Opus 2022-141: Book Review: Why Bother

I tried a new author.  His name is Andrzej Sapkowski and the book was The Tower of Fools.  I got as far as page 116 out of 549 and decided I was too old to waste any more time.

The author wrote well and threw in a bit of humor.  I still did not finish the book.

The book is one of those synergisms of historical fiction mixed with fantasy.  Or it was fantasy set in a historical setting.  You choose.  As far as I could tell the author was well versed in the time leading up to the Protestant Reformation.  He threw out exotic names which I would assume were fairly accurate.  He understood the theology and church politics of the era.  

My problem is what I find in a lot of modern fiction.  None of the characters were worth caring about.  The supposed hero had a few things going for him:  Youth, looks and medical training.  Unfortunately it was molded in the first 116 pages of nothing but adultery, murder, lies and theft.  Even his medical training was mainly a disguise for being a wizard.  His charms and hexes had already bailed him of out several situation.  Deus ex machina.  

I kept waiting for him to share some behavior that was better than a five year old in a candy store, but it was not to be.  

I will keep looking and meanwhile go back to The Brothers Karamazov.

homo unius libri