bwandyn's reviews
175 reviews

Jade War by Fonda Lee

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib

emotional hopeful slow-paced

4.0

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

emotional lighthearted relaxing 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

3.75

Breakfast of Champions by Kurt Vonnegut

funny lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez

emotional funny lighthearted sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Territory of Light by Yūko Tsushima

emotional medium-paced

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

3.25

Rogue Squadron by Michael A. Stackpole

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

2.0

Stackpole is an RPG designer, so he writes like a dungeon master. He can wax poetic about spaceships, and describe dogfights with gratuitous detail. But slow down that action to characterize, and any character (especially women and aliens) that isn’t Corran Horn or the movie-established Wedge and Ackbar is left with descriptions such as “Uh… she had shapely legs! He… um… looked like Tarkin?”. The fun Top Gun stuff is a sprinkle, this is mostly glorified fanfic. Exposition dumps and one-note pilots. Hardcore EU fans love this cause they read it in high school and nothing else. Precursor to Harry Potter adults. Intriguing plot, awful awful awful writing.

A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klan's Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them by Timothy Egan

adventurous informative tense medium-paced

4.5

The Last Murder at the End of the World by Stuart Turton

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

2.5