Rob

Executive Summary: To me this is where the series really starts to shine. Mr. Butcher established the world and the key players in the last 2 books, and now he gets down the business of telling the story.

Audio book: I didn't like Ms. Reading too much at the start. Her male voices bothered me. By this book however, I couldn't imagine anyone else reading this. There is a scene where random legionaries are calling out and Ms. Reading does different voices for all of them.

I think she's also flushed out the voices she uses for all the main and secondary characters to really add that extra something that not all audio books readers seem to manage.

Full Review
I was both a bit eager and nervous for this re-read. This is only of only a handful of books that I've given 5 stars to and on my favorites shelf. My memory of it seems to have held up pretty well however.

This book seems feels far less trope heavy to me as the last two. You still have your chosen one story, but I was just so wrapped up in the awesomeness of it all that I just didn't spend any thinking about it.

The first half of this book is good, but the second half is even better. Unlike the last book where I somewhat dreaded any chapter that took us away from the main story, the secondary stories in this book are much more interesting. Adding a lot of depth to the politics of the world and many of the secondary characters.

For a book that focuses mostly on a newly formed legion, there seems to actually be less time spent on battles, which may be a plus or minus for you depending on how much you enjoy reading them. Personally I think he strikes the balance just right and Tavi really shines in this book as a result.

No one is going to accuse this of being some deep, complex series full of numerous unexpected twists and turns. However while some of it is pretty predictable, I think Mr. Butcher does manage a few surprises amid the more expected plot developments. But honestly, who cares? I was having far too much fun listening this book to spend much of the review getting into that.

Part adventure, part political thriller, part war novel with a decent amount of romance thrown in, there is a likely something for everyone here. I for one had trouble stopping for the day by the end and had to jump right into the next book.

Executive Summary: I thought this was mostly fun, albeit a bit slow at times. 3.5 Stars.

Audiobook: I think Zachary Quinto does a fine job. Nothing particularly special, but he generally reads at a good speed and with good inflection.

Full Review
This series doesn't seem to have the typical Scalzi snark, which I kind of miss. I do find the world building interesting. I kind of groaned when the title of the book was explained, but that's about it.

I'm generally not a fan of novellas and I might not have picked this one up if it wasn't included as part of my Audible membership. Mostly I went with this book because I was looking to fill space between my last book and the release of my next one. This served that well.

I thought despite it's short length the pacing was a little slow early on. Once it got going I thought it was pretty enjoyable.

Overall I liked it, and will consider checking the next one out. Hopefully Audible continues to include them in their free selection since I don't see myself spending a lot of money (or a credit) on something so short.

Executive Summary: Like [b:Gardens of the Moon 55399 Gardens of the Moon (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1) Steven Erikson http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355144064s/55399.jpg 2646042] this book is a tough read. It is a lot more gruesome than it's predecessor however. This book is not for the feint of heart. While there are some lighter moments to interrupt the violence, this book has some truly disturbing scenes.Full Review I found the beginning of this book very frustrating. Just when I felt like I had a pretty good handle on things we shift not only location, but get almost entirely a new set of characters to learn.If not for my Group Read, I might have considered taking a break.I read for fun, not to be frustrated. I don't normally like to have to work so hard for something in my free time. I honestly don't know if I'd enjoy this outside of a group setting. The confusion level I felt while reading this did make for great discussion though. I found it reassuring that even the re-readers were confused on certain points.Mr. Erikson does seem to reward your patience and careful reading. As the book went on, and I started getting used to this new cast of characters, my frustration greatly lessened. This book started as 3 starts but slowly rose to 4 stars.There are 4 main plot lines with a few side lines that diverge and converge as the story goes on. My favorite was the story of Kalam, who was one of the few characters in the first book to appear in this one. Maybe it's because I've always gravitated towards rogues and ranger types in RPGs that I found his story so interest.You learn a little bit more about his past, and find out just how badass a well trained assassin can be. Kalam in on a self-appointed mission for the good of the Empire, or so he believes.The other major plotline of this book was from the perspective of Duiker, the Imperial Historian as he chronicles the months long evacuation of “The Chain of Dogs”, Malazan refugees fleeing for their lives, in the midst of a great rebellion of the Seven Cities.This leads to some of most gruesome battle scenes I have ever encountered. Mr. Erikson makes no attempt to sugar coat the horrors of war.The final two fairly major plot lines in this book are enjoyable as well, but both of them tie back to the two I highlighted. Their cast of characters were interesting (and one of the two groups contained all the rest of the characters that appeared in the first two books). I felt like these were mostly interludes to the other action though. The book comes to a reasonable stopping point, though if this were a stand alone book I'd find myself with too many questions to be satisfied by it.It's hard for me to recommend this to someone to read on their own. If you don't mind working for your reward, or have someone you can read/discuss this with, and are not offput by gruesome and disturbing scenes it's another good entry in what so far has been a mostly enjoyable series.I'm also a bit nervous about starting [b:Memories of Ice 175983 Memories of Ice (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #3) Steven Erikson http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1316729348s/175983.jpg 836462] that I'll get frustrated all over again. Peaking ahead though it seems like we see a return of many of the characters from [b:Gardens of the Moon 55399 Gardens of the Moon (The Malazan Book of the Fallen, #1) Steven Erikson http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1355144064s/55399.jpg 2646042].

Executive Summary: This is yet another book I enjoyed this year whose details have now escaped me since listening to it earlier this year. As its likely to be one of my top reads I wanted to at least say something about it.

Audiobook: Kevin R. Free does his usual excellent job that makes this a must listen. He is the voice of Murderbot, so I'm glad they brought him back for the novel.

Full Review
I'm generally not a fan of novellas. I tend not to find them very satisfying and price per page/duration tends to be much higher than novels. One of the exceptions has been the Murderbot series. I got access to the ebooks for cheaper price, but still opted to spend the money on the audiobooks because I enjoyed them that much.

As with most things I listened to this year, most of the details now allude me and I regret not writing some thoughts at the time I completed it. I particularly enjoy the relationship of Murderbot and Art, so I was glad to see them return in this one.

My real main takeaways from this one was that I thought it transitioned well to full novel and that I'll be picking up the next one right away.

Executive Summary: A decent story, but ultimately I didn't enjoy it as much as the movie. That's pretty rare for me, but so is watching the movie before reading the book.

Full Review
This is the book that inspired the movie. It annoys me that my copy uses the movie's name, when it's clearly NOT the movie. Mind you I didn't expect it to be, but I hate movie tie-in covers in general.

A lot of the same elements are there, but the characters are quite different, especially the replicants/androids. I find the ones from the movie far more interesting than I did the ones in the book.

There are parts of this book I really enjoyed. Parts that made me think about what it means to be human. But there are also parts I found confusing or slow.

The ideas are there though. It's easy to understand why so many of Mr. Dick's stories have been adapted into movies. I get some of the changes made for the movie, but not all of them. I will say the book makes that random owl in the movie make A LOT MORE SENSE.

Overall I found this book uneven, and didn't enjoy it as much as some of his other stuff that I've read. I'm still glad I read it, as Blade Runner still remains a classic in my opinion.

Executive Summary: I've had numerous people tell me this is the Discworld book to start with, and now I know why. Easily my favorite so far. 4.5 stars.

Full Review
My Discworld read continues, and finally I come to infamous Guards! Guards! I know there are fancy diagrams and details on all the different ways you can read Discworld, but I prefer publish order. I've enjoyed all of the Discworld books so far, albeit some more than others. I generally seem to enjoy the Rincewind books less than I have the rest.

A popular consensuses among several of my friends who have been reading Discworld for years seems to be that the City Watch books are the best and I should have started with this book. I can see why now. I'm only one book in, but I suspect these may become my favorites as well.

Like all the Discworld books I've read so far, this one was very quotable and had numerous laugh out loud moments. However something about this book elevated it above the previous seven for me. I'm not exactly sure what.

I love that the guards hate to be guards, and prefer not to do their job if at all possible. All of the guards are pretty enjoyable, but I especially like Carrot. I'll be curious to see what sort of character development Mr. Pratchett has in store for him (if any). The contrast of the big hulking human raised among dwarves who is so naive as to the point of obliviousness is highly amusing. Especially the fact that he has to be told he's not a dwarf. I also love the hints as to his real identity that I suspect will never go anywhere, because he's perfectly content at being a guard.

The other highlights for me were the Librarian and the Patrician. They both had some great parts. We've seen some of the librarian in the previous books, but this is the first real interaction I recall with the Patrician. He's largely been mentioned in name only thus far.

The story of this one was really enjoyable as well. Some of the previous books were funny at times with memorable characters, but the story was slow or disjointed. I liked the investigation into the cult of idiots by a Captain who'd rather be drunk. There were some great surprises along the way.

Overall this book is clever, funny, and just downright enjoyable. I'm looking forward not only to the next Discworld book, but I'm especially looking forward to the next City Watch book.

Executive Summary: I'm a big fan of the magic school trope. This isn't quite that, but it was in a similar wheelhouse if told from the adult's point of view. Overall I found this a really fun book.

Audiobook: Daniel Henning does a fantastic job. If you enjoy audiobooks, do this one in audio. He does a variety of voices so that it's very clear which of the characters are speaking that really elevated an already delightful book.

Full Review
This last year has been rough for everyone. I had not heard of this book at all until it was entered in the Sword & Laser March Madness tournament. I actually voted against it in the finals but probably would have still read it had it lost.

I can't speak to how much I'll enjoy the runner-up, but this ended up far exceeding my expectations. I like my job a lot, most days. If I had Linus's job however I'd have gone crazy.

I am someone who follows a routine like Linus, but even for me the rules of his employer are far too much.

The actual house and the children were all delightful. I enjoy the sarcasm and dark sense of humor this book seems to have. While the children definitely play an important role in the book, this is really more about Linus and his journey.

Overall I found it had a nice message about treating everyone with respect regardless of your differences and loving yourself for who you are without beating you over the head with it.

Executive Summary: This is another great entry in the Realm of the Ederlings. It picks up not long after the Liveship Traders and 15 years after the Farseer Trilogy.

If you enjoyed those previous books, I imagine you will enjoy this one as well. If you haven't read those books, I highly recommend you do before starting this one.

Full Review
Like all the previous books in the Realm of the Ederlings books, this starts off slow without much indication as to what the main plot will be.

In a lot of books this would annoy. Fantasy in particular tends to ramble on, especially some of the extremely long epic fantasy series.

Ms. Hobb is different somehow. I'm not bored or anxious or wondering when she'll just get on with it. I'm excited to follow Fitz around discover what he's been up to while I was reading about pirates and magical ships.

The return of several characters from the Farseer trilogy brought a smile to my face. It was like catching up with old friends.

Ms. Hobb can be quite cruel to her characters, especially poor Fitz. As the catalyst he seems destined to lead a tragic life where his choices are always between bad and worse options. I was particularly sad when Nighteyes died.

The books involving the Wit make me want a pet. I've always been more of a dog person, than a cat person. These books make me want a wolf, because Nighteyes is awesome.

Despite this the addition of cats to this book from the previous trilogy is a welcome one. The cats talk and act like I'd expect them to if I could share their thoughts. I particularly love the comments from the Hedge Witch Jinna's cat Fennel. He cracks me up.

Overall an enjoyable book that looks to be setting up nicely for the rest of the trilogy.

Executive Summary: This book really delivers on the promise of [b:Uncrowned 50789354 Uncrowned (Cradle, #7) Will Wight https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567730777l/50789354.SX50_SY75.jpg 72716950]. I found it started a bit slow but finished really strong and I already can't wait for the next book. 4.5 stars.Full ReviewI first read [a:Will Wight 7125278 Will Wight https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1442891069p2/7125278.jpg] early in 2019 when I got a copy of [b:Unsouled 30558257 Unsouled (Cradle, #1) Will Wight https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1465881128l/30558257.SY75.jpg 51106215]. A buddy of mine had been trying to get me to check out another series he'd written for a few months before that but I never got around to.Cradle has quickly become one of my favorite series and each new book is a drop what you're doing and make time to read event. The last entry [b:Uncrowned 50789354 Uncrowned (Cradle, #7) Will Wight https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1567730777l/50789354.SX50_SY75.jpg 72716950] had a lot of potential but then it just sort of stopped. I still enjoyed it overall, but I was kind of letdown by the way it ended.It did however build a lot of anticipation for this book. I was spoiled and got to read the first seven books in one year. This is the longest I've had to wait for a new entry. I've always been a fan of fighting animes where the characters get stronger and the fight scenes get more and more insane.I will say that at this point in the series Cradle has reached that level. I don't want to spoil anything, but there are some (to me anyways) some very nice nods to Dragonball in this novel.I've enjoyed both the character development and the fight sequences of this series, but more than anything what sucks me in the most is the various magic systems that power the various characters and factions. I'm not entirely sure where things are going, but I'm excited to find out.

Story
The story was fine, but nothing special. I feel like the series has sort of been running in place a bit. I still enjoy spending time with the Janes, but I'm kind of glad they are planning to wrap things up.

Artwork
I've lost track of who the artists have been. I couldn't really tell you if this is the same artist as the previous volume or a new one. I think the artwork is always fine, but has never really blown me away.

Executive Summary: Started slow, but the second half kind of made up for the first half. And very quotable as always. 3.5 Stars.Full ReviewWell I made it! I did 5 Discworld books in the last few months. I was able to read this book in April for Sword and Laser without having to skip any books.It's not my favorite of the bunch, but I definitely enjoyed it more than I did [b:Sourcery 34499 Sourcery (Discworld, #5; Rincewind #3) Terry Pratchett https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1428107721s/34499.jpg 62360]. I think I might have enjoyed [b:Equal Rites 34507 Equal Rites (Discworld, #3; Witches #1) Terry Pratchett https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1407706800s/34507.jpg 583611] more though. I was warned that Granny Weatherwax was a bit different in this one. I honestly found her more likable in that book, and that the overall story was better. That said, this book was still a lot of fun, especially the second half. My favorite parts involved Tomjon and Hwel and the play. But the witches were pretty good too. Their banter was usually pretty amusing. Nanny Ogg was a great addition. I look forward to seeing more of her in the future.It's been awhile since I've read [b:Macbeth 8852 Macbeth William Shakespeare https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327866505s/8852.jpg 1896522], so I'm sure I missed a lot of the references and in jokes, but I got enough of them to get a pretty good laugh.Overall another good, but not great entry in the Discworld books. Time for a bit of a break. I plan to come back to the series later on this year though.

Executive Summary: After a slow start and a few stutters at times, this one ended pretty strong and I'll be looking forward to the next installment. 3.5 Stars, rounded up.

Audiobook: Nick Podehl does his usual excellent job, both in terms of his normal reading voice and the variety of voices he does throughout. His narration definitely helped make the slower parts more bearable.

Full Review
I really enjoyed the first book in this series and was eager for this one to be released in audio. I found the first one to be fun with interesting world building despite not always being the best written.

In this volume, the quality of the writing was a bit more apparent. Not only is Corin overly competent for his skill/power level, there is a tendency for one of the characters to go on endless explaining things in minute detail.

There were still bits early on that I enjoyed, but I thought this book was heading for 3 or possibly even 2 star territory. As the book went on however, I remembered why I enjoyed the first so much as I got sucked into the story.

The problems I had early on didn't disappear, but simply were overshadowed by how much fun I was having with the story. I really enjoy the world and the magic Mr. Rowe has created for this series. I like the creative ways in which his characters use that magic, even if his first year students are far too capable compared to other more experienced and powerful characters.

Overall I found this book fun, despite its issues. It's in the “guilty pleasure” category with potential to be something more as Mr. Rowe continues to hone his writing skills. I'll definitely be picking up the next book in this series, and will likely pick up the prequel book he just released once it's available in audio.

Executive Summary: A fun and light start to a new series. I'm no a fan of novellas or Urban Fantasy but I really like Brian McClellan so I gave this a shot. I'm glad I did.

Audiobook: I really like Luke Daniels, he fits especially well for this kind of book. That was another big selling point for me on this book. Audio is definitely the way to go for this series in my opinion.

Full Review
Most urban fantasy series I've read have fallen pretty flat for me. I was reluctant to give this a try, especially since it was a novella. However I really like Brian McClellan and I managed to catch a deal on the book so I gave it a shot.

It suffers from a lot of the usual urban fantasy tropes. The main character is a kind of bounty hunter/repo agent rather than a detective, but it still plays out in a similar fashion. It was just different enough to hold my interest though.

The world building at least seems some unique. I like how he uses death as the catalyst for both this book and the larger story. I found the bigger story more appealing, but the main plot of the book was still pretty good too.

I'll be interested in checking out the next book, but I may wait to catch another deal on the audio again.

Executive Summary: I really enjoyed this book, and found myself staying up till 2 in the morning and rudely reading while visiting with family on Christmas Eve just to finish it.

Full Review
There isn't a lot for me to really say about this book without getting into spoilers. Robin Hobb seems to find a way make you really care about her characters and suck you into the story even when it's just day to day living. Of course Fitz's days are a tad bit more interesting than your average person.

It also re-enforces my belief that you're really missing out by skipping Liveship Traders and moving right to Tawny Man from Farseer. I don't see how you can really understand the depth of some of the events of this book a lot that happens in this book without the full back-story from the previous trilogy.

In this book Fitz learns more about the Fool, and it changes their relationship. I however don't feel like I learned anything that I didn't already suspect. It simply confirmed those suspicions while leaving me questions I hope will finally be answered in the last book.

This book does suffer a bit from middle book syndrome. A lot of it really sets up the final book in the trilogy. That doesn't mean I was bored along the way, simply that the ending didn't come to any satisfying conclusion.

Really it just leaves me hoping for a lot of things to be resolved in the final book. When I was done I wanted to jump right into the final book, but didn't have time due to the holidays.

Executive Summary: So in reviewing the sequel to this book, I realized I never got around to writing a review for this one. I felt like this book started off slow but once it hooked me in I really enjoyed it. I think the mystery aspect and Gideon's snark are what makes this book so enjoyable.

Audiobook: I initially borrowed this book from the library and ended up enjoying it enough to pick up the audio mid-read from a daily deal. Moira Quick was so good it was a no brainer that I'd do the audio for this one.

She does a great job with voices and really brought Gideon's snark to life. I loved listening to the way she read Gideon and Harrow talking to each other.

This became a must listen series moving forward.

Full Review
When I first heard about this book, the tagline I heard over and over was “Lesbian Neuromancers in space”. And while that was true, I feel like it does the book a disservice by making it sound like a romanctic fantasy book.

There are necromancers. Check.

It's in space. Check. Although for most of the plot purposes of this book that seemed to be unimportant to me. Maybe it will matter more later in the series.

There are Lesbians. Check. While it's somewhat important to the plot, I don't think it's the focus (or point) of the story. It's just another aspect of some of the characters.

As a CIS White guy I'm the last person to try to be an authority on representation in fiction. I've always been represented. For me this isn't about that though. Personally I just don't want to read a lot about romance of any kind. So for me the level of romance in this book was good (it's there and part of the story, but not the point of it).

For those looking to see themselves represented more in their fiction, that aspect probably means a lot more. Again, it's hard for me to really weigh in on that, so I will leave it to others.

I just know I wasn't really interested in reading the book as marketed. However I really enjoyed this book once I read it and I'm glad that Sword & Laser decided to make it a pick or I'd probably never have picked it up.

For me what I loved about this book was the sort of escape room/haunted house mystery vibe it gave off. I wanted to know what was going and had a bunch of theories throughout. Some proved to be true while others were way off base. This was a lot of the fun for me.

Then there is the snark of Gideon herself. Initially I found her a bit annoying, but as the book went on I liked her more and more.

I liked this book enough that I pre-ordered the sequel and listened to it not too long after release. If you're turned off by the tagline you may want to give it a try anyways. At least if you enjoy mysteries and snark.

Executive Summary: This has been my favorite book of the series thus far. There are just a few minor things that prevent me from giving it a 5 star rating.Full ReviewThe book probably introduces the fewest number of new characters. As we've passed the halfway point of the series, it appears that the majority of the very large ensemble cast has been introduced and the stage is finally set for the looming battle.Sides are forming up, but just who is on which side still isn't clear. This book contains most of my favorite characters, many of which are together again. I'm especially partial to the scenes of Quick Ben and Kalam, of which this book has many. Not only that, but they are hanging out with Fiddler as well.Things with the Crippled God are heating up and things are looking bleaker for the soldiers of the Malazan's 14th.I finally feel like I have a handle on the series, and while the start of this book introduces some new characters, I didn't feel like I was thrown into the deep end with this one like I did with [b:Midnight Tides 345299 Midnight Tides (Malazan Book of the Fallen, #5) Steven Erikson http://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1366996057s/345299.jpg 3898719].My only complaint is that Mr. Erikson likes to conceal things from the reader beyond what seems necessary. It's one thing to have information withheld from the reader when the point of view character doesn't know it. It's quite another when he does things like playing the pronoun game with characters we already know or don't allow us to hear a conversation that the point of view character is involved in.This series is complicated enough with a huge amount of depth. This just seems overkill and the reason I can't give this book a 5 star rating.Still this has been the most enjoyable of the series thus far. I rushed a bit ahead of the Malazan Fallen group to finish a week early. I'm eager to see what happens next.4.5 Stars.

I felt this to be a pretty good conclusion to the initial trilogy. I do wonder what will become of many of the characters, but could be content if there were no other books to read.

That said, I'm planning to make time in the next few months to reading the next two trilogies.

I feel like many of the larger question were addressed to my satisfaction, but could be explored further. There especially seems like more can be learned about both the Skill and the Wit.

Executive Summary: This is a book that introduced me to [a:Stephen King 3389 Stephen King http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1362814142p2/3389.jpg] and my very first adult series. A friend gave me the book that first time and told me I must read it. It's been many years since that first time, and many re-reads since then, but it was just as enjoyable this time as it was the first. Maybe more-so as I am much better read and more experienced than that teenaged version of myself. Audio book: I borrowed the audible version of the revised edition of this book from a friend. The reader is George Guidall. He was enjoyable enough, and his voice seems suited to the tale. I opted to do an audio-book re-‘read' of the series as my friend has been experiencing it for the first time and I find my memory of it lacking.One of the things lost by doing the audio however is the artwork. I have 1-4 in trade paperback by Plume (with both the original text and updated version that this audiobook contains) and the original hard cover releases of 5-7. The Plume editions contain some, but not all of the artwork contained in the original hard cover releases.Some may not welcome the art, as they prefer to let their own imaginations paint the pictures, but I've always been lacking in visual imagination so I welcome the inspiration to help my brain fill in the rest. I plan to make it a point to re-visit the art at some point as my re-read continues.Full ReviewThe start of an epic journey. Or is it? The start I mean. “The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed.”Why? To what purpose? How long has he been chasing him? Ah my friends, these are but a few of many questions.The journey is the key, and here we throw our lot in with the Gunslinger as he speeds towards his goal. Will we ever reach it? One must continue the journey with Roland to find out. And so I have. Again.I've lost track of how many times I've read this book. It's probably my least favorite in the series, and yet it contains some of my favorite moments.The glimpses into Roland's childhood that are a large part of what makes [b:Wizard and Glass 5096 Wizard and Glass (The Dark Tower, #4) Stephen King http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1327946510s/5096.jpg 750558] one of my absolute favorite books are present in this book with much smaller doses. The story of Roland's coming of age in particular is one I could listen to again and again (and so I have, say thankee-sai).Another particular favorite of mine is Tull. It gives us a glimpse, and it just a glimpse of who the Gunslinger really is. One of the revisions in the scene I'm not sure I agree with. In the original text Roland shoots Allie without her begging him for it. It's not a “Han Shot First” re-write for me, but one I felt un-necessary that tries to offer some forgiveness for Roland's actions.That said. I love this book. The original book is actually a collection of 5 stories that were published in a magazine over the span of about 3 years. Mr. King revised the book in 2003. For the most part, the revisions help to fill out the story and clear up some continuity issues that Mr. King hadn't worked out when he first wrote them. You could maybe call it ret-con, but I really consider it more of clarification of detail that was lacking.I've always wondered why so many people don't like this book. My friend listened to it with his brother. He almost quit the series right there. His brother did. I've seen many people recommend skipping this book outright and coming back to it at the end. I suppose that would work, but the need for it is beyond my comprehension.I thought maybe this re-read many years since my last around the time of the final 3 books release in the mid 2000s would shed some light on it. It did not.Maybe it's a sense of nostalgia. Maybe because I first read this book before many of the long sprawling epics I've tackled since. But their are certainly other books I enjoyed as a younger man that I no longer enjoy as an adult.This book isn't one of those. To me it offers you a glimpse and a promise of all that is to come. For that I must again say Thankee-sai to Mr. King.

Executive Summary: Another enjoyable entry in this series, thought probably not quite as enjoyable as [b:Skyward 36642458 Skyward (Skyward, #1) Brandon Sanderson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1531845177l/36642458.SY75.jpg 58411143].Audiobook: Suzy Jackson does a good job with this one. She has a good read voice and cadence and does a few voices to give it that little extra something. The nature of these books make them work really well in audioFull ReviewA few years ago I swore off an “non-cosmere” Sanderson books. Then I went ahead picked up [b:Skyward 36642458 Skyward (Skyward, #1) Brandon Sanderson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1531845177l/36642458.SY75.jpg 58411143] last year anyways when I was looking for a light/fun read for a holiday road trip.I'm glad I did. While I'm not necessarily going to run out and read other non-cosmere stuff I'm a lot more open to it now than I was after [b:Calamity 15704486 Calamity (Reckoners, #3) Brandon Sanderson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1437098338l/15704486.SY75.jpg 21366542].I really enjoy Spensa. She can be frustrating at times, but she's easy to root for. The supporting characters are also fantastic. M-bot especially, but all of her squad is great.It was kind of sad we didn't get too much of her squad in this one, but I found the new supporting characters in this book to be almost as enjoyable. I especially loved the Kitsen.As with most Sanderson books, the world building has me hooked in. I want to know all the secrets, and at times wonder how these series couldn't fit itself into the cosmere somehow.This was once again another fun/light read and I'm looking forward to picking up the next one whenever it comes out. In the meantime I have a new cosmere book to look forward to!

Executive Summary: In the third and final book of the Liveship Traders trilogy, Ms. Hobb expertly brings everything that built up for 3 books to an exciting and satisfying conclusion. Many people seem to skip this trilogy and jump right into The Tawny Man Trilogy. I think this is a mistake. While there is very little overlap with Farseer (and maybe Tawny man, can't say for sure since I haven't read it yet), it's quite well written with many diverse and interesting characters.Full ReviewI got sidetracked reading [b:Cloud Atlas 49628 Cloud Atlas David Mitchell http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1344305390s/49628.jpg 1871423] between this book and [b:The Mad Ship 45101 The Mad Ship (Liveship Traders, #2) Robin Hobb http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1328628210s/45101.jpg 2571145]. It seemed to slow my momentum down. That coupled with the slow burn style of Ms. Hobb's writing. It took me 12 days to read the first 300 pages, but only 4 days to read the last 500 or so.This book even more than the previous two, switches perspectives a lot. At some times it's only a paragraph or two to swap, especially near the end. It makes for a fast paced ending as all the subplots begin to converge.For me the most impressive part of this trilogy was the character development. She took a character like Malta Versit and through character growth changed her from someone I want to reach into the book and strangle for being a spoiled little twit to someone of great strength and cunningI could go on to cite more examples, but you should just read for yourself. Where the characters are at the beginning of the trilogy and where they end up by the end seems miles apart. Ms. Hobb does an expert job in getting them there. I highly recommend this to anyone who likes Ms. Hobb's writing and especially to anyone whose already read the Farseer trilogy.

Executive Summary: This has many of the same issues I had with the last book, but overall I liked it better.Audiobook: I really love Tim Gerard Reynolds as a narrator, and I have generally mixed feelings about multiple narrators. However this series has 3 additional quality narrators, so that makes this still a must listen to me. Mr. Reynolds is still my favorite of the bunch, but they all add their own extra something.Full ReviewMuch like the originally trilogy, I found the first book of this sequel trilogy frustrating. And again like the original trilogy I liked the second book much better. However some of my issues with [b:Iron Gold 33257757 Iron Gold (Red Rising Saga, #4) Pierce Brown https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1482475064l/33257757.SY75.jpg 49451841] have not gone away in this book. It might be that I had some time to cool down, it could simply be that I came into this book being ready to be pissed off again that makes the difference. It's hard to say.I definitely don't think the sequels are anywhere near as good as [b:Golden Son 18966819 Golden Son (Red Rising, #2) Pierce Brown https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394684475l/18966819.SY75.jpg 26984955] or [b:Morning Star 18966806 Morning Star (Red Rising, #3) Pierce Brown https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461354277l/18966806.SY75.jpg 26984941]. This being so deep into the series, there isn't a lot I can say about the book without major series spoilers.I am hoping considering the developments of this book that the final book of this trilogy will help redeem the last two. I guess we'll see what happens. Either way I'll be picking it up as soon as it's out, so what more can an author really ask for?

Executive Summary: I enjoyed this far more than the last book, but probably not quite as much as the first one.

Audiobook: Another fantastic audio book as always. Marc Thompson is a one man Star Wars universe and this is one of the few books where I don't mind music or sound effects.

Full Review
I don't do a lot of Star Wars books and before listening to the original Thrawn trilogy, I wasn't particularly interested in reading any to begin with. Thrawn is an intriguing character. In most cases he's been a villain but in this series it's more ambiguous.

He's still working for the Empire, but as he's fighting the rebels it's far easier to like and cheer for him and his crew. I'm not really sure how many Thrawn books this series is supposed to be, but this didn't really feel like an ending. Maybe that's because his story picks up in Star Wars Rebels, but I'm not sure this left off where that starts either.

Instead it both continues on the series and mostly feels like a stand alone story. We get more details on the Chiss Ascendancy, and get some background on well known Star Wars events.

Overall I found this an enjoyable story and I'd happily read another Thrawn book, but it adds little to the movies or TV. Like most of the books I've read it offers some back story to things you see on screen, but they are never going to put critical details that would leave those who don't read the books in the dark.

Executive Summary: The start of this book really dragged for me and for that reason it's the first book in the series I'm not giving 5 stars too. Once it got going though I remembered why I love this series so much.

Full Review
Done! After nearly 6 weeks. First 5 weeks: 500 pages read. Last week: 700 pages read. The last part of this book was an easy 5 star read for me. But that first part really really dragged. I'm sad that this will be the first book of the series I don't give a 5 star rating too. He was batting 1000% so far.

It's hard for me to seperate this book and 2020. My reading this year is way down. I just can't concentrate. I'd pick this up and read 1 or 2 chapters. I'd set it down to check my phone or would doze off. But that was happening with other books too.

Once I really started getting into though, I remembered why this is one of my favorite series. The same elements that made it slow in the first half remained, but the rest of the story was picking up momentum and carrying me through those parts.

I'm not sure if the payoff of those slower sections was worth it for me. Normally I love Kaladin's parts and really enjoy Shallans. Both of them were a drag early on, especially Shallan's. Kaladin's got better much faster.

I was mostly clinging to Andolin's story in the early going, so of course right at it was getting good, it stops for a few HUNDRED pages. Sigh.

I was kind of indifferent on Navani's parts for much of the book as well, but that too improved as it went on. So really the book just took awhile to get its hooks into me.

Overall this is the weakest of the series so far to me, but still an enjoyable read. Now to wait for the next one. With where this leaves off, I'll be curious to see what he's got in store for the mid-series finale.

Overall, I find this to be the

It started off fairly plausible, but by the end had jumped off the deep end. Still it was a fairly enjoyable ride along the way. I'm a little disappointed with the ending. It left me feeling like the book was incomplete. Not so much a cliffhanger to get you wanting the next book, just sort of no real ending. Worth a read if you like tech fiction. I plan to read the sequel. Hopefully that will wrap up what missing from this book.