Yea, I was also doubly surprised about those plot elements in The Love Hypothesis because the author herself is a professor in a STEM field! So while maybe it would be a situation that someone outside academia might romanticize, it felt super weird for someone with an inside perspective to be doing that…and one of the conflicts in the book is actually about another professor who has that predatory mindset, so it’s not like the author is unaware of the unfortunate realities a lot of people face! It’s a small bookclub, and I think we’re all/mostly STEM majors…but from our pre-meeting back and forth, I think I might have had the biggest concerns and am gonna be the Debbie Downer of our club meeting
Also I absolutely hate the “but I was going for historical accuracy!!!” argument for the Tamora Pierce books. It’s fantasy! I’m not an expert on the historical stuff (I have read things from sources that seemed trustworthy but maybe I’m not familiar enough with the conversation in those fields to really know) that do sort of poke questions at some of those ideas that we just accept as “fact” about the middle ages/“olden times”…but even if we accept that all of those ideas are true, we don’t have to perpetuate them for a modern audience that isn’t going into this book for any semblance of realism!
Friend recommended and I’ve since recommended to another friend, all 3 of us are firmly glued to the pages. several late nights unwilling to put it down and my partner is judging me for reading while making food, tea, tidying etc.
Edit:
Just finished book 1 and omg what a roller coaster!
The onion cutting ninjas appeared several times.
Either the author has a very broad and deep knowledge base or they’re good at research.
The world set up is good. The author could just rely on the readers general fantasy knowledge but that doesn’t happen, there is depth to both the characters and the world mechanics.
Occasionally its a bit predictable, but it doesn’t actually take away from the book. It builds the anticipation, as you read looking forward to certain moments, and they are very satisfying when you get to them.
Now I really need to stop reading and do some work :/ why does work have to get in the way of reading?
Oh it’s gets better, the pacing improves and you end up really rooting for the characters and delightfully awaiting what comes next, or cursing when your switch character pov.
It’s not all action there are moments of deep introspection, sections that make you laugh and cry or just enjoy the small things.
My friend and I have had some very deep debates speculating about the world, how some elements might work, the probable impacts of certain events/people, the true nature or badassness of xyz character.
6 weeks in of reading at least 4hours a day if not more and I’m not even half way through!
The world is huge and there is so much going on, none of it feels rushed or laboured out, it’s as enticing as when I first started reading.
Maybe discussions about TWI could be a group on the new forum?
If anyone is reading and want to share wtf/squee reactions feel free to pm me :D
Well, I’ve started. Will probably be slow going because I’m reading about 6 other things, but the way the chapters are set up make for easy start/stop points.
I am a HUGE fan of The Wandering Inn, been reading since all the way back when it was in like… Volume 4 I think? And it only gets better with time. It does have some smaller flaws in the earlier books, but I went back for a reread of some early chapters to see if I could still recommend starting at the beginning, and it holds up incredibly well. Funny enough, I think I recommended it in here like a year ago, and it will absolutely give you reading material for almost that entire time depending on your reading speed. Argh, I’m such a huge fan of it and other web serials, I could geek out for days about them, if anyone else wants reading recommendations I’d be happy to provide.
I’m really reading too many books as it is, but thought this newest read would interest some here. I’m re-reading an old favorite, Alice in Wonderland/Through the Looking-Glass because it’s the current read with Mythgard Academy, taking a (free) deep & scholarly dive into the texts.
The live sessions are Wednesdays at 10pm Eastern, & are recorded for asynchronous enjoyment later. I’d love to meet up with anyone there!
