Rob

Executive Summary: Enjoyed this one a lot more than I expected. I was looking for something fun and short and this was perfect.

Audiobook: Jenny Sterlin did a good job. This is definitely a good option in audio and the story works well in this format.

Full Review
I've had this one in my library for awhile after getting a deal on it, but I never felt a lot of urgency to read it so it just sat there.

The main reason I finally picked it up was I was looking for short, light listens to finish out the year and this seemed to fit the bill.

After a bit of a slow start, I was pleasantly surprised by this book. I'm pretty sure I've watched the anime, but I didn't really remember the details I guess. Now I want to rewatch it.

Generally I prefer well defined magic systems, and this book is definitely not that. Still I found the story interesting enough to not get hung up on the hand waving nature of the magic. Not every book needs to have a cool magic system.

For me it was the characters that really made this one for me. I loved the grumpy fire demon, and the crazy scarecrow and the kind of sketchy wizard.

Apparently there are sequels to this, but I'm totally fine stopping here. The story felt self contained enough that while it could be interesting to continue on, I don't find it necessary.

Executive Summary: I didn't enjoy this nearly as his arcane ascension books. I probably won't continue on unless I catch a deal on the sequel.

Audiobook: I like Nick Podehl as a narrator, but he's been hired to read so several books I've found disappointing (including this one) that I'm a bit apprehensive when I see he's the narrator now.

That's not his fault though. He does a good job, but I kind of have trouble separating his voice from some of those past books (mostly LitRPG stuff I decided to try).

Full Review
I didn't initially realize this series tied into the Arcane Ascension books, so I was a bit surprised when Corin shows up (albeit briefly) at the start of this one.

I mostly picked this up because I felt as though Andrew Rowe did a sort of better version of LitRPG. It gets a lot more into the mechanics of things without making me feel like I'm reading a video game I'd rather be playing.

That didn't help here. I didn't find the humor very good. Instead it was kind of distracting. Humor can be hard because it's subjective. I'm not sure if that was what turned me off this book, or if I was just generally uninterested in the story. Probably a bit of both.

On the plus side the book was quick and light. Given it tie in to stuff in Arcane Ascension and my general tendency to try to read all the world building I can, I may give the series another try if I catch a deal on the sequel. Otherwise I'll just wait for the 3rd Arcane Ascension book to come out.

Story
Things have picked up a bit more in this volume than the last one, but I'm still finding it pretty over the top. I'm most interest in Hughie's place in the story as he finds himself surrounded by awful people.

Artwork
The art continues to be good and taking things right up to that line. I don't think this series would be the same if it was just text only.

Executive Summary: Another enjoyable entry in this series, thought probably not quite as enjoyable as [b:Skyward 36642458 Skyward (Skyward, #1) Brandon Sanderson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1531845177l/36642458.SY75.jpg 58411143].Audiobook: Suzy Jackson does a good job with this one. She has a good read voice and cadence and does a few voices to give it that little extra something. The nature of these books make them work really well in audioFull ReviewA few years ago I swore off an “non-cosmere” Sanderson books. Then I went ahead picked up [b:Skyward 36642458 Skyward (Skyward, #1) Brandon Sanderson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1531845177l/36642458.SY75.jpg 58411143] last year anyways when I was looking for a light/fun read for a holiday road trip.I'm glad I did. While I'm not necessarily going to run out and read other non-cosmere stuff I'm a lot more open to it now than I was after [b:Calamity 15704486 Calamity (Reckoners, #3) Brandon Sanderson https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1437098338l/15704486.SY75.jpg 21366542].I really enjoy Spensa. She can be frustrating at times, but she's easy to root for. The supporting characters are also fantastic. M-bot especially, but all of her squad is great.It was kind of sad we didn't get too much of her squad in this one, but I found the new supporting characters in this book to be almost as enjoyable. I especially loved the Kitsen.As with most Sanderson books, the world building has me hooked in. I want to know all the secrets, and at times wonder how these series couldn't fit itself into the cosmere somehow.This was once again another fun/light read and I'm looking forward to picking up the next one whenever it comes out. In the meantime I have a new cosmere book to look forward to!

Story I picked up this entire series on a humble bundle and I wanted to read it before watching the TV show that several people have recommended to me. It still took me awhile to pick it up.

I've probably made more progress due to my desire to finish off some of my 2019 Good read challenges than reading the books. It's way over the top with sex and violence.

I'm not particularly fond of any of the characters, both the superheroes and the Boys themselves. I'm not sure who I should be rooting for at this point.

That said the general premise is an interesting one. And I own all 12 volumes, so onward I go.

Artwork
The artwork has been good, albeit pretty blatant. Far more nudity than most comics I read, but given what is happening at times, not nearly as explicit as it could be, which is saying something.

Story I'm probably repeating myself from past reviews, but I guess that's because things haven't changed too much. Things are moving along, but still slower than I'd like. If you had asked me 10 volumes ago, I'd have thought this would be the final volume. Now I'm not sure how much longer it will go.

I still want to see how things are going to end, but I'd like to see it end.

3.5 stars

Artwork
The art is about the same as usual, it's fine. Not fantastic. Generally better than it was at the start of the series. I like the anime better though. The action just plays way better in animated color than black stills.

Executive Summary: I enjoyed this, but not nearly as much as [b:The Hanging Tree 21479290 The Hanging Tree (Peter Grant, #6) Ben Aaronovitch https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1480443659l/21479290.SY75.jpg 40801856]. 3.5 stars.Audiobook: Kobna Holdbrook-Smith is once again fantastic. I'm not sure how anyone else could narrate this series. This is definitely a series that is “must listen”Full ReviewIt's kind of strange to be caught up on this series. I came to it very late and very reluctantly. In the early 2000s I read pretty much nothing but Urban Fantasy. I think I burned myself out. But more likely it's because I started to read a lot more fantasy and found that I just didn't like it nearly as much anymore. This series despite having a lot of the same tropes has still been an enjoyable listen. The world building is probably my favorite part. I want to know all about the secret histories of magic. I like how magic interacts with technology. It's been a bit slow at times. I like bigger stories and like a lot of Urban Fantasy you tend to get a mostly one off mystery story.The characters are good too, especially Nightingale and Molly. We add some new and interesting characters that add to the character building of the others.That said I thought this was a bit of a weaker entry compared to the last one. After finally getting some of the world building I was after in the last entry, there was much less of it here and mostly back to a more stand alone story. It was still enjoyable though, and now that I'm caught up I have to wait for the next book to come out.

Executive Summary: Slow at times, good at others. I'm a bit curious about what happens next, but not enough to continue on.

Audiobook: Ellen Archer was ok as a narrator. Some people in my book club complained about her bad accents but I found them useful to distinguish between characters. I probably would never have gotten through this book in text, so for me the audio was good enough.

Full Review
This book came on my radar a few years ago mostly because it was out of print and had won the hugo. It seemed strange to me that an award winning book would be go out of publication, but I suppose that's not as unusual as I'd think. With its return to availability Sword & Laser chose it for its November pick.

At times this book felt more like fantasy than sci-fi. There are elements of technology and space, but I guess since it was based on a fairy tale it's hard to completely move away from that fantasy feeling.

I didn't really connect with either of the protagonists. I didn't really care whether they succeeded or failed. Normally that would probably be enough for me to want to roll off on a book, but there was enough in the world building and story to keep me somewhat attentive.

I think the world building was probably the part that I enjoyed the most. I'm fascinated by the cycle of politics and technology. It still wasn't enough though. While I'd like to find out what happens next, I won't be picking up any of the sequels.

Executive Summary: This series has been up and down for me, but Mr. Weeks really stuck the landing with this book.Audiobook: Simon Vance is one of my favorite narrators and does another excellent job here. Not only does he have a great reading voice he does a variety of voices that really make an audiobook above and beyond for me.Full ReviewI'm still not sure how I feel about Mr. Weeks as an author. After nearly rage-quitting his Night Angel series, I wasn't sure I wanted to read another book by him again. However the recommendation of friends and the cool sounding magic system made me consider giving him another try to...mixed results. I loved the magic system but [b:The Black Prism 7165300 The Black Prism (Lightbringer, #1) Brent Weeks https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327921884l/7165300.SY75.jpg 7534979] felt very juvenile throughout.Despite that, I continued on and liked the later books a lot more....until I didn't. I thought the series took a step backwards with [b:The Broken Eye 12652457 The Broken Eye (Lightbringer, #3) Brent Weeks https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1376583941l/12652457.SY75.jpg 17766175]. I could never drop that feeling of a juvenile tone.So while I was looking forward to this book, I wasn't expecting to enjoy it quite this much. Anyone who follows my reviews knows I don't give 5 stars lightly. The easiest measure for me of a 5-star book is one where I'm finding reasons to listen to just “1 more chapter”. I'll do a bit of extra work or just sit and stare at a wall for a few minutes if it means finding out what happens next.There was a lot of that here. And this was a loooong book. I'm still not sure how I feel about Mr. Weeks as an author. I don't recall being annoyed in this book as I was during the past ones. Has he finally turned a corner? Should I try out whatever series he puts out next? I'm still not sure yet.I am however glad I gave this series a try and stuck with it.

Executive Summary: This book was very uneven for me. I was reluctant to pick up a book by Sam Sykes and I'm reluctant to continue on with this series.

Full Review
Humor is subjective. Personally, I don't find Sam Sykes twitter antics funny. I follow a lot of his friends and often time they get mixed up with his antics. I mostly just roll my eyes and ignore them.

So when Sword & Laser chose this for their October 2019 pick, I wasn't sure how I felt. I decided if I was going to read it, I'd see about borrowing a copy from the library in case I didn't enjoy it.

My results were a bit mixed. I'm not a fan of anti-heroes anymore. I do like cool magic systems though, and this definitely had that.

The humor (as probably expected) didn't really land for me. I don't feel like there was a lot of it, which surprised me a bit given his Twitter persona and that probably helped this books cause.

Inevitably though, I found this book too long, and slow in places. Whenever I was getting into the story, things seemed to slow down and my attention would drift.

The world building much like the magic system was good though. I am curious to find out what happens next. I'm just not sure I'm THAT curious to pick up the sequel later this year.

Executive Summary: This book was pretty interesting at times, but got a bit annoying at others. 3.5 stars.

Audiobook: I'm always leery about authors narrating their own books, but in the case of nonfiction I think it's generally a better track record. Mr. Hadfield does a fine job. Nothing fantastic, but I don't really want fantastic in non fiction anyways. If nothing else he knows best what he was feeling during the various events he described in his book.

Full Review
I picked this up on a deal at some point or another. I was interested in reading it, but not exactly itching to read it. I finally gave it a shot because I needed a short book to fill in time between my last book and new release I'd been eagerly waiting for. So this fit the bill nicely.

I (like many people I imagine) first learned of Chris Hadfield when his Space Oddity cover from the ISS went viral. As a reader of a lot of sci-fi, I don't pay nearly as much attention to our actual space program as probably should. He did a pretty good at bringing public attention to it, at least for a little while.

I think the most interesting parts of this book were the anecdotes leading to Mr. Hadfield becoming an astronaut, and the stories around his time on the ISS. Some of the stuff in between got a bit slow at times.

As the title would indicate, this book is as much of a personal life philosophy book as it is a biography about an astronaut. It was some of the life philosophy stuff that got tiring after awhile. It's not that I disagree with his sentiments, but I feel like those things aren't as easy to apply to your life if you're not a highly successful individual like Mr. Hadfield has been.

Overall I found the book pretty good. I'd have liked some more detail of his first two trips to space and a bit less about his personal philosophy on life, but it was an enjoyable enough listen.

Executive Summary: Probably my favorite book of the series so far, but there are some parts where I was getting frustrated at the characters.

Audiobook: Robert Glenister does his usual great job. He does a few voices and inflections that really make this a series I'd only do in audio. In fact I probably only made it this far in the series because his narration helped me through the slower parts.

Full Review
I typically read a lot of fantasy and sci-fi. Too much in fact, so I've been trying to do more mystery and thrillers, especially in audio. I thought the first two books in this series were fine, but nothing spectacular.

The quality of the audio narration and catching deals on the books are one of the main reasons I continued so far. This book I actually enjoyed enough that I'll probably continue on even without a deal. I think it had the best mystery of the three, and just when I thought I had it figured out, something would happen to keep me guessing again.

I figured most of it out before the reveal, but not all. I'm not as well read at mystery so it may be more apparent to those who are. I still think you'll find it entertaining, especially if you liked the first two.

My only real issue with this book is some of the unrelated character development. I feel like some of the things were out of characters and seemed more to serve the plot than any sort of character development.

I don't recall if we met Shanker before this book, but I really enjoyed his parts in this one. I feel like Robin and Strike both took steps backwards. I had been hoping to see Robin move further along her journey to become a detective in her own right than she did.

Strike was basically the same as he's been the last few books. He's fine but I'd like to see more growth from him too before too long or it will be easy for the series to get stale.

Overall despite some minor issues, I feel like this was easily the best book in the series so far. It looks like some of my issues in this one may be worse in the next book, so I'm not sure how quickly I'll pick it up. Initially I was thinking of buying it sooner than later, but now I may take a break and/or hope to catch another deal.

Executive Summary: A little slow at times, but by the end I was hooked and eagerly awaiting the next book to come out.Audiobook: Steven Pacey does his usual excellent job. I think he's narrated most of the First Law books, and he really make them a must listen for me. He does a variety of voices and has good pacing and inflection.Full ReviewI've enjoyed most of the First Law books, but since reading [b:Red Country 13521459 Red Country (First Law World, #6) Joe Abercrombie https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1333663008l/13521459.SY75.jpg 19082135] 4 years ago, I have mostly rolled off of darker fantasy. I didn't find this one quite as dark as some of the previous entries, but it's not exactly sunshine and rainbows either.My favorite book of the series to this point was [b:The Heroes 9300768 The Heroes (First Law World, #5) Joe Abercrombie https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1375671200l/9300768.SY75.jpg 12879765], and that hasn't changed. However I probably like this about as much as the original trilogy, and more than [b:Best Served Cold 2315892 Best Served Cold Joe Abercrombie https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1347732723l/2315892.SY75.jpg 2322406]. I'm not sure but I probably like [b:Red Country 13521459 Red Country (First Law World, #6) Joe Abercrombie https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1333663008l/13521459.SY75.jpg 19082135] better as well. So what that boils down to is this book is somewhere in the middle of the pack for me. I never liked the original trilogy quite as much as some of my friends seemed to.My biggest issue with this book was just how long it's been since I've read most of those books, especially the original trilogy. This book could really have done with some recap. I guess it doesn't have one since you could probably read this book without having read any of the previous books, but I'm not sure why you'd really want to.I'm still not quite sure why but Glotka remains one of my favorite characters. He's a terrible person, but he's almost always the smartest one in the room, so I enjoy him outsmarting others I guess. It was good to see him again, even if he's only a minor character and the focus is on his daughter Savine and others of her generation. She's not the only new character from the original books that is the offspring on a notable character. However most of them come as a bit of a surprise, so I'll just leave them for you to discover if you decide to read this. I thought most of the new characters were interesting in their own rights, and not remarkable for simply being someone's child. In addition to aging up most of the characters you know to have adult children, technology has advanced too. This setting has a very much industrial revolution feel, with all the benefits and issues that came along with it.Once I got back into the swing of things I found myself swept up in the story and all the new characters. I still don't have much of an interest in reading darker fantasy, but I do have an interest in seeing how the rest of this series turns out. I'll definitely be picking up the next one when it comes out.

Executive Summary: With how good [b:Underlord 40502274 Underlord (Cradle, #6) Will Wight https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1549953283l/40502274.SY75.jpg 62830100] was, it was kind inevitable that I wouldn't enjoy this one quite as much. Still pretty good, but a bit flawed.Full ReviewWith where [b:Underlord 40502274 Underlord (Cradle, #6) Will Wight https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1549953283l/40502274.SY75.jpg 62830100] left off, I was really looking forward to this book. He set things up nicely for the Uncrowned tournament. However instead of jumping into that he spent a bunch of time on training. That would have been fine, but it resulted in the book ending before the tournament ended. It also resulted in some pacing issues. The early parts were a bit slow and the last part just flew by and then kind of abruptly stopped.These books always tend to be short quick reads, but I'd have preferred if he split things up differently. I guess we'll see how the next book goes before making a final judgement on if it makes sense that he ended it where he did.I feel like the lead up to the tournament could have been in this book, or possibly earlier in the tournament than he did. However that might have left this book with out any sort of major climax. I think I'll just leave the writing to Mr. Wight and simply eagerly look forward to the next Cradle book. Considering where this one leaves off it should really hit the ground running.

Executive Summary: I enjoyed this far more than the last book, but probably not quite as much as the first one.

Audiobook: Another fantastic audio book as always. Marc Thompson is a one man Star Wars universe and this is one of the few books where I don't mind music or sound effects.

Full Review
I don't do a lot of Star Wars books and before listening to the original Thrawn trilogy, I wasn't particularly interested in reading any to begin with. Thrawn is an intriguing character. In most cases he's been a villain but in this series it's more ambiguous.

He's still working for the Empire, but as he's fighting the rebels it's far easier to like and cheer for him and his crew. I'm not really sure how many Thrawn books this series is supposed to be, but this didn't really feel like an ending. Maybe that's because his story picks up in Star Wars Rebels, but I'm not sure this left off where that starts either.

Instead it both continues on the series and mostly feels like a stand alone story. We get more details on the Chiss Ascendancy, and get some background on well known Star Wars events.

Overall I found this an enjoyable story and I'd happily read another Thrawn book, but it adds little to the movies or TV. Like most of the books I've read it offers some back story to things you see on screen, but they are never going to put critical details that would leave those who don't read the books in the dark.

Executive Summary: A satisfying conclusion to an enjoyable series, albeit not quite as good as the previous book.

Audiobook: Another fantastic job by Tim Gerard Reynolds as usual. Any book that is narrated by him automatically moves

Full Review
I rarely do an entire series at all once, but more often am juggling numerous series at a time as each book comes out. I like to support the authors I enjoy and there is always plenty of books to keep me busy while I wait.

That said, it's far easier to read an entire series all at once. I became a fan of Mark Lawrence thanks to his book of the Ancestor series, and I read those books as they came out. Now I've gone back and binged on first his Broken Empire series and now this one.

I enjoyed this one far more. Both share really intriguing world building, but this one had far more likable characters and a much more intriguing plot. Oddly enough I found the second book the strongest of the three, but all of them were quite good.

I didn't like this series quite as much as Book of the Ancestor, but it cemented Mark Lawrence's new books as must read for me. I'd be very much interested in reading another book or series set in this same shared world, or pretty much whatever else he puts out.

Executive Summary: I'm generally not a big fan of Urban Fantasy, but I liked this one enough that I might continue on. 3.5 stars.

Full Review
Every time I read a new urban fantasy book, I come in with low expectations. I have a pretty poor track record with most I've tried in the last 10 years or so. I was a bit intrigued by the setting of this one, but I probably wouldn't have picked it up if it hadn't been selected as the September S&L pick.

I always prefer character-driven stories, even when it's the world building that intrigues me. That often means the book is made by how much I like those characters. I have to admit I found most of the characters in this book unlikable. So I'm a bit surprised I liked this one.

It may be that Maggie grew on me as the book went on, or it may be that my interest in the world building carried my interest enough to make up for it. Despite living and growing up in the United States, I know very little about Native American culture or their gods. We learned a bit about the Iroquois tribes native to where I grew up, but that was only one unit during a middle school history class.

Most fantasy tends to use European religions and culture. So I probably know more about those as a result of all the fantasy I've read than from actual historical reading. I have no idea how accurate the lore is, especially when set in a sort of post-apocalyptic setting. However it made for a nice change of pace.

Plot-wise I didn't find this book particularly remarkable. For that reason I'm not in a real rush to check out the next book. But I liked this one enough that I may pick it up at some point.

Executive Summary: I enjoyed this a lot more than the first book. There were only a few slow parts that cost this half a star (and I round 4.5 stars down). Overall a really enjoyable book. Almost as good as his Book of Ancestor series.Audiobook: Another great job by Tim Gerard Reynolds. But that's no surprise. He continues to be one of my favorite narrators. He does a bunch of voices that really make this a must listen for me.Full ReviewWhile I didn't care for Mr. Lawrence's Broken Empire books all that much, I found [b:Prince of Fools 18693743 Prince of Fools (The Red Queen's War, #1) Mark Lawrence https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1385072473l/18693743.SY75.jpg 25595312] to be a large improvement. I still didn't even it as much as his Book of Ancestor series, which is what got me to finally read him in the first place.This book came awfully close to those however. I'm not sure if it's due to Prince Jalan growing on me or simply that the last book set the stage for this one to be that much better.I continue to enjoy his world building the most. I want to know all the secret history of the world far more than I care about the current story of the characters of the book. However much of this series deals with uncovering more secrets of the past, so that's probably another reason I liked it much better than his first series.Overall this was a really enjoyable book and I immediately jumped into the third and final book. It's one of the perks of picking up an already completed series that when they are this good you can just binge the whole thing.

Executive Summary: I liked this book better than his Broken Empire trilogy, but not nearly as much as his Book of the Ancestor trilogy. 3.5 stars.

Audiobook: One of the reasons I wanted to pick this series up is because Tim Gerard Reynolds is the narrator. He does his usual excellent job, although there was one or two times when I was wondering if Hadrian Blackwater had made a crossover appearance.

Full Review
There was a span of time where most of the fantasy books I read and enjoyed were pretty dark and often featured an Anti-Hero. That definitely describes the Broken Empire trilogy, which I liked more as it went on despite Jorg Ancrath being completely unlikable. However I don't have the same kind of tolerance/interest in anti-heroes anymore.

I'm not sure that I'd describe Jalan as an anti-hero. My initial thought was along the lines of “is there such a thing as a non-hero protagonist?”. Maybe he's a less hateable anti-hero. It's hard to say. I did find him obnoxious for much of the book. That was helped by a more typical fantasy hero in Snory.

The biggest thing I liked about Broken Empire trilogy was the world building, and there continues to be a lot of that here. There are also a lot of subtle (or maybe not so subtle?) nods to that trilogy and its characters. I found myself scratching my brain trying to remember some of the events as we witness them again from a different perspective (and much greater distance).

Overall I liked this book better his Broken Empire trilogy books and I'm optimistic I'll like the rest of the series even more.

Story
The story doesn't really seem to be going anywhere, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. I'd like to know more about the mysteries of the camp, but it can just be fun to read some self contained adventures of the Janes.

Artwork
I'm not really sure if the artist has stayed the same or not, but I generally have always found it pretty good. My favorite artwork is always the covers or alternate covers they include at the end of the trades though.

Executive Summary: This has many of the same issues I had with the last book, but overall I liked it better.Audiobook: I really love Tim Gerard Reynolds as a narrator, and I have generally mixed feelings about multiple narrators. However this series has 3 additional quality narrators, so that makes this still a must listen to me. Mr. Reynolds is still my favorite of the bunch, but they all add their own extra something.Full ReviewMuch like the originally trilogy, I found the first book of this sequel trilogy frustrating. And again like the original trilogy I liked the second book much better. However some of my issues with [b:Iron Gold 33257757 Iron Gold (Red Rising Saga, #4) Pierce Brown https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1482475064l/33257757.SY75.jpg 49451841] have not gone away in this book. It might be that I had some time to cool down, it could simply be that I came into this book being ready to be pissed off again that makes the difference. It's hard to say.I definitely don't think the sequels are anywhere near as good as [b:Golden Son 18966819 Golden Son (Red Rising, #2) Pierce Brown https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1394684475l/18966819.SY75.jpg 26984955] or [b:Morning Star 18966806 Morning Star (Red Rising, #3) Pierce Brown https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1461354277l/18966806.SY75.jpg 26984941]. This being so deep into the series, there isn't a lot I can say about the book without major series spoilers.I am hoping considering the developments of this book that the final book of this trilogy will help redeem the last two. I guess we'll see what happens. Either way I'll be picking it up as soon as it's out, so what more can an author really ask for?

Executive Summary: I liked the first part of this book better than the later parts, but still enjoyed it overall. I'd seen a lot of warnings about some of the brutality later in this book, and while it's there is wasn't as bad as I was expecting.

Full Review
I'm a sucker for the fantasy school trope. No many how many different books I've read that have it, I seem to enjoy just about them all. This was no different. Part 1 focuses on a military academy and it was the part I enjoyed the most.

I found Rin a hard character to like, but she was most likable to me while she was at school. There were also teachers and other students that I liked far more the characters later on in the book.

The book get progressively darker as it goes on, and there has been criticism/warning about the level of brutality in the book and if it was warranted. However given the time period and real life events this book seems to be inspired from I'd say it makes sense.

I had gone back and forth on if I wanted to read this book due to all the warnings, and had settled on skipping it despite already owning it. Sword & Laser made it their August selection so I changed my mind yet again and decided to give it a try.

I used to read a lot of dark fantasy, and I've grown a bit tired of it. I don't need everything to be sunshine and rainbows, but I don't want to spend my free time dwelling in it either. I read to escape, not to feel depressed. Thankfully I felt like it wasn't as dark as I was expecting it to be.

I didn't find that she dwelled on the violence or gloried in it. Instead she simply presented it in a way that is both shocking but not overly detailed. I can understand why some people don't want to read that, but I feel like other fantasy series have been a lot more graphic. It won't be for everyone, but if you've enjoy Song of Ice and Fire, Malazan book of the Fallen or First Law, I don't think you'll be too put off by this.

I do feel like things are kind of left without any sense of reflection of consequence. However it's the first book of a series, so we'll see how she deals with the events of this book in the next one.

There are parts of this book that ran on a bit too long. It could probably have used some more editing. That said when you think that this is both her first novel and about the age at which she wrote it, it's quite an impressive debut.

Overall I enjoyed this book, and am looking forward to picking up the second one at some point, although I won't be rushing out to pick it up right away.

Executive Summary: I enjoyed this more than [b:Queen of Fire 18405221 Queen of Fire (Raven's Shadow, #3) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1417350958l/18405221.SY75.jpg 26039753] but not nearly as much as [b:Blood Song 13569581 Blood Song (Raven's Shadow, #1) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421573407l/13569581.SY75.jpg 19148922] or [b:Tower Lord 18138189 Tower Lord (Raven's Shadow, #2) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1382486392l/18138189.SX50.jpg 25481154].Audiobook: I was happy to see Steven Brand return to narrate this book. I really liked his narration of the original trilogy and was disappointed when he we replaced for books 2/3 of Ryan's The Draconis Memoria series. He did a great job as usual, so I'm glad they didn't go with someone else.Full Review[b:Blood Song 13569581 Blood Song (Raven's Shadow, #1) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421573407l/13569581.SY75.jpg 19148922] is one of my all-time favorite fantasy books, and [b:Tower Lord 18138189 Tower Lord (Raven's Shadow, #2) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1382486392l/18138189.SX50.jpg 25481154] wasn't far behind. It was for that reason that I felt like [b:Queen of Fire 18405221 Queen of Fire (Raven's Shadow, #3) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1417350958l/18405221.SY75.jpg 26039753] was a letdown. Everything felt so uneven. Slow at the start then rushed at the end.When his new series came out I was a bit reluctant to give that a shot. However that turned out to be pretty good from start to finish, but still not at the level of [b:Blood Song 13569581 Blood Song (Raven's Shadow, #1) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1421573407l/13569581.SY75.jpg 19148922].When this book was announced I had similar mixed feelings. Could he recapture the magic of his earlier books, or would it be more like [b:Queen of Fire 18405221 Queen of Fire (Raven's Shadow, #3) Anthony Ryan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1417350958l/18405221.SY75.jpg 26039753]? The answer turned out to be somewhere in between.I probably should have reread the series as much of the details have escaped me so many years (and so many books) later. Eventually I got my bearings, but probably not as much as if I had reread.This book has a lot of setup, and we get a bit of perspective from the preludes to each section. Thankfully like his earlier books all the chapters are from Vaelin's perspective.Vaelin is older and wiser, but given where the series had previously left off, he's not quite the warrior he once was that earned him his infamy. Faced with a new threat, we get a bit of a different approach than in the past.Overall I enjoyed this book a lot, and there were parts of it where I was finding excuses to listen, but there were a few slower parts as well. Either way I'm happy to report that my concerns were mostly assuaged. I'm optimistic that this continuation of the series might help to redeem some of my disappointment from how the first trilogy was wrapped up.

Executive Summary: I've enjoyed Mr. Kloos Frontline books, but they were starting to drag a bit. So I was excited to check out a new series from him. It did not disappoint. In fact I think I like it better so far. My only real gripe is I've left with so many questions.Audiobook: Luke Daniels remains one of my favorite narrators, and he brings his usual excellence to this book. You get a variety of voices that adds that little extra that I like in my audio books.Full ReviewMarko Kloos first showed up on my radar a few years ago when he bowed out of his nomination for the Hugo due to the nature in which it was nominated. His replacement was [b:The Three-Body Problem 20518872 The Three-Body Problem (Remembrance of Earth's Past #1) Liu Cixin https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1415428227l/20518872.SY75.jpg 25696480], which went on to win.I really respected his principles and was more inclined to check out his work. I enjoyed his Frontline books even though I tend to prefer space opera to military sci-fi. After several books however I was kind of hoping for the series to wrap up. That still hasn't happen, but it seems that he took a break to write something new.I think this is the best book he's written so far. It has a lot of the same elements that I liked about Frontlines, but seems to have a lot more depth to both the plot and the characters.There is a lot more politics in this book, although the military element still plays a prevalent role. The book is set 5 years after a major war reminiscent of the world wars, but between planets instead of countries.The first character we meet is a soldier on the wrong side of the war. It would be easy to hate him for what his planet did, but it's not that simple. Then there is the sergeant whose anger is understandable, but her prejudice is grating. However that's not all the defines her. I think I liked the young executive the best, but her life comes with a lot of baggage. It was refreshing to have a non-military POV.The characters are all pretty interesting, but it's the larger mystery that really got me hooked. Unfortunately, we get very few details about what is going on. I was hoping for a bit more from this first entry than we got.It's a bit on the short side, so I guess it's too be expected that we didn't get a ton of detail. What it did do was leave me eager to pick up the next book just as soon at it's out.

Story
It seems like things are moving towards an ending, but at this point I'm getting murky on what all the factions are and who half the newer characters are. The last two chapters were pretty interesting, I'm just unclear on some of the details. I'm hoping revisting this with the anime will clear things up.

Artwork
I'm kind of frustrated at the artwork again. I find it hard to tell whose who half the time. The action scenes still aren't great either. At this point I'm looking forward to seeing this stuff animated.