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After how the kids got out of the sewer in IT, I can give all of King a skip.

I have heard so many bad reviews on this book. Yours is one of the few positive ones.

story is a drag actually, an unimaginative singularity...basically just a warmed over Star Trek TOS episode

Wow, Im really impressed that you predicted that Caroline would be the catalyst for a great change within the Prime Intellect! If you ended up readign, youll see that she was in both of the most important moments in the Prime Intellects life . I would recommend reading the rest if you havent, and would be interested in a video wherein you discuss it.

thank you for the book review. Im doing my research on this book hope I can be assisted

I agree so much suspense! Such a great novel

Hello!! I’m interested in watching this video but does it have spoilers? I’m such a spoiler avoider haha please let me know or add to title/description or chapters where spoilers might start ~ thank you :))

Struggle of father from the perspective of son❤❤

Totally dislike him

To be perfectly honest, I don't think Tolkien understood Tom. 😂

One of the better explanations I've seen, and I regret that I can't recall where I heard it but I'm not going to claim it was my observation, was that in a literary sense, a big part of what Tom represents is the last temptation for Frodo before he *truly* begins his quest. Like, Frodo's 5 minutes outside the Shire, and already he and his friends have gotten a bit lost, and Merry and Pippin almost got squashed by a tree until they're saved by this powerful magical being who seems to be in control of everything and not even the *one ring* can affect him... it'd seem like the perfect place to just ditch the ring there, trot your way back to the Shire, and live your life in peace, not your problem anymore. Not all temptation is like Annatar levels. Thinking back on maybe experiences Tolkien could have drawn from for this would be maybe like getting leave during the Great War. You'd have to think "how easy... how easy would it be to just leave all that behind? Just desert, start a new life, you'll be safe and happy." He does also offer genuine help though, as @Wanderer_Rogue pointed out in their comment, he saves them, offers them shelter, and gives them magical tools to aid in their quest and ultimately destroy Arda's last great evil. So while he's also a temptation to Frodo, he's also a comfort. "Yes, I'm on a terrible quest, but there *is* help out here." Now, I'm not saying "you're stupid for not getting Tom Bombadil!" or "now you have to like Tom Bombadil!" I totally get not liking his inclusion even if you agree with that hypothesis, lol. Some things just aren't for everyone, and his inclusion could have been handled better for the overall tone of the story.

Tom Bombadil was put in to sort the committed reader from the uncommitted reader - saving uncommitted readers hours of time

No one gets Tom Bombadil but thats kind of the point as it expands the magic of LOTR. We understand the likes of Gandalf, Saruman, Sauron, Radagast, Melkor, Glorfindel and even the blue wizards. Tom is an ancient and totally different form of magic. One connected with the pureness of earth and the treasure of life. He's both unimaginably powerful and weak at the same time as he would never use his power to expand his influence. Whoever wins the various wars of middle earth has little impact on middle earth itself, life will go on, birds will sing, worms root through the soil and spiders spin their webs. In the grand scheme of things its all insignificant to the wholeness of life and that to me is what Tom emphasises, pure unadulterated living in the moment. That being said AFAIK Tom was a favourite toy of Tolkien's children and a way for him to put Tom into the books and bring him to life. As a kid I loved Tom lol. He's this becon of calm in a dark world.

He's a neutral country during the war of Tolkien s time

I believe (even though he claims he was just passing through) that it was destiny. Bombadil's part in helping Frodo complete his quest isn't easy to understand, and even though he doesn't keep the ring or get involved in destroying it, he _does_ help. He saves the hobbits' lives, twice. Don't forget that without him, they would have never gotten their barrow blades, which they use to save their own lives in Moria and in Merry's case, helps him to assist in ridding the world of the Witch King of Angmar. No small feat. I believe the whole purpose of Bombadil has something to do with finding unknown courage in oneself. Don't try to 'get' him. He just is. 😉

He is something but also nothing.. Tolkien loved the idea of feeling someone,s power instead of proving all the time.. look how he powered up sauron. The other comment is 10/10

Tom Bombadil is kind of like Tolkien putting himself (or a version of himself) in his own world. He says that he is older than the world, but he might not survive it; he's just there to vibe and does not want to interfere with Frodo's story so much because he is writing it himself. Hence why he has power over creatures, ghosts, trees and the Ring by singing songs, because it is literally his world and when he sings about something it happens because it's as if he writes it into being. Tom Bombadil is as if Tolkien could enjoy the world he made on a personal level, how he would choose to live and be. And he would like to not interfere to much, enjoy nature and chill with his wife in the forest, sometimes helping out lost Hobbits on a quest. At least that's what I always imagined. He's still no match for Sauron because he's not really real and his power comes from not interfering - if he interfered to much he'd become a character instead of a personification of the author watching his own story unfold. So if Sauron would win the war, Tom Bombadil would dissappear or die because Tolkien doesn't write that world. The fight against Sauron is and idealistic battle of good vs evil and in Tolkien's world, good wins. There's probably more takes on Tom Bombadil but I prefer this one

You should definitely read Blue mimosa

Great content! If you're into thought-provoking literature, I highly recommend reading Blue Mimosa by Parijat.

Enjoyed your review! I think I will look into The City of Brass. Curious to know how it ends🤷🏽‍♀️ Any way, Happy Reading ☺️

I really enjoy how the inconsistency reinforces this idea of it being a historic document.

I'm rereading this now. I first read it in 2020 and I couldn't and still can't believe it's not considered a modern classic known by millions.

I just bought this one🎉

Another interesting video!

Not surprising that you note some similarities between Glen’s work and Robert Jordan’s. They knew each other and I think were friends to some degree in the eighties(probably bonded by both having served in Vietnam.) I’m pretty sure RJ had read Dread Empire and Black Company and took some inspiration from them.

I also found the black company thru our good buddy Matt. I love the whole series. It goes places I never expected. It’s pretty bleak but I always recommend people to keep reading. The story is epic on the same kind of scale of malazan

Perspolis is a comic for the same reason Maus is a comic. The subject matter is so horrific that many people would not stick with the material in order to get the whole story. As you say, the simple black and white style renders it digestible. Also-- there's s ton of work involved in color, and it can also be distracting to the reader. I read Persepolis and learned a grest deal. Other works on the subject of Islamic oppression, prose ones, made me so angry that I had a hard time finishing them. Thanks for this coverage on a great work.

Great analysis!

Can u make a video on (karnali blues ). its a nepali book also got translated in english last year by michael hutt.

Another really interesting video! I've had this book on my to-read list for a while so enjoyed hearing your thoughts (spoilers and all!)

You remind me of some of my favourite teachers 😊 I really like the idea of discussing the book here as a way to prepare for teaching it! Great video.

I love that you're covering Persepolis! It's also fascinating to hear about it from an American perspective (sends greetings from the UK!). Thank you so much for this video and I can't wait for the rest of the series!

Great job Chris! Plum is my favourite too! Love from India

Good content. You lost me at the “Rowling being problematic” disclaimer 💀🤣 People are allowed to have opinions, let’s move beyond weaving cancel culture into everything we do. I just want to learn about writing, not be told what to believe politically. Thanks.

I see this work as more of a historical artifact than a useful history book. This was written in the 1950s at the height of the US Red scare anti-communist hysteria. The author's entire project seems to be making a false equivalence between Communism and Fascism, while completing ignoring the obvious parallels between Fascism and Capitalism. For all practical purposes, Italy and Germany remained Capitalist countries before, during, and after WW2. Frankly, I would recommend that you read Blackshirts and Reds by Michael Parenti.

Georg Hegel!

Hi Chris, I've read all of the Penric series (11-12 novellas so far) and can heartily recommend them to you. Some of your predictions were spot on and others incorrect, I wish you the enjoyment of finding out which. Lois McMaster Bujold has a substantial body of work across Fantasy and Science Fiction and has been active for almost 4 decades!

I’m just a D&D nerd who needs to learn how to articulate themselves better and learn more perspective skills when dming a game. This is actually insanely helpful!!

As your brother, I can honestly say that Paul enjoyed this video.

Great video. I've actually been looking for a video going through narrative points of view because i needed a refresher, and this covered it all 👍Referencing D&D, I suspect that my theory about the books behind you being D&D is correct :-D

Thank you, Chris!! This is a lovely review. And that's so interesting that you thought Gordon wasn't his real name. I hadn't considered that, but it does track as something he would do.

Great review! Keep up the good work :-)

I read it last year. Its pretty good!

What if an SCP that remembers everything it has ever experienced (if such SCP exists) will interact with SCP-055? 🤔

Read them all they great

i love your videos

This sounds like a really cool idea for a book. Lemme know how you like it!

I’ve read the whole series. It’s a great read and I can recommend it. I haven’t watched the tv-show.

4:27 What? They left out the footnotes! Noooooo…. They’re integral. 😢

3:00 There’s some really interesting tension in the (wonderful) footnotes between this idea that our future historian-narrator is awash in facts about this time-period she is looking back on and the clear fact that she doesn’t understand many of these facts… another aspect of theory of knowledge?