Ever since I got back into reading I've pretty much only read fantasy but I've been making a concerted effort to branch out.
Funnily enough, two of the four books that have had the most impact on me were not fantasy...though I wouldn't say they were especially "fun" to read.
I am currently reading Eragon for my book club, and Dracula for myself.
I have only read fantasy.
I was browsing a bookstore, and could not find a fantasy book that looked good. I decided to talk to the bookstore clerk, who, hearing about my love for darker fantasy novels and deep/ancient lore, told me to read blood meridian.
I'm not sure how he soul read me like that, but holy shit this book was so good.
I have never read a western, or any other cormac mccarthy, or even anything about this book. I'm sure a character like the judge has been analyzed into oblivion but I need to put my thoughts down somewhere.
I think the Judge is literally a primordial god . Not just in a spiritual / metaphorical / hazy sense - but THE god. I believe he spawned, alone on the planet. First and immortal. And sad.
"Before man was, war waited for him. The ultimate trade waiting its ultimate practitioner."
"He said that man was a creature that had evolved from the earth and that the earth was a singular place and that man was unique in all creation and that he was alone."
I think he is literally describing himself here. The judge is the first primordial being. He was alone for eons, and he could not find meaning. He was depressed. Humanity is unique, and he is not one of us. Humans arrived and started killing each other. In this violence, suddenly, something mattered. There were sides to take. The judge had found his meaning, and became the ultimate patron to it - the god of war.
The judge is happy. He's always smiling and in a good mood. In almost a creepy way. But if you worshipped violence and the stakes of life and death, wouldn't GUNS make you the happiest man in the world? Guns, good ones, are finally becoming commonplace in the world. The judge almost fetishises guns. The ultimate instrument for his eternal dance. He has become a master, and made his way to a time and place where he demonstrate that mastery with glee.
I think creating the black powder from the earth was sort of ritual for him - since all rituals must involve blood. It was worship of the guns themselves, baptizing the earth in blood of the indians to thank it for the tool of destruction it had granted him.
And law. How funny that he calls himself the judge, despite often making a mockery of law. I think law, to the judge, is like foreplay. Law is simply a game within a true game - a farce. Do you bound your life by the fake game? Or resort to the true game - pitting your will against the will of those who have taken up the law? I think the judge loves the law, because in the end, it doesn't stop violence and war, it just makes the payoff even sweeter.
This is the first non fantasy book i've read since getting back into reading several years ago. I decided to pick up some classics to broaden my horizons and i'm very happy i did!
The first "arc" of the book - everything up until rome, to me, was very fantasy adjacent. It felt almost like a supernatural/magical levelling up of the count. The fall from grace to the dungeons, the training arc with the abbe, and "magical" fortune was incredibly compelling.
the middle of the book, where dantes was setting all of his machinations into place, was still good but slower for me. But i've read through the wheel of time slog so i have no problem delaying gratification.
and oh, the gratification was so sweet. The care in which dumas wrote the culmination of edmond's vengeance was sublime. the counts reveal of himself to villefort and his subsequent descent into madness gave me the same feeling as the classic "final battle" fantasy trope does.
so all in all i am pleasantly surprised and excited to have enjoyed a classic, even though there was no magic, dark ones, or sword fighting (though we almost had a duel).
what classics would you guys next recommend to someone like me?
so this is an actual medical disorder with a possible fix? I have lived the past 27 years of my life just resigned to the fact that I will never burp and will be pregnancy-level bloated every day.
my favorite beer has, by force, been guiness because it has low carbonation (still have to pour/stir it). I fast all day if I am going to swim or be in a hot tub. I wear sweatshirts even when its hot if I am going to be around people after a meal because i literally look like im with child. I used to look forward to opening the car door for my wife when we started dating cause I would finally be able to fart when I walked around the car. on our first trip together I literally had to pull the car over and throw up air after having a carbonated drink on a flight. my throat gurgle and ability to fart on command is a common gag in my friend group (so not all bad i guess lol).
I am going to try to get this fixed asap. I cannot even physically imagine what burping is going to feel like, its like trying to imagine seeing a color that doesn't exist.
Hey! I am in the band STIM and we are dropping an EP called immortal. I would like to do a ~30m/1hr photoshoot of a man in full armor walking around and doing normal activities, perhaps sitting a a coffee shop. Nothing too formal, just doing the pictures on my phone. I can pay 50$ and shoutout any page / company for all the social media posts. If anyone wants to do this I was planning to run it this sunday (tomorrow). LMK and send me pics of what armor you have!