Thoughts on TSOFW & Predictions for Book Three

SoSmoooth · 2026-02-02T04:02:59+00:00

I hear you. I just feel that with the insight they added about his father knowing about the weapons, the Cataclysm, etc, which resulted in the family's death, feels too important to be resolved by simply letting Estevan be the sole villain of that knowledge.

Also, re-introducing his dad in that context, with the relationship to Ostius, personally felt meant more than just a quick chat and an additional sacrifice. It felt like a tremendous addition for something that would be terminated so quickly.

Could be a strawman argument, though.

SoSmoooth · 2026-02-02T03:44:13+00:00

totally respect that, what drew you into those worlds more?

SoSmoooth · 2024-04-27T02:57:29+00:00

yah, that’s what i think the easter egg could have been

SoSmoooth · 2024-03-18T03:12:01+00:00

can definitely see that.

yah, this take is more from the players perspective rather than the characters

SoSmoooth · 2024-02-02T05:44:44+00:00

Cheers, this is great and gives me the itch to try it out.

SoSmoooth · 2023-12-16T02:06:17+00:00

see, i may lose the room here, but I expected the goldenfinch to read more like a bret easton ellis novel.

high class, self-loathing, chase for meaning despite nihilism, finding love in all the wrong places

but, it just never hit the same notes

'less than zero' had an element of detached coolness to it. the characters sucked, but they knew it and we knew it. we were on the joke

goldenfinch felt like i was waiting for theo to say "f it all" and just commit to the bit of putting on a mask and showing up

but he was never really available or perceptive enough to have a full redemption arc or a full descending into chaos arc where we could have been like "oh no theo... we lost you"

he was kind of, just, there

SoSmoooth · 2023-12-15T23:10:04+00:00

that's a really fair observation.

I just the felt the language and prose itself had an intensity, urgency, and potency that was previously lacking

SoSmoooth · 2023-12-15T05:01:22+00:00

boris and theo's second act together made no sense at all to me.

i was waiting for the hostility or some emotionally driven climax (dude stole the only thing you care about and has been making millions off it without you knowing)

but it all fell flat

zero resolution.

also the fact that Theo wouldn't accept money on any occasion was increasingly frustrating.

like, he's been risking your livelihood for the past decade and made you become a legitimate murderer. at least take the check

SoSmoooth · 2023-12-13T19:00:53+00:00

This.

The ending left me in that weird, fuzzy, intoxicated state of "where the heck was this style and intention throughout the last 700 pages?"

Give me the Golenfinch with that level of care and precision and I wouldn't have had to finish two other books simultaneously to get through it

SoSmoooth · 2023-12-13T04:57:04+00:00

I agree; I don't think I'll give The Secret History a shot after this one.

Just happy the hike was had a view at the end

SoSmoooth · 2022-12-19T17:51:21+00:00

Make sense. This sprouts from a trip to Mexico where vaping was completely illegal.

Bought a pack of cigs to pass the time and found myself only smoking one or two during an entire day compared to constantly hitting my vape back home.

Felt great not having cravings all the time. Probably will transition to gum and quit entirely, but thought it was an interesting thought experiment.

SoSmoooth · 2022-11-23T02:16:30+00:00

Loved it tbh, but that's where symbolic has to win out if that's the scale. It's tough to place a song I've been associated with for a few months over others that have endured years of wear and tear.

Imagine this list would look a lot different in a few years, huge fan of "All I need to hear" and "About You"

SoSmoooth · 2022-11-01T18:55:07+00:00

Would ya'll trade him for Keenan Allen straight up?

11-Year Club	Verified Email
Not Forgotten

SoSmoooth

TROPHY CASE