Calamity

Executive Summary: This book, much like the series as a whole had an interesting premise, but an execution that didn't work for me. Full ReviewFor the last few years, I've considered Mr. Sanderson one of my favorite authors. 2015 was a rough test of that for me. I was disappointed by both [b:Firefight 15704459 Firefight (Reckoners, #2) Brandon Sanderson https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1413220816s/15704459.jpg 21979689] and [b:Shadows of Self 16065004 Shadows of Self (Mistborn, #5) Brandon Sanderson https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1435053013s/16065004.jpg 21855448], but especially Firefight.I'm certainly not the target demographic for this series, but prior to that book, Mr. Sanderson could do no wrong for me. I largely picked this book up because I wanted to see how it ended. [b:The Hero of Ages 2767793 The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, #3) Brandon Sanderson https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1415427803s/2767793.jpg 2793516] still ranks as one of my top (if not the top) final book of a series I've read. Could Mr. Sanderson save this series from the disappointing place he left me with the last book?The answer is a bit mixed. I think overall I liked this book a little more than the last one, but not nearly as much as [b:Steelheart 17182126 Steelheart (Reckoners, #1) Brandon Sanderson https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1357576738s/17182126.jpg 21366540]. The ending was partially satisfying, but felt very rushed. Too much time was spent moving characters around and on a new subplot introduced in the last book. The big/final villain was nowhere to be seen for far too long. Some new ideas were introduced right at the end with little to no explanation. Plus one of the interesting new characters was introduced and then gone without ever coming back to them.And that doesn't even get to the protagonist. David went from relatable/likable in the first book, to annoying in second, and downright obnoxious in this one. I never liked the bad metaphor gag. I've long felt Mr. Sanderson doesn't do humor well. He's apparently worse at intentionally bad jokes. I took to skipping every metaphor I could as the book went on.Overall, while I liked the idea of super powers turning people into super villains and the “magic” of their powers, the execution fell short for me. It's far from his best world building. I don't read much Young Adult. It's demographic that seems to be largely all over the place and hard to truly define. I think from now on I may avoid it entirely. I'll certainly be avoiding any of Mr. Sanderson's non-Cosmere books for the foreseeable future. He's either finally starting to show some cracks from his incredible output, or my tastes are staring to move beyond him. I certainly hope not though. I'm really excited for both the next Stormlight Archive and Mistborn books.