The final book in the Broken Earth series, this one goes out with a bang. I wouldn't consider it a standalone, you definitely need to read the other bThe final book in the Broken Earth series, this one goes out with a bang. I wouldn't consider it a standalone, you definitely need to read the other books in the series before this one. But it does a nice job of wrapping up everything neatly for the characters we've grown close to.
Essun is still one of our main focuses in this book, as is her daughter Nassun. However, a surprising but welcome point of view is that of Hoa, detailing the Earth's past and giving us a much needed glimpse into how things got to be the way that they are. I still think Essun is easily one of the most unapproachable main characters I've read in awhile, but you still like her. Her daughter Nassun was unfortunately just as frustrating as children sometimes can be, with her logic being shaped by the world around her.
Everything you wanted to know about the history and magic system is in this book. Along with some surprising technology. It can get kind of hard to follow sometimes, and so detailed that you get lost in it. I'm writing this kind of shocked because I know it's what I was asking for, but there's kind of a rush of information and some of it was hard to picture. That being said though, overall I'm still greatly pleased with learning about this world and enjoying the adventure we saw through the character's eyes.
A very strong trilogy and well worth reading in the fantasy genre.
Alright, so the adventure gets a little more intriguing and chaotic in this one. And that's not a bad thing at all. The 2nd book in the trilogy, this Alright, so the adventure gets a little more intriguing and chaotic in this one. And that's not a bad thing at all. The 2nd book in the trilogy, this definitely isn't a standalone, the series should be read in order. I actually even ended up liking this one a little more than the first book, probably largely because I understood more of the lore behind the world. I picked it up and devoured it.
We have much of the same protagonists in this book, and it's split between all their points of view. Essun, our main from the last, is still about as unapproachable as ever. She has her reasons of course, but it does make it hard to connect with her at times. Alabaster, her mentor, takes less of a role in this book, but is still important nonetheless. After the latest start of a season, they have to figure out what needs to happen for humanity to survive, even though the world and its people do not like them. However, a safe haven offers a little hope, but even that is constantly under threat. And Essun's daughter is still out there, where she cannot find her.
The lore in this one is much more highly developed. You learn about features of the world that were mentioned, but confusing in the last book. I think being able to piece together the different parts really helped me connect to the book better and enjoy it more. It was so engrossing I could barely put it down.
This might be my first book from King that I'd consider fantasy over horror. I've not read all his books (that would be quite the feat), but I have reThis might be my first book from King that I'd consider fantasy over horror. I've not read all his books (that would be quite the feat), but I have read quite a bit. This one is one of his newest one, and is an epic tome of adventure.
Charlie is your average kid. Well maybe not average, he's actually a pretty decent kid who has faced some struggles. In atonement or maybe in trade, he decides to help an older grumpy neighbor when he's injured. But he gets more than he bargains for when he learns the whole backstory for this man, and what it might mean for him.
Charlie is slightly too good to be true. And I say that in a nice way, because he's a nice kid. But unfortunately, I just don't find him very realistic because of it. Sure, we hear about bad things he's done, but we don't see it so it's more telling than showing. Kinda the same with his dad, a little too accepting of things. Howard, the old man, was my favorite. He seemed the most realistic. And since this is a fantasy novel, suffice it to say there are plenty of fantastical people too, but they all have their own quirks and I felt that they were quite compelling because of it.
The first part of the book is what really grabbed me. Just the relationship building between Charlie and Howard was intriguing and enveloping enough to be the whole book in my opinion. But it wouldn't be a King novel without something else, and the second half of the book takes us on a long journey. Almost too long at times. In fact, while I liked the idea of it, the execution just took forever to get through. And there were certain things that were never explained (although they neatly tied the story together). It just left me wanting something slightly different.
Still, one of King's average is still pretty good in the realm of books. If you've liked his previous works, or want a little more morbid and disturbing foray into the fantasy genre, this book will give you what you're looking for.
Eh, I didn't love this sequel to 'For the Wolf'. The second book in the series it pretty much exactly starts where the last left off. Honestly, they sEh, I didn't love this sequel to 'For the Wolf'. The second book in the series it pretty much exactly starts where the last left off. Honestly, they should just package them together because with all the detail contained therein, you probably want to read them right after each other to keep from having to refresh your memory.
Neve is the primary protagonist of this one, although we see Red and the other characters interspersed throughout the book from their own perspectives. She's in the shadowlands, with a man she doesn't want to be near, and a quest she's not really sure how to take. Red is just concerned for her sister interspersed between having lots of naked fun times with her husband. And that's the book.
The imagery is what is really compelling. I can picture some of the scenes that Whitten weaves and it's quite beautiful, if a little horrifying. But there's just too much happening, too much lore that is being brought in, and it all seems overmuch. I still don't really understand the full story of the Kings and how Neve and Red's actions were part of the mythology, etc. Because it was swallowed up by the five thousand other things going on. The writing was also just a little meh on the dialogue. Sometimes it was conversational, regular, other times it was overly formal and it just seemed disjointed in that way.
I'm sure some people loved this, but it definitely wasn't my favorite sequel. I almost wish I had left it at For the Wolf with the cliffhanger.
Alright, so we've had a journey here. A little bit coming-of-age, a little bit war stories, a little bit magic. This is the last book in the series. IAlright, so we've had a journey here. A little bit coming-of-age, a little bit war stories, a little bit magic. This is the last book in the series. If you're here, you've probably read the rest. Or at least I hope you did. While I can't say I was utterly over the moon with the ending for this series, it wasn't bad overall.
Like my past few reviews of the series, I'm not going to dig down into characters, etc. You've already been introduced to them, presumably you're familiar with them. I will, however, touch on their growth. I think this book showed that for a lot of them, although a few meandered off a bit.
For plotlines, this one was kind of a slog through the war information, just like the last. Not really my favorite part, I would have much rather had more lore and world-building (i.e. how did we get to this sort of future?). More on the magic systems and how they work, that sort of thing.
Even so, it was a pleasure to journey through this world and I enjoyed the series overall!
Alright, so this might be my least favorite in the series so far. It's not bad, it just wasn't as compelling for me as the others. If you've been on tAlright, so this might be my least favorite in the series so far. It's not bad, it just wasn't as compelling for me as the others. If you've been on the journey this long, you know this is the 2nd to last book in the series. As such, you know the characters, plot line, etc. Not wanting to give any spoilers, I'm not going to elaborate too much as a result.
I think the main thing for me was that this one just felt tedious. Lots of battle/war descriptions, maybe less character building/world building than previous. I just get kinda bored during the battle stuff; I'm clearly not a strategist.
So, immediately after reading the third book, I had to buy this one and ended up reading it the same night, staying up way too late to do so. Maybe noSo, immediately after reading the third book, I had to buy this one and ended up reading it the same night, staying up way too late to do so. Maybe not the best choice, but whatever, it was compelling enough to keep me going.
I think the slow release of intrigue and secrets is what I'm enjoying so much on the series. There's enough revealed in each book to keep you invested and wanting more. It's also got a neat magic system, and nice world-building, and while sometimes the descriptions and characters can get groan-worthy, they're still overall well-developed.
Since this is a middle book, like my previous review, I don't want to elaborate too much. If you've read this many, you're likely to continue on with the books. Another solid book in the series.
It's hard to review middle books in the series. Obviously, something happened before that made you want to keep reading, and something will happen aftIt's hard to review middle books in the series. Obviously, something happened before that made you want to keep reading, and something will happen after that you're hoping to get to the resolution to. I will say though, this one was a strong middle book, able to carry the plot and add intrigue. So much so, I immediately had to purchase the next one and start reading it as I couldn't just stop at that point.
So well done in that regard. That being said, I'm not going to get super detailed on it, as I feel like you already know the cast of characters, I don't want to spoil any plotlines, and if you've come this far you're probably going to carry through to the end.
But overall this one was well-paced, continued character and world development, and was a solid addition to the series.
Academ's Fury is the second book in the Codex Alera series by Butcher. A fantasy series, it explores the use of magic through the elements (and other Academ's Fury is the second book in the Codex Alera series by Butcher. A fantasy series, it explores the use of magic through the elements (and other arenas) and definitely should be read in order.
This book picks up two years after the last one, but don't worry, you didn't really miss anything in the in between. The characters have been growing up and living their lives, with Tavi enrolled at the academy, but still not having come into any magic. His uncle, ruling over the little valley on behalf of the ruler of the land at whole, and his aunt, swept into some intrue of her own. Amara, the Cursor from the first book, is also heavily in this one and still as mystical/powerful as you would imagine.
It's not that I don't like the characters in this. They're fine, they're entertaining, but I also feel like we only ever really get a shallow look into their personalities. There's so much that is hinted at but never really fully developed. Hopefully we'll get there with them.
The magic system did start to confuse me in this one as well. I had thought you only paired with one element, but maybe it's more? Still trying to work that one out and I'm sure it will continue to develop through the series as well. But enough complaining, let's talk about the good here. This book had some Animorphs meets Lord of the Rings vibes going on with its antagonists. Creepy, all-powerful, and definitely up to the challenge of giving the main characters a fight.
Every chapter seemed to end on a cliffhanger, so it was hard to put this one down. Not a bad second book for the series and enough to keep me reading.
Well, I have to say it's been quite a journey going through the Magicians series. Starting as what appeared to be dry humor, directed at fantasy tropeWell, I have to say it's been quite a journey going through the Magicians series. Starting as what appeared to be dry humor, directed at fantasy tropes, it morphed from that to legitimate fantasy by the last book.
There is so much that happened in this one, it's hard to summarize, but suffice to say it involved Fillory again, and our usual crew of characters, along with a few more additions. Quentin is still not as annoying as he was in the first book, but I do feel like he lost some spark of personality slightly. That being said, I still prefer him this way, even so. For the others, I liked the characterization for all but one (and I'm not going to say who as to not give anything away, but it's some major flip-flopping in feelings in a rapid amount of time).
The books have always had good imagery. Clock trees, cozy horses, etc. I enjoyed reading the descriptions of the worlds they were inhabiting. And am really curious to see what illustrations people have come up with based on said descriptions so that will be a fun internet search for future me.
League of Dragons is the last book in Novik's Temeraire series. I've been reading the whole series, although I haven't reviewed the last few just becaLeague of Dragons is the last book in Novik's Temeraire series. I've been reading the whole series, although I haven't reviewed the last few just because they themselves were formulaic (not a bad thing necessarily), and I felt like anything I had to say was repetitive.
But that being said, I wanted to have some thoughts to close out the series and so figured I'd weigh in on this book. The characters are still mostly delightful (Temeraire especially of course), the rewrite of history mostly compelling, and the war scenes and maneuvers still mostly tedious to read through.
I don't want to give spoilers but I was a bit dissatisfied with the ending. It seemed like a lot of lead up in the series just to kind of fizzle (at least for me). While I recognize that author may be leaving room to continue with the series in some way, at another time, I just wanted there to be more epilogue type information.
Regardless, I did enjoy the series overall and think it was a nice way to explore alternative history. Because who doesn't love a dragon?
Black Powder War is the third book in the Temeraire series. This is a series meant to be read in order, so don't skip ahead! Otherwise, you'll lose thBlack Powder War is the third book in the Temeraire series. This is a series meant to be read in order, so don't skip ahead! Otherwise, you'll lose the foundation of the many varied characters that make reappearances in this book.
In the last book we were in China. This book sees us traveling back to England, by land, flying over the middle east where most of the story takes place. The traveling does take a large part of the book, and honestly got a bit tedious after awhile. While I enjoyed meeting some of the new characters, it seemed like we flitted through that part pretty fast and the rest was miles traveled and camels consumed.
The end was jam-packed, with the battle strategy previously used in the other books. Still not my favorite part, but I'm here for the character growth. I'm convinced that Laurence is being reformed in his thoughts by his dragon and will continue to grow. But he does get frustrating sometimes. Temeraire, of course, is perfect.
Eager to see what happens next, and I'm glad there are quite a few more books in this series.
So I love the dynamics of the Temeraire relationships. The lore of the dragons and rewriting of history to include them, the various details about theSo I love the dynamics of the Temeraire relationships. The lore of the dragons and rewriting of history to include them, the various details about the dragons themselves. It's a lot to like. That being said, this one was a bit slow going for me. All journey, little adventure, with a rush at the end.
We were introduced to our team in the first book; dragon and man, and a slew of side characters (human and dragon). Those, thankfully, are still present in this book, along with some new faces as well (although I can't say I really felt connected with any of them). If you haven't read the first book, it's not as critical as some series, but I do highly recommend it, as it will contain lore and backstory.
The biggest thing for me about this book was the pacing. The transport just took so long and was a bunch of back and forth without really super driving the plot. I still appreciated the detail and world-building, but for the excitement itself, there were only a few instances. Compared to the first book (and I know, I know, I didn't like the military jargon in that one), it was just kind of like reading conversational letters.
The dragon world itself I was glad to see built on though, and the comparison of the different cultures and their approach to relationships with dragons was interesting. Still a solid series, I look forward to reading the next.
This short story was included at the end of Neverwhere in the copy that I read. I have to say, I actually enjoyed this more than I did the original boThis short story was included at the end of Neverwhere in the copy that I read. I have to say, I actually enjoyed this more than I did the original book.
It probably helped that I was already familiar with the characters. But the marquis is one I couldn't get enough of, and having this be focused on him made it quite compelling. Although I don't really remember too many mentions of his coat in the original book. Still, it gave him an adventure to go on, a mysterious relation to learn about, and a lot of fun learning about the other inhabitants of London Below.
Don't read if you're not familiar with Neverwhere, but definitely read if you are!
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