thegr8estangell's reviews
646 reviews

The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous 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

4.5

 This is so good. I really enjoyed this one. It answered some questions I had in Winds & Truth. This one made me laugh a couple of times. Seeing my name spelled in a wild way like that was like getting hit in the face with a snowball with no warning. The plot was solid and the characters had growth. Wayne being a little perv was funny not creepy like I thought it was be. 

Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies by Jared Diamond

informative slow-paced

3.25

Eh. This book is kinda outdated now. He calls DRC, Zaire. It came out before the completion of the Human Genome Project. So he is missing a swath of information and a lot of it has been updated. He is also, very much, a white american boomer man. You can easily tell by his writing of his biases. I've read other books about the same thing that do a much better job at having a more nuanced, less biased take on the information. 

Earthlings by Sayaka Murata

dark sad fast-paced

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

3.75

Well that was fucked up. 

Emotional, physical, mental, and sexual child abuse. Her ways of dealing with it. And it goes progressively farther and farther of the rails as the story progresses. Absolutely bonkers. 

The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu

challenging dark reflective slow-paced

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

4.75

That was a bangin sequel. It felt so different from the first one. I liked how the story flowed better. God that was a crazy last 1/3 of the book. Idk what to feel. I can’t wait to finish this series. 

Severance by Ling Ma

reflective sad 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

3.75

This felt like a mix between Station 11 and Dark Water Sister. I liked it well enough. The non-linear story telling made it interesting. But I felt like I've read this story before? It didn't feel unique or original. After having lived through a pandemic and seeing that this was published Pre-Covid, her semi-accuracy about face masks was funny. A book of this caliber of writing using the word jizz through me off. Ling Ma is an excellent writer, but I just wanted something more unique. 

1493: Uncovering the New World Columbus Created by Charles C. Mann

informative slow-paced

4.25

This was good! I liked the first one better tho. Overall very informative and I learned something new. 

1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann

challenging informative slow-paced

4.5

Very interesting. I liked how this was written. Very informative. 

The Battle of Corrin by Brian Herbert

hopeful sad 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

3.75

Solid end to the series. I liked it well enough. I think I know who the bad guy is in the Dune TV show is now. Some character motivations made no sense. But it was fine. 

We Hunt the Flame by Hafsah Faizal
Did not finish book. Stopped at 40%.

DNF at 40%. This was just boring… it’s slow, the characters are one dimensional, the plot is boring, the villains are comically evil. It’s just so… flat. 

The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch

adventurous funny 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

Loved it.