Thursday, February 27, 2025
Tides of the Dark Crystal
Tuesday, February 25, 2025
Song of the Dark Crystal
Song of the Dark Crystal, the second book in J.M. Lee's The Dark Crystal: The Age of Resistance series, picks up right where Shadows of the Dark Crystal leaves off. Naia and Kylan have made it to Stone-in-the-Wood and make contact with Rian. Rian is determined to make it to Ha'rar on his own. While Naia and Kylan at first want to join him, they instead decide that they should go their own way in search of a means of transmitting a warning to all of the Gelfling about what the Skeksis are doing. And so they begin their trek east, seeking help from Aughra. On their way, they encounter some friends they thought lost to skekMal. Their joy is short lived though, when one of them seems hellbent on catching up with Rian to the exclusion of all else.
I really liked Song of the Dark Crystal. The story is told from Kylan's point of view this time, so it was fun to see how he thought as opposed to how Naia thought in the last one. A lot of interesting things happen on their journey as well: we get to meet some really unique Gelfling, and see some very different creatures from what we've seen before in The Dark Crystal. While I had my suspicions of Tavra really early on, I was not expecting her story to unfold the way it did.
I also really liked seeing some of the different Gelfling vliyaya, or magic/mystic arts. As this story centered around Kylan, we got to see what the Spriton Gelfling was able to do (helped in no small part by the wisdom of one of the urRu, who got Kylan to change his perspective when he said: "The only thing you could do...or a thing only you could do?") It also give a glimpse of what's to come for the Gelfling (hint, hint). I really enjoyed reading this book, and can't wait to see where the story leads next!
Saturday, February 22, 2025
Shadows of the Dark Crystal
I was really excited to find three of The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance books (I was hoping it was a trilogy, but there's a fourth book I'll have to track down at some point). I participated in The Dark Crystal Author Quest, which was the contest they had to find someone to write this story, and was very excited to see what the end result was. Plus I love the world of the Dark Crystal, and was excited to spend more time there. :)
Monday, February 10, 2025
A Gentleman in Moscow
Happy 2025 everyone!
It took me quite some time, but I finally finished A Gentleman in Moscow. I started reading it before Christmas (and was enjoying it) but got derailed during the holidays and had a hard time getting back to it. But I still managed to finish it; it is now the first book I finished of 2025. :)
A Gentleman in Moscow tells the story of Count Alexander Rostov who is sentenced to house arrest inside the Metropol hotel after the Bolshevik revolution. My mom and I kept joking (she has read it as well) that it's hard to believe it's a good book based on the premise. But it honestly is. Very well written and interesting.
A Gentleman in Moscow is a surprisingly sweeping tale, starting in the 1920's and ending in the 1950's. During that time, Count Rostov must remain in the Metropol or be shot. While the Count has never worked a day in his life, he makes the most of his circumstances, forming great friendships with the staff and eventually becoming head waiter at the hotel's restaurant. But his life changes when he is charged with the care of a young girl, the daughter of a friend. As with all things in his life, the Count rises to the occasion, becoming the father figure she needs, and willing to protect her from everything.
I really enjoyed this book. The characters are all so interesting and unique, and the narrative kept surprising me - while events seemed inevitable, I never really saw them coming. As I already mentioned, it's also very well written, with great descriptions and flow. I found myself always rooting for Count Rostov and his friends (and always disheartened whenever the Bishop wormed his way into things).
My biggest complaint while reading A Gentleman in Moscow was entirely my fault. Because I kept having to put the book down for extended periods of time, I kept forgetting who some of the characters were, in particular the characters who didn't work at the hotel. So I'd have to flip back a ways to figure out who this returning person might be. I doubt I would have had that issue had I been able to read the book in a more timely fashion. But I do wish there had been a list of characters to help me keep track of everyone!
All in all, this was a surprising yet wonderful read. I very heartily recommend it. :)