The Citadel of the Autarch
I apologize for not being able to do a full review, but I’m not sure I could do a good enough job explaining the book. My main problem with the book is that Severian is the hero and main character, but everything seems to happen to him without action on his part. A large part of the series involves Severian wandering around and something happens to him. When Severian gives Thecla the knife early in the first book, it is an action taken by Severian when he knows the consequences and makes a decision. It is also one of the last times in the series where he does this. Most everything else Severian does is either following what someone else is doing or following the Guild rules. It is a frustrating experience to watch the protagonist wander around and rarely initiate the action.
, 
or 
, I decided to just do brief reviews of the one’s I’ve seen. For tomorrow’s finale of Miyazaki Week, I’m planning on something a little different. So read the reviews and come back tomorrow.
, this is a sweet coming of age story for a young witch. It’s also the first movie in the Studio Ghibli/Disney relationship. I have mixed feelings about that relationship. On one hand, the partnership makes sure that every Miyazaki movie will be released in the US theaters and get a DVD. But, on the other hand, I’m not sure Disney is doing a great job marketing Miyazaki and his films. So, let’s go visit Kiki.
and 
) are almost national symbols in Japan. It is a simple tale of children, but the mood and the characters make the movie memorable and exciting. So, let’s go visit Totoro.
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. So, it’s absolutely no surprise that his newest book, 
, is about an amazing kid from a family of gods. Card has written magic before in his Seventh Son series, but this is more of mythology based than that series. It is fairly reminiscent of Neil Gaiman’s 
, but with a slightly different focus. So, let’s go find that gate.
, the author does a fun trick of having the star of the book be the title character and not be the title character at the same time. In this book, we follow the adventures of the written Thursday Next, not the real Thursday Next. If this makes sense to you, then you’re probably familiar with Fforde’s fun literary tweaking series and are already looking forward to the book. If you’re confused, then don’t worry, it isn’t as confusing as it sounds. So, which Thursday is missing?
does during wartime.
), I was finishing up book two (
). There is a good chance I might be finished with book four before book five comes out. During the middle books of a long series, there is always a chance that the author will go off on an unrelated tangent or run around in place waiting until the finale comes. But Martin does a great job moving the pieces around and keeping the enough balls in the air, that we enjoy reading the book and are still looking forward to later pieces. So which kings are clashing?