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A review by nataliestorozhenko
Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson
4.0
“To believe in a God was to accept that He or She wasn’t going to deliver you from every problem.”
Brandon Sanderson is undoubtedly an absolute master of writing a good epic fantasy. But you know what else he is good at? Causing you pain.
"I'm not Harmony's hands", Wax whispered. "I'm his sword."
Then he fired.”
I should mention that one of the things I enjoyed very much in this book is Wayne's POV. It is curious and amusing to be in his head and see his peculiar yet somehow very wise thought process. His quips are hilarious, and his perception of people is very kind and precious. I love him so much.
“Our accents are clothing for our thoughts, my dear,” Wayne said. “Without them, everything we say would be stripped bare, and we might as well be screaming at one another.”
I don't know why, but I still kind of do not care about Marasi that much. She is a good badass character and a nice representation of a woman who would not conform to social expectations. However, for me, it might be the case that her POV usually lacks action, and she mostly speaks and investigates with other constables in this book, when I would much prefer to spend more time with Wax or Wayne. Or maybe I just want her to be out of Steris's way.
And the highest praise from me is for the reappearance of some amazing characters that we know from Era 1. I love that MeLaan is now taking a more active role behind her society and race, that she really understands and supports Harmony, and still respects and loves TenSoon.
TenSoon, who still prefers his hound body, absolutely destroyed me and made me ugly cry as he almost reverently spoke of Vin. It is so painful to see that he really loves and misses her. His devotion to her... Oh no, here I go again
Brandon Sanderson is undoubtedly an absolute master of writing a good epic fantasy. But you know what else he is good at? Causing you pain.
Spoiler
After reading a hundred pages or so, I thought it would be a rant about how this book is so-so when compared to even the previous book, and how I'm here mostly for the characters and not really the plot. And it is partially true now that I have read the whole thing. However, the plot itself mostly revolves around characters, and the characters are awesome!! Brando knows what he is doing and that we crave good men with deep trauma and complicated pasts. There are a lot of heart-wrenching moments in this book, and I do not feel ok. Especially the ending, which made me sob so much. I hope Wax will come out of his grief a new man and will find relief in Steris, who we can see truly understands and offers it."I'm not Harmony's hands", Wax whispered. "I'm his sword."
Then he fired.”
I should mention that one of the things I enjoyed very much in this book is Wayne's POV. It is curious and amusing to be in his head and see his peculiar yet somehow very wise thought process. His quips are hilarious, and his perception of people is very kind and precious. I love him so much.
“Our accents are clothing for our thoughts, my dear,” Wayne said. “Without them, everything we say would be stripped bare, and we might as well be screaming at one another.”
I don't know why, but I still kind of do not care about Marasi that much. She is a good badass character and a nice representation of a woman who would not conform to social expectations. However, for me, it might be the case that her POV usually lacks action, and she mostly speaks and investigates with other constables in this book, when I would much prefer to spend more time with Wax or Wayne. Or maybe I just want her to be out of Steris's way.
And the highest praise from me is for the reappearance of some amazing characters that we know from Era 1. I love that MeLaan is now taking a more active role behind her society and race, that she really understands and supports Harmony, and still respects and loves TenSoon.
TenSoon, who still prefers his hound body, absolutely destroyed me and made me ugly cry as he almost reverently spoke of Vin. It is so painful to see that he really loves and misses her. His devotion to her... Oh no, here I go again