Nicholas McCane

Okay, so I’m going to tell you right now, this book will not be for everyone. I have been seeing a lot of critical reviews and people who have claimed to DNF. I have read all of her books, so let me tell you what I think. My aim is to be as objective as possible. Spoiler free. They marketed this book as an enemy-to-lovers story and a book about Hell. And although this is present, it’s more like a backdrop. This is more of a dark academia that takes place in Hell. So let me make this clear: this is not a romance story.

The main characters are Alice and Peter. They are both PhD students who study analytic magic at Cambridge University. Their advisor dies in a horrible freak magic accident. Instead of mourning like you and I would have done, both Alice and Peter used magic to enter Hell to bring him back. They need his recommendation so they can get good jobs.

Both main characters are a little unlikable, but they will grow on you. And, to be completely honest, the professor is unlikable also; he didn’t grow on me. There were villains in Hell that I liked, and there were some that I didn’t like so much. However, the plot is outstanding; I enjoyed its magic system, and I felt like it was easy to read. And no, you do not need to read Dante’s Inferno (Dante Alighieri), Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Lewis Carroll), The Bell Jar (Sylvia Plath), or The Wasteland (T.S. Eliot). So just relax; everything should make sense in context.

I think most people who have an issue with this book probably dislike R.F. Kuang’s version of Hell. I think many people expected it to look different and felt like this Hell was boring. But this is Alice and Peter’s Hell. In this world, Hell looks different to everyone. It depends on who you were and what your life was like. So, this is Hell for nerds. Take that into consideration before jumping into this book. Check your expectations.

There are parts in this book that drag. But if you have read this author’s other books, then you should expect some backstory. Every book in The Poppy War Trilogy dragged at some point, and so did Babel. You should also expect this from Dark Academia. Yellowface didn’t drag, but that was literary fiction. R.F. Kuang did what R.F. Kuang does. Although I predicted the ending, I still enjoyed it. I actually enjoyed it a little more than Babel. With that being said, I’m giving this book 4.25 stars.

Nothing much to say here. The name of the book is On Writing, a memoir of the craft. That’s exactly what it is. His life comprises about 40 percent of the book. Some people may find this interesting. Another 40 percent is him talking about the books he’s written and a few writing tips. The rest is him and his sons (Joe and Owen) at an event talking. If you're looking for just a memoir, this may not be for you. This book may also not be for you if you’re only looking for writing tips. Now, if you’re a diehard Stephen King fan who just loves to read anything he writes, then bingo, I got one for you!

I got two things out of this book.

Write for your “Ideal Person”.

If you want to be a writer. Read a lot and write a lot.

To prepare for reading James, I read both The Adventures of Tom Sawyer and now The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. This book was first published in 1884. The book follows Huck as he runs away from his abusive father. He travels with Jim (James) who is a runaway slave. They both encounter a series of incidents as they travel along the Mississippi River. This story is heavy on racism and slavery. They both wanted freedom, which looks completely different for the both of them.

I have avoided this book my entire life, and wouldn’t have read it if I hadn’t wanted to read James so badly. The constant use of the n-word was a bit much, though I expected it. Overall, the story was just okay. I couldn’t wait for it to end. Yes, it captured the time, and yes, it did what it was supposed to do. But it just felt like another American classic that catered to white children. Can’t wait to see what Percival Everett has added to this.

The Poppy War was my first fantasy book. Unfortunately it starts off extremely slow. Don’t get me wrong, it’s great as far as world and character building, but still really slow. The book lacked action. I waited and waited. Somewhere near the 200th page it picked up, but quickly slowed back down. I still enjoyed it but to be honest, it was kind of a let down. I buddy read it and my buddy DNF. Since I’m invested, I will be completing the series. Maybe the other two books are full of action. I’m giving it four stars for the world building, some of the fighting scenes, and the graphic depictions of what war looks like. Those parts were really satisfying 🤷🏾‍♂️

I wanted so bad to like this book. I am a real life Black Detective who has spent the last 15 years assigned to the Crimes against Children's unit. I was immediately sold on this book when I found out that Alex Cross was also black. I'm thinking, finally I can read a book with a detective that looks like me. But no, it was immediately obvious that the writer was white. The story is supposed to have taken place in the 90s.

It was like the author kept trying to remind us that Cross is black. The dialogue between black people was horrible. At one point there was dialogue involving a young black teen. The author tried to use ebonics. It was so bad that I didn't even understand what she was saying and I was born and raised on the south side of Chicago. At one point Cross referred to himself as the n-word (with the ER) to a black woman. We don't talk like that James Patterson. You could've at least used the a at the end.

Someone also called Cross's girlfriend/killer a n-word lover. It's the 90s James, not the 60s.

Then there was the cross burned in the yard by the KKK