Jurjen
After about 30 pages I got the feeling that the book was going to be a complete retread of the story structure of the first 2 books, which I wasn’t looking forward to. Fortunately, that wasn't really the case. The message of this one felt different, and definitely one worth telling. If this series is unified by one concept it's definitely the feeling of belonging, and whereas b2 felt like it retread the same steps b1 did for the most part, Brigands & Breadknives felt like it had something new to say about it.
I think this book is stronger than the second, though it still doesn't really recapture the magic of the first. Not sure if it ever can be recaptured (and maybe that's okay). The side characters were fun. Zyll was great. Another strong ending.
After about 30 pages I got the feeling that the book was going to be a complete retread of the story structure of the first 2 books, which I wasn’t looking forward to. Fortunately, that wasn't really the case. The message of this one felt different, and definitely one worth telling. If this series is unified by one concept it's definitely the feeling of belonging, and whereas b2 felt like it retread the same steps b1 did for the most part, Brigands & Breadknives felt like it had something new to say about it.
I think this book is stronger than the second, though it still doesn't really recapture the magic of the first. Not sure if it ever can be recaptured (and maybe that's okay). The side characters were fun. Zyll was great. Another strong ending.
Added to listOwnedwith 20 books.
Added to listMy Belovedwith 65 books.
The Will of the Many has probably been my favourite book of the last few years, and The Strength of the Few the most I've been looking forward to a new release. I kept my expectations tempered as, structurally, I knew b2 was going to look pretty different to b1. But god damn was this a fantastic follow-up.
The way the story progresses and mysteries are revealed and new ones introduced, is seriously some of the strongest plot writing in the genre. The ending of WOTM might be my favourite ending of any book as it just sent my mind spinning for an hour as to what it could all mean, and what was going to happen in the sequel. The ending of SOTF damn-near matched it. There's so many directions this story could go into now, and they're all as intriguing sounding as the next.
I think overall this was a really ambitious sequel. As I said, structurally it took a pretty huge departure from a tried and tested formula executed pretty perfectly, and set out to do something much more innovative within the genre. There were some downsides to this. I don’t think that every storyline was constantly engaging (O especially), although they were for the most part. The quality of the secondary characters felt uneven at times, though considering the time spent with them, I think this execution was about as good as you could expect. The character motivations were probably a little more focused in b1 as well. I do think that The Will of the Many is the better book between the two, but it's certainly close.
The mysteries of this world Islington crafted in book 1, and the twists and surprising directions he took the story were done absolute justice in this sequel, and I think that's the most important achievement of The Strength of the Few. Having just finished it minutes ago, I can't WAIT to read the third book. That's exactly how I felt finishing WOTM for the first time, and getting to re-live that experience is about as good as it gets.
The Will of the Many has probably been my favourite book of the last few years, and The Strength of the Few the most I've been looking forward to a new release. I kept my expectations tempered as, structurally, I knew b2 was going to look pretty different to b1. But god damn was this a fantastic follow-up.
The way the story progresses and mysteries are revealed and new ones introduced, is seriously some of the strongest plot writing in the genre. The ending of WOTM might be my favourite ending of any book as it just sent my mind spinning for an hour as to what it could all mean, and what was going to happen in the sequel. The ending of SOTF damn-near matched it. There's so many directions this story could go into now, and they're all as intriguing sounding as the next.
I think overall this was a really ambitious sequel. As I said, structurally it took a pretty huge departure from a tried and tested formula executed pretty perfectly, and set out to do something much more innovative within the genre. There were some downsides to this. I don’t think that every storyline was constantly engaging (O especially), although they were for the most part. The quality of the secondary characters felt uneven at times, though considering the time spent with them, I think this execution was about as good as you could expect. The character motivations were probably a little more focused in b1 as well. I do think that The Will of the Many is the better book between the two, but it's certainly close.
The mysteries of this world Islington crafted in book 1, and the twists and surprising directions he took the story were done absolute justice in this sequel, and I think that's the most important achievement of The Strength of the Few. Having just finished it minutes ago, I can't WAIT to read the third book. That's exactly how I felt finishing WOTM for the first time, and getting to re-live that experience is about as good as it gets.
I decided to reread The Eye of the World exactly 5 years after starting it for the first time. I’ve never been a massive fan of the Wheel of Time (though I did enjoy the experience of finishing the entire thing, more than the sum of its parts and all that), and I certainly wasn’t a huge fan of b1 back then, though people always say how WOT is so much better on a reread than on the initial read. I think I’ll be finding myself in that camp. Having gone through the entire journey in this world with all these characters definitely has invested me in a way that I wasn’t before. The charm of Emond’s Field, the way the world and its mysteries slowly opens up to the gang, and the many hints of what’s to come… I had a lot of fun.
The flaws that bothered me back then bothered me less, though they’re still absolutely flaws. Initially I was intensely annoyed at how Jordan approached Mat’s characterisation, as well as the last-minute heel turn the story made in the final 100 pages. Knowing it’d happen didn’t make it so bad though.
When I decided to pick EOTW up again after so many years, I’d imagined it to be a one-off, and that I wouldn’t reread the entire series. I think I am going to commit to an entire reread, but god knows how long that’s gonna take. 2.5 years for my initial reread, this one’s looking at 5+ lmao. Also, the copies I read the series on initially are fucking illegible. Insanely narrow pages with very tiny spacing. Even back then I said that had I read them on proper copies, all my grades would go up by half a point. And what do you know, reread it on an ereader, and I am in fact upgrading the rating by half a point lol.
I decided to reread The Eye of the World exactly 5 years after starting it for the first time. I’ve never been a massive fan of the Wheel of Time (though I did enjoy the experience of finishing the entire thing, more than the sum of its parts and all that), and I certainly wasn’t a huge fan of b1 back then, though people always say how WOT is so much better on a reread than on the initial read. I think I’ll be finding myself in that camp. Having gone through the entire journey in this world with all these characters definitely has invested me in a way that I wasn’t before. The charm of Emond’s Field, the way the world and its mysteries slowly opens up to the gang, and the many hints of what’s to come… I had a lot of fun.
The flaws that bothered me back then bothered me less, though they’re still absolutely flaws. Initially I was intensely annoyed at how Jordan approached Mat’s characterisation, as well as the last-minute heel turn the story made in the final 100 pages. Knowing it’d happen didn’t make it so bad though.
When I decided to pick EOTW up again after so many years, I’d imagined it to be a one-off, and that I wouldn’t reread the entire series. I think I am going to commit to an entire reread, but god knows how long that’s gonna take. 2.5 years for my initial reread, this one’s looking at 5+ lmao. Also, the copies I read the series on initially are fucking illegible. Insanely narrow pages with very tiny spacing. Even back then I said that had I read them on proper copies, all my grades would go up by half a point. And what do you know, reread it on an ereader, and I am in fact upgrading the rating by half a point lol.
