Mike
I love Blake Crouch and wanted to dig more into his older books from before Dark Matter. I was worried this wasn't going anywhere but the last 50 pages really take a turn. If this were much longer I think it would drag a bit but that ended up not being the case. It's well suited to a film adaptation and I'm interested in seeing it in that format. Super quick read if you're a Blake Crouch fan and want more of his stuff.
I really enjoyed the first two books and this one was good but not great. I know there is a preface at the beginning of the book saying that the layout of all the train lines and stations doesn't matter all that much, and I would agree with that, however there are still lots of station numbers and train lines thrown around and it requires more mental processing to grok whats going on than I would like from a fun LitRPG book like this. I'm still most interested in the outside of the dungeon parts and hope future books spend more time exploring that.
A truly thrilling yet harrowing tale. It starts off a bit slow as it sets the scene of life on an 18th century ship, but once things get moving it's hard to put down. Grann expertly presents a cohesive narrative built from conflicting accounts, and does a good job of highlighting how those accounts are colored by the views of colonialism at the time. It left me wanting to read more about the Age of Discovery.
This was my first time reading George R. R. Martin. I haven't read any of the A Song of Ice and Fire books and I refuse to until they're finished. I really enjoyed all three novellas in this collection. The Hedge Knight and The Sworn Sword were my favorites, but The Mystery Knight was good as well. I liked the small focused story on Dunk and Egg rather than something sprawling and epic.
Overall I really enjoyed it. The beginning is a very slow burn as you're introduced to the characters, but the character work is really fantastic. Not a lot happens from a plot standpoint until the end of the book when things pick up a bit. I'm hoping Before They Are Hanged is a little more plot forward, but I'm definitely invested in these characters.
Loved it, devoured it in one sitting. The magic system of rewriting the history of people and objects to change their abilities and properties is fascinating. It's also great to get some more context on the world of Elantris that we didn't get in the original book. Highly recommend if you're a Sanderson fan.
I really enjoyed the magic system and the mystery surrounding it. Some of the setup and worldbuilding in the first half felt a bit tedious, and I struggled with some of the names early on trying to figure out pronunciations. The characters are pretty well written but the plot has some pacing issues. Definitely a Sanderlanche at the end though. Worth reading if you're working through the Cosmere and It's a world I would like to go back to if he ever gets around to writing a sequel.
I really didn't care for it. The only saving grace was that it's less than 200 pages with a large font so it's easy to breeze through. The story itself is fine, a simple tale about following your dreams. I don't understand people who say this book changed their life or that they find profound meaning in it. Anyone with even a modicum of life experience shouldn't really find the ideas here very groundbreaking. Maybe a better read for younger readers who don't have much life experience yet.
I'm happy to finally have the full context for all the references to this book. It comes up constantly when discussing politics, specifically authoritarianism and totalitarianism but I had never actually read it. The prose and general style definitely feel dated, but I still enjoyed it. There are some very real lessons here that hold up.
I didn't enjoy this as much as the first book but it has a really good ending that makes you want to immediately start The Hero of Ages. The first three quarters is about 85% politics, which can get a bit tedious, but Sanderson sprinkles in just enough side plots to help propel you through. If you really dislike heavy politics in your books, you might struggle with it. Overall I enjoyed it and there were some good reveals about the world.
I chose Mistborn as my starting point for reading the Cosmere, and I'd never read any Sanderson before so I wasn't sure what to expect. The first third is a little slow with heavy world building, but after that it really starts to move. Overall I really enjoyed it. The world is interesting and the story being told in it is equally compelling. The ending is satisfying if you only want to read the first book but leaves things open enough to set up the rest of the trilogy.
This one had a bit of a slow start but finished really strong, with a better ending than the first book. I'm going to keep going with the series. I'm still not sure how long the novelty of the rpg game elements can hold up, and I'm hoping future books dig deeper into what's happening in the world outside the dungeon.
Great fun! I really enjoyed this. It was my first time reading a litrpg book so I wasn't sure what to expect, but the game mechanics actually worked into the flow nicely. I was worried it might feel clunky but it didn't get in the way at all. I'm curious to see where the series goes. I could see it becoming stale or redundant over time, but people seem to love it so I'm going to keep going.
This is an excellent techno thriller. If you enjoyed Dark Matter or Recursion, you should definitely give it a read. It's probably my third favorite of Blake Crouch's recent books behind those two, but that's a high bar. It has a great ending and explores some interesting themes along the way. Solid pick if you're a fan of his work.
This was a good read, though I'd rank it below Razorblade Tears, All the Sinners Bleed, and King of Ashes for me. It leans a lot heavier into action compared to the others, which might be a plus if that's what you're looking for. Still worth checking out if you're working through S.A. Cosby's books, just not where I'd start.