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3.98 AVERAGE
3.98 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I enjoyed this finale a lot. A great message for the younger readers that they can absorb easily through the text. We see a character who hasn't won everything but is still somehow happy at the end. Seeing Alcatraz through the eyes of Bastille is a blast, not to mention the other characters. I'm still surprised to this day how much I liked the Alcatraz books. Them being by my favourite author should've made me realize I'd like them sooner but like Alcatraz sometimes I'm dumb.
A fitting and fabulous conclusion to my favorite pun-ridden series. Gak!
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love Bastille. She is almost as fun as Alcatraz as a narrator, though not quite. It was fun to finish off a series with a different narrator without the primary narrator having died or something and it was an unexpected twist that I enjoyed. It think this book was good and wrapped up the ending really well, not perfectly resolved, but just right to still be almost fairy tale.
If you’ve been waiting years to find out what happened to Alcatraz after the events surrounding the altar of outdated encyclopedias, all you need to know is that Bastille did a great job wrapping up the series! It was a really good ending to the totally true events that happened at the Worldspire.
Thanks to “Brandon Sanderson,” “Janci Patterson,” and “NetGalley” for providing me an advanced copy of the autobiography in exchange for a review (which sounds like a Librarian scheme if I’ve ever heard one!)
Thanks to “Brandon Sanderson,” “Janci Patterson,” and “NetGalley” for providing me an advanced copy of the autobiography in exchange for a review (which sounds like a Librarian scheme if I’ve ever heard one!)
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I did! Many of the jokes made me giggle and it captured the mood of the rest of the series while still having a different voice from Alcatraz’s narration.
I just felt like something was missing, that it didn’t quite measure up to the caliber of previous Alcatraz books. The Dark Talent in particular just felt more climactic than this final book. This one feels more like a very long epilogue to Alcatraz’s story rather than the grand finale.
I wanted to love everything about this book but there were a few parts that disappointed me. There was more romance than I think the characters were ready for and it felt like some of the fallout from the last book was fixed too easily. Especially considering that he refused to write this last book, I expected there to be more lingering trauma at the end than there was.
I just felt like something was missing, that it didn’t quite measure up to the caliber of previous Alcatraz books. The Dark Talent in particular just felt more climactic than this final book. This one feels more like a very long epilogue to Alcatraz’s story rather than the grand finale.
I wanted to love everything about this book but there were a few parts that disappointed me. There was more romance than I think the characters were ready for and it felt like some of the fallout from the last book was fixed too easily. Especially considering that he refused to write this last book, I expected there to be more lingering trauma at the end than there was.
A fun and fantastic conclusion to the Alcatraz series. This time the story is told by Bastille, Alcatraz’s companion and bodyguard. Sanderson is also listed as a coauthor here and I suspect it is Janci Patterson did most of the work. I am curious if the change in narrator to Bastille was because Janci stepped in or was already planned? With Brandon’s growing workload, such as finishing Stormlight sometime in the next three decades, it makes sense to pass this to his team. Janci’s wrote three novellas in the Skyward universe coinciding with Brandon releasing the third novel, and those novellas were superior to the novel, so bringing her in here is a good move.
Overall, this is a fast-paced and fun book. It certainly retains the tone of the series, and any child or adult who reads this far will not be disappointed. My eleven year old read this series before me and love it, though she hasn’t gotten to this one yet. Highly recommended for readers of all ages!
Overall, this is a fast-paced and fun book. It certainly retains the tone of the series, and any child or adult who reads this far will not be disappointed. My eleven year old read this series before me and love it, though she hasn’t gotten to this one yet. Highly recommended for readers of all ages!
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I've been a fan of the Alcatraz series since I got an ARC copy of the first book. This latest addition is one I've been waiting for but also putting off because I wasn't yet ready to say goodbye to the characters. But I'm so glad to have read this book. It was a great ending to a great story. And I love that the final book was in Bastille's POV.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Grief, Death of parent