Josh
CAWPILE SCORE
C-9
A-8
W-7
P-5
I-5
L-8
E-3
TOTAL-6.43/10
So this is a book i'm DNFing. I'm not proud about it or necessarily happy about it, but it had to be done. I've been reading this book for 2 weeks, but its less reading and more avoiding reading so i don't have to read this book.
I mostly attribute this to myself and not a fault of Seth Dickinson, but there a couple things i'll talk about as to why it didn't fit with me.
CAWPILECharacters.The characters in this book again are excellent. they truly feel like every character is unique and has their own goals and desires, which we so often see them working towards.AtmosphereYou really get the sense that if you were to pull the world out of the book and into the real world, nothing would change, because the world that Dickinson has created is a fully realized world and everything interacts with and changes everything else.WritingStarting this book with a framing story was very interesting to me, but it removed some of the tension knowing that Baru was going to be ok. not that much tension but some. I again hated the flashback scenes to Oriati Mbo. they were unimportant to the story that i was invested in, but felt like extra information Dickinson thought i needed. I also didn't like the continued and expanding Multiple Viewpoints. bringing in more viewpoints didn't help me connect more with who i need to connect with to continue reading. Dickinson's wordplay and skill with writing is still excellent and perhaps even better than the previous 2 books, but wasn't enough PlotThe plot looks good, but takes way to long to deliver on any of its promises and has so many twists and turns, i'm not sure any direction actually takes me forward in plot movementIntrigueThe intrigue just got to be too much for me to keep track of. there are 5 cryptarchs, no wait there are more than 5 you just don't know of them, and can't know of them, because of how secret they are. plans within plans within plans, and you never know what is going on. I liked the idea of splitting Baru's head in 2 so that some info could be kept secret from the reader, without feeling super unreliable, but it didn't work that well for me. Also there now being a bigger fight over baru between Tain Shir and Iscend just pushed me out of the story.Logicthe Characters act according to their information and personalities and nothing was too unlogical for me.EnjoymentMy enjoyment was little and sparse. I really enjoyed seeing Baru being Baru and manipulating and working and doing things to show her intelligence, but in this book she rarely gets the chance to and it frustrated me.
I will be talking about it on Libromancy 05/23/2021 https://libromancy.podbean.com/
CAWPILE SCORE
C-7
A-8
W-8
P-7
I-7
L-7
E-7
TOTAL-7.29/10
another great book in the Wayward Children Series. Seanan McGuire is too skilled at making me feel sad but satisfied when I finish these books.
Regan's story was interesting and setup very well. loved the moral of the story or at least the moral that i pulled out of it.
CAWPILE SCORE
C-6
A-8
W-8
P-7
I-7
L-8
E-8
TOTAL-7.43/10
CAWPILECharacters.Characters were great. sometimes felt a little one dimensional, but in a short story with th epurpose that it has, it was fine and didn't bother me. AtmosphereLoved the Wayward home, that everyone wants to go back to their "home". WritingThe writing was great. with alliteration when called for and perfectly succintPlotPlot was unexpected in this novella, but the plot fit the story well.Intrigue i guessed who was doing the killing with only a modicum of why but my knowing didn't change my enjoyment of the story. The intrigue of High Nonense vs Low Nonsense vs Logic vs Candy land was quite unique and funLogicLogic was consistent, and well thought out. nobody acted out of character. and they did what they wanted. EnjoymentGreatly enjoyed my time at Westwoods home for Wayward Children
Another great book by Seanan McGuire. her writing is simply amazing weaving a profound story of being who you are and being the person people expect you to be. This book is a semi-prequel to Every Heart a Doorway
The Story of Jack and Jill and how they became who they are and where they came from.
CAWPILE SCORE
C-7
A-8
W-9
P-7
I-7
L-8
E-8
TOTAL-7.71/10
CAWPILECharacters.Jaqueline and Jillian were excellent characters and the way we see them grow and change both in the Horrible parents care and in the moors was excellentAtmosphereBeautifully written. I could feel the atmosphere of the their house and the feeling of the moors was undeniableWritingBeautiful writing for this series. it sometimes feels like it has a bit of a rhyme to it, which just makes it sound all the betterPlotWell paced and straightforward. we had a clear ending point and the beginning didn't detract or confuse. Intriguewas interesting to see what life on the moors was like and how it changed Jaqueline and Jillian, was interesting to see a bit of ability control on the doors. very sad to see their childhood, but i can perfectly imagine things happening like that.LogicWhile the Logic of the parents is tenuous at best, I have absolutly no doubt that there are people who do the exact same or similar things. The Logic of each choice was well documented and totally believableEnjoymentI very much enjoyed this prequel. it really helps to flesh out the backstory of the characters, but i'm excited to see the future of the Wayward Home
CAWPILE SCORE
C-9
A-7
W-7
P-6
I-8
L-6
E-5
TOTAL-6.86/10
I absolutely loved the first book in this series. unfortunately for me this book seems to have middle book syndrome. I'm really hoping that the third book is much better. There was so much that i felt could have happened and didn't. which i'll talk about in the Spoilers section. This book does branch off the 1st person only view from Baru and we start to see other characters POV. I was not a huge fan of the Flashback chapters as they didn't help me feel invested in the characters it was about. As with the first book, the occasional use of real world things like uranium threw me out of it. but still good
CAWPILECharacters.Lets start with BARU. I felt like she lost a lot of what made me love her so much. After resolving to let Tain Hu die, so she can't be controlled she doesn't do a lot. I was really expecting her blindness but actually split "personality" where she can see, she just can't process it conciously, to have more of an effect or purpose in this story. I can see lots of foreshadowing of it, but nothing came of it yet. The parts were Baru was showing her smarts instead of me being told she is so smart was the best parts. Xate Yawa. whines the whole time that Baru doesn't have a hostage and as per the rules is always trying to get rid of Baru. i kinda feel like her chapters were only included to show things Baru wouldn't know. which felt extra to me and unnecessaryAminata: Loved the wrestling that Aminata does between Duty and Desire/Friendship. She wants to help Baru, but also wants to do her duty and prevent the breakout of another war especially with the Oriati Mbo. her chapters were my second favoriteApparitor/Svir: super whiny. never shown his competency on screen, always happens away from view. which made me think it was just plot deviceAtmosphereThe Atmosphere is everpresent and when i was reading i could tell that the world was completly fleshed out and had real effects that were going on.WritingSeth Dickinson's writing is striking and great. However I still get pushed out of the story everytime he uses a regular word in his story. ex Uranium. everything else is unique words to this world PlotThe Pacing of this book is a bit different. the Plot being that Xata Yawa, Svir/Apparitor and Baru must find the Cancrioth, a subset of the Oriati that the Empire can use to cause the Oriati Mbo to collapse and takeover. while at the same time avoiding Tain Shir, Ferrier's old apprentice, who has decided that Baru must die for letting Tain Hu die. the first half i feel like barely anything happens. they are on the island. they get told what to do, they are attacked and must flee, the go somewhere Tain Shir shows up, repeat. IntrigueSo is MAGIC real or NOT. fine either way just want to know. The Creepy Cancrioth and the cancer that is transplantable is very creepy and intriguing. i really want to know whats going to happen next with Baru. for 2 books there has been no magic, so I'm a little hesitant about how its going to be introduced. i'm really hoping it'll just be a science so advanced its like magicLogicI must say the choices that the characters make for the most part seems to be logical according to everything we know so far. and it seems to be following the same style as the first book.
I will be talking about it on Libromancy 05/16/2021 https://libromancy.podbean.com/
Very good book. I couldn't put it down. The 1st 50% is a bit slow, but only because they are preparing for the Siege of Skyhold. While the Last 25% is absolutely a page turner. The twists the turns, i loved meeting new and old characters and the changes that we see in them. but i am definitely prepared for Book 6, which needs to be here yesterday..
CAWPILE SCORE
C-8
A-7
W-8
P-9
I-9
L-9
E-9
TOTAL-8.43/10
Very Similar to the others in The Series, Richter is still very immature about things, with Random moments of seriousness and depth.
Little bit too much Pop Culture referencing for me. namely Ron Swanson as Roswan.
Also the Length. having this book be 4 times as large as the 2nd longest in the series is a bit ridiculous. plenty of stopping points were available. or it could have been broken up into smaller parts
Wow i Finished this book and just wowow. Still wasn't excited the book ended at 90% on my ereader, but that is an incredibly minor nit to pick.
An incredible ending to an incredible series. This book is a little different than the others, but as the ending book of the series I think it had to be. I may or may not have cried near the end of this book.
CAWPILE SCORE
C-9
A-10
W-10
P-9
I-8
L-8
E-9
TOTAL-9/10
CAWPILECharacters.so much was learned in this book. while i understand the point of waiting to have Hoa's voice till the end, when you actaully learn it was him all along. I loved his viewpoints and seeing the past and what happened in the shattering. Finding out that Hoa is telling Stone Essun her life story and that they are going to be together making the world a better place. so amazingEssun i felt like did quite a lot less in this book. but thats part of her progression. she does less while doing more, because she can't use her orogeny, but has to rely on others. I was sad to see Lerna die. :( "winning" the fight by letting go, and loving her daughterNassun, i still have a bit of trouble seeing her as a more powerful orogeny/magic user than her mom, but i'm willing to overlook it for the sake of the story, which is powerful. When Nassun saw that her mother was reaching for her and that she loved her that was so amazing. I really felt like the essence of a 10-11 year old was captured in this book more than in the 2nd book.Schaffa still a dick, even though he's mostly unconscious for this book.Atmospherean incredibly vived and definitly unique atmosphere, it definitly draws you in and you get absorbed into itWritingThe writing is still incredibly, definitely didn't sag or lower itself after writing 3 books. still incredibly beautiful writing and prose.PlotAs the concluding book in the series, the plot was brought to the front more so than in previous books, which sometimes had a couple of inconsistencies with me. mainly involving father earth. but again not enough to turn me awayIntrigueThe Worldbuilding that we learn in this book is just incredibly and really had me coming back for more, every time I opened the book.LogicThe logic of the characters felt consistent and realisticEnjoymentwhile i can't give it a 10/10 on enjoyment, i really did enjoy reading this book, but i doubt many rereads will happen.
I will be talking about it on Libromancy 05/02/2021 https://libromancy.podbean.com/
Oh boy do i have a lot of thoughts. I really tried to like this book as i was reading. but i didn't. i couldn't.
The magic system while cool is still wildly inconsistent. The characters have some good moments but never feel like they are consistently the same person. The Pacing is crazy. months/seasons go by, then we experience a few days. then months.
CAWPILE SCORE
C-4
A-4
W-7
P-5
I-5
L-4
E-2
TOTAL-4.43/10
Lets talk spoilers
CharactersAnden: Anden's character moving out to Espenia felt good, his "rushed" relationship with Cory felt out of nowhere that he was gay. His introduction into the Kekonese on Espenia was well written. i just couldn't connect as much with him and his plot. Taking up the Jade again at the end to Save Wen was great, but i almost feel like Fonda Lee should have let them all die. show some consequences. Anden choosing to wear jade but just be a healer definitly won't have any negative effects in the future.Beru: ******* is still alive somehow. Gets some jade, practices relentlessly with the jade. is betrayed by Mudt who helped him steal the jade. is left to die. both from overinjection of SN1 and Jade withdrawl plus sleeping drug, what do you know. all 3 combined cancel each other out enough for him to be saved. his Plot armor is as strong as ever. Stealing from Lan's grave was an interesting way to get him jade. However at the end, he is joining a resistance, and is firmly Anti-Jade. ..... that part makes sense, but he was working with no peak at the end, and they helped him get a job and stuff. so.....Wen: still my favorite character. i wish she could have done more. got pregnant and had a kid. continues her spy work.... kinda. Literally is just a jade carrier to certain places. super exciting... more on that in magical inconsistenciesHilo: probably the most flip/floppy character. sometimes he makes good decisions and sometimes he makes bad decisions. his decision to break all the rules if Shae loses a clean duel??? go against everything for that.... No. Killed his Sister in Law and steals his nephew .... crazy. horrible .... gets kicked out a country completly.... but some scenes have some great leadership abilities from himShae: starts out fine. ends ... Fine.. Wasn't a huge fan of the love "triangle" between woon and Maro, but i liked her relationship with him, until she accidently got pregnant and decided to abort it without talking about it with him, or anybody. Wen=Best; wish she had shown more spying stuff. her challenge to Ayt was nice. and then killed Mercy killed Maro when he accidently helped an assassination attempt.Notable Scenes: Burying Mudt--- Buried alive with 3 of Hilo's Jade with a tube for air. very cool, but why not use some jade that didn't require you to pull out of your skin.Shae's fight with Ayt: cool, thought she would win, she doesn'tAyt killing the traitor: nice scenes as wellMagic System inconsistencies : Perception while it seems is the coolest is the most inconsistent. When Kehn is searching the import ships for Jade they have to manually search for everything. but apparently Wen has to hold the jade always because they can't notice it if she touches it. but why does she need to touch it, if you can't perceive it. Also when raids of Jade dens are going on, nobody can perceive that people are coming in, in enough time. Seemed like Strength was used in this book to increase speed instead of Strength, and Channelling can be deflected by Steel?? i thought steel was just hardening your body? and that chanelling bypassed that....I'm still rooting for the Mountain clan because i feel like they are actually the good guys, whereas the No Peak clan has always been reactionary and doesn't feel like a functional Mafia Family
I read this directly after Network Effect thinking it was after that. but no its a prequel. didn't hurt, i was just suprised in the beginning.
CAWPILE SCORE
C-10
A-8
W-8
P-7
I-8
L-8
E-9
TOTAL-6.14/10
Loved this book.
Detective Murderbot is the Best!loved to see Murderbot actually have to interact with more people and even people that it doesn't like. Playing by the rules, while also passive aggressively skirting the rules.Didn't predict that Balin was the bad guy. but i thought it was done well
A good LITRPG story.
Nice system, nice plot/story
Minor issues
Sometimes the MC doesn't feel like he's actually played any RPG's. understanding some things, while not knowing some things on the same level. When displaying levels and skills, a mini version or a shortened version of everything would have been nice. i don't need the full level up text every level up. or full text for skills every time.
CAWPILE SCORE
C-9
A-10
W-10
P-8
I-8
L-8
E-9
TOTAL-8.86/10
Wow so many thoughts about this book. I feel like it was slightly lower than the 5th Season, for a couple reasons, but there were so many things that this book did good. Again evocative language and an ability to turn away from hard things, make this a book worth reading for everyone!
Ok starting with Oche's death was not cool. i understand why, but still not cool. I was glad to see whats happening with Nassun, but i'm not really excited about whats going on there. Sometimes i felt like she wasn't 10 but older. and with how easily she grasped "magic" vs Orogeny Schaffa, still wish he was dead. not sure if he's going to be good or bad. his "love" isn't real loveEssun- Learned a lot from Alabaster but not really, because she can't finish a conversation to save her life. But i loved seeing everything going on with her. and connecting with the Network and Obelisk Gate. the price being her arm. Also dictating that No one gets to vote if we are people or not. Unify and fight/live together! or I'll kill everyone of you! Chills. I was expecting a little bit more progression in the plot, but because these books are so character focused it wasn't really a huge downside for me.
I will be reviewing this Book on Libromancy.Podbean.com on 4/18/21
CAWPILE SCORE
C-9
A-10
W-10
P-8
I-9
L-9
E-10
TOTAL-9.29/10
what an amazingly heavy yet great book. so Incredibly written. amazing skill and style. being able to write a character in 2nd voice and do it so compellingly was beautiful. Characters were full and all felt truthful to themselves.
So much happens in this book. i didn't figure out that this was the story of 1 character at 3 points in her life until about 60% through the book. Schaffa disgusted me when i saw his true intentions and evilness. the same that Syenite being forced to breed with alabaster. just disgusting. but for all its disgustingness i couldn't put the book down and do anything else.The monoliths were so cool and they have stone eaters in them potentially and follow powerful orogenes? Hoa and antimony as Stone Eaters. what do they eat. i believe its former orogenes that they made a deal with. the cost of the deal is the orogene turns to stone, what is the benefit that they get. I'm not sure. connecting with the monolith and using its power i guess.Guardians can disrupt orogeny. i knew something like this would happen, but they do it through an implant in the back of their neck? what how. Essun's grief is entirely believable and incredibly accurate.one of the Only issues i have is the sex scenes, which are few, but mostly felt unnecessary/extra to me as well as the comments about gender. and watching people bath. Alabaster deciding to destroy Yumenes because of Corundum's death and starting a 5th Season.... oh boy
CAWPILE SCORE
C-9
A-9
W-10
P-8
I-9
L-9
E-9
TOTAL-9/10
Wow an incredible book. The Worldbuilding is incredible and detailed to an extreme. Following Baru Cormorant and her dedication. The characters are never flat and are well written.
The writing was incredible and well thought out. I look forward to the sequels and where it can go next
I knew that Baru cormorant would betray the rebellion but the whole time i was still curious as to how it was going to happen or if it actually would. The bloodline work of the Empire of Masks was disturbing. trying to perfect people based only on their blood. The knowledge of the people behind the Empire was revealing and made sense to me.
CAWPILE SCORE
C-9
A-9
W-10
P-9
I-8
L-8
E-9
TOTAL-8.86/10
This is an Amazing Book. It surprised me a little bit starting with Zacharias instead of Prunella, but it was everything i was expecting and more. The magic while being a soft system, fit perfectly in this world and never felt out of place or confusing
CAWPILE SCORE
C-5
A-7
W-7
P-7
I-6
L-7
E-6
TOTAL-6.43/10
This was a fun book to read centered around Ren and Crimp.
the Book takes place over 2-3 days. Red and Crimp vary back and forth about what they are going to do. I appreciated Ren's backstory and thought it was good. Krond beating the spell caster was a little too quick for me. Also Ren's power level seemed to vary as required
Jade City ..... how do i feel about Jade City.
I went in expecting Mafia with Magic, and i got that. i liked it. The story was unique and well thought out. and I liked the magic system.
Channel
Lightness
Strength
Steel
Deflection
Perception
A good magic system with limits and problems.
Characters were good, but sometimes felt a little one-sided.
CAWPILE SCORE
C-6
A-7
W-8
P-5
I-6
L-6
E-5
TOTAL-6.14/10
I wish that i had only had 2-3 characters instead of 5. the Beru Chapters felt too small and meaningless except for 1 chapter. He felt like extra setup for future books. however there was a scene implying he was killed, that was then "ha, nope" that was this other group doing the exact same thing.Half the time or more than half the time i was rooting for the mountain clan. They had a good plan, great possibilities, and everything they did was of more interest to me than anything the Kaul's did. Lan being a good peacetime pillar and not a wartime pillar was a good point to the story. also Shae coming back and putting on her jade again. The Final fight between Gont Asch and Hilo, felt like No Peak cheated, with Anden interfering in the fight.Kaul Sen and Doru actively manipulating their own clan to its downfall felt cheap and silly to me. while kaul Sen's personality about noone being good enough felt real.Also The College of Bioenergetic Material is the only "sciency" name given for Jade within the clan. I just found it weird that they would use a technical term they don't use at all for this one thing with jade instead of calling it the channelling school or something like that. I was really interested in Wen going into the Mountain Clan to spy. I was excited for that and then summarily disappointed that literally nothing came of it. maybe in future books.Anden's refusal to wear jade came as a surprise to me and i enjoyed it.
I will be talking about it on Libromancy 04/04/2021 https://libromancy.podbean.com/
Just an amazing book first off. I chose to read this book because of Reddit's R/Fantasy Bingo. I am so glad i picked this book.
The Characters are amazing, they feel real, they have their desires which are expressed clearly and subtly in all parts of the book.
While this appears to be a Plot Driven Book. It is mostly a Character driven Story. The Worldbuilding is Excellent and Unique. at first while reading i was afraid it was going to be too much, but it was a perfect amount any time i needed it. The Writing is also superb
Lots of Things get resolved while also looking forward to future books.
I'm not sure how i felt about the pronounciation guide at the front, felt like it was trying to prepare me for all the characters, which is good, but i just didn't like it as much. ok so it wasn't the pronounciation guide that bothered me, but the who people are at the beginning of the book.
Cawpile Score
C-10
A-9
W-10
P-8
I-9
L-9
E-9
Total 9.14/10
Again, just wow an amazing book. The plot you think you are following isn't even what you are following until you catch up and realize what is going on. The Magic System is unique and interesting and what the Q people do to their mages is crazy. turning 5 people into 1. although it definitly has 1 of the coolest deaths i've ever seen. being transmuted into precious metals. not the way i want to go, but a cool way nonetheless.The Gates taking people between different worlds, and having them be somewhat "common" was interesting, as well as having dying worldsfollowing Csorwe through her life, was i think the best decision for the book. we get to see her life in the House of Silence serving the Unspoken Name, which the book cycles back to over and over again in a very satisfying way.Talsseres, was also an interesting character, his desires for Belthandros. i was also taken aback when he said he was already sleeping with him, but that he wanted the more intimate connection. Really played that whole relationship very well.Belthandros being Pentravesse was very well foreshadowed, even that even i saw it. but it didn't make it any less interesting when it was revealed. The Plot being the search for the Reliquary of Pentravesse you would think would be the whole plot of this book, finding it near the end, but thats not what this story does and it was brilliant.
This was an interesting book. It was much more engaging than the first book, but where the first book had 1 plot, this book had 2. I liked that. multiple things happening and everybody is trying to figure it out. I only wish it was a bit more explained for me. but i also like the ambiguousness that was left
Cawpile Score
C-8
A-8
W-6
P-7
I-7
L-5
E-8
Total Score 7/10
The characters were much more developed in this book. and all had their own motivations and reasons for doing things. i liked the "friendship" between Ghost and IsabelThe Atmosphere was good it really drew me in and the world was developed enough for me to be interested I was sad that Sairy died, but death is not the end. her being with the other dead upstarts. and isabel finally figuring out a couple things. I really liked her determination to keep going
Good story, good characters
Cawpile Scoring
C-7
A-7
W-6
P-8
I-8
L-6
E-7
Total: 7
I really enjoyed the character of Wasp, she felt incredibly real. the story sometimes was a bit confusing, but I never got too confused to continue. looking forward to hopefully learning more about the ghosts more.
I really enjoyed the change in the end of the book where Wasp saves the town and stands up for herself and the other upstarts.I am really curious about who/what the ghosts are. how her knife can connect with them etc