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tshrum's reviews
23 reviews
The Shadow of What Was Lost by James Islington
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
Absolutely loved this book! Had my eye on it for a while and finally saw it at my local book store.
Rise of the Ranger by Philip C. Quaintrell
4.0
Rise of the Ranger is the first book in the nine book epic series, The Echoes Saga, by Philip C. Quaintrell. The first instalment in the series is a strong one, getting into the action pretty quickly and takes you on an easy to read, action packed adventure with some really cool plot lines that set up this massive story.
Now this story follows multiple concurrent plot lines, with four or five main, persistent POVs and a few others mixed in that only appear seldomly. Sometimes I find books with a lot of POVs to be overwhelming. You constantly can feel like you’re just getting used to a character, only to be pulled away for several chapters. Fear not, that is NOT something that I was left feeling in this book. Quaintrell does a really good job of setting these plot lines up, and quickly is able to bring characters together in a way that feels natural and plot driving. I really enjoyed getting to know these characters on their own for a few “solo” chapters, and then seeing the book progress as some of the storylines became one and we saw the characters interact.
I also really enjoyed how Quaintrell did a good job of world building and used different devices to “show” new info/lore about the world, instead of dropping walls of text.
One more thing that stood out to me was how well the story flowed. We’ve all read the books where you feel like there is SO much useless filler. This book did a great job of telling you the important things, but not really dragging on with minor details. When groups were travelling, there wasn’t a day to day recap with forced difficulties to drag the journey out. There’d be an encounter, they’d deal with it, and move on. A few chapters later, when we came back to the POV, the group progressed “off screen” (off page??) and were closer to their destination. This really made for a story that allowed every chapter to feel important and story progressing.
In closing, I loved this book. I gave it four stars simply because I KNOW this story is only going to get better. As the first instalment in the series, I’ve seen others say Quaintrell improves greatly, and I’m really excited to continue and see in what ways he does. If you love classic fantasy, with a modern writing style, combined with solid characters all combined in one, easy to read story? Look no further, because this Ranger, has risen!
Now this story follows multiple concurrent plot lines, with four or five main, persistent POVs and a few others mixed in that only appear seldomly. Sometimes I find books with a lot of POVs to be overwhelming. You constantly can feel like you’re just getting used to a character, only to be pulled away for several chapters. Fear not, that is NOT something that I was left feeling in this book. Quaintrell does a really good job of setting these plot lines up, and quickly is able to bring characters together in a way that feels natural and plot driving. I really enjoyed getting to know these characters on their own for a few “solo” chapters, and then seeing the book progress as some of the storylines became one and we saw the characters interact.
I also really enjoyed how Quaintrell did a good job of world building and used different devices to “show” new info/lore about the world, instead of dropping walls of text.
One more thing that stood out to me was how well the story flowed. We’ve all read the books where you feel like there is SO much useless filler. This book did a great job of telling you the important things, but not really dragging on with minor details. When groups were travelling, there wasn’t a day to day recap with forced difficulties to drag the journey out. There’d be an encounter, they’d deal with it, and move on. A few chapters later, when we came back to the POV, the group progressed “off screen” (off page??) and were closer to their destination. This really made for a story that allowed every chapter to feel important and story progressing.
In closing, I loved this book. I gave it four stars simply because I KNOW this story is only going to get better. As the first instalment in the series, I’ve seen others say Quaintrell improves greatly, and I’m really excited to continue and see in what ways he does. If you love classic fantasy, with a modern writing style, combined with solid characters all combined in one, easy to read story? Look no further, because this Ranger, has risen!
Empire of Dirt by Philip C. Quaintrell
4.0
Book 2 in “The Echoes Saga” finds the gang from book one back again in Verda. I’ll just start by saying I love the world that Quaintrell has created. The lore that’s associated with it is just so deep and detailed, it’s really fun to learn more about it and the characters.
Speaking of the characters, just a great group of POVs here. I feel like a lot of books, there’s usually one POV that I dislike. In this book, I really felt like every time I got back to a character I was excited to see what they were up to.
I will say that 75% of this book was a bit on the slower side, a lot of character building/lore dropping. Which is fine! It’s the middle book of a trilogy. The pace was okay too, it just felt like nothing massive was happening.
Final act in this book was awesome. Brought everything together, and had a few “oh shit!” moments.
Can’t wait to jump into the next book!
Speaking of the characters, just a great group of POVs here. I feel like a lot of books, there’s usually one POV that I dislike. In this book, I really felt like every time I got back to a character I was excited to see what they were up to.
I will say that 75% of this book was a bit on the slower side, a lot of character building/lore dropping. Which is fine! It’s the middle book of a trilogy. The pace was okay too, it just felt like nothing massive was happening.
Final act in this book was awesome. Brought everything together, and had a few “oh shit!” moments.
Can’t wait to jump into the next book!
The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher
fast-paced
3.75
Pretty good book, coz!
Found this book randomly at Chapters, the cover was really cool and it was signed by Butcher! So I thought why the hell not.
Overall I had a good time with it. I thought the world that he created here was really unique. The idea of the surface of earth being so uninhabitable that humans have been forced to live in these massive spires, is a pretty cool concept. I think the idea that there are “Aeronauts” who fly in these giant airships is incredibly badass. So two thumbs up to JB for creating such a fun world.
There were parts of this book that really grabbed me, and parts where things felt a bit flat. As a multi POV book, some characters really stood out to me. Grimm, the captain of The Predator, was my favourite POV by far. The scenes on the ship were A+ and he was just the most captivating character for me to read with his interesting backstory (being kicked out of the fleet for “cowardice” and his former marriage to a rival airship captain). Really enjoyed Rowl (talking cat!!!) and Ferus (crazy etherealist). The other characters weren’t terrible, they just didn’t grab me in like these ones did.
I will say one thing that annoyed me so much, and maybe this is nitpicking, but there are two characters (Benedict and Gwen) who are cousins and they remind you every chance they get! They share scenes for pretty much the first 300 or so pages, and it literally takes one of them being gravely injured and knocked out for them to stop referring to each other as “coz’” (short for cousin). Once I noticed it was happening, every time I’d read it, it would just take me out of the story a bit.
Another issue for me was that it didn’t really feel like there was a clear antagonist in a way. The book sets Madame Cavendish as a huge threat (through POV chapters from the view of one of the enemy Auroran soldiers) but doesn’t really have her do a whole lot. She was an interesting character! I’m excited to see more of her in future books, but it just felt like this book didn’t have a “big bad” if that makes any sense.
The ending was REALLY fun. Just an epic airship battle, that really had a few “oh shit!” moments. I read just under 100 pages last night and was up until after midnight because I really just wanted to keep reading and find out what was going to happen.
In closing, I’ll say this was a pretty fun read. Not ground breaking, but a really unique world with enough promise to make me want to check out the sequel and any future books in the series.
Found this book randomly at Chapters, the cover was really cool and it was signed by Butcher! So I thought why the hell not.
Overall I had a good time with it. I thought the world that he created here was really unique. The idea of the surface of earth being so uninhabitable that humans have been forced to live in these massive spires, is a pretty cool concept. I think the idea that there are “Aeronauts” who fly in these giant airships is incredibly badass. So two thumbs up to JB for creating such a fun world.
There were parts of this book that really grabbed me, and parts where things felt a bit flat. As a multi POV book, some characters really stood out to me. Grimm, the captain of The Predator, was my favourite POV by far. The scenes on the ship were A+ and he was just the most captivating character for me to read with his interesting backstory (being kicked out of the fleet for “cowardice” and his former marriage to a rival airship captain). Really enjoyed Rowl (talking cat!!!) and Ferus (crazy etherealist). The other characters weren’t terrible, they just didn’t grab me in like these ones did.
I will say one thing that annoyed me so much, and maybe this is nitpicking, but there are two characters (Benedict and Gwen) who are cousins and they remind you every chance they get! They share scenes for pretty much the first 300 or so pages, and it literally takes one of them being gravely injured and knocked out for them to stop referring to each other as “coz’” (short for cousin). Once I noticed it was happening, every time I’d read it, it would just take me out of the story a bit.
Another issue for me was that it didn’t really feel like there was a clear antagonist in a way. The book sets Madame Cavendish as a huge threat (through POV chapters from the view of one of the enemy Auroran soldiers) but doesn’t really have her do a whole lot. She was an interesting character! I’m excited to see more of her in future books, but it just felt like this book didn’t have a “big bad” if that makes any sense.
The ending was REALLY fun. Just an epic airship battle, that really had a few “oh shit!” moments. I read just under 100 pages last night and was up until after midnight because I really just wanted to keep reading and find out what was going to happen.
In closing, I’ll say this was a pretty fun read. Not ground breaking, but a really unique world with enough promise to make me want to check out the sequel and any future books in the series.
Assassin's Apprentice by Robin Hobb
4.5
Absolutely loved this book. Picked it up when I fell into a bit of a slump, certified SLUMP BUSTER. Hobb is such a beautiful writer, the book just flows so nicely. The plot was really a slow burn, it didn’t feel like it was happening at a break neck speed, but enough happened that it kept me wanting more. All of the characters were interesting and had growth.
Can’t wait to move on further into the Elderlings saga
Can’t wait to move on further into the Elderlings saga
The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
5.0
I, unfortunately, am done Mistborn Era 1!!
I say this because I loved it. What an excellent trilogy of story telling. Such a unique plot, I really just fell in love with the magic and the characters who were along for the ride.
Specifically this book I felt was strong, I’d rank them 1/3/2 if I had to. I don’t have any complaints about this book really, except maybe that the beginning felt a bit slow, much like Well of Ascension did for me. But like WOA, it took off and didn’t look back.
This ending, wow. I think there’s a lot of talk in books/movies/tv shows about how hard it can be to land an ending, especially one in a series of novels with such a unique setting. But this? This was perfect. I guess I should have seen it coming, looking back everything pointed to it, but I still think I was in awe. It just wrapped up so nicely!
I don’t have a lot to say that I didn’t say in the first two reviews. Incredible series, must read. I can’t wait for Era 2 and I can’t wait to see how this all connects into the rest of the Cosmere (I’m already noticing the mention of metals in my current bring reading of Rhythm of War, something I wouldn’t have caught had I not read Mistborn first!)
I say this because I loved it. What an excellent trilogy of story telling. Such a unique plot, I really just fell in love with the magic and the characters who were along for the ride.
Specifically this book I felt was strong, I’d rank them 1/3/2 if I had to. I don’t have any complaints about this book really, except maybe that the beginning felt a bit slow, much like Well of Ascension did for me. But like WOA, it took off and didn’t look back.
This ending, wow. I think there’s a lot of talk in books/movies/tv shows about how hard it can be to land an ending, especially one in a series of novels with such a unique setting. But this? This was perfect. I guess I should have seen it coming, looking back everything pointed to it, but I still think I was in awe. It just wrapped up so nicely!
I don’t have a lot to say that I didn’t say in the first two reviews. Incredible series, must read. I can’t wait for Era 2 and I can’t wait to see how this all connects into the rest of the Cosmere (I’m already noticing the mention of metals in my current bring reading of Rhythm of War, something I wouldn’t have caught had I not read Mistborn first!)
The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
4.5
The second book in the Mistborn series’ first era, Well of Ascension was a worthy follow up to what I consider to be one of my favourite reads of all time.
The book started out a bit slow for me, it didn’t grab me right away and make me want to keep reading like Final Empire did. The first 150 or so pages just felt like the characters going through the motions, dealing with the fallout of the events from the first book. It hit its stride around the half way point though, and I felt drawn in much like I did with the first entry in the series.
Sazed was once again my MVP. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a clear view of how I picture a character (Lance Reddick of The Wire, among other things) as I do with Sazed. He’s so well written, and I genuinely feel so interested to read every word he has to say. It’s how I imagine it would be if Terrismen and their Keepers were real! His relationship with his fellow Keeper, Twindyl, was beautifully done.
Overall, this book was a great read. It took a bit to get going, but once it did, it didn’t look back. Really looking forward to diving into the third and final novel in this era, going to be a wild finish!
The book started out a bit slow for me, it didn’t grab me right away and make me want to keep reading like Final Empire did. The first 150 or so pages just felt like the characters going through the motions, dealing with the fallout of the events from the first book. It hit its stride around the half way point though, and I felt drawn in much like I did with the first entry in the series.
Sazed was once again my MVP. I don’t think I’ve ever had such a clear view of how I picture a character (Lance Reddick of The Wire, among other things) as I do with Sazed. He’s so well written, and I genuinely feel so interested to read every word he has to say. It’s how I imagine it would be if Terrismen and their Keepers were real! His relationship with his fellow Keeper, Twindyl, was beautifully done.
Overall, this book was a great read. It took a bit to get going, but once it did, it didn’t look back. Really looking forward to diving into the third and final novel in this era, going to be a wild finish!
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
5.0
Probably the most common book that I see recommended to new readers of fantasy/Brandon Sanderson, and now that I’ve read it I can fully see why! This book is just such a smooth, easy read that sucks you in with really likeable characters, a unique setting and a really fun and imaginative magic system.
A lot of fantasy books (I’m looking at you, Stormlight Archive, Sanderson’s magnum opus) can really feel like you’re getting so much information, through multiple view points, and it can definitely be overwhelming. Mistborn did a really good job of keeping things simple, but at the same time not sacrificing on the world building. Everything about the world, from the magic system, to the characters, to the unique setting, really pulled me in and made me wanting more.
The characters were really well done. Everyone had a uniqueness to them, in how they spoke and acted. I had fun just reading about the crew’s conversations and you really could feel each member’s personality shining through. Kelsier and Vin of course were the two standouts from the crew. Both characters had a lot of growth, coming from harrowing backgrounds and really using that to push them further to their goals. Still, one character stood out for me above the rest and that was Sazed. He just was the definition of cool, constantly maintaining a mysterious vibe about himself but the bad-assery was very apparent.
Overall, this book was a 5/5 for me because of the way it just sucked me in for 536 pages. It’s not often you read a book and really feel like it’s a completely unique piece, and this was definitely one of those books.
A lot of fantasy books (I’m looking at you, Stormlight Archive, Sanderson’s magnum opus) can really feel like you’re getting so much information, through multiple view points, and it can definitely be overwhelming. Mistborn did a really good job of keeping things simple, but at the same time not sacrificing on the world building. Everything about the world, from the magic system, to the characters, to the unique setting, really pulled me in and made me wanting more.
The characters were really well done. Everyone had a uniqueness to them, in how they spoke and acted. I had fun just reading about the crew’s conversations and you really could feel each member’s personality shining through. Kelsier and Vin of course were the two standouts from the crew. Both characters had a lot of growth, coming from harrowing backgrounds and really using that to push them further to their goals. Still, one character stood out for me above the rest and that was Sazed. He just was the definition of cool, constantly maintaining a mysterious vibe about himself but the bad-assery was very apparent.
Overall, this book was a 5/5 for me because of the way it just sucked me in for 536 pages. It’s not often you read a book and really feel like it’s a completely unique piece, and this was definitely one of those books.
Oathbringer by Brandon Sanderson
5.0
Started back in May, picked it up two weeks ago with about 150 pages read and plowed through it the last two weeks!
Brandon Sanderson you beautiful bastard, you did it again! What a frigging book I just read! This book to me, was the payoff of two amazing world building books, and it was so so so good. I had trouble putting it down. I think I read the final 250 pages in the last 24 hours, it was that good.
Oathbringer hit the ground running, and just didn’t really let up for 1233 pages. This book, as the name suggests, focused on Dalinar and his past. His story was heartbreaking, and seeing his growth and his realization of what happened/what he needed to do was so satisfying.
After two books of Kaladin and the gang finding their way, harnessing their abilities, and building the world, Sanderson just brought it all together so well here. The Sanderlanche was incredible, 150 pages or so of just non stop action. It was really fun to see everyone coming together for the big baddie fight at the end, after spending the majority of the last two books on their own journeys.
To me, this was my favourite of the three Stormlight books I’ve read so far. Can’t wait to carry on and make it one step closer to Wind and Truth!
Brandon Sanderson you beautiful bastard, you did it again! What a frigging book I just read! This book to me, was the payoff of two amazing world building books, and it was so so so good. I had trouble putting it down. I think I read the final 250 pages in the last 24 hours, it was that good.
Oathbringer hit the ground running, and just didn’t really let up for 1233 pages. This book, as the name suggests, focused on Dalinar and his past. His story was heartbreaking, and seeing his growth and his realization of what happened/what he needed to do was so satisfying.
After two books of Kaladin and the gang finding their way, harnessing their abilities, and building the world, Sanderson just brought it all together so well here. The Sanderlanche was incredible, 150 pages or so of just non stop action. It was really fun to see everyone coming together for the big baddie fight at the end, after spending the majority of the last two books on their own journeys.
To me, this was my favourite of the three Stormlight books I’ve read so far. Can’t wait to carry on and make it one step closer to Wind and Truth!
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
4.0
Had this one on my TBR for quite awhile, and finally got around to it. Probably would have finished it about a week and a half sooner, but life got in the way!
Really enjoyed it for the most part. You don’t often get a lot of single narrator POVs, so it was a nice change of pace to not jump back and forth between multiple characters.
Enjoyed Rothfuss’ writing, the book flowed nicely and was a really easy read, it didn’t feel like 720 pages.
I think this book really had two parts for me. Somewhere around the middle part of the book, when Kvothe went to the university, the pace of the book shifted a bit and it became not as enjoyable. It was easily a 5* book for me up until that point. I really enjoyed following Kvothe and his troupe, the first few chapters pre “chronicling”, and everything in between. I just found that when he made it to the school, it eventually became more of a romance novel. Everything just became about Deena and Kvothe trying to find her, or talk about her to his friends, etc. I don’t mind the love interest at all, but there was just so much going on up until he ran into her again, it really stalled the story for me.
I also didn’t particularly love how much of a “Gary Stu” Kvothe was. I guess that’s what happens when he’s the narrator, it’s normal to talk himself up, but it just got to a point where he was the greatest and smartest in the world and he damn well knew it. I chuckled a few times, it became a pattern for sure
Definitely looking forward to reading A Wise Man’s Fear, and it’s a shame that we may never see progression in the tale.
Really enjoyed it for the most part. You don’t often get a lot of single narrator POVs, so it was a nice change of pace to not jump back and forth between multiple characters.
Enjoyed Rothfuss’ writing, the book flowed nicely and was a really easy read, it didn’t feel like 720 pages.
I think this book really had two parts for me. Somewhere around the middle part of the book, when Kvothe went to the university, the pace of the book shifted a bit and it became not as enjoyable. It was easily a 5* book for me up until that point. I really enjoyed following Kvothe and his troupe, the first few chapters pre “chronicling”, and everything in between. I just found that when he made it to the school, it eventually became more of a romance novel. Everything just became about Deena and Kvothe trying to find her, or talk about her to his friends, etc. I don’t mind the love interest at all, but there was just so much going on up until he ran into her again, it really stalled the story for me.
I also didn’t particularly love how much of a “Gary Stu” Kvothe was. I guess that’s what happens when he’s the narrator, it’s normal to talk himself up, but it just got to a point where he was the greatest and smartest in the world and he damn well knew it. I chuckled a few times, it became a pattern for sure
Definitely looking forward to reading A Wise Man’s Fear, and it’s a shame that we may never see progression in the tale.