Rob

I think we all knew we were heading for something like this. I didn't predict the ending, although I feel a bit like I should have. This series of trilogies is, I think, the greatest modern work of fantasy I've ever read, and this was a perfect, amazing conclusion.

I didn't read this final trilogy for a good while after it was released, and procrastinated reading this final volume even longer, partly because the series is important to me and I didn't want it to be over, and partly because I've read enough Hobb to know that it would be an emotionally difficult read. I was right; I spent most of the last 10% of it – which is an insanely large amount, when you think about it, especially for a 950 page volume – sobbing and hyperventilating uncontrollably. My wife came downstairs to check on me, thinking from the sounds I was making that I might have received some kind of awful news.

The first volume of the first trilogy of this series was published in 1996, according to Goodreads, and I think I must have started reading it not long after publication. That means I've read this series for almost 25 years, which is a longer relationship than I have with nearly any other series. I hardly know what to say now that I've finished it, except that I have a decades-long connection to these characters and I'm incredibly pleased that Hobb has finished it so well, though that's no surprise.

Strangely, I never read the Rain Wilds trilogy, and I'll have to go back and do that. It'll be interesting and different to read it for the first time now, knowing what we learned in this final trilogy.

What an immense talent.

I need to make a distinction between the story and the writing here.

The basic story is decent. It's also only half a story, if I understand correctly, because it was split in two after being deemed too long for a single volume. The story we got in this volume is fine, but it's not complete, and there are only a few major beats in it, though they're very major indeed. The splitting of the story has not, of course, affected the sale price, which is somewhat higher than average for most complete stories. Publishing realities are what they are, and I don't propose to value works based on their length, so I'm not making too big a fuss about that. But I feel compelled to mention it.

The writing is atrocious. I'm not sure if these have always been this badly written and I overlooked it, or if the prose has gone downhill, but it's not good. The narrative voice clearly wants to be clever, and it doesn't work — too cutesy by half. Harry's family focus also gets shoehorned in awkwardly at weird times; not that it shouldn't exist, but it's badly out of place. Butcher also delves far too much into the bad sexual focus that is the stock in trade of plenty of other, crappier urban fantasy. You have to expect a bit of that given the previous development of the White Court, but it's excessive.

This is apparently the 16th of these I've read. I always thoughy Butcher was on the better end of the urban fantasy spectrum, admittedly a cursed genre to begin with, but I'm wondering if I've been wrong about that. I'd like to know where this story is going, but I'll have to think hard about whether to read the follow-up when it hits later this year.

Second entry in the series is still solid. Bit confused about one point in the epilogue, but I'm still enjoying the series. Kind of nice to have a little moral gray in a protagonist.

Excellent book that explains all? of the major mahjong variants. I've played Hong Kong Old Style and Riichi, but I'm still pretty green, and was looking for a bit of detail and clarification, especially on scoring. In a couple of places I'd have liked a bit more clarity, but overall it seems admirably clear and complete. I can't say for sure that it has every major variant, but it has both variants I play and every other variant I know of, and several international rule sets I've never heard of besides. It also collects a number of the more popular variations on each version. It has information on why things are the way they are as well, which was great, and explanations of how to perform various setups, which is a very good idea in the modern era when a ton of mahjong play is online where all of that stuff is automated. For a very niche audience, to be sure, but I recommend it highly for that audience.

EDIT: I see many of the other reviewers didn't like this at all. A number of them appear to play American mahjong; there are tons of international versions of the game, but American is very unusual compared to the others. Most notably, standardized American mahjong allows as valid only hands that are printed on the official league card, which changes every year and which you must purchase. If you're interested specifically in American mahjong, there are probably better options. If you aren't sure what you want to play, or you want clarification on a specific version, this is a great source for that. If you don't know what to play, I would suggest either Hong Kong Old Style, probably the most popular version of Chinese mahjong, or Riichi, a popular Japanese variant that's made major inroads in the West through media like anime and the Yakuza series of video games. If you already have a local group, of course, you're best advised to learn whatever they play.

Surprisingly decent Dresden-esque fantasy. It knows what it is, there's a clear Dresden reference in the first page or so. The big gimmick here is that mages have a specialty and can't do much outside of that specialty, and the protagonist's specialty here is divination, reading the future and predicting outcomes.

Urban fantasy is kind of a cursed genre, where even the better stuff is pretty bound by its tropes and conventions. This is one of the few decent ones, and the friend who recommended it to me told me this first book wasn't that strong but the series improves. That's not to say it's not bound to those tropes and conventions, but I still think it's better than most of its contemporaries, so it's definitely suitable for fans of the genre looking for something new to try.

I liked this a lot. As others have noted, the premise is pretty conventional, but what makes it stand out is the culture Addison has created, which is well-realized and complex. Characters feel fleshed-out and authentic, and the plot has the lopsided shape of something organic; the major threads are wrapped up, but Addison never feels compelled to set everything neatly in its place. One can see the arc ahead for characters who have left the stage, but the camera isn't compelled to show us that arc explicitly.

I've debated whether to give this two or three stars. I may still change my mind.

The story is pretty good. I like the idea of the Nine Houses, and their very different cultures and focuses on different aspects of a similar skill set. Plotwise, the book is basically all setup — it has an appropriate and self-contained plot arc and climax and finale, but the nature of the story is to be training wheels for what comes next.

The writing is absolutely atrocious. An editor has clearly fallen asleep on the job. It reads like mediocre fanfiction. It uses incongruous prose from the viewpoint of its protagonist, who speaks like no other character in the book's universe, because the author thinks it sounds cool, and leans heavily on expletives as crutches that they hope will make you think so too. It doesn't work. Every time I read another example of it, which is at least once every few pages, it pulls me out of the book. There is also an element introduced early, referenced often, and brought back in the climax like Chekhov's Gun, but to no great effect. It could have been omitted entirely at no loss.

There's a fairly complex mythology underpinning all of this, which the characters know well and you don't, and you're dropped in the middle of it and expected to work from context. That's fine, but I was never entirely sure that it wasn't being made up as it went along. New elements were introduced frequently right up until the end. The real test will be whether book two continues that pattern, or whether it works within the structures that book one has made.

That mythology is actually pretty neat, and the end of the climax into the denouement is really very daring. I can't say I saw it coming at all. I hated the writing an awful lot, but I might wind up reading the next book anyway. It almost has to be very different.

EDITED: Reduced to two stars. My god, I thought I was choosing between 1 and 2, can't believe I ever considered 3.

CAUTION: SPOILERS

I have extremely mixed feelings about this one, for a few reasons.

The biggest is that Baru is a genius, a savant, a brilliant mind playing four-dimensional chess, except when for plot reasons it's necessary for her to do something dumb, which happens every time she turns around. She trusts someone for no good reason and is betrayed. She gets drunk and says something she shouldn't. Whatever the ostensible reason, the reaction is always the same: Why did I say that? Why did I do that? And the answer is, who knows, it doesn't fit. I do quite like the maneuvering, but the plot never quite aligns with what we're told of its protagonist.

The other big complaint is that you can divide the book into two halves, and most of the second half, the rebel war campaign, drags. Interminable stretches where little happens, Baru surrounded by dukes with minimal character development. They have their archetypes — the smart one, the hot-headed one, the sailor one — but they're pretty two-dimensional.

I saw the ending gambit of the last few pages coming, but by the end when it hadn't happened, I assumed I was wrong. So I was simultaneously surprised, and not. It did pique my flagging interest, so the next book is back to a maybe.

For most of the book, I thought I wanted Baru to be cleverer and do more political maneuvering. By the end, the plot has retconned itself so that she is and has, but the writing in between doesn't support it.

Might wind up revising my review score on this one. Strange book in a lot of ways.

I mostly liked this. It was a bit of a slow start, and the writing is fine but not great, but it's got a really solid conceit at the center of it. Nicely self-contained — there's a clear thread leading to the next book, but you don't feel that the story in this one is unfinished.

The rare “middle book” that stands on its own merits. Still excellent, tons of consequential action. Expands more on the geopolitical intrigue without losing the clan war aspect. Can't wait for the third book.

Kind of surprised how much I liked this! It came recommended by a friend with good taste. Set in a fictional country with fictional neighbors, but the main country at least is pretty clearly referential. There aren't a ton of good books about organized crime from perspectives inside the crime syndicates, so this is unusual. I could do without the sex scenes — men aren't the only ones writing bad ones, it turns out — but otherwise I really enjoyed this and I'm looking forward to the next one in the series.

I picked this up blind because I liked the author's first book. I was into it for a while, and it has the same distinctive, dreamlike prose style as The Night Circus, but unfortunately I didn't think it measured up. It presents a fascinating world, but it just kept getting more and more out there without adequately grounding itself, and feels too much like its rules were being made up as the author went along.

It's also got a bunch of... are video games mainstream enough yet to call them pop culture references? that are authentic, but don't really add anything. It's a small gripe, but I don't love author self-inserts like that, in the same way that I don't care for Jim Butcher's penchant for aikido references.

Book 2, still good. Suffers from the same curse as other Book 2s, where it's transitional and not all that much can happen. But it's Hobb, so of course it's good. Enjoyed the read, gonna need a breather before Book 3.

Recommendation via someone on Twitter I don't really know personally. Had it for a few years now, but only just got around to reading it. Pretty good read!

Two neighboring countries have differing policies on magic: Ninaveh, where mages operate more or less freely, and Alathia, where magic is regulated and most major magic is forbidden. Dev is a smuggler, who's just taken on a job to smuggle a person into Alathia rather than normal contraband, but doesn't get the full story from the person contracting him.

Story is basically good, although the author's own predilection for rock climbing is shoehorned in for no particular reason. (I also climb. I sympathize. But it doesn't add much to the story.) Lots of turns, and the author manages the complexity well. Occasionally it seems like the rules of the world are made and tweaked according to the author's need, but overall the systems are handled well.

Abrupt ending, but I was happy enough with this that I'll probably continue on with book 2.

This is... fine? Weirdly simplistically written for Gaiman but a decent introduction. In some places it's written with the kind of self-awareness I'd expect from a Marvel Thor movie, and it's odd to see it here.

Took me forever to finish this but it was very good. Hobb is a huge talent. This is a good return to Fitz's story, and it has some strange aspects but is nowhere near the extreme weirdness of the Soldier Son trilogy. I really enjoyed it and I'm looking forward to the next book.

As a book about self-improvement, this should really be reviewed on two axes: the writing/entertainment value and the advice.

The writing was a good time, at least as much as a book telling you you suck can be. Very readable, and in contrast to other reviewers, it's not especially long, weighing in at 192 pages. It did take me 3 weeks or so to finish, but that's really more about my reading habits getting worse as I get older and have less time.

The advice I have mixed feelings about. Others have said that they agree that “positivity culture,” for lack of a better term, is out of control. I think that's probably true. Not everyone gets to be an astronaut. The prescription, however, I think is a bit extreme.

I actually find myself more in agreement with Gale than I thought I would. I've had some major self-improvements driven by negative emotions, and until then I had bought pretty heavily into the idea that I was fine, everyone should be who they are, and so on. I don't think negative self-perception is necessarily a bad thing, and you need to acknowledge the parts of you you don't like before you can fix them. But to fully embrace Gale's approach, you will basically need to be miserable all the time as you constantly fault-find within yourself. That's no way to live.

I think negativity is a good start, even a good middle, to self-improvement, but I think at some point you have to move past it to be happy. (Or maybe not. I have gained a bunch of weight back lately.) I don't think there is a lot of point to doing all this work to improve yourself if you never allow yourself to enjoy the fruits of that labor. Gale seems to address this a bit in the very final chapter, with a couple of quotes from people he interviewed for the book, but it is given very short shrift compared to the rest of the book.

Mixed feelings. The story, which is about one of several earthbound angels trudging through his daily grind in his post-life job when the usual order is upset, isn't bad. And as he figures out what's going on, it becomes pretty intricate. But the writing is mediocre, the protagonist is pretty two-dimensional, and the few unnecessary sex scenes aren't just bad, they are extended. The ending is pretty unsatisfying, too – not much is really wrapped up. First in a series, we'll see about reading more.

EDIT: We have seen about reading more, and the answer is no. Dropped a star to better reflect my feelings about the book.

Short first entry in the Earthsea series. Haven't read any others. Reads like a YA novel, though LeGuin talks about a lack of specific audience in the Afterword; it reads a lot like mythology, a very different feeling from most other fantasy. The story is pretty standard, and it helps to remember that a lot of what seems derivative is itself derived from LeGuin and other then-contemporary works.

Once I stopped making the mistake of trying to read it right before going to sleep, I tore through this entire book in one day. Definitely deserving of the praise. Its unique structure works very well, and its take on magic is well-done if not completely novel.

Re-read of a YA book I liked a lot as a kid. Not one that stands up great as an adult, but I was quite fond of it when I was 10; I took it out from the library several times. Some interesting ideas that presage Stephenson's Snow Crash, though not nearly as in-depth – protagonist is modern day and real world, but playing an unsupported, pirated version of an immersive VR fantasy game.

It's hard to rate this right after reading it. No way of knowing whether the advice given will improve one's interpersonal behavior until some time has passed. I may be coming back to adjust this rating. The hardest part of this is keeping the principles in mind day to day, when not reading the book.

I wish this were better.

It has a brilliant concept. Gladstone imagines magic as a matter of contracts and legality. I love unusual magic systems, and I particularly like ones with well-defined rules. Unfortunately, it's not well-explored. There's some discussion of contracts, but actually working magic remains largely a matter of waving one's hands. Gladstone sometimes makes use of ritual objects like candles or daggers, but it's essentially the same handwaving, just tool-assisted.

The disappointing systems are accompanied by mediocre writing. It's not R.A. Salvatore bad, but it's fairly standard genre prose, which is to say it isn't great. Characterization is thin, and Gladstone has an irritating habit of doing things that have explanations, but not giving the explanations until later. Characters don't object to the irregularities, presumably because Gladstone has a reason for them in mind, but the characters don't know the reason and therefore really should be noticing the problem. It happens more than once and it's beyond irritating.

There are two courtroom scenes, in theory, but only one is a “normal” one in front of a judge. Both the judge and the proceedings are disappointingly magical; I would have preferred Gladstone stick to his ideas about magic being a dry, technical practice. Over and over the wonderful premise of the series is betrayed by hocus pocus. The climax is poorly handled, and Gladstone later destroys its underpinnings for no reason.

A great idea but delivered poorly by a writer not up to the challenge and lacking the courage of his convictions. Look elsewhere.

I've considered this book on two levels, and it's bad on both of them. Initially this book was recommended to me as a handbook for managing one's managers, at a time when I was dissatisfied with my boss. (Thankfully, I've changed jobs since then.) It doesn't seem to be that, containing virtually no actionable advice. So I recalibrated my expectations.

It seems to be meant as business humor. Unfortunately, the author is not very funny. Decent jokes are few and far between, and mostly the reader wades through smarmy little wisecracks about expense accounts and the like. It's bland pap by an author with nothing to say for middle managers to feel smug about themselves.

I'm not sure how the author has had several books published. Don't waste your time.

This is a book with a lot of good ideas, written badly. I'm not sure if that makes it a good book, a bad book, or somewhere in between.

The opening is almost a cliche: woman wakes up with amnesia and is in danger. Several other elements are well-worn tropes as well. People with assorted superpowers! Secret elite school for those people! Hell, the X-Men alone tick both of those boxes.

So, the good ideas. For starters, clichés don't mean a book can't be fun, and everything has been done before. The specific situations are interesting and novel. I am really not selling this well. I really did enjoy the read.

What I didn't like is the writing. Not that the author can't turn a phrase. But I have some specific complaints. One of them is that there are plot inconsistencies. Another is how the author writes about women. He just can't help but remark on the attractiveness of female characters (sometimes male characters, too, actually), the size of their breasts, and so on. It's jarring, and it just seems so juvenile. Maybe the biggest problem is the hamhanded exposition. A truly incredible amount of information is conveyed to the protagonist, and therefore to the reader, by way of letters from her pre-amnesia self. It's just a bit hacky. And the letters are weirdly novelesque. Not at all the style you'd expect from the situation.

At some point I think I mentally modified my expectations to be less in line with... whatever I was expecting? Literature? and more in line with the standards of urban fantasy, which regrettably never seem to be as high. By those standards it's pretty good. I am not sure why I expected more from it. I guess it's because an awful lot of people spoke very highly of it, including the friend who recommended it, whose taste is normally impeccable.

This is a book that I enjoyed and am just a tiny bit embarrassed to admit I enjoyed. It's a fun read. Just temper your expectations.