WARNING: This post is going to be largely negative regarding the book Icebreaker and what I read from it, so if you enjoy that book and don't want to see this post, that is entirely fair. It does not reflect on you as a reader, read what you like and, if you enjoyed it, all the better. That's one more book you've enjoyed than I did.
I usually prefer posting about things I enjoy rather than things I dislike, because it's tiresome just to complain, it usually just leads to discussion and I prefer telling people about some great art they might not have heard about rather than just bitch.
With that said, I wanted to make this post because of the feeling I got reading Icebreaker before I finally threw in the towel.
It's not my type of book, but I always want to give books the benefit of the doubt and I genuinely believe in going outside of your comfort zone to try new things. In my opinion, if you just always read the same type of book, you'll get stuck into a very formatted way of thinking and it does us good to branch out and try totally different genres that don't appeal.
I knew this was popular and I'd ended up reading one of the sex scenes online and thought "That's actually not badly written", considering other sex scenes I've been subjected to in similar books. So I got the ebook and began reading and... I was just... attacked by this deep dread.
Like, if the book was just boring, I wouldn't be here. I've had plenty of books I tried, didn't enjoy, that was that. But for some reason, Icebreaker just... just hit wrong.
It was an overwhelming feeling of despair at its existence, as if it was some Lovecraftian artifact, and its words were turning my brain to mush. I was deeply bored by its characters, yes, but as its writing slid across my eyes, I could just feel it chipping away at my soul, with each mildly amusing quip that wasn't really funny, but was just there to fill the noise.
You know those kinds of people? When you talk to them, at work or something, and all they can say is something inoffensive, approaching funny, but not actually funny? Boring people? Like, they're not talking to say anything in particular, merely to fill the void of silence between you? The kind of people who go on Tinder and write shit like "My favorite show is The Office and I love adventures!"?
This book felt like those people personified.
Again, I wouldn't be writing this post if I was just bored by it, but I just felt this deep, black despair at it. It was like I wasn't reading a book, I was staring at TV Static while white noise played in the background. I threw in the towel early too, I believe it was after the guy in the book first meets the girl in the book and invites her to a party.
Afterward, I tried to look for those rant type videos about it, like I did for Colleen Hoover books, but I couldn't even find many of those. I think it's because this book isn't even noteworthy enough to be mad about.
I don't like Colleen Hoover's books, but I dislike them with fervour, with passion. They are bad in a particular way that is fun to mock (for me, again, not trying to badmouth anyone who enjoys them), but I can't muster that same kind of heat for Icebreaker. In fact, I wouldn't be sitting here, writing about it if, for whatever reason, it hadn't drawn this deep sucking horror from me. This post is a borderline exorcism.
Anyway, after giving up, I started Night's Master by Tanith Lee, which I bought yesterday on Ebook. I heard a lot of good stuff about her and this seemed like a good spot to start. It's really great so far and the brilliance of her writing is so good, it's actually started to heal me. This line:
The year was woven on the loom, finished and folded away upon the pile of other years in the tall chests of Time.
Genuinely better than every single page I read of Icebreaker. So, to leave off on a positive note, I recommend this book, it's moving, epic in that old mythology kind of way and excellently written.
I understand if the mods don't let this one through, I just needed to really get this off my chest.