Are we able to ROAST The Book That Wouldn''t Burn?? (get it it's a pun) | Mark Lawrence

[@mst3kharris]

Watching Maria gesticulate wildly while ranting about books speaks to my heart.

[@gogumarshmallow]

I love when you guys cover a book in my tbr to see if indeed it should be tbr.

[@jas9474]

Guys you don't understand how happy it made me to see that you posted a new vid

[@jorje0068]

Right!? Do you write?

[@belenlowrey6251]

I accidentally had my sound turned down for the intro and even just Maria's hand motions got me hooked on whatever you guys have to say

[@briannadgibson757]

I am currently watching so I don’t know if you guys cover it, but I read this book and was so flummoxed that no one seems to acknowledge that Liviria essentially becomes Evars mother and then they both still want to pursue a romance.

[@willemijnvanhagen768]

Perfect timing as always for my trainjourney home 😊

[@pixadavid]

This is probably my favourite book of the last couple of years. Glad you had such a heated discussion about it!

[@Inthedarkbluesea]

Before I get started watching, I want to tell you that I got this book, and I dnfed it, because I couldn't understand what the author was trying to describe. I tried to explain it to my partner, how the descriptions seemed to overlap and clash and not quite make sense together, but *almost* make sense. The characters felt so disconnected from each other. The book seemed hollow, like a puzzle that doesn't quite fit together. Low and behold, he googles Mark Lawrence, and finds out he's a top AI scientist. That's when I realised that what I was trying to describe was that the book reads like an AI generated image. I suspect this book was written with a handy robot helper.

[@Inthedarkbluesea]

When you say that the characters fit the plot rather than the plot being shaped by the characters, that also suggests to me that AI had a hand in this novel

[@Feejakka]

Another excellent episode with our 3 literary Muskateers. You guys don’t often “derail” from being articulate & on-point, but when you do end up ranting or trying to recover from a misunderstanding or going on a tangent with some minor detail or, I dunno, resorting to frantic hand gestures and “pistolas” …it’s pure entertainment for the rest of us 😜 Your chaos is hilarious when it happens, maybe because it’s so rare. ❤

[@NaritaZaraki]

If you want to read something different from this author I'd recommend "Red Sister". It's the first book in the trilogy "Book of the Ancestor". Disclaimer: I haven't read it yet. But this trilogy is the only one of Mark Lawrence's works that I've seen get full-throated recommendations consistently without any hedging or asterisks. Especially for his character work which is why I'm recommending it since that seems to be one of your biggest gripes here. As for other recommendations, I think you guys might like Alix E. Harrow's "The Once and Future Witches" (standalone), M.L. Wang's "The Sword of Kaigen" (standalone), and Fonda Lee's "Jade City" (The Green Bone Saga, trilogy) as well. I love them to pieces but they are the kind of books that inspire deep-dive discussions even if you don't like them. I'm also reading Robin Hobb's "Assassin's Apprentice" for the first time and I'm having a blast! She writes politics and intrigue through the eyes of a child in a really interesting way.

[@Cheshak]

I'm sorry, Katie, I'm trying to listen, but there's so much cuteness om the screen at 13:17 😻

[@maddiedoesntkno]

First of, _Amulet of Samarkand_ was a blast from the past I didn’t know I needed today! Down the rabbit hole (used to love the silly footnotes-hope they hold up!) also, in love with Big Ornch Cat. Please relay some pets.

[@monsterintheclouds2143]

Oh gods YES I thought I spotted the book behind Maria in some older vids and I always wondered if it was it, and my heart exploded now that it was finally mentioned

[@jazr813]

maria once mentioned she liked le guin, so why not read one of the *greatest* voices in the genre for a change? her earthsea books are quite short! even the left hand of darkness can be read in a day!

[@LeeAnnaHolt]

As a Mark Lawrence fan, I too am riding the struggle bus with this one.

[@marocat4749]

Cant more romances actually have characters become friends before lovers, or be interested and get to know before.lovers. And him getting a selfdiscovery over his infiority complex?

[@yiannis5972]

I dont know why but thisbis really giving me Strange the dreamer vibes with the los mysterious cities , gods stuck in diferent times qnd places ,romance between species ect.

[@WriteCold]

7:38 is iconic Maria

[@HushIAmTalking]

The title is taking me out 😂 Edit: congratulations to Katie on clearing her background boxes

[@llindberg194]

I've been waiting for this episode, yay! If you want to read more Mark Lawrence there's always Prince of Fools or Red Sister, both less grim than Prince of Thorns and Jorg.

[@ChainPages]

SOMEONE WHO ALSO KNOWS PRINCE OF FOOLS, I’m on my knees crying. I love that series, but it gets so overshadowed

[@llindberg194]

@@ChainPages I don't see many people talking about it either, it's a nice fantasy series with a mix of fun ideas and characters. I'd be very excited for UTT to cover it and pass their verdict.

[@LeeAnnaHolt]

I own the signed omnibus of the Red Queens War trilogy. It's literally my second fave of his trilogies next to Book of the Ancestor.

[@Purkinje90]

I love all of Maria's different voices, they're hilarious

[@Merve77772]

Just started watching but I felt so conflicted about this book. I really loved the vibes and concept of the book but it truly needed at least two more rounds of editing. Katie just said it but it's so repetitive.

[@ishani1274]

omg Katie! Your dog is the cutest!!!!!!

[@toppersundquist]

I've got two hours of cleaning to do this morning. BOOM.

[@amykariaxxi2159]

If you want a different book recommendation, you guys should read Interstellar Pig by William Sleator. It's an older sci-fi book (published in 1995), probably young adult?, and it is very different.

[@unresolvedtextualtension]

I read that as a kid, and was just thinking about it today, what a bizarre coincidence. --Will

[@robertb.7772]

Please review Abbie Emmons, I'm so curious 😅

[@ChainPages]

Eyyyy, Mark Lawrence! I *adore* his other series, Red Queen’s War/The Prince of Fools, someone pls read 🥲🥲🥲 no one ever reads this series, it gets eclipsed by his grimdark edgy Thorn Prince one. It’s not a perfect trilogy by all means, but man it’s fun. Quick synopsis for anyone reading: trashy scumbag prince bumblefucks his way into a world-saving quest alongside a noble Viking warrior - shenanigans occur.

[@LeeAnnaHolt]

Genuinely my second fave of his trilogies next to Book of the Ancestor.

[@pseudoIntellectualFrog]

"pike and shot only worked for spanish Tercios" yep. the Swiss mercenaries, the Landsknechte, (and the Swedish and the Dutch armies) would like to have a word (or a shot) with you.

[@heart-lying-still]

I tried to read The Book That Wouldn't Burn, but I couldn't stand the repetitive narration, the vague character descriptions, and all the telling. I'm not normally someone who goes "show, don't tell!" because both showing and telling are necessary for a good story, but Lawrence went overboard on the telling here. I'm also still unhappy with how Lawrence handled his Book of the Ancestor trilogy because that trilogy started off so good with Red Sister and then went completely downhill in Holy Sister. I don't even want to reread Red Sister because it's all tainted and any flaws would jump out at me now. I suspect all of Lawrence's books are ruined for me.

[@asdfghjklasdfghjkl321]

Omg this was such an interesting conversation, I know it wasn't perfect, but I do hope ye do the sequel! Edit: How about Cloud Cuckoo Land by Anthony Doerr? I think it would be a really good book to contrast with The Book That Wouldn't Burn too.

[@alyxbarter3155]

Oh my gosh yes Cloud Cuckoo Land was so good. Multi POV and different timelines but it all collides together so neatly.

[@pixadavid]

Cloud Cuckoo Land actually has a lot of thematic and even plot similarities with Book that wouldn't burn (though is a lot more 'literary') - I loved them both in different ways.

[@TheRealmBetween]

If you haven't read "the invisible friend" (or the "Golden and Grey" books) by Louise Arnold, you should (even though they're childrens books)

[@ribbonquest]

This book keeps drifting in and out of my radar. Time travel nonsense is the deciding factor. No thank you!

[@A_Bookish_Obsession]

So glad I woke up to this. 😂

[@malagreene8383]

The library and the time pools remind me of the magicians

[@purplepigment4283]

The fn cat left the room 😂😂😂

[@sabrinabeeart]

Don't think this is going on my tbr only for the weird she becomes his mother figure schtick. I'm babysitting for two little boys and if one of them wanted to pursue a romance with me 20 years down the line I'd run away screaming. Absolutely not. I changed their diapers. You might be 20 but you're still a baby. It's giving weird vibes tbh.

[@peledtalli]

Sounds similar to Naomi Novik's Deadly education Scholomance concept

[@Izanagi009]

i am just watching this, lover and mother? This sounds like that one Heimlein story i heard about where a guy becomes his own mother and father. Alternatively, this is just Futurama. What is with Sci Fi having "i'm my own father" type stuff. Even BioShock Infinite had something similar

[@leigh-anjohnson]

What is the giant orange floof's name? 🐈

[@unresolvedtextualtension]

Her name is Pumpkin!! - Maria

[@leigh-anjohnson]

@@unresolvedtextualtension 😍 Cute

[@HushIAmTalking]

I don’t want to become known around here as an Iron Widow apologist… but I don’t think the author isn’t aware the main character makes messed up decisions. I’d argue that’s the point, she’s meant to be the villain. But why is it so important that the text tell us something that is an obvious crime is an obvious crime? Isn’t that underestimating the intelligence of the reader? You could say it fails to have a discussion about the thing and why people do it and why it’s bad… but if that’s not the theme of the book then does it matter? Surely that’s less about skill and more about preference? All to say that Iron Widow is pretty terribly written 😂 I just don’t think this is a reason why

[@zenithquazar]

Right? Like its a story about a ""bad person"" thats obvious from the jump. The book doesn't need to hammer it home

[@whateverperson2006]

Maria's cats look to be at a healthier weight than my own one, my cat is too thin.

[@llamabean529]

You guys know the sequel is coming out soon right?

[@BlueArcStreaming]

Yayy a new review from the best

[@Hawk-wn2gt]

Are Maria and Katie available for podcast interviews?

[@CrisM779]

Katie and food metaphors are becoming a thing and I kind of like it😂 This sounds like it would have worked a lot better without overcomplicating it with needless time stuff. That's always so difficult to handle and almost no one gets away with it without creating some contradictions or plot holes. All the back and forward through time gave me a headache, trying to follow it is just painful but I really like the idea of the library and writing a character into existence. Even so, I don't think I'll be picking this one up, especially since it's a series and not self-contained.

[@pixadavid]

If anything perhaps the time travel mechanic is overexplained- the 'plot hole' definitely isn't, the portal they go through is on the same time line as the one Livira came from (Livira literally lays it out as an experiment, explains why they're choosing that portal as it's perpindicular to hers etc), but I think at that point in the text they may have checked out/missed it due to listening at 2x speed/had a car cut in front of them etc etc.

[@hope2dust]

I've literally watched this podcast 4 times and still have no idea what this book is about 😅

[@marthabaggins4969]

1:21:14

[@sava-smth]

Can't wait to see if you _burned_ this book 🤭

[@jorje0068]

In regards to steak, when you said well you meant rare, right?

[@PaperTigerProductions]

Do The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez! The Book That Wouldn't Burn was a very mid, boring read for me. The repetitiveness of the prose was a slog to get through and I don't think the pay-offs were worth it. Two notes at 45:29 Re: Iron Widow - Xiran's pronouns are they/them and, uh, Wu Zetian is pretty clearly a villain protagonist. I vaguely recalling writing you an essay in the Iron Widow comments that I didn't end up posting because it got too long, but since the subject of Xiran not knowing what they wrote with Iron Widow keeps coming up in your other videos, I'll make a brief point here. IIRC there was one point in your Iron Widow discussion where cultural context was brought up so I will confirm this for you - Iron Widow is not about feminism. That's window dressing for the real theme: intergenerational trauma inflicted by the very specific cultural experience of growing up East Asian. If you're East Asian/Chinese diaspora, you will understand that Iron Widow is East Asian model minority dark wish fulfilment. It's a book where you get to burn down a world that symbolizes both the culture you love and hate vicariously through Wu Zetian in the most violent, OTT way with zero regrets because in real life you spend all your time mired in guilt and shame for not living up to the weight of soul crushing expectations of your ancestors. You get to the end and it's absolutely therapeutic. Then you put the book down, having experienced catharsis, and go back to being a model member of a model minority instead of doing things which have far more harmful consequences in real life.

[@jasminv8653]

Then why is it sold as a feminist fantasy adventure...?

[@PaperTigerProductions]

@@jasminv8653 Because publishing. It's super interesting to look at the blurb quotes TBH. Blurbs from East Asians: Unapologetic! Unyielding! Bloodthirsty! Brutal! Rage! Blurbs from non-East Asians: FEMINISM! My guess is that publishing bet on marketing as "feminism" for broader appeal. Doesn't change what the book is really about.

[@darthmazing]

I choked when Will said "this is a Christian podcast" lmao

[@matthewdeancole]

Do the dog people constantly sniff each other's butts?

[@somekindazeta]

Comment!🎉

[@marocat4749]

Did maria and kady plan the can and dog theme :3 look at pumpkin defendin the territory fluffy

[@GilTheDragon]

Wabi Sabi