Justin's Notes

Blood Meridian is quite the book. I would describe it as heavy, dense, dark, violent, chilling, and gruesome. It is not a story for the faint-hearted. The story follows a teenage kid finding himself in the company of an Indian scalp hunting gang. The story follows the gang and their descent from being hired scalp hunters to brutal murderers of anyone they come across. Loosely based on historical events, Cormac takes you to the Texas-Mexico border and the brutality found there in the mid-19th century.

Cormac writes the story in a way that doesn't really cause you to feel like you are a part of it. It is as if you are an unlucky bystander, happening to find yourself over and over in the same place as them. The characters aren't lovable. Even “the kid,” who I would consider to be the “main” character, doesn't have any heroic traits. There is no redemption in the story of his acts or in what he has seen. The more heinous characters can make your skin crawl, their actions and personalities are incredibly chilling and relentless. I found myself thinking, “This is probably about as gruesome as it can get,” and then it was pretty quickly shown that there was even more. There really isn't a place where I am rooting for anyone in this story. It felt like when something tragic happens on the news and you can't turn off your TV. You have to know what else happened. You have to know if there is any kind of justice.

If you are a big Cormac fan, definitely read this book. It isn't my favorite of his, but I do think it was good. I don't think I will find myself wanting to re-read it. I feel like I survived the tale, and I am unsure if I want to hear it again. If you haven't read Cormac before and want to, definitely don't start here. I would read The Road or No Country for Old Men. Yes, they are the only other Cormac books I have read. They both have better pacing and more proper protagonists, and honestly, they feel nowhere near as heavy. If you enjoy those books, Blood Meridian, in all of its darkness, will be waiting for you.

Piranesi follows a man who lives in a building that houses an ocean and an infinite number of hallways, rooms and statues. Piranesi spends his time exploring the labyrinth, cataloging his findings and experiences, and reporting back to the only other human he has met, named “The Other”. Clarke takes us into a whimsical and mystical world, taking the reader on a mysterious journey through the eyes of Piranesi and the changing of his world as he knows it.

I really loved this story. Clarke writes the story in diary entries, which helped feel a connectedness to Piranesi that felt personal. The development of Piranesi throughout the story is incredible. You see him grow, learn and experience his life in such an open way, I think because of the journal entry style. As you read the dialogue he has with “The Other”, you also get to experience his inner dialogue and his thought process. I also just loved the house. The descriptions of where Piranesi explores, what he finds and what he does in his normal life feel rich in detail yet simplistic and ordinary. Clarke makes Piranesi walking around the halls feel engaging. My favorite thing about this book is that it honestly went somewhere I didn't expect when I first picked it up or even read the back. I am not going to say anything else besides that, but it wasn't the story I thought I was going into. It was so good.

I would recommend this book to basically everyone. It is a fantasy book for sure, but honestly, it was so enjoyable and so easy to read that I think anyone could have fun reading it. I flew through it. The pacing and characters made it so easy to always want to read another chapter. It was a joy to read.

The Poppy War takes you into a fictional world that parallels the Second-Sino Japanese War. The story follows an orphan named Rin who finds herself able to test into an empire-wide renown war academy, her journey as a student, and the gruesome war that envelops her country. It is a grim-dark fantasy that leans heavily on the violence and hopelessness that war brings.

My favorite part of the book, fantasy-wise, was the shamanism. Shamans in games have always been my favorites because of the unique feeling of their magic systems and the vast variety of play styles they have. So when it came to reading this book, the shamanistic elements were really cool to me. Kuang's play on shamanism was definitely darker, showing the overwhelming, unrelenting and uncontrollable power this kind of magic can give. The wide array of characters with different shamanistic abilities and how they all interacted with the world and each other was cool to me. I thought Kuang used this magic to develop characters and guide the story in an interesting way.

The story itself felt well-paced, but the plot kind of jumped a time or two in a way that felt a little weird. The action was intense and felt important. It had characters I really enjoyed, but some did feel a little shallow. I enjoyed the magic because shamans are cool. Some sections did feel too dark for me. I think Kuang was wanting to show how horrific war is and the impact it has on people. Some events in the book are based on historical events, and those felt like the hardest parts to read. I did find myself skimming over a page or two here and there that felt a bit overly gruesome in detail. I didn't feel like I missed anything doing that. It was easy to make the logic jump of an event propelling the characters one way or another without reading every word in those sections.

In the end, I would say I mostly enjoyed this book. I plan to read the rest of the trilogy. Unless you enjoy darker fantasy, I am pretty confident you won't enjoy this book. There isn't much redemptive closure. It is violent, and I found myself feeling a sense of hopelessness for the characters and the world. If you are looking for a book that will make you happy as you close it and put it back on the shelf, it's not going to be this one.