Ethan Poole

Interesting concept and entertaining plot, but the characters and the relationships between them were meh.

Definitely feels like a first novel, but good nonetheless. It's nice to read a standalone fantasy book.

The plot really picked up.

It was a good ending to the trilogy, but I didn't feel as “into” this book as the other two.

Overrated. The premise is cool, but the story itself was dull. The protagonist was devoid of personality.

This sequel is very different from the first book—less comedy and romance. I liked it, but not nearly as much as the first book.

Beautiful series of interconnected, moment-in-time short stories about humanity recovering from a climate-driven plague. I feel I personally got an extra dimension out of it because of the Japanese(-American) cultural references.

I really liked this trilogy for its world building and plot. The author doesn't do a great job with the female characters, but I think each book got better on this point (for example, Nila in this book). I would have liked more about Ka-poel's backstory.

I liked it and will definitely read the next one, but the book doesn't live up to the hype. The characters are a little too stagnant, and the plot a little too thin. It gave [b:The Magicians 6101718 The Magicians (The Magicians, #1) Lev Grossman https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1313772941l/6101718.SY75.jpg 6278977] vibes, but none of the characters were likeable or relatable.

It was fine. Very confusing most of the time. If I were going off just this book, I wouldn't feel compelled to keep going with the series. But, I'm trusting the Internet that the first book is an outlier and committing to reading the next two books. We'll see.

I found this second novel better than the first, perhaps because the plot picked up, and I was more familiar with the world. In any case, I enjoyed it!

The message was a bit too heavy-handed for my tastes. A sweet story though.

I wish the POV characters were a little more varied.

There isn't too much plot, but it was fun and snarky—a nice palate cleanser.

This is one of the best books that I've ever read. It is deeply, deeply unsettling and painful to read—tragic and depressing. Yet, I found myself unable to put it down. The writing is engrossing and at times poetic. Not for the faint of heart or someone looking for escapism.

I know that people love this book, but I did not. At too many points in the book, I was confused about what was happening. There are too many characters, most of whom have no depth. As for the plot, things just kinda happen, especially with the gratuitous sex scenes. The reviews that I've read praise the book's exploration of “identity” and “memory”. As far as I can tell, the characters only cared about the name of their destroyed kingdom and the fact that magic prevents them from uttering it. Is that identity? Memory? There is nothing contentful in the book about the kingdom's culture or people—the things that one might want to save or preserve. I had to force myself to finish it.

This was my first Murakami book. Undoubtedly, it was too long. However, I found the storytelling style calm and immersive—really, unlike anything I've read before. It was a unique reading experience, which I enjoyed.

Cute story.

A magnificent ending to the trilogy. Like [b:Dawn 60929 Dawn (Xenogenesis, #1) Octavia E. Butler https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388290339l/60929.SY75.jpg 1008111] and [b:Adulthood Rites 116249 Adulthood Rites (Xenogenesis, #2) Octavia E. Butler https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390116834l/116249.SY75.jpg 249001], it was interesting, thought-provoking, and full of subtext. I really liked the concept of the “ooloi” (a third sex) and so enjoyed how this book gives us more detail about them. As always, I loved Butler's writing style and the way she tells stories.

A very interesting and engaging book. I don't think that humans can overcome the Contradiction (intelligence + hierarchy), but I appreciate how Butler captures the nuances of the question.

Meh. Not a sequel worth reading. It tries to touch on too many social issues, and the end result doesn't form a cohesive story.

Very interesting book, and somewhat disturbing. I loved it. It reminded me a lot of [b:Clay's Ark 60933 Clay's Ark (Patternmaster, #3) Octavia E. Butler https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461533398l/60933.SY75.jpg 1008173] in its exploration of what it means to be human, but the story was much more compelling.

Cute story.

Fantastic end to the trilogy! This has become one of my favorite fantasy trilogies. I loved how the characters grew throughout the books. Anden and Wen are still my favorites.

Started off somewhat slow, but picked up and was then hard to put down. Very different from the first book, but I liked it!