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nicbearclaws's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
debchan's review against another edition
5.0
@crasedes: welcome back, john gaius
if sancia reminded me of eli monpress, now crasedes magnus reminds me of john gaius from Harrow the Ninth. and it's like eren jaeger too isn't it? that anybody, any human attempting to good in the world, trying to save it from the machine that is humanity, given immense power and abilities, would become this. that this was the only way to save the world: to destroy it. that it isn't the right choice but maybe it's not the wrong one either.
this book took second book syndrome and was like what?? never heard of her?? this was the most heart-attack gut-wrenching exciting book i've ever read. every second there was something absolutely wild happening - i literally never got a chance to breathe (and neither did the characters). the plot was incredible. once again, it was very abstract and very meta and yet it somehow didn't bore me to death or lose my attention. i was constantly being like "ok so this is gonna happen" just for everything to consistently go to shit and race away again. my hands are literally so sweaty that's how nervous i was. (yeah i was watching this during the UCL final so that played a part = heja bvb... rip)
sancia: ugh give her a break! she is literally fighting with an all powerful being and still she doesn't give in or lose herself. she's so incredible. i always enjoy when she convinces objects to do something else - it's so fun how they're like wait really that's how long an hour is?? ok! her ideas and her backtalk is so essential to her character to. girl would not stop telling crasedes to eat shit which i admire. and please just let her have a cute date with berenice - let them go see a play!
gregor: every scene with him is like bennett just ripping your heart out and stomping on it repeatedly. we learn so much more of his past here and the things he's keeping buried within. but what i love about gregor is his gentleness, in complete opposition to sancia. he's always so supportive and kind and self-sacrificing even when others are trying to turn him into a monster. wow!
berenice: boy oh boy does she get more time to shine here. she's the epitome of big brain energy. and she also gets a little bit of sancia rubbed off her. the fact that she was running around the city at one point (so sancia like) was incredible. and the way she is able to be so steady for sancia was nice to read; again give us that theater date already. but there's no one out there like berenice, she's tough, she's smart, she's kind, she's everything!
orso: he's giving Tired Dad. and he's really trying his best to work with things he doesn't even know about. but the thing is that he's always going to be there for the others and his own resistance and rejection of mind-control was one of my favorite scenes. he had no defenses and was still able to do all that. that last scene with the boat and everything... i'm so devastated. can this found family ever be happy?
crasedes: oh boy oh boy. i love having the antagonist's perspective. he's someone given limitless power so of course why couldn't he create a utopia? even if it was built on millions of dead bodies? i love these characters bc the solution seems so simple. just one snap of the finger and the entire world would be happy: no wars no fighting. but the price is always so incredibly high. but for any regular person, given a millennium and godlike powers, could anyone really say they'd do differently? i also like how much he never stopped yapping; certified yapper fr.
i was starving this entire book with characters' names like orso (orzo), alfredo (yum), and carbonari (carbonara). i'm not even joking i was looking up italian restaurants near me at one point.
i love this book so much. it's the perfect 2nd book, to carry on the first book's ending and take off for the 3rd book. only now i have no idea what state that 3rd book is even going to be in whew. these characters have sacrificed so much and given up so much to be pushed back to square one (and maybe even further back), i'd love for them to have a rest. it was so well-paced and written i'm literally astounded. how was there no boring point, no lull at all? bennett you're a genius.
if sancia reminded me of eli monpress, now crasedes magnus reminds me of john gaius from Harrow the Ninth. and it's like eren jaeger too isn't it? that anybody, any human attempting to good in the world, trying to save it from the machine that is humanity, given immense power and abilities, would become this. that this was the only way to save the world: to destroy it. that it isn't the right choice but maybe it's not the wrong one either.
this book took second book syndrome and was like what?? never heard of her?? this was the most heart-attack gut-wrenching exciting book i've ever read. every second there was something absolutely wild happening - i literally never got a chance to breathe (and neither did the characters). the plot was incredible. once again, it was very abstract and very meta and yet it somehow didn't bore me to death or lose my attention. i was constantly being like "ok so this is gonna happen" just for everything to consistently go to shit and race away again. my hands are literally so sweaty that's how nervous i was. (yeah i was watching this during the UCL final so that played a part = heja bvb... rip)
sancia: ugh give her a break! she is literally fighting with an all powerful being and still she doesn't give in or lose herself. she's so incredible. i always enjoy when she convinces objects to do something else - it's so fun how they're like wait really that's how long an hour is?? ok! her ideas and her backtalk is so essential to her character to. girl would not stop telling crasedes to eat shit which i admire. and please just let her have a cute date with berenice - let them go see a play!
gregor: every scene with him is like bennett just ripping your heart out and stomping on it repeatedly. we learn so much more of his past here and the things he's keeping buried within. but what i love about gregor is his gentleness, in complete opposition to sancia. he's always so supportive and kind and self-sacrificing even when others are trying to turn him into a monster. wow!
berenice: boy oh boy does she get more time to shine here. she's the epitome of big brain energy. and she also gets a little bit of sancia rubbed off her. the fact that she was running around the city at one point (so sancia like) was incredible. and the way she is able to be so steady for sancia was nice to read; again give us that theater date already. but there's no one out there like berenice, she's tough, she's smart, she's kind, she's everything!
orso: he's giving Tired Dad. and he's really trying his best to work with things he doesn't even know about. but the thing is that he's always going to be there for the others and his own resistance and rejection of mind-control was one of my favorite scenes. he had no defenses and was still able to do all that. that last scene with the boat and everything... i'm so devastated. can this found family ever be happy?
crasedes: oh boy oh boy. i love having the antagonist's perspective. he's someone given limitless power so of course why couldn't he create a utopia? even if it was built on millions of dead bodies? i love these characters bc the solution seems so simple. just one snap of the finger and the entire world would be happy: no wars no fighting. but the price is always so incredibly high. but for any regular person, given a millennium and godlike powers, could anyone really say they'd do differently? i also like how much he never stopped yapping; certified yapper fr.
i was starving this entire book with characters' names like orso (orzo), alfredo (yum), and carbonari (carbonara). i'm not even joking i was looking up italian restaurants near me at one point.
i love this book so much. it's the perfect 2nd book, to carry on the first book's ending and take off for the 3rd book. only now i have no idea what state that 3rd book is even going to be in whew. these characters have sacrificed so much and given up so much to be pushed back to square one (and maybe even further back), i'd love for them to have a rest. it was so well-paced and written i'm literally astounded. how was there no boring point, no lull at all? bennett you're a genius.
akcurtis's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoy Bennett's world building, but this book seemed to drag in several places. I still look forward to reading the final book in trilogy, though!
allisonh59's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
shrubb's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
samueldhall's review
3.0
I certainly didn't like this as much as the first, but the ending almost dragged it to 4 stars. Hopefully just the mid book slump and the trilogy finishes off as good as it began.
shuyinggg's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
eleana_p's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
coolascucumber's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
lisyda's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Humankind is most innovative at turning innovation to the cruelest ends.
The sequel to Foundryside kicks off 3 years after the events of the first book. And it kicks off FAST, diving quickly into action sequences. This pace actually continues throughout most of the book, with the characters barely getting downtime for slower moments, which I kind of missed at times.
There is a big bad villain that takes centre stage in this book, who is both interesting and overtly invested in Bad Guy Monologues, though those also provided some interesting tidbits about the world and its lore. Communication is actually a big feature in this book as a ton of exposition is done through the characters talking to each other about what they're going to do. This was completely fine at times, especially when it involves providing some context to how the magic system will work/be used, but at times, it also got a bit tedious and I just wanted to see them do this or that already.
I liked the heists or heist-like parts of this book, which was a strength in the first book as well. It's simply a lot of fun to see the magic system of this world at work, even if sometimes, the solutions the gang comes up with really push the boundaries of what seems doable. It's still entertaining!
“You all…You are thieves, yes?”
“No,” said Gregor.
“Yes,” said Sancia.
“Sometimes,” said Orso.
I still love the Foundrysiders! The dynamic established between them in the first book continues to shine in this book and the depth of their found family relationship is taken to a whole new level through the use of a very specific plot device. Oh and Orso's comments are still the best!
We also get some crucial reveals about certain characters, which I won't go into due to spoilers. They're hinted at heavily throughout as well, so they're not shocking reveals, but I loved waiting to see my theories confirmed.
One dream dies, but another’s born. Let’s make sure it survives.
Shorefall is clearly a middle book. There's a bunch of plot that happens, changing the status quo, taking the characters and the world to where they need to be, and revealing important pieces of information. For me, it was overall enjoyable, but missing some of the characteristics here and there that I liked better in the first book. I do still have a couple of theories in the back of my head about some things so I'm curious to see whether they get confirmed in the last book or not. So, on to the next one!