What's most frustrating is that Grossman is actually really, really good at writing fantasy! He can do jaw-dropping imagery, he can do charm, he can do sense of wonder, he can do terrifying yet completely non-explicit horror. All that's in the Brakebills half.
Then we get to Fillory, and it's like he's repenting for ever having led his readers to believe that fantasy could be anything but a toxic escape from reality.
That being said, I'm not sure that subsequent books have the same (apparent) point.
I totally agree about the talking animals. Also, the idea of a talking bear monologuing about honey until all humans flee the room is hilarious. But when the context is "Thing # 49 that sounds fun when you read it in a fantasy novel, but which actually is boring and annoying when encountered," it sucks all the reading enjoyment away.
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Date: 2014-09-12 06:03 pm (UTC)Then we get to Fillory, and it's like he's repenting for ever having led his readers to believe that fantasy could be anything but a toxic escape from reality.
That being said, I'm not sure that subsequent books have the same (apparent) point.
I totally agree about the talking animals. Also, the idea of a talking bear monologuing about honey until all humans flee the room is hilarious. But when the context is "Thing # 49 that sounds fun when you read it in a fantasy novel, but which actually is boring and annoying when encountered," it sucks all the reading enjoyment away.