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kim012's reviews
108 reviews
The Grace of Kings by Ken Liu
2.5
It reads like a history article on Wikipedia, with characters falling in and out of the narrative, always told with enough distance that you never feel like you get close to them. A few stay throughout the whole story, function as anchors as the history unfolds. It’s not really my style, but it is good at what it tries to do. Once you get into it and let go of the expectations modern fantasy has given you, it is a quite captivating read. The latter half is a lot better than the first, which I think is a large part due to the introduction of a handful of female characters, which are blatantly missing in the first half. A game of thrones style adaptation of this - where the characters are fleshed out and the story is allowed to span over seasons - would be incredible I think.
The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang
5.0
Damn, this was amazing. This is why I love fantasy so much. The use of fantasy to expand your story, to investigate the human condition, family and identity. Wang paints such a vivid picture of this world and its characters, it’s like you’re there with them, in the snow, fighting beside them. The characters are so well written, I just want to read more in this world.
Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky
4.0
This was a ride. I was very intrigued by the premise and read the first 50% or so and was enjoying it a lot. But then the story kind of sagged, in my opinion, and I struggled with the next 25%, to the point that I put it aside for some time and read other books in between. Today I picked it up again, and I am very glad I did. The last 25% I read in one sitting, the ending is really good and I think worth the struggle. The action was like watching a good old school sci-fi movie, and all concepts and ideas were really neatly tied together.
Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson
5.0
Brandon Sanderson at its best. I think I like this one almost as much as some of the Stormlight books. Character driven high fantasy with a super interesting magic system and a sanderlanche that makes you read the last 20% in one sitting.
The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington
3.0
Good setup and the series has potential, but a bit predictable.