Reviews tagging 'Gaslighting'

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

12 reviews

bauke's review against another edition

adventurous dark lighthearted mysterious slow-paced

3.75

Nice read, a fun fantasy novel. I was going to give a slightly lower rating, as the story was slow in places, and some of the characters were annoying or typical or had annoying aspects, but there were some nice twists at the end that you felt coming but just could not see the shape of except in hindsight. That was very well done, and the world building was also improved from the last book; the world feels less (but still a bit) like its just the main city and a surrounding wasteland that could contain anything.

RIP main characters getting no-divorce-possible forever-married

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: War

Moderate: Rape, Gaslighting, Sexism, and Sexual violence

Minor: Transphobia

rikuson1's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

I Really Liked It 😊
-★★★★✮- (4.50/5.00)
My Grading Letter Score = 90% (A)

When I finished The Well of Ascension, the first words that came out of my mouth were "simply incredible." But at first the pacing of this book at the start, I completely understand why some people would consider this weaker than The Final Empire if we are discussing overall pacing because The Well of Ascension was constantly going from slow to fast to slower to faster. For me, I'm not really someone who heavily focuses on pacing if what is being provided to me is engaging and if it's building up to something that is paid off when it's due, which this book mostly everyone agrees it does just that. So, regarding pacing consistency, sure, you can go ahead and give The Final Empire the upper hand when it comes to that. But honestly, outside of that, I most definitely feel like The Well of Ascension is tied with The Final Empire in almost every other criteria, and/or The Well of Ascension did it better.

The two categories I feel The Well of Ascension did better were characterization and character development. Every single character that was focused on in The Well of Ascension, for the most part, felt like they were given the time they needed to be fleshed out enough to be commended at least above what the characterization execution was provided to us in The Final Empire and goes for the development they went through in this book. World-building, Lore, Action, and Prose are all categories that can be debated which one did it better. I don't really care since I enjoyed all of these things in both of these books. 


Verdict
At first, I was Team Final Empire, until around Chapter 47 when my favorite fight scene in the series so far occurred did I start to lean over to Team Well of Ascension, after that the pacing slowed back down and then I started to lean back over to The Final Empire and then the last fifty pages of this book leveled me out. It brought me to the conclusion of thinking that I like both of these books equally critically, to be honest. If I was held at gunpoint and forced to choose one over the other, I might say The Well of Ascension, since the hype of just finishing it is still on me and I love great characterization which this book gave me a whole lot of. But I love both of these books equally and I'm glad I did not come out of it thinking less of it in comparison to its predecessor, a successor should be as good or better than what came before it and I feel The Well of Ascension accomplished just that. So regardless of what the majority of people state or what the rating score in comparison says about this book. 

I Really Liked It.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Xenophobia and War

Minor: Sexual assault, Classism, Physical abuse, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Murder, Bullying, Confinement, Genocide, and Xenophobia

tilo's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I am unsure if I have ever experienced a book like this one, where with every new chapter a new information is dropped that almost always completely twists one of the many exciting narratives. From the first page on, I was surprised and as it kept going I could not fathom all the plottwists coming. And none of them seemed over the top nor misplaced, as the world, its history and its characters, whom I am attached to deeply now, are so well construed that it read so fluently.
Not to mention, the amazing and captivating writing style!
Due to the ending, I am both extremely curious and mortified to find out what is waiting in Book Three.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Self harm, Grief, Blood, Body horror, Death, Stalking, Genocide, Murder, Toxic friendship, Violence, Classism, Colonisation, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, War, and Slavery

Moderate: Infertility, Rape, Infidelity, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Sexism, Sexual violence, Animal cruelty, and Racism

Minor: Sexism and Ableism

Mentions genital mutilation

mkaiww's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

The middle of the book drags and I was planning on taking a break from the series after this book but after the ending I was permanently hooked on the cosmere

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Classism, Violence, War, Stalking, Murder, and Mental illness

Moderate: Sexual assault, Genocide, Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Dysphoria, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Drug abuse

seanml's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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

3.75

The Well of Ascension is the second book in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn fantasy trilogy. What I find with this series is that it's just a slight bit style over substance. The characters are varied, I have a clear picture of them and more or less enjoy their presence. The world is interesting and unique; the lore is well thought out; and of course the magic system is fleshed out and intricately explained. However I find that as whole the story lacks a certain warmth. This isn't always a necessity in fantasy and sci-fi - sometimes the author just wants to write out their cool ideas, and there are many in Mistborn. But big plot points often don't carry a weight to them. Sometimes the plot itself is going through motions - and it is VERY apparent in one big subplot. One that I found to be SO contrived and led to situations where things could have worked out if the characters just talked to each other. So, still very novel for its time, but maybe not as enjoyable as the first. 7.5/10.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Classism, Gaslighting, Slavery, Stalking, and War

Minor: Child death

amelia22's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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

5.0

No podía dejar de leerlo. Estoy enganchada.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Self harm, Violence, Death, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Gore, Mental illness, Sexual violence, and Gaslighting

Minor: Classism, Grief, Pedophilia, War, Trafficking, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Cannibalism, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

iono's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, War, Blood, Gaslighting, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Cannibalism, Classism, Colonisation, Drug use, Physical abuse, Rape, Gore, Pedophilia, Slavery, and Grief

Minor: Child death, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, and Suicide

lilifane's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

I LOVED IT SO SO MUCH IT'S EVEN BETTER THAN THE FIRST BOOK! 

I want to scream because I have so many thoughts and feelings and I can't explain them because of spoilers.

I'm just impressed. This is probably the most perfect second book I've ever read? It is the logical continuation of book one. And yes, it prepares the characters for and leads the plot to the third book. But it has a very interesting and well crafted plot on its own, with a satisfying finale. 

After finishing The Final Empire, you just don't know what to expect. But the themes explored in this book make you realize how much there still is to consider. Yeah, defeating a villain is hard, but maybe taking over and making life better is even harder? Love the detailed look at the aftermath of a revolution, the changes the characters went through but still have to go through more, the obstacles no one had considered. The character development is phenomenal. Is it fun/easy to read about the struggles and mistakes of the characters? No. But it's so believable and realistic. Wow. 

It is also maybe one of my favorite takes on the chosen one trope. And I love love loooove how much books, reading and research are part of the plot. It's my third book by Sanderson and all three have this in common. Characters that love reading and are passionate about doing research. And you as a reader can do it alongside them and even get rewarded for it. It's one of my favorite things in the world. 

I'm SO excited for book 3 now. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Self harm, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, War, Toxic relationship, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Addiction

oldladysadie's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad 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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, War, Body horror, Classism, Colonisation, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, and Toxic relationship

sashafriese's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Injury/Injury detail, Stalking, War, Classism, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Sexual violence, Blood, and Death