Horror, Fantasy, Sci-fi

I read about 20 pages of the Night Circus PDF the other day, and I decided to continue reading in Shelf Indulgence because it’s a nice quiet place with coffee. And I found a physical copy of the book, displayed by the lounge. I mean what were the odds that it’d be the shopkeeper's favorite read? I sat down and ended up spending an afternoon getting through a third of the book.   Night Circus is immediately engaging. It’s visually descriptive and the magic is enchanting. I’m definitely going to finish this book, (all my unfinished books I’m saving for this summer.)   Along with the characters being so personalized, I can pick them out just through their dialogue, I’m enjoying the structure of the plot. Two “magic-users” are being pitted against each other but it’s being done in a way that the suspense of this competition is done with the anxiety and anticipation of Marcos. It’s also drawn out, which really pulls in the reader.   What’s intriguing to me is the occasional s

     The Heroic Journey I’ve come to see as “a” story element. Not “the.” I don’t completely agree with it. I don’t see why there needs to be a refusal to the call of action, whether just reluctance or just angst, I think there are many elements of the hero cycle that can be broken and changed. Though that’s true with most formulaic stories.       I read the first half of book one of Lord of the Rings. If I had given myself more time to read for this week I couldn’t at least finished the first book because it’s such a page turning. Tolkien really throws you into the world, listing off all these species names, most which are probably never mentioned ever again, and I like that. It makes a fantasy world feel real and cohesive. Elements and things just exist and not everything is plot driven or needed to tell the story, it’s just there.                   But speaking of plot, I loved how he handled the introduction to the ring. He wrote it like it was some party trick but then th

     I want more of Redlands. I know a new volume is coming out in the next few months but I want to keep reading. The world that Redlands has set up is really captivating. A town ruled by badass witches who don’t take shit from anyone. The subtle ways it introduces new elements to the world without explaining what’s real and what isn’t canon.       Is it common in witch stories for people to know witches exist? In Kiki’s Delivery Service, witches were part of the community and were even praised. I used to think that witches had to stay hidden. They had to shield themselves from society for if they were found out they would get hunted down. This typically coincides with most magical creature stories existing in a modern world. I genuinely curious if this is something common in witch stories because it actually makes them more interesting. Instead of being a nuisance or evil, they’re treated like higher beings in society. And there’s a lot you can do with that.