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3.97 AVERAGE
3.97 AVERAGE
Tenía ganas de que llegara este último volumen y poder despedirme de Alcatraz, Bastille y los Reinos Libres, así que supongo que cualquier cosa me iba a parecer poco. Pero si en algún momento albergué la esperanza de que, por aquello de ser el cierre de la saga, Sanderson se lo iba a currar un poco y revertir la tendencia de libros de Alcatraz cada vez más insulsos estaba equivocado.
No sé si es que el paso del tiempo me hace recordar los primeros libros mejor de lo que eran, pero en cualquier caso este me ha resultado bastante decepcionante. La historia es tremendamente simple y la acción resulta confusa a ratos. Sí, cierto que el cambio de narrador al principio es interesante, pero tras la impresión inicial Bastille se dedica a repetir los mismos chistes capítulo tras capítulo.
A ver, mejor esto que el que Sanderson hubiera dejado la historia inconclusa (¿Rithmatista, estás ahí?), pero Bastille y Alcatraz se merecían un cierre hecho con un poco más de cariño.
No sé si es que el paso del tiempo me hace recordar los primeros libros mejor de lo que eran, pero en cualquier caso este me ha resultado bastante decepcionante. La historia es tremendamente simple y la acción resulta confusa a ratos. Sí, cierto que el cambio de narrador al principio es interesante, pero tras la impresión inicial Bastille se dedica a repetir los mismos chistes capítulo tras capítulo.
A ver, mejor esto que el que Sanderson hubiera dejado la historia inconclusa (¿Rithmatista, estás ahí?), pero Bastille y Alcatraz se merecían un cierre hecho con un poco más de cariño.
It was a lot of fun to get back to this book and have a conclusion for the series!
Reread 2023: I listened to this with my kids as well finished listening to the entire series. It was an interesting experience to read it immediately after the other books (the first time I read it, it had been YEARS).
Some thoughts I had this time around:
-it's weird to go from one narrator for 5 books and then switch for the last book. The way they did it worked, but it was still weird
-there were definitely times when the book leaned into Bastille's humor, but I did notice in this reread times when it felt like Alcatraz's humor, which felt off because it was Bastille's voice.
-This last book wraps up all the loose ends of the series fairly well and isn't super long, but it's also pretty boring (to me at least)
-my kids loved it, especially the parts that showed the romance between Alcatraz and Bastille.
Original read: This series has always been my least favorite by Sanderson, not because it isn't well done, but because it's a little obnoxious and that's not as much my style. But, I still enjoy a lot of aspects of the books and can appreciate them even while they are not my absolute favorite. I am also excited to read them with my kids because the humor is very much middle grade humor and I remember my in-laws finding these hilarious when they were young teenagers.
I thought this wrapped up the series well and I thought the short length was perfect for what it was.
A note on the coauthor: I have found everything that Janci has written with Sanderson to be very well done. I know other reviewers are disappointed, but I honestly wouldn't have been able to tell that someone else helped cowrite this if I hadn't known beforehand. I also have seen people complain about the romance (because Janci writes romance), but we have to remember that Sanderson outlined and helped write/edit and from the past books in the series, the romance was not unexpected to me. I don't believe that the romance was added by Janci because she writes romance. In short, I feel that people are prejudiced against the cowriter and that may be influencing some of their complaints. At the very least, I disagree with their complaints.
Some thoughts I had this time around:
-it's weird to go from one narrator for 5 books and then switch for the last book. The way they did it worked, but it was still weird
-there were definitely times when the book leaned into Bastille's humor, but I did notice in this reread times when it felt like Alcatraz's humor, which felt off because it was Bastille's voice.
-This last book wraps up all the loose ends of the series fairly well and isn't super long, but it's also pretty boring (to me at least)
-my kids loved it, especially the parts that showed the romance between Alcatraz and Bastille.
Original read: This series has always been my least favorite by Sanderson, not because it isn't well done, but because it's a little obnoxious and that's not as much my style. But, I still enjoy a lot of aspects of the books and can appreciate them even while they are not my absolute favorite. I am also excited to read them with my kids because the humor is very much middle grade humor and I remember my in-laws finding these hilarious when they were young teenagers.
I thought this wrapped up the series well and I thought the short length was perfect for what it was.
A note on the coauthor: I have found everything that Janci has written with Sanderson to be very well done. I know other reviewers are disappointed, but I honestly wouldn't have been able to tell that someone else helped cowrite this if I hadn't known beforehand. I also have seen people complain about the romance (because Janci writes romance), but we have to remember that Sanderson outlined and helped write/edit and from the past books in the series, the romance was not unexpected to me. I don't believe that the romance was added by Janci because she writes romance. In short, I feel that people are prejudiced against the cowriter and that may be influencing some of their complaints. At the very least, I disagree with their complaints.
adventurous
emotional
funny
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:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
Out of all 6 books, I think I like this one the most.
It gives a satisfying ending to a great adventure. Given the target audience, I love the message it sent to the readers.
For nip picking part, I wish Sanderson didn’t “resurrect” those characters. It kinda weakened the stake of the plot, but again this is a YA.
Switching POV to Bastille is a nice change, some people don’t like the shifting of POV, which I usually don’t. But I was kinda tired of the monologue from the beginning of each chapter. So this is kinda refreshing.
It’s a fun read, and if you want something that you can read or listen to while turning your brain off , I think this one is for you.
It gives a satisfying ending to a great adventure. Given the target audience, I love the message it sent to the readers.
For nip picking part, I wish Sanderson didn’t “resurrect” those characters. It kinda weakened the stake of the plot, but again this is a YA.
Switching POV to Bastille is a nice change, some people don’t like the shifting of POV, which I usually don’t. But I was kinda tired of the monologue from the beginning of each chapter. So this is kinda refreshing.
It’s a fun read, and if you want something that you can read or listen to while turning your brain off , I think this one is for you.
Loved this! I feel like I finally have closure to this ''straw-esome'' series
A tidy wrap up to the series. I appreciated being back amongst the humor of the Free Kingdoms.
Bastille vs. the Evil Librarians is a fitting and satisfying conclusion to the Alcatraz series. I must say that it was a great choice to switch perspectives for the final book and for that perspective to be Bastille's. With that out of the way, this is the book where Alcatraz is a hero, and it does not have footnotes. It does have Bastille fighting everyone in the world though. And it has the plotting and pacing and twists and turns that we all have come to expect in this series. On the whole, I really enjoyed the imagination on display for all the books. Sometimes things get too absurd for my tastes but that is was this series does so I can't fault it too much for leaning into that. I think more Sanderson fans should check it out honestly. I bet that all six books here are probably not as long as a single Stormlight book but I think there is some serious crossover appeal. Yes, this is not intended for adults but the magic system and how it evolves over the books, the world building and the plotting are all similar enough that I could see a lot of Cosmere fans enjoying it. Even if they don't have kids to read this to or with.
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
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