Ugh. One of our assignments for Fairytales class this week is an online novel called The Ice Puzzle, which makes my brain bleed and my eyes roll back in my skull for the sheer badness of it. It’s perplexing. I’ve enjoyed (and often adored) all the other books we read this semester with the exception of The Girl Who Trod on a Loaf, and at least in that case I could recognize the craft of the book and appreciate the larger metaphors. And the operas themselves were pretty awesome. I just loathed all the characters.

Whereas this? Drivel. Flowery, repetitive drivel with a dire case of metaphor abuse. Ko and I have been reading particularly egregious lines out loud and alternately laughing uproariously, groaning in sympathy, and marveling that Veronica–who has displayed impeccable taste so far–would assign this and have it not be a joke.

I’m so glad Jim Butcher’s Cursor’s Fury comes out tomorrow. I’m really going to need to purge my mind after reading this. Urgh. 12 down, 13 chapters to go. It burns us, precious!