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mayr3adsab00k's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Slavery, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Genocide, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Medical content, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
looking4thedr's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Sanderson, I feel, always does world-building quite well, slowly revealing more about the world and it’s magic system through the eyes of the characters, especially the main ones of Vin and Kelsir in this case. Kelsir is experienced with the world’s magic system, as are the rest of his crew, and we listen to their explanation as Vin does, as a new comer to this part of the world.
Vin’s character is definitely interesting. Her growth through the story
The descriptions conjured up a very clear image in my mind, as though I were watching a movie, although at some points it became almost a little cliche, at some points being like a YA film (and not in a good way)
Apart from that I throughly enjoyed this book and will continue to read the rest of the series to find out what happens next.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual assault and Xenophobia
daniellecheri's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Murder, and Gaslighting
andreia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
this is one of sanderson's earlier works, published in 2006, which is now a long time ago when we consider how the fantasy genre has evolved in recent years. in the context that this was published in, i'd say this is a pretty great story, with a very satisfying progression of events, interesting enough characters, and it even holds up well as a standalone book. in short, it's understandable why it's one of sanderson's most beloved works. the complexity of the world-building is fascinating and i know there's still so much more to discover about this world in the next books.
although i haven't read anything else by him, i'm sure sanderson has improved a lot as a writer since publishing this, as he's claimed himself. so for now i guess i can excuse the things i didn't love about this. i also know that most people seem to prefer his more recent books, so i'm excited to keep reading!
things i didn't love so much (with some mild spoilers):
- vin's character was infuriating at times and the worst part was how painfully clear it was that some of her actions / thoughts were just poor writing choices and not actually a reflection of her character. how is it believable that someone who suffered so much all her life, is constantly battling her instinct to not trust anyone (not even people who clearly want to help her), suddenly goes to a ball, has some meaningless superficial conversations with people who would literally kill her without batting an eye, and decides that the nobility are good and deserve redemption? just because they have pretty dresses and houses? it's just so contradicting to the basis of her character that reading her inner monologues when it comes to the nobility feels like a completely different character.
- in general, the other characters don't really stand out much aside from kelsier and sazed. and this is a big cast of characters. the rest of the crew, although lovable, were honestly very forgettable at times. also, the fact that vin is basically the only significant female character in a cast of 8+ important characters is very, well, 2006-fantasy-written-by-a-man, i guess. not to mention the only other women (2) who occasionally make an appearance, are all antagonists.
- this definitely didn't need to be 600+ pages long. it was a little repetitive at times, with the characters having the same inner monologues time and time again. also, i didn't feel that there was much info-dumping, but there were definitely moments way past half of the book where we were revisiting concepts of this fantasy world for the second, third time, as if to make sure the reader didn't forget it.
- some small cliche moments like
i'm hoping these are all aspects that will be improved in the next books or, at least, in other sanderson series. other than that, i'm very excited to read the next one since i have no clue where it's going!
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
blynecessity's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Body horror, Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol
Minor: Infidelity, Trafficking, Stalking, and Death of parent
gracecrandall's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Torture
thevietvegan's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual violence
the_unproductive_reader's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Minor: Domestic abuse and Rape