I actually love that in Gideon the Ninth we are spending the whole time with someone who doesn't understand or care about the classic plot and instead stumbles through it. Muir is pretty good at writing different POV and sticking to that voice, even if it means the reader has to do more work to understand what is going on. That is a feature of this book series for me, not a bug. On top of that I love Gideon as a character and her relationship with Harrow worked so well to me that the last battle for me was one of the best last battles I ever read. But I completly get where you are coming from.
I'm in the middle of listening to the audiobook and I agree that the characterization is absolutely a highlight. I also wonder if the audiobook is making the humor more obvious. Because it is very dry, but there is definitely a lot of it
@@IaMSpeaks To me, my lack of understanding of the magic system didn't make me dislike Gideon. Also the first book gave me enough context clues to get the magic system. The second part didn't really explain anything about that in more detail that wasn't already in the first book somehow. The second part made a lot of things explicit and build on that.
100% agree about Dark Matter. I don't get the love for this book because I thought it was a pretty generic sci-fi in terms of concept and the main character had such bizarre motivations and was so unlikable.
Haha, you're so wonderfully passionate and expressive talking to the camera. "What?!? What?!? Meh! It's fine... really, it's fine! Did I have fun? No. Like... no. You think you can handle what you just set up? No." 😂 Keep dropping those truth bombs!
One thing I really love about your videos is that they are spoiler-free, and that you give the reasons that you like or dislike them. Great job! If you thought Gideon the Ninth was 2.5 stars, Harrow the Ninth might be a DNF; it goes downhill that fast. If you thought Gideon was discombobulated, Harrow is immensely worse. It somehow works in Gideon It completely fails in Harrow. I DNF'd the series. From what I've read, the next books are worse yet. (love the cover art, though)
With Misery, I kept getting distracted by him constantly finding ways to call Annie ugly. I mean, obviously you don't have to have kind feelings towards your abductor or anything, but it just felt so constant I wondered if he would be as upset if a hot woman cut his foot off. 🤷♀️
I do think based on your criticisms, you'll like Harrow the Ninth a lot more than Gideon the Ninth. That said, as much as I love it, I am confused by the overall hype it gets. Because it is perhaps one of the most niche books I've read, and I would only carefully recommend it. Or rather, I would recommend it to almost anyone because I like seeing people's reactions to it, but I wouldn't expect most people to love it or really even like it. I buddy read Poppy War, and I completely agree on The Burning God. We both felt like it just repeated a lot of the beats from earlier in the series and it dragged. I swear that the high rating is readers having some kind of sunk cost feeling. "The other books were great, so if I don't think this one's great, I must be wrong!" 😀
I like how prescient the original Foundation trilogy is with it's premise. To write stories in the 1940s talking about how psychology, sociology, and complex math will be used to anticipate, predict, and direct our behavior is pretty relevant to our 21st century world. But, I also like how the fundamental premise is challenged both technically and ethically in each of the books. Is it possible to create a system of control that's flawless? Even if you're hoping to achieve noble ends, does that make such a system morally justifiable?
I recently read Gideon the ninth and loved it haha! I had a vastly different experience than you and thought the writing and character work was excellent and worked for me. I also have only heard it classified as scifi fantasy, so maybe that set better expectations for me. And yes, it’s funny to me 😅
Fascinating how you compared Shuggie Bain and Demon Copperhead. I watched an TH-camr who loved both but didn't make that connection. It was very interesting to hear your thoughts about Shuggie Bain (and the other books). Thanks for an interesting video! 💛
I've been reading Stephen King's book in publication order and I can say will 100% confidence that in my opinion his first three books were his best (out of the 15 I've attempted). I want to keep giving the project a go, but I have definitely lost some motivation 😅
And only more proof how similar our tastes are, I agree so hard on the ones I have read lol. Though, with Gideon I also gave it 2.5 on my first read, but then gave it a second chance (with audio) and now it's one of my all-time favourite series... just saying 👀
I picked up a Blake Crouch novel once and DNF'd it before I had reached the end of the first page. Not sure if I've ever bounced off an author so hard before! 😂
Dark Matter was a book I didn’t enjoy but could sell the heck out of when it came out. (Because I recognized the people who would like it not because I was being disingenuous) 😂 But yes! The flat wife to forward his journey. And not Crouch’s fault necessarily but the book constantly being categorized as time travel when it’s not (and I understand no physics). Gideon the Ninth frustrated me so much and I feel seen. “Ofuscated for the sake of it” is it for me!
This was a fantastic video, and its interesting to see where our tastes diverge when they do. I think if I went back to Clockwork Angel I might not like it as much as I feel currently about it. Lonesome Dove was such a weird book because I agree that that second part wasn't the best, but for some reason the rest let me ignore that part. It's definitely part of my 5 star books that have huge flaws. YES !!! Summer Knight was hot garbage haha I think you were kinder on it than I was, I genuinely hate the stuff with the fae.
😊😊😊Your opinions on Gideon the Ninth is very valid! I am a Locked Tomb series fan, but I believe Gideon the Ninth is the weakest book in the series (so far). I remember enjoying The Testaments when it first came, but I was a senior in high school who just finished The Handmaid's Tale for school. I would not be surprised if I were to do a reread that opinions would change.
I want to start with I am a Stephen King fan, so even a bad King book is still going to get a three star from me. I didn't love Misery. My personal tier ranking would have it near the bottom of his catalog. I did feel the pacing isn't the best. Having said that, it did creep me out. The atmosphere of the book was very unsettling to me. That is what I go to King for, so for me he delivered there. I will say this book was written before his accident with the van. His books before his accident were often more gratuitous and crueler than I feel his books after the accident tend to be.
RE: Dresden I also heard that Summer Knight was a big turning point in the series and like you, I was severely disappointed. I really struggled to finish it and had to take quite a big break in between that one and the 5th book. I'm not sure what people are talking about when people rave about it, but I think the stuff about "the world opening up" is probably in retrospect? Like, the fae come back every few books or so, and it definitely is important to some of the political stuff that comes later in the series. For reference, I'm currently on book 11 so I don't know everything, but that's my best guess. In my opinion, Summer Knight is one of the worst, potentially the worst book in the series that I've read. I think the series really does pick up though. I also love the monster of the week type stories, and there's a good mix of those and some more big picture plot ones. It can for sure be annoying to be in Harry's head when he's around women, but I think it gets a bit better as the cast of characters expands and there's just, more women? I mean idk about the numbers but at least more women that are more interesting and with whom Harry doesn't/can't have a romantic/sexual relationship. At the end of the day though, the way he looks at women and the weird chivalry thing can for sure still be grating and I understand people being so put off by it they put the books down.
yeahhh i've always said if you're not laughing out loud within the first 10 pages of gideon, it's probably not gonna be your cup of tea 😅 it's definitely a very polarizing book i feel, and 100% agree that book 1 is not very sci-fi at all (though the second and third books increasingly become more sci-fi so i get why the series overall is classified as that)
Thank you for the Video! I actually like the Dresden files for their complexity and the overall story but there are defintely things that are tiring, like his description of every woman. Or that he struggles with money all the time. How the author manages to write harrys brother in a good direction and then throws everything overboard again. I hate, no i loath Susan, annoying as hell. Another thing that i can not mention because it is a spoiler. I really would like to know how it ends but I think butcher will find ways to annoy me even more. Nonetheless I wait for the next one :) I think it is important to talk about unpopular opinions because the people tend to miss that storys need an audience, and it it is just not your cup of tea, leave it, and it is okay. I Never read a stephen king book ( though two not horror ones were given to me by a friend, maybe I will read them ) and I just dont like Game of Thrones. Far too much intriges and murder and war and just no. Many books are just Bestsellers because they are written by Well known authors. But that does not make them good books.
I kind of agree about Dresden, people always laud the 4th book as this huge turning point in the series....and I was like really? And Dresden and Bob?! I strongly dislike them lol ugh HoSaB.....bleh
Margaret Atwood is one of my favorite authors and I think The Testaments is her worst book. The way it undermines the themes of its predecessor really annoys me and its just bad writing.
I noped out of reading Dark Matter after 10 pages 😂 The protagonist in it gave me real ick But I did like Folk of the Air trilogy - my favorite scene of that series *is* in that first book - the drama of that main kiss scene was just fun to watch, for me at least 😎
Yessssss Dark Matter slander!!!!! I couldnt stand the protagonist and he totally HATED his son to the degree that in one timeline I'm pretty sure his son didnt exist and he wasnt even that upset about it lmao
Completely agree with Dark Matter, and I also strongly feel that Dresden (not only Summer Knight) is the most overrated series out there. As for Asimov, LOVED the foundation series when I read it in high school, then I re-read it two years ago... and it hadn't aged well... or maybe I had. Anyway STRONGLY disagree with Gideon though, that's an all time favorite for me, but I guess you either love it or hate it and that's fine. I just want to say that once you read the second book in the series there it becomes VERY clear that it is sci-fi rather than fantasy. Thanks for the content, keep it up!
![BOOK COMMUNITEA: STOP USING A.I. IM GONNA LOSE IT [CC]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/TVKY7gniT-o/mqdefault.jpg)
I actually love that in Gideon the Ninth we are spending the whole time with someone who doesn't understand or care about the classic plot and instead stumbles through it. Muir is pretty good at writing different POV and sticking to that voice, even if it means the reader has to do more work to understand what is going on. That is a feature of this book series for me, not a bug. On top of that I love Gideon as a character and her relationship with Harrow worked so well to me that the last battle for me was one of the best last battles I ever read. But I completly get where you are coming from.
I'm in the middle of listening to the audiobook and I agree that the characterization is absolutely a highlight. I also wonder if the audiobook is making the humor more obvious. Because it is very dry, but there is definitely a lot of it
It made me dislike Gideon, even though she's a better person than Harrow, I like her book better because she could explain the magic system better.
@@IaMSpeaks To me, my lack of understanding of the magic system didn't make me dislike Gideon. Also the first book gave me enough context clues to get the magic system. The second part didn't really explain anything about that in more detail that wasn't already in the first book somehow. The second part made a lot of things explicit and build on that.
@@firellamas I just started the audiobook and enjoying it so far. It's made me laugh out loud 🙂
100% agree about Dark Matter. I don't get the love for this book because I thought it was a pretty generic sci-fi in terms of concept and the main character had such bizarre motivations and was so unlikable.
could not agree more on dark matter! it's one of those books that's made me never want to read another story by the same author ever again 😊😊
Haha, you're so wonderfully passionate and expressive talking to the camera. "What?!? What?!? Meh! It's fine... really, it's fine! Did I have fun? No. Like... no. You think you can handle what you just set up? No." 😂 Keep dropping those truth bombs!
One thing I really love about your videos is that they are spoiler-free, and that you give the reasons that you like or dislike them. Great job!
If you thought Gideon the Ninth was 2.5 stars, Harrow the Ninth might be a DNF; it goes downhill that fast. If you thought Gideon was discombobulated, Harrow is immensely worse. It somehow works in Gideon It completely fails in Harrow. I DNF'd the series. From what I've read, the next books are worse yet. (love the cover art, though)
With Misery, I kept getting distracted by him constantly finding ways to call Annie ugly. I mean, obviously you don't have to have kind feelings towards your abductor or anything, but it just felt so constant I wondered if he would be as upset if a hot woman cut his foot off. 🤷♀️
I do think based on your criticisms, you'll like Harrow the Ninth a lot more than Gideon the Ninth. That said, as much as I love it, I am confused by the overall hype it gets. Because it is perhaps one of the most niche books I've read, and I would only carefully recommend it. Or rather, I would recommend it to almost anyone because I like seeing people's reactions to it, but I wouldn't expect most people to love it or really even like it.
I buddy read Poppy War, and I completely agree on The Burning God. We both felt like it just repeated a lot of the beats from earlier in the series and it dragged. I swear that the high rating is readers having some kind of sunk cost feeling. "The other books were great, so if I don't think this one's great, I must be wrong!" 😀
I like how prescient the original Foundation trilogy is with it's premise. To write stories in the 1940s talking about how psychology, sociology, and complex math will be used to anticipate, predict, and direct our behavior is pretty relevant to our 21st century world. But, I also like how the fundamental premise is challenged both technically and ethically in each of the books. Is it possible to create a system of control that's flawless? Even if you're hoping to achieve noble ends, does that make such a system morally justifiable?
I recently read Gideon the ninth and loved it haha! I had a vastly different experience than you and thought the writing and character work was excellent and worked for me. I also have only heard it classified as scifi fantasy, so maybe that set better expectations for me. And yes, it’s funny to me 😅
Fascinating how you compared Shuggie Bain and Demon Copperhead. I watched an TH-camr who loved both but didn't make that connection. It was very interesting to hear your thoughts about Shuggie Bain (and the other books).
Thanks for an interesting video! 💛
I've been reading Stephen King's book in publication order and I can say will 100% confidence that in my opinion his first three books were his best (out of the 15 I've attempted). I want to keep giving the project a go, but I have definitely lost some motivation 😅
And only more proof how similar our tastes are, I agree so hard on the ones I have read lol. Though, with Gideon I also gave it 2.5 on my first read, but then gave it a second chance (with audio) and now it's one of my all-time favourite series... just saying 👀
I picked up a Blake Crouch novel once and DNF'd it before I had reached the end of the first page. Not sure if I've ever bounced off an author so hard before! 😂
Dark Matter was a book I didn’t enjoy but could sell the heck out of when it came out. (Because I recognized the people who would like it not because I was being disingenuous) 😂 But yes! The flat wife to forward his journey. And not Crouch’s fault necessarily but the book constantly being categorized as time travel when it’s not (and I understand no physics).
Gideon the Ninth frustrated me so much and I feel seen. “Ofuscated for the sake of it” is it for me!
I've just got Dark Matter and am going to read it. People said he is the second Michael Crichton. What do you think about this comment?
This was a fantastic video, and its interesting to see where our tastes diverge when they do. I think if I went back to Clockwork Angel I might not like it as much as I feel currently about it. Lonesome Dove was such a weird book because I agree that that second part wasn't the best, but for some reason the rest let me ignore that part. It's definitely part of my 5 star books that have huge flaws.
YES !!! Summer Knight was hot garbage haha I think you were kinder on it than I was, I genuinely hate the stuff with the fae.
Right with you on the Burning God points you made!
Always fun to see someone’s takes that go against the grain!
Demon is also a retelling orcopy/paste from david c.
😊😊😊Your opinions on Gideon the Ninth is very valid! I am a Locked Tomb series fan, but I believe Gideon the Ninth is the weakest book in the series (so far). I remember enjoying The Testaments when it first came, but I was a senior in high school who just finished The Handmaid's Tale for school. I would not be surprised if I were to do a reread that opinions would change.
😅 Love a bit of Salty Science Alliance!!! 👏
I want to start with I am a Stephen King fan, so even a bad King book is still going to get a three star from me. I didn't love Misery. My personal tier ranking would have it near the bottom of his catalog. I did feel the pacing isn't the best. Having said that, it did creep me out. The atmosphere of the book was very unsettling to me. That is what I go to King for, so for me he delivered there. I will say this book was written before his accident with the van. His books before his accident were often more gratuitous and crueler than I feel his books after the accident tend to be.
RE: Dresden
I also heard that Summer Knight was a big turning point in the series and like you, I was severely disappointed. I really struggled to finish it and had to take quite a big break in between that one and the 5th book. I'm not sure what people are talking about when people rave about it, but I think the stuff about "the world opening up" is probably in retrospect? Like, the fae come back every few books or so, and it definitely is important to some of the political stuff that comes later in the series. For reference, I'm currently on book 11 so I don't know everything, but that's my best guess.
In my opinion, Summer Knight is one of the worst, potentially the worst book in the series that I've read. I think the series really does pick up though. I also love the monster of the week type stories, and there's a good mix of those and some more big picture plot ones. It can for sure be annoying to be in Harry's head when he's around women, but I think it gets a bit better as the cast of characters expands and there's just, more women? I mean idk about the numbers but at least more women that are more interesting and with whom Harry doesn't/can't have a romantic/sexual relationship. At the end of the day though, the way he looks at women and the weird chivalry thing can for sure still be grating and I understand people being so put off by it they put the books down.
yeahhh i've always said if you're not laughing out loud within the first 10 pages of gideon, it's probably not gonna be your cup of tea 😅 it's definitely a very polarizing book i feel, and 100% agree that book 1 is not very sci-fi at all (though the second and third books increasingly become more sci-fi so i get why the series overall is classified as that)
hahaha i knew rf kuang was going to make this list for you 😂
Thank you for the Video! I actually like the Dresden files for their complexity and the overall story but there are defintely things that are tiring, like his description of every woman. Or that he struggles with money all the time. How the author manages to write harrys brother in a good direction and then throws everything overboard again. I hate, no i loath Susan, annoying as hell. Another thing that i can not mention because it is a spoiler. I really would like to know how it ends but I think butcher will find ways to annoy me even more.
Nonetheless I wait for the next one :)
I think it is important to talk about unpopular opinions because the people tend to miss that storys need an audience, and it it is just not your cup of tea, leave it, and it is okay. I Never read a stephen king book ( though two not horror ones were given to me by a friend, maybe I will read them ) and I just dont like Game of Thrones. Far too much intriges and murder and war and just no. Many books are just Bestsellers because they are written by Well known authors. But that does not make them good books.
HOUSE OF SKY AND BREATH HAS A 4.4 AVERAGE RATING?!?!?!?!?!?!?! This is a crime.
I kind of agree about Dresden, people always laud the 4th book as this huge turning point in the series....and I was like really? And Dresden and Bob?! I strongly dislike them lol ugh HoSaB.....bleh
Margaret Atwood is one of my favorite authors and I think The Testaments is her worst book. The way it undermines the themes of its predecessor really annoys me and its just bad writing.
I noped out of reading Dark Matter after 10 pages 😂 The protagonist in it gave me real ick
But I did like Folk of the Air trilogy - my favorite scene of that series *is* in that first book - the drama of that main kiss scene was just fun to watch, for me at least 😎
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Yessssss Dark Matter slander!!!!! I couldnt stand the protagonist and he totally HATED his son to the degree that in one timeline I'm pretty sure his son didnt exist and he wasnt even that upset about it lmao
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Completely agree with Dark Matter, and I also strongly feel that Dresden (not only Summer Knight) is the most overrated series out there. As for Asimov, LOVED the foundation series when I read it in high school, then I re-read it two years ago... and it hadn't aged well... or maybe I had. Anyway STRONGLY disagree with Gideon though, that's an all time favorite for me, but I guess you either love it or hate it and that's fine. I just want to say that once you read the second book in the series there it becomes VERY clear that it is sci-fi rather than fantasy. Thanks for the content, keep it up!
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100% here for The Testaments hate - such an obvious cash grab to benefit from the show
lol this validated a lot of my own opinions ahahha
Dark matter SAME
Thank goodness someone else didn't care for Dark Matter. I just could not understand why anyone liked this book. Ouch in re Cruel Prince tho :)
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