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giulianalb99's review against another edition
adventurous
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
4.0
Creo que ha llegado un punto en mi vida en el que Brandon Sanderson se ha vuelto uno de mis escritores favoritos y es incapaz que me decepcione.
En este libro se nos presenta una magia súper peculiar, y es que la magia viene de los alientos de los dioses por los colores. Menuda imaginación hay que tener para hacer algo así, tan original e inusual.
Sinopsis:
En el reino norteño de Idris su monarca se ha visto obligado a llegar a un acuerdo para garantizar la paz por el que se compromete casar a su hija con el rey-dios de su enemigo ancestral, el reino de Hallandren. Sin embargo en el último momento el rey Dedelin se ve incapaz de enviar a su amada primogénita, Vivenna, y manda en su lugar a su revoltosa e independiente hija menor, Siri. Esto trastocará para siempre la inestable situación entre los dos reinos y convertirá a Siri en la pieza clave para evitar la guerra.
Los personajes me han parecido muy buenos, y me encanta que cada capítulo tenga perspectivas distintas. Creo que el único punto en contra ha sido Vivenna, porque no es hasta el final que me empieza (tampoco mucho) a caer bien. Me ha parecido un personaje un poco insoportable y sus capítulos se me han hecho eternos. La evolución de todos me ha encantado.
Mi opinión sincera es que el libro está muy bien, pero hay partes que se me han hecho un poco pesadas. Elantris, otro libro del Cosmere, me pareció mucho mejor y siento que conecté más con esos personajes que con estos. Como siempre, los libros de Sanderson son bastante densos y con mucham
religión de por medio, pero las 100 últimas páginas siempre son una maravilla (básicamente porque los desenlaces de sus libros son apoteósicos).
Obviamente seguiré leyendo a este señor (porque a este paso me voy a leer hasta su lista de la compra y me va a encantar), y no puedo esperar más a leer todos los libros del Cosmere💫
En este libro se nos presenta una magia súper peculiar, y es que la magia viene de los alientos de los dioses por los colores. Menuda imaginación hay que tener para hacer algo así, tan original e inusual.
Sinopsis:
En el reino norteño de Idris su monarca se ha visto obligado a llegar a un acuerdo para garantizar la paz por el que se compromete casar a su hija con el rey-dios de su enemigo ancestral, el reino de Hallandren. Sin embargo en el último momento el rey Dedelin se ve incapaz de enviar a su amada primogénita, Vivenna, y manda en su lugar a su revoltosa e independiente hija menor, Siri. Esto trastocará para siempre la inestable situación entre los dos reinos y convertirá a Siri en la pieza clave para evitar la guerra.
Los personajes me han parecido muy buenos, y me encanta que cada capítulo tenga perspectivas distintas. Creo que el único punto en contra ha sido Vivenna, porque no es hasta el final que me empieza (tampoco mucho) a caer bien. Me ha parecido un personaje un poco insoportable y sus capítulos se me han hecho eternos. La evolución de todos me ha encantado.
Mi opinión sincera es que el libro está muy bien, pero hay partes que se me han hecho un poco pesadas. Elantris, otro libro del Cosmere, me pareció mucho mejor y siento que conecté más con esos personajes que con estos. Como siempre, los libros de Sanderson son bastante densos y con mucham
religión de por medio, pero las 100 últimas páginas siempre son una maravilla (básicamente porque los desenlaces de sus libros son apoteósicos).
Obviamente seguiré leyendo a este señor (porque a este paso me voy a leer hasta su lista de la compra y me va a encantar), y no puedo esperar más a leer todos los libros del Cosmere💫
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Death, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, War, Emotional abuse, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Cursing, and Torture
Minor: Rape and Pregnancy
mahra's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.75 ⭐️
That was incredible! The magic system, the characters, the humor, the themes, the worldbuilding in general… I loved it.
However, a few words and expressions used felt out of place, which took me out of the story. And I wish the ending was not so rushed.
This book was my introduction to the Cosmere. I will definitely read more. :)
PS: Lightsong was hilarious! He's my favorite. I'm still thinking about him.
That was incredible! The magic system, the characters, the humor, the themes, the worldbuilding in general… I loved it.
However, a few words and expressions used felt out of place, which took me out of the story. And I wish the ending was not so rushed.
This book was my introduction to the Cosmere. I will definitely read more. :)
PS: Lightsong was hilarious! He's my favorite. I'm still thinking about him.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Classism, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Animal death, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Child abuse, Colonisation, Misogyny, and Murder
chris_reads's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, War, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Sexual harassment, and Misogyny
Minor: Gore, Rape, Torture, Trafficking, and Vomit
oldladysadie's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This was one of the harder Cosmere novels for me to get through. I had a personally difficult time with the systemic misogyny leveled at Siri through most of the book, particularly having her hymen checked for virginity without her consent, the nightly humiliation being made to strip down and be a sex object for Susebron, and the repeated title of “Vessel” instead of Queen because she’s treated as more of an incubator than a person . I also wish we learned the magic system earlier on, and had a hard time empathizing with Vivenna at times. This book did ultimately enhance some other moments in The Stormlight Archive for me, though, so I’m ultimately glad to have finished it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism and Misogyny
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
cookiecat73's review
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Alcohol, Police brutality, Toxic friendship, War, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Xenophobia, Classism, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Misogyny
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Rape, Torture, Child abuse, Colonisation, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Pregnancy, Body horror, Sexual content, and Suicide
Minor: Ableism, Child death, Grief, and Gaslighting
touchegiantsquid's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is my first listen to a Brandon Sanderson story. As an audio book, this had a length of 25 hours. For about 23 of them it felt like a chore. It's not as funny as it thinks it is.
Redeemed to 3 stars because I felt one character's conclusion moved me. For the most part, the magic system seemed intentionally opaque and confusing and it wasn't cleared up by the end.
Redeemed to 3 stars because I felt one character's conclusion moved me. For the most part, the magic system seemed intentionally opaque and confusing and it wasn't cleared up by the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
Minor: Kidnapping, Rape, Homophobia, Misogyny, Torture, War, Animal cruelty, Death, and Murder
vigil's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
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? Yes
3.25
he almost lost me with vivenna in certain places. i understood completely her role in the narrative and what she embodied, but it was annoying to read at times.
the blushweaver and siri scene was bizzare, misogynistic, and kind of pathetic but this was written in 2008 by a mormon white guy. you win some and you lose some 🤷♀️
(i had issues with some aspects of blushweaver in general, actually. i think she’s mostly fine but some things haven’t aged too well.)
edit: in light of mistborn, yet another critique i have is brandon presenting systems that are broken on a fundamental level and having it fixed by put A Good King on the throne. that’s not how it works.
the blushweaver and siri scene was bizzare, misogynistic, and kind of pathetic but this was written in 2008 by a mormon white guy. you win some and you lose some 🤷♀️
(i had issues with some aspects of blushweaver in general, actually. i think she’s mostly fine but some things haven’t aged too well.)
edit: in light of mistborn, yet another critique i have is brandon presenting systems that are broken on a fundamental level and having it fixed by put A Good King on the throne. that’s not how it works.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Xenophobia, Animal death, Violence, Animal cruelty, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, and War
leona's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Quick comment: A bit irritated that Storygraph doesn't appear to have the copy of the book I read (I tried to add it but it wouldn't let me.)
This is my fourth Sanderson book (second cosmere book) and it is safe to say I am well and truly hooked. I loved Warbreaker (okay not as much as The Final Empire which I have bumped up to a 5 star rating) but still, I really enjoyed it. Also, fair warning, I will probably be comparing this to The Final Empire a lot, which is probably unfair but ...
I have a lot of thoughts about this book, so hopefully I don't forget any - now, let's get started!
And some smallish spoilers below but I will try to tag the major ones.
First off: characters.
Sanderson has great characters. I think I can say that with some confidence now. The main cast consists of two sisters, Siri and Vivenna, the God King, Lightsong - a 'returned' God, and the mysterious Vasher. It took me quite a while to get attached to the characters. I liked Siri, Vasher and Lightsong but felt quite indifferent towards Vivenna and her POV's seemed to take up so much space. Actually scrap that, I really started to hat Vivenna for the majority of the book, her attitudes towards Jewels and Parlin were so controlling and entitled and it was very frustrating. But over time I started to like Vivenna a bit more, I started to like Siri and loved Vasher and Lightsong. Vasher is just such an epic character and I love the philosophical side that Lightsong brings. But if I am going to be honest, I just loved him when I found out he could juggle (and as a juggler I think Sanderson did a pretty good job here - no stupid hand waving and other weird crap people think jugglers do). He's just such a fascinating character. Lastly, is it unfair to say that Lightsong and Vasher reminded me of the opposite sides of Kelsier (okay maybe I'm just clutching at straws now because I like Kelsier's character so much.
Now onto some major character spoilers
I think Sanderson should have shown more detail with Lightsong's death because even though I loved this character, I think his death was a bit unemotional. The same with Blushweaver - I didn't like her from the start, hated her more after she called Siri a slut, then didn't really care whne she died, other than how upset Lightsong was. I would also say the same for Parlin's death There was barely any interactions with him and he was kind of just third-wheeling. I think Parlin and Blushweaver's deaths were used more as shock value but I didn't feel any emotional attachment to them. I actually really hated Blushweaver and she's a bit of a stereotype to be honest: the manipulative seductress who is flapping her cleavage around and trying to get with Lightsong every 2 minutes. Anyway, I loved Siri and Lightsong's relationship and I wish we could have seen more interactions with them. I also felt a bit underwhelmed by the revelation that Llarimarr (not sure about the spelling there...) was Lightsong's brother, or that Vasher was one of the 5 scholars (I think that's right). Why does Sanderson always kill off my favourite characters! Also: Hoid sighting 2! Are the materials he sprinkles from the various cosmere planets? I noticed him using small metal flakes or something along those lines and being like: MISTBORN!
Plot:
I can't really talk about plot that much, but this story is very political / court intrigue heavy and also relies quite heavily on mystery to draw you in. This is part of the reason I didn't give this a 5 star rating - for the first half of the book I was getting bored of Vivenna's POVs, didn't feel all that invested in the characters, and also didn't really understand what was going on. Some of the twists didn't land that well for me but I still think this book was pretty excellent. I was quite average about this book for a long time, but the Sanderlanche was epic and I just loved it. Although I think maybe the ending may have felt a little bit rushed? I also think this book definitely needs a sequel so hopefully Sanderson will work on one after Stormlight 5. It definitely isn't as action heavy as The Final Empire, Vasher brings most of the action, which I think is mainly a matter of personal preference.
Magic system / world building:
I am by no means an expert on these aspects but the world is very greek myth-esque with an excellent and unique magic system. The basics are quite easy to grasp but I also didn't feel like I fully understood some aspects of it which was also a contribution to some of the reveals not landing as well for me. But generally, I really enjoyed the magic and themes explored in this book.
Some general comments to add:
I think this book is mainly character driven and some readers may not like Sanderson's writing style. He is quite no nonsense and to the point, which makes it very digestible and his magic systems easier to handle but it is definitely not flowery or particularly 'beautiful' prose. Despite this he still manages to capture the beauty of the world very successfully. However one thing that annoyed me (and I had a similar criticism in Mistborn with the repetitive use of the word maladroitly) by the end of this book I was sick of hearing about every woman's 'dangerously low cut neck lines' or 'cleavage that threatened to fall out' or whatever other descriptions were used / descriptions of Blushweaver's boobs. I could forgive it at first with Siri and Vivenna considering their cultural / religious views but it did really start to grate on my nerves after a while.
So overall, definitely a solid entry of Sanderson's cosmere that I thoroughly enjoyed but not necessarily my favourite / on the same level for me as The Final Empire. I wish there was a sequel so bad though and I rate it 4 stars. Yay for the cosmere and I can't wait to finish the Mistborn trilogy.
This is my fourth Sanderson book (second cosmere book) and it is safe to say I am well and truly hooked. I loved Warbreaker (okay not as much as The Final Empire which I have bumped up to a 5 star rating) but still, I really enjoyed it. Also, fair warning, I will probably be comparing this to The Final Empire a lot, which is probably unfair but ...
I have a lot of thoughts about this book, so hopefully I don't forget any - now, let's get started!
And some smallish spoilers below but I will try to tag the major ones.
First off: characters.
Sanderson has great characters. I think I can say that with some confidence now. The main cast consists of two sisters, Siri and Vivenna, the God King, Lightsong - a 'returned' God, and the mysterious Vasher. It took me quite a while to get attached to the characters. I liked Siri, Vasher and Lightsong but felt quite indifferent towards Vivenna and her POV's seemed to take up so much space. Actually scrap that, I really started to hat Vivenna for the majority of the book, her attitudes towards Jewels and Parlin were so controlling and entitled and it was very frustrating. But over time I started to like Vivenna a bit more, I started to like Siri and loved Vasher and Lightsong. Vasher is just such an epic character and I love the philosophical side that Lightsong brings. But if I am going to be honest, I just loved him when I found out he could juggle (and as a juggler I think Sanderson did a pretty good job here - no stupid hand waving and other weird crap people think jugglers do). He's just such a fascinating character. Lastly, is it unfair to say that Lightsong and Vasher reminded me of the opposite sides of Kelsier (okay maybe I'm just clutching at straws now because I like Kelsier's character so much.
Now onto some major character spoilers
I think Sanderson should have shown more detail with Lightsong's death because even though I loved this character, I think his death was a bit unemotional. The same with Blushweaver - I didn't like her from the start, hated her more after she called Siri a slut, then didn't really care whne she died, other than how upset Lightsong was. I would also say the same for Parlin's death There was barely any interactions with him and he was kind of just third-wheeling. I think Parlin and Blushweaver's deaths were used more as shock value but I didn't feel any emotional attachment to them. I actually really hated Blushweaver and she's a bit of a stereotype to be honest: the manipulative seductress who is flapping her cleavage around and trying to get with Lightsong every 2 minutes. Anyway, I loved Siri and Lightsong's relationship and I wish we could have seen more interactions with them. I also felt a bit underwhelmed by the revelation that Llarimarr (not sure about the spelling there...) was Lightsong's brother, or that Vasher was one of the 5 scholars (I think that's right). Why does Sanderson always kill off my favourite characters! Also: Hoid sighting 2! Are the materials he sprinkles from the various cosmere planets? I noticed him using small metal flakes or something along those lines and being like: MISTBORN!
Plot:
I can't really talk about plot that much, but this story is very political / court intrigue heavy and also relies quite heavily on mystery to draw you in. This is part of the reason I didn't give this a 5 star rating - for the first half of the book I was getting bored of Vivenna's POVs, didn't feel all that invested in the characters, and also didn't really understand what was going on. Some of the twists didn't land that well for me but I still think this book was pretty excellent. I was quite average about this book for a long time, but the Sanderlanche was epic and I just loved it. Although I think maybe the ending may have felt a little bit rushed? I also think this book definitely needs a sequel so hopefully Sanderson will work on one after Stormlight 5. It definitely isn't as action heavy as The Final Empire, Vasher brings most of the action, which I think is mainly a matter of personal preference.
Magic system / world building:
I am by no means an expert on these aspects but the world is very greek myth-esque with an excellent and unique magic system. The basics are quite easy to grasp but I also didn't feel like I fully understood some aspects of it which was also a contribution to some of the reveals not landing as well for me. But generally, I really enjoyed the magic and themes explored in this book.
Some general comments to add:
I think this book is mainly character driven and some readers may not like Sanderson's writing style. He is quite no nonsense and to the point, which makes it very digestible and his magic systems easier to handle but it is definitely not flowery or particularly 'beautiful' prose. Despite this he still manages to capture the beauty of the world very successfully. However one thing that annoyed me (and I had a similar criticism in Mistborn with the repetitive use of the word maladroitly) by the end of this book I was sick of hearing about every woman's 'dangerously low cut neck lines' or 'cleavage that threatened to fall out' or whatever other descriptions were used / descriptions of Blushweaver's boobs. I could forgive it at first with Siri and Vivenna considering their cultural / religious views but it did really start to grate on my nerves after a while.
So overall, definitely a solid entry of Sanderson's cosmere that I thoroughly enjoyed but not necessarily my favourite / on the same level for me as The Final Empire. I wish there was a sequel so bad though and I rate it 4 stars. Yay for the cosmere and I can't wait to finish the Mistborn trilogy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gore, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, and War
Minor: Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Gaslighting
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