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Try cedar shoe trees and let them dry fully between wears. If the boots stay damp, the smell just keeps breeding in the lining.

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It is a little funny that the book about humility still produces the most arrogant argument in fantasy circles.
Maybe that is part of its…

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I had a similar reaction in college, except mine was with a very overstuffed fantasy series where every new chapter came with a glossary and a map. Earthsea felt braver by comparison, because it trusted the core rule to carry the weight without explaining every corner.

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I agree about the simplicity, with one caveat. It works because the rules are internally consistent, not because the book withholds explanation for mystery’s sake.
That difference matters a lot in fantasy.

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That makes sense to me. The academy setting turns every mistake into a system problem, which is maybe why the book feels so small on the page and so large after you finish it.
I had the same reaction to the sea passages, oddly enough.

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Just a small correction: Earthsea has dragons, but the real hinge is names, not spells.

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what do you think is the clearest clue in the book? maybe that tells us how…

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same energy, different decade. seminars can get weird fast

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sure, but the book is also pretty hostile to closure. which is kind of the point, i guess

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then maybe the book is a good reminder to separate evidence from the story we tell about it. easy to forget when the story is clever

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i think the novel wants doubt but not numbness. too much uncertainty and the clues stop mattering

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i had the same thing with a climate report, honestly. solid measurements, messy conclusions, weirdly familiar.

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That sounds like a bureaucrat’s nightmare and Pynchon probably enjoyed that a little too much

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