Sean

Kat Hill is a bad influence…she made me want to drop everything and go explore the network of bothies all around Scotland. This book at its core is a cozy, personal story about the charms of bothers and the wilderness, as well as how the huts helped the author through some hard times. But more than that, there are deeper themes of contending with change when you maybe aren’t ready for those changes to occur. Each chapter focuses on a different bothy, what makes them unique, the authors personal story of visiting them, and the surrounding areas history, but then uses the bothy as a way to explore important topics in the modern world.

The Hero of Ages was the perfect conclusion to the mistborn trilogy. This group works better as underdogs trying to solve an impossible challenge than as rulers like they were in book two(technically they’re in control in this book but their backs were to the wall the entire time). Where the first two books had concrete villains in them, in the hero of ages the world itself is the villain until it is revealed who/what is controlling the world and it does terrible things to the people living in it. Vin’s storyline is as great as always. She’s one of my favorite characters ever. What really surprised me about this book, though, and the storyline i was most engaged in was Spook. I’d honestly pretty much forgotten he existed but his transformation and role in Urteau filled the void left by kelsier in book one. I constantly found myself waiting for more spook chapters.

Last, the avalanche in this book starts early and never slows down. Sanderson avalanches are my favorite thing to read and this might be my favorite of all of them. So far…

A World on the Wing dives deep into the world of migratory bird research through ten poignant stories. In reading this book, I learned about the pure endurance required of migratory birds to complete the jaw dropping migrations they undertake, the challenges of actually doing the research, and, most impactful, the risks posed to migrants who rely on climatological signals across the globe in a rapidly changing world. There is still so much unknown about the lives of migratory birds, this gave me a peek behind the door, and made me even more interested in what the full story might be.

The Well of Ascension was a great read, it just didn’t quite live up to the insanely high standards set in book one. Vin really carries the story and is amazing. She grows a ton from where she started the series and where she started this book to who she is at the end of it. The problem with this book was that she didn’t have great support. It really missed Kelsier. The rest of the crew falls off without him and Elend doesn’t fill the gap like he was supposed to. At the end of the day, this was still a great story in such a cool world that any flaws didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment.

I have never been and likely never will be more excited for a book than I was for wind and truth. There is very little Brando could have written that would have made this book less than a five star read for me. That being said, wind and truth earned that rating. The character work is as impeccable as ever. From adolin defining his own role in a changing society and, in doing so, catapulting himself, briefly, to the top spot on my favorite characters list. To kaladins incredible, emotional journey that began on the edge of a chasm way back in the way of kings culminating with some of the deepest, most inspiring moments I’ve ever read. And everyone else in between who faced and were able to overcome their personal challenges in this book. Tears were flowing many times in this one. The entire series was always about these characters more than any overarching plot and wind and truth dove into that even more(although the plot is very much there, and also great).

It’s not a perfect book. I wish he had stuck with classic parts rather than each day being its own. Whereas the earlier books build to a mini climax at the end of each part, some days felt a little flat and I think could have been combined while sticking to the ten day timeline for greater impact in the middle of the book. My only other criticism is that I wished we had more sections like day one where it was just kaladin and shallan. As more and more povs get added, the impact reduces slightly and ultimately there are about five characters I consistently want to hear from and know the inner workings of their minds, leaving more mystery around less important characters and their motivations.

Overall, I leave the storm light archive feeling fulfilled. This series was solely responsible for reintroducing me to the beauty of reading two years ago. I love each and every one of the characters for different reasons and it will be a long seven to ten years without hearing from them or knowing if I’ll ever see some again, but I know it will be worth the wait.

Brando Sando did it again. Stormlight is my favorite series, but Mistborn might take over if it keeps going like this. It was fast-paced, constant twists, incredible world building and magic. It had my thinking about it nonstop. Kelsier and Vin are two of my favorite characters ever. Vin grew through the book and how she is at the end is incredible and so we’ll deserved. On the other hand, Kelsier is mysterious and a little less available but that also works for his character arc. The best part of this book is, to quote Sanderson from a blog post I found from when he was writing this, is the Brandon Avalanche. About halfway through part four to the end of the book is exhilarating and shocking in a way only Sanderson can do.

The Rage of Dragons is as action packed as any book I’ve read in my life. It was really well done and I was engrossed in it the whole time, but I wish that sometimes it just chilled out for a chapter and built a story outside of fighting. Tau is a frustrating main character at times, which I think is purposeful to show his flaws but sometimes he’s just plain stupid and he definitely doesn’t deserve Zuri. Although, if you just look at him as a fighter he’s perfect and the way the fight scenes are written make it so easy to visualize exactly what he looks like doing it. The ending sets it up well for him to grow in the sequel and although I don’t trust that he will, I’m excited to read it and find out.

This is classic, epic fantasy at every level. Good battle scenes, interesting magic, with a side of political intrigue. It only gets 3 stars because there was just too much going on that it made it difficult to really engage with any one part. Viktor is a strong character but I wish this had been more focused on him and maybe one or two others rather than there being 20 different narrators. I checked the cast list at least once a chapter for probably the first 500 pages. That being said, it’s a fun, fast read in an interesting world and I’ll consider continuing the series.

This might have been the most excited to read a book I’ve been because of how great Jonathan Strange by the same author was. It lived up to the hype. Piranesi’s house is the most incredible setting I’ve ever read about and felt like a character as much as the others in the book. The journal entry style made it feel like I was watching the events and mystery unfold exactly as Piranesi did. This was one of the quickest, most immersive books I’ve ever read and I enjoyed every page of it.

I’ve never read a book where so little goes right for its characters. Within the first part, they’d all taken an emotional and physical beating. Most had both. In a lot of books, that would be followed by some sort of recovery. Not here. Robin Hobb sees those characters laying on the deck and just keeps hitting them with haymakers. There were a couple instances where I thought things were looking up for a character, but I should have known better because every single time they got knocked right back to where they were, or worse. While that is my main takeaway, it’s not what brings this rating down. I felt that Hobb got caught up trying to tell too many stories at once, and they all suffered for it. This is completely different from the farseer trilogy which I complained needed more characters, but it modulated too far the other way. I really wish I could have spent more time with Althea and kennit as those two characters had exclusively enjoyable chapters, but there wasn’t enough time devoted to them. All that being said, I feel the three star rating I gave is slightly harsh and doesn’t entirely reflect my reading experience. There was enough there that I’m certainly going to continue at some point, despite the low rating.

Assassin's Quest was not a perfect book, but was the perfect ending to the trilogy and left me feeling extremely satisfied with the time I spent with Fitz, Nighteyes, and all the rest. Starting with the good, I love the quest aspect of the second half of this book. It had a sort of Fellowship of the Ring feel to it and I felt a genuine connection to the mission and all of the characters on it. There were real stakes, suspense, and growth for that portion of the book. The final part in the quarry(and beyond) was where the real payoff came. I won't spoil anything, but the ending put each character(except for Regal, I didn't love his ending) in the place that I felt they were meant to be all along. The bad part of this book, was Fitz and Nighteyes' solo travel in the first half. It wasn't all bad, but it felt like a tv show where they have to put some kind of action in each episode to make people watch, but none of it is particularly relevant to the main story. That can be entertaining, but in this case it felt repetitive with Fitz essentially getting his ass kicked every time. The poor guy just couldn't catch a break and I didn't feel like that was necessary. Overall, just like in the first two books, the strength of this book is Fitz. He was a character I thoroughly enjoyed spending a couple of months reading about and the reason I would certainly recommend this entire series.

Royal Assassin was a strong sequel to Assassins Apprentice. I felt way more connected to Fitz and the stakes felt higher throughout the book. His character has really grown through the first two books and I love how that growth is communicated through his changing relationships with the other characters. From when Burrich returns to Buckkeep until the king-in-waiting ceremony is some of the most exhilarating reading I’ve done. The conclusion didn’t quite live up to the buildup, but it left me wondering where the story goes from here and more excited than ever to find out what Fitz does next.

This was a good book, but not a great one. It was a light read and fitz is a likeable main character but I didn’t find myself entirely immersed in the world or that I fully grasped the stakes of the action that would make me care about it. That said, I enjoyed reading it and will be reading the second as well.

The Will of the Many was textbook entertaining fantasy. It’s fast-paced, easy to digest, and has enough magic and politics to keep it interesting without going too much in depth. I also thought Vis was a strong narrator and I liked his emotional/intellectual depth, where I struggled with him was that he was just too overpowered. I recognize that he’s meant to be talented and have trained for a long time, but the fact that everywhere he goes he instantly is the best without really having to try too hard was frustrating. I feel like I’m leaving the book with a lot of unanswered questions, but it’s set up well to answer those and go beyond in the next book, which I will certainly be reading when it comes out next year.

This could not have been closer to being a 5⭐️ read. The sword of kaigen was one of the most unique fantasy books I’ve ever read. Hidden behind the usual fantasy elements like complex magic systems, political intrigue, and epic action sequences was a really deep story about family and loss and gender roles that gave it a very real feel in an otherwise fantastical world. Each character experienced real growth in the book in ways I didn’t see coming. That rings particularly true for Takeru who I feel I owe an apology to for how much I criticized him before finally learning who he was and instantly relating to him. My criticism of this book is the world building didn’t feel complete. There were snippets every once in a while but I need more to fully grasp the scope of the world. Also, misakis flashbacks to Livingston were almost entirely stolen from Batman Im pretty sure, right down to the characters name being robin and him shooting a signal over the city to communicate with the police. It was entertaining but I’m not sure why it was in this story. My only other thought is there better be a sequel soon. I need more and will absolutely read it the day it comes out.

This was my first time listening to an audio book and my opinions of this book are more shaped by that than by the book itself. I just struggled to engage with it in the audiobook format and while it was an interesting story I just didn’t quite get as into it as I would have if I’d been reading it for real. I’m not saying I’ll never try audio again, but I won’t be going straight for another one either.

Arctic dreams took me a very long time to read but I enjoyed every second. This book covered ecology, indigenous knowledge, arctic exploration, and more. Throughout it Lopez’s sense of place conveyed strongly and left me with a sliver of understanding of the arctic and a strong desire to travel there and experience the things that he did.

What an incredible, incredible, incredible book. As someone who’s never read this style of book before I was unsure that a story about game developers would have enough to it to engage me, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. I ended up forcing myself to slow down and savor this story because i wanted to spend as much time with Sadie and Sam as possible. They are two of my favorite characters ever, the dynamic between them and the way it evolves throughout the story is what makes this book shine and the place it leaves them in I think was exactly where they were meant to be, despite all the ups and downs they faced on the journey. I also wanted to mention the NPC chapter. It was stunning and devastating, but so beautifully written. I felt like I should be in tears, and I think I would have been if I hadn’t been too busy being engrossed in the writing, specifically the way it was switching states of consciousness at all times. This became an instant classic in my mind and a book I will remember reading forever.

This book will never get old. The wow moments are a little less impactful on audiobook than they were reading it the first time but I still had chills and had to completely stop to process at a few different points. If you listen, just be ready for the sanderlanche to be interrupted by long strings of numbers every once in a while. The first time that happened I was completely thrown off.

There should be a separate star system for the stormlight archive. I’ve given plenty of books 5 stars but this reread made me realize how much more of a 5 star book this is compared to others. It’s a daunting reread but so worth it with all the Easter eggs for the rest of the series I had no idea about on my first read that had me excited every time something important was casually mentioned.

My review of the wager was all about how audiobooks didn’t work for me but I felt the opposite in this situation. Maybe to enjoy an audiobook all I needed was for it to be a reread of my favorite series of all time. The jury’s still out on audiobooks as a whole for me but I will continue with them as my stormlight reread preparing for Wind and Truth.

The most gentlemanly take on magic I’ve ever read. Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell are engaging and interesting protagonists and the contrast between them makes for a great story. The plot was not entirely clear at points but this book was more about its characters and their world than specific actions or storylines.

I didn’t realize the power of Babel until the last fifty or so pages, but then it all clicked for me. The story wasn’t really about the characters themselves, rather the imperialist system they found themselves in. Using a magic system based on translation was a stroke of genius when it came to enforcing the message of the book. Language is the backbone of cultural identity, so to weaponize it as silver does, using a cultures own words to oppress them, was incredibly effective. Rf Kuang was not subtle in communicating the themes in this book, but maybe that was the point. There isn’t subtlety to the impacts of colonialism so why pretend that the book is about anything else. I do wish she’d spent more time building up the characters, especially as we get to know them in their formative years at Babel. I felt like I was being told about the bonds between the four main characters more than I was seeing them develop naturally. That led to a frustrating first half of the book, but from the trip to Canton onwards a switch was flipped. This is a book I think everyone should read at some point, I certainly am glad I gave it a second try.