As a Polish person, who (obviously) read all the novels and stories in Polish, I must say that Sapkowski`s style is not much different from how you`re describing the translation (but in a good way). He mixes archaic language and some modern words, uses different styles in different situations, depending on who is speaking. He uses indirect quotes and paraphrases a lot of important pieces of literature, especially Polish (which is probably completely impossible to translate in a way comprehensible to the foreign reader). In certain situations he writes with extremely short sentences, sometimes without verbs, especially he`s great at descriptions of very dynamic, action sequences. And he usually adds something witty and funny in unexpected place. It`s not a style for everybody, but if you get to like it, you`ll love the series. Also, about prequel books: two of those contain short stories, that were written years before the main saga and mostly published standalone in a Polish monthly magazine "Fantastyka". In the beginning the author didn`t plan to develop them into the saga. He even said once that the very first short story ("The Witcher") was supposed to end with the death of Geralt. Fortunatelly he changed his mind. These books were written by Sapkowski mostly for his son, who was a teenager, and these are great for teenagers to read - full of action and humour. For adult reader these are just part of worldbuilding. Season of Storms was written many years later and it`s the weakest part of the series, I admire that you read it before the saga and it didn`t make you leave it and stop reading... I think it`s hardly comprehensible if you`re not heavily into the series. For me it was a bit like reading fan fiction. A good fan fiction, but still. One more thing - there is an eight novel already - it`s a prequel again, set many years before, during Geralt`s first years of being the witcher. It`s not translated yet, but I read it in Polish. It is good, but again, mostly for hardcore fans. The title is "Rozdroże kruków" which can be translated as "Raven`s crossroads". Thank you for your review! Pozdrowienia z Polski!

Any recs for something similar but that you love?

I loved it so much and cried a bit at the end.

My general take on mistborn was that it was a phenomenal narrative with mediocre characters. I did not care about vin at all, but the overall story was good. Sanderson books are hit or miss, some are great some are meh. The only one i truly did not like was elantris. But generally he is known for 2 things, his imagination and his endings, in these 2 things there is no one who is even close to being his equal, but he is weak with things like humor.

Hi Kathi, Wishing you a safe and healthy New Year. Later

Hi Kathi, Wishing you a safe and healthy New Year. Best

David Eddings also wrote a stand alone book called Regina's Song. It takes place in our world. Probably early 90s. It is a mystery. Has Eddings' brand of humor with a good mystery.

A very eye-opening review, Kathi. I actually have to thank you for putting a lot of things in this book under a different spotlight that i wouldn't have caught on otherwise (most likely due to me not reading a lot of fantasy books). I personally enjoyed the book and will at least give the 2nd book a chance. One thing I want to specifically point out is the maxims at each chapter start; I do not have any background in law and therefore their origin flew completely over my head. Thanks for the review!

Thoughts on Candide? I think it satirizes many of the issues you had with Robinson Crusoe. Namely religious hypocrisy and attidutes towards slavery at the time.

Great Reviews. I love watching people give their impression on Malazan. Fun Fact Originally, Memories of Ice was supposed to be book 2 of the series. Erikson in interviews, said that he had written much of the book on an old electronic writer but lost all of his progress. Instead of re-writing it due to be so demoralized, he wrote Deadhouse Gates instead.

Love the malazan series .one of the best reads i have ever enjoyed in my 45 yrs of reading . Your takes on Ericksons writings are brilliant and concise . Thank you and subscribed

❤ very informative! I just brought home a beautiful homalomena Selby, though it seems more like this plant, what would you say are the differences? They seem so similar. Either way, the camo on it is stunning.😊

Anne McCaffrey - I was lucky enough to find a bunch of them in my local RSPCA charity shop at the end of the summer, so they are on my reading list for next year. I only have two of the Pern ones that she wrote on her own to get and a few of the ones she wrote with her son. I'm missing quite a few of Todd's in the Pern series. I want to get old of her Acorna books, too as I missed them when they came out in the late 90's/early 2000's. Raymond Feist is on my list to get to - I used to have all of his books, but had to re-acquire them because of house moves, and such - some editions appear to got lost when we moved. They were what really got me into reading fantasy books, so they have a special significance for me, but re-reading the older ones and the newer ones (from 2010 onwards) will have to wait as I have a lot others I want to read first. In the UK, the situation on the cost of books is different, mainly because we have lost quite a few discount retailers over the years - there used to be a science fiction and fantasy book club where you could pick up a selection of new books for about £5 when you joined it and they would have sales. There were also a lot of discount bookshops that sold new books which had a good variety of books in them but a lot of them don't exist anymore and we only have the Works and they mainly sell crime, romance and historical fiction (they used to sell quite a lot of fantasy and sci-fi but don't any more unless it's a series that's been heavily marketed on tiktok or made into a film or TV series.) Our local Oxfam sell used books at prices which you would have paid for a new book in the 90's/early 2000's and new paperbacks now cost (on average) about £10.99 and hardbacks can be £20 - £25. I might get lucky and find a used hardback cheap, but it's rare on Amazon now to find them, and books that have been published more recently usually cost more used than they do if you buy them new.

If you want to know more about The Crimson Guard, you'll have to read "Return of the Crimson Guard" (and maybe "Stonewielder") by Esslemont. There's nearly nothing else about them in Erikson's books. You'll find RotCG a nice brake from the somewhat bleak world that Erikson is creating.

Ngl this book is wild

Just recently came across your videos, and absolutely love them! Having read the series eight full times over the years now it is so lovely to see a first time reader's take on these books that mean so much to me. Just wanted to say hearing your feelings on Tavore brought tears to my eyes, she and Fiddler are tied for my favourite characters in the series. You perfectly captured everything i love about her - that mystery and tragedy. Stoicism and cold iron, everything held close to her heart.

Very nice haul Kathi!

we should put respectable reviews like 1. who is it for 2. who should not read it the comments section here is respectable but we must not create antoehr tribe here of only those who want to see reviewers that align to their ideology or even propaganda(not that you are) i think each person has diffeent preferences even in writing. not many book readers are adavnced ones and are merely audiences. so they like to enjoy simple writing. there is nothing wrong in that. i think reviewers must put their preferences to various subgencres. i know jane austen is amazing but i would not like it becuase rhe prose it not for me but i respect it otherwise book reading was restricted to only hard core readers thank you

I loved The Tainted Cup--hope you enjoy it!

I did the same, buying hardbacks of Anne McCaffrey books. A couple months ago I found a great deal on ebay of a bunch of her books in really nice condition. I generally prefer to read the paperbacks, but I love having nice hardback editions of any authors or books I love. Unfortunately, that creates even more books since I don't want to get rid of any of them! I read all of Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series years ago and then got rid of them only to re-purchase the whole series again when they re-issued a mass market paperback set that I loved the look of. Normally, I would avoid mass market editions but I have been finding some editions that I really love in mass market editions.

Here in the states the hardcovers seem very expensive. Sanderson Wind and Truth is $40 and some other hardcovers I’ve seen average around $35 which I think is obscene. I’ve always been partial to paperbacks and mass market paperbacks in particular so for me that’s a good way to save some $$ for more books😂 Sweet book haul. Happy Reading

I've just discovered your channel and have enjoyed this video so much! Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your reading habits! 😍 I'm exactly the same in being a re-reader and especially absolutely loving to re-read a whole series when a new book comes out, I do the same! While I love physical books, I tend to read much more e-books (bought or borrowed from the library) lately since they are much easier to read in bed before falling asleep, I can take them anywhere and read when I'm travelling or commuting to work via public transport. Additionally, I also knit, and I love reading e-books and knitting st the same time. 😁 (Yes, both activities are slower when done together, about 75% or so - sometimes, I need to focus a bit on kniting a few stitches and I am distracted from the book for a few minutes, and sometimes, I focus on a particularly tense scene in the book and forget my knitting - but most of time, it works quite well at the same time!) I also read one book at a time pretty much always. An exception are non-fiction books which I just can't push through for a very long time, so I try to read just a few chapters or pages inbetween my "main read" which is usually fantasy or (mystery) thriller or a crime novel or sci-fi or historical fiction or horror or literary fiction. I like a lot of genres. :) Fantasy is my favourite genre by far, and my least favourite is romance. I am rarely in the mood for funny or absurdist books (though I have read some), usually I prefer serious and dark books. At the moment, I only read about ~1h per day during my commute to work, and about 30 min - 1h in bed before I fall asleep. I used to read all through the night when I was younger, too, but now I'm too tired and my work schedule doesn't allow it. But this is fine, and I read much more when I'm on vacation. :) Oh, and I'm so happy that you love Stephen King, Wheel of Time and Dresden Files as well. 😊

I would suggest you read the bonehunters and then take a break

What an amazing book, the poison sequence was so subtle The complete crippled god sequences were so interesting The edur culture was so interesting This book is my second favourite so far house of chains being my most favourite In the first 6 books I have read The reason why I love house of chains is also vastly because of how cotillion, shadowthrone get involved in the schemes, not to mention the mystery around Raraku, amazing sequence of fist gamet 👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻 After reading the bonehunters your perspective on this book will be changed

Great haul..my idea is to buy all books before starting a series lol. If I don't enjoy I keep the rest or sell everything. Depends. Keep the videos coming

For me reading is That time. I read mostly before sleeping. Reclining in bed. Almost every evening, almost every night. No matter if only few lines before falling asleep, or chapter, or two or half of a book. But it must be there, otherwise my day feels incomplete. Of course I also read in my cozy armchair. Physical books are better, because I can see them, touch them, feel them, smell them... Each time I take it, I have physical perception of it. But I have also e-book reader and I enjoy it too. It is better for vacations, that I only take this device and don't need anything more. It's backlight is also good feature, because I can read and don't need to have lit lamp. And when I fall asleep, the device just turns off after a while and remembers where I stopped. The downside is, that my perception, while reading, is only that device and black&white cover. Sometimes I forget if I actually read this and that book, because they can blend due to lack of physical perception and appearance (if the story isn't particularly distinguishable). Sometimes I read some review, and sometimes You spark that interest in me about certain books/authors (like the Malazan, Wheel of time, or Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, or Janny Wurst...) Audiobooks - I tried, I have, but they are not my top platform. Simply just because I often find the tempo, expression tone, acting, colour of voice, pronunciation etc. bit off for my taste. But they are good for driving a car on long distance (only I do not drive long distances that much). Usually I do not set books aside, when I start I try to finish it. Few times I really forced it and was waiting if it's going to be better (like Valis from P. K. Dick, have you read it? Very weird book...) Seldomly I read more than one. Maximum two at a time. Few pages of this, few pages of that....which is not ideal :) Sometimes I buy a book at a great discount, that's when a book is new, but was damaged in warehouse during manipulation etc. So if it's somewhat mildly damaged, I save it and feel better that I gave it a second chance...

I love Anne McCaffery's books. I own 80 of her 110 books. Have read all of them. Now my son is reading them.

I hadn't seen any of your videos before and this just popped up on my homepage. This is my favorite book in the series and I really enjoyed your review, I'm going to go back and watch all of your others now! It is so great seeing more people find this series and sharing their thoughts and feelings on such an amazing set of novels. Sounds like you are thinking of mixing in some of the Esslemont series with Book of the Fallen. That is what I did and I really enjoyed it. I think they are a great complement to each other and flesh out the world and characters in interesting ways. Excited for you to read the rest of these novels and hear what insights you have!

When I first started reading, I wouldn't DNF either. But I've been reading regularly for 12+ years now so I know what I like and what I don't. I also have a TBR list that is a million miles long and I only read about 35-40 books a year so I fully understand that I'll never be able to read everything I want to read so why bother wasting that precious time on something i'm not enjoying? Life, simply, is too short. : )

Will you be doing a spoiler talk for The Dark Tower books? Would love that!

I bought the Justice of Kings series (Empire of the Wolf), I thought they were fantastic. What didn't you like about them?

What a wonderful book haul! City of Lost Chances is likely the next book I’ll read. The Book that Wouldn’t Burn is my favorite read of this year. I hope you enjoy it.

Just a reminder that the book by GRRM we are waiting for is not the last in the series but the penultimate book. Winds of Winter will be (hopefully) Book 6 and there is still a Book 7 Dream of Spring(?) to come after.......in 2065, lol

Wow, yes a lot, but some really nice additions to your collection and it sounds as if you got some really good deals too. The Tainted Cup is one of those books that was totally different than I was expecting but really enjoyed. I originally collected the US edition and didn’t realize it was printed on the book itself, which is something I usually enjoy, but it felt cheap to me. The book arrived dented on the back so I returned it and ordered the UK edition and love the esthetics much better.

Wonderful haul, really beautiful books. Thanks for sharing.

😮 So many books! 🥳 Wanderers by Chuck Wendig is on my list of 25 books to read in 2025. As you know from my love of Swan Song, apocalyptic epics are my jam. 😎

I don't read physical books, but if I was to buy one I'd make sure it is a really wonderful one. Maybe a Harry Potter pop-up hardcover or something like that.

It's great to see your reviews, I just finished the bonehunters boy it was fun

Nice Haul Kathi Happy Holidays to you!

"I'm assuming in future books he does improve" 5:20 ish I have bad news for you

Nice haul Kathi! Unlike you I love my mass market paperbacks but hardcovers will always be my favorite!! Also is that a Monstera over in the corner of the video?

I really, really like the Dragon Riders of Pern series. I haven't read her other series. Did you like one of the series better than the other? A long time ago, when I was going through an I-don't-like-SciFi phase, my sister recommended Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy and the Dune series. I finally read the Hitchhiker's Guide and really liked it. I now admit my sister was right and am going to read Dune in the next month or so.