Recenzia: Kráľovstvo podvodníkov - Leigh Bardugo

Friday, February 3, 2023

21/11/22

Tentoraz sa nekonalo žiadne „pomalé dostávanie sa do toho“.

Postavy som poznala a milovala, a tak som sa nedočkavo ponorila do ďalšej knihy. Akcia v nej bola opäť neustála, plánovanie tiež, vždy sa to posúvalo k nejakému novému plánu, k novému zoznamu vecí, ktoré treba urobiť a ktoré sa môžu pokaziť. Musím povedať, že čítanie tejto knihy nemusí byť zdravé pre úzkostlivých ľudí - ja zvyčajne pri čítaní nebývam úzkostlivá a keď už, nie je to až také zlé. Ale tu som párkrát zhrešila a pozrela sa na to, čo bude ďalej, čo bežne nerobím. Lenže niečo šialené sa stane jednej postave a potom to skočí do pohľadov iných postáv a chápete... niekedy jednoducho musíte hneď vedieť, že prežila, inak ako sa mám sústrediť? A čo sa týka ich prežívania cez dve knihy absolútne bláznivých vecí, po určitom bode to môže začať vyzerať nepravdepodobne, ale vždy to bolo napísané dobre a pôsobilo to prirodzene. A nie, nepoviem vám, či to naozaj prežili až do konca, tiež si budete musieť užiť trochu úzkosti. 

Prišla som aj do bodu, kedy som mala pocit, že keď ešte raz budem čítať slovo „plán“, tak niekoho udriem. Pravdepodobne tú knihu. Cítila som sa z toho chvíľu unavená – mali jeden cieľ a na jeho dosiahnutie prešli dvesto rôznymi plánmi. Bola tam napríklad scéna, keď Kaz povedal plán, potom Nina chcela niečo dosiahnuť pred tým, tak vytvorili plán pred plánom, ale aby to dosiahli, potrebovali plán pre plán pred plánom a doslova som prečítala tri plány jeden za druhým, každý úplne šialený a keď som si predstavila, ako ich budem musieť všetky s nimi prežiť, kým sa dostaneme k TOMU PLÁNU, chcela som tú knihu vyhodiť von oknom. Bolo to trochu vyčerpávajúce. A tiež... Kaz a jeho neustále „som o krok popredu - alebo o desať krokov“ bolo urobené veľmi dobre, ale bol tu tiež aspoň jeden bod, keď som si povedala „ale už stačilo“. Povedala by som, že v porovnaní s prvou časťou bola táto kniha vo všetkom “viac”, až to možno trochu prehnala. Len trochu, dobre? Inak to bolo skvelé.

Najviac sa mi opäť páčili postavy, ale najmä tie paralely medzi nimi - dvaja vojaci na opačných stranách, dvaja najnebezpečnejší ľudia v meste, ktorí z rôznych dôvodov neznesú dotyk a dvaja chlapci, jeden skrývajúci schopnosť, ktorú by radšej nemal, druhý skrývajúci, že nemá schopnosť, ktorú by chcel mať. Vytváralo to skvelú dynamiku a uhly pohľadu, kedy buď stáli na opačnej strane vecí, alebo mali s tou istou vecou inú skúsenosť a pekne sa dopĺňali (možno zase až trochu moc príhodne, ale no a čo). A zatiaľ čo v prvej knihe som medzi Kazom a Inej cítila len nejakú chémiu, tu sa to naozaj ukázalo a konečne som cítila plnú silu tohto shipu. Chytil ma poriadne, uznávam. 

V každom prípade je táto recenzia prekvapivo negatívna v tom, že sa sústredím hlavne na niektoré problémy, ale jednoducho som ich musela povedať. Napriek tomu mi nevadili - postavy som milovala, naozaj, naozaj veľmi, milovala som byť v tom svete s nimi a bolo skvelé byť takto ponorená vo fantasy knihe a s fiktívnou rodinou. Pocitov som mala veľa a bola som tým tak zaujatá, že som si nebola istá, čo mám robiť, keď to skončilo.

Celkovo sú tieto knihy skvelé a postavy v nich som zbožňovala. Viem, že na ne nejaký čas neprestanem myslieť, čo je veľký úspech. Kvôli nim sú Vrany určite niekde tam hore: patria na poličku s knihami, ktoré sú pre mňa výnimočné.


!!!NASLEDUJE SPOILER!!!

Naozaj, nečítajte ďalej, ak chcete túto knihu ešte len čítať. 

A teraz. Teraz sa ideme porozprávať o tej scéne a potom sa budeme ďalej tváriť, že sa nestala. 

Ako prvé poviem toto: samozrejme, že som bol zničená. Už som vám povedala, ako veľmi som milovala Ninu a Matthiasa a ako mám slabosť pre blonďatých Severanov všeobecne. Ale po druhé: smrť Matthiasa mi prišla trochu lacná. Áno, bolo to svojím spôsobom poetické, že ho jeho „mladšie ja“ (alebo niekto, kto ho reprezentoval) zabilo, keď sa jeho vývoj  postavy uzavrel, ale proste... nahnevalo ma to z viacerých dôvodov. Téma vojaka s vymytým mozgom, ktorý sa snaží zlepšiť, mi prišla veľmi zaujímavá a jeho postava tiež (aj keď som zistila, že som v tomto trochu v menšine, zdá sa, že veľa ľudí mu nefandilo až tak). Takže áno, bola som smutná. Ale to dokážem prijať. 

Trochu ma však trápilo, že sa zdalo, že som jediná, koho to naozaj zranilo - iste, niektoré postavy si s ním neboli až také blízke a boli zvyknuté na to, že ľudia okolo nich zomierali a aj tak dali najavo svoj smútok, ale naozaj som mala pocit, že jeho smrť bola akosi… odsunutá stranou. Najmä od Niny. A to bolo to, čo ma naozaj nahnevalo, pretože som tých dvoch spolu milovala. A potom sa zdalo, že keď ho nechala ísť, tak ho proste naozaj len... nechala ísť. Dokonca žartovala skoro hneď potom a bola to taká klasická Nina a mne to neprišlo správne. Tiež som sa na autorku trochu hnevala, pretože som vedela, že jeden z nich zomrie, aby bolo všetko to „bláznivé prežívanie“ vierohodnejšie, takže to bolo istým spôsobom predvídateľné a tiež som vedela, že to bude Matthias, čo bol opäť… predvídateľné. Bol jasnou voľbou, pretože bol najbezpečnejšou voľbou z nich všetkých z rôznych dôvodov - myslím si, že si dokážete domyslieť z akých. A ja jednoducho nemám veľmi rada, keď je niečo ľahko predvídateľné a keď autor ide podľa zjavného vzorca. Buď podstúp väčšie riziko alebo sa tým očakávaniam vzopri úplne. Ale úprimne som len trochu zatrpknutá a možno sa tu len zbytočne mračím a dupem o zem ako nahnevané dieťa, pretože mi na tom až príliš záležalo, ale čo už, cítim sa tak lepšie, ok? Takže toľko k tomu. 

Teraz sa môžeme vrátiť k predstieraniu, že je v poriadku, len niekde tam vonku dokola nazýva Kaza démonom, zatiaľ čo je vafle s Ninou.




Read More

Review: Crooked Kingdom - Leigh Bardugo

21/11/22

This time, there was no “slowly getting into it”. 

I knew the characters, I loved them and I eagerly jumped back in. Once again, the action was contant, the planning was constant, always moving to a new plan, to a new list of things that need to be done and where any of them can go wrong. I have to say, reading this book may not even be healthy for anxious people - I'm not usually anxious while reading and when I am it's not so bad. But here I looked at what will happen next a few times, which I almost never do. But something crazy happens to a character and then you switch to different povs and you know… sometimes you just have to know right away that they survived, otherwise how am I supposed to focus. And when it comes to them surviving two books of absolute batshit situations, it can start to look ridiculous after some point, but it was always written well and seemed somehow natural and no, I won't tell you if they did till the end, you will have to be anxious as well. 

There was a point where I felt like if I read the word “plan” one more time I will punch someone. The book probably. I actually felt tired at that point - because they had one goal and went through two hundred different plans to achieve it. Especially when Kaz said a plan, then Nina wanted to so something before it, so they created a plan before a plan, but to achieve that, they needed a plan for the plan before a plan and I literally read three plans one after the other, each one completely crazy and when I imagined how I will have to go through all of them with them before we get to THE PLAN I just wanted to throw that book out the window. It was a little exhausting. And you know, Kaz and his constant “being ahead” was done very well, but there was also at least one point when I was like “that's enough”. I would say that compared to the first one, this book was “more” in everything, to the point where it may have been a little overdone. Just a little, okay? Otherwise it was great. 

What I loved the most, once again, were the characters, but specifically the parallels between them - two soldiers on opposite sides, two most dangerous people in the city, that can't stand touch for different reasons and two boys, one that is hiding the skill he would rather not have, the other hiding that he doesn't have the skill he would like to have. It created great dynamics and points of view, when they were either standing on the opposite side of things or just had a different experience with the same thing and they completed each other nicely (and a little too conveniently, but so what). And while I felt only some chemistry between Kaz and Inej in the first book, here it went off and I finally felt the full force of that ship. It hit me hard, I admit. 

Anyway, this review is surprisingly negative in focusing on some issues, but I just had to say them. Still, I didn't really mind them - I loved the characters, really, really much, I loved being in that world with them, I was immersed and it was great to be fully enveloped in a fantasy book in a different world and with a fictional family once again. My feelings were all over the place and I was so invested I wasn't sure what to do when it was all done. 

Overall, these books are great and I adored the characters in them. I know I won't stop thinking about them for some time, which is a big success. Because of them, Crows are definitely somewhere up there: belonging on the shelves with the books that are special to me. 


!!!SPOILER WARNING!!!

Really, don't read further if you want to read it in the future.

And now. We are going to talk about that chapter and that scene and then we will continue to pretend it doesn't exist. 

Firstly, I will say this: obviously, I was devastated. I already told you how much I loved Nina and Matthias and how I have such a soft spot for blonde Northmen in general. But secondly: the death of Matthias was a bit cheap. Yes, it was poetic in a way that his “younger self” (or someone resembling it) killed him when his development came full circle, but just… It pissed me off in more than one way. I've found the theme of a brainwashed soldier trying to get better incredibly interesting and his character as well (even though I've also found out I'm actually in the minority it seems, many people weren't such big fans). So yes, I was hurt. But that I can take. 

It kinda bugged me however that it seemed like I'm the only one really hurt - sure, some characters weren't that close to him and they were used to people dying and they showed their sadness anyway, but it really felt like his death was just brushed away. Especially from Nina. And that was my trigger point, because Jesus, how I loved those two together. And then it felt like she let him go and really just… let him go. She even jokes almost right after and was just the usual Nina and it felt so wrong for me. I was also a little angry with the author, because I knew one of them would die to make all that “crazy surviving” more believable, so it was predictable in a way, and I also knew it would be Matthias, which was again, predictable. He was the obvious choice because he was the safest choice from the cast - in more than one way, I think you can figure out which the others are. And I just don't like it very much, when something is easily predictable and when the author follows an obvious pattern. Either take a bigger risk or just defy the expectation completely. But I'm honestly just a little bitter and maybe I'm just frowning uselessly and stumping the ground like an angry child, because I cared a bit too much, but whatever, it makes me feel better, okay? So there it is. 

Now we can go back to pretending he's fine, just somewhere out there calling Kaz a demon over and over again while eating waffles with Nina.  



Read More

Recenzia: Vrania Šestka - Leigh Bardugo

Thursday, February 2, 2023

13/11/22 

Kedysi som bola na fantasy závislá - ponárať sa do fiktívnych svetov bola moja posadnutosť (a často aj nevyhnutnosť na prežitie reality). Potom sa udial život a čas a veci a už na to nebolo toľko priestoru. Ale moja láska k tomuto žánru zostala silná a tak sa zoznam fantasy kníh “na prečítanie” neustále predlžoval a teraz je ich toľko, že by som sa z toho mohla rozplakať. No namiesto toho som sa konečne zhlboka nadýchla, ostatné žánre na chvíľu odložila a siahla po fantasy knihe – a nie hocijakej. Tej, ktorá na mňa neustále vyskakuje z feedu aj výkladov kníhkupectiev. A bola som si plne vedomá, že to nie je ideálne, pretože to vytvára očakávania, ale dala som knihe možnosť dostáť svojej reputácii. A teda…

… dostála jej.

Aj keď som to tak zo začiatku necítila. Bolo to trochu mätúce a trochu priveľa naraz. S menami väčšinou problém nemám, no tu boli nové mená na všetko, nielen ľudí. Celý svet, mesto, jeho časti, gangy, jeho členovia, naši protagonisti, kúzelníci a všetky ich rády (toto bola moja prvá kniha z Grisha univerza). Možno ma trochu bolela hlava, čo sa zvyčajne nestáva, ale bola už hlboká noc a ja som bola pripravená ponoriť sa do nejakého fiktívneho sveta, no namiesto toho ma do hlavy trafila encyklopédia. Zo začiatku som si ani k postavám nevytvorila veľké puto a jednoducho... neberte ma zle, bolo to fajn, zaujalo ma to, ale nebolo to najlepšie prvé rande, aké som s knihou mala. Ale ako to už niekedy býva, keď sme sa začali viac spoznávať počas našich nočných stretnutí, zlepšilo sa to. A práve postavy sa stali najsilnejším článkom celej knihy. Vytvorený svet je super, príbeh je dobrý, ale tie postavy... TIE POSTAVY. Mohli by doslova loviť ryby celú knihu a mne by sa to asi páčilo rovnako.

Sú veľmi rôznorodé, povahovo aj vzhľadom, čo pôsobilo veľmi prirodzene a ich dynamika bola priam dokonalá. Ak som v niečom basic bitch, tak v tom, že ma vždy najviac zaujme ten temný mužský hrdina, ktorý hraničí so zloduchom. Jedinou výnimkou je, ak je tam blonďatý Severan, ktorý má niečo spoločné s vlkmi a tu boli obaja. Je ale celkovo ťažké vybrať spomedzi všetkých tých postáv favorita, a ani ho vyberať nebudem, ale poviem aspoň toto: žila som pre Ninu a Matthiasa. Milovala som ich a mohla by som si prečítať trilógiu len o nich dvoch, ale potom by mi chýbali aj všetky ostatné postavy, ktoré boli úžasné. Čo však naozaj, naozaj oceňujem, je, že sú tu dve hlavné ženy a hádajte čo? Sú to priateľky, od začiatku až do konca, žiadne hádky o mužoch, ani reči o tom, ktorá z nich je krajšia, nie sú nepriateľky ani na sekundu, len sa vzájomne plne podporujú a ja by som sa z toho mohla rozplakať, lebo... ďakujem. Naozaj ďakujem.

Dospelo to do bodu, kedy som knihu nedokázala odložiť. A môže sa zdať, že to bolo kvôli príbehu a akcii, pretože tej tam bolo veľmi veľa, no hlavným dôvodom boli opäť postavy. Chcela som si prečítať ďalšiu interakciu a potom ďalšiu a mohla by som s nimi stráviť celý život. Ľudia sa väčšinou sťažujú, že sú veci pomalé, ale ja som pravý opak – často ich tak preferujem, a tak ma najviac bavili pokojnejšie pasáže, kde sme viac spoznali ich príbehy a ich osudy a všetko to bolo veľmi zaujímavé a proste... áno prosím. Milujem ich všetkých, celú tú skupinu a úprimne je mi je jedno, o čom čítam, pokiaľ sú tam oni. Tak by som to asi aj celé zhrnula. (Po viac ako dvoch mesiacoch na nich stále často myslím. Stoja za to.)

Jediný môj problém s nimi bol ako vždy ich vek. Viem, že to viac vyzdvihuje životy, ktoré žijú, a osudy, ktoré museli pretrpieť v takom mladom veku, a áno, tieto veci človeka donútia dospieť rýchlejšie, ale nemôžem uveriť, že toľko postáv naraz môže vyzerať tak vyspelo a konať tak vyspelo a byť absolútnou špičkou vo svojich schopnostiach. V žiadnom prípade. Takže v mojej hlave majú všetci aspoň cez dvadsať.

Každopádne moje obnovené čítanie fantasy žánru bolo úspešné (zatiaľ) a ja som veľmi zvedavá, čo prinesie ďalšia kniha. 




Read More

Review: Six of Crows - Leigh Bardugo

13/11/22 

I used to be a fantasy junkie - diving into fictional worlds was my obsession (and often necessity to survive reality). Then life and time and stuff happened and there was not so much space for it anymore. But my love for it was still strong and so the “tbr” list of fantasy books was getting longer and longer and now there are so many of them, that I may go crazy. But instead, I finally took a deep breath, put the other genres away for a bit and reached for fantasy - and not just any fantasy. For the one that is all over my feed and bookstores. And I was fully aware that that's not so good, because it creates expectations, but the book had the opportunity to prove itself. And well…

… it did. 

Even though I was not feeling it from the beginning. It was a bit confusing and a little too much. I don't usually have a problem with names, but there were a lot of new names for everything, not just people. The whole world, the city, the parts of it, gangs, its members, our protagonists, the magicians and all their orders (this was my first Grisha book). My head may have hurted a little, which doesn't happen usually, but it was late at night and I was ready to dive into some fictional world and instead got an encyclopaedia thrown into my face. I didn't create much of a bond with the characters at first and just… you know, don't take me wrong, it was nice, I was interested, but it wasn't the best first date I had with a book. But, as it sometimes happens, as we got to know each other, meeting every night, it got better. And the characters became the driving force for the whole thing. The worldbuilding is great, the story is good, but those characters… THOSE CHARACTERS. They could literally be fishing the whole book and I would like it the same probably.  

They are very diverse, both in character and appearance, which seemed very natural and their dynamics were just perfect. If I'm a basic bitch in something, it's always going for the dark guy that borders with the villain. The only exception is if there's a blonde Northman that has something to do with wolves and here there was both of them. It's so hard to pick a favourite from them all and I won't, but I will say - I lived for Nina and Matthias. I loved them to death and I could read a trilogy just about them, but then I would also miss all the others that were amazing. What I really, really appreciate though, is that there are two main women and guess what. They are friends, from the beginning till the end, no fighting about men or talking about which one is more hot, they are not enemies even for a second, just completely supporting one another and I could actually cry about that, like… thank you. Just thank you. 

It got to a point when I just couldn't put the book down. And it may seem that it was because of the story and action, because there was so much of it, but the main reason was, again, the characters. I just wanted to read another interaction and then another and I could spend my life with them. People usually complain about things being slow, but I'm the opposite - I often prefer them that way and so what I've enjoyed the most were the calmer passages where you got to know some of their stories and their backgrounds and it was all very interesting and just… yes. I love them all, the whole squad and I honestly don't even care what I'm reading about as long as they are in it. That about sums it up for me. (More than two months later and I still think about them often. They're worth it.)

My only problem with them, as always, was the age. I know it highlights the lives they live and fates they had to suffer at such a young age, and yes, those things also make you more mature, but there is no way I can believe that that many characters at once can look mature and act mature and be the absolute top in their skills. No. Way. So in my head, they are all over twenty.

Anyway, my restored reading of the fantasy genre was a success (for now) and I'm very curious what the next one will bring. 




Read More

Review: Hear the Wind Sing - Haruki Murakami

12/01/23

This was a re-read for me and everything else apart, the main thing why I come back to Murakami over and over again is that certain feeling that you get from his work. It's the same one I often feel in life as well, but it's hard to name it or even catch it sometimes. But it's always there waiting in his books and even if they have issues or are (like here) less good than some others of his, or the story is not the strongest or not there at all, and some themes are constantly repeating themselves... It's like I can't be disappointed, because that feeling is always there and for me that is the strongest thing about his novels and the one I care about the most. I would compare it to a comfortable nihilism - not much happens or not much matters, things are strange and life is nostalgic, and it goes on, so the only thing you can do is enjoy your spaghetti or your jazz record to the fullest.

I had read quite a few of Murakami's books before reading his first ones and I remember thinking that even though it’s still him and the books have the same feel, they are a little "less" than the others. Which makes sense, as he was just starting his career. I had similar feelings now, but I actually may have enjoyed it better the second time around since I knew already what to expect - or better to say: not to expect - and was just vibing on my train ride. And his books always are a vibe. They leave me feeling nostalgic, sitting in the kitchen, drinking coke and pondering life. 

Hear the Wind Sing is a short one and the story is kind of missing, but it's also a nice (and literal) introduction to his writing. It shows the base of how most of his books are, so it's not the worst to start at when you want to read him, but don't expect anything that will blow you away. Maybe just open some cold beer, don't think about it too much and enjoy the feeling.




Read More

Recenzia: Počúvaj pieseň vetra - Haruki Murakami

12/01/23

Táto kniha pre mňa bola re-reading a odhliadnuc od všetkého ostatného, hlavná vec, prečo sa k Murakamimu vraciam znova a znova, je určitý pocit, ktorý v jeho dielach nachádzam. Je to ten istý, ktorý často cítim aj v živote, ale je ťažké ho pomenovať a niekedy aj zachytiť. Ale v jeho knihách na mňa vždy čaká, aj keď nie sú dokonalé alebo sú (ako tu) menej dobré ako niektoré iné jeho diela, alebo príbeh nie je najsilnejší alebo tam nie je vôbec, a niektoré témy sa neustále opakujú, je to aj tak akoby som nikdy nemohla byť sklamaná, pretože ten pocit je tam vždy, čo je pre mňa najsilnejšia vec na jeho knihách a tá, na ktorej mi najviac záleží. Prirovnala by som to k upokojujúcemu nihilizmu – veľa sa toho nedeje alebo na tom veľmi nezáleží, veci sú zvláštne a život je nostalgický a ide ďalej, takže jediné, čo môžete urobiť, je užiť si svoje špagety alebo svoju jazzovú platňu naplno.

Predtým, ako som čítala jeho prvé knihy, mala som za sebou viacero iných od neho a pamätám si, že som si myslela, že aj keď je to stále on a tie knihy majú v sebe rovnaký pocit, sú o niečo „menej“ ako ostatné. Čo dáva zmysel, keďže tu len začínal svoju kariéru. Teraz som mala podobné pocity, ale druhýkrát som si to užila viac, keďže som už vedela, čo môžem očakávať – alebo lepšie povedané: neočakávať – a len som si pri ceste vlakom užívala atmosféru. A jeho knihy vždy majú atmosféru. Zanechajú ma ponorenú v nostalgii, kým sedím v kuchyni, pijem kolu a premýšľam nad životom.

Hear the Wind Sing je krátka knižka a príbeh akosi chýba, ale je to aj pekný (a doslovný) úvod do jeho písania. Ukazuje základ toho, aká je väčšina jeho kníh, takže nie je najhoršie ňou začať, ak si ho chcete prečítať, ale nečakajte nič strhujúce. Možno si len otvorte chladené pivo, príliš nad tým nepremýšľajte a užite si ten pocit.




Read More

Review: To the Lighthouse - Virginia Woolf

05/12/22

The first thing that will come to my mind every time when I'll be thinking about this book will be: black tea and heartache. I drank an unhealthy amount of it, while drifting through people's minds and both the tea and the thoughts often left a pleasant, but bitter aftertaste. 

This is no easy book to read. It was my first experience with Virginia and her writing and I don't know what I was expecting, but when I started to read this little book at three in the morning I got very suddenly and very completely lost and confused. I had no idea whose thoughts I was reading, the consciousnesses (what is this word) merged together and the timeline was a mystery to me. The opening is especially brutal in this, it still looks like the hardest part to make sense of. So I closed it and a few days later, when I was less tired, started again. And fully focused and prepared for her writing, it was much easier. For me at least, it still doesn't have to be for someone else even the second time around. And someone else maybe won't have any troubles at all, but I still think her writing can be objectively labelled as difficult. 

The second time felt like lying in the ocean, being carried by waves, each whispering and talking about something else. The change of the waves is almost unnoticeable but you learn to tell them apart. You need concentration for this book, but at the same time not to focus too hard and just… let it carry you. The imaginary was often insanely beautiful, the philosophy and psychology aspects interesting and there were some quotes that spoke to me on some primal level and still linger. When you spend a few nights with someone's thoughts, almost unfiltered, you will miss them a little when the book is closed and it's quiet. Your own stream of thoughts seems even louder then and there is something different about it - little pieces of their thoughts that became yours and stayed. Or they were always yours, now you just finally hear them. Maybe we are really all just different parts of one merged consciousness - that was exactly how reading this book felt like.




Read More