Joel Hill

What a fantastic followup to Son of the Trickster! I loved every character and the story of Jared finding himself in BC was a perfect progression of his story. I immediately borrowed the third book and I can't wait to read the conclusion of the trilogy!

Also, big thanks to Robyn for the great recommendation!

I'm really struggling to put into words how great these books are. What a fantastic trilogy!

But seriously, I think I just need to talk to someone else who's read the Trickster trilogy because I keep writing paragraphs and deleting them because my words aren't coming out right, haha.

Just read the books, sooooo good.

A Memory Called Empire sets up an amazing world centered around a complex imperial empire and it plays with some great sci-fi and philosophical concepts as well. It's a political thriller with a sci-fi backdrop and some things to say about imperialism. All good stuff!

There's a good chance there are a lot of people out there that will fall in love with this book. I'm not one of them.

I liked it, and I see that it has done what it set out to do very well, but I felt like I was pushing through the book rather than being pulled along by the story.

This might be a case of me being burnt out on space imperialism (I finished Ancillary Sword not long ago too) but I just don't have any motivation to pick up the second book in the series.

3.5/5 for me, but I totally understand the 5/5 reviews. It's an objectively great book, but not for me.

This was a tough book.

The Radchaai have been on a several thousand year long campaign of violent expansion and have a complex culture centered around family houses, social standing, and religious devotion. Ancillary Justice is story told from the perceptive of a ship AI serving the Radchaai, who is, for all intents and purposes, omnipotent until her primary vessel is destroyed and only a fragment of her once vast consciousnesses survives in a human body. The author (Ann Lecke) throws you into the middle of that drama without any preamble. You are in the mind of Justice of Toren and as the reader you are forced to piece together a very alien universe from her perceptive.

This book took me almost all summer to get through, and there were times when I almost put it down and walked away. I didn't find the plot to very engaging (at first), and everything about the setting and narration was complex and difficult to follow. I'd find myself reading pages and paragraphs several times just to understand what was happening. I felt very dumb.

Although it was a challenging read, it was also incredibly rewarding. It takes place in a rich universe, the characters are complex and flawed people, and it touches on some really profound philosophical topics. What is the “self” when it is spread across thousands of minds and bodies?

I can't really recommend this book to everyone, but if you want to take on something that will really make you think you should give this one a shot. I didn't really “enjoy” the book until about 70% of the way through, but I was engaged and interested the entire time.

I'M DONE. FINALLY.

This book was my white whale this year, it took me so long get through and I almost didn't finish in 2020. I really enjoyed it though!

If you liked the Way of Kings then you'll also really enjoy this one. The cast of characters is amazing, there really isn't a single person that was a drag to read about. The story also keeps an excellent pace and actually ties up a number of lose ends from the first book.

The only issue with Words of Radiance is essentially what was “wrong” with The Way of Kings: it throws a ton of lore at you and you need to be okay with not knowing what the big picture is. Once you're invested in the characters and their adventures you'll be pulled through the bits that don't make sense or maybe go over your head.

Damn, this really was a great book!

I don't even know where to start, I liked everything about this book. Circe is an amazing character, and it's a joy to see the world of Titans and gods through her eyes over the centuries of her life. Story aside, it's also a joy to read. It felt like every paragraph was clever, poetic, and steeped in meaning.

It may not be for everyone, but I thought it was fantastic and I might want to read it again sometime.

Maybe the best fantasy book I've read in a long time? I don't even know where to start!

This book really has everying! Suspense, action, humor, mystery, romance, witty dialog, deep and complex characters, a gripping plot about war and politics... I could go on!

The closest book I can compare this to is Game of Thrones but it's very much it's own thing. It doesn't always take itself too seriously and I care way more about the characters than I ever did when reading A Song of Ice and Fire.

I don't really know if there's anything about this book I didn't like? I couldn't put it down and I'm looking forward to the rest of the series!

I kind of fell off the reading train in the middle of this one so it took me a long time to finish. I really liked it, and I'm going to jump right into the third book.

My only thought coming out of Shift is that I would have been happy not learning what happened to the world. It's not a side of the story I was itching for after the first book, and it was an awkward shift (ha) in perspective. Still very good though, and I loved the story of Jimmy and Shadow.

Hey look at me! I finished Frankenstein!

I almost don't want to rate this book. It's clearly fantastically written and an essential classic. Everyone should read it!

Having said that, I found myself pushing my way through the story at the end, and I really just hate Victor Frankenstein. He's a spoiled little jackass.

3/5 stars for me, but with a deep respect for the literature and with a full understanding of how this could be 5/5 for others. Glad I read it!!

It's a fantastic read all the way through, but I think the last two chapters may have convinced me that this is one of the best books Stephen King has ever written. The past paragraph actually gave me chills.

Every person in this book fights so hard to stay alive and by the end of it all you're just left wondering why.

So yeah, this was a good book! It's a quick and easy read, and I really enjoyed the science fiction and philosophical concepts that it touches on. My only real complaint is that it only takes a shallow dive into the character of Bob and his struggle to define himself. That's really a problem with my expectations and not with the book though.

Short and Sweet read, definitely pick it up if you like spaceships with a bit of nerd culture sprinkled on top. I'll probably finish the next two books in short order.