Addison

This book was my introduction to the work of Brandon Sanderson. When I heard that he was going to be completing the Wheel of Time, I immediately went online and ordered it with overnight shipping, to see if he was up to snuff. I was instantly hooked. I have since read this, and a few of his other books, multiple times, and am more than happy with the way he is handling Jordan's work. Now, I sit eagerly awaiting his own epic series, “The Stormlight Archives,” to begin. 14 years? Yeah, I can do that. It should be a fun ride!

Fun little personal note: After I set this book down after finishing it for the first time, I said aloud, “I want to do this.” This bring writing. I had no real experience in writing, save a few short stories in High School, one of which my teacher wanted me to enter into a young writers contest, but I had no faith in my own work, and so, didn't. It has only been a couple of years now, but I have learned a lot about writing, and am working on a second novel at the moment. :) (Though the first only came out to be 74k, so I am not sure I would call it a novel...)

A wonderful book that I recommend highly. Due to other projects, it took me a solid month to finish this book, but it wasn't for lack of interest. Wonderfully developed characters and two very interesting magic systems. In the latest Writing Excuses podcast, Brandon said that the two magic systems were from two entirely different “trunk” novels, but I would never have guessed it. A web well woven Mr. Sanderson. :) Loved the ending by the way. I had a moment of, “I hope it doesn't end the way I think it will, that is way too obvious!” and then it didn't. :D

A wonderful start to what it seems will be my next “RELEASE THE NEXT BOOK ALREADY! >.<” series. The scope of this story is absolutely massive, and if the interludes were put in for more than just worldbuilding, we have hardly seen anything. I have read a couple of reviews where people say that the worldbuilding was “excessive” or “intrusive,” but I disagree. Maybe not every mention of retreating grass or rockbuds was necessary to the story, but it helped me truly immerse myself in it. Well done Mr. Sanderson!

I remember loving this book years ago, and it is still a fun read. I loved the character Quickening, and ran into a bit of trouble with her earlier this year. I wrote about 40,000 words into a piece I was working on, and realized that a main character in it was a lot like Quickening in this book. I haven't scrapped the idea entirely, but she will need a major reworking, and thus the book will pretty much have to be restarted. sigh

Not a bad book at all. I've read somewhere that the books get better later in the series, but I fully enjoyed this one, and it kept me turning the pages. I think Harry Dresden has been a fun character so far, and marvel at how little I actually know about him at this point. The author has managed to keep him interesting, while not divulging all of his secrets. Well done. I didn't think much of the denouement at the end, though. I feel that things could have been tied up in a more engaging fashion. It was a fun read, though, and I will continue with the series.