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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A delightful beginning to an epic series. Erikson tells the story by casting wide the threads of his characters then slowly weaving them together to unveil the big picture. Each reveal punched its way through one’s theories. I haven’t been this entertained trying to guess how the story was going to go since A Song of Ice and Fire.
adventurous
challenging
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
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
I picked this up because it's a favorite of my husband's, and I've been meaning to read it for a while. We listened to it together, and that was helpful, because this is one of those sink-or-swim situations where the author throws everything at you at once--the characters, the magical system, the different types of sentient beings, etc. It was nice (for me) to be able to pause the book and ask questions (crankily demand answers, same diff). So if you decide to do it on audio, listen to it with my husband.
It's a complicated world, and there are a Lot of characters. Listening to an audiobook in the evening was also not ideal, because that's not when my brain does its best work, and it's harder to stay awake. I started exercising while we listened, to stay awake, so I will probably always associate this book with doing physical therapy.
Anyway, it took me a while to warm up to it, and I don't think I ever warmed up to the verses/snippets of text at the beginning of every chapter, because most of the time I couldn't connect them to the story. That might have been the whole audiobook-listening-at-night problem. Let's say that.
However, I did indeed start getting into it around the time they introduced the Darujhistan characters. My mind still wandered during the audio sometimes, but I started to follow the plot better. At around the 80% mark, we were camping and didn't want to drain our batteries, so I switched to reading the book out loud, and that part of the experience was the best. I'm interested enough to read the next in the series, and, even though the audiobook reader, Ralph Lister, did a fantastic job, I think reading it myself will work better.
I wouldn't say it's a book that's easy to sink into, but I do think it was worth the extra attention and effort it takes to read it.
It's a complicated world, and there are a Lot of characters. Listening to an audiobook in the evening was also not ideal, because that's not when my brain does its best work, and it's harder to stay awake. I started exercising while we listened, to stay awake, so I will probably always associate this book with doing physical therapy.
Anyway, it took me a while to warm up to it, and I don't think I ever warmed up to the verses/snippets of text at the beginning of every chapter, because most of the time I couldn't connect them to the story. That might have been the whole audiobook-listening-at-night problem. Let's say that.
However, I did indeed start getting into it around the time they introduced the Darujhistan characters. My mind still wandered during the audio sometimes, but I started to follow the plot better. At around the 80% mark, we were camping and didn't want to drain our batteries, so I switched to reading the book out loud, and that part of the experience was the best. I'm interested enough to read the next in the series, and, even though the audiobook reader, Ralph Lister, did a fantastic job, I think reading it myself will work better.
I wouldn't say it's a book that's easy to sink into, but I do think it was worth the extra attention and effort it takes to read it.
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
inspiring
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:
Complicated
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes