rg9400's reviews
229 reviews

The Book That Broke the World by Mark Lawrence

adventurous dark mysterious 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

4.5

I enjoyed this book, and I think the way the story manages to unfold in such a twisty way, where small nuggets from book 1 become relevant suddenly and the way the sequence of events tie so neatly together is pretty impressive. The book also increases the darkness quite a bit without feeling like it loses sight of the emotional core at the heart of everything. I loved the setting, I loved the epigraphs a ton again, there are plenty of great quotes, a very original concept and execution of the concept, and the ability to continue to surprise me in terms of direction. And I still find myself very engaged with the material. So I still really did like it, even though I had a few more issues compared to book 1.

I did struggle with some aspects this time around. The first is probably a fault of mine, but having not reread book 1 prior to this, I found myself struggling to remember characters or events or the chronology of everything, unsure of whether or not I forgot something or it was something that the first book didn't explain to me. Even now, I don't think I have everything really straight in my head.  Second, I struggled with some of the thematic work in this book. Namely. I found the mythological conflict to not be as clear as in book 1. Like I get the thematic underpinnings, but I found the way various characters aligned to each philosophy to be a bit clunky. I don't know, it just didn't feel as strong as the way the first book linked this idea of cyclical violence into the character and plot developments. Thirdly, there was a bit of a middle book syndrome to it, mainly because it felt like a lot of arcs were left unresolved. I predicted the big "twists" with this book very early on, and the unanswered questions were left for book 3, so it wasn't as satisfying with the reveals compared to book 1.

Regardless of my issues, I still really enjoyed this book and am very much looking forward to book 3.

The Escape Room by L.D. Smithson

mysterious fast-paced

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

1.5

This book has an interesting premise that should, in theory, be right up my alley. I love escape rooms, puzzles, and mysteries. It starts out pretty cool, focusing on these 8 contestants in a reality TV show ostensibly about solving escape rooms and trying to figure out the mystery around this sea fortress. I zipped through the initial 60% of the book, enjoying the setup immensely. Why the very low rating then? Because this might be the fastest I've seen a book go from 100 to 0, delivering an ending that honestly made me mad. There is a specific event that breaks up the formula of the book, and in doing so, it starts a cascade of bad decisions and rushed resolutions. Suddenly, a bunch of important build-up for character dynamics just vanishes into thin air. A bunch of clues amount to nothing and are never explained again, specific things that happened or were said becoming completely forgotten. So much suddenly happens off-screen. And the true culprit and motive? Unbelievably dumb, simplistic, and unsatisfying in every way. I thought there was something interesting being done regarding the main character, but that's quickly discarded for a simple solution. I could probably go into spoilers, but I think this book's ending manages to fail in almost every single way, so even despite the interesting concept, it was a complete miss for me.

Empire of the Damned by Jay Kristoff

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense 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

5.0

Empire of the Damned is probably the best book I've read in 2024. Let's get the quick minor quibbles out of the way first. It dragged a bit in the middle, and the sex scenes remain a bit cringey. Everything else? Holy hell. Everything in the book, from the prose to the different voices of each character to the two distinct narrators and the framing story to the terminology and setting, all of it drips atmosphere. And it feels like a style that I don't think I've really come across in fantasy, this sort of French Gothic steeped in Judeo-Christian lore. It's the aesthetic of Castlevania, and specifically Castlevania Nocturne, but elevated through strong writing. There are memorable villains, fascinating character dynamics (especially between our twin POVs), and oh so much blood. It is gory, it is pulpy, it is fun, and it is a package of emotional damage and tension. I love the way religion is weaved throughout this particular entry. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: this series feels like the pinnacle of the vampire genre.

And to top it all off, the audiobook is top tier with two excellent narrators.

 

The Bitter Crown by Justin Lee Anderson

dark mysterious 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

4.25

This is a very hard book to talk about without spoiling the first book, but I'm going to try. I was curious how this book could possibly follow up to the first book, and I was pretty impressed with the general direction. It doesn't try to one up or follow the same objectives as the first book. And the book shifts a bit from being a sort of Witcher-esque dark fantasy DnD adventure following a group of characters defined mostly by their roles, to instead a fascinating exploration of misinformation and sympathetic characters taking radical actions when feeling like the world gives them no other recourse. The first half has some twisted but excellent mini-adventures. The second half slows down, but it still has some of that intriguing character work...until the ending. The ending was strange in a few ways. For one, it felt a bit anticlimactic, but also rushed? There was a sort of uncanniness to everything. Characters felt like they were doing stuff a bit out of character, and the impact of those didn't fully land in the way I suspect the author was intending. But also, this series is doing some stuff where this feeling that something is off is part of the experience, so I trust the Justin and will definitely read the conclusion. 

Sunbringer by Hannah Kaner

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.25

I have some overall mixed feelings on Sunbringer. On one hand, Kaner continues her extremely efficient writing, creating a bite-sized epic fantasy that I could read in just a few settings. Despite the shorter page count, she fleshes out different parts of the world and continues to build up the intriguing mythology within the world really well -- I love all the different gods and how they behave and interact. I also would love a prequel set in this world detailing how the human-god conflict began.

My biggest issue with Sunbringer is that it splits up our main cast of characters, and while most of them are in the same city working around the same events (just in their own ways and adventures), one of the other main characters is completely by themselves in an isolated storyline that feels underserved. I actually found this storyline interesting, arguably more than some of the other ones, but because it was so separated, I struggled with the interruptions to and from it. Because despite the shorter page count, this book still has a lot of chapters, and this results in very brisk and short chapters that all signal a POV shift. In some ways, it makes it easily readable, but combined with the above disparate storyline, I noticed the impact more than in the first book.

In terms of overall story, I still very much enjoyed this book. I did feel like the first half was a lot of setup for the second half. I also did notice the book ended quite abruptly, and it felt a bit anticlimactic with the lack of resolution in some storylines. The first book was shorter, but I still felt, despite the cliffhanger ending, that it ended up in a more satisfying way.

Lastly, the character-work. I actually really liked some of the arcs whose darker tinges made them fairly compelling. There was one character whose own internal struggles were not as interesting, but they were surrounded by side characters I found enjoyable.

Overall, this series continues to be entertaining, with a concept and world that I really enjoy. The economic writing makes for a great palate cleanser and slump-breaker, though I think this book showed some of the downsides of the limited page count a bit more than the first one.

Legacy of Brick & Bone by Krystle Matar

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-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

4.75

A phenomenal follow-up to a complex character-driven story told in a unique and strong voice. I was hesitant to pick this up due to the huge page jump from the first book, but I did not find myself noticing it at all, due in no large part to her line by line prose remaining excellent. I found myself really enjoying the mix of stories that encompassed a ghost western, a boxing underdog, a prison drama, realpolitik behind closed doors, and attempts to ignite revolution. Matar effortlessly can shift between humor, spicy sex scenes, and bursts of violence and blood. Despite the grimness that lies at the core of this story, there is a message of hope, of the ability for people to change, to be resilient. And yet, there is also this sense of insidiousness, as Matar showcases how easy it can be to make mistakes in the name for the greater good and how quickly good intentions can lead to a deal with the devil. Underpinning it all is this sense of tension and foreboding as tensions continue to ratchet up as we race towards that anxiety-inducing finale.

When I initially read Legacy of the Brightwash, one of my only criticisms was that a lot of the side characters seemed to have complex interrelationships that the reader had no awareness of, making their communication seem opaque. Matar uses this extra page count to finally start peeling back these layers to all these characters, giving us their perspectives and motivations so we can finally start to better understand how they all relate to each other, how they all respond to the revelations in this book, and what motivates them to continue to fight and act within this poisoned political system. She creates a world that feels wholly her own. There are lots of complex connections between all the characters, and the world starts to feel even more fleshed out as we trace how different regions and factions within Yaelsmuir and beyond relate to each other. 

One of my only two criticisms is found here though. All of the characters seem to know each other and have a large shared history, and so it sometimes feels like this complex world is running through only a handful of characters yet whose stations and positions within these books are not exactly the equivalent of their influence. My other minor negative was that the magic felt a bit too vague for me. I generally understood the logic of how it worked, but it did feel like the boundaries of what characters could or could not do was a bit arbitrary and shifted a bit throughout the book.

An Education in Malice by S.T. Gibson

mysterious slow-paced

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

2.5

An Education in Malice is overall fine, but it didn't really elicit more emotions than that for me. I found myself fairly detached from the characters and didn't care about their inner struggles. I think the more supernatural elements of this book are subdued and kind of cliched, and I almost feel like they are a distraction that prevents the book from going in more interesting directions. There are some interesting power dynamics that could have been explored a lot more, as the book does set up a variety of relationships that reflect each other, but it doesn't go much deeper than that. The prose is pretty good though.

Lies That Bind by Rae Knowles, April Yates

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.0

I picked up this book because I saw a blogger I follow it recommend it. I had no idea that it was largely erotica. There is some supernatural body horror which was very intriguing when described, but the book doesn't delve really deep into that or spend a ton of time exploring that aspect. Instead, a lot of the horror is driven by some pretty messed up lack of consent and human violence. This is not my typical read at all, so I don't really know how to review it. I thought there were some interesting explorations of power dynamics that were more interesting than another recent read of mine (Education in Malice), but I found some of the content in this book too extreme for my tastes. I did think the character work was decent, and I think had it focused a bit more on the supernatural body horror elements, it would have been stronger.

The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett

adventurous mysterious 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

5.0

This book has some of the best worldbuilding I've read in a while. Everything feels incredibly unique. You have people running around with physical and mental augmentations, each of which manifest in unique ways and with unique tradeoffs that make sense as you imagine the toll that such enhancements would actually create. From the concept and threat of contagions to the way the houses are built, everything feels fresh. But more importantly, the world is slowly revealed to the reader while being a core part of the central mystery, integrating seamlessly with the character and plot work. Similarly, the sociopolitical apparatus that governs the world becomes crucial to the story, with the information parceled out at exactly the right times. By the end of the book, I felt like some fantasy tools were actually real in how well the book described their mechanics without ever feeling expository. Really fantastic and worth a read purely for this reason alone.

The characters are a ton of fun as well. Our central duo of detectives are eccentric, and their interactions and dynamics were constantly entertaining. Their abilities and limitations also made for some fascinating struggles, e.g. a detective who has a perfect memory but has extreme dyslexia to the point of being unable to read or write. And by the end of the book, we start to see what truly motivates them as well. I look forward to continuing their journey in future books.

Finally, in terms of plot, I would mention that this mystery is more akin to Sherlock Holmes than Agatha Christie in that the reader isn't meant to actively solve the puzzles themselves. Sometimes the characters have more info than we do, and they can observe and deduce things the reader wouldn't intuit easily. Still, I thoroughly enjoyed the twisty journey as we see the story spiral. Each part manages to introduce new story beats to constantly keep the reader engaged and the book feeling compelling. 

The Exile by Ryan Cahill

adventurous dark fast-paced

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

4.5

Wow, I am amazed by how much of a turnaround I had reading this book compared to Of Darkness and Light. I was initially planning on only finishing this novella as a way to kill time before another book releases, and then DNFing the series. However, this book single-handedly roped me back into the series. I think Ryan Cahill is significantly better given a page limit, and like the prior novella, he excels at a more action-focused and brisk pacing without large swaths of meandering travel or POV hopping. Even more impressive in terms of quality jump is the character-focused narrative here. There is plenty of action, but more depth is given to Dayne here than anything else I've seen in the series so far, and it even fleshes out some of the more intriguing side characters from the main series. And while Belina is not necessarily the best female character I've read, she's significantly better than any other ones from the main series. She's an active character, given plenty of badass moments, and her entire character does not revolve around a male character. I don't mean to insult Cahill's earlier work, but I just want to quantify how huge of a jump in writing quality this novella is, and how it addresses some of my core concerns from my earlier Of Darkness and Light review. If Of War and Ruin carries this momentum forward, I will be very happy, even though the huge page count makes me a bit weary.