vermidian's reviews
1167 reviews

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman, Jay Kristoff
Did not finish book. Stopped at 25%.

I just could not get into this book. I read about 155 pages and I realized I was subconsciously avoiding reading further in this book. It may be a really cool book, and I really appreciate the graphic design elements, but I wasn't sold on the characters and the somewhat cheesy interactions.

Napoleon's Pyramids by William Dietrich
Did not finish book. Stopped at 11%.

This is a review of someone who did not finish the book. In fact, I quit at the start of chapter three.

This had the fatal flaw of telling me about all of these cool things in Ethan's past, rather than showing us. It also waxes poetic about the noble society of the freemasons. I expected some of this, as it was on the dustjacket summary, but it was nearly constant. It depends on stereotypes and allowing the main character to brush elbows with multiple prominent historical figures to sell the story. I've seen it be done well, but it just felt tacky to me. It had all the aspirations of being a fun action adventure - and it might have been if it had just stuck to the present rather than regularly devolving into explaining every aspect of the world. I almost liked the character, but it felt like I was getting half plot and half a pitch to join the masons.

It might get better, but I'm not going to force myself to read this book.

Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard
Did not finish book. Stopped at 15%.

I'm calling it here. I read the first 15% of this book and it just isn't grabbing my attention. It relies so heavily on well established YA tropes and the characters all feel terribly flat. It might be a great book for someone else, but it wasn't that interesting for me.

Also, who names their main character a synonym for a female horse? That just seems like a tacky choice to me.

A Conjuring of Light by V.E. Schwab

adventurous dark 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? No

5.0

A Conjuring of Light is a wonderful ending to the series, wrapping up loose ends in all of the stories and the characters. Not without heartbreak that has been consistent throughout the series, it was a fantastic end to a fantastic trilogy.

The length of this book surprised me, considering it was so much longer than the other books, but I can't say there was any one part that drug on for me. The story was very fluid and kept consistently moving toward the end that the author was building.

The lyricality of the writing remained as delightful as ever. I particularly loved the part toward the end where the three Antari see Ojka and all of them have a very separate reaction to her in small paragraphs. I love that poetry in the prose. I also really enjoyed getting to see more of Holland's perspective in this book, as well as the King and Queen of Red London. It was an excellent blend of perspectives. Rhy was also more prominent in this book, as were Alucard. It was cool to really get inside everyone's heads.

Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

adventurous dark funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

This book was a gift from my lovely partner who had just finished it and wanted to shout about the ending with me. I really enjoyed this book and I'm giving it 4.5 stars.

My one gripe with the book is that it took me a long time to get hooked on it. Until the point that Harrow and Gideon arrive on the docks at Canaan House, I was very much treading water with the writing style. However, after that point, I started really catching my stride. The only other thing I could think to mention is I sometimes lost track of who the less important side characters were, but that might have just been my fault.

I actually saw a lot of the plot twists coming, but I'm also VERY good at picking up on foreshadowing. I won't give anything away, but the plot of the book keeps you on your toes, trying to figure out who's done what. And the ending! Iconic and earth shattering.

I very much would like more on what's going on with the world state of the book, seeing as there's some kind of unknown adversary somewhere in the world and none of the different planets that our heroes inhabited seemed to be doing that well, socially if nothing else. I'm interested in learning more about that going forward.

The Empty Grave by Jonathan Stroud

adventurous dark funny hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This book was the end to a delightful five book series regarding teenager fighting ghosts for the good of their country and the bonds they built. And it was a wonderful read. They left a bit open ended, so that if more were to be written it could certainly be done - and I think I would like that, if not just to have more of the Skull and who he really is. I've seen other reviews clamoring about Lucy and Lockwood, but I was never all that into their romance arch as much as I was the character development of each character.

I look forward to reading more of Stroud's books in the future.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

dark mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

The graphic design of the book is absolutely beautiful. If you can find yourself a hardcover copy, do it and make sure you look under the dustjacket. Utterly stunning design.

This book is not cheerful by any stretch of the imagination. It's calm and almost meditative writing, allegorical and poetic. This is the dream book for someone who likes reading into the symbolism in their books. It is also, for readers like me, an okay read for the plot of the novel itself - though if you aren't expecting all the symbolism, it might run a little slow for you. I was expecting a little less speediness having read Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell previously. It took me a bit to get into it and adjust to the writing style, but once I got into it, it was a breeze.

Piranesi, though that is not his name exactly, is an empathetic person who delights in nature and the world around him, seeking to learn and understand things without judgement. He is a kind of person I think we could all endeavor to be more like, though I doubt any of us would like to live in an endless, half-sunken house. He was sweet and naive, and the best kind of unreliable narrator.

This is the first book by Clarke that I've read that doesn't take place in a prior time period. While it takes place in our modern times, it is in a world removed from the one we know.

It was interesting to learn, after reading, that this book was written during and inspired by the author having long periods of self-isolation due to chronic illness, which somehow made what I had read make so much more sense. I think it was a beautiful way to channel that experience.

The Fowl Twins by Eoin Colfer

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

3.5

I went into this book ready to meet the twins as functioning members of the Fowl family, and I got them. Myles is the smart, Artemis-like twin - the personality type that the series has come to depend on. Beckett is the "dumb" polygot and martial artist. They are also physically different looking, just to drive home the point of "these twins are nothing alike!" But it was stereotyping to the max, and that aspect kind of bothered me at times. Myles also suffered heavily from comparing himself to Artemis constantly, to the point that he still felt like a character in the book. Through digital recordings and references to him that felt like nearly every chapter, Myles (and sort of the whole book) fell under the shadow of the previous series. And, to be fair, I expected that somewhat. Artemis Fowl was a great book series and it's why I continued on to this subsequent series. However, I feel like the new Fowl characters would really shine if they had let them stand on their own four feet without the constant mentions.

I liked Lazuli. I thought it was fun to explore her identity in the fairy culture. However, I kind of felt like she sort of took a back seat in this book. She was a necessary element for the book to have, as I assume this will kick off subsequent adventures exploring the underground fairy world. However, I sometimes felt she was just kind of set dressing so that the Fowl twins could succeed. I felt like she really came into her own in that final fight when she got her magic, so I look forward to seeing her grow more over the course of the later books. I felt like they spent more time developing Whistle Blower, who was honestly kind of cute. NANNI was also an interesting side character, and I love the idea of artificial life becoming sentient, so I'm interested in seeing what way they go with her.

Was it enjoyable? Yeah. I don't think it was as good as the original series, but that's a tall order anyway. Will I read on? Also yes.

The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater

adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This was not quite the book I expected it to be, but it was somehow the ending I expected to get. As always, I found the way Stiefvater described the magic and the people and the locations of the world almost as magical as the magic the main characters use. I feel like I can't talk about a lot of the elements of the ending, as they would be spoilers, but I hadn't expected the demon to be as big of a deal as it became in this book. I thought, given the title, that it would be all about finally finding Glendower, but it really was more about the demon. I, frankly, could have done with less demon and more Glendower in the ending. There were aspects of the ending that I found really cool, and aspects of the ending I really didn't love. There were things the whole series geared up towards, which then fell through, and I missed it. There were things I didn't see coming initially and were wonderful.

I almost feel like this series could use another book when they're all adults post-college, coming back home.

All in all, despite my quibbles about aspects of the book, I still fully recommend reading the series. It's a wonderful read.

Vermilion: The Adventures of Lou Merriwether, Psychopomp by Molly Tanzer

adventurous funny mysterious 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? No

4.0

A delightful world with a delightful main character, but the villain left much to be desired. I found myself wishing for things to be tweaked slightly with a regularity, but I always really appreciated how real Lou felt as a character. She wasn't perfect and she didn't always make the right decisions, but she made the best decisions she could given the information she had. I was also delighted with the amount of representation throughout the book, both racially and LGBT+. Though it could be a little indelicate about it, it wasn't something I regularly get from my books.

I've heard there is a possible sequel, though I'm not sure when or if that's still coming out. Should it do so, I would look forward to reading it.