9 Answers2025-06-28
The easiest way to explain this to someone who just wants a name is that it is a father/son story. The father, Norman Collins, was the original Whisper Man serial killer. The son, Jake Collins, is the current stalker of the town in the present day and was clearly influenced by his father. The only connection that the current police detective, Pete Willis, has to the original Whisper Man killer is from his past. The rest of the book follows the two of them through their respective timelines and how it all comes together in the end to prove that the past is a real thing and it never stays buried. Norman is the true ‘big bad’ Whisper Man killer but Jake is the main character that the reader fears for most of the book.
10 Answers2025-12-24
I like that the novel treats the character’s faith with nuance as well. Although he is a priest, he won’t suddenly become an angry, incredulous atheist. Instead, he can no longer believe in the specific, manufactured history of the Church. The rest of his faith will likely shift in some way—perhaps become more secretive, more mystical. It will be up to the reader to decide how and if it ultimately disappears. More significant than his loss of God is the loss of his faith community and calling as a priest. We watch a man lose his identity as a cleric and social being. The ending of the story is the story of a professional/socio identity being pulled apart. It is a very “modern” crisis, and the medieval protagonist feels oddly, unexpectedly familiar. The novel is about losing a story/narrative.
9 Answers2025-05-29
I’m about halfway through this book and, so far, I have yet to get my head around it. There’s the obvious ‘bad guy’ of the corporate-suited Voss, but there’s also something very uneasy and almost human in the deeper parts of the forest that doesn’t like either protesters or loggers. Then there’s the Sheriff of the local town who’s absolutely useless and, seemingly, of no help whatsoever. He’s against the protesters, of course. Some of the older members of the forest-dwelling communities are their own worst enemies, playing games of secrecy and old scores which prevent them from uniting against this outside threat. This feels less like a straightforward fight against a single big bad and more of a complicated web of opposing forces, some of them human, some of them possibly even ancient and natural. I shall have to see how the story develops and whether or not it manages to form a cohesive whole around a single ‘villain’. At the moment, though, the ambiguity of it all is perhaps the most compelling thing about the book so far.
4 Answers2026-07-30
I wanna go back and reread everything in preparation for the LN now. This comparison is going to be fun. Maybe I can even do a side by side comparison of the chapters and make notes and post them up somewhere when the next volume comes out.
8 Answers2025-09-09
The fan content for this novel is just amazing and really fills out the characters. There are many amazing fanarts that capture the wordless moments where the characters just stare at each other longingly, or are in protective mode, or even in despair. The fanfics explore all sorts of alternate scenarios, such as what would have happened if Izek had realized the truth earlier, or if Ruby was a more outspoken defiance kind of character. The fan songs and playlists that express the feeling of longing and yearning for more are especially great.
Engaging with fan content can even help solidify your mental image of characters, and give you something to consider while waiting for the next chapter. As with so much of the online fan space, just be aware of major spoilers for those who haven’t yet finished reading the book. But if you have, sinking into the wonderful world of fan created Izek/Ruby content is a wonderful way to stay immersed in the deep complexities of these frustratingly wonderful characters.
10 Answers2025-10-22
We are often way too harsh on historical films. While some historical films should be more realistic, others can be romanticized and should be recognized for what they are. The Sleeping Dictionary is one such film that can serve as a gateway for those interested in finding out more about the term.
And perhaps such films serve as a gateway to more learning about the term and its historical application. Yes, the film is inaccurate for historical fact, but its potential utility as a vehicle to inspire more learning would be moderate. The film is pretty, and it is entertaining. It is fiction, set in historical times.
9 Answers2025-08-25
Hah, I saw it coming. The main character was the CEO of his own evil empire and had been working 24/7 to maintain it, fighting fires and backstabbing people left and right. He obviously reached a point where he couldn’t take it anymore and retired to a rural setting with a low stress of living, where he can grow his own vegetables in the sun. The “villainy” of the main character was just a metaphor for the cutthroat world of business and the main character’s achievements were not about being evil, but about being able to achieve the ultimate work-life balance and retire to a cabin in the woods, fucking off and spending his days doing whatever he wants. That’s the most relatable happy ending to fiction that I’ve ever read. No emails, no meetings, no office politics. Just him, out in the sun, growing his own vegetables.
10 Answers2025-08-01
I just finished reading web serial A Practical Guide to Evil, a practical guide to evil written by a woman operating under ‘story logic’ in a fantasy world. The main character, Catherine Foundling, uses her greatest asset (her ability to understand narrative) as her greatest weapon: to tell better lies than her enemies. Throughout the story, she makes up false motives for her actions, fakes prophecies and sets up intricate narrative traps for her enemies.
Her lying becomes reality because she's packaging it in a better story. The way that Foundling uses the typical liar story, in a meta-fictional way, is just really clever. I get that the story isn't about normal, psychological liars. As someone who reads a lot of fantasy, I find this takes the typical ‘liar’ story in really unique and genre-savvy directions. The fact that Foundling’s schemes can be analyzed in so much detail by the story’s fans, is almost as fun as reading the story itself.
11 Answers2026-07-27
So the scene from ACOSF that I keep going back to is Chapter 29. But the actual scene itself isn’t the important part of the story. Instead, it’s the conversations that they have afterwards, and the training scenes which are FULL of new tension, and them slowly learning to trust each other. Nesta finally starts to face her trauma after this scene, and that in itself is really powerful. But also, really hard for Cassian, because he’s in love with someone who is actively pushing him away. So, yeah, it’s just Chapter 29 or so, but so much good stuff is unlocked in that one chapter.
9 Answers2025-03-26
For those who are actually interested: Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood, Chapter 68, page 517 in the hardcover edition that I read. It is titled ‘Hunt’ and is written from the perspective of the male protagonist. This chapter is incredibly elevated by reading his internal monologue as he experiences awe, reverence and relief as he is with her. His side of things is not just physical, it is extremely emotional as well. We learn in this chapter that he has been isolated for centuries and that Bryce brings life to him. Therefore, this chapter title is extremely poignant.