743 Mainly the pacing and plot wasn’t doing anything for me and it all felt kind of generic with the kingdom setting. Also Fitz was so young and dumb that he was just an infuriating character to read from for me. However looking back at it now I have a much deeper appreciation for what Hobb did and the set-up for the rest of the story. Happy reading to you!
Merphy, have you read Terry Brooks' novels? I started with the Elfstones of Shannara in the mid 80s. The world he created is something you would likely love. The story evolves over generations of characters who are often decendents of characters you've grown to know and love. I've read them all and his most recent "Child of Light", not of the Shannara series.
Thank you, Josh Malone! The Realm of the Elderlings is sooo good, and I hope you, Merphy, will end up enjoying the books, even if Fitz is in them. As for language I want to learn, I'm interested in Korean since that's where I'm vacationing next.
Monster is one of my favourite anime of all time. Unfortunately the manga wasn't translated in my country but i'm still curious about how you feel about it, especially the villain - one of my best parts of the series for me.
No way you end up putting Monster into 1 star. That is a masterpiece. And considering how much you love grimdark fantasy, you will love Monster. That's my prediction.
Hmm Monster isn't really fantasy although it can feel like it at times. I'm surprised how grounded it feels in post communist central Europe. If you like Monster you might also want to check out 20th Century Boys by the same artist it's like if the Sandlot kids meet the Illuminati!
22:00 - I would actually recommend starting with book TWO of Earthsea - the Tombs of Atuan. That's actually where I started. It follows a young girl who's been brought up as a the nameless high priestess of old gods... You don't need to have read the first book to understand it, but if you have then you'll immediately recognize the man she finds and traps in the labyrinth as Ged, the wizard from book 1.
so many people love Monster and say its such a classic so i read it and by the end was just like Really?... that's it? Like we spent SO MUCH TIME setting everything up and sure the characters individually were good (except the, what, like, 3??? divorce sub-plots omfg every other guy was a work-a-holic drunk whose wife left him), but it felt like such a betrayal by the end. like they were hyping up how big and bad the villain was without actually delving into his side of things, and i got so sick of the story acting like if they just SAID he was definitely really smart and really bad that it made him so. all while just ignoring more interesting parts of the plot. and stuff that was supposed to be this big reveal was always just so obvious because of how slow paced the reveals were that when it happened the impact fell flat. and this happened with EVERY single reveal i felt like i wanted to fast-forward 3 volumes just so they would get to the point. tbh i feel like it would have been better if the series was about half the length, it just dragged on far too long with nowhere near enough pay off for how much it SEEMED like it was trying to set up. And like maybe it's just me, because despite really loving a good bit of mystery, i don't usually like police and crime-centric narratives so my patience was probably a bit thin (im more of a science fiction mystery type of gal), but still, a mystery isn't very mysterious when you can guess EVERY plot twist so early that you actually get impatient for the reveals, all while the story itself seems to be trying to gaslight you into thinking it's so complex and scary and unknowable. I had to work so hard to trudge through the second half because it genuinely started out really interesting but after the first peak in the action everything just spiralled downhill fast.
I watched the series for The Magicians. It is so hard to imagine not having the actors who played Margot and Elliot. Also yes, I watched Burn Notice. 😁
I finished the 2nd Magicians book recently I thought you wouldve gotten it and started reading by now but all good. I started off just doing 3 chapters at a time. then I hit chapter 6, and didnt stop reading till 16 cause I wanted to know more. this book is Julia's book it explains her past as the current events go forward and because of show I knew some story elements would come back by the end. Im really excited to see how everything wraps up in the final book. and to see your reaction to book 2.
Obviously, I respect anyone's DNF policy no matter how strange it seems to me but I think incest is a very useful plot device in some very good stories. Usually but not always it's in the thematic pursuit of representing stagnation, corruption, regression. I don't think I have ever and probably will not ever DNF a story just because it has characters doing things that I don't think are good. That said, like all plot devices it can be used horribly (TMI I'm looking at you) to the extent of being the one thing that makes me dislike a story that I would otherwise love.
Happy to hear you're giving Earthsea another chance; I'd personally go with Book 2 (The Tombs of Atuan) first, I find it more atmospheric and tonally deeper than A Wizard of Earthsea. (But if you've already read them, you know best which one you want to revisit.) Also, seeing your delight when you talk about Guards! Guards! positively made my day! Always great to see a new Disc fan in the making :)
Came to say the same. Book 2 is my favorite, it's very different from the Book 1, and has one of the most unique and deep relationships in all of fantasy
I love how knowledgeable you are about books, yet you stay humble in all of your opinions. I started reading books two years ago at 25 and I haven't stopped since then. All of the series I read, after Harry Potter, were discovered thanks to you. Thanks Merphy!
I absolutely love Monster, but I do feel like you have to read all the volumes fairly close together. One of the best things about the story is how tightly plotted it is, but you aren’t able to see that until the end. If you can read it close enough together so you haven’t forgotten things, then it will blow your mind at the end thinking back over all of little things that were actually important.
I've seen the anime version of _Monster._ It's not so much a mystery but rather a psychological and crime thriller. It's haunting atmosphere and opening and end credits make it a good watch for dark winter nights.
I've actually been wanting to brush up on my Spanish (I was taught a version of NorCal Spanglish growing up and always wanted to learn the full language) with me and my wife talking about having kids in the beds few years and I always loved the speaking bits of Spanish with my family growing up and would love to do it in a more proper way with my kids. I definitely might need to take advantage of that Babbel offer.
Not to the end yet, really enjoying the video. In regards to Hyperion, I would oh so gently encourage trying again sometime. I also quit reading it the first time, and the second, but it was very worth it for me to get past the first fewinitial storytelling parts into the rest of the book and series. Not that that's a promise of course, you may dislike it even more later on! Happy weekend to you! -me
HA! I watched this for the first time so long ago now (patron access) that I completely forgot about the ending. Made me chuckle all over again. BTW, never discussed with you Merphy but I am not a fan of Sally Rooney. Her supposedly best book, Normal People, annoyed the hell out of me!
One thing about Discworld - it's a setting where everyone thinks "Good guys finish last"... yet the people who are the MOST unbeatable are those with strong morals and convictions, like Carrot and Sam Vimes, plus many other characters I won't name for potential spoiler reasons. "Everyone knows Good Guys finish last", except they really, really don't.
I was shocked that you are going to give Monster a go, if it is anything like the anime I think you may have a new favorite on your hands. I love the doctor’s character and I’d say the story is borderline/full blown horror. Gets into some truly gut wrenching situations that live up to the title. Can not wait to see how you feel about it, I think it will end up with its own video.
I'm so glad that you have fell down the rabbit hole of Terry Pratchett's Disc World. I never thought that I would care for Pratchett as I was too immersed in high-fantasy, however, he has become one of my favourite authors. His books are witty, highly-intelligent, and deal with a lot of socio-cultural and political issues. Furthermore, they are freaking hilarious at times. I also am glad that you are giving Earthsea a chance. It has to be one of the most hauntingly beautiful fantasy novels that I have read as Le Guin is a master of prose; I am also fascinated by her magic system.
I think you should def check out the Syfy series The Magicians. It's very different from the books whilst also being very faithful to the essence of what the story is. It starts abit cliche and wonky, but it quickly grows to become a real diamond, and each season manages to trump the last.
I know you don't do a lot of TV, but maybe give the Magicians TV show a shot? I've heard it's very different from the books (haven't read yet) but I loved the show, maybe it fixes some of the issues? They have some musical episodes that are amazing.
Victor Lavalle is a fantastic writer! Looking forward to this book, since I haven't read it myself yet. As someone who loved Hobb but generally hate her penultimate resolutions (her actual endings are... mixed, for me), I was never as annoyed by Fitz as I was reading the first trilogy. I constantly just wanted to SHAKE him. Not that he hasn't got moments later on where you just want to facepalm, but it's never, I think, as constant as in the first trilogy. Monster is going to be INTERESTING. Looking for ward to seeing what you think!
Naoki Urosawa's Monster is a masterpiece. And the USA show Royal Pains pretty much wholesale ripped off the "superstar surgeon suddenly blacklisted for choosing to save one of the poors and letting a rich donor die" thing.
Lone Women is soo good. I didn't think frontier horror would be my thing but after reading Old Country and Lone Women it's now one of my favorite sub-genres.
I'm wondering if i'd like or dislike Traitor's Blade. Everything you started out with saying with Burn Notice and Three Musketeers comparison should make me love it. I loved Burn Notice and the Three Musketeers are one of my favourite books ever.
Hi Merphy, I've been waiting for you to talk about Hyperion for a while, been checking most of your uploads to see if you talk about it, ever since you mentioned it on your list a while back, also since Daniel gave it a really high review. Glad to see your honest opinion on it, I've finished it, barely, but that thanks to the audiobook I read it alongside. Really appreciated your input on this and all the other, thanks for your great content! Hello from Romania
I just finished the first Elderlings trilogy, and I agree 100% about Moron, how anyone that lacking in empathy, sense and understanding would survive as an assassin is beyond me. Luckily I do like the world and nearly all the supporting characters are interesting so I will continue. I just hope Crybaby actually does grow as the story develops as your commenter said.
I hope you love The Magician's King. But we'll see. I have not been having a good reading year. My rereads have been going great, but beyond them there has been only four books that I can say I enjoyed. So I made a list of books that I am pretty sure I will love. One I was correct about, which was one of those four, which was Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in her Head, but I didn't love it as much as I expected. Another is a current read which is Beasts and Creatures Myths and Tales, which is part of Flame tree's epic fantasy collection. (They also have a haunted house short story collection part of their gothic fantasy. This one is also on the list and I suspect it will be a new favourite) I am liking it. I am not loving it except for the odd story, but I am liking it. I am actually in the section of creatures from the depths, which I thought you would like to know. It began with the kraken. The last story I read was the little mermaid and the next story is called the serpent of the sea. After this one I suspect I'll pick up All's Well by Mona Awad which I suspect will become a favourite. Also I feel like a novel, and the others on this list are novellas, anthologies, or poetry collections.
On the magicians, I stopped reading about halfway the second book IIRC, my thoughts after the first were "these people are hateable but the overall story is nice and I can see some good development". Well, that may still happen in the future but they just became insufferable enough that I could not keep reading
I really think you might enjoy Monster. I don't necesarily consider it a mystery, although it does have questions with answers that are revealed as the story progresses. It is a thriller, though, and has one of the most terrifying antagonists I've ever read whose presence sends shivers down my spine every time. Hope you enjoy it. Now I'll have something else to comment about that isn't Yona of the Dawn, though those will keep coming. Lol.
Currently reading the Tawny Man Trilogy (3rd hobb trilogy) and loving it! I didn't love the original trilogy or Fitz but love what they've done with the 3rd trilogy, the perspective they've added to the older characters as well as all the new characters. I'm not going to definitely say you're going to love it but wish you the best and can't wait to hear your opinion once you've finished them 👍
I'm reading a French novel, currently. It's said in a small town, I guess you would call it a farming enclave, and there has been a mysterious anonymous letter, which serves to introduce the thriller aspect. I've heard it's quite good, and so far I"m enjoying it.
From the size of that Eathsea collection, I hope it has more than the first three books in it. I should probably reread/finish the series at some point. Also her Hainish books. (Bought the LoA collection on the strength of The Left Hand of Darkness.)
I will say to give context to Julia as a character in the magicians and the 2nd book your about to get into. Lev didnt really think about her to much in the first book he wasnt thinking of it all like a trilogy. But the inspiration behind her character is like if Dudley Dersely wanted to go to hogwarts with harry but wasnt allowed and how far would a person go to learn about magic.
Haven’t read any of Victor Lavalle’s novels but if they’re as good as his Sabretooth comics then I’ll probably have to check them out at some point. However, I have read both Conversations with Friends and Normal People and I loved both novels. That said, Conversations With Friends is the better of the two as a novel while Normal People is the better tv show. Hopefully I can read Beautiful World Where Are You Soon.
Bold predictions but I think you'll be right with Fitz (I'm not sure enough gets done for you to change your mind) and wrong with Monster ( I'd classify this as more of a thriller than a mystery, and the baddy in this one!)
Ooh! Monster! I love Monster. There is a mystery at the heart of the story but not in the sense of a detective story. It feels hard to categorize. Maybe a post-Cold War thriller crossed with the movie The Fugitive as directed by Alfred Hitchcock. I hope you like Monster and continue on with some other work from its creator, particularly Pluto (which is pretty short by comparison). Urasawa is my favorite mangaka. He's one of the most acclaimed, influential, and successful manga artists in history in Japan. I'm always so surprised that he's not a bigger name in the U.S.
Shadow Casket was such a bummer. I really enjoyed Ember Blade, and Tales of the Ketty Jay had such a great start and finish that I had massively high hopes for Shadow Casket.... And it ended up being a messy 3 star read.
Hope you like conversations with friends 😅 I wouldn’t say it’s the best thing happened to me but one of my fave books! I couldn’t get into the tv show though…
Monster is a beast. Phenomenal main cast, side characters, antagonist, clashing themes and character foils. Dr. Tenma is one of the best protagonists I had the pleasure to come across and the mystery just builds and builds and really gets you to think about who the true monster is. I think you’ll love it, Merphy!❤️
You do not do non books but i would love your take on some Korean works, dramas are very popular and I can't get into them but I see their merits and surprisingly none of them get under 85/100 for the most part.
Guards! Guards! apreciation. You love to see it. By the way, Merphy, Miyamoto Musashi is a historical figure, who wrote a book based on his experience. He is not a character from a novel.
Merphy should put this to polls for a future tbr. Do her fans think she'll love some titles or hate them. IG or UA-cam community polls should work hehe
You clearly never watched Burn Notice. If you did you never have forgotten that his name is Michael Westen and he use to be a spy until..... 🤣(/s obviously) Damn that is so ingrained in my head. I will remember the intro to that show in another 60 years. I feel bad for anyone who can watch it with a "skip intro" button. They have no idea what they are missing out on.
I think it had a weird release but I recently finished Godkiller by Hannah Kaner and really enjoyed it. A fun cast of characters in a fantasy world that I am excited to revisit some day if/when a sequel comes out. Kinda gave me Cosmere mixed with Witcher vibes.
I loved Conversations with Friends but from your taste, I know you're not gonna like it haha Fredrik Backman I love too, and Sally Rooney and Fredrik Backman are opposite different in terms of writing styles so....
First time I find someone who agrees with me. I don't think Urasawa has written anything better than Monster so I think it's his best but it is not my favorite story from him (Pluto all the way)
I don't know if you are going to like Monster i really liked the story and how it was told but i just couldn't help feeling that the ending ruined it for me, not going to mention why because i feel if you think on it, it might be a spoiler, and since the survival book you mentioned it was spoiled by the ending as i recall you mentioned i think it may happen again
On the Magicians, it's very hard to love, yet you tend to love it. Most people do not like Quentin until book three. I am one of those people tbh. Book three is the best book of them, it changes so much. Book three made the other books worth all the parts I hated.
be prepared for tears with I Want to Eat Your Pancreas. I read the novel version and cried so hard that I was emotionally exhausted by the end. it took a while for the melancholy to go away. Monster is great, as well as 20th Century Boys.
I really didn't like the Wizard of Earthsea. I don't know, it was just written in a pretty old style and I didn't fall in love with it. I did convince myself to finish it though, and I'll probably return to LeGuin's writing because I've loved her short stories before.
I also dropped Hyperion (a little earlier than you - during Kassad’s story) and it took me two years to pick it back up. Eventually finished it and I think it was worth it. Have yet to pick up the 2nd book though and it’s been a fee years lol
I didn't really get into Hyperion the first time I read it, but I later retried it, and really liked it a lot. And the second book might be even better because everything is finally connected, but the lore is greatly expanded and deepened.
Is that the complete collection of Calvin and Hobbes in the background 😃!?! I have that too 😁. Love Calvin and Hobbes! Oh, and - please try the manga Atelier of witch hat. I would love to hear your thoughts on the magic system in that 🥹.
The Magicians. The TV series how became a cult one by being one of those where the actors directly communicated with us and the series changed with our requests. No name actors yet only with acting it was fantastic.
Really looking forward to what you think of Victor Lavalle’s “Lone Women”. I read his book The Changeling last year and I swear it has to be one of the absolute worst books I’ve ever read in my life.
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I hope you are feeling better Merphy...
If you want to get a good story from Dan Simmons that doesn't use the style that apparently Hyperion Cantos uses, try his horror novel "Carrion Comfort." It is a truly horrific "vampire" story, but worth at least one read through.
Merphy is always right, except for when she’s always wrong.
Ouch 😭 lol
😂😂😂😂😂
She's a wizard.
😂😂😂
Isn't that all women
I’ve read Monster for the first time last year.
I think reader-Merphy will like it, especially the main antagonist, but mother-Merphy is going to have a hard time.
I appreciate you separating me into pieces like this. It’s actually very useful to prepare myself for what’s to come
I'd say it's very character focused so I think she will like it as well
Naoki Urasawa is my favorite mangaka of all time. I've loved every single work by him and Monster is my second favorite behind 20th Century Boys. I also don't enjoy mysteries too much but Monster is so much more than that and Mystery manga are a totally different experience than mystery novels I've found. And the villain, oh the villain. Gives me chills every time I think about them. I hope you enjoy it and hope you have a wonderful time reading all the books!
I expected One Piece to just be...you know, meh...just a fun, silly, light hearted adventure....now I'm at Impel Down and oh boyyyyyyyyy I'm glad I was wrong. This series is my new personality lmao🤣
Yeah, it's way different then you expect going in. The arc after Impel Down is considered one of the best in the series. Also, Bon Clay is fantastic.
So glad you’re loving it!
@@rq2757 I took a full year to catch up as well. Don't rush yourself, just enjoy the journey at your own pace. It only gets better from here so if you're already liking it you're in for a treat.
We don’t have the same genre preferences (I really LOVE mystery thrillers), but I ADORE the way you review books. Your reviews are so considered and so fair! I love how you can separate your own feels about the book from the skill of the writer. There are surprisingly few booktubers who do this. I really just love everything about your reviews. Maybe one day you will convince me to give fantasy another shot. 😉
I would say the main driving component of Monster isn't really mystery per se, more like you get a VERY tangible threat shown early in the series, and most of the following arcs deep until later in the series are very oriented towards the looming feeling of "is it really possible for THIS to be causing THAT?". I'd call it more of a thriller than anything, really. I sincerely hope you will enjoy it, it is a fantastic manga!
Yesssss, I see Monster. Easily my fav thriller in all fiction, so hope you enjoy it. I would recommend it to read it with Phillip Chase cause it has a lot, and I mean a lot of discussion potential. Either way, I'm excited for your opinion on it
Omg yes! I wished I had someone to discuss it with while reading, especially at the end. One of my favorites for sure.
Had to pause to write this halfway through, I was OBSESSED with Burn Notice when I was younger and your reference just threw me back 10 years in the past like a frisbee. Wow. I think that was a great description.
I loved Burn Notice although partly was because Bruce Campbell is in it (was what got me interested in it).😄
I’m so happy you’re gonna give the Fitz books another chance because I despised Farseer but your Liveship vlogs made me continue and now the final Fitz trilogy is my all time favorite series. So both thank you and good luck Merphy!❤️
Im About to start farseer what made you dislike it?
@@mckinneym.2743 Mainly the pacing and plot wasn’t doing anything for me and it all felt kind of generic with the kingdom setting. Also Fitz was so young and dumb that he was just an infuriating character to read from for me. However looking back at it now I have a much deeper appreciation for what Hobb did and the set-up for the rest of the story. Happy reading to you!
Merphy, have you read Terry Brooks' novels? I started with the Elfstones of Shannara in the mid 80s. The world he created is something you would likely love. The story evolves over generations of characters who are often decendents of characters you've grown to know and love. I've read them all and his most recent "Child of Light", not of the Shannara series.
Thank you, Josh Malone! The Realm of the Elderlings is sooo good, and I hope you, Merphy, will end up enjoying the books, even if Fitz is in them.
As for language I want to learn, I'm interested in Korean since that's where I'm vacationing next.
Monster is one of my favourite anime of all time. Unfortunately the manga wasn't translated in my country but i'm still curious about how you feel about it, especially the villain - one of my best parts of the series for me.
No way you end up putting Monster into 1 star. That is a masterpiece. And considering how much you love grimdark fantasy, you will love Monster. That's my prediction.
Tf
Hmm Monster isn't really fantasy although it can feel like it at times. I'm surprised how grounded it feels in post communist central Europe.
If you like Monster you might also want to check out 20th Century Boys by the same artist it's like if the Sandlot kids meet the Illuminati!
22:00 - I would actually recommend starting with book TWO of Earthsea - the Tombs of Atuan. That's actually where I started. It follows a young girl who's been brought up as a the nameless high priestess of old gods... You don't need to have read the first book to understand it, but if you have then you'll immediately recognize the man she finds and traps in the labyrinth as Ged, the wizard from book 1.
so many people love Monster and say its such a classic so i read it and by the end was just like Really?... that's it? Like we spent SO MUCH TIME setting everything up and sure the characters individually were good (except the, what, like, 3??? divorce sub-plots omfg every other guy was a work-a-holic drunk whose wife left him), but it felt like such a betrayal by the end. like they were hyping up how big and bad the villain was without actually delving into his side of things, and i got so sick of the story acting like if they just SAID he was definitely really smart and really bad that it made him so. all while just ignoring more interesting parts of the plot. and stuff that was supposed to be this big reveal was always just so obvious because of how slow paced the reveals were that when it happened the impact fell flat. and this happened with EVERY single reveal i felt like i wanted to fast-forward 3 volumes just so they would get to the point. tbh i feel like it would have been better if the series was about half the length, it just dragged on far too long with nowhere near enough pay off for how much it SEEMED like it was trying to set up. And like maybe it's just me, because despite really loving a good bit of mystery, i don't usually like police and crime-centric narratives so my patience was probably a bit thin (im more of a science fiction mystery type of gal), but still, a mystery isn't very mysterious when you can guess EVERY plot twist so early that you actually get impatient for the reveals, all while the story itself seems to be trying to gaslight you into thinking it's so complex and scary and unknowable. I had to work so hard to trudge through the second half because it genuinely started out really interesting but after the first peak in the action everything just spiralled downhill fast.
Always happy to see Count of Monte Cristo on the shelf!
I watched the series for The Magicians. It is so hard to imagine not having the actors who played Margot and Elliot.
Also yes, I watched Burn Notice. 😁
I finished the 2nd Magicians book recently I thought you wouldve gotten it and started reading by now but all good. I started off just doing 3 chapters at a time. then I hit chapter 6, and didnt stop reading till 16 cause I wanted to know more. this book is Julia's book it explains her past as the current events go forward and because of show I knew some story elements would come back by the end. Im really excited to see how everything wraps up in the final book. and to see your reaction to book 2.
I just started it yesterday so we're on a similar pace!
@@merphynapier42
LOVE BURN NOTICE, Michael, Fiona, Sam. That was a great show along with Pysch
Oh boy you have me excited for Guards! Guards! Ive been planning to read it as my intro into DiscWorld also
0:53 Did you just say sorry to your coffee table?
Obviously, I respect anyone's DNF policy no matter how strange it seems to me but I think incest is a very useful plot device in some very good stories. Usually but not always it's in the thematic pursuit of representing stagnation, corruption, regression. I don't think I have ever and probably will not ever DNF a story just because it has characters doing things that I don't think are good.
That said, like all plot devices it can be used horribly (TMI I'm looking at you) to the extent of being the one thing that makes me dislike a story that I would otherwise love.
Happy to hear you're giving Earthsea another chance; I'd personally go with Book 2 (The Tombs of Atuan) first, I find it more atmospheric and tonally deeper than A Wizard of Earthsea. (But if you've already read them, you know best which one you want to revisit.)
Also, seeing your delight when you talk about Guards! Guards! positively made my day! Always great to see a new Disc fan in the making :)
Of all the Earthsea stories I've read, Tombs of Atuan was my fav (probably because it's a completely different protagonist lmao)
Yeah don't read the second book first. It won't hit the same.
Came to say the same. Book 2 is my favorite, it's very different from the Book 1, and has one of the most unique and deep relationships in all of fantasy
I love how knowledgeable you are about books, yet you stay humble in all of your opinions. I started reading books two years ago at 25 and I haven't stopped since then. All of the series I read, after Harry Potter, were discovered thanks to you. Thanks Merphy!
I absolutely love Monster, but I do feel like you have to read all the volumes fairly close together. One of the best things about the story is how tightly plotted it is, but you aren’t able to see that until the end. If you can read it close enough together so you haven’t forgotten things, then it will blow your mind at the end thinking back over all of little things that were actually important.
I've seen the anime version of _Monster._ It's not so much a mystery but rather a psychological and crime thriller. It's haunting atmosphere and opening and end credits make it a good watch for dark winter nights.
I've actually been wanting to brush up on my Spanish (I was taught a version of NorCal Spanglish growing up and always wanted to learn the full language) with me and my wife talking about having kids in the beds few years and I always loved the speaking bits of Spanish with my family growing up and would love to do it in a more proper way with my kids. I definitely might need to take advantage of that Babbel offer.
Not to the end yet, really enjoying the video. In regards to Hyperion, I would oh so gently encourage trying again sometime. I also quit reading it the first time, and the second, but it was very worth it for me to get past the first fewinitial storytelling parts into the rest of the book and series. Not that that's a promise of course, you may dislike it even more later on! Happy weekend to you! -me
Monster is a deep and emotionally powerful story! I’ve watched the anime but would love to read the manga someday
Oh jeez this is a lot of pressure 😆
HA! I watched this for the first time so long ago now (patron access) that I completely forgot about the ending. Made me chuckle all over again.
BTW, never discussed with you Merphy but I am not a fan of Sally Rooney. Her supposedly best book, Normal People, annoyed the hell out of me!
One thing about Discworld - it's a setting where everyone thinks "Good guys finish last"... yet the people who are the MOST unbeatable are those with strong morals and convictions, like Carrot and Sam Vimes, plus many other characters I won't name for potential spoiler reasons. "Everyone knows Good Guys finish last", except they really, really don't.
I was shocked that you are going to give Monster a go, if it is anything like the anime I think you may have a new favorite on your hands. I love the doctor’s character and I’d say the story is borderline/full blown horror. Gets into some truly gut wrenching situations that live up to the title. Can not wait to see how you feel about it, I think it will end up with its own video.
I'm so glad that you have fell down the rabbit hole of Terry Pratchett's Disc World. I never thought that I would care for Pratchett as I was too immersed in high-fantasy, however, he has become one of my favourite authors. His books are witty, highly-intelligent, and deal with a lot of socio-cultural and political issues. Furthermore, they are freaking hilarious at times. I also am glad that you are giving Earthsea a chance. It has to be one of the most hauntingly beautiful fantasy novels that I have read as Le Guin is a master of prose; I am also fascinated by her magic system.
I think you should def check out the Syfy series The Magicians. It's very different from the books whilst also being very faithful to the essence of what the story is. It starts abit cliche and wonky, but it quickly grows to become a real diamond, and each season manages to trump the last.
🤣🤣 I kind of love that you left the abrupt ending in, rather than recording a new outro later on or something-I don't know why. Lol ^--^ 🤍
I know you don't do a lot of TV, but maybe give the Magicians TV show a shot? I've heard it's very different from the books (haven't read yet) but I loved the show, maybe it fixes some of the issues? They have some musical episodes that are amazing.
Victor Lavalle is a fantastic writer! Looking forward to this book, since I haven't read it myself yet.
As someone who loved Hobb but generally hate her penultimate resolutions (her actual endings are... mixed, for me), I was never as annoyed by Fitz as I was reading the first trilogy. I constantly just wanted to SHAKE him. Not that he hasn't got moments later on where you just want to facepalm, but it's never, I think, as constant as in the first trilogy.
Monster is going to be INTERESTING. Looking for ward to seeing what you think!
I cried at the first coffee book. Good luck.
Naoki Urosawa's Monster is a masterpiece. And the USA show Royal Pains pretty much wholesale ripped off the "superstar surgeon suddenly blacklisted for choosing to save one of the poors and letting a rich donor die" thing.
I'd highly suggest reading Small Gods for your next Discworld adventure!
Lovely follow up, this is going to be hilarious!
Lone Women is soo good. I didn't think frontier horror would be my thing but after reading Old Country and Lone Women it's now one of my favorite sub-genres.
I'm wondering if i'd like or dislike Traitor's Blade. Everything you started out with saying with Burn Notice and Three Musketeers comparison should make me love it. I loved Burn Notice and the Three Musketeers are one of my favourite books ever.
My god, the ending of the video is so amazing, everyone should watch it to the end!
Hi Merphy, I've been waiting for you to talk about Hyperion for a while, been checking most of your uploads to see if you talk about it, ever since you mentioned it on your list a while back, also since Daniel gave it a really high review.
Glad to see your honest opinion on it, I've finished it, barely, but that thanks to the audiobook I read it alongside. Really appreciated your input on this and all the other, thanks for your great content! Hello from Romania
I just finished the first Elderlings trilogy, and I agree 100% about Moron, how anyone that lacking in empathy, sense and understanding would survive as an assassin is beyond me. Luckily I do like the world and nearly all the supporting characters are interesting so I will continue. I just hope Crybaby actually does grow as the story develops as your commenter said.
I am so so excited you are going to give the second Fitz trilogy a try!
Oh, you're reading Earthsea! I'm so happy! The 2nd and 4th books are my favourites.
I hope you love The Magician's King. But we'll see.
I have not been having a good reading year. My rereads have been going great, but beyond them there has been only four books that I can say I enjoyed. So I made a list of books that I am pretty sure I will love. One I was correct about, which was one of those four, which was Bless the Daughter Raised by a Voice in her Head, but I didn't love it as much as I expected. Another is a current read which is Beasts and Creatures Myths and Tales, which is part of Flame tree's epic fantasy collection. (They also have a haunted house short story collection part of their gothic fantasy. This one is also on the list and I suspect it will be a new favourite) I am liking it. I am not loving it except for the odd story, but I am liking it. I am actually in the section of creatures from the depths, which I thought you would like to know. It began with the kraken. The last story I read was the little mermaid and the next story is called the serpent of the sea. After this one I suspect I'll pick up All's Well by Mona Awad which I suspect will become a favourite. Also I feel like a novel, and the others on this list are novellas, anthologies, or poetry collections.
On the magicians, I stopped reading about halfway the second book IIRC, my thoughts after the first were "these people are hateable but the overall story is nice and I can see some good development". Well, that may still happen in the future but they just became insufferable enough that I could not keep reading
I really think you might enjoy Monster. I don't necesarily consider it a mystery, although it does have questions with answers that are revealed as the story progresses. It is a thriller, though, and has one of the most terrifying antagonists I've ever read whose presence sends shivers down my spine every time.
Hope you enjoy it. Now I'll have something else to comment about that isn't Yona of the Dawn, though those will keep coming. Lol.
Currently reading the Tawny Man Trilogy (3rd hobb trilogy) and loving it! I didn't love the original trilogy or Fitz but love what they've done with the 3rd trilogy, the perspective they've added to the older characters as well as all the new characters. I'm not going to definitely say you're going to love it but wish you the best and can't wait to hear your opinion once you've finished them 👍
I'm reading a French novel, currently. It's said in a small town, I guess you would call it a farming enclave, and there has been a mysterious anonymous letter, which serves to introduce the thriller aspect. I've heard it's quite good, and so far I"m enjoying it.
Good luck
@@readwithelahe tyvm , and *said = set. "It's set in a small town."
What's it called?
@@coffeedude in French it's called Histoire de la nuit. The English translation is the Birthday Party
I think you right to have hope in the 2nd magicians book I power read it way harder then the 1st one
From the size of that Eathsea collection, I hope it has more than the first three books in it.
I should probably reread/finish the series at some point. Also her Hainish books. (Bought the LoA collection on the strength of The Left Hand of Darkness.)
I will say to give context to Julia as a character in the magicians and the 2nd book your about to get into. Lev didnt really think about her to much in the first book he wasnt thinking of it all like a trilogy. But the inspiration behind her character is like if Dudley Dersely wanted to go to hogwarts with harry but wasnt allowed and how far would a person go to learn about magic.
Yes! I Want to Eat Your Pancreas definitely made me cry. I bought it having no idea what it was about and it took me by complete surprise
Haven’t read any of Victor Lavalle’s novels but if they’re as good as his Sabretooth comics then I’ll probably have to check them out at some point.
However, I have read both Conversations with Friends and Normal People and I loved both novels. That said, Conversations With Friends is the better of the two as a novel while Normal People is the better tv show. Hopefully I can read Beautiful World Where Are You Soon.
Bold predictions but I think you'll be right with Fitz (I'm not sure enough gets done for you to change your mind) and wrong with Monster ( I'd classify this as more of a thriller than a mystery, and the baddy in this one!)
Ooh! Monster! I love Monster. There is a mystery at the heart of the story but not in the sense of a detective story. It feels hard to categorize. Maybe a post-Cold War thriller crossed with the movie The Fugitive as directed by Alfred Hitchcock. I hope you like Monster and continue on with some other work from its creator, particularly Pluto (which is pretty short by comparison). Urasawa is my favorite mangaka. He's one of the most acclaimed, influential, and successful manga artists in history in Japan. I'm always so surprised that he's not a bigger name in the U.S.
Shadow Casket was such a bummer. I really enjoyed Ember Blade, and Tales of the Ketty Jay had such a great start and finish that I had massively high hopes for Shadow Casket.... And it ended up being a messy 3 star read.
Hope you like conversations with friends 😅 I wouldn’t say it’s the best thing happened to me but one of my fave books! I couldn’t get into the tv show though…
I fricken love burn notice! But I also feel like I wouldn’t like it in book form lol
I still have never read a Brandon Sanderson book, I really need to pick one up
I'm excited to hear your thoughts on revisiting Earthsea. The series is one of my favourite things, I can't recommend it highly enough.
Monster is a beast. Phenomenal main cast, side characters, antagonist, clashing themes and character foils. Dr. Tenma is one of the best protagonists I had the pleasure to come across and the mystery just builds and builds and really gets you to think about who the true monster is. I think you’ll love it, Merphy!❤️
You do not do non books but i would love your take on some Korean works, dramas are very popular and I can't get into them but I see their merits and surprisingly none of them get under 85/100 for the most part.
Hyperion is my favorite scifi book, but I can definitely see how it can just not be everyone's cup of tea
Guards! Guards! apreciation. You love to see it. By the way, Merphy, Miyamoto Musashi is a historical figure, who wrote a book based on his experience. He is not a character from a novel.
heck yes book 2 magicians, I'm hyped to live through this vicariously
Just got Tress in the mail, so excited to start!
The Azumanga Daioh manga would be right up your alley, Merph. I am 99% certain you would love it.
I really enjoy Conversations with Friends on the conversation on being a young woman and dealing with the invisible pain of periods and infertility.
Merphy should put this to polls for a future tbr. Do her fans think she'll love some titles or hate them. IG or UA-cam community polls should work hehe
I wasn't a huge fan of Conversations with Friends but Beautiful World Where Are You was a hit for me 😋
"my copy got destroyed" I don't know why, but I found this funny.
You clearly never watched Burn Notice. If you did you never have forgotten that his name is Michael Westen and he use to be a spy until..... 🤣(/s obviously)
Damn that is so ingrained in my head. I will remember the intro to that show in another 60 years. I feel bad for anyone who can watch it with a "skip intro" button. They have no idea what they are missing out on.
I think it had a weird release but I recently finished Godkiller by Hannah Kaner and really enjoyed it. A fun cast of characters in a fantasy world that I am excited to revisit some day if/when a sequel comes out. Kinda gave me Cosmere mixed with Witcher vibes.
I loved Conversations with Friends but from your taste, I know you're not gonna like it haha Fredrik Backman I love too, and Sally Rooney and Fredrik Backman are opposite different in terms of writing styles so....
You're finally starting Monster. This is gonna be interesting. Not my favourite Naoki Urasawa work but I'd say it's his best.
First time I find someone who agrees with me. I don't think Urasawa has written anything better than Monster so I think it's his best but it is not my favorite story from him (Pluto all the way)
GNU sir Terry :')
You are gonna love Discworld
Monster is a classic in anime world. Its a series you bring up to brag about your taste. I think you will enjoy it, I think everyone can enjoy it
I don't know if you are going to like Monster i really liked the story and how it was told but i just couldn't help feeling that the ending ruined it for me, not going to mention why because i feel if you think on it, it might be a spoiler, and since the survival book you mentioned it was spoiled by the ending as i recall you mentioned i think it may happen again
With Traitors Blade having everything be narrated and explain how it’s done sounds good for some things but not for other things
On the Magicians, it's very hard to love, yet you tend to love it. Most people do not like Quentin until book three. I am one of those people tbh. Book three is the best book of them, it changes so much. Book three made the other books worth all the parts I hated.
im liking how hes being portrayed in book 3 I just got to chapter 6 tonight
be prepared for tears with I Want to Eat Your Pancreas. I read the novel version and cried so hard that I was emotionally exhausted by the end. it took a while for the melancholy to go away.
Monster is great, as well as 20th Century Boys.
Enjoy the video! Keep them coming!
I am positive that you will most probable love Fool's Errand. My favorite RotE book by quite a large margin. Can't wait for your review
I loved the concept of Before the Coffee Gets Cold, but didn’t like the execution/wasn't moved by the book. Which made me so sad!
I really didn't like the Wizard of Earthsea. I don't know, it was just written in a pretty old style and I didn't fall in love with it. I did convince myself to finish it though, and I'll probably return to LeGuin's writing because I've loved her short stories before.
I also dropped Hyperion (a little earlier than you - during Kassad’s story) and it took me two years to pick it back up. Eventually finished it and I think it was worth it. Have yet to pick up the 2nd book though and it’s been a fee years lol
I suspect DuMaurier included incest as a concrete correlative for literary influences, as a way to expiate her own demons. Still, yucky, yes.
I didn't really get into Hyperion the first time I read it, but I later retried it, and really liked it a lot. And the second book might be even better because everything is finally connected, but the lore is greatly expanded and deepened.
Is that the complete collection of Calvin and Hobbes in the background 😃!?! I have that too 😁. Love Calvin and Hobbes! Oh, and - please try the manga Atelier of witch hat. I would love to hear your thoughts on the magic system in that 🥹.
Please read Britt Marie was here by Fredrik Backman. I really wanna know your thoughts on the book. 😊
The Magicians. The TV series how became a cult one by being one of those where the actors directly communicated with us and the series changed with our requests. No name actors yet only with acting it was fantastic.
Really looking forward to what you think of Victor Lavalle’s “Lone Women”. I read his book The Changeling last year and I swear it has to be one of the absolute worst books I’ve ever read in my life.
Now I want to rewatch Burn Notice