The thing that stood out to me about this book was the was that all semblance of social order completely fell apart after the royal family was murdered. I don't think any reason was given for this, but there is a scene where the prince is walking through town the day after the massacre and keeps hearing the screams of women being raped in alleys. How does this make any sense? Does this kingdom not have any mayors, watchmen or any kind community leaders at all besides the royal court? I also think that at least half of the storytelling choices in this book are more about the author's fetishes than any kind of worldbuilding or logic.
"I don't want the responsibility that's been thrust upon me!" Then just don't do it! Just be a bad monarch, spend all your time partying and wielding your ultimate authority over the people of your nation. What, you think that you'd be the first person to ever be a poor leader? Like, christ. I'm so sick of "Oh woe is me, being the 1% is ever so difficult! If only I could have been born poor and genuinely concerned about whether I would have food and shelter!" garbage that crops up time and time again in fiction. Just find a goddamn evil vizier that wants power for himself, tell him that he can have all the real power as long as you're allowed to live the high life as a figurehead. IT'S NOT THAT HARD!
Well I get it when the character is in a situation where they have legitimate empathy and are a good person but just feel overwhelmed with the pressures of being leader. There is also the constant threat of being overthrown and killed. It needs to be explained though, and written in a way that makes them not seem whiny and allows us to empathize with their hardships. It is better to use it to make a character that is like, "I am feeling overwhelmed by this immense responsibility but it is my responsibility, and I will try my best to do it," as it makes the character seem both admirable and human OR you can make a character that starts out as dislikable and grows into what I previously mentioned.
@@lonegirl2183 The problem is that most every time I see this cliche, it's not from a character in any real danger of being overthrown or who's overwhelmed by the responsibility. It's some kid or teenager who's just bored because they're expected to attend school and be tutored and learn how to run a kingdom instead of being allowed to do whatever they want, and it's usually framed like "and that's what the common folk get to do! They don't have any responsibilities, they just live life freely!" which is frankly insultingly ignorant of how shitty life was for a peasant almost anywhere and everywhere prior to the past couple centuries. So it comes across as whiny, ignorant, and completely and utterly unsympathetic of a viewpoint. Yes, it *could* be done well, but it almost never is. Because ultimately, being born to a shitton of privilege that less than one in a million people get to experience is objectively a positive thing, and being unhappy because it's not perfect is just not something the other 999,999 people out of that million can possibly sympathize with.
@@Shenaldrac I agree that it is rarely ever done that well. I think it is a used mainly as a lazy attempt to make the protagonist seem more relatable but it sucks more for me knowing that it can be used well. The Prince and the Pauper is a good example of it being well done and I think that more writers need to realize that a character with that archetype needs to be proven wrong by the end of the story.
Concept: a member of the nobility that not only doesn’t want to run away, but actively prepares for their role of leadership but has to abandon all their goals for the sake of [insert plot]
I've got something similar in my (very much unfinished) novel in progress. Granted, I don't show how the princess feels about becoming the queen in the future, but her birth father comes crashing through (he was exiled for some unsavory opinions, to boil it down very simply) and she has to run away to hide from him, surviving and learning under her stepfather's tutelage on being a good ruler over the course of 5 years.
@@-Bill. Well, she was also dreadfully naive and was over-prepared based upon a huge pile of lies and assumptions that would have made her a useless footnote to history where her unprepared, more free spirited sister managed to blunder into a solution to most of the plot's problems explicitly because of her lack of decorum. Really that whole plotline was playing with the rebellious princess trope.
Sacrificing his ambitions and his family's perception to stop both a conspiracy by crooked counts (not the vampires the political counts) and save his country from an Aristocratic coup that will destroy his aspirations but he will become an unsung hero of the land.
Dimitri from the latest Fire Emblem game. He literally warps his entire personhood around around pleasing others and being the perfect leader because his empathy levels are so high. That, plus not dealt with trauma piled on trauma, eventually shatters his psyche and plot happens. He'a a prince character other characters literally start begging to be a bit more selfish because he's so extreme on the other side of it.
Daniel Greene hated this book as well and ripped it to shreds. Hey at least we have “ Rhythms of war” SLA4 by Brandon Sanderson to look forward to in November
13:29 holy shit thats impressive i mean if my school said write 350-400 words describing the mechanism of breathing i don't think i can cheese the test that well
I mean… at the start… a wizard with vows so he can’t kill someone… Putting them on a boat and leaving them in the middle of the ocean so they hopefully die, sounds a lot like killing them, just with extra steps. So… vows failed. Should’ve just killed them. Then the book could’ve ended right there and then, presumably. (I have not read this book, so maybe it doesn’t quite play out that way, but that’s how it sounded to me here).
Okay so I've had this story chilling in my noggin for a while and one of the "main" characters (there's a lot of little connected storylines) happens to be a Crown prince that doesn't really want to rule. See, before this video I was like "yeah cool idea, right?" I don't know how I managed to not know this was a huge cliché. I was planning on having this dude slowly like realize that "hey, I have the capacity to rule" as a character arc but honestly now I'm second-guessing it. Is this an interesting enough idea as a character or has it been used and abused?
Just do it well, Cliche's can be used to convey information quickly. So I would establish this guy doesn't want to rule, but still cares for his people (i.e subvert the cliche/trope a bit) and eventually have his realization or something. Anyways don't stay on the "I don't want to rule"
This is a fine arc to have. See Adolin Kholin from The Stormlight Archive. It's not quite the same thing, as he's okay with ruling, but he fights with his dad about methods and goals and eventually realizes why his dad is acting as the leader that he is.
It sounds like the guy was like "well, I need to make this book 120,000 words long because epic fantasy, but I only have 50,000 words worth of story so I'm just gonna pad it out by having a bunch of things explained twice".
I'm here from Daniel Green(e?) and I'm craving more of people ranting about this book
Yeah, Dan's vid brought me here too. I already sub to James, but I've never seen this vid.
Based on Daniel's review I think it's fairly obvious he also watched this video as some of the terminology he used to describe the MC is the same.
Same
Same! Its a new addiction. Any more links folks? 😆😆
@@robertgronewold3326 same
The thing that stood out to me about this book was the was that all semblance of social order completely fell apart after the royal family was murdered. I don't think any reason was given for this, but there is a scene where the prince is walking through town the day after the massacre and keeps hearing the screams of women being raped in alleys. How does this make any sense? Does this kingdom not have any mayors, watchmen or any kind community leaders at all besides the royal court? I also think that at least half of the storytelling choices in this book are more about the author's fetishes than any kind of worldbuilding or logic.
Also, most people aren't rapists, regardless of the law.
What the kingdom lacks is a good writer.
@@TheGreatPower365 conquerers are exclusively rapey
@@mattbinkowski2095 you may have a point.
Not to mention courtiers and lords and ladies nearby who would have substantial influence...
"I'm not like other rich guys."
Seriously, this book has sequels. They only get worse. Let that sink in.
That sink can stay out
🥴🤢🤮
Never made it very far into this book. Thanks for letting me know I can throw out my copy.
"I don't want the responsibility that's been thrust upon me!" Then just don't do it! Just be a bad monarch, spend all your time partying and wielding your ultimate authority over the people of your nation. What, you think that you'd be the first person to ever be a poor leader? Like, christ. I'm so sick of "Oh woe is me, being the 1% is ever so difficult! If only I could have been born poor and genuinely concerned about whether I would have food and shelter!" garbage that crops up time and time again in fiction. Just find a goddamn evil vizier that wants power for himself, tell him that he can have all the real power as long as you're allowed to live the high life as a figurehead. IT'S NOT THAT HARD!
Well I get it when the character is in a situation where they have legitimate empathy and are a good person but just feel overwhelmed with the pressures of being leader. There is also the constant threat of being overthrown and killed. It needs to be explained though, and written in a way that makes them not seem whiny and allows us to empathize with their hardships. It is better to use it to make a character that is like, "I am feeling overwhelmed by this immense responsibility but it is my responsibility, and I will try my best to do it," as it makes the character seem both admirable and human OR you can make a character that starts out as dislikable and grows into what I previously mentioned.
@@lonegirl2183 The problem is that most every time I see this cliche, it's not from a character in any real danger of being overthrown or who's overwhelmed by the responsibility. It's some kid or teenager who's just bored because they're expected to attend school and be tutored and learn how to run a kingdom instead of being allowed to do whatever they want, and it's usually framed like "and that's what the common folk get to do! They don't have any responsibilities, they just live life freely!" which is frankly insultingly ignorant of how shitty life was for a peasant almost anywhere and everywhere prior to the past couple centuries.
So it comes across as whiny, ignorant, and completely and utterly unsympathetic of a viewpoint. Yes, it *could* be done well, but it almost never is. Because ultimately, being born to a shitton of privilege that less than one in a million people get to experience is objectively a positive thing, and being unhappy because it's not perfect is just not something the other 999,999 people out of that million can possibly sympathize with.
@@Shenaldrac I agree that it is rarely ever done that well. I think it is a used mainly as a lazy attempt to make the protagonist seem more relatable but it sucks more for me knowing that it can be used well. The Prince and the Pauper is a good example of it being well done and I think that more writers need to realize that a character with that archetype needs to be proven wrong by the end of the story.
I’d soooo read a book about that.
You are a true visionary
Concept: a member of the nobility that not only doesn’t want to run away, but actively prepares for their role of leadership but has to abandon all their goals for the sake of [insert plot]
I've got something similar in my (very much unfinished) novel in progress. Granted, I don't show how the princess feels about becoming the queen in the future, but her birth father comes crashing through (he was exiled for some unsavory opinions, to boil it down very simply) and she has to run away to hide from him, surviving and learning under her stepfather's tutelage on being a good ruler over the course of 5 years.
Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson - one of the princesses prepares for her role her entire life but then "plot"
@@-Bill. Well, she was also dreadfully naive and was over-prepared based upon a huge pile of lies and assumptions that would have made her a useless footnote to history where her unprepared, more free spirited sister managed to blunder into a solution to most of the plot's problems explicitly because of her lack of decorum. Really that whole plotline was playing with the rebellious princess trope.
Sacrificing his ambitions and his family's perception to stop both a conspiracy by crooked counts (not the vampires the political counts) and save his country from an Aristocratic coup that will destroy his aspirations but he will become an unsung hero of the land.
Dimitri from the latest Fire Emblem game. He literally warps his entire personhood around around pleasing others and being the perfect leader because his empathy levels are so high. That, plus not dealt with trauma piled on trauma, eventually shatters his psyche and plot happens. He'a a prince character other characters literally start begging to be a bit more selfish because he's so extreme on the other side of it.
Daniel Greene hated this book as well and ripped it to shreds. Hey at least we have “ Rhythms of war” SLA4 by Brandon Sanderson to look forward to in November
1:59 for some reason I keep imagining Dr Evil’s son Scott saying his “dude why don’t you just kill them” speech.
13:29 holy shit thats impressive i mean if my school said write 350-400 words describing the mechanism of breathing i don't think i can cheese the test that well
My ideas for a fantasy book actually have a middle class/nobility guy who doesn't want to run away from his life thankfully
Impossible
Literally Jezal dan Luthar from The First Law
@@robertwinslade3104 Was about to say the same thing
The Hobbit.
David Weber, Honor Harrington and Safehold series, first is a girl lead, second is guy lead, enjoy.
James: Don't read this book!
Me: Now you made me interested.
How bad does a book have to be that the only thing that stands out is the level of violence. Wow.
It is indeed that bad. It is sexist, derivative garbage that you shouldn’t read it.
This review got you another sub my guy! I love a good, in depth rant.
I mean… at the start… a wizard with vows so he can’t kill someone… Putting them on a boat and leaving them in the middle of the ocean so they hopefully die, sounds a lot like killing them, just with extra steps. So… vows failed. Should’ve just killed them. Then the book could’ve ended right there and then, presumably. (I have not read this book, so maybe it doesn’t quite play out that way, but that’s how it sounded to me here).
Okay so I've had this story chilling in my noggin for a while and one of the "main" characters (there's a lot of little connected storylines) happens to be a Crown prince that doesn't really want to rule. See, before this video I was like "yeah cool idea, right?" I don't know how I managed to not know this was a huge cliché. I was planning on having this dude slowly like realize that "hey, I have the capacity to rule" as a character arc but honestly now I'm second-guessing it. Is this an interesting enough idea as a character or has it been used and abused?
I don't think I've ever heard that being done in a book, only the prince/princess hating being royalty and just running away or something.
The character Arc might be ok, but it still is a bit cliché (it's similar to HTTYD)
Cliches exist for a reason. Coming to terms with your reality is a powerful theme if executed right.
Just do it well, Cliche's can be used to convey information quickly. So I would establish this guy doesn't want to rule, but still cares for his people (i.e subvert the cliche/trope a bit) and eventually have his realization or something. Anyways don't stay on the "I don't want to rule"
This is a fine arc to have. See Adolin Kholin from The Stormlight Archive. It's not quite the same thing, as he's okay with ruling, but he fights with his dad about methods and goals and eventually realizes why his dad is acting as the leader that he is.
Nobody seems to know this book! I'm looking at it on my shelf right now. Man oh man. Hardcover besides. Waste of paper.
great channel!
Its unbelievable the parallels in this review and now Daniel Greenes review. All the points are the same. Lol
smh my head such an unoriginal clichéd vid
Pretty sad if the only redeeming quality of a book is gratuitous violence.
It sounds like the guy was like "well, I need to make this book 120,000 words long because epic fantasy, but I only have 50,000 words worth of story so I'm just gonna pad it out by having a bunch of things explained twice".
Love this review!! 😂
Totally agree. I've actually blocked the book from my mind.
BTW I have that exact same shirt.
White Sands by Brandon Sanderson, review
This is possibly the worst fantasy book ever written. Thank god I only bought a second hand copy
I see this comment and raise you Reaper's Creek.
@@juniperrodley9843 I think Reaper’s Creek counts more as kindling then as a book
@@skylordguy6861 yup fair enough
I've listened to another review of this book and they said it was aweful too haha
My audio is muted and I can still tell it's gonna be a rant
sounds amazingly awful
Oh, god. I forgot about this series. I'd sort of repressed the sheer sexism and range of fucking bullshit the author put into the series.
fifthsorceress.tripod.com/explain.htm I'll just leave this here.
Believe it or not, the series gets WORSE as it goes along, by the way.
he invented throwing knives 10\10...
...thumbs down
It's worse than a chinese light novel.