I finished The Prince of Nothing. It certainly lives up to the hype. The last two books weren't as stunning as the first one for me, if only because of the iteration that went into them. The author had 20 years to perfect his debut, but had to continue after that with all the pressures of someone who writes for a living. Regardless, the world-building certainly approaches Tolkien levels and the philosophy/psychology focus absolutely lives up to the Frank Herbert legacy. All in all, it did a great job bringing The Lord of the Rings and Dune, the two juggernaut pioneers of their respective commercial genres, together in a masterful way. The controversy surrounding the female characters was indeed pretty disturbing, and I can't say Bakker doesn't deserve the criticisms he gets from feminist circles, but I do appreciate that he at least gets people thinking and talking about these issues.

I just cracked open The Time of Contempt, the second full novel in The Witcher series that inspired the CD Projekt RPGs. I've heard European readers lament the English translations, but overall it's a joy to be back in the setting, while Sapkowski's scenes and style are appreciably distinct.