Tyler

5 Stars = I saw them live in ‘94!

This was totally unexpected and I regret putting it off for so long. I almost missed out, too, because I waited months for it to be available on Libby and then waited until the last day to start it.

The gritty Grimdark elements mixed with modern music references, the wide variety of unique characters from a whole spectrum of personalities. I truly loved this adventure and would gladly read a prequel trilogy.

4.5 Stars = New Achievement! It didn't suck. Reward: I get to read the next one!

Like most people, Dungeon Crawler Carl was my first experience with LitRPG. It turns out, I don't really care about the most important elements of the genre. The XP, loot boxes, floating HUD... I can take it or leave it. But! The actual story and action are fun and deep enough that it promises to hurt me eventually.

Princess Donut is everything that was promised by the ravenous community of DCC fans. I love her. I fully expected to hate that damn cat, but it's impossible. Like most of my reading I went between the physical book and audio and, once again, the community was spot on about Jeff Hays. He brings every aspect to life in a way that I don't think any other narrator could. My inner voice is now his voice when I read these books.

4.75 Stars = Should have started with this one.

Honestly, this was great from page one on. It had obvious Norse influence, but it wasn't “vikings”. It was Medieval, but not rigid knights and castles. It has a very magical feel with little to no actual magic. And every POV was excellent.

My first Gwynne was Bloodsworn book one, and that did not vibe with me at all. I put off reading this one because I expected more of the same. Now I feel encouraged to try his later work again (after finishing the Faithful series). Corban is everything I wish Bran would have been in GoT. He even has the direwolf pup. 😂

4.25 Stars = The First Law is: read this series.

I want to preface this by stating that anything negative I might say about this trilogy is simply a personal criticism. I did, in fact, enjoy the first trilogy.

This took me on a journey of acceptance and making peace with the inescapable truth that were all f***ed. There was no beginning, middle, or end. It just was. Characters existed. Stuff happened. None of it means anything, and I loved nearly every page. 😂

Abercrombie's character building is unmatched. But, the Story itself isn't like anything I've ever read. There really isn't a central plot so much as there is a world in which things happen, and a few general themes that tie it all together. I've heard some of the threads get a resolution in later books from this universe, but as it stands at the end of the first trilogy, we kind of have to just deal with no closure.

I'll definitely be reading more from Lord Grimdark in the future.

5 Stars = Pure Gold

😭😭🫣😮 Wow. I don't even know how to process that ending yet. This was such a great sequel, somehow achieving the impossible and surmounting the first book. The trilogy so far has been absolutely perfect for what it is. Maybe not my favorite of all time, but it's up there, and would definitely take the cake on being the most consistent.

I've joked that I just love bisexual vampires, and while that's true, there's so much more to this masterclass by Kristoff. There's such depth and emotion. The stakes are high, yet already past. I love the storytelling structure and crave more like this!

Dawn is coming.

4.5 Stars = Solid trilogy all around.

Finally, we have a strong female lead that feels realistic and not just a super hero or damsel in destress. The moral ambiguity of the other main characters really underlines her own resolve. And, we see real growth from a shy, young apprentice in book one, to a slightly traumatized, but otherwise fully developed woman in book three. The story itself is very linear and easy to consume, but takes some wild turns in the finale. I absolutely loved this series!

4.75 Stars = another book 2 that was even better than the first.

Wow, that was a rollercoaster. The first book was great, but this one really found it's stride. The last third was so good! I had an idea of where I thought it was going, and it touched it for just a second before flying off in a different direction. I love when that happens! Now I don't know what to expect from the third...

4 Stars = Better than expected, but not blowing any minds.

First I want to say that I Love Andy's personality and his book recommendations. Many of my favorite reads came from him when no other site recommended them. That said, I think he's an adequate author, but my first experience by him was a bit Vanilla.

I expected there to be a lot of copy-cat tropes, and I was correct. But, he does a very good job at making them his own. And, regardless of being rehashed themes, I think this series has potential. It was just... Long. Unnecessarily so. I've read multiple 1000+ page books in the last year, and when I say this could have been 400 pages shorter, it would have been absolutely fine.

All negativity aside, I'm still excited to read his other series set in this world, and I'd be absolutely willing to read the next book in this one. I understand he did a lot of work redoing this one and making it better, so I commend him for that. I fully expect his other writing to have gotten better on the first release as well.

4.5 Stars = Pleasantly Surprised

First of all, the last third of this book was an AI/VR fever dream, and I'm here for it. I expected this to just continue on from the first, and it did, but it added so much and felt very different. Both read like a Discovery Channel Documentary, however, this was a lot more Sci-Fi and a bit less biology textbook.

I think the characters and the story were stronger than the first, and I enjoyed the entirely new species that were added. We also got some more from the past timeline which really rounded out the story as a whole. I'm curious how the next two books will be because there are so many threads the author could go down, or go an entirely new direction.

4.5 Stars = Another winning Trilogy from Lawrence

Exactly like his other trilogies (that I've read) this was a ramp and got better with each entry. Book 3 brought it all together and felt like the resolution we deserved... Kind of. I was NOT expecting that ending!

I've said it with every review, but I'm so glad I read the Red Queen's War first because it made this whole process even more enjoyable. I'll have to go back and read both again sometime to see what I assume is tons of things I missed.

4.5 Stars = A notch above the first

Still very happy that I read The Red Queen's War first because the “big reveal” was delayed until a bit later, but now I'm noticing things that I'd probably have missed otherwise.

I'm really enjoying this series. Lawrence is a king of Grimdark, and I feel like this may have been when he hit his stride. The more we learn about Jorg, the more this becomes a tragedy and not just a quest to reclaim a throne.

4.25 Stars = Another great Grimdark

I love me some Mark Lawrence, but I think The Red Queen's War kind of ruined me. Especially The Wheel of Osheim which was excellent! Knowing some of the universes secrets makes this one a little less magical, but it's still a very good start to the series. Jorg is a bastard, but he's kind of earned it. I love a good morally gray, broken protagonist!

I immediately started the second book, King of Thorns, and am currently about 20% into it as of this writing. I can already see it as an improvement, so I'm expecting an even higher rating for that one.

4 Stars = A solid sequel

I love that we got a full Fern adventure, but that's not what I expected. I had hoped to spend more time with Viv and Tandri, and building on the cozy, quiet life. But, apparently that's not enough for an old Ratkin!

This one had quite a bit more action than the other two, and felt more epic in scope. However, I reluctantly have to say that it felt like it had less “heart”. It didn't have that sweet and warm feeling like the prequel, nor the daily life feel of book 1. This was a road trip, with swords and goblins.

4.25 Stars = Worth a read

While this does take place chronologically after the first book, it could easily be a standalone as the story and characters aren't connected in any way other than being from the same universe with a few name drops. It does, however, follow the themes and lore of the games very well, as did the first book.

The story from this was fantastic and gave us a lot of background info into what happened before Mass Effect 2 (technically before ME1, but the subject matter is from ME2). The only mild complaint I have is with the Autistic character. As a neurodivergent parent of two very different ASD kiddos, this didn't feel realistic. I don't believe it was offensive, it just wasn't an accurate representation. I'll defer to “the spectrum” and assume my thoughts are my own.

4.5 Stars = A good start.

This felt a lot like Theft of Swords to me, with a bit of a frienemies theme. The story itself was alright, but not epic by any means, just a simple plot. The writing, however, was very well done and it serves as a good entry to what appears to be a pretty big series incoming.

We follow two general timelines throughout, which isn't for everyone. The chapter structure is a little weird, with each chapter being broken into numbered parts, and interludes between. Reading this digitally was a bit hard to follow because there are no bookmarks for the individual chapter pieces, but ultimately each one continues immediately from the former, so it's not too bad.

3.5 Stars = Footnotes are essential.Gilderoy Lockhart leads such an interesting life, it simply must be shared with the common folk! Luckily, his Faithful Steward is there with him to record the encounters exactly as they happen.+Ok, Allomancer Jak was funny, but entirely pointless. It wasn't anything special, AND it's kind of hard to read digitally because of the excessive footnotes that are vital to understanding the story. Physical would have been ideal, and I can only imagine that audio had to be done uniquely to make it work. Not mad I read it, but I think it's safe to leave this out of future Cosmere read-throughs.Seriously, so many footnotes.
+Jak embellishes everything.

4.5 Stars = Certified born of the Mists

I'd put this one a smidge above The Alloy of Law. Very good story that dug a little bit deeper into the Mistborn Lore. I'd say this was also a more meaningful plot and continues to build on the Epilogue of the former. I've yet to see much of a Cosmere connection (beyond Scadrial), but there's a specific character that has ties to the greater universe that had some unexpected development... Guess we'll see where that goes.

4.5 Stars = A solid return to the Mists.

To be completely honest, I put off reading Era 2 because it didn't sound interesting or relevant. I'm not a fan of Western anything, so I filed it away as “just a side story” for a rainy day. I even held it lower than any of the Arcanum Unbounded short stories. I knew I'd get to them eventually, but wasn't in a rush...

That was so much fun. Why did I wait so long? It was fast and short and funny, and I can see the bigger picture being painted here, especially from the Epilogue that gave us more info than the entire book (and probably should have been the actual ending, not a postscript).

The main characters give me serious Wolverine and Deadpool vibes, with the wise-cracking anti-hero, and the broken soul just trying to do some good so people will leave him alone. Lol. I dig the Buddy-Cop trope more than I should, but it's become a guilty pleasure. Can't wait to knock out this series!

4 Stars = Worth the read.

An interesting introspective based mostly on the author's former addiction, sobriety, and making a difference in the world. I definitely have a lot in common with Randy. As a musician, a misanthropic humanitarian, and someone who cares deeply about preserving my peace, I found this to be a comfort read.

There were a few times he repeated things, but they were worth saying twice. He also had a bit of a rant about “art” that felt out of place against the background of the rest of the book. But, I didn't disagree with what he was saying.

Glad I had this autographed for my collection. The band is all super cool, and their former drummer is one of my biggest inspirations, though I never got to meet him. Randy is just as down to earth in person as he sounds. Super chill dude.

4.75 Stars = Cant find any faults. Very solid.

Such an unique style and original story. I'm not sure what it's technical explanation is, but it's sort of a first person narrating a third person POV? It's weird, but it works so well. I really enjoyed it.

The pacing was very steady throughout until the last 100 pages or so where it took off and broadened to it's full trilogy potential. I probably won't rush to start the next, but it's definitely going on my TBR.

3.5 Stars = Great concept, poorly executed.

I really did love the beginning of this one. It started as a solid, maybe 9/10 for me on hard sci-fi. But, then it just stopped being good. It became a weird prophecy thing, and then unknown sender spam mail kind of thing. I really don't know. The end definitely started to come back, but then it was just too pretentious and did nothing to further the plot. It felt like explaining the same thing 30 different ways in hopes of being understood.

I love hard science. I read astrophysics text books for fun. But, they stretched the word count so ridiculously that it became techno babble. There was one part where they said something like, “he noticed her vision was both myopic and presbyopic, and that she was wearing corrective lenses for this purpose...” So... She had bifocals? This had nothing to do with anything, and only served to show the author could use big words. Scientist don't talk like that. Smart people don't use “smart words”, they use clear vocabulary. And, this was one of hundreds of examples I could have used.

I probably won't read the next book in the series. I might watch the show to see if it sparks interest, but at this moment I have zero interest in continuing. I'm probably being too polite with this rating.

4.5 Stars = Better than I expected.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...

I'm a big fan of Dune, especially the new movies and the MMO, but I didn't actually know of this universe until maybe 6 years ago. No clue how it flew under my radar for my whole life.

This sequel was much better than I expected, though it was 98% politics, and only 2% plot and action. Throughout the whole book there were many times where I had to say, “whaaaaaaat”. My wife said I was reading with my face again. 😂

The ending was 100% Star Wars, and I'm totally cool with it because, let's be honest, which came first?!?! I'm very excited for what comes next. I'm SUPER excited for Part 3 (book 2) to hit theaters this year!

3.75 Stars = Why do I keep trying?

Ok, I'll probably get some hate for this, but... I'm not a fan of RF Kuang. The Poppy War grew on me and I ended up reluctantly saying it was good, but mostly because it stuck in my memory for weeks and opened me up to a new genre of Fantasy that has become my favorite.

I didn't rush to read the second, but when I finally did I felt like The Dragon Republic was good. It was way more balanced and ultimately set the tone for what I thought the series was all about.

This one... Oh, man. First, it was a carnival slide of pacing with breakneck starts and stops. It had some very good parts, and it initially looked like it was going to be more of the same from the previous entry. I enjoyed the first half. But then it just went all downhill. I started to dislike the main character (which has been my issue with all her books). And the ending was predictable, and I still hated it.

C+ for effort. I've read 6 of her books (does she even have more than that?) And I've enjoyed 1.5 of them. I think I can safely say she's not for me. And that sucks, because she has some friggin awesome concepts that could be great. Glad others love her for it. I'll brood about it.

4 Stars = Felt like the fourth book in a nine book series.

Full disclosure, season four was my least favorite of the show, and Cibola Burn reflects that. I think it's the weakest story arc so far, but that's not to say it's bad. It's a decent enough book on its own, it just doesn't stand out among the giants in the series.

That being said, I still liked the book far more than the show for this one. There's always pretty big changes in The Expanse for some reason, but they were fewer and less important. I do feel the show could have benefited from keeping a specific character or two the same for continuity from previous books/seasons, but ultimately they did a very good job rewriting it, as always. So far I feel books 1 and 4 were the only ones better... Interesting that both were technically the first season on their respective platforms.

I'm just waiting to click “buy” on my physical collection of this series, and am so excited to be continuing on paper. I only buy my favorite series, and despite a mediocre entry, I think it still qualifies as a whole.

5 Stars = 🫠 Wow.

This was absolutely perfect, though I think it still has to take second place to Morning Star as my favorite book of all time. There are now three books of this series in my top ten, with Golden Son being the third somewhere around 8th.

I probably read more today in one sitting than I ever have before. 400 pages, at least. My eyes burn and my wrists are sore. 😂 I couldn't put it down. Now all I have is time to recover before book seven finishes this absolute masterpiece of a series. Gunna have to set aside stupid collector money for a signed pre-order edition if the chance arises.