Josh

I have very mixed feelings about this book. It's highly derivative to the point if you've read any YA dystopian fantasy of any kind...you'll likely know exactly where it's going and how it's going to end. For me as well with YA, one of the biggest pet peeves I have is how relationships and romance will be shoehorned in to advance the plot...but hey at least it's kicked up a notch with a love square! Triangles are so passé.

I don't want to sound like I hated this book though cause that's not the case. As I said mixed feelings. I love a good story about throwing off the yoke of oppression and confronting the powers that be. Plus superpowers in the mix that are passed down through blood? I'm there for it. To see those that are considered less than because of their blood rise up and show the silvers that they aren't inferior or as weak as they think. That's a story that I wanted and still want to read. The ending, while predictable, did a lot to bolster my hopes for this series as we moved beyond the love square that was so stifling in the majority of the novel. 

I'll be continuing on for at least one more book because the potential is definitely there.

The rating for this was much closer to Little Women than I anticipated. Given that I had never heard of Little Men, nor had my wife, it seemed to me that the book must not have been able to live up to the prequel.

I was pleasantly surprised, because while the same criticisms certainly are still there so are a great number of the strengths that I enjoyed. Jo was always my favourite, her school for boys is quite amusing and filled with some characters I can't help but root for. It doesn't quite measure up to Little Women as there are some characters that don't really serve any purpose, but it's very close. 

Overall I thought this one had the most interesting plot of the trilogy with more interesting characters than the second book and good queer representation. It also touches on some of the same social commentary and themes that I've enjoyed in the previous two books and adds in some new conversations of it's own.

I'd say the weak link in this one though is the romantic chemistry. In comparison to books one or two it does fall pretty flat. I was enjoying the plot enough that it didn't really detract much from my enjoyment though. Half a Soul was my favourite, but this is very solidly in the #2 spot.

The first book I read in a couple days and it was very good. I found the mystery, horror, and Sci-Fi elements interesting. I was enjoying the Biologists perspective and all indicators were pointed towards a series that would make my favourite's list. Then the second book came and it was so incredibly slow, meandering and filled with so much bureaucracy that it completely killed my interest in the series.  It also doesn't help that I didn't like Controls character much at all and he dominates the second book.

The third book had a few more interesting perspectives such as Saul, which make it better than the second book imo, but similar criticisms in that it's slow and nothing much really happens. Area X itself is very interesting, but the books for me end up drowning in the minutiae.

Extremely fast read due to it's casual/conversational writing style. It's got a pretty interesting premise, but it doesn't really go much beyond said premise. I'd go as far to say If you read the synopsis you already understand 75% of the book.

There is a plot of sorts, but it's pretty underwhelming and not the focal point of the novel. It's a fun read though and I had a few chuckles, but ultimately wish it had more depth.

I would say is if you are a person who prefer descriptive prose over dialogue heavy then you might find this one a bit more challenging, as it's almost entirely plot driven prose but even then I would still recommend giving it a try.

This is a story about a modern black woman is teleported back in time to the 1800's through a connection with a white ancestor who lives on a plantation. This creates an interesting dynamic with their relationship as she obviously has a vested interest in his survival, given that her own relies on it, but at the same time having to balance that with the horrific events that unfolded during this time period. A period that said ancestor is very much a part and product of. That's the premise of the book without spoilers mind you and it sets up very complex interracial relationships with themes centered around power dynamics, guilt, bigotry, racism, trauma, comparing modern sensibilities to past beliefs etc.

I greatly enjoyed The Poppy War and I legitimately thought this series had the potential to go down as one of my all time favourites. It still may, but after reading the second entry I'm not quite so convinced anymore.

I did not greatly enjoy approximately the first two thirds of this book. It feels like the character's, Rin in particular, regressed in development. While this can make sense given her experiences and the circumstances her character goes through there's a balance to walk there between how long a character wallows and how much time it takes before them to start developing again. I don't think that line is walked particularly well here and part of this is imo because of the significantly slower pacing. 

That being said the last third or so of the book is absolutely wonderful with a very satisfying concluding couple of chapters that completely changed my overall opinion of the novel. Given I'd lean towards 2 out of 5 for the first and second third and 5 out of 5 for the last third, 3 stars overall feels right.

This book has quite the slow and meandering plot, seemingly getting distracted at every turn. The thing is though, that works with the content of the novel. In my mind while reading it I was just imagining this winding road that will eventually get us to our destination, but along the way we have to see the world's biggest ball of yarn, the Winchester Mystery House etc.

So something that would usually bother me quite a bit, does so less even though it's still not my preference of storytelling style. It also helps that I love the premise and I enjoy looking for the allusions towards mythological stories as well as enjoy the one's that are given explicitly. So even when it feels like the plot isn't going anywhere anytime soon, I'm always on the look out for that hidden god or reference to folklore.

Where the novel fails to grab me though is the main character. Shadow doesn't have much of a personality and little presence as a character. He has no pizzazz. No  je ne sais quoi. What you see is what you get and all I see is a “big guy” that takes up space and little else. This is actually commented on within the book itself to some extent, so him being written that way is deliberate and it does serve a purpose within the context of the narrative overall. Even if I recognize that though it doesn't make his perspective anymore exciting. I don't love him and I don't hate him. He's just lukewarm and that's arguably even worse and it does really put a hamper on the enjoyment.

Enjoyed this immensely. I enjoy Weir's writing style, in particular his humour, but he has a knack for walking the line between not giving enough Scientific detail and giving too much. Everything feels believable (most of it is sound after all), but it doesn't feel so complex that it becomes convoluted and difficult to follow.

4.75 potato's out of 5.