Kireth

Whilst this is in the mainline Ender series, and contains a significant development for that storyline, on the whole this book is oddly placed. It feels like an epilogue to the first four books/ quadrilogy of the Shadow series, yet also spends a lot of time with characters who are only relevent for parts of this novella (Allesandra and her mother, starfleet captains and colony xenobiologists). This somewhat drags the reading excitement, although there is a clear throughline about Ender's emotional distance (from his family, friends, humanity) and suffering as he carries the weight of his actions from Ender's Game, and some solid world-building. A decent and almost fast read, I'm just not sure how to feel about Ender in Exile overall.

What can I say? Scott Snyder just gets Batman. He takes him out of Gotham, throwing B-level villains at him that are given just enough time to make way for the A-level mobsters, but doesn't lose sight of the people. There's a detailed focus on Two-face, fleshing out Harvey's relationship with Bruce and the Batman in the past, and a renewed sense of curiosity towards Batman's new hero Duke/ The Signal. I guess it could be confusing if you have no idea what's going on in Batman's rebirth comics, but even with my limited knowledge I was able to pick up on the story and follow it along. The art was definitely new, but I have to say I love it, and there's lots of wide action shots so nothing is out of the frame. And whilst this wasn't necessarily a story about Batman being awesome, instead choosing to develop his supporting cast and world... he is still Batman hahaha.

Gut-punch opening that quickly introduces previously-missing Wally West to the former lovable team known as the Teen Titans. The middle goes up and down in terms of interest, but hurtles towards a surprisingly really emotional climax that massively elevated the comic for me. The art was a big part of that, as well as just the pacing of the final issue in this volume. And yes, Wally West is the main focus of the team despite this being a ‘Titans' book, which shouldn't be a problem as his return is obviously one of the key arcs of this title and this is just an introduction.
However, if the reader isn't keeping up to date with the overall DCU events and has no awareness of Dr Manhattan, the Watchmen or the real reason behind this entire Rebirth wave of comics, the story can be hard to get in to. But hey, it's a comic and I guess they don't do a lot of this explaining in the short page number they have, yet fans are still able to follow along.
A nice cliffhanger ending for Volume 2.

Hmm... a rather uninspired and lethargic read for me. Perhaps I should have read it back in 2017 when I bought it after the Rogue One hype, as I feel I would've been a lot more invested then than now. The novel definitely adds detail to the Star Wars universe, with its coolest moments in Part 1 being the links to the Clone Wars episodes I have been recently watching and then later showing us how the Empire enforces worlds and kept the Death Star a secret during Parts 2 and 3. However, the characters of Krennic, Galen, Lyra and Saw are already fully-developed from the film and new additions like Has Obitt don't really add much to the story. Further, the dialogue was wieldy and there were long stretches of exposition spent inside a character's head spoon-feeding the reader - and don't even get me started on the scientific and mathematical jargon which was omnipresent throughout the book. Ultimately, it didn't feel like an entertaining or rewarding enough novel on its own, and whilst it added to the worldbuilding and presented new perspectives on the Empire's dictatorial power and Krennic's crafty ambitious moves, I don't see myself recommending this unless to the die-hard fans.

WHY: Having read Demon Road back in 2019, I saw both books 2 and 3 from the trilogy in my library a few weeks ago and decided to pick them up and complete the trilogy.
STORY: No longer on the run, it is now Amber who is hunting her demonic parents as the representative of and service-bound to Astaeroth. Initially, this seemed to be an exciting premise but not much is done with the role except for increasing hallucinations, which give way to an interesting family (dead siblings) backstory. The plot really picks up when nearly halfway through the book Amber is rushed into trying to break her contract and escape Hell's clutches. There are some interesting foes along the way, including a dangerous Trucker who is a representative of Demorial (like Milo and his Charger once were) and various creatures in the Blood-Dimmed King's castle.
WRITING: Whilst Landy retains his signature ‘snarky or scared' dialogue style, it is less prevalent in this entry simply because of how concise this page-count is, which is appreciated. Interestingly, there is a mix of ‘normal' and dark settings here, including a funny Dark Places author/ TV cast convention, and Amber's dangerous adventures increasingly blur the lines between these realities. This was much more exciting than the previous entry's decision to stay in Desolation, but comes at the cost of actually fleshing out the world and overall story - places are jumped to and from so quickly with threats not clearly being established that it's hard to say you are left with a strong impression of this trilogy's setting.
WHO: Whilst still an entertaining read, and one that Landy himself stated was meant to be a fun side-thing, it's hard not to wish for more development after what was a really great setup and first book in the trilogy. As a conclusion this works, bringing back fan-favourite characters and doing more of the right things than less interesting ones from the series, but it will ultimately be forgotten unless you really enjoy demonic horror YA fiction.

Wow, first experience with Image comics and I loved it - there were so many ways Monstress stood out to me in the graphic novel medium. Firstly, you get dropped into the middle of this rich pseudo-steampunk/ fantasy land, full of power struggles and tensions that feel reminiscent of conflicts like WWII and the Cold War. The worldbuilding was immense but gave you just enough context to carry you through the journey of Maika Halfwolf, with flashbacks and a strong antagonistic group. Secondly, the art was gorgeous, with slanted lines between panels and a remarkable sense of pace and scale that adds to the sense of danger. Thirdly, whilst the characters were the weakest points they are highly fascinating both visually and in their slowly-revealed backstories. Oh, and how refreshing was an all-female cast, writing team and perspective? Am keen to continue this heavy story.

Now this was more like it. After the fun but self-contained Alloy of Law, Shadows of Self becomes a city-based crime thriller with the stakes of Elendel hanging in the balance. There are definite personal threads running through this story as well, this time Sanderson rotates naturally between the trio of Wax, Wayne and Marasi as they hunt a murder causing chaos amongst various class factions. This also greatly increases the depth of worldbuilding this time around, as we see these various groups and their thoughts, concerns and personalities (although over a short time span). Loved the return of the broadsheets and the sense of constant building tension throughout the first two-thirds of the book, which led to an almost inversion of the Final Empire's events (which I thought was very smart). Unfortunately, the conclusion and all its reveals were amazing but felt a bit convenient for me, although undoubtedly setting up the next entry in the series. There was a lot more religious pondering in here, a few more references to the original trilogy and honestly Wax was like a superhero in The Dark Knight with how much political thrilling and chaos was being caused by Bleeder. Very cool and very fun.

This was what I was looking for after the highly praised but personally imperfect Name of the Wind. Don't get me wrong, The Wise Man's Fear is a long book that lets you feel its weight in detailed and nearly poetic descriptions as the plot meanders into new territory - not all of which will please its reader base, particularly in the tonally different second half. The opening third set in the University seemed to be a lot more enjoyable than the previous book's efforts, perhaps because I was familiar with all the characters and they now had an established dynamic, and likely due to the more novel challenges Kvothe had to face there in this entry. But then the series finally leaves the University, and it was like a breath of fresh air for Kvothe to explore new places and cultures on the map. His combination of ignorance and innocence makes for an entertaining journey as the reader learns as much as him, and we see the true origins of his great stories as they begin to circulate. The backstory is interesting and the world feels much better developed this time around, as Rothfuss gives more than just the sneak peek of TNOTW. Similarly, the plot seemed to come full-circle much better this time around, with a clear conclusion and most necessary subplots resolved satisfyingly. The story's fantasy trope ignorance and long-way-round method of progressing Kvothe creates some frustrating (in a good way) and truly rewarding moments that kept me invested. I am so excited for the trilogy's conclusion, but it's been 9 years and Rothfuss still hasn't released a publication date! Bring me the conclusion of the Kingkiller Chronicles ASAP

So so so so so good. We are back with Kelsier's perspective and from page 1, it is so refreshing and interesting as we actually witness some dark character questions and hope-inspiring growth. The novella sped by, touching upon certain events in the Mistborn trilogy whilst also deeply unravelling some Cosmere mysteries and connections. I particularly enjoyed the surprise crossover with Elantris, and appreciated how much emotion some of Secret History's sequences brought out in me. There were some longtime unanswered questions resolved, and many new ones opened up, but I felt this was a satisfying return for the beloved character and can't wait for future Mistborn installments.

Wow wow wow wow wow. I realised that Sanderson for fantasy novels is like Nolan for films in his passion, plotting, satisfying conclusions to setups and moderate theme exploration. I also understood a different reviewer's comment that he writes his characters like super heroes, albeit in this dying and destructive world. Man, this was epic from start to finish - I loved that we were introduced to every character with a small time jump, with Elend and Spook in particular being really well-represented. In these desperate times, the remaining members of the original crew are split between two cities with very different problems, and the story juggles these alongside the tales of kandra-on-trial Tensoon and puppet-victim-to-Ruin Marsh. Like previous entries, chapters open with intriguing epigraphs that smack you in the face with clarity towards the book's conclusion. And while some twists were obvious, the logic, planning and execution behind every single turn in this story just left me shaking my head in amazement. And then there was the emotionally powerful conclusion - this book was the closest thing to LOTR: Return of the King I've felt in a long time in its epic scope and powerful character-focused perspective. Hats off to Sanderson, I've been obsessing over the dude since and will be reading many more of his books in the near-future.

A short novella picking up years after Bean and his 3 ‘deficient' children have been hurtling through space. The opening was startling for me, but the children's individual personalities become much more fleshed out after the first chapters. There were also some (age-appropriate) space horror vibes from the abandoned alien ship they come across. Overall, whilst adding something new to the Enderverse/ Shadow mythos, I was left wondering where the story goes next whilst also not really feeling emotionally attached. It was a surprisingly emotional, if not short, ending for Bean. I was immensely dissapointed he wasn't reunited with Ender, particularly after his friend shows up in the Formic hive queen visions.

A decent YA read that is skewing towards older readers. I have always appreciated Landy's writing style from the Skulduggery Pleasant series, and so started the Demon Road trilogy in 2019 with an exciting, larger book that followed the teenager Demon-on-the-run Amber and her associate Ghost Highwayman Milo across the Dark Roads of America. This second book picks up straight after that, and I appreciated the recaps of key previous events through monologues and conversation. This time however, Landy settles the story in the town of Desolation and introduces two new POVs, the elderly citizen Virgil and a human good guys crew featuring Kelly.

Unfortunately, Landy's distinct quippy writing style comes to the surface and seems to be applied to many characters, both in the POVs and town citizens, and sometimes the lack of description + use of many names left me with vague impressions of certain characters. He definitely knows how to make others stand out though, especially the villains, and whilst the central mystery was rather simple to unpack Hell night is the purge with demons, I enjoyed the questions surrounding them as well as various individuals' involvement and dubious moralities in regards to Desolation Hill.

Apart from a pretty average story with very detailed cannibalism and visceral violence, I was also surprised by two beats that I thought were not developed enough beforehand: Amber being a lesbian/ bi(?), which also strangely puts this as one of my first LGBT reads with a main character (excluding possibly The Apollo Trials series). Then, the ending of Amber signing her soul to Astaroth to work for the Devil that was meant to be shocking but failed to impact me strongly. Overall, looking forward to finishing the trilogy and hoping for more of the first book's message and drive.

As Adam returns to Ashwood Estates, he faces an emotional and unexpected end to his relationship with One. Gaining her earthquake legacy, he then joins Malcolm Goode as they search for his son Sam before a cliff-hanger ending. Overall entertaining and a better read with Adam as protagonist than the first time around.

4.5/5

The Shadow Rising felt like the fruition of previous efforts, and continues Jordan's trend of each book being better than its successor in the Wheel of Time series. Despite the overall story actually finishing up as a set-up for future events, I was moved by both the scope and successful payoff within this book's events.

Read my full review on Life of Karrot.

Shadow of the Hegemon was undoubtedly entertaining, but I felt there was something missing from the book when it stands alone. Key events for the overall story occur, such as Petra's kidnapping, Achilles' accension to power and the first interactions between Peter Wiggin and Bean. But everything seems to move so slowly, and is long foreshadowed/signalled/repeated thus reducing its impact.

Alternatively, the new setting of futuristic Earth after multiple Ender books and this novel's predecessor set in space is refreshing, and credit to Card for the international conflicts which occur in a logical and well-researched manner. Hopefully the sequel propels the story forward.

This read definitely held some gems for aspiring elite athletes, although I did have a few issues with it. I liked the idea that each chapter would focus on a particular sporting individual, and through this case study style exploration readers would learn something about the athlete mindset. However, these chapters were long and sometimes bogged in sport-specific detail, making it difficult to get through them. Additionally, I realised after some time that all the examples were endurance sports, and although I understand why the book was not marketed as such I felt slightly disappointed in this aspect. However, the physiological model and mindset learnings that Fitzgerald was able to both infer and pull from these real-life legends was astounding, and I definitely gained a new understanding and respect for individuals pushing themselves in whatever level of sporting arena they were in. I do wish that there was a condensed version of just the key lessons, but I can attribute some of my frustrations towards not being well-read in non-fiction generally.

5/5

Honestly, what is peak fantasy if not this? Sanderson kills it from page 1 and takes the reader on an emotional journey with a beloved core cast of characters. However, this couldn't have been achieved without Jordan's imaginative thinking, thorough planning and detailed world building. This is not wholly Sanderson's novel, but a combined attempt to satisfy fans and the world-maker's intention.

But there's no denial that Sanderson brings an increased pace, a well guided criteria of what is and isn't important to the story, and just a clear sense of purpose to every viewpoint and chapter. I found The Gathering Storm extremely difficult to put down, and am amazed that this is only the first third of payoff for this series's well-awaited conclusion. For those fans who had been reading for years, I truly hope this novel was everything you wanted and then some. Personally, I have crossed the 1 year mark of reading this series (completing about 1 book a month) and am bittersweet as I charge towards its ending.

Yes, there are moments of clunky writing and at some points the characterisation seems odd. There is one ridiculous and unfortunately accurately in-world spanking scene. But these are minor blemishes compared to the achievement that Sanderson, McDougal and the editing team were able to produce under the unfortunate circumstances of Jordan's passing. At times characters leap from nation to nation, and events occur without the narrative hesitancy we have witnessed in previous novels. This is all built off of the back of Jordan's setting development, and the strong sense of urgency in Sanderson's plotting all but hurtles us to the Wheel of Time's conclusion. Yet most importantly, Sanderson has both evolved character arcs and teed up individuals perfectly for the end. Every main character gets a moment, and a clear questioning or through-line of their development. Like earlier Jordan books, when a character ponders other events still occur around them and they themselves only provide new information to the reader. There are a few direct references to character histories, which I'm sure is beneficial for readers who read previous entries years before. I let it also pass in the massive scope of story, and because I'm hoping for payoff here. Stand-outs for this book? Egwene Al'Vere, Rand Al'Thor, Gawyn Trakand, Masema (briefly), and one more that's a spoiler...

The Gathering Storm was emotionally beautiful, astonishingly epic and still just a penultimate setup for Tarmon Gai'don, The Final Battle. I look forward to seeing everyone there, when the storm breaks.

Shadow of the Giant concludes the long-drawn global conflict for leadership of, basically, planet Earth whilst the International Fleet expands the human race into the stars. Bean and Petra are the focus of the story, now searching for their missing children and assisting Hegemon Peter Wiggin in uniting every country under the Free People of Earth (FPE), as they struggle with the gigantism syndrome. Opposing them are Virlomi, whose reality is blurring with her power-hungry persona as the Indian goddess; Alai, struggling Caliph surrounded by pressurising advisors; and Han ‘Hot Soup' Zhu, making up for China's past shortcomings with a Mandate from Heaven. All of this is supervised by Graff and Rackham, who also offer all battle school graduates light-speed leadership of offworld colonies. The ending felt suprisingly emotional, with Card doing characters justice after spending so long with them, and overall the world politics whilst feeling slightly recycled did engage me throughout.

WHY: My cousin's royal blue ‘Voyager Classics' edition of ROTK has sat on my bookshelf for almost a decade, next to a fat FOTR movie tie-in edition of the LOTR. With uni break, lockdown, my girlfriend's reminiscence and that annual itch for an Extended Edition rewatch I decided to finally finish the literary trilogy that I struggled with so long ago due to its pacing and detail, and found myself pleasantly surprised with how epic this was.
DIFFERENCES: Since most are already aware/ others have covered it before, I'll instead recap the differences between the film adaptation and this genre classic - spoilers ahead! The war with Aragorn and ring with Frodo storylines are split between Books 5 and 6 respectively in ROTK. Book 5 picks up with Gandalf en route to Minas Tirith with Pippin, warned by the Palantir and Saruman from TTT of the danger coming to Gondor. They spot the lit beacons on their way, and Beregond and his son Bergil serve the Steward Denethor who is not mad but tired from warring with Sauron through his seeing stone. Meanwhile Theoden is already mustering the Rohirrim to arrive, and our favourite multi-race trio takes the paths of the dead alongside the very cool Grey Company of the Dunedain (rangers from the North). Everyone meets in combat with a change of wind and there is a whole other Prince Imrahil of Dol Amroth, a whole other group & city! Whilst this beefed-up storyline ends on a depressing cliffhanger, Sam is attempting to rescue Frodo from the clutches of an orc stronghold. Together they embark through Mordor and orc-company swinging from depressed to happy, reaching Orodruin in a surprisingly fast manner. There is a lot more wrap-up when compared to the films, describing the House of Healing, coronation and lengthy walk back to the Shire. As the elves and Mithrandir depart Middle-Earth, the hobbits face a final trial by taking back the Shire from Sharkey (aka Saruman). Frodo is severely shaken from the tolls of the ring, and finally departs Middle-Earth in peace.
WRITING: But wait! It doesn't end there. Like a literary paper, Tolkien added the Appendices. These are honestly insane, describing the history of Middle-Earth and whole bloodlines of Kings and Hobbits. We find out more about what happened to all of the fellowship members years after the LOTR, especially Aragorn whose backstory (including his romance with Arwen and travels to the North and South) is tantalisingly covered. I will admit I skipped through the entry on language, as the extremely thorough explanations just failed to add value to me, although I definitely appreciate their existence. These all just reframed to me how beautiful Tolkien's writing could be, and made me respect all the small details from his comprehensive worldbuilding.
WHO: Having read a lot of modern novels recently, it was refreshing to experience Tolkien's at times poetic and unabashedly detailed writing, in what I feel was the strongest entry in the trilogy - it is highly cathartic in one of the darkest times possible. For me, the final ranking stands: Hobbit > B4 > B5 > B6 > B3 > B2 > B1. What surprised me the most was that I am now keen to read the surrounding lore through the Silmarillion and the rest of Tolkien's works!
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“It is not our part to master all the tides of the world, but to do what is in us for the succour of those years wherein we are set, uprooting the evil in the fields that we know, so that those who live after may have clean earth to till. What weather they shall have is not ours to rule.”“There is no real going back. Though I may come to the Shire, it will not seem the same; for I shall not be the same. I am wounded with knife, sting, and tooth, and a long burden. Where shall I find rest?”“Well, here at last, dear friends, on the shores of the Sea comes the end of our fellowship in Middle-earth. Go in peace!”Then a great beauty was revealed in him, so that all who after came there looked on him with wonder; for they saw the grace of his youth, and the valor of his manhood, and the wisdom and majesty of his age were all blended together. And long there he lay, an image of the splendour of the Kings of Men in glory undimmed before the breaking of the world.

The Killing felt like a story of three parts, which hurt the overall pacing for me. The first third of the book shows the reader what typical small missions and CHERUB training exercises are like. This was exciting, but largely inconsequential, which I had no problem with after the previous three books attached higher and higher stakes to them.

The thin middle section is what bogged down the book for me, as James actually undergoes some emotional character development. My issue was that when the final third of the book emerged, the mission grew into something bigger and somehow James's character development was lost in the exciting police plot. Whilst the story itself was engaging and different to the other CHERUB books so far, I never really felt like James solved his anger issues by the end of the book.

Past that criticism, the interesting character interactions and unfolding plot (individually in both the first and third parts) made this an enjoyable read.

Whilst the book was entertaining, the CHERUB formula is getting a bit stale for me at this point... I definitely felt the whole animal cruelty and abuse aspect could have been explored a lot deeper, despite a few standout moments. The last third really ramped up the excitement, but the rest felt a bit underdeveloped, especially in the character interactions. It doesn't help that James really isn't changing as a character, and seems to get away fine with this behaviour. The rest was fun, including the village setting and handful of action scenes - just pretty forgettable.