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lukutikka's reviews
213 reviews
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Red Memory: The Afterlives of China's Cultural Revolution by Tania Branigan
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Torture
China: A History (Volume 2): From the Great Qing Empire through The People's Republic of China, (1644 - 2009) by Harold M. Tanner
informative
medium-paced
3.5
China: A History (Volume 1): From Neolithic Cultures through the Great Qing Empire, (10,000 BCE - 1799 CE) by Harold M. Tanner
informative
medium-paced
3.25
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
adventurous
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror
Marzahn, Mon Amour by Katja Oskamp
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart
challenging
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence
Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
inspiring
reflective
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
3.75
Well-written, great ending for the first arc of Stormlight, as you would have come to expect from Sanderson.
Some parts I thought were brilliant - some characters absolutely shone. I enjoyed the flashback stories thoroughly and All of the arcs the characters had to go through. However some of them felt a bit disconnected, and I felt some were a bit fast given the amount of development we had had in previous books.
Shallan struggling about killing all her parent figures and mentors made sense in theory, but I feel like not enough has been established to support all that. I get that Veil&Radiant quite literally shielded her from the emotions, but I don’t think we saw her really struggle or think about Tyn’s death, for example. Mraize, Shallan let go of him in the last book, and I didn’t really feel the conflict which I felt was already mostly dealt with anyway. Shallan’s backstory stuff with her mom was compelling.
Renarin and Rlain were cute and a well-written romance, but it all came a bit too quickly in the last book. I’d like to have seen a bit more development in the previous ones. Not that it came out of the blue, not at all, but it was simply hammered a bit too hard home by the end.
Adolin and Szeth were two standouts with their arcs. Jasnah’s one was great as well, and Kaladin always shines.
Oh and the Blackthorn copy? I’m sorry, that’s dumb. Hate it to bits. I also disliked the magical regrowth of Gavinor, he served an okay emotional impact but because we haven’t grown with that it was all so sudden. I’d like to see where the charcter goes though. But for the love of god, let every version of Dalinar die.
Sanderson continues to be pretty simplistic and overt in places, particularly with mental health, which can be tiring at times. Like, I get it. The characters are good, but the more these things are put into words, it just suffers. Might not be a problem for everyone.
My main problem, and this might be just a me issue, is the overall cosmic, or Cosmere if you will, stuff. While it all made sense and I thought it was well-written and connected to the core characters, once the story gets too cosmic-y, it looses me emotionally. That might be a personal preference, but I’ve always enjoyed the smaller character moments better. I get that the story is a grand one, but also a smaller scale one with the characters, and I just prefer the smaller scale, mostly.
I did like the changes in the status quo and I’m exited to see where this leads for the story and the characters. Journey before destination, always.
Some parts I thought were brilliant - some characters absolutely shone. I enjoyed the flashback stories thoroughly and All of the arcs the characters had to go through. However some of them felt a bit disconnected, and I felt some were a bit fast given the amount of development we had had in previous books.
Renarin and Rlain were cute and a well-written romance, but it all came a bit too quickly in the last book. I’d like to have seen a bit more development in the previous ones. Not that it came out of the blue, not at all, but it was simply hammered a bit too hard home by the end.
Adolin and Szeth were two standouts with their arcs. Jasnah’s one was great as well, and Kaladin always shines.
Oh and the Blackthorn copy? I’m sorry, that’s dumb. Hate it to bits. I also disliked the magical regrowth of Gavinor, he served an okay emotional impact but because we haven’t grown with that it was all so sudden. I’d like to see where the charcter goes though. But for the love of god, let every version of Dalinar die.
Sanderson continues to be pretty simplistic and overt in places, particularly with mental health, which can be tiring at times. Like, I get it. The characters are good, but the more these things are put into words, it just suffers. Might not be a problem for everyone.
My main problem, and this might be just a me issue, is the overall cosmic, or Cosmere if you will, stuff. While it all made sense and I thought it was well-written and connected to the core characters, once the story gets too cosmic-y, it looses me emotionally. That might be a personal preference, but I’ve always enjoyed the smaller character moments better. I get that the story is a grand one, but also a smaller scale one with the characters, and I just prefer the smaller scale, mostly.
I did like the changes in the status quo and I’m exited to see where this leads for the story and the characters. Journey before destination, always.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and War
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Child abuse
Never Did the Fire by Diamela Eltit
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Child death