Sean

Blood Over Bright Haven was an enjoyable read, with fast-pacing, an interesting magic system, and some important themes, but lacked some of the nuance and character work that could have really elevated it. The ending of this book carried it by making some early moral debates tangible through Sciona’s actions.

Sciona is one of the most frustrating main characters I’ve read. Despite being a brilliant mage, she doesn’t have any sense of logic or emotional intelligence. At times she had me wanting to rip my hair out. I know her naïveté was necessary to enable her journey and it pays off in the end, I just didn’t enjoy the experience of reading about it. Thomil on the other hand, was a very solid side character, mostly because of the way he would argue with Sciona. I even found myself rooting for them to have a romance in a way I rarely do.

This may not be ML Wangs best work (it’s hard to live up to sword of kaigen), but it solidified her as an author I’ll be eagerly awaiting more from, and is a book I would definitely recommend.

Disquiet Gods is quintessential Suneater at its best. It is the first book in the series that retraces the events of earlier books, but does it in a way that makes those events all the more impactful in reflection. The politics brought back memories of Demon in White, and are an aspect of the series I wish was more prominent. The second act of the book, on Sabratha, gave me all the supernatural worldbuilding I’ve come to love about this series, combined with a bit of horror through contact with The Watchers and the Cielcin. It felt like a combination of Demon in White and Kingdoms of Death. And the ending was a direct callback to the last third of Howling Dark, when this series really started to have an impact on me. I’d been waiting for that to happen and worried that the foreshadowing of it might reduce the impact. Boy was I wrong. While I’d say this is my third favorite book in the series, the ending of it was probably the best. We’re so close now to the fateful events on Gododdin that are revealed on page 1 and have been built up to for six books. November can’t come soon enough…

Boys in the Boat had a huge impact on me when I first read it almost ten years ago. It was a big part of the reason I started rowing and taught me a lot when I was in a very impressionable stage of life. Coming back to it now, at the same stage of life as the guys in the book, I look at the stories in a new light and hope that they can have a similarly positive influence on me now. That may not mean picking rowing back up, but at its core The Boys in the Boat is a story of being a young man finding his way through tough times and whether I go to the Olympics or not (probably not lol), I can still apply lessons from Joe and the gang to my current situation.

Ashes of Man was a letdown as far as Suneater books go. Each of the last four books have expanded upon the world, plot, and characters in major ways. This one felt like replaying the hits. It’s the same characters, with even Hadrian not undergoing much development (until maybe the very end), same plot devices, an impossible mission, followed by a huge culminating battle, and mostly planets and groups of people that have made appearances already.

🚨SPOILERS🚨

What really disappointed me was Valkas death. Valka had grown into a character I absolutely loved. Her relationship with Hadrian, her cool half-computer brain and everything she could do with it, even the way she connected with Gibson and other side characters were some of my favorite parts of the series. It’s foreshadowed throughout the book that she’s probably gonna die at the end, so I was ready for a massive emotional impact or a dramatic death. It didn’t give me either of those. She just kinda dies. It felt like a disrespectful write-off of a key character. In the manner of her death she gets reduced to little more than any other side character Hadrian cared about, which is not what she’d been at all. The fallout from her death, specifically hadrians reaction, ended up as the part with big stakes and impact on the story. Ultimately, setting up what feels like the very end of this long saga, now that Hadrian truly has no one left.

Somehow this series just keeps getting better. The emotional impact of this book was off the charts. To see what Hadrian goes through, what he’s reduced to, was jarring. And the ending…holy shit. That’s how a battle should be written. Then what happened next added a completely new emotion to the story that topped it off perfectly.

Demon in White leveled up from Howling Dark in a lot of ways. There were five distinct acts and each of them delivered what they were meant to. It started by adding genuine political intrigue by having Hadrian tangle with the emperor and make strong friends and stronger enemies at court. That was a completely new element. The battles with the Cielcin were as scary and epic as always. I wish Dorayaica had been a bit more involved given how much it’s built up as the true enemy, but it’s set up for more from it going forward. Finally, the academic and then quest parts of the book that went together were spectacular. Particularly the supernatural contact with the Quiet was a stunning scene that marked a real shift in who Hadrian is and will be. He’s still ridiculously dramatic about literally everything but now I feel like he’s earned it given everything he’s been through and the level of power/respect he’s cultivated amongst humanity.

Howling Dark takes a major step up from empire of silence in terms of the scope of the world and the relevance to the bigger story. The worlds they visit in this book are wonderfully weird, exploring what it even means to be human in the far future, while still working towards the goal of making contact with the Cielcin. When contact is made eventually, it feels like the true start of this series. The entire negotiation drives home the major differences between humans and Cielcin before culminating in an incredible battle scene that seems like it will have major impact going forward. The concept of The Quiet, this almost supernatural group of beings, is probably my most pressing question going into book 3. They’re clearly pulling some strings and have a vested interest in Hadrians success.

The main reason this book isn’t five stars for me is they skipped an entire book in between 1 and 2. The first 200 pages of Howling Dark are talking about this campaign they’d been on and all the crazy events that happened, but we don’t get to see any of it and so the first part of the book just doesn’t have the impact it should. He clearly wanted to emphasize the found family aspect of the Red Company but didn’t do enough to develop the side characters to make it hit hard. I really hope book 3 continues developing Valka well and adds some more interesting secondary parts.

Warbreaker is such an interesting book with so many classic Sanderson elements, but just doesn’t quite put them all together as effectively as a lot of his other works do. The worldbuilding is incredible as always. It’s almost mistbornesque in that it’s urban based, with gangs of thieves and mercenaries, as well as an extremely powerful religious group running the show while leaving the commoners in the dark. Where it differs from mistborn is the colors. Mistborn is dark and grimy with ash falling nonstop and general despair, while Warbreaker is full of life with splashes of color all over the place and the people prioritizing leisure and entertainment even during their struggles.

Perhaps my problem with this book stems from false expectations. I thought it was going to be the story of Vasher creating Nightblood, or at the very least centered on those two, but they were auxiliary characters who played massively important roles, especially at the end of the book, but I’m left with more questions about them and even more desire to know their full story. That’s not to say that Vivenna and Siri are not interesting characters. The dichotomy and role switch between the sisters is an excellent plot. I just felt more drawn to Vasher’s story.

Lastly, how the hell is there not a sequel to this book. The sanderlanche was all about setting it up for future adventures, which was frustrating because there aren’t any yet and it made the events at the end of the book feel less impactful than they should have.

Where the Water Goes is written as someone who doesn't know anything about the Colorado River going on a source-to-sea trip and learning the basics of an incredibly complex network of legal, social, and environmental factors dictating how water is supplied to essentially the entire southwestern US. It did an excellent job explaining everything the author saw on his trip, however, I went into the book with a solid understanding of the majority of these systems already and so didn't gain as much from it as I would have. If you're at all interested in learning about the Colorado River, this is definitely a good place to start and will make you want to know even more.

This was an inspirational story of what it means to connect with a place and be physically and spiritually immersed within it. It changes the way I want to think about time spent in the mountains. I also might just have to run away to the Sierra to get even a fraction of what Stan and co have experienced there.

Kat Hill is a bad influence…she made me want to drop everything and go explore the network of bothies all around Scotland. This book at its core is a cozy, personal story about the charms of bothers and the wilderness, as well as how the huts helped the author through some hard times. But more than that, there are deeper themes of contending with change when you maybe aren’t ready for those changes to occur. Each chapter focuses on a different bothy, what makes them unique, the authors personal story of visiting them, and the surrounding areas history, but then uses the bothy as a way to explore important topics in the modern world.

The Hero of Ages was the perfect conclusion to the mistborn trilogy. This group works better as underdogs trying to solve an impossible challenge than as rulers like they were in book two(technically they’re in control in this book but their backs were to the wall the entire time). Where the first two books had concrete villains in them, in the hero of ages the world itself is the villain until it is revealed who/what is controlling the world and it does terrible things to the people living in it. Vin’s storyline is as great as always. She’s one of my favorite characters ever. What really surprised me about this book, though, and the storyline i was most engaged in was Spook. I’d honestly pretty much forgotten he existed but his transformation and role in Urteau filled the void left by kelsier in book one. I constantly found myself waiting for more spook chapters.

Last, the avalanche in this book starts early and never slows down. Sanderson avalanches are my favorite thing to read and this might be my favorite of all of them. So far…

This has to be read exclusively in your best impression of Sir David Attenborough’s voice.

A World on the Wing dives deep into the world of migratory bird research through ten poignant stories. In reading this book, I learned about the pure endurance required of migratory birds to complete the jaw dropping migrations they undertake, the challenges of actually doing the research, and, most impactful, the risks posed to migrants who rely on climatological signals across the globe in a rapidly changing world. There is still so much unknown about the lives of migratory birds, this gave me a peek behind the door, and made me even more interested in what the full story might be.

The Well of Ascension was a great read, it just didn’t quite live up to the insanely high standards set in book one. Vin really carries the story and is amazing. She grows a ton from where she started the series and where she started this book to who she is at the end of it. The problem with this book was that she didn’t have great support. It really missed Kelsier. The rest of the crew falls off without him and Elend doesn’t fill the gap like he was supposed to. At the end of the day, this was still a great story in such a cool world that any flaws didn’t take away from my overall enjoyment.

I have never been and likely never will be more excited for a book than I was for wind and truth. There is very little Brando could have written that would have made this book less than a five star read for me. That being said, wind and truth earned that rating. The character work is as impeccable as ever. From adolin defining his own role in a changing society and, in doing so, catapulting himself, briefly, to the top spot on my favorite characters list. To kaladins incredible, emotional journey that began on the edge of a chasm way back in the way of kings culminating with some of the deepest, most inspiring moments I’ve ever read. And everyone else in between who faced and were able to overcome their personal challenges in this book. Tears were flowing many times in this one. The entire series was always about these characters more than any overarching plot and wind and truth dove into that even more(although the plot is very much there, and also great).

It’s not a perfect book. I wish he had stuck with classic parts rather than each day being its own. Whereas the earlier books build to a mini climax at the end of each part, some days felt a little flat and I think could have been combined while sticking to the ten day timeline for greater impact in the middle of the book. My only other criticism is that I wished we had more sections like day one where it was just kaladin and shallan. As more and more povs get added, the impact reduces slightly and ultimately there are about five characters I consistently want to hear from and know the inner workings of their minds, leaving more mystery around less important characters and their motivations.

Overall, I leave the storm light archive feeling fulfilled. This series was solely responsible for reintroducing me to the beauty of reading two years ago. I love each and every one of the characters for different reasons and it will be a long seven to ten years without hearing from them or knowing if I’ll ever see some again, but I know it will be worth the wait.

Brando Sando did it again. Stormlight is my favorite series, but Mistborn might take over if it keeps going like this. It was fast-paced, constant twists, incredible world building and magic. It had my thinking about it nonstop. Kelsier and Vin are two of my favorite characters ever. Vin grew through the book and how she is at the end is incredible and so we’ll deserved. On the other hand, Kelsier is mysterious and a little less available but that also works for his character arc. The best part of this book is, to quote Sanderson from a blog post I found from when he was writing this, is the Brandon Avalanche. About halfway through part four to the end of the book is exhilarating and shocking in a way only Sanderson can do.

Read for class. It was a good overview of the history of the public land system and was a surprisingly easy and enjoyable read.

The Rage of Dragons is as action packed as any book I’ve read in my life. It was really well done and I was engrossed in it the whole time, but I wish that sometimes it just chilled out for a chapter and built a story outside of fighting. Tau is a frustrating main character at times, which I think is purposeful to show his flaws but sometimes he’s just plain stupid and he definitely doesn’t deserve Zuri. Although, if you just look at him as a fighter he’s perfect and the way the fight scenes are written make it so easy to visualize exactly what he looks like doing it. The ending sets it up well for him to grow in the sequel and although I don’t trust that he will, I’m excited to read it and find out.

This is classic, epic fantasy at every level. Good battle scenes, interesting magic, with a side of political intrigue. It only gets 3 stars because there was just too much going on that it made it difficult to really engage with any one part. Viktor is a strong character but I wish this had been more focused on him and maybe one or two others rather than there being 20 different narrators. I checked the cast list at least once a chapter for probably the first 500 pages. That being said, it’s a fun, fast read in an interesting world and I’ll consider continuing the series.

This might have been the most excited to read a book I’ve been because of how great Jonathan Strange by the same author was. It lived up to the hype. Piranesi’s house is the most incredible setting I’ve ever read about and felt like a character as much as the others in the book. The journal entry style made it feel like I was watching the events and mystery unfold exactly as Piranesi did. This was one of the quickest, most immersive books I’ve ever read and I enjoyed every page of it.

I’ve never read a book where so little goes right for its characters. Within the first part, they’d all taken an emotional and physical beating. Most had both. In a lot of books, that would be followed by some sort of recovery. Not here. Robin Hobb sees those characters laying on the deck and just keeps hitting them with haymakers. There were a couple instances where I thought things were looking up for a character, but I should have known better because every single time they got knocked right back to where they were, or worse. While that is my main takeaway, it’s not what brings this rating down. I felt that Hobb got caught up trying to tell too many stories at once, and they all suffered for it. This is completely different from the farseer trilogy which I complained needed more characters, but it modulated too far the other way. I really wish I could have spent more time with Althea and kennit as those two characters had exclusively enjoyable chapters, but there wasn’t enough time devoted to them. All that being said, I feel the three star rating I gave is slightly harsh and doesn’t entirely reflect my reading experience. There was enough there that I’m certainly going to continue at some point, despite the low rating.

Assassin's Quest was not a perfect book, but was the perfect ending to the trilogy and left me feeling extremely satisfied with the time I spent with Fitz, Nighteyes, and all the rest. Starting with the good, I love the quest aspect of the second half of this book. It had a sort of Fellowship of the Ring feel to it and I felt a genuine connection to the mission and all of the characters on it. There were real stakes, suspense, and growth for that portion of the book. The final part in the quarry(and beyond) was where the real payoff came. I won't spoil anything, but the ending put each character(except for Regal, I didn't love his ending) in the place that I felt they were meant to be all along. The bad part of this book, was Fitz and Nighteyes' solo travel in the first half. It wasn't all bad, but it felt like a tv show where they have to put some kind of action in each episode to make people watch, but none of it is particularly relevant to the main story. That can be entertaining, but in this case it felt repetitive with Fitz essentially getting his ass kicked every time. The poor guy just couldn't catch a break and I didn't feel like that was necessary. Overall, just like in the first two books, the strength of this book is Fitz. He was a character I thoroughly enjoyed spending a couple of months reading about and the reason I would certainly recommend this entire series.

Royal Assassin was a strong sequel to Assassins Apprentice. I felt way more connected to Fitz and the stakes felt higher throughout the book. His character has really grown through the first two books and I love how that growth is communicated through his changing relationships with the other characters. From when Burrich returns to Buckkeep until the king-in-waiting ceremony is some of the most exhilarating reading I’ve done. The conclusion didn’t quite live up to the buildup, but it left me wondering where the story goes from here and more excited than ever to find out what Fitz does next.

This was a good book, but not a great one. It was a light read and fitz is a likeable main character but I didn’t find myself entirely immersed in the world or that I fully grasped the stakes of the action that would make me care about it. That said, I enjoyed reading it and will be reading the second as well.