nobodyschampion's reviews
418 reviews

When I first read this book come on I didn't care for it, so much so that I stopped reading it. But when I came back a couple of months later, having switched to the audiobook, I really enjoyed my time with this. Michael Kramer and Kate Reading saved the day.

Here's my controversial opinion, this book is just fine, and maybe not even good. Which I found to be rather disappointing, especially after the emotionally raw character driven study, that is, Shadows of Self, which is my favorite Era 2 novel.

I feel like my main complaints with Bands of Mourning are mostly superficial, as there is no "real" reason for me to not like this book. However, I didn't care while reading this book.

Maybe it is the part of Bands of Mourning, that makes the world feel bigger but in a cheap way, as new people's are introduced, without any hints to them in any other book, making the rewards and payoff seem very shallow.

Maybe it was Treasure Hunt, which is designed to be very confusing, and go against "Lore" until you've read the side story, Secret History. But upon reading that short entry, and then rereading Bands, the mystery feels weak, and vague, the intrigue only being there, simply for your first read through.

Maybe it's the fact that this book feels the most indulgent of Brandon's. It feels like he has a couple of ideas that he wants to do, but for them to work, you really need to understand his world. More time is spent, explaining about investiture, connection, and identity than anything else. And even compared to other Cosmere Lore Dumps (Fabrial's in Rhythm of War), these conversations are rather hard to follow, and kinda boring.

Over all this book is fine, I just have several nit-picky issues with it that immensely drag down my enjoyment. Despite what is my heavily biased and personal opinion, Bands of Mourning is good. I just don't like it.

I am convinced that John Gwynne does not know hour to write romance. To get around this, he simply kills off one of the people in love. What an absolute mad lad.

This book is simply insane. John Gwynne improving as an author with every entry. Everything about this is better than Malice and Valor. The Prose, the Action, the twists, the world building, the characters. Everything is firing on all cylinders.

This is an amazing book

A great start to what I hope is a great series. I resonated with everything in, from the way it was written (like an old man recounting his life's tale to his grandchild), to the Intellectual court intrigue, and the world, (which has not been explored fully), feels vast.

I am very excited to read the rest of the Farseer Trilogy and the Realm of the Elderlings

Brain McClellan gets better with every book, and I am happy to report that I now Recommend the Powder Mage series. Before I was iffy, as I thought the books were fine, the best part was the vibe that the world set up.

However, Wrath of Empire was great, so good that I think you should read it, and that does mean reading the rest of the series.

Dang. I didn't think I would like it, as I thought it would be more like Bands of Mourning (which I wasn't the biggest fan of). I But it's a good mix of the Driven Character Study of Shadows, with the larger scope of Bands.

The themes are what really convinced me, as Wax steps aside for Wayne and Marasi to be the emotional heart of the Story. But the themes of healing and personal forgiveness are really what I struggle with right now. So the decidedly wholesome themes of the story hit home.

Plus this is the most intensive Cosmere book answering several lingering questions about the larger nature of things. Surprisingly the larger scope didn't end up bogging the book down.

The Poppy War is a brutal story. Like absolutely horrendous, so much so that Chapter 21 is actually quite scarring. However, this gruesome tale is loosely based on actual historical events. This means that while you read the grotesque events, you know that this happened to real people, and that thought is harrowing.

Rin is easily one of the most unlikable protagonists I've ever read, with very few redemptive qualities. She starts out kinda nice and forgivable, but the intense descent into madness, filled with racism, war trauma, and actual torture, make all of her actions (however unforgivable) justifiable. So much so, that when she pulls an Eren Jaeger, that of mass genocide, her actions never felt unbelievable.

Overall, I didn't like reading most of this book, it was not a good time. But I feel like that was the point, and I would be remiss to not give R.F. Kuang the credit she deserves.

This is a book I probably never read again, but will think about it a lot.

While I think that Ruin had better individual moments, Wrath is overall the better book.

Wrath was fantastic, an absolute blast, and one of my favorite books of the year. I loved the amount of Twists and Turns, and I thought that all of then were really well delivered. The end was also very well written, being very emotional and tying off the loose ends. The end was also super crazy, just as insane as any Sanderlanche, and probably better than most. The action is immensely Gripping, visceral, grounded and well executed, where you always know what's happening, and no one ever feels safe.

The Faithful and the Fallen is a new series in my top of all time. The first two were good, with lot of issues, but the last two were some of the best books I've read.

Royal Assassin is easily one of my favorite books of the year. Everything about it was fantastic. The characters were personal and real. The pacing was excellent and gripping. The world is vast and well developed. The stakes are real and intense. The twists were unexpected but never unearned.

I found every page of this book to be engaging, whether it was the fantastic court intrigue, the mysterious red ships, or the very human romance.

I loved this book

Never before have I wished that I had read a book sooner in my life. This book is very juvenile at times, with a disturbing focus on breasts and gory action, my high school self would have loved this book.

Brent Weeks writes a really relateble teenager, who is socially awkward and quite focused on sex. So if you can get past the inherent sexisim, The Black Prisim is still an enjoyable ride. Filled with well executed twists, one of the coolest and most unique magic systems, and breakneck pacing, I found the first volume of Lightbringer to be very enjoyable despite its many flaws.