Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.17 AVERAGE
4.17 AVERAGE
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is a wild ride with one of the most unique magic systems I’ve ever read. It did feel like most of this book was world building and setting up for the larger plot of the series, but all of that really paid off in the last 100 pages or so. I can’t wait to see how the story progresses from here.
I really enjoyed the humor and banter between the characters in this book, which I was not really expecting. However, I do think that the heavy focus on world building and explaining the magic system and history overpowered the character development, so I didn’t really feel like they gained much-needed depth until close to the end. Also, I felt like the author overused exclamation marks, which made some of the dialogue a bit juvenile, which is a personal pet peeve.
Despite my small complaints, this was a very good book and sets up an incredibly interesting plot for the rest of the trilogy!
I really enjoyed the humor and banter between the characters in this book, which I was not really expecting. However, I do think that the heavy focus on world building and explaining the magic system and history overpowered the character development, so I didn’t really feel like they gained much-needed depth until close to the end. Also, I felt like the author overused exclamation marks, which made some of the dialogue a bit juvenile, which is a personal pet peeve.
Despite my small complaints, this was a very good book and sets up an incredibly interesting plot for the rest of the trilogy!
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
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
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Overview of whole series with mild hints of thematic direction taken by later books:
I loved it all, five stars, and read all three books back to back in just under three weeks when it usually takes me most of that time for one book this length, and I usually take a break in between volumes. Be warned though, this series escalates the stakes and changes the tone drastically as the series goes on.
The first book starts off small-scale, with the protagonist crawling through literal human feces to steal something mysterious, and worrying about the guards' magic swords and crossbows. But because the magic is based on what is effectively programming, by the third book we're dealing with epic SF/cyberpunk themes more daringly than most SF authors I've read, with many parallels with debates about computers in our time. Improbably, this is a fantasy series about the world changing massively due to technology, possibly the only one of its kind (maybe except for the author's other work). Daring and original and moving.
I loved it all, five stars, and read all three books back to back in just under three weeks when it usually takes me most of that time for one book this length, and I usually take a break in between volumes. Be warned though, this series escalates the stakes and changes the tone drastically as the series goes on.
The first book starts off small-scale, with the protagonist crawling through literal human feces to steal something mysterious, and worrying about the guards' magic swords and crossbows. But because the magic is based on what is effectively programming, by the third book we're dealing with epic SF/cyberpunk themes more daringly than most SF authors I've read, with many parallels with debates about computers in our time. Improbably, this is a fantasy series about the world changing massively due to technology, possibly the only one of its kind (maybe except for the author's other work). Daring and original and moving.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-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
adventurous
funny
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
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes