the_nightmare_reader's Reviews (118)

Ο χιονάνθρωπος

Jo Nesbø

2.75

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Ο λυτρωτής

Jo Nesbø

4.25

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

This had a unique setting where it wasn’t just a crazy murderer that we were looking for.

The addition of the hitman’s POV was so interesting and it did make me actually like him because it was clear that he didn’t kill anyone and everyone that got in his way.

Yes he does kill people for a living but he doesn’t do it with satisfaction. His backstory was interesting and I thought it would be part of the main plot more but it was used mostly to let us into his psyche.

Harry being in control of the police force again was nice because he actually had a team of more than 2 people. I don’t know how to feel about him taking in Skare because he’s a racist and he was on Tom’s team before but I think he’s just trying to win the officers’ trust back one at a time and make them understand that he’s not their enemy.

I was surprised that the new guys at the station were actually helpful and understanding but firm at the same time and that Harry didn’t rebel against them too much but just stayed himself and tried his best as always.

I was so sad that Halvorsen died. I’m still in denial. And having Beate be pregnant with his child is diabolical… And as if that wasn’t enough Møller went away and ended up getting drunker than Harry and “going missing” which I’m pretty sure means that he killed himself because he felt guilty for (and this was another shock) being part of Tom’s organisation!! He didn’t know that Tom was in control for most of the time but he was part of this police group that wanted to “do good and deliver justice”. Μπέτε is the only one I trust at this point.

I wonder if Harry will eventually get together with Rackel again because he has clearly not moved on.

I had kinda guessed that it was Jon that hired the hitman and that he wasn’t as good as he was made to look. He was too good to be true and I wrote in the book “istg if you make him a bad guy”. Little did I know.

The book played on the assumptions we make about the “troublemakers” and expecting them to be bad people just because they like teasing people or because they’re “difficult” and reactive and assuming that the people that seem great and are people of the church are pure and not capable of evil.

I think it has the least gore, second maybe to Cockroaches but it was still disturbing

when it came to the little girls. Speaking of Cockroaches it felt a bit similar to it because it had to do with a pedophile but it was a completely different setting and inspired different conversations and thoughts.

The Redeemer is Harry and the killer because it was Harry that left without arresting the killer and the killer who actually killed Γιον and took revenge for Robert, Sofia, Martine and Χάλβορσεν. Γιον had hurt so many people.

It’s not my favourite of the books mostly because I guessed that it was Jon quite but I do appreciate it and like it overall.

Something was missing that the other books in the series had but I don’t know what it was.

All the books in the series can be read as standalones but as the series goes on it’s going to be more difficult to understand the significance of things that happen outside of the main plot line.

We also finally got a queer POV character even if it was a killer. I liked him lol.

Το αστέρι του διαβόλου

Jo Nesbø

4.0

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

This book started differently from the others because Harry was already in the middle of a relapse.

I liked that at the beginning they were thinking of it as a serial killer case because it brought me back to the Bat. I also liked all the religious connections and the ritual aspect of the murders as part of the puzzle. So it was obvious that I didn’t love the ending as much.

I had already suspected the killer a little when we met him without evidence but still.

I feel like I would have preferred if everything about the murders wasn’t only to frame the other guy so it didn’t feel like we were given a bunch of information and random povs just to throw us off.

Usually the other POVs that we get have a direct connection to the story and end up being important but they felt like what the killer did, which was try to frame other people so we wouldn’t catch him. That could have been Nesbo’s point but it just made it feel a bit cheaper I guess because we didn’t have the same amount of info on the actual killer until the very end and the info we did have was miniscule. Idk.

The action after Harry takes Sven from his cell was great. The whole “Find Harry Hole” mission and Harry trying to get as much evidence for both the killer and Waaler was very suspenseful. Waaler dying at the end instead of being put in jail was somewhat disappointing especially because the book ended really quickly so we didn’t get to see Harry being relieved about avenging Helen’s death after torturing himself the entire last two books because of it. I wish we had a bit more falling action. There were some shocking moments, specifically when we find the wife’s body in the water-bed and when Tom used Oleg against Harry and then how Harry reacted and handled the situation.
Finding that Waaler had lied about that whole backstory he had told Harry and that he had an abusive father that it was hinted to have been in an accident caused by Tom and that he had little to no friends put a lot of things into perspective. Him not liking Harry because he reminded him of his alcoholic dad, him building a group around him as a support system in the police force to cover the friendship gap and then all the terrible shit he did made me understand him a little more. Oleg calling Harry “dad” broke me :( <3

I obviously know that Harry will return to the police force but I wonder what will make him do that and in what condition he will be this time.++we had the first lesbians in a Nesbo book if I’m not mistaken.

Content Warnings

Before They Are Hanged

Joe Abercrombie

4.5

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I don’t think this suffered from 2nd book syndrome.

The thing that I didn’t expect to be as good as it was, was the fight scenes. They were so exciting and stressful. My favourite was the one with Logen, Ferro and Jezal were we would go from one pov to the next.
I liked that there were real consequences to the difficult things the characters had to endure,

the biggest of them being Jezal’s face lol.

Glokta’s pov was interesting, combining both battle tactics and a mystery. The mystery wasn’t mindblowing but it’s always a nice element to have in a book.

I did think that he would somehow be able to win against the Gurkish, which was foolish of me since this isn’t that type of story.

But it might have been my least favourite pov in the book which is surprising since he's my favourite character.

The two best things that happened in this book was Jezal getting the privilege beaten out of him and West pushing Prince Ladisla off the cliff. Now, I know that this resulted in there not being an heir to the throne after the other prince was killed but Ladisla deserved that after what he tried to do to Cathil and for being an overall selfish ass, whose self-righteousness caused the death of an entire army.
The Arch Lector being pleased with the fact that Glokta lost Dagoska to the Gurkish wasn’t surprising but because I had forgotten that Ladisla had a brother I didn’t think someone would kill him so there wouldn’t be an heir so that choice would be put on the Closed Council which disliked the Inquisition and therefore the Arch Lector would have Glokta accuse the envoy that tried to bargain for peace between them and the Gurkish and go all the way as to hold a public execution when they both knew that he wasn’t guilty just so they can start getting on the Council’s good side so they can control the election of the heir more.
I did not expect Logen and Ferro to have a romance in this book. Not that I didn’t think they would match because they go great together but because I didn’t think this would be included in a book like this. It was (among the sex scenes which I once again did not expect) kinda sweet and it did soften Ferro a little bit. After that night she seemed different. Idk what it was exactly that did it, having consensual intimacy, being wanted by someone or the overall kindness that Logen showed her throughout the journey? I hope that wasn’t the last of them together that we’ll see.

West’s pov was more interesting than I expected.

It was fun also being with the Northmen and then Pike & Cathil so I was sad (and cried a little) when Cathil and Threetrees died. Especially during the scene where they bury them and none of the Northmen were able to say much because they were all on the verge of tears. Dogman becoming the chief is a good choice in my eyes. The only other choice would have been Black Dow but I don’t like him much after a comment he made about Cathil (p.275).

I’m torn about my rating because I enjoyed it but I’m mostly left wanting to read the next one so I can get some satisfaction because this didn’t give me much in the end. So I guess you could say that it suffers from 2nd book syndrome lol. But it was really strong overall. So a 4.5 feels right.

Content Warnings

Νέμεσις

Jo Nesbø

5.0

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I think this is my favourite Nesbo book so far. I might exclude the Bat from that because I read it very early in life, etc.

It had a better payoff than Redbreast even though that one had a bit more interesting plot at the beginning and middle of the book but I didn’t like the ending. Whereas this book had an interesting journey and a satisfying destination.

It felt more grounded because it mostly took place in the present time but it still had different POVs that gave the story an even bigger story and different structure. I loved the moments when Nesbo would give us a glimpse of what will happen in the future. It showcased the millions of connections there are in the world and how you could be holding, experiencing or be surrounded by something significant and not know it.

I loved that in the previous book he introduced a villain that keeps playing a role and we are the only ones who knew. It shows the corruption that can happen in the police force and that you won’t catch a criminal right away. The main plots of his books usually have a long history/backstory and it’s like we are seeing that backstory happen in real time and are eagerly waiting for Harry to figure it out and bring justice.

It gave me the excitement to continue with the series that I didn’t have before because all I want is to see the motherfucker called Tom behind bars for all his crimes and especially for Helen’s murder.

The ending was both satisfying because I guessed some things and some I didn’t. It left me with a heartwarming feeling after the pre-last chapter

with the found family celebrating, finding love and Harry being with his blood family and new family.

And then the last chapter fires that excitement again by indicating that Harry continues to look into Helen’s murder and is finding more clues.

Beate (Μπέτε) is a new favourite character. She is fun and interesting and smart and I love the relationship she has with Harry where she is his partner who he is already protective over especially after Helen’s death but he also seems to treat her as his little sister in the way that he cares for her and gives her advice.

The scene where the killer was holding the gun to her head was so tense, not because I thought he’d actually kill her but for Harry’s emotional reaction to the mere thought of anything bad happening to Beate.

I’m picking up The Devil’s Star right away and hope to get further in Helen’s case and I’m now even more invested in Harry’s character and life. I’m so happy that he has found some happiness and love but it makes me scared that it’s gonna go away. Hoping for only good things for him lol.

Wind and Truth

Brandon Sanderson

4.0

emotional hopeful inspiring sad 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

As a book, it was strong but not perfect. The structure of the 10 days was smart because it built such an immense level of dread in me but it made it so that some scenes felt like they were there to fill a day. It was a long book and as I’ve said before there were some parts that I think could have been done either in a different way or more concisely. I don’t have any problems with the endings which is usually the case with Sanderson and I’m glad that he pulled it off. I did expect more emotional damage but that was only because of everyone else talking about it as if it was the final book in the series.

The only character that had an ending was Dalinar (and Leyten </3). Everyone else was either changed a lot in the course of this book which makes me excited to read about them more (Kaladin, Adolin, Shallan) or had their main arc begin in this book (Jasnah, Renarin, Rlain, Yanagawn) who we know or expect to play a bigger role in the 2nd arc. I still think that although it wasn’t as engaging in a lot of parts, Adolin’s arc in this book is the strongest and most fleshed out. Kaladin’s was beautiful but expected, Szeth’s was interesting especially realising that he mirrored Tien but I didn’t connect to it that much, Shallan is such a great character that she never fails to make me care about what she’s going through and seeing her confront her trauma and heal herself was beautiful but less extreme compared to Adolin. Dalinar learned a lot of things but he didn’t have as big a change as the others. I loved seeing more of Jasnah and seeing her fail (although it made me angry because it was avoidable in my opinion). It made sense for her because what ultimately caused her to lose the debate was her own inability to acknowledge her mistakes when Taravangian pointed them out to her. She didn’t have to renounce her entire way of thinking because she’s right about some things, just to acknowledge that she regrets the things that Taravangian was using against her. Taravangian got on my nerves because of how much of a hypocrite he is. I understand him and I hate him at the same time. And he himself accepts that at the end. Rlain and Renarin were the highlight of this book and their romance was so cute and heartwarming. I had a few moments where I got excited, once or twice with Kaladin and a lot at the end with Adolin. Otherwise I was mostly either locked in when we were in the Spiritual Realm trying to understand and remember everything or feeling an immense sense of dread and anxiety as the days went by and everything was going terribly. I love that we got so many answers about the past. The next books are gonna feel a bit different because of that I think.

In conclusion, I liked this book because it’s a Stormlight book and I love this world and these characters.It had some issues but also some amazing things. Right now it is my least favourite of the books but that could change when I eventually reread the series. Rereading The Way of Kings is gonna feel so weird now. Both because of the scale difference and also the things we know now but also because of knowing how much the character’s change and grow.