Rinn

I was in the mood for a) something that won't require a lot of thinking and b) something high fantasy. So... I started The Way of Kings. I'm not Sanderson's biggest fan, but I can't deny that it's a very quick and fun read (despite its monstrous size). No thoughts, just get swept up in the world and enjoy.

The storm-based worldbuilding is very cool. Coincidentally, I've been playing Against the Storm a lot. Very interesting how a similar base idea (what if we had a world ruled by a cycle of storms?) can go in such different directions.

Spoilery thoughts:

spoiler

I mostly like all of the main characters so far! Dalinar took a long time to grow on me (mostly because I share Kaladin's burning hatred towards Lighteyed nobility and he is a part of the system), Shallan I immediately liked but I'm worried that if she doesn't change/go through some character growth she could become annoying in future books. Kaladin is honestly the least interesting character-wise - I like reading his chapters because he is in the most immediately desperate situation and is Going Through It (TM) but he's just a bit too perfect. Y'know. Surgeon, gifted spearman, naturalborn leader, some kind of a wizard... at 19 years old. Sigh.

And boy oh boy do I hope that the eye colour-based caste system will get dismantled/at least critically examined in some detail cause... ouch. Kaladin is so right in hating on it. But I'm not holding my breath.

I'm trying to get out of a reading slump I've been in for the last... 3 months? Picked Orconomics to get back into things and just finished it today. Honestly, the first 50% was like pulling teeth. But I got pretty hooked after that, once it really got going and subverting the usual fantasy tropes, and enjoyed it enough that I'll probably read the sequel at some point.

There was just one bit of weirdness that kinda bothered me - in the main cast there were two decently important female characters and they were both absolutely fine, I liked them a lot! But there were just... no other women in this world? No female city guards, innkeepers (there was the innkeeper's wife, I guess, but she was there for a joke), no clerks or managers or shopkeepers. Idk.

Oh interesting, one of the reviewers on goodreads that I mostly trust has just published a fairly (heh) critical review of the first one, apparently you're either going to love this or be completely baffled by what other people see in it xd

Agreed 100%, the end is not great and feels very rushed but it's not really about the plot, it's about the vibes/ideas.

Just finished Lies of P. My hands are still shaking from fighting the final boss, that one was a nightmare, took me 3 hours of attempts.

spoiler

(yes, the true final boss)

Still, this is a great game for fans of Soulslikes - more of an iterative improvement than anything revolutionary, and not as thematically interesting as Fromsoft titles, but a very polished experience. Really good boss fights.

I got a highly ominous one

I've finally decided to give Cyberpunk 2077 a shot, deciding that it has had enough time in the oven, and... yup. I'm happy to have waited all these years to play something that's a finished product, runs well, looks beautiful and is engaging and fun to play. Honestly I spend half of my time in this game just walking around the city - it's the first city in a game that feels realistic, with all the street markets, food stalls, drunk people wandering the streets at 4 am...

BG3 was overall the best game I've played this year though.

I would like Persona 5 Royal, never really had a chance to get into this series but I've heard good things!

...title? Asking for a friend, of course.

Maybe Palimpsest by Catherynne M. Valente? Her Orphan's Tales have some interesting cities too, but that's a bit of a stretch.

Again, not just one city, but take a look at Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino - it was a direct inspiration for Fallen London.

China Miéville might be worth checking out - go for either the City and the City or for Perdido Street Station.

I grabbed Yakuza: Like a Dragon and Sleeping Dogs Definitive Editon, both of these are supposed to be great on the deck! Still stuck in Packaged purgatory though, so it's going to be a while before I actually get the chance to play them. There were some other games I was considering, but I gotta stop spending so much money right after buying a new piece of hardware... One day Sekiro will be at 70+% off, and that is the day I'll buy it.

I have not been in a bookish mood recently, so... does playing a visual novel somewhat count? These things are basically overgrown choose your own adventure books, after all. The one I've been playing is Slay the Princess - it's a horror game (disturbing/somewhat graphic rather than actually scary - check out the content warnings if you're concerned) where you have to go into a cabin in the woods and, well, slay the princess who is trapped in the basement. If you don't, the world will end.

It's quite cleverly written - I've had many little moments when I was following a conversation and thinking about what I, as a player, would like to say under the circumstances, and then the game would offer me exactly that as one of the dialogue options. The voice acting is on point, the art is beautiful, about the only issue I have is that I didn't enjoy the final resolution all that much (idk why - I think that it's at least partially a pacing issue and spreading the last infodump out a bit more would have helped). I encourage anyone not violently allergic to the concept of a visual novel to give it a look.

Oh, and you get to bully the narrator and it's beautiful.

Light-ish romances I've read semi-recently: Strange Love by Ann Anguire (fun and surprisingly engaging sci fi alien romance), The Elf Tangent (fantasy adventure).

Not a romance but low brain power required: Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson (young adult fantasy adventure, power of friendship).

Lightning fast read, frequently gets emotional + medium brain power required: Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells.

And I personally tend to go for either fanfiction or progression fantasy/litrpg when I want something easy to read. The Wandering Inn was my gateway drug to the former.