Beer: Cherry Pie
Brewery: Yonder
Style: Pastry Sour
Strength: 6%
If you ever had ‘Toxic Waste’ sour sweets you will instantly recognise the taste of this beer. It is the liquid version of the cherry ones.
For me, Sour beer isn’t a sessionable style. My experiences with them have been very hit and miss. This one is definitely a hit, but I still couldn’t drink more than a couple in an evening.
Book: The Dragon Reborn
Author: Robert Jordan
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 1991
MILD SPOILER WARNING:
This was by far my least favourite of the three WoT books I’ve read so far. The plot was fine, I’d go as far as to say I think I’d have really enjoyed it if it wasn’t for the other parts of the book that I didn’t vibe with.
The proper introduction of Aiel characters was a particularly cool aspect.
My main problem though was with pretty much every POVs personalities. They are all frustratingly one dimensional and repetitive. Every time Mat meets a woman his first thought is whether he’d ask her for a dance, no variation or deviation from that really. Every single female character seems to think every single man is a bumbling idiot. I get that the history of the Dragon breaking the world is sort of supposed to contextualise that, but it just falls flat to me.
My other big issue is harder to convey and has to do with the writing adage ‘show don’t tell’. So many times I felt like Jordan was telling me something which was in direct contradiction to what had been shown. E.g. we keep getting told that Aes Sedai tempers are ticking time bombs despite most of them being continually patient and in some cases warm and friendly.
Interestingly, if the TV adaptation was being more faithful to the source material, I could see myself enjoying an adaptation of this book much more than the reading experience. Take out all of the annoying inner character thoughts, and what actually happens was compelling.
Burch's Books and Beers 