thegr8estangell's reviews
646 reviews

The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yōko Ogawa

hopeful lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

Well god damn. That was heartbreaking. Melancholic. Hopeful. And overall beautiful. Absolutely loved it. 

The Fury of the Gods by John Gwynne

adventurous dark tense

• 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

Wow. An AMAZING end to a crazy wild series. 

Loose ends? Tied. 
Gore? Gratuitous. 
Emotions? Everywhere. 

One of the best fantasy series I've ever read. I enjoyed it thoroughly. 

Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America by Pekka Hämäläinen

challenging informative sad medium-paced

4.5

This was really interesting. It’s an extremely, in depth analysis of the political landscape of the various indigenous nations from pre-Columbus to Wounded Knee. It really explains how they were in control of a lot of the negotiations and had a lot of political and military weight. If it wasn’t for the disease and out-right genocidal American government, things would’ve been very different. My favorite part was the interview with a Blackfoot man who was there when his tribe encountered horses for the first time and witnessed a technological shift in his culture in real time when they were embraced by his tribe. That was really cool. I didn’t know that that story was ever written down or existed. This book was extremely informative. I really enjoyed it

Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous 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

Oh this one was much better than the previous one. The story was more interesting. The sanderlanche plot twist was more complicated and compelling. And the characters were better fleshed out. The magic system here is so cool. I just wish we had a full mistborn :’(

Paul of Dune by Brian Herbert

challenging slow-paced

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

1.75

Lord have mercy this was a train wreck. This was supposed to be a direct sequel to Dune, filling in the cool shit that happened between it and Messiah. But no! This is filled with so much nonsense! Ugh. If you haven’t read the prequel trilogy Brian and Kevin wrote, you’ll be hella confused at half the shit that happens. The majority of this book was a flashback to pre-Dune, post House Corrino events. About 1/3 of this book could actually be considered a direct sequel. The shit they did with Margo Fenring and the daughter she conceived with Feyd Routha was utter bullshit and didn’t make any sense to the plot of the story. It came out of nowhere and was just dumb. It felt like they took the writing advice of “make the worst thing happen to you characters and see how they react” to the extreme and it was just annoying. And holy fuck do they hate fat people. There was a fat sword master and he was like “look at the fat fatty mcfatterson. He’s so fucking fat how can he hold a sword. He’s so huge and fat.” I was like damn dude. Chill. I get it. Overall, a lame ass book. 

The Alloy of Law by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous 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

3.75

This was fun but he has better

Orbital by Samantha Harvey

inspiring reflective fast-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

4.25

Very heady. Very reflective. Got bogged down sometimes with its descriptions of countries below but overall it was pretty good! I liked it. 

The Worm and His Kings by Hailey Piper

dark sad fast-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

4.25

Freaky. Worm. Cult. 

Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson

adventurous challenging 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

I can’t believe it… the ending of this book… I am numb. That was amazing. I loved it. The whole book felt like a Sanderlanche. I love these characters. This series is amazing

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

lighthearted reflective sad slow-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 was surprisingly good! For an almost 200 year old book I really liked it. It was funny, charming, chaotic, and just good. It DRAGS in the middle but other than that? Excellent.