Ben Saufley
Added to listOwnedwith 25 books.
Added to listOwnedwith 23 books.
This has been getting major marketing and though the cover had me interested right away I was a bit skeptical for that reason (that and it was presented in one store very closely connected to the now-poisoned HP franchise). But boy, I really enjoyed it. It's comfortable and built on a lot of tropes, but in a really nice way. The world felt distinct, and the characters were charming. The writing is smart and not at all cynical, and it's hard to write without cynicism and not come off as saccharine. Definitely recommend.
This has been getting major marketing and though the cover had me interested right away I was a bit skeptical for that reason (that and it was presented in one store very closely connected to the now-poisoned HP franchise). But boy, I really enjoyed it. It's comfortable and built on a lot of tropes, but in a really nice way. The world felt distinct, and the characters were charming. The writing is smart and not at all cynical, and it's hard to write without cynicism and not come off as saccharine. Definitely recommend.
This has been getting major marketing and though the cover had me interested right away I was a bit skeptical for that reason (that and it was presented in one store very closely connected to the now-poisoned HP franchise). But boy, I really enjoyed it. It's comfortable and built on a lot of tropes, but in a really nice way. The world felt distinct, and the characters were charming. The writing is smart and not at all cynical, and it's hard to write without cynicism and not come off as saccharine. Definitely recommend.
This has been getting major marketing and though the cover had me interested right away I was a bit skeptical for that reason (that and it was presented in one store very closely connected to the now-poisoned HP franchise). But boy, I really enjoyed it. It's comfortable and built on a lot of tropes, but in a really nice way. The world felt distinct, and the characters were charming. The writing is smart and not at all cynical, and it's hard to write without cynicism and not come off as saccharine. Definitely recommend.
Everybody loves this series but this first book, at least, I found it immensely boring. The characters were largely interchangeable - if I didn't know from elsewhere that Rand was the protagonist, I'd have confused him with Mat and Perrin, whom I definitely confused for each other. The arc of the story had little real momentum, with a lot of wandering, occasionally interrupted by portentous language that I assume was meant to heighten tension but meant nothing to me, and culminating in a conflict that felt a little out of nowhere and anticlimactic, even with its grandiose themes.
Interestingly this wasn't one of those fantasy novels that gets caught up in so many of the trappings: dense, faux-old-timey language, overdescription, chapters full of world building and history, etc. And it's not of the “grimdark” variety either. This should've been right up my alley. But since I first picked it up years ago I'd never been able to finish it. I finally just powered through – sometimes a book needs that push – and in the end ... meh.
Everybody loves this series but this first book, at least, I found it immensely boring. The characters were largely interchangeable - if I didn't know from elsewhere that Rand was the protagonist, I'd have confused him with Mat and Perrin, whom I definitely confused for each other. The arc of the story had little real momentum, with a lot of wandering, occasionally interrupted by portentous language that I assume was meant to heighten tension but meant nothing to me, and culminating in a conflict that felt a little out of nowhere and anticlimactic, even with its grandiose themes.
Interestingly this wasn't one of those fantasy novels that gets caught up in so many of the trappings: dense, faux-old-timey language, overdescription, chapters full of world building and history, etc. And it's not of the “grimdark” variety either. This should've been right up my alley. But since I first picked it up years ago I'd never been able to finish it. I finally just powered through – sometimes a book needs that push – and in the end ... meh.
