You: ummm, why'd korey do that voiceover at the end Merph? Me: why thanks for asking. That's because TH-cam demonetizes videos with certain words or phrases, regardless of context. I also had to cut a section out of what I said about Dragonflight, despite keeping things vague. If you can't see the screenshots, my goodreads has all the quotes from both reviews I had to keep vague. ❤️
Yea I try to be careful with what I say in the comments because even saying how someone said "a certain offensive thing" can get you hit by the algorithm also regardless of context. There is so much content being put on here constantly, so you need a computer system to screen it, but that also means it comes with problems.
You know what we needed from Collins? A book about Haymitch! I will die on this hill. Haymitch is such a cool interesting character, a hell of a lot more than Snow. We needed a book about Haymitch Abernathy and his trial in the games and how he survived. Like...the man is obviously coping with his emotions by being an alcoholic. What precisely made him besides the obvious become an alcoholic?
YES 🙌. I still hold on to the hope that Collins will listen to our pleas and write this book! After all, no one expected that years later, we would get a prequel book about Snow, so why should we lose hope of getting a Haymitch origin story?
It's a great idea to retell Haymitch's hunger games, but because of how much was revealed about it in the books it would really just be a more detailed retelling because the readers already know what will happen. I'm not against it but I like a story with an ending that I don't see coming.
Honestly, if we were gonna go for Capitol characters - CINNA. I have. So many. Questions about Cinna that could have been answered by a book about his life.
Merphy: let's talk about dragonflight My brain: *spontaneously mashes together both dragon Ball and dragon tales theme songs* the weirdest cues set you off sometimes
Hard agree on Dragonflight. I’m really tired of “older man kidnaps younger woman and after abusing her she falls in love with him”. And yet, it seems to be massively popular Beauty and the Beast was good people, we don’t need to keep trying to make it gritty.
okay, so I know this will be a very unpopular opinion on here, but this is NOT the trope in Dragonflight. Let me say, I fully respect if someone doesn't like this book, I actually don't like it either, but love later Pern books. I also can see why one wouldn't like the romance/sex in this. But here are some neglected facts: The point of all this is, that the telepathic bond between Humans and Dragons is so strong, they follow their feelings in every situation, e.g. if one dies the other actually almost always kills themselves off, Human or Dragon! So naturally this goes for sex too. The 'older man' IS AS UNWILLING as the girl! (He's 32, she 21 btw) He's not kidnapping or abusing anyone. If anything their both abusing each other. Which sets the quote in context, because here he is contemplating the events and regretting them, even if he couldn't do anything about them. But her perspective is EXACTLY the same, she wanted it, because her Dragon wanted it, and so was he. This telepathy thing interestingly led to a society of Dragonriders where sex is mostly unproblematic, also between two men and two woman, which it isn't in the rest of the world. They are a lot more open minded as the rest of a basically patriarchic society. Actually the Pern books have many strong female characters rising over that patriarchy. It just makes me sad to see this constructed as abusive, they both are overwhelmed by telepathy which doesn't exist in our world. It is not initiated from one side, nor is it a template to excuse abuse in our world, behause TELEPATHY DOESN'T EXIST! Yes, some of this could be written better, but if you take the age of the book and that McCaffrey actually did write later books different it's rather sad that this gets presented as a lot of other books out there with actual abuse. And so books who actually helped the role of woman in fantasy a lot get completely dismissed, because of on little story line that is even not presented with the right facts.
@@BoredMarcus I appreciate the well thought out response! I would argue though that at the beginning of the relationship what happens, and what ultimately made me put the book down, all happens before Lessa even hatches her dragon and developes a telepathic relationship with F'lar. Lessa has her entire life in her castle home, she wants to save her people, she had her best friend as a little wyvern guy, and then before any sexual tension or anything 32 year old F'lar comes in (32 and 21 is still a big age gap!) and is like "screw your home and dreams and friend, you're coming with me to be put on trial for potentially soul-bonding with a dragon" and she is SO unwilling! She is "persuaded" in a loose version of the term, and then when she gets there, she isn't ever actually told that she has to sleep with people until she's in too deep, despite everyone else knowing about it. I understand that this book was really impactful to a lot of people, (Brando Sando himself references it as early childhood inspiration) and you may be right in that it just didn't age super well, or that my specific reading of it wasn't the norm. But my individual experience as a reader of it creeped me out with F'lar's overbearing presence, Lessa not really getting the ability to give proper consent, and yet still the strong focus on sex as a plot point. Definitions of abuse are shifting. I'll give you that. But whatever was happening in that book, I wasn't a fan of. I legitimately wanted to enjoy that series, but the trope I mentioned above is one I'm just tired of having seen it already in Uprooted, Court of Thorns and Roses, Phantom of the Opera, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, etc. But I am GLAD that there are a diversity of opinions and that people can still enjoy the narratives I mentioned above. It makes for rich discussion where I'm not just in an echo chamber :)
I lhave loved Dragonflight my whole life, and absolutely did NOT remember those lines. I just checked and, in the first quote you intserted, the Spanish version just completely eliminates that last sentence. WHAT
also, the word violenta in spanish means both violent and embarrassing, so the elimination of the last sentence makes it seem as if Lessa was embarrassed by the experience, instead of hurt. Everything she does after can, at least reading the Spanish version, be understood as her acting out because of her pride and not because he assaulted her. wtf
@@gazi1470 Typical editig issues away. Happens quite a bit when translating. I do most of my reading in Portuguese, and there is considerable tweeking going on, especially in middle grade.
Honestly the romance ruins all the books for me. I am shocked that a woman wrote this. It definitely needs a trigger warning. It's very clear through the first half of book one that the main character never wanted this man until he forced it. It is 100% a relationship that started with abuse.
@@KyleMifflin I actually really enjoy romance. I read mostly fantasy but have indulged in some contemporary romance. This book in particular has a romance that is clearly abusive from the moment it starts with neither party actually wanting to be together, but they "have" to be together because Plot.
I'm guessing she didn't have very good relationships in her own life because a lot of the relationships in her fiction are like that one in Dragonflight. I just try to ignore them now, because I still love the dragons.
I loved the Dragonriders when I first encountered them as a teenager. But I'm no longer a teenager, and I revisited this series a couple years ago. ...yeah. It didn't age well. Or maybe I aged decently? Fun review though :) Happy holidays, everyone!
And this is why I mostly keep my nose out of books I read as a teenager and as a little kid. They were amazing when you were young, but now you've read all these other books and are at least ten years older... it sort of ruined the magic the one time I tried it, and I like that magic. I like the memory of it. So those books live happily in my shelves and will one day be gifted to another girl or boy, and I will still genuinely love them.
I think reading Dragonflight is kind of like watching Nosferatu or Jeanne de Arc for the first time. You can see how influential those movies were, but you can still see the problems and how they were a product of their time.
Absolutely. I see all the problems with Dragonflight now, but all I saw were dragons when I was little. I loved it so much for the dragons, and only the dragons.
The only slightly interesting thing about The Eyes of the Dragon is the fact that antagonist is Randall Flagg / Walter O' Dim / The Man in Black and the other vague connections to The Dark Tower.
4:55 The marketing people certainly went a long way to avoid having people find out it's for middle graders: No children or school or suchlike on the cover, no cartoony art style, and just in case you heard a rumor that it might be for middle-graders, the reassuring words "A novel"
WHEN U PULLED OUT DRAGON FLIGHT my face went to pure rage. F’lar is THE WORST. Lessa is amazing but we don’t see her POV ever again 😭 I decided to keep reading them after dragon quest because it improved a ton. But DragonFlight is not something I would recommend people unless they are in it for the long haul like me lol
Whoa, and here I thought you had the PERFECT reading year...💀😂😂 Gee, I had to pause the video to read that text. Honestly,while some male writers normally fall prey to sexualising teens, some female ones romanticise toxic relationships. ACOTAR, When Dimple Met Rishi, 50 Shades Of Gray, 365 Days, After, Anna And The French Kiss, The Duke And I.... Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!?
ACOTAR doesn’t romanticize toxic relationships though. The sequel clearly delves into the abuse and trauma Feyre experiences at the hands of Tamlin. How insidious the toxicity was in the first book, and how in the second book Tamlin gets so much worse and more obvious until she ultimately ends up leaving him.
Thats so cool you are adopting. I cant have children so i always thought of the option of that or a surrogate. I was a bit afraid of adopting though thinking i wouldnt be good enough etc. Power to you, thats a really strong thing to do.
Dragonflight was on my TBR, so thanks for saving me the trouble. We don't need rapey love interests in our fantasy now, there's plenty of good books that don't do that
I'm a big fan of the Pern series, but I don't much like Dragonflight, for pretty much the same reason you didn't. The good news is, McCaffrey got SO much better at writing romance over the decades. The romance in the final book of the series, The Skies of Pern - published in 2001, more than three decades after Dragonflight - is totally different, healthier and frankly lovely.
The fact that people get upset because a subjective declaration contradicts theirs is laughable. Readers have different tastes. I was persuaded by all they hype that I should love A Wrinkle In Time and The Alchemist. Hated them both.
I read some Anne McCaffrey when I was a teen. I was reading a lot of romance at the time and wanted to try Sci-Fi/Fantasy. So I picked up one of her series. I can't remember which one. But the "romance" was very aggressive. And anytime the main female character had a drink she slept with whoever was around and her husband found it funny that her "drive" was so high. It completely turned me off the genre for a long time.
Yeah, the original Pern trilogy did not age well, especially in the area of the "romances." I stick to the first two Harper Hall books when I want to revisit this world.
There's a romatic web comic called "Edith" which handles the trope of miscommunication between characters the best i have ever seen. The characters miscommunicate at first because they don't know each other and they are immature in romance. But then they grew to learn how to communicate (even though they don't want to or scared in fear of losing the other person) after a big fight caused by them not saying their feelings.
I just read Dragonflight for the first time this week. I will say, I hated the romance too. However, I loved the magical feel of the world, so I ended up enjoying it more than you did. But I can totally see why some wouldn't like it because it was more about exploring the world and magic and less of high stakes.
I remember when it came out, the reaction was kind of like 🤨 Most of the people I know skipped it... and come to think of it we were close to middle grade at the time, that's the only one we should have been reading 🤣🤣
THAT EXCERPT FROM DRAGON FLIGHT. O_O Aw, man, I totally love Eye of the Dragon. I remember reading it in high school, after I'd read so many horror novels by him since I was in middle grade myself. And I just thought it was so different from his style, and so unique. I can see why it wasn't your style, though. But awww. Skipping over Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, I still haven't read it, and while I don't think you'll spoil me, probably best I avoid opinions for now, good or bad. And I haven't heard of the last two, but they sound dreaaaadful. I live for the Worst Books of ___ videos at the end of the year. I think that says something about me...
Completely out of context with the vid, but I read The Outsiders yesterday bcoz I know you love that book, and OH MAN! I LOVED IT SO MUCH! So, I just wanted to thank you for your suggestions and everything...you are the sweetest :")❤️
I actually had a really good reading year (finished Mistborn era 1 (WoA and HoA), spent rest of the year reading Stormlight for the first to get ready for Rhythm of war, read the Handmaids tale for school and am currently reading the Picture of Dorian Gray for school as well)! Most of the books i read I really enjoyed, (all Sanderson books I read this year were 5 stars for me) and the one I enjoyed the least I still thought was good! (Handmaid's tale, 3 stars!) Since I am now reading the Picture of Dorian Gray, and I'm enjoying it a lot, even though I have to take it slow because of the writing style, I will try to get into some classics next year! PS: What classics would you recommend for me since I liked Dorian? I am interested in And then there were none and the Count of Monte Cristo, do you think I would enjoy them or do you recommend something else?
The only villain origin story I've read is Fairest by Marissa Meyer and I loved it (almost more than the actual Lunar Chronicle books). It made me cry. But I felt like she didn't just become evil at the end, like she was long gone before that.
Wow, that dragonflight extract shows a lot already, sounds extremely trashy. With such great books out there, with good writing, we really shouldn't bother with some xD I also feel like we shouldn't apologize when we think that's sth is bad or "be afraid" of the reaction of other readers, I mean, it's our own opinion, our experience with it... Wow, the fact that after the reviews of The Eyes of the Dragon Stephen King wrote one of his best works (Misery) is indeed a very interesting story!
Exactly. I think there was a time when Stephen King once said that he never minded being dubbed a “horror writer”, as long as he can write anything he wants. And when he wanted to write this book for his daughter, the backlash was so great that he wrote Misery, which is a title that has two meanings; One, its the title of Paul Sheldon’s main character and two its the state of misery that Stephen had knowing he was chained to being a horror writer.
The worst book I read this year was Sons by pearl s buck. As the not-so-well known sequel to the great book, The Good Earth, which I thoroughly enjoyed, I really wanted this book. I had high expectations after really liking the first book. I was utterly disappointed. Where the Good Earth follows the prospective one man throughout his life, Sons follows Wang Lung’s youngest son as he tries to take over China and become a war lord. But it’s also about Wang Lung’s concubine raising a hunchback. It’s also about Wang Lung’s oldest son, and his second son, and their wives. It’s about Wang lung’s grandson as he has a Romeo and Juliet style love story with some random girl. Pear blossom becomes a nun. Lotus gets addicted to gambling. The warlord son has an uncle-Iroh-basingse-battle-arch with much less fire bending; it’s so much less interesting. This book portrays men as nothing but horn dogs, and all women as heartless bitches. It’s truly dreadful. There’s just so much random stuff in this book that doesn’t go anywhere or do anything interesting. It’s just pages and pages of boring fluff. After reading it, I feel no more connected to Chinese history or culture. At least in the original, you were reading about a few likable characters in a sea of unlivable ones, but now all the likable people are either dead, or pushed to the side so you feel for no one. Crap happened to people, and there was no satisfying conclusion to any of it. The beast book I read this year was the night circus.Where do I begin with describing this story? Ok I’ll try. In a Victorian era world where magicians live secret lives, the culture of the magicians has a tradition of binding pairs of children to magical competitions that end at one of the contestant’s deaths. These competitions are always set in interesting venues. The story follows Celia and Marco in their competition, and the venue created for them to fight in, the circus of dreams. The circus is an amazing place with so many amazing characters, fascinating concepts, and dreamy visuals. The imagination is beyond belief, and the writing is immaculate. It’s romantic, mysterious, magical and amazing.
I'm just forever mad about The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is that there were about 35 stories every Hunger Games fan would LOVE to read from other characters... And THIS is what we got. I won't read it based on review I've read, and I just really wasn't a fan of her writing Snow's story at all.
Great video Merphy! I was back and forth about reading Dragonflight before this. I had tried out just the first few pages and got quite bored a while back. This probably solidified that I won't read it though lol
If you like the concept, there are books in the series I do recommend, which don't necessarily require reading Dragonflight first. The series was written over more than 3 decades, McCaffrey's writing changed a lot and there are some books I adore. But up to you whether you want to try a series where you might not like every book 🤷♀️
Also...oh boy, I'm not claiming to be great at intimate scenes (largely why I try my hardest to avoid putting them in anything I write) but that Dragonflight scene you quoted *winces* that's all kinds of yikes
I have only read the Harper hall trilogy by Anne McCafrey and I loved it. Wondering if I need to reread and possibly reasses 🤔. I don’t think that it has a similar issue though.
I completely forgot about the very problematic thing in Dragonflight and now I feel a little bit bad when I said you'd like it at the unwrapping, because yeah, that is not a healthy relationship and I'm wondering if I even want to read it now. I also have The Storied life of A.J. Fikry on my tbr, so we'll see what I think of it.
Oh the honesty and passion you are talking with... Love you! You are a master of talking about books. No matter if you loved or hated the book..I could listen to your oppinions for forever 🙏 thank you and keep doing that!
It's been a while since I've read Dragonflight myself. I read it when I was 12 and liked it then, but I don't remember it as distinctly as books like The Golden Compass, etc. I get why people like it, but I'm also with you. If I picked it up now, I'd definitely would have the same issues. I always appreciate seeing your end of year lists and hearing your thoughts on each read, this included.
One of the quote you put up from that last book: "...you might not be ready yet to tackle a book *into* the dark." Interesting word choice, dude. Now I'm picturing someone squaring off against "A Book" in a poorly lit MMA ring.
Since you mentioned a non-fiction about writing that you hated, do you have some recommendations for writing help books that you enjoyed? Love you videos! Stay awesome 😊
Odd, I thought the ending of BSoS was (relatively) the best part of the book. Or at least the scene with the birds. The rest of his corruption by lady weird glasses, was too hamfisted for my taste.
While I absolutely understand why you wouldn't like BoSS, and I completely agree about the ending, I actually loved the book and Snow's "spiral." You understood why he hated the Districts, and the Hunger Games, and even the Capitol itself, but it wasn't really the backstory that made me love the book. It was the narration! It was very, very subtle, but Snow didn't see people as people. Instead of seeing a friend, or family, or a mentor, he just saw people as a stepping stone for himself to get higher in the political aspect of his world. While there's nothing wrong with ambition, I loved how Suzane Collins showed his sociopathic tendencies so subtly. He didn't really have any real form of compassion, he never truly cared for Lucy Gray. He just saw her, and everyone else in his life, as a means to an end. It was really cool for me to see how well he learned to hide down his true feelings and thoughts, because he lost his compassion because of it.
Fairly new sub here. Have you ever read Lawrence Block’s John Keller series? I would love to hear your thoughts on it. I recently reread the first book to see if it held up to my fond memories. It did! The first title in the series is “Hit Man.” It is an episodic novel (actually originally serialized in Playboy) where each chapter is about a job that the protagonist is hired to complete. There are also bigger story arcs that build across the chapters. The “mystery” of each chapter is figuring out who contracted the hit and how Keller is going to complete the job (fun twists are given on both counts at different times). The fun of the series is being in Keller’s head!
I read Dragonflight when I was in high school and have NO memory of the love story. At least the guy admitted, in hindsight, that it was rape. But for God sake, don't have your characters fall in love with their abusers!
When does a book become "hated?" Does a book need to be finished if it isn't initially enjoyed? Prose, story, theme, expectations? When does it become a chore to read? When does it fall into a DNF? Is there a grace period for it to not be a DNF? First chapter? Can a book be read as an e-book generous sample to let a reader decide if they wanna purchase it? Appreciate the segue insight into Misery, actually!
Please allow me to recommend some King books: - I'm not sure if you read "It" but it's one of his best ones. Some things didn't age well and there is One scene I'm sure you won't like. The rest is gold. - I urge you to please take a look at "The Long Walk", my personal favorite. It's short and extremely engaging! plus it was very influential for modern YA. Great writing of teenage characters here. - "Misery" is a BLAST! Especially for literature lovers. Excellent read. - "The Green Mile" is amazing but heartbreaking. Also a great read. I've never read "The Eyes of the Dragon" but honestly doesn't sound super up my alley.
Your opinion of "I am suddenly bad!" is my exact thought on villain suddenly 'turning good!' OMG... The Lego Movie is a prime example for me. >< Ending wrecked it.
EDIT: Saw another comment that mentioned it’s explained in the 2021 goals video; I can definitely get behind the ‘low-tech’ book tracking. I used an excel sheet for years before re-discovering goodreads last year - as you said in that video, it’s all about doing it the way you find the most enjoyment and not trying to compete. Best of luck with the adoption! Original Comment: Hey Merphy, is there a reason you’re not going to use goodreads going forward? Sorry if you’ve mentioned this before in a video and I missed it but I’m curious.
After hearing what you had to say about "The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry", (I haven't read it, but I saw parallels to other novels) I'd be very curious to know your opinion on the novel "Nikolski", by Nicolas Dickner. I has that sort of convenient thing, but to me it was handled really well. Still, since it's a translated work less known in the english speaking community, it's hard to find people who have read it to discuss it. I'm terrible at summaries, so I won't attempt to resume the plot. Go check it out if you ever feel like it. Also, Thanks for the great content, always!
Hey Merphy! I'm new to your channel and I love your content! I also binge watch your "Dear Author" series! It's helping me with my books! wanted to know if I should read LOTR before Wheel of Time and Malazan since those books were heavily influenced by LOTR. I'm pretty new to the fantasy genre, and I admit, I'm intimidated to read such a great series. Should I start with Mistborn, work my way up, or just go for the big guns? Thanks!
I was planning on reading Dragonflight sometime, so thanks for telling me about it so I don't waste my time with it. However, I feel like McCaffrey's spin-off series Dragonsong (mainly its sequels Dragonsinger and Dragondrums) is probably a lot better. It has pretty good, non-abusive romance--and romance isn't even a main focus of the series. It also has a nontraditionally badass female main character. Still doesn't have a ton of stakes (particularly in Dragonsinger), but the characters and situations are interesting.
The Storied Life of A.J.Fikrey is more about the short stories mentioned in each chapter. They give depth to the rest of the story. They are all excellent on their own, and I'm grateful for the author's idea to include them in the novel.
You are adorable! Now that I got that out of the way....some of the books you picked are (or were, some are older) very popular! I think science fiction and fantasy writing is much more carefully crafted today than decades ago. When I was a teen (I am almost 60), you could get little pulp fiction sci fi books by the score. Quickly written, cheap, and easily read and understood was the way they were. Today, many within the same genre are orders of magnitude longer, more complex, and require serious diligence to read and fully absorb and comprehend.
Hey merphy i don’t know if youl see this but I was just wondering if you’d ever checked out any of the warhammer books? Honestly some of the best fantasy I’ve read :)
Lurve the video, but not sure I agree about Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. I feel like Snow was always walking the line of good and evil, and what happened at the end was the final decision maker for him, but not what turned him from good to bad. I hated him for most of the book because he was so snide and self involved. It's so interesting how differently people read books!
Interesting theory 🧐. I feel like Snow has always been sorta like Voldemort where he has always been twisted and cruel because I can’t imagine Snow ever being caught between good and evil and ever being good. But then again, I DNFd the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes so what do I know 😂. And I definitely agree with you on how it’s so interesting how people read the same books so differently.
I agree with your take actually! Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is my favorite Hunger Games novel. Seeing the events that shape Snow into what he is was absolutely fascinating. Without Gaul, his brief moment in the arena, the situation with Sejanus, and the ending with Lucy, he could have probably turned out to be a decent human being instead of a snake.
Have you tried Dragonsong and Dragonsinger? They revolve around a girl trying to be a bard where women aren't allowed, so much so that she runs away from home. I love those two books as a tween. No romance (that I remember).
about Writing Into The Dark You should try [How to Write Pulp Fiction (Bell on Writing Book 10)] it not a book that give many good advice, but reading it make you want to set and WRITE NOW it just full of energy
I loved Dragonflight so much when I was little. I read it when I was really young, and my brain just glossed over the "romance". The only relationships that I cared about were the ones with the dragons. F'lar just seemed like a weird guy that Lessa had to put up with in order to have Ramoth.
19:49 (the top one) you know am trying to be a good writer and i guess i am trying to view books, and stories in general, in a more critical way but the way he put it... honestly it made me smile, cause WOW isn't this guy all rays and sunshine! Its just...its very silly, the way he said it.😅🤣🤣
Stephen King's book "On Writing" in which he talks about his writing process is AMAZING. Contrary to the book you talked about in your video, he's very sweet toward his readers, funny and interesting. It must be the teacher in him. He also gives us a window to his childhood, his marriage and how it impacted his writing. And he constantly gives the reader advices on writing. I loved it.
It seems to me that with romance books the big conflict is, like you said, too big or too small. It’s either like, “woah you’re gonna forgive that huge thing or issue so easily without any work at all” or “really that small petty thing is why you are gonna break up? Really?” That’s my observations at least what do I know.
I personally enjoyed the ballad of songbirds & snakes. Maybe it's partly because I adore the hunger games trilogy & was just happy to have new content about the world of panem. But I can see how some people wouldn't enjoy it. President Snow isn't the most likeable character to read about & the book does drag on in some parts. I think it could have easily been 100 pages shorter than it was. I would love to see a prequel book about haymitch, finnick & even Joanna.
I don't know if you read/enjoyed the unhoneymooners but I had a similar problem with it! I was fine with it most of the way through, but then "the thing" came up and there was just so much lack to trust and communication that I just wanted her to leave him and her family and go off on her own. Christina Lauren were like "look, everything's okay now!" Without actually dealing with the serious, underlying issues.
I agree with you on Dragonflight. I was shocked. And I also was bothered by the "rape", and the shaking going on. How can anyone not see it as anything but abuse, when Lessa is CRYING of fear of meeting F'lar again, because he will shake her? And as if her becoming one of the most powerful women in the society later on in the series means her marital abuse means nothing? And I was disappointed, because I have been told my whole adult fantasy reading life that Anne McCaffrey's books are a "must read"... and the first one I read is this, and it's not that good. I wish it had been a compilation of the short stories and not a rewrite of the short stories. It was the short stories that won Hugo and Nebula, not this book. I fully acknowledge the importance of Dragonriders of Pern, and I will read the rest of the series, BUT... if it continues like this, I will not say it's good, because it's not. Also, it's funny but the majority of the people defending the book and saying the abuse wasn't anything to care about, at your Goodreads review, were men... :-D I haven't read the other books, so
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You: ummm, why'd korey do that voiceover at the end Merph?
Me: why thanks for asking. That's because TH-cam demonetizes videos with certain words or phrases, regardless of context. I also had to cut a section out of what I said about Dragonflight, despite keeping things vague. If you can't see the screenshots, my goodreads has all the quotes from both reviews I had to keep vague. ❤️
😂😂😂. "Flower". Nice word to substitute a gun.
Us: Umm, Why'd Korey do that Voiceover At the End Merph?
You in the inside: Cuz TH-cam Likes to "Fluff" us TH-camrs Over and Over so He Had to. 😂😂
TH-cam making things worse then. These things are important to talk about! Thanks Merph! Your honesty and quality is 💙💙💙
Korey doing the voiceover for it was honestly hilarious though.
Yea I try to be careful with what I say in the comments because even saying how someone said "a certain offensive thing" can get you hit by the algorithm also regardless of context. There is so much content being put on here constantly, so you need a computer system to screen it, but that also means it comes with problems.
You know what we needed from Collins? A book about Haymitch! I will die on this hill. Haymitch is such a cool interesting character, a hell of a lot more than Snow. We needed a book about Haymitch Abernathy and his trial in the games and how he survived. Like...the man is obviously coping with his emotions by being an alcoholic. What precisely made him besides the obvious become an alcoholic?
YES 🙌. I still hold on to the hope that Collins will listen to our pleas and write this book! After all, no one expected that years later, we would get a prequel book about Snow, so why should we lose hope of getting a Haymitch origin story?
It's a great idea to retell Haymitch's hunger games, but because of how much was revealed about it in the books it would really just be a more detailed retelling because the readers already know what will happen. I'm not against it but I like a story with an ending that I don't see coming.
I love how he can switch his alcoholism on and off 😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
RosieSquall me to 😂
Honestly, if we were gonna go for Capitol characters - CINNA. I have. So many. Questions about Cinna that could have been answered by a book about his life.
“Put your hating hat on, and get your hating fingers ready.” 😂
- Merphy Napier, 2020
The tinfoil hat is a-glowing!
When the sorting hat tells you you're a hater.
A Short Jaunt 😂
I always have my hating hat on.
Scabbers 😂
Merphy: let's talk about dragonflight
My brain: *spontaneously mashes together both dragon Ball and dragon tales theme songs* the weirdest cues set you off sometimes
Hard agree on Dragonflight. I’m really tired of “older man kidnaps younger woman and after abusing her she falls in love with him”. And yet, it seems to be massively popular
Beauty and the Beast was good people, we don’t need to keep trying to make it gritty.
okay, so I know this will be a very unpopular opinion on here, but this is NOT the trope in Dragonflight. Let me say, I fully respect if someone doesn't like this book, I actually don't like it either, but love later Pern books. I also can see why one wouldn't like the romance/sex in this. But here are some neglected facts: The point of all this is, that the telepathic bond between Humans and Dragons is so strong, they follow their feelings in every situation, e.g. if one dies the other actually almost always kills themselves off, Human or Dragon! So naturally this goes for sex too.
The 'older man' IS AS UNWILLING as the girl! (He's 32, she 21 btw) He's not kidnapping or abusing anyone. If anything their both abusing each other. Which sets the quote in context, because here he is contemplating the events and regretting them, even if he couldn't do anything about them. But her perspective is EXACTLY the same, she wanted it, because her Dragon wanted it, and so was he. This telepathy thing interestingly led to a society of Dragonriders where sex is mostly unproblematic, also between two men and two woman, which it isn't in the rest of the world. They are a lot more open minded as the rest of a basically patriarchic society.
Actually the Pern books have many strong female characters rising over that patriarchy. It just makes me sad to see this constructed as abusive, they both are overwhelmed by telepathy which doesn't exist in our world. It is not initiated from one side, nor is it a template to excuse abuse in our world, behause TELEPATHY DOESN'T EXIST! Yes, some of this could be written better, but if you take the age of the book and that McCaffrey actually did write later books different it's rather sad that this gets presented as a lot of other books out there with actual abuse. And so books who actually helped the role of woman in fantasy a lot get completely dismissed, because of on little story line that is even not presented with the right facts.
@@BoredMarcus I appreciate the well thought out response!
I would argue though that at the beginning of the relationship what happens, and what ultimately made me put the book down, all happens before Lessa even hatches her dragon and developes a telepathic relationship with F'lar. Lessa has her entire life in her castle home, she wants to save her people, she had her best friend as a little wyvern guy, and then before any sexual tension or anything 32 year old F'lar comes in (32 and 21 is still a big age gap!) and is like "screw your home and dreams and friend, you're coming with me to be put on trial for potentially soul-bonding with a dragon" and she is SO unwilling! She is "persuaded" in a loose version of the term, and then when she gets there, she isn't ever actually told that she has to sleep with people until she's in too deep, despite everyone else knowing about it.
I understand that this book was really impactful to a lot of people, (Brando Sando himself references it as early childhood inspiration) and you may be right in that it just didn't age super well, or that my specific reading of it wasn't the norm. But my individual experience as a reader of it creeped me out with F'lar's overbearing presence, Lessa not really getting the ability to give proper consent, and yet still the strong focus on sex as a plot point.
Definitions of abuse are shifting. I'll give you that. But whatever was happening in that book, I wasn't a fan of. I legitimately wanted to enjoy that series, but the trope I mentioned above is one I'm just tired of having seen it already in Uprooted, Court of Thorns and Roses, Phantom of the Opera, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, etc.
But I am GLAD that there are a diversity of opinions and that people can still enjoy the narratives I mentioned above. It makes for rich discussion where I'm not just in an echo chamber :)
I lhave loved Dragonflight my whole life, and absolutely did NOT remember those lines. I just checked and, in the first quote you intserted, the Spanish version just completely eliminates that last sentence. WHAT
also, the word violenta in spanish means both violent and embarrassing, so the elimination of the last sentence makes it seem as if Lessa was embarrassed by the experience, instead of hurt. Everything she does after can, at least reading the Spanish version, be understood as her acting out because of her pride and not because he assaulted her. wtf
@@gazi1470 Typical editig issues away. Happens quite a bit when translating. I do most of my reading in Portuguese, and there is considerable tweeking going on, especially in middle grade.
“I thought I was going to be really nice doing this....apparently I was wrong.” 🤣🤣
Honestly the romance ruins all the books for me. I am shocked that a woman wrote this. It definitely needs a trigger warning.
It's very clear through the first half of book one that the main character never wanted this man until he forced it. It is 100% a relationship that started with abuse.
Which book? Please tell me the name.
@@aliomar2912 Dragonflight
Just curious: will you put down a book if a romance starts to brew, even if it's just a small subplot? Or is it just the way it's done?
@@KyleMifflin I actually really enjoy romance. I read mostly fantasy but have indulged in some contemporary romance. This book in particular has a romance that is clearly abusive from the moment it starts with neither party actually wanting to be together, but they "have" to be together because Plot.
@@Trintron46 Ah, got it.
"he yells at her constantly but it's fine because she falls in love with him in the end" ewwwww i don't like Anne McCaffery now.
I'm guessing she didn't have very good relationships in her own life because a lot of the relationships in her fiction are like that one in Dragonflight. I just try to ignore them now, because I still love the dragons.
Or, hear me out, it was written over 50 years ago and might not be viewed the same now
I loved the Dragonriders when I first encountered them as a teenager. But I'm no longer a teenager, and I revisited this series a couple years ago.
...yeah. It didn't age well. Or maybe I aged decently?
Fun review though :)
Happy holidays, everyone!
And this is why I mostly keep my nose out of books I read as a teenager and as a little kid. They were amazing when you were young, but now you've read all these other books and are at least ten years older... it sort of ruined the magic the one time I tried it, and I like that magic. I like the memory of it. So those books live happily in my shelves and will one day be gifted to another girl or boy, and I will still genuinely love them.
I'm exactly the same!
Merph coming out swinging from the very first book 😂😂😂
I think reading Dragonflight is kind of like watching Nosferatu or Jeanne de Arc for the first time. You can see how influential those movies were, but you can still see the problems and how they were a product of their time.
Nosferatu is actually maybe my favorite horror movie. Murnau is one of my favorite directors too.
Absolutely. I see all the problems with Dragonflight now, but all I saw were dragons when I was little. I loved it so much for the dragons, and only the dragons.
The only slightly interesting thing about The Eyes of the Dragon is the fact that antagonist is Randall Flagg / Walter O' Dim / The Man in Black and the other vague connections to The Dark Tower.
Flagg's scenes were the best parts in the whole thing.
I love this book but I read it as a kid. I think it makes a huge difference what age you were when you first read it.
4:55 The marketing people certainly went a long way to avoid having people find out it's for middle graders: No children or school or suchlike on the cover, no cartoony art style,
and just in case you heard a rumor that it might be for middle-graders, the reassuring words "A novel"
WHEN U PULLED OUT DRAGON FLIGHT my face went to pure rage. F’lar is THE WORST. Lessa is amazing but we don’t see her POV ever again 😭
I decided to keep reading them after dragon quest because it improved a ton. But DragonFlight is not something I would recommend people unless they are in it for the long haul like me lol
Whoa, and here I thought you had the PERFECT reading year...💀😂😂
Gee, I had to pause the video to read that text. Honestly,while some male writers normally fall prey to sexualising teens, some female ones romanticise toxic relationships. ACOTAR, When Dimple Met Rishi, 50 Shades Of Gray, 365 Days, After, Anna And The French Kiss, The Duke And I.... Whyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!?
ACOTAR doesn’t romanticize toxic relationships though. The sequel clearly delves into the abuse and trauma Feyre experiences at the hands of Tamlin. How insidious the toxicity was in the first book, and how in the second book Tamlin gets so much worse and more obvious until she ultimately ends up leaving him.
Mary Shelly and Jane Austen being exceptions.
@@hXbradshaw i think the toxic relationship they were talking about is rhys and feyre
Thats so cool you are adopting. I cant have children so i always thought of the option of that or a surrogate. I was a bit afraid of adopting though thinking i wouldnt be good enough etc. Power to you, thats a really strong thing to do.
Dragonflight was on my TBR, so thanks for saving me the trouble. We don't need rapey love interests in our fantasy now, there's plenty of good books that don't do that
I didn't know you were adopting! My mom and uncle are adopted, congrats!
The fact that the first book was written by a woman makes the romance even weirder.
I'm a big fan of the Pern series, but I don't much like Dragonflight, for pretty much the same reason you didn't. The good news is, McCaffrey got SO much better at writing romance over the decades. The romance in the final book of the series, The Skies of Pern - published in 2001, more than three decades after Dragonflight - is totally different, healthier and frankly lovely.
Takes notes of books to now read 📝😂
😂
I recommend Dragonsong by Anne Mcaffrey, it leans younger therefore the romance isn't...what it is in dragonflight.
Agree, Dragonsong was better. I also liked the Rowan series.
When you called that last author a jerk, I had that song “You’re a jerk” stuck in my head. For some reason, I can picture him saying “I know” 🤣
The fact that people get upset because a subjective declaration contradicts theirs is laughable. Readers have different tastes. I was persuaded by all they hype that I should love A Wrinkle In Time and The Alchemist. Hated them both.
“He shook her regularly” 😂
I frequently want to do that to customers. XD
The cat's face at the end is the same face Merph makes in a video (bad romance good romance).
It's so cute ❣️❣️
I read some Anne McCaffrey when I was a teen. I was reading a lot of romance at the time and wanted to try Sci-Fi/Fantasy. So I picked up one of her series. I can't remember which one. But the "romance" was very aggressive. And anytime the main female character had a drink she slept with whoever was around and her husband found it funny that her "drive" was so high. It completely turned me off the genre for a long time.
Yeah, the original Pern trilogy did not age well, especially in the area of the "romances." I stick to the first two Harper Hall books when I want to revisit this world.
There's a romatic web comic called "Edith" which handles the trope of miscommunication between characters the best i have ever seen. The characters miscommunicate at first because they don't know each other and they are immature in romance. But then they grew to learn how to communicate (even though they don't want to or scared in fear of losing the other person) after a big fight caused by them not saying their feelings.
„And than suddenly I was bad“
~ Merphy Napier
I just read Dragonflight for the first time this week. I will say, I hated the romance too. However, I loved the magical feel of the world, so I ended up enjoying it more than you did. But I can totally see why some wouldn't like it because it was more about exploring the world and magic and less of high stakes.
I had no idea Stephen king wrote a middle grade fantasy 😂
I remember when it came out, the reaction was kind of like 🤨
Most of the people I know skipped it... and come to think of it we were close to middle grade at the time, that's the only one we should have been reading 🤣🤣
THAT EXCERPT FROM DRAGON FLIGHT. O_O
Aw, man, I totally love Eye of the Dragon. I remember reading it in high school, after I'd read so many horror novels by him since I was in middle grade myself. And I just thought it was so different from his style, and so unique. I can see why it wasn't your style, though. But awww.
Skipping over Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, I still haven't read it, and while I don't think you'll spoil me, probably best I avoid opinions for now, good or bad. And I haven't heard of the last two, but they sound dreaaaadful.
I live for the Worst Books of ___ videos at the end of the year. I think that says something about me...
Why aren't you using goodreads in 2021? I feel like I missed something..
She said she wants to use a notebook instead and not be constraint to giving stars and such
Completely out of context with the vid, but I read The Outsiders yesterday bcoz I know you love that book, and OH MAN! I LOVED IT SO MUCH! So, I just wanted to thank you for your suggestions and everything...you are the sweetest :")❤️
Loved this video! lol. Watching you get into books like you do is entertaining. Thanks for all that you do!
Thanks for the consistent uploads. But, you make me buy too many books lol.
Snarky Merphy is my favorite Merphy. :)
I actually had a really good reading year (finished Mistborn era 1 (WoA and HoA), spent rest of the year reading Stormlight for the first to get ready for Rhythm of war, read the Handmaids tale for school and am currently reading the Picture of Dorian Gray for school as well)! Most of the books i read I really enjoyed, (all Sanderson books I read this year were 5 stars for me) and the one I enjoyed the least I still thought was good! (Handmaid's tale, 3 stars!) Since I am now reading the Picture of Dorian Gray, and I'm enjoying it a lot, even though I have to take it slow because of the writing style, I will try to get into some classics next year!
PS: What classics would you recommend for me since I liked Dorian? I am interested in And then there were none and the Count of Monte Cristo, do you think I would enjoy them or do you recommend something else?
The only villain origin story I've read is Fairest by Marissa Meyer and I loved it (almost more than the actual Lunar Chronicle books). It made me cry. But I felt like she didn't just become evil at the end, like she was long gone before that.
Wow, that dragonflight extract shows a lot already, sounds extremely trashy. With such great books out there, with good writing, we really shouldn't bother with some xD I also feel like we shouldn't apologize when we think that's sth is bad or "be afraid" of the reaction of other readers, I mean, it's our own opinion, our experience with it...
Wow, the fact that after the reviews of The Eyes of the Dragon Stephen King wrote one of his best works (Misery) is indeed a very interesting story!
Is THAT how 'Misery' came about?! 😂🤣
I never knew that!
Exactly. I think there was a time when Stephen King once said that he never minded being dubbed a “horror writer”, as long as he can write anything he wants. And when he wanted to write this book for his daughter, the backlash was so great that he wrote Misery, which is a title that has two meanings; One, its the title of Paul Sheldon’s main character and two its the state of misery that Stephen had knowing he was chained to being a horror writer.
Hi Merphy! Thanks for always having cc, being deaf I really appreciate it :)
A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes hurt so bad but at the same time I agree so it hurts even more
LOL! The way you said "and I despised it" at 16:25 just Tickled me to much. You are so polite and wholesome. Wish I had more IRL friends like that =)
Ok, so today we came to conclusion that Merpy doesn't like dragons very much. 😂
The worst book I read this year was Sons by pearl s buck. As the not-so-well known sequel to the great book, The Good Earth, which I thoroughly enjoyed, I really wanted this book. I had high expectations after really liking the first book. I was utterly disappointed. Where the Good Earth follows the prospective one man throughout his life, Sons follows Wang Lung’s youngest son as he tries to take over China and become a war lord. But it’s also about Wang Lung’s concubine raising a hunchback. It’s also about Wang Lung’s oldest son, and his second son, and their wives. It’s about Wang lung’s grandson as he has a Romeo and Juliet style love story with some random girl. Pear blossom becomes a nun. Lotus gets addicted to gambling. The warlord son has an uncle-Iroh-basingse-battle-arch with much less fire bending; it’s so much less interesting. This book portrays men as nothing but horn dogs, and all women as heartless bitches. It’s truly dreadful. There’s just so much random stuff in this book that doesn’t go anywhere or do anything interesting. It’s just pages and pages of boring fluff. After reading it, I feel no more connected to Chinese history or culture. At least in the original, you were reading about a few likable characters in a sea of unlivable ones, but now all the likable people are either dead, or pushed to the side so you feel for no one. Crap happened to people, and there was no satisfying conclusion to any of it.
The beast book I read this year was the night circus.Where do I begin with describing this story? Ok I’ll try. In a Victorian era world where magicians live secret lives, the culture of the magicians has a tradition of binding pairs of children to magical competitions that end at one of the contestant’s deaths. These competitions are always set in interesting venues. The story follows Celia and Marco in their competition, and the venue created for them to fight in, the circus of dreams. The circus is an amazing place with so many amazing characters, fascinating concepts, and dreamy visuals. The imagination is beyond belief, and the writing is immaculate. It’s romantic, mysterious, magical and amazing.
I'm just forever mad about The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is that there were about 35 stories every Hunger Games fan would LOVE to read from other characters... And THIS is what we got. I won't read it based on review I've read, and I just really wasn't a fan of her writing Snow's story at all.
Great video Merphy! I was back and forth about reading Dragonflight before this. I had tried out just the first few pages and got quite bored a while back. This probably solidified that I won't read it though lol
If you like the concept, there are books in the series I do recommend, which don't necessarily require reading Dragonflight first. The series was written over more than 3 decades, McCaffrey's writing changed a lot and there are some books I adore. But up to you whether you want to try a series where you might not like every book 🤷♀️
@@RosLanta I will keep that in mind. Thank you!
Also...oh boy, I'm not claiming to be great at intimate scenes (largely why I try my hardest to avoid putting them in anything I write) but that Dragonflight scene you quoted *winces* that's all kinds of yikes
About Dragonflight, EXACTLY!! My father repeatedly pushed me to read it and I was so put-off by it, especially as a survivor.
For some reason, I always thought Dragonriders of Pern was middle grade, or maybe YA. Clearly, I was dead wrong and it's adult
There are a couple of books in the series generally categorised as YA. But most are adult yeah.
I have only read the Harper hall trilogy by Anne McCafrey and I loved it. Wondering if I need to reread and possibly reasses 🤔. I don’t think that it has a similar issue though.
I completely forgot about the very problematic thing in Dragonflight and now I feel a little bit bad when I said you'd like it at the unwrapping, because yeah, that is not a healthy relationship and I'm wondering if I even want to read it now.
I also have The Storied life of A.J. Fikry on my tbr, so we'll see what I think of it.
Never this fast... love your vdos
Sad your. It doing GoodReads next year, but you do you Merph! Your followers support you!
Oh the honesty and passion you are talking with... Love you! You are a master of talking about books. No matter if you loved or hated the book..I could listen to your oppinions for forever 🙏 thank you and keep doing that!
It's been a while since I've read Dragonflight myself. I read it when I was 12 and liked it then, but I don't remember it as distinctly as books like The Golden Compass, etc. I get why people like it, but I'm also with you. If I picked it up now, I'd definitely would have the same issues.
I always appreciate seeing your end of year lists and hearing your thoughts on each read, this included.
Love your videos! I’ve already been reading so many of your recs
One of the quote you put up from that last book: "...you might not be ready yet to tackle a book *into* the dark." Interesting word choice, dude. Now I'm picturing someone squaring off against "A Book" in a poorly lit MMA ring.
Speaking of the last book... will we ever get a writing update from you now that NaNoWriMo is over? Or is that just for Patrons?
Since you mentioned a non-fiction about writing that you hated, do you have some recommendations for writing help books that you enjoyed?
Love you videos! Stay awesome 😊
You didn't like Dragon flight!
*shakes her tell she falls in love with it*
Odd, I thought the ending of BSoS was (relatively) the best part of the book. Or at least the scene with the birds. The rest of his corruption by lady weird glasses, was too hamfisted for my taste.
While I absolutely understand why you wouldn't like BoSS, and I completely agree about the ending, I actually loved the book and Snow's "spiral." You understood why he hated the Districts, and the Hunger Games, and even the Capitol itself, but it wasn't really the backstory that made me love the book. It was the narration! It was very, very subtle, but Snow didn't see people as people. Instead of seeing a friend, or family, or a mentor, he just saw people as a stepping stone for himself to get higher in the political aspect of his world. While there's nothing wrong with ambition, I loved how Suzane Collins showed his sociopathic tendencies so subtly. He didn't really have any real form of compassion, he never truly cared for Lucy Gray. He just saw her, and everyone else in his life, as a means to an end. It was really cool for me to see how well he learned to hide down his true feelings and thoughts, because he lost his compassion because of it.
Two days in a row, I ended up opening TH-cam within 20 mins of when Merphy uploaded. That's what I call bookworm luck 👌🏻📚
Fairly new sub here.
Have you ever read Lawrence Block’s John Keller series? I would love to hear your thoughts on it. I recently reread the first book to see if it held up to my fond memories. It did!
The first title in the series is “Hit Man.” It is an episodic novel (actually originally serialized in Playboy) where each chapter is about a job that the protagonist is hired to complete. There are also bigger story arcs that build across the chapters. The “mystery” of each chapter is figuring out who contracted the hit and how Keller is going to complete the job (fun twists are given on both counts at different times). The fun of the series is being in Keller’s head!
I read Dragonflight when I was in high school and have NO memory of the love story. At least the guy admitted, in hindsight, that it was rape. But for God sake, don't have your characters fall in love with their abusers!
When does a book become "hated?" Does a book need to be finished if it isn't initially enjoyed? Prose, story, theme, expectations? When does it become a chore to read? When does it fall into a DNF? Is there a grace period for it to not be a DNF? First chapter? Can a book be read as an e-book generous sample to let a reader decide if they wanna purchase it? Appreciate the segue insight into Misery, actually!
Count me grateful to have found Merphy's channel :) xD
Please allow me to recommend some King books:
- I'm not sure if you read "It" but it's one of his best ones. Some things didn't age well and there is One scene I'm sure you won't like. The rest is gold.
- I urge you to please take a look at "The Long Walk", my personal favorite. It's short and extremely engaging! plus it was very influential for modern YA. Great writing of teenage characters here.
- "Misery" is a BLAST! Especially for literature lovers. Excellent read.
- "The Green Mile" is amazing but heartbreaking. Also a great read.
I've never read "The Eyes of the Dragon" but honestly doesn't sound super up my alley.
Nah, she's read more than 3 .... just that Eyes of the Dragon was the third.
@@Lynn-CA ah, thank you! That makes more sense, I'll edit my comment
Your opinion of "I am suddenly bad!" is my exact thought on villain suddenly 'turning good!' OMG... The Lego Movie is a prime example for me. >< Ending wrecked it.
EDIT: Saw another comment that mentioned it’s explained in the 2021 goals video; I can definitely get behind the ‘low-tech’ book tracking. I used an excel sheet for years before re-discovering goodreads last year - as you said in that video, it’s all about doing it the way you find the most enjoyment and not trying to compete. Best of luck with the adoption!
Original Comment: Hey Merphy, is there a reason you’re not going to use goodreads going forward? Sorry if you’ve mentioned this before in a video and I missed it but I’m curious.
3:08: Pretty sure I'm going to be sick.. I need a bucket, hold on :P
After hearing what you had to say about "The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry", (I haven't read it, but I saw parallels to other novels) I'd be very curious to know your opinion on the novel "Nikolski", by Nicolas Dickner. I has that sort of convenient thing, but to me it was handled really well. Still, since it's a translated work less known in the english speaking community, it's hard to find people who have read it to discuss it. I'm terrible at summaries, so I won't attempt to resume the plot. Go check it out if you ever feel like it.
Also, Thanks for the great content, always!
Why are you not using Good Reads anymore? I am on it but barely use it. Just curious. ALSO agree with your assessment of Dragonflight.
Watch her previous video, she goes into it there th-cam.com/video/Qs20Y_H6_Jg/w-d-xo.html
Hey Merphy! I'm new to your channel and I love your content! I also binge watch your "Dear Author" series! It's helping me with my books! wanted to know if I should read LOTR before Wheel of Time and Malazan since those books were heavily influenced by LOTR. I'm pretty new to the fantasy genre, and I admit, I'm intimidated to read such a great series. Should I start with Mistborn, work my way up, or just go for the big guns? Thanks!
I was planning on reading Dragonflight sometime, so thanks for telling me about it so I don't waste my time with it. However, I feel like McCaffrey's spin-off series Dragonsong (mainly its sequels Dragonsinger and Dragondrums) is probably a lot better. It has pretty good, non-abusive romance--and romance isn't even a main focus of the series. It also has a nontraditionally badass female main character. Still doesn't have a ton of stakes (particularly in Dragonsinger), but the characters and situations are interesting.
Love you so much that I watch the ads.
The Storied Life of A.J.Fikrey is more about the short stories mentioned in each chapter. They give depth to the rest of the story. They are all excellent on their own, and I'm grateful for the author's idea to include them in the novel.
I read eyes of the dragon in middle school and I remember thinking it was incredibly boring.
You are adorable! Now that I got that out of the way....some of the books you picked are (or were, some are older) very popular! I think science fiction and fantasy writing is much more carefully crafted today than decades ago. When I was a teen (I am almost 60), you could get little pulp fiction sci fi books by the score. Quickly written, cheap, and easily read and understood was the way they were. Today, many within the same genre are orders of magnitude longer, more complex, and require serious diligence to read and fully absorb and comprehend.
Hey merphy i don’t know if youl see this but I was just wondering if you’d ever checked out any of the warhammer books? Honestly some of the best fantasy I’ve read :)
Lurve the video, but not sure I agree about Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. I feel like Snow was always walking the line of good and evil, and what happened at the end was the final decision maker for him, but not what turned him from good to bad. I hated him for most of the book because he was so snide and self involved.
It's so interesting how differently people read books!
Interesting theory 🧐. I feel like Snow has always been sorta like Voldemort where he has always been twisted and cruel because I can’t imagine Snow ever being caught between good and evil and ever being good. But then again, I DNFd the Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes so what do I know 😂. And I definitely agree with you on how it’s so interesting how people read the same books so differently.
I agree with your take actually! Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes is my favorite Hunger Games novel. Seeing the events that shape Snow into what he is was absolutely fascinating. Without Gaul, his brief moment in the arena, the situation with Sejanus, and the ending with Lucy, he could have probably turned out to be a decent human being instead of a snake.
Thanks for letting me know what to avoid.
Ive never heard of Dragon Flight before but that excerpt sounds like something from a fanfic you would find on 2014 wattpad
Oh! My kids are adopted. Much love and sympathy to you. Nothing is harder and nothing has been more worthwhile.
Have you tried Dragonsong and Dragonsinger? They revolve around a girl trying to be a bard where women aren't allowed, so much so that she runs away from home. I love those two books as a tween. No romance (that I remember).
about Writing Into The Dark You should try [How to Write Pulp Fiction (Bell on Writing Book 10)]
it not a book that give many good advice, but reading it make you want to set and WRITE NOW
it just full of energy
Is a Clash of Kings review coming sometime? :)
I loved Dragonflight so much when I was little. I read it when I was really young, and my brain just glossed over the "romance". The only relationships that I cared about were the ones with the dragons. F'lar just seemed like a weird guy that Lessa had to put up with in order to have Ramoth.
I think I must have done exactly the same thing because I had a "woah" moment when I read the passage that Merphy put up on screen.
19:49 (the top one) you know am trying to be a good writer and i guess i am trying to view books, and stories in general, in a more critical way but the way he put it... honestly it made me smile, cause WOW isn't this guy all rays and sunshine! Its just...its very silly, the way he said it.😅🤣🤣
Stephen King's book "On Writing" in which he talks about his writing process is AMAZING. Contrary to the book you talked about in your video, he's very sweet toward his readers, funny and interesting. It must be the teacher in him. He also gives us a window to his childhood, his marriage and how it impacted his writing. And he constantly gives the reader advices on writing. I loved it.
LOL. That angry kitten at the end there!
It seems to me that with romance books the big conflict is, like you said, too big or too small. It’s either like, “woah you’re gonna forgive that huge thing or issue so easily without any work at all” or “really that small petty thing is why you are gonna break up? Really?” That’s my observations at least what do I know.
I personally enjoyed the ballad of songbirds & snakes. Maybe it's partly because I adore the hunger games trilogy & was just happy to have new content about the world of panem.
But I can see how some people wouldn't enjoy it. President Snow isn't the most likeable character to read about & the book does drag on in some parts. I think it could have easily been 100 pages shorter than it was.
I would love to see a prequel book about haymitch, finnick & even Joanna.
I don't know if you read/enjoyed the unhoneymooners but I had a similar problem with it! I was fine with it most of the way through, but then "the thing" came up and there was just so much lack to trust and communication that I just wanted her to leave him and her family and go off on her own.
Christina Lauren were like "look, everything's okay now!" Without actually dealing with the serious, underlying issues.
I agree with you on Dragonflight. I was shocked. And I also was bothered by the "rape", and the shaking going on. How can anyone not see it as anything but abuse, when Lessa is CRYING of fear of meeting F'lar again, because he will shake her? And as if her becoming one of the most powerful women in the society later on in the series means her marital abuse means nothing?
And I was disappointed, because I have been told my whole adult fantasy reading life that Anne McCaffrey's books are a "must read"... and the first one I read is this, and it's not that good. I wish it had been a compilation of the short stories and not a rewrite of the short stories. It was the short stories that won Hugo and Nebula, not this book.
I fully acknowledge the importance of Dragonriders of Pern, and I will read the rest of the series, BUT... if it continues like this, I will not say it's good, because it's not.
Also, it's funny but the majority of the people defending the book and saying the abuse wasn't anything to care about, at your Goodreads review, were men... :-D
I haven't read the other books, so
I never knew i could be this early to your video 😊
I am curious as to why you aren't using Goodreads next year.