Gautam Surath

Well after setting up high expectations with Martian I guess this was coming. And no its not a bad book at all. In fact some parts are absolutely fun especially Weir's brand of science. In this are he does not disappoint. The scenario's are all plausible without seeming too outlandish. Even the discovery of another species is handled with ease. If there is anything that makes this book not live upto the previous one its the heart. The narrative is really dry and unemotional. No loneliness of space, no fear of death etc. You could swap the protagonist with a robot and nothing would be lost. Worth reading just to expand your horizon though. There are other worlds than these!

There has been a fair share good of Urban Fantasy around for a while. Usually, its the world building and the characters that fill it who take center stage and drive the narrative. In the case of this one though, its driven by London. You cannot ready this and not want to travel around this city. The fact the first book of the series is titled to capture this is also brilliant. The magic system is simple but not left without the scientific take on it. The players are nicely set especially so the Police. With a bit more heart this could have been brilliant.

A nice tight finish to the overall series without ever hitting the heights it could have reached. The end is a bit predictable but don't let it take you away from the achievement that is Red Rising. One of the best trilogies going around and if you don't have it in your read list you had better!

To keep a narrative going once the premise is set is probably a more difficult task but Brown pulls it off with aplomb. He makes it feel like this was always a planned trilogy which itself is an achievement. While it might have felt it was getting a bit stretched, we see new characters and interesting ones too along with a bit of mystery on who is pulling the strings. All in all a superb follow up

Super fast as any scarecrow book should be but now getting a little predictable:-(. Second read after a while and I wish there was a way to make the images larger. Everything needs to be larger than life for Scarecrow!

Interesting direction but felt there were too many loopholes. Not exactly how I like my fantasy. But the story telling raises it above par. Nicely done POV's and small character developments

Sullivan is back and its with the good stuff. Legends of the first empire initially reminds you of our two thieves but soon introduces plenty of new and interesting characters. The broad background has been set up but its the smaller story within the larger plot that captures the readers interest. Cant wait for the next one.

Really liked this side story which clearly has a role in the coming books but at the same time giving you a more relaxed look at the world. Rysn we have met before and we get more of her staying true to form in this one. But the highlight is clearly Lopen. A character which I would say is the direct opposite of Kaladin and even in the small cameo shines. Another feather in Brandon's cap.

Very shallow and no real hook to want to read any further.

I guess the art was just not to my liking. I really never got into the story. The concept itself was very cool though

Another one of the numorous arc of Harley doing the rounds nowadays but this one pulls off a decent take. Story declines over the individual books but the artwork is engaging and the action is pretty harsh. Worth the time for sure.

Another great follow up book with a nice setup of Urithuru as the centerpiece. The range of broad POVs continue to excite and all characters stay true to themselves. Navani is really well constructed. Lots gets explained and the twist towards the end makes it a bit more interesting now. Overall a tad too predictable. I was able to guess most of the character arcs midway through the book. Onwards.

Its been a long while since I shed a tear while reading a book and Brandon deserves all the credit for this. While the plot is more complicated than his “Mistborn” trilogy, it is built on a much larger canvas and have many more threads. Bridge 4 is and inspiration and some of the character sketches are mind blowing. These ingredients keep building towards a fantastic climax which is delivered with even more finesse than I thought possible.

Now as usual, the wait for the next book begins

Now that is a really long book and to be very frank a tad disappointing for a Brandon Sanderson novel. Don't get me wrong. It still has all the makings of a good book with enough highs and lows, humour and despair etc. But too many characters can sometimes take away from a nice tale and that is what happened here I think. The magic system being fairly complicated adds another level of complexity I would rather not deal with. Hopefully we are now going to jump era's so lets hope for a more simplified future.

Ok. With that I give up. 750 pages is too much to ask for from a series that pretty much has no strong characters and just random types of magic. The action/puzzle sequences do provide some relief but if I want Legend of Zelda I guess I will play the game.

Jay continues to deliver on this highly charged series. There are parts that seem to have been stretched to fill space and make it a trilogy and ofcourse there is the smut, but its all still done at such rapid pace that you never really notice it. The daemons take on more of a role and the twist at the end only makes you more wary of every character making the ending all the more intriguing. Where we go from here is a grand finale and the origins of Godsgrave

Well that was a slog. If you want a detailed magic system which still does not make sense then you have come to the right place. I guess its quite necessary for Andrew to have these many action sequences as otherwise there is no way someone would finish the book. I mean I kept reading to the end hoping to make sense of it. But this hooked me enough for me to venture into Book 2 so that in itself deserves high praise. I thought the Six Secret swords was much better and that really set some different expectations for me.

Ed tops off this series with a remarkable flair. By itself this book is so much more gritty, dark and desperate till the end. It moves you to each end of the spectrum and with remarkable ease. While the first two books plodded along in some parts, Crowfall suddenly ups the ante right from the first page with a simple time jump mechanic and it keeps building. Misery is the real heroine here and I guess Ed really did it justice in the end. Highly recommended series just due to this last episode

Now that was a goodread. A beautifully crafted world, an extremely relatable protagonist and a simple magic world all rolled into the classic school trope. You would think that this is done multiple times but that's the power of writing. Jay pulls you in and while Mia is top notch, the ensemble with her is also extremely well written. As the first in the series it sets up all that is needed and then some more. Will be interesting to see where Jay takes it from here. Onwards

And with that ends another memorable fantasy trilogy. Jay keeps us on the edge and manages the balance exquisitely. There is time travel, changing allegiances, ghost librarians and many other unexpected turns before getting the ending that we may or may not deserve. All in all a highly recommended series though clearly for the adults.

High expectations if I were to endeavor a guess. for me this sage just refused to take off. While the world was certainly interesting and the characters engaging there was something amiss for me in the writing style. It was a very matter a fact tone that probably put me off. Don't think I am going to come back to this series again.

Daniel just delivers. He takes something that is close to possible today (maybe even possible) and builds a nice tale around it. This has all the makings of a thrilling page turner even if the thrill never really reaches a climax. The characters are well fleshed out but they somewhere just lack the filling that makes you really identify with them. But you do get pretty much the regular fare you would expect from picking this up. Its high tech, well explained and leaves you wanting to know more. More importantly it makes you want to take that space walk!

Pretty much a continuation of the first in the series and Andrew does not disappoint. If anything this one is faster and more video gamish than the first. We meet more swords and more monsters and some sub plots get added. Seems like in for the full ride. Bring it on!

Surprise Surprise a fantasy book that ends in 2 books. Kudos. The action takes off right from the last one ended and the pace remains frenetic. The plot is a little more complex as we are drawn into a new world setting and suddenly thrust into a war. Overall it had a feel of a hurriedly put together book and could have done with a fair amount of editing and polishing. The ending was interesting if a bit predictable. All in all a series worth a quick read

Well that was a nicely rolled up package as a fantasy enthusiast. All the makings of a well laid out world and interesting if rather “god” type magic system. POV is very well maintained and some of the characters are well fleshed out. All in all if you are looking for a low investment kind of fantasy Galharrow's got it covered. Onwards