goutham
3.5-4/5
havent decided rating but around here.
Reading fiction again after palo alto is so refreshing
i really liked some aspects of the characters and their arc but also some character sentiments felt really out of nowhere and out of character tbh – like esp Sadie when she finds Dov's note in the game and assumes that Sam read it and manipulated her – like i could see it if it was Sam overthinking it but it felt odd from Sadie – and then the long awkward phase of their friendship felt so stuck in that sentiment zzz
2.5
damn i love the characters in witcher - and the mini arcs (the doctors were one of the best part of the book and the only part of the war stuff i cared abt). i also generally like the weird disjointed storytelling that comes together for a larger picture across the books it had a great tempo when the scenes were building
i wish that the main story was given more time cuz it felt rushed despite the 600 page length - prob cuz there was so much extraneous things. also i felt like there was so much weird out of character things like geralt chillin for a few months and just giving up ciri to emhyr. i also am v unhappy with the way ciri “accepts her role” near the end with the lodge it felt like such a weird scene. it made sense i suppose but like man it felt really weird. it also just carries over in general to the way all the antagonists view ciri - like jfc it went from one guy tryna have a kid with her to another to another to another and another and its like incredibly uncomfy and meh to read. it existed across the books but it was so bad in this one.
im sad to see the books end tho i liked them more than their general 3ish star rating - like overall the series gets a 4 even tho the individual books ebbed and flowed
3.5
Actually pretty sad to say bye to these characters (end of this era of mistborn). I liked Wayne Wax Marasi and Steris a lot. But I feel like this book was a decent sendoff. I enjoyed the detectiveness (although it wasn't as good as book 1/2 in this era) and the character arcs were well executed. I think my gripes were that there was a bit too much cosmere-y powers that be in this book - i enjoyed previous sanderson stuff when the cosmere was easter eggs or at least clearly presented - this required me to have a bit more context, which i did have so it was fine but it was a bit frustrating at times. I also felt like the book dragged a lot in the middle - i think we as readers got a clear picture of what the bad guy plot was and it took forever to wrap up. but i'll miss this era of mistborn - it fits a weird niche of tech development in fantasy that is really rare. i feel like the only other place ive seen something like this off the top of my head is legend of korra.
3.5 actually p good. i think the ideas of this books and character arcs were pretty intriguing and i was invested in the mystery. but man sometimes the writing and scenes were just so clunky or confusing and contrived. like enriques arc was good til like the end and laila arc made sense and was awesome in many points and zofia is my fav character but generic growing brave arc and severin actually had a character in this that wasnt just generic edgy protag (still edgy but less generic) but each of them has super contrived moments that made me go like ok the story beat hits but execution wasnt there.
if the book was tighter it would actually be super compelling but instead a lot of it was like wait what god what mythology why is this happening. so much felt drawn out too long or too rushed!! but cool nonetheless
for the most part this book felt like a messier version of six of crows and other heist-y books. the characters felt super stereotypical esp the main guy severin and the heist was pretty confusing to follow. but i think a lot of the character interactions and the ending were actually really intriguing and i kinda am invested enough to keep reading! pleasantly surprised lol
4-4.5 somewhere in there.
there's a lot to think about and digest for this book. the area of academia as being innocent from the systems that it serves etc and the narratvies around breaking the system vs working in the system vs escaping an inevitable system are so well done and felt hella real during/after stanford research
my qualms are that it just kinda beats u on the head with the concepts but language is wonderful and the concepts are compelling so im more or less ok with it as a reader but rly vibed as a person.
spoilers
god i dont like orion at all in any of these books but especially not this one and a lot on the last one (first was kinda fun with him tbh). on the reread of the last graduate i just found him super annoying and unlikable. not to say that characters should all be likable but it was really annoying for the first half of this book to be about him and how important it was to save him but it was such a drag. The series and this book really shine where its about El and her dealing with her anger and her morality when it comes to people who choose the lesser evil. All of the sequences regarding that were very fun to read as they were in last graduate as well. but man the ending and the politicking and the twists just fell short for me. sure they made sense but the buildup was never there and it never felt completely like a puzzle falling together. like why is the big bad mom lady so uninteresting as a villain
all in all a great series but the first book is by far the best because orion feels like a character and not a plot device and El has so much growth without the meandering confusing mess of the amount of characters and a clear goal.