YES. just yes. satisfying and heartwrenching all at once. herbert's vision finally made clear to those of us who couldn't really get it while reading the original. my second read was so much more satisfying than the first; previously, i'd probably give this a 4.

Content Warnings

The Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon

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adventurous hopeful medium-paced

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

2.0

this was pitched to me as a song of ice and fire with lesbians. it absolutely wasn't. the worldbuilding is decent, and some characters do have personalities. having read - and loved - asoiaf, i expected to be absolutely immersed in a diverse and fascinating fantasy world, with all the politics and intrigue one would expect. not to mention a huge and diverse cast of characters whose stories occasionally intersect. i was really disappointed. this book tries hard, and the world would be very interesting if fleshed out more, but by the end i was not just increasingly disappointed with the lack of development but in some regards the active *devolution* of the concepts so beautifully presented in the first third or so of the book. it had a lot of potential and lived up to none of them for me. but, i gotta give it 2 stars for a really good start. i was really hooked while it lasted.

Dune by Frank Herbert

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challenging mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

a masterpiece. problem is, you can't just read this book, or you'll miss the whole point herbert is trying to make. do yourself a favour and pick up book 2 and 3 too.

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse

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adventurous dark funny mysterious reflective tense 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

3.5

a little cheesy at times, but I liked it. realized I have A Thing for pirate ladies. 😇

Provenance by Ann Leckie

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective 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? It's complicated

3.75

first of all, man i loooove adjoah's narration so gd much. i loved getting to know other parts of this universe better, but this was such an all over the place read despite the relatively contained story. the writing was on point as always, i just didn't like the main character as much as the other radch books. i liked the side characters tho, so it wasn't as boring as i feared. it's *at least* a solid 3.5, but a 3.75 felt right. do yourself a favour and give the audiobook version a chance!

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

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challenging informative inspiring reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

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decapode's reviews 155 reviews

decapode's reviews
155 reviews