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adventurous
inspiring
adventurous
medium-paced
So, I understand this duology is based on a video game, but the first one could be read with zero knowledge of the video game. This one has a giant time skip from the first book, where there was apparently a large reveal, so it's a lot harder to follow. The writing is generally interesting anyway, but it's harder to follow the plot points when it depends on knowledge of the video game.
Hmmm now this is the second instalment in the Infinity Blade series which is an adaptation series by Brandon Sanderson based aroind the Infinity Blade Games. This series of books started out really well for me as I hadn't played the games before reading the books and the first one was still really interesting, however this one was a big disappointment for the majority with only the last 30% really capturing my interest and making me want to read on.
basically this starts a fair way after the first book and that means that a lot has happened (the storyline progresses in the games but if, like me, you haven't played the games there is no warning that you need to have the background knowledge and it's really very confusing!) and the world and characters are in a completely different situation from how we left off at the end of book 1. I really didn't like the jarring feeling of trying to pick up a story which felt like a chunk was missing and although I know these books are marketed as being part of the Game series, I think not allowing a pleasant continuous plotline really alienates this book from the first and sets a bad tone.
We once again have the two main character from book 1, the God King Radriar and the main character from book 1 (who takes a bit more of a backseat role in this book) Siris. The two of them find themselves trapped and they start off the book in a continuous killing cycle which is interesting once you realise it's way out of context and you study a little bit about what;s happened in between, but it's really not that engrossing or exciting.
I would say that Radriar's character is rather irritating up until the very end of the book where he grows a lot as a personality whilst Siris just seemed to lack substance and be very focused on fighting his 'Dark self' rather than actually progressing the storyline much. Overall this was a very disappointing follow on and I wouldn't recommend it even though the end does pick up. I think it could have been made much more approachable for all (players of the games or not) but instead it suffered from a lack of consideration and therefore a confused beginning, slow middle and decent end, which adds up to a jumble of 'meh' in my opinion. If any more books in this series are released I expect they too will require having played the game to understand them and so I doubt i'll be buying them. Ah well, every author has to make a few worse books I suppose, but that's just my opinion of course! :)
basically this starts a fair way after the first book and that means that a lot has happened (the storyline progresses in the games but if, like me, you haven't played the games there is no warning that you need to have the background knowledge and it's really very confusing!) and the world and characters are in a completely different situation from how we left off at the end of book 1. I really didn't like the jarring feeling of trying to pick up a story which felt like a chunk was missing and although I know these books are marketed as being part of the Game series, I think not allowing a pleasant continuous plotline really alienates this book from the first and sets a bad tone.
We once again have the two main character from book 1, the God King Radriar and the main character from book 1 (who takes a bit more of a backseat role in this book) Siris. The two of them find themselves trapped and they start off the book in a continuous killing cycle which is interesting once you realise it's way out of context and you study a little bit about what;s happened in between, but it's really not that engrossing or exciting.
I would say that Radriar's character is rather irritating up until the very end of the book where he grows a lot as a personality whilst Siris just seemed to lack substance and be very focused on fighting his 'Dark self' rather than actually progressing the storyline much. Overall this was a very disappointing follow on and I wouldn't recommend it even though the end does pick up. I think it could have been made much more approachable for all (players of the games or not) but instead it suffered from a lack of consideration and therefore a confused beginning, slow middle and decent end, which adds up to a jumble of 'meh' in my opinion. If any more books in this series are released I expect they too will require having played the game to understand them and so I doubt i'll be buying them. Ah well, every author has to make a few worse books I suppose, but that's just my opinion of course! :)
adventurous
fast-paced
Fun, comfort read fantasy. Short & sweet.
These novellas have always been close to 3 stars for me but the endings of the books bump them up. Super cool world and character creations. The growth and change in character - I am a sucker for. Knowing nothing about this game and reading them just as novellas still very involved. Is there another?
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I liked this one more than the first one. The focus on Reiner and his backstory intertwined with the actual story was very interesting, and the moment his father called him King made me actually pause, this was so good.
There were also couple funny moments of banter, overall a very enjoyable read
There were also couple funny moments of banter, overall a very enjoyable read
Pretty bored most of the time. Sanderson did what he could but the source material is weak.
Being a video game tie-in, this book relies much more on your knowledge of the games than the first. I had to do some time on Wikipedia to figure out where to ground the story. The world building beyond that was good, and the characters actually managed a bit of growth in this weird vignette space. Don't expect a resolution, though. This is a set up for the next game where you'll be playing out that action. All in all it was decent, but I'm glad Sanderson's grown enough as an author that he doesn't need to do this sort of story anymore.
challenging
dark
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes