rg9400's reviews
229 reviews

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I like Zack Argyle, but this book just did not work for me. The prose is solid, but I could not attach to any of the characters, even though I like that it focused on a more grizzled character dealing with fatherhood -- which really should have worked for me more than it did. The larger sociopolitical world felt a bit too fuzzy for me, and I struggled to understand motivations for the factions. I also struggled with the structure where the story would shift or introduce a new POV randomly, which often felt jarring whenever a story was picking up steam since most of the POVs felt very independent to each other. One of them is introduced very late in the book, and I actually had no idea what was going on since it felt like the start of a completely different book (and until the ending, I still could not understand the relevance of the new POV).

The magic system is pretty cool and detailed, but it does feel a bit derivative of Sanderson's works (Stormlight/Mistborn). It does carve out it's own style, but because it feels more pared down compared to those, I wasn't as excited to discover the new aspects/limitations of the system as much.

I will still check out new series by the author, but I don't think I will continue with this one.

Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin

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emotional reflective sad fast-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

4.25

I struggled with one of the characters in this book, and I thought some of the plot was kind of just dropped without being fully developed. Still, I found the exploration of game design fascinating, and I really liked seeing the creative process and how this group’s social dynamics evolved and played such a role in that process. One of the characters has really stuck with me since I finished the book as well.

Hexarchate Stories by Yoon Ha Lee

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challenging mysterious fast-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

3.75

Revenant Gun by Yoon Ha Lee

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challenging mysterious slow-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

3.75

Raven Stratagem by Yoon Ha Lee

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challenging mysterious slow-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

3.75

Godkiller by Hannah Kaner

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adventurous reflective fast-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

4.25

A very enjoyable read. I was very impressed with how much ground, character development, and world-building happened in such a short book (by epic fantasy standards). Polished line by line prose, loveable characters, and a really cool world will have me reading the sequel for sure

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee

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challenging mysterious fast-paced