How To live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe

Why are the fate of our fathers so important? How to live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe is about another protagonist passively obsessed with finding his Father. We watch as Charles Yu meet Luke Skywalker's son, relive the high points of his not so remarkable life and shoot himself and therefore getting stuck in a time loop. The only thing interesting about the book is the background- the Science fictional Universe- Minor Universe 31. Of course Time travel pseudoscience is always been fascinating and Yu nails it. The concepts are complex witout being abstruse. In short, How to live Safely in a Science Fictional Universe has great set pieces, but a pedestrian storyline makes it only a so-so read.

The way of kings- Brandon Sanderson

First of all, let me make something very clear. There is nothing ground breaking about the Way of Kings. It has got the standard High/epic fantasy characters. The naturally gifted young man who always felt like an outsider finds hidden powers, a girl takes great risks to save her family and a General who only wants to protect a Foolish king from himself. Now that we have got that out of the way, the execution is flawless. Sanderson has got the setup and the background just right. He doesn’t go on to so much detail that those who are interested in the human conflict are bored ,while at the same time there is enough background on politics, Magic systems and Culture for those who are interested in the actual World building. Importantly, there is not a dull moment with no “arms being folded under Breasts” or “skirts being smoothened” and the shifts in the POV keep the story moving at a breakneck pace. He ties up most of the plots by the end of the book and does a competent job of clearly and sympathetically painting the characters' inner conflicts. Because it does not stray too much from the High/ Epic Fantasy template, you can almost tell exactly what is going to happen next. So, it really boils down to this- Was this book good enough that I would read book two? Yes. Is it good enough that I will read this book again? Probably not.

Towers of Midnight

Just one more step to Tarmon Gaidon. I came in to the series pretty late. During my early twenties. In College, so I went through the first 9-10 books in one go., So, while there were characters that irritated me like Aviendha, Elayne, Nynaeve and Gawyn, I was never completely put off by the fact that nothing really happens in the books 5-11. Nevertheless, it is a relief to see most characters moving closer to resolution.In any case, no one is going to contemplate reading this book if they haven't read the first 12. If you have been with this series for years in some cases and decades in others, all you need is a little bit of validation that some end is in sight for you to go and buy this book. Yes, the end is in sight and this is a step in the right direction. That said, this is not Jordan, so as with any such change of guard, there are some clashes in style and some misses with plotting and continuity(Especialy with Tam). I am entirely satisfied with Sanderson's writing style. It is not Jordan, but Sanderson is good enough. The transition is sometimes seamless and jarring at others. But then, considering that I would have been happy with a wikipedia entry like precis of what happened in Tarmon Gaidon after Jordan's death, I can't help but be thriled that the series is now in more capable hands. That said, this book is definitely better than the Gathering Storm. Many charaters actually grow up finally and Tarmon Gaidon feels imminent. Now, I am going to shut up wait with bated breath for "A Memory of Light".

PS: By the way what do the Towers of Midnight represent? The Black Tower? Also, Asmodean's Killer's reveal is a big anticlimax