I finished Rhythm of War recently and am 300 pages into Wind and Truth at the moment. By the reviews I have seen, book 5 of the Stormlight Archive has not been received so well. The change in tone (the modernization of the language) from book 1, the over-elaboration of thoughts, the tedious emphasis on the characters’ mental health, the ‘softness’ of the magic, and so on have been blamed. ...
Malfoid has gripped the collective imagination of the Harry Potter fanfiction community since its publication about a month ago. The concept of a female Draco Malfoy has exsited for a while, but this time the meme of Malfoid spread like wildfire. Seemingly every Harry Potter channel on Youtube has videos discussing how a female Draco Malfoy serving as Potter’s eventual love interest would fix the story. Such is the power of a well made, well timed, piece of art. See malfoid.com for some related fiction, or if you want to pour money into an AI that gender-swaps any male character (because, of course, such a thing has to exist in this era). ...
Binge watched season 4 of The Legend of Vox Machina last night. It was thoroughly enjoyable. What do we call it? American anime? Feels strange to call it cartoon. It does not feel like cartoon the way Ben 10 felt, which, for a long time, was the last watchable American production for me. Perhaps it’s the adult themes that make me reach for a term other than ‘cartoon.’ In any case, it was a pleasant surprise to see something of this quality coming out of America. It was the middle of 2025 when I watched all three seasons of the series. ...
Just read Dan Brown’s The Secret of Secrets. The last Dan Brown book I read was Origin in 2018. It has been a long while since I have read a thriller. Most of my readings in recent years have been fantasy, and those can be quite slow to get into. The Secret of Secrets was a fun read. Spoilers ahead. First, I want to discuss how the structure of this book differs from that of his other Robert Langdon books. Usually, the entire story is one big mystery to solve or one person to save, but here, I can break the book into two parts: the first part is finding Katherine, and the second is saving Sasha. The finding Katherine section of the book also resolves the mortal threat Langdon faces from the Czech police. The discovery of the golem’s identity, the uncovering of the Threshold project, and the thwarting of the CIA’s plans are subsumed by the saving Sasha section. ...
Ninety-seven chapters in and I yet do not understand why Witch Hat Atelier (WHA) is marked seinen. Despite its tragic themes, it does not have the grittiness of Vinland Saga or Berserk. Demon Slayer and Attack on Titan have arguably more darkness than WHA, yet they are labeled as shounen. Also with the number of teenagers in central positions, the manga deliberately circumvents adult themes and emphasizes simplicity, cuteness, and all that you would expect in shounen or shoujo. ...
Witch Hat Atelier’s Qifrey is one of the most intriguing characters I have come across. Gentle and cheerful on the surface, Qifrey masks a fair amount of darkness which occasionally manifests in a scary way. In the beginning, while we are unaware of his past, his interest in the brim caps along with the use of intimidation and memory wiping magic to protect his secret plant doubts about his alignment. Is Coco someone Qifrey protecting merely to serve his goals of tracking down the brim caps? Why is Qifrey not more forthcoming about his knowledge with his peers and students, if not the magical authorities? ...
The first season of Lord of Mysteries gripped my imagination late last year, compelling me to read the entire series of light novels. This month, three special episodes came out covering parts of volume 1 that did not make it into season 1 for good reason. Again, the production was absolutely captivating. IMDb Blurb “Zhou Mingrui awakens in the body of Klein Moretti in a Victorian world of steam and hidden magic. As a new Beyonder, he confronts secret societies and dark rituals while seeking the truth behind his mysterious transmigration.” ...
The Verdict Witch Hat Atelier S1 was truly beautiful. The only annoying thing was Coco’s overly cartoonish reactions. I know it’s supposed to make her look cute, but it was overused. Everything else about the anime was great. The artwork and animation were beautiful. The characters were engaging. The conflicts were set up very well. The magic system was well designed. I don’t anticipate being able to wait a couple of years for the next season. I will probably pick up the manga at some point, especially given the sort of cliffhanger we have been left with. ...
Brandon Sanderson, the author of Mistborn, The Stormlight Archive, etc. presents three points of consideration for fantasy authors. First Law Solving a problem through magic depends on how well the readers understand the magic. You cannot simply have vague magical powers and then use a wizard to enchant problems away. That would amount to deus ex machina, an unsatisfactory read at best, a betrayal of the readers at worst. Second Law Limitations are more important than powers. ...
Consider an academy of magic with the following seven disciplines. Disciplines are equivalent to general majors. I have taken help from existing D&D concepts; this video about the different schools of magic in D&D was instrumental to me bringing structure to ideas I have played with for a long time. Magical Disciplines Wardcraft shielding negating a spell reflecting a spell pocket building (with metamancy and others) Kinesomatics advanced physical capabilities heightened senses perfect weapon control agility endurance bodily enhancements, such as growing wings, claws, etc (in combination with metamancy for inorganic materials, or lifecraft for organic additions) Klesiurgy summoning objects summoning living beings teleportation telekinesis weather control (in combination with energetics) flying spying (in combination with mindcraft) Metamancy transmutation of objects alchemy potions controlling marionettes (in combination with lifecraft) earth-based elementalism Energetics weather control (in combination with klesiurgy) fire and water elementalism and related forms like smoke and ice thunderstrike explosions darkness heat and cold gravity manipulation (in combination with wardcraft) Mindcraft illusions, visual and auditory persuasion calming and agitating confusion memory loss memory manipulation telepathy Lifecraft healing taming birds, beasts, fish tending plants imbuing lifelike properties to mechanical objects, controlling marionettes (in combination with metamancy) instant death curse contracts Academic Structure Candidacy requires high mental and physical abilities along with proficiency in languages and mathematics. Candidates would typically rank in the top 0.1 percentile in mundanes’ college entrance examinations. Time at the academy is divided into three non-equal phases. All seven disciplines are taught in the first phase. There are additional lessons in mathematics and languages beyond those taught in these disciplines. Candidates study four disciplines in the second phase. Candidates study one or two disciplines in the third phase. There are exams at the end of the first and second phases, and a capstone project at the end of the third. The candidates’ third phase disciplines are their majors. The other second phase disciplines are their minors. Typically, it’s one major three minors, or two major two minors.