The reason I found this book frustrating as a fantasy read (even the Brakebills segments which are, I agree, the strongest part) is that it reads like an examination of the fantasy genre by someone who hasn't read any of the major fantasy works of the last ten or fifteen years. Most of the criticisms Grossman makes of the fantasy genre were done earlier and better (and with better worldbuilding) by people like M. John Harrison, China Mieville, Susannah Clarke, and a whole bunch of others. I'm fairly certain that Grossman has read at least some of these authors, but then he turned around and wrote a book in which "fantasy" means nothing more than Tolkien, Narnia, and Harry Potter.
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Date: 2014-09-12 08:14 pm (UTC)