Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

11 reviews

ctara2123's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Violence, Slavery, Physical abuse, Death, and Child abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Grief, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, and War

Minor: Torture

tilo's review against another edition

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

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

5.0

This was my first book by Brandon Sanderson and I understand the praise. The magic system is fascinating and I love that you do not only learn along with the protagonist(s) but discover that there are many mysteries revolving around it that even the characters have not figured out yet. Every storyline is intriguing and by the end, when all of them came together, the plottwists - some of them excruciatingly casually dropped (in a good way) - had me audibly gasping. The plot unfolds in such a clever and seamless way - truly inspiring for my own creative writing! 
I enjoyed the characters. For a good first part of the novel, I found them not very likeable (which is not something I need in a novel, anyway) but that made them seem more real and complex. From the first page, I wanted to learn more about them and became very attached to their plans and hopes.
The ending finished the main story line of the book but kept so many mysteries open and introduced new problems that I cannot wait to read more about in the second novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Torture, Violence, Child death, Murder, Genocide, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Racism, War, Slavery, Abandonment, and Blood

Moderate: Grief, Infertility, Body horror, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Sexism and Rape

caskraft's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Grief, Body horror, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Murder, and Torture

Minor: Infidelity, Death of parent, Child death, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War

imskylow's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.5

Brandon Sanderson cannot go wrong. I can see how he gained his fame from this book what a wild ride with such an interesting magic system. I was not at all expecting the ending. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Classism, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Slavery, Child abuse, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Racism

Minor: Kidnapping, Infidelity, Pedophilia, and Rape

strawberrytheauthor's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny hopeful 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? No

5.0

I loved this book. I have been scared to start Brandon Sanderson’s cosmere books but this was so good! I can’t wait to read the other two books in the trilogy. This book was written in a way that if you ignore the epilogue it could be a stand alone so there isn’t much pressure in starting it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, War, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Grief, and Infidelity

Minor: Mental illness, Misogyny, Cursing, and Torture

headinthepages's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Violence, Abandonment, Vomit, Body horror, Alcohol, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, War, Kidnapping, Murder, Death, Grief, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Slavery, Child death, Infidelity, and Medical trauma

dragonbornsandwaffles's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

It lulls for the first third of the book or so while he's worldbuilding, but once things started to pick up, I quickly couldn't put it down. It's a very intense gritty fantasy (see content warnings for details - it's...a lot), and the characterization is so good that they feel like old friends. It does have a shock twist at the end, so if you don't like those, I'd stay away. It made me absolutely bawl like a baby for a good hour after I finished it. Fantastic book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Murder, Gore, Police brutality, Grief, Genocide, Violence, Abandonment, Death, Body horror, and War

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, and Racism

Minor: Alcohol, Racial slurs, Rape, Trafficking, Sexual assault, Addiction, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, Vomit, Torture, Cannibalism, Confinement, and Stalking

kirbylover16's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny slow-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

4.75

After years of people telling me to read a Brandon Sanderson book and the whole Kickstarter fiasco, I have finally got around to it. Thus this is my first book ever by Sanderson; I don't know how this book score could change based on the rest of the series or the rest of the Cosmere. (yet) My overall feeling is mixed. It was a good read, and I did relate to the main character, Vin. Most of my problems are just nitpicks and my preferences for faster, more romantic, and shorter stories. However, the plot suffers from a very repetitive and slow style that can really be insufferable.
Vin is practically illiterate, as are most skaa, and it comes off quirky? Especially with Vin and Spook, and that rubs me wrong. The whole free will theme and religious tones are huge turnoffs. (apparently, Sanderson is a Mormon) Vin's mentor Kelsior is supposed to be charming, but he's not. He got worse as the story goes. Maybe I'm biased tho? Every mentor, grandfather/or father figure in media tends to be manipulative.

his fight dragged on way too long. When Vin and Elend showed up, I thought it would finally end, but nope it dragged some more.

I am more invested in all the other characters. Which there are too many. I kept going back and forth on if I liked Sazed but I think I warmed up to him. 
 What made me want to read this book was the idea that the prophetic hero fails and the evil rules, but that's all in the background. The bad guy won centuries ago! We slowly get the hero's journal, but the story would be the same without it. (shorter at least) The better description is a magical heist with politics and slavery thrown in. I enjoyed the romance and sexual tension, but I don't think he met latter.

even tho there are not many interactions between Elend and Vin or Spook. The sexual tension I meant with Ham and Bree. Perhaps he realized that in the editing phase, and that's why towards the end, they make Ham have an off-scene wife and kids he hasn't seen in months. :(

The world-building is the best part of the book. For example, the different ways metal and magic interact, the flying by dropping coins, and people looking like hellraisers walking around. The last 20% is fantastic. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Abandonment, and Body horror

Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Torture, and War

Minor: Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

There isn't really any sex/skin, just one brief kiss described, some mentions of rape, whore houses, and underage sex. Vin does run around in boys' clothes and in her undergarments. Mostly for comic effect. Also, mental health/postpartum depression/suicide as Vin's mother kills her baby sibling and herself. Oh, and lots of murder, which we get to see very graphically. A shocking amount of beheading.

shaunaxx's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious 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? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Death, Genocide, Grief, Murder, Slavery, Torture, and War

Moderate: Child abuse, Infidelity, Abandonment, and Emotional abuse

blynecessity's review against another edition

dark mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.25

Y'all, this read felt reeeal tone-deaf when it came to the topics of poverty and dealing with trauma. Also, very clunky writing. And why was there basically one woman in this whole book? Outside of random socialites, a couple of unnamed maids, and a girl who was about to be assaulted (who was also not named, just referred to as so-and-so's child), there are basically no women in this book. And the main woman was inexplicably and instantly in love with a mediocre and kinda rude man, who btw was a 21 years old to her 16 years old. Anywaaaayyy, non-noble women also seem to have almost no role in society aside from literally popping out "a dozen children"??? Where were they all the rest of the time?? Every background character seemed to be a man, and (with one exception) every foreground character was a man too. I just did not love this book, tbh. Maybe this was really progressive to the cis-het white men who were looking to expand their grimdark fantasy reads when it first came out, but this has nooot aged well!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Grief, Hate crime, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Minor: Death of parent, Infidelity, Stalking, and Trafficking