Chad S.

Bloody, good read

I loved The First Law trilogy. This one feels different but definitely has the same vibe. Such a great read.

DNF because honestly I didn't know wth was going on half the time.

Excellently written, terrible to read. One of my quickest reads because I really needed it to end. Devastating and truly heartbreaking.

DNF @ 15%
I don't know if it was just too slow or that the writing didn't engage me but I could not get interested in this book.

DNF. Writing is actually really good. Subject matter has potential. Didn't realize it's kind of.... horror romance? Not for me.

Loved the Ancillary series but I could not get into this story at all. I hate to say it but I was just bored the whole time basically forcing myself to continue reading it because of the high opinion I hold for Leckie's other works.

Not a fun read. There really isn't anything at all that happens. It's mostly about Auri finding inanimate objects and assigning emotions to them, which is just a bit cringey to read honestly. I tried to finish it because I love the series so much but I just don't have enough time left in life to waste on reading this.

Excellent dark fantasy

I don't read a lot of fantasy. Most of it is too geared toward younger audiences for my taste but that is not the case here. It's very dark and smart, the politics are intricate but not confusing. The wiring itself is very well done as well. Definitely 5/5 starts from me.

One of the best books I have ever read. I always used to shun fanatasy novels because I thought they were kind of cheesy. This book along with The Name of the Wind and Lies of Locke Lamora have 100% changed my opinion on that. Yes, it's long but not for one second did I ever think that it should have been shorter. Def a must read!

DNF. Great writing but the story never grabbed me.

DNF @ 1/4 of the way through. Excellent writing but the premise is far too gruesome for me. I just couldn't finish it.

DNF. Story was bland.

DNF @ 35%. Couldn't get into the story.

Not for me

I probably just didn't get it but basically nothing happens in this story. It's a lot of repetition and build up to.... not much at all.

I finished the book but there were SO many times I almost didn't. There so much woke BS, it basically ruins a pretty decent story. Take out all of the partisan political crap and cut about 20% more filler material and I think I would have really enjoyed it.

I really enjoyed the previous entries in the series (especially Cibola Burn). However, I made it a quarter of the way through when I realized that I've been forcing myself to want to read it and what's the point of that? Too many books I want to read to waste time on something like this.

As other reviews have said, absolutely nothing happens for chapters at a time. If you want to read a story about the inane details of space mercenary life, you might enjoy it. Far too much Holden exposition. The futuresque, socio-political paradigms that Corey is so fond of feel forced (over and over again) instead of fluid and sensical. I'm all for looking into the future and seeing how progress might change social norms and mass cultural psychology but it needs to feel fitting instead of jarring and downright awkward.

I have enjoyed the books series up to now (I even kind of liked the show) but this one does it for me. Too many books and not enough time to waste it on something like this.

DNF a little too much cringe for me.

I wish I could give this more stars. I did not want this book to end and that's rare for me. Usually I'm wanting to get to the end so I can move on to the next one but not so with this one. I wanted to stay in Carolyn's world for at least another 1000 pages. Can't recommend this one enough.

DNF. Not for me.

DNF
The story(s) is all over the place. Impossible to follow and at times completely incoherent.

DNF. Interesting premise but kind of boring.

Great book, very interesting concept. The only reason that I gave it 4 stars is because there is no hope whatsoever in the story and all chances for redemption are either ignored or dashed completely. I enjoy reading books in this style but it sucks to walk away from a book with a feeling of hopeless from the story.

Love that it was set in Chattanooga/Signal Mtn and St. Augustine, both cities in which I lived for a large part of my life. Also really liked the whole southern gothic thing more than I thought I would. I wish there was more ghosties and a little less mystery but that's just nitpicking. Really such a great read.

I tried again. DNF at around 50%. I think it's just too silly for me. I can definitely see how this would be a great read for some people but it's just not for me.

The world-building in this book is crazy good. I found myself getting lost in Bitworld and the Quest often. My only real gripe is how the ending was reached. I didn't really understand half of the battle, which is partly down to having a hard time grasping the layout of the location Neal has created. But the most disappointing thing to me was the ending of El's story. I thought it was anti-climactic and should/could have been one of the best parts of the book.
Despite all of that, it was a great book and I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it.