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A review by lostlenore_
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
4.0
Sanderson's book starts off in an intriguing manner, falls flat for the whole of act 2 and the first part of act 3, and in the last 50 pages or so really kicks in again.
This is the first time I've ever read a Sanderson or any hard fantasy book and the whole "I write 650 pages to just make you say WOW in the last 50" vibe is not my cup of tea. There's also too much dialogue, the characters aren't well-conceived in the sense that we miss pivotal insight into their own psyche in major plot points and the romance is definitely lukewarm and cliched.
Phew, this is the shor tlist of what I didn't like in this book. Now, let's get on with what I liked.
The worldbuilding and the magic system are stellar. The plot twists and the narrative techniques applied for the plot twists to occur are amazing. I really enjoy learning from Sanderson's skill of catching the reader's breath when they least expect it, and since I've listened to many of his podcasts prior my reading of this novel, it was a pleasant surprise to see how he maps out onto his work everything he talks about.
This book would have been a 3-star for me if the last 50 pages weren't written so exceptionally. I wouldn't also read the sequel if the book didn't end the way it did.
I've got mixed feelings for this one as I think that while it's worth the hype, there are obvious technical writing mistakes that could have been avoided if more attention was paid to characterization and the romance trope.
This is the first time I've ever read a Sanderson or any hard fantasy book and the whole "I write 650 pages to just make you say WOW in the last 50" vibe is not my cup of tea. There's also too much dialogue, the characters aren't well-conceived in the sense that we miss pivotal insight into their own psyche in major plot points and the romance is definitely lukewarm and cliched.
Phew, this is the shor tlist of what I didn't like in this book. Now, let's get on with what I liked.
The worldbuilding and the magic system are stellar. The plot twists and the narrative techniques applied for the plot twists to occur are amazing. I really enjoy learning from Sanderson's skill of catching the reader's breath when they least expect it, and since I've listened to many of his podcasts prior my reading of this novel, it was a pleasant surprise to see how he maps out onto his work everything he talks about.
This book would have been a 3-star for me if the last 50 pages weren't written so exceptionally. I wouldn't also read the sequel if the book didn't end the way it did.
I've got mixed feelings for this one as I think that while it's worth the hype, there are obvious technical writing mistakes that could have been avoided if more attention was paid to characterization and the romance trope.