Mitchell
This monster of a book took me a while to finish because of how disturbing it is. Body horror is perhaps one of the things that can actually disturb me. Swan Song is a double-edged sword in that it's the only book that has been compared to Stephen King's “The Stand,” and written around that same time as it. That book is one of my favorites and it's considered King's magnum opus.
This story is excellent in its characters and their hardships, but there is a massive shift in its pivitol moment that falls a little short with little explanation. The book itself is worth reading, but the book itself is near 1k pages, which can be difficult to swallow.
Holy Mother of Sa, this is a masterpiece of a book if I've ever seen one.
Reading Ship of Magic is like finding the best cookie out of a cookie jar, savoring the best type of pizza, and having the refreshest of refreshments you'll ever drink, all in one. Hell, this book will just make you insanely hungry for more. Maybe I'm just hungry. Whatever the case, i believe you'll only experience a book like this only a few times in your life. An instant classic, a death book (a name I just came up for books to read before you die; side note: consider a name change).
I love myself a great epic aquatic fantasy, and this book is, by far, the finest of the lot of them. And that involves some of my favorite stories. The first book of the Liveship Traders is a fantastical story of talking ships, pirates, serpents and family turmoil. A reason I think books that involve pirate ships and aquatic battles are one of a kind is the tension built between characters who are confined in a small space. A rarity when the setting actually affects character arcs. A recipe for madness. Each and every character is specifically unique in this story, and you can't deny a talking figurehead on legendary ship is so amazing to have as a POV.
Ship of Magic is one of the greatest books I've read. So much so that it's one of my top 3 favorite books; currently up there with Words of Radiance and The Hod King. I'm psyched up to continue with this series asap!
The Skyward series conclusion is bittersweet. Sweet because it closes to such a wonderful finish and bitter because I'll never be able to finish it for the first time again. Outside of the sequel series, this series comes to a close.
I'll never be able to explain what this series means to me in precise terms, other than a part of my life has bridged together because of this story. Me and my wife have become closer reading this together. My daughter came from this. And each year she grows, I see her more clearly as the girl we imagined. A heroine of her own story.
Claim the stars, Spensa.
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Audio read by: Suzy Jackson
This was such a nice surprise.
Never read a Marko Kloos story before, but after reading Scorpio, I'm definitely interested in more of Frontline's universe.
I would have loved to see more development in our main character, Alex. Ironically, it seems there is one too many times that I was having an out of body experience with her, which I know is a strange description, but I might be picky when it comes to heroines, because they are always the characters that really give heart to a kickass story and stick out for me. It seemed as if we truly don't see what truly motivates her, even with her devastating orphan backstory. Although, this doesn't drop the quality of this story, as the overall storyline is fleshed out and the world-building is there in great lengths. Everything compliments our MC in each passing chapter. Finishing this story just makes me excited to see more of Alex as we dove deeper into this new series.
Would happily recommend this book to anyone who loves Sanderson. Got massive Skyward vibes from this one!
This is the second novella of the Koontz's Ashley Bell series. It follows the awesome duo, Makani, Pogo and Bob the dog. The first novella Last Light was by far my favorite Koontz novella, and this one is...not great.
Don't get me wrong, Dean Koontz is an excellent writer. He wrote one of my favorite stories, Lighting, although he wrote one hell of a forgettable story. glares at Twilight Eyes at the bottom of a pile of books, hoping it gets squished into hell. At the same time, feeling dissatisfied with myself for being mean to a book that used to be a tree
The thing I disliked about Twilight Eyes is how the main female character is heavily sexualized, and doesn't have anything else interesting about her. Unfortunately, Final Hour follows this same pattern once the antagonist was described as being so fit, her buttcheeks could break open a nut...so.. Thankfully, the main protagonists make up for some of the silly fuckery of a butt breaking an acorn open.
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Koontz Ranking:
1 - Lightning
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
2 - Phantoms
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
3 - Watchers
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
4 - Last Light
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
5 - Devoted
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
6 - The Neighbour
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
7 - Nameless series
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
8 - Odd Thomas
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
9 - Final Hour
⭐️⭐️⭐️
10 - Midnight
⭐️⭐️
Much appreciation to Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for giving me a chance to read this early.
Robert Jackson Bennett is, by far, one of the most unique fantasy authors of our time. The Tainted Cup only proves how versatile the man is at building worlds, magic systems and characters after such a wondrous series that is The Founders Trilogy. That series kicked ass, and now it's time to rave about this new series, Shadow of the Leviathan.
Colossal Monsters, yes.
Classic Whodunit, yes.
Fast-paced Mystery, yes.
One relatable weird character that makes makes everyone in the book uncomfortable at any given time, yes.
The strongest quality Bennett has is his the way he makes his characters believable in such a demanding and unique environment. He has a staple in his books that gives the reader comfort knowing they'll have a fantastic story from start to finish. The Tainted Cup is awesome in every regard. The setting, story and characters are great. We've got an eccentric female detective that is quick to love and exciting group of events that immediately get the story rolling. This is one of those stories that I'll be thinking about for a long time.
I'm pumped to read the sequel. Until then, I've gotta read Bennett's first trilogy, The Divine Cities.
