Drem is my favorite Papa Gwynne character! And of course we all love Svik! Cheese, anyone? What I am left wondering after hearing the brilliant bath/ASOIAF analogy is, Where does Ed keep his shampoo that he’d leave it behind when taking a bath? 🛀
OF BLOOD AND BONE is legendary ! Loved it so much ! ! ! :) The fact im living in the same era as JOHN Gwynne and you guys makes me trully happy ! Truth and Courage !!!
It's literally a crime how underrated the Of Blood and Bone series is. I liked it quite a bit better than The Faithful and the Fallen and it is now one of my favorite series!!! And Drem and Riv and Bleda are all some of my favorite characters!!!!
@@thebrothersgwynne um . . . How dare you ask me such a tough question 😆I think I have to go Bleda (sorry Will) although Drem is a really, really close second and Bleda and Drem are my two all-time favorite Gwynne characters 😊
Faithful and the fallen is my favorite series. I knew I’d love of blood and bone but at first I was worried I wouldn’t love the characters as much As in the faithful and the fallen but I did after I finish wheel of time I plan on re reading both again 🔥🔥🔥🔥
In June I read: «A Princess of Mars» (John Carter of Mars/Barsoom #1) by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Sword & Planet: I received a library copy from 1920, the British 4th Edition, 104 years old!) «All Tomorrow’s Parties» by William Gibson (Cyberpunk) «The Dragonbone Chair» (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #1) by Tad Williams (Epic Fantasy, a key influence for George R. R. Martin's « A Song of Ice and Fire») «A Brightness Long Ago» by Guy Gavriel Kay (Fantasy inspired by the Mercenary Wars of Renaissance Italy: Book of the Month AND Book of the Year so far!) «The Darkness That Comes Before» (The Prince of Nothing #1) by R. Scott Bakker (Grimdark/Dark Epic Fantasy inspired by the Crusades, Silmarillion & Dune)
I think that bath metaphor for reading ASOIAF has to be one of the best book descriptions I have ever heard lol.... can't disagree 🤣🤣 Also, I think I might actually prefer Of Blood and Bone over FatF...? Who cares, they are both top tier hahaha. Great wrap-up guys!
I just recently discovered Papa Gwynne’s books and I am obsessed! Read all of his book series in the last two months and I loved each and every one. Game of Thrones used to be my favorite books series but I think now it’s a tie between that and these books. Cannot wait for Fury of the Gods!
Bought Arthur but haven’t gotten to it yet, happy to hear you guys liked it. Bought my first “Papa Gwynne” book The Shadow of the Gods and looking forward to it.
Great video as alwaya guys. Hope you're both well. Wasn't expecting the bath analogy, but it was enjoyable. I probably need a re-read. Have you seen Horizon? Also, the tv series 11.22.63 is good, I haven't read the book but i imagine it's very good.
Oooh some really fantastic books on the list. Totally agree with Ed on AFFC as its also the book in the series I wanna skip the most. Really need to get to the Giles Kristian books, need to force my Arthurian friend to read them as I think thatd be a great buddy read. Also Will you do need to read more King because ooof when hes amazing hes amazing (and when hes cack hes utter cack)
I thought Arthur was amazing. The prologue alone was incredible. Totally agree with you about Stormcrow. Didn't really enjoy it. I was excited to read about Viking Ireland but this was disappointing.
I read my first Yoshikawa book this month (The Take if the Heike) and I have subsequently purchased almost all the rest of his catalog that’s available in English. I think Shogun fans may really enjoy his work. I think that is my book of the month. I aldo finished Sailing to Sarantium by GGK. Under Heaven was my book of the year last year but I have tried three other books of Kay’s since then and didn’t like them nearly as much as Under Heaven. Thank you so much to Read by Kyle and Jake Bishop for championing these books. It was pretty damn good! Under Heaven remains my favorite GGK novel but this lies at a close second. Looking forward to reading Lord of Emperors.listened to Childten of Ash and Elm, a history of the Vikings, in the car this week and was really enjoying it up until the section on Biking funerals which made me feel a bit ill. As the only first hand account of a Viking longship funeral we have is Ibn Fadlan’s (if you’ve read Michael Chrichton’s Eaters of the Dead you’ve read it word for word) the writer of this nonfiction book quoted it quite a bit and then had to add some extra context which is really quite lovely to hear at 6:30 in the morning driving some the highway before one has has near enough coffee.completed the Jack London novel The Sea Wolf 🐺 this man can bloody write. I would strongly recommend any of his works for anyone who feels they would like to start reading more classics, or just anyone in particular. I also finished the Martian Chronicles by Bradbury which I read with my mom. I think she enjoyed it a bit more than I did, maybe because she grew up during the Cold War era and this reminds her of the books and shows she grew up with. I liked it though. Good stuff. on top of al this nonsense I have been attempting to finish the Legend of the Galactiv Heroes series. Well, happy reading!
Great reviews and I’ve downloaded a few based on them! Stephen King fan since my teens (MUCH older now)…along with the ones you discussed (👍) I would recommend the Gunslinger series
Here's what I read Going bicoastal by dahlia Adler Worthy by jada pinkett Smith memoir The maid by nita prose Redeeming 6 by chloe Walsh Iris Kelly doesn't date by Ashley herring Blake The wall of Winnipeg and me by Mariana Zapata My fault by Mercedes ron Same time next summer by annabel Monaghan Pride and protest by nikki Payne Howling dark by Christopher ruoccichio
I think I liked Babel a little more than you, Ed, but I agree that it didn't live up to the promise. There were things I liked about it (I agree with Will that the magic system was very clever and had a lot of potential), but it did feel very didactic and I was disappointed by the end.
Completely agree with Ed's opinion of Babel, having finished it at the beginning of the month. Any sort of nuance would have been nice and as the characters lacked depth, the ending didn't hit as hard as it should have. Of course it's important to discuss colonialism and empire and its impacts, but it really could have been done better.
I love Drem so much!! He's amazing!! I also wanted more from Game of Thrones than I got, though I still enjoyed it. I expect many more bath rants in the future!I solidly agree with Will though where I liked the magic in Babel, at the end of the day it had symbolic purposes that I think it conveyed really well. I agree that it lacked subtlety and nuance, which I would agree with you would be necessary. However given the fact you have the likes of the barbie movie being "feminism 101" and people actually needing it breaking down for them, I can see there is certainly a place for Babel on people's bookshelves. Also in all the memes Jack Nicholson keeps yelling "HERE's Johnny" I also thought he was called Johnny and was very confused xD According to Amazon Shawna Lawless's novellas are published by Head of Zeus the same as the rest of the series! Great video as always! I'm Loving the read along for Of Blood & Bone!! Glad you're feeling better Will!
I loved Babel but had the same complaint as Ed. You can tell a story and critique a time period and the decisions made, but don't do it in a lecturing style. To me, there were several sections in Babel that droned on and on as we were lectured to about colonization or cultural appropriation. I never like for an author to disguise a pulpit with a novel. Overall, I liked the atmosphere and story in Babel. To see y'all disagree so vehemently was great fun!
Hello Guys. The only problem with watching other CZcamsrs channels is that it only increases the tbr. So many books and so little time! Happy reading to you.
I really liked Babel and the unique magic system as well as the setting and the emphasis on etymology, which I find fascinating. And the ending was savage! But I agree with British Ed; her anti-colonial sentiments, while of course understandable, were too heavy handed.
I’m all for some anti-colonial sentiments, just wish the characters had a bit more to them too. The etymology was so interesting wasn’t it, perfect for teachers! Ed
I absolutely adored A Time of Dread, and I'm having a lot of fun chatting and seeing everyone's thoughts about the series over on the discord. Aah, the more I hear about Babel, the more I think I'm not going to like it and that R.F Kuang just isn't the author for me. I didn't like The Poppy War and Yellowface was a weird one because even though it totally gripped me and got me thinking, I also think it was a bit too on the nose and lacked nuance. I also think there were a lot of elements that are going to date it very quickly. I'll still keep Babel on my tbr because I'm interested to see what I'll think of it, but I'm going in with low expectations, unfortunately.
Feast for Crows is my favourite book of ASOIAF, granted that took a couple rereads to make happen.. Westeros didn`t deserve Nimble Dick.. But the analogy Ed was running with makes me very curious what were the downs of the series? Especially Storm of Swords. What could possibly be the down? :p Would love to know!
Nimble Dick 😂 I think the balance of characters didn’t hit the same for me as Clash of Kings, and it would have been far stronger if it had been chopped in half. So much happens in that latter half and it feels a bit of a rush. Ed
@@thebrothersgwynne Cool! Love the fresh opinion. Always nice to see what new people think of it. Was it Tyrion that edged out clash for you? I personally really like the northern plot of Clash with Theon and the writing in Sansas chapters are 10/10
100% with Ed on Babel. Flat characters, just absurd plot convenience, and even then massive plot craters. Add in a massive assumption that readers are dumb and it was a massive miss for me. Writing fine, world standard, liked the footnotes but wow was it boring. This book should have been a perfect fit for me, wanted to love it but I’ve never been so bored and annoyed by a book. I read fantasy, pretty much anything can go and I forgive it for the story but this book was just irritating. Way too much telling and not showing. I read Of Blood and Fire after Babel and with my focus on characters and plot that didn’t go well. I am of the opinion AI could do better if given Eragon, WOT and The Magician to base it off 😢 Was a sad month last year when I hit these two in a row. I do hear that Ryan’s later books are a massive improvement but book 1 has put me off for now.
Drem is my favorite Papa Gwynne character! And of course we all love Svik! Cheese, anyone? What I am left wondering after hearing the brilliant bath/ASOIAF analogy is, Where does Ed keep his shampoo that he’d leave it behind when taking a bath? 🛀
Svike is … grate! Hahaha now that would be telling!
Ed
The most funny character created by Papa Gwynne ! :D
OF BLOOD AND BONE is legendary ! Loved it so much ! ! ! :)
The fact im living in the same era as JOHN Gwynne and you guys makes me trully happy !
Truth and Courage !!!
I read Lancelot per your recommendation and loved it. Looking forward to Arthur when it is available in the U.S.
It's literally a crime how underrated the Of Blood and Bone series is. I liked it quite a bit better than The Faithful and the Fallen and it is now one of my favorite series!!! And Drem and Riv and Bleda are all some of my favorite characters!!!!
I AGREE! We need to spread the Of Blood and Bone love :). So glad you love Drem, Rev and Bleda! If you had to pick one, who would you choose? 👀
Will
@@thebrothersgwynne um . . . How dare you ask me such a tough question 😆I think I have to go Bleda (sorry Will) although Drem is a really, really close second and Bleda and Drem are my two all-time favorite Gwynne characters 😊
I definitely need to check out Conn Iggulden and Gile Kirstain. I love how much historical fiction you guys read, it’s a genre I want to dive into
Faithful and the fallen is my favorite series. I knew I’d love of blood and bone but at first I was worried I wouldn’t love the characters as much
As in the faithful and the fallen but I did after I finish wheel of time I plan on re reading both again 🔥🔥🔥🔥
In June I read:
«A Princess of Mars» (John Carter of Mars/Barsoom #1) by Edgar Rice Burroughs (Sword & Planet: I received a library copy from 1920, the British 4th Edition, 104 years old!)
«All Tomorrow’s Parties» by William Gibson (Cyberpunk)
«The Dragonbone Chair» (Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn, #1) by Tad Williams (Epic Fantasy, a key influence for George R. R. Martin's « A Song of Ice and Fire»)
«A Brightness Long Ago» by Guy Gavriel Kay (Fantasy inspired by the Mercenary Wars of Renaissance Italy: Book of the Month AND Book of the Year so far!)
«The Darkness That Comes Before» (The Prince of Nothing #1) by R. Scott Bakker (Grimdark/Dark Epic Fantasy inspired by the Crusades, Silmarillion & Dune)
I think that bath metaphor for reading ASOIAF has to be one of the best book descriptions I have ever heard lol.... can't disagree 🤣🤣
Also, I think I might actually prefer Of Blood and Bone over FatF...? Who cares, they are both top tier hahaha. Great wrap-up guys!
Yes!!!!
I wanted to like Babel as well, but it just didn't work
I just recently discovered Papa Gwynne’s books and I am obsessed! Read all of his book series in the last two months and I loved each and every one. Game of Thrones used to be my favorite books series but I think now it’s a tie between that and these books. Cannot wait for Fury of the Gods!
Bought Arthur but haven’t gotten to it yet, happy to hear you guys liked it. Bought my first “Papa Gwynne” book The Shadow of the Gods and looking forward to it.
Great video as alwaya guys. Hope you're both well.
Wasn't expecting the bath analogy, but it was enjoyable. I probably need a re-read.
Have you seen Horizon?
Also, the tv series 11.22.63 is good, I haven't read the book but i imagine it's very good.
Oooh some really fantastic books on the list. Totally agree with Ed on AFFC as its also the book in the series I wanna skip the most. Really need to get to the Giles Kristian books, need to force my Arthurian friend to read them as I think thatd be a great buddy read. Also Will you do need to read more King because ooof when hes amazing hes amazing (and when hes cack hes utter cack)
I thought Arthur was amazing. The prologue alone was incredible.
Totally agree with you about Stormcrow. Didn't really enjoy it. I was excited to read about Viking Ireland but this was disappointing.
Great video guys, love the banter.
Glad you guys are reading Berserk, hype!!
I read my first Yoshikawa book this month (The Take if the Heike) and I have subsequently purchased almost all the rest of his catalog that’s available in English. I think Shogun fans may really enjoy his work. I think that is my book of the month.
I aldo finished Sailing to Sarantium by GGK. Under Heaven was my book of the year last year but I have tried three other books of Kay’s since then and didn’t like them nearly as much as Under Heaven. Thank you so much to Read by Kyle and Jake Bishop for championing these books. It was pretty damn good! Under Heaven remains my favorite GGK novel but this lies at a close second. Looking forward to reading Lord of Emperors.listened to Childten of Ash and Elm, a history of the Vikings, in the car this week and was really enjoying it up until the section on Biking funerals which made me feel a bit ill. As the only first hand account of a Viking longship funeral we have is Ibn Fadlan’s (if you’ve read Michael Chrichton’s Eaters of the Dead you’ve read it word for word) the writer of this nonfiction book quoted it quite a bit and then had to add some extra context which is really quite lovely to hear at 6:30 in the morning driving some the highway before one has has near enough coffee.completed the Jack London novel The Sea Wolf 🐺 this man can bloody write. I would strongly recommend any of his works for anyone who feels they would like to start reading more classics, or just anyone in particular. I also finished the Martian Chronicles by Bradbury which I read with my mom. I think she enjoyed it a bit more than I did, maybe because she grew up during the Cold War era and this reminds her of the books and shows she grew up with. I liked it though. Good stuff. on top of al this nonsense I have been attempting to finish the Legend of the Galactiv Heroes series.
Well, happy reading!
Great reviews and I’ve downloaded a few based on them!
Stephen King fan since my teens (MUCH older now)…along with the ones you discussed (👍) I would recommend the Gunslinger series
Here's what I read
Going bicoastal by dahlia Adler
Worthy by jada pinkett Smith memoir
The maid by nita prose
Redeeming 6 by chloe Walsh
Iris Kelly doesn't date by Ashley herring Blake
The wall of Winnipeg and me by Mariana Zapata
My fault by Mercedes ron
Same time next summer by annabel Monaghan
Pride and protest by nikki Payne
Howling dark by Christopher ruoccichio
Interesting list!
Ed
I was waiting for the bath time analogies for Babel
Just came across your channel. Great video guys! Got some great recommendations from this. Easy sub
I also got you like it darker! looking forward to your opinions on it!
Will loved it!
Ed
I’m listening to Revival by King at mo, really enjoying it, narrator is good. I agree, his books work well as audiobooks 👍
Thank you!
Ed
I think I liked Babel a little more than you, Ed, but I agree that it didn't live up to the promise. There were things I liked about it (I agree with Will that the magic system was very clever and had a lot of potential), but it did feel very didactic and I was disappointed by the end.
Completely agree with Ed's opinion of Babel, having finished it at the beginning of the month. Any sort of nuance would have been nice and as the characters lacked depth, the ending didn't hit as hard as it should have. Of course it's important to discuss colonialism and empire and its impacts, but it really could have been done better.
I love Drem so much!! He's amazing!! I also wanted more from Game of Thrones than I got, though I still enjoyed it. I expect many more bath rants in the future!I solidly agree with Will though where I liked the magic in Babel, at the end of the day it had symbolic purposes that I think it conveyed really well. I agree that it lacked subtlety and nuance, which I would agree with you would be necessary. However given the fact you have the likes of the barbie movie being "feminism 101" and people actually needing it breaking down for them, I can see there is certainly a place for Babel on people's bookshelves. Also in all the memes Jack Nicholson keeps yelling "HERE's Johnny" I also thought he was called Johnny and was very confused xD
According to Amazon Shawna Lawless's novellas are published by Head of Zeus the same as the rest of the series!
Great video as always! I'm Loving the read along for Of Blood & Bone!! Glad you're feeling better Will!
He’s a great character for sure! Hahah I think my bath rant spilled over a bit too much! Hahah very good point re: Barbie. Happy reading!
Ed
I loved Babel but had the same complaint as Ed. You can tell a story and critique a time period and the decisions made, but don't do it in a lecturing style. To me, there were several sections in Babel that droned on and on as we were lectured to about colonization or cultural appropriation. I never like for an author to disguise a pulpit with a novel. Overall, I liked the atmosphere and story in Babel. To see y'all disagree so vehemently was great fun!
Hello Guys. The only problem with watching other CZcamsrs channels is that it only increases the tbr. So many books and so little time! Happy reading to you.
I really liked Babel and the unique magic system as well as the setting and the emphasis on etymology, which I find fascinating. And the ending was savage! But I agree with British Ed; her anti-colonial sentiments, while of course understandable, were too heavy handed.
I’m all for some anti-colonial sentiments, just wish the characters had a bit more to them too. The etymology was so interesting wasn’t it, perfect for teachers!
Ed
I absolutely adored A Time of Dread, and I'm having a lot of fun chatting and seeing everyone's thoughts about the series over on the discord.
Aah, the more I hear about Babel, the more I think I'm not going to like it and that R.F Kuang just isn't the author for me. I didn't like The Poppy War and Yellowface was a weird one because even though it totally gripped me and got me thinking, I also think it was a bit too on the nose and lacked nuance. I also think there were a lot of elements that are going to date it very quickly. I'll still keep Babel on my tbr because I'm interested to see what I'll think of it, but I'm going in with low expectations, unfortunately.
a month of quantity and quality
Absolutely! Happy with that.
Ed
My bathwater temperature during Feast for Crows was actually lukewarm but what the heck do I know about bathing facilities?
Great question! Bathing facilities are a complicated subject.
Ed
Feast for Crows is my favourite book of ASOIAF, granted that took a couple rereads to make happen.. Westeros didn`t deserve Nimble Dick.. But the analogy Ed was running with makes me very curious what were the downs of the series? Especially Storm of Swords. What could possibly be the down? :p Would love to know!
Nimble Dick 😂 I think the balance of characters didn’t hit the same for me as Clash of Kings, and it would have been far stronger if it had been chopped in half. So much happens in that latter half and it feels a bit of a rush.
Ed
@@thebrothersgwynne Cool! Love the fresh opinion. Always nice to see what new people think of it. Was it Tyrion that edged out clash for you? I personally really like the northern plot of Clash with Theon and the writing in Sansas chapters are 10/10
RF Kuang is just one of those authors that I just don't get.
It’s such a shame as she is incredibly popular.
Ed
100% with Ed on Babel. Flat characters, just absurd plot convenience, and even then massive plot craters. Add in a massive assumption that readers are dumb and it was a massive miss for me.
Writing fine, world standard, liked the footnotes but wow was it boring. This book should have been a perfect fit for me, wanted to love it but I’ve never been so bored and annoyed by a book.
I read fantasy, pretty much anything can go and I forgive it for the story but this book was just irritating.
Way too much telling and not showing.
I read Of Blood and Fire after Babel and with my focus on characters and plot that didn’t go well. I am of the opinion AI could do better if given Eragon, WOT and The Magician to base it off 😢
Was a sad month last year when I hit these two in a row.
I do hear that Ryan’s later books are a massive improvement but book 1 has put me off for now.