Ethan Poole

I enjoyed reading this book, though I will admit that the plot does not progress very much. The end of the novel contains numerous cliffhangers for the next book, which perhaps clouds my judgement. Still, I enjoy the WoT books because they are so immersive and rich in dramatic irony and suspense, and this book keeps that up. The book does not contain Mat's POV, which I didn't mind because I don't like him as a character.

I would have liked a little more depth of plot. In the last half, events transpired so quickly.

I enjoyed the book and thought that it was a really interesting story and world. The story was a little slow at points though.

Good escapist literature. For me, it falls somewhere between three and four stars. I've read The Last Herald-Mage trilogy by Lackey, which I really enjoyed. Arrows of the Queen was much simpler a story, and you could tell that it was Lackey's first book from the writing quality.

Like [b:The Path of Daggers 140974 The Path of Daggers (Wheel of Time, #8) Robert Jordan https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1390508613s/140974.jpg 1098593], this book progresses slowly. But, I feel that if you've made it this far into the series, you are engrossed enough into the story not to be bothered by it. I certainly enjoyed reading it.

Compared to the previous couple books, the plot really lurched forward! It felt more like the earlier books in the series, with much better pacing throughout. I enjoyed Egwene's storyline, and Mat's storyline finally more interesting. I was glad that Elayne's rescue was over quickly, and didn't stretch over three books like Faile's...

On reread: I forgot how good this book is.

Not as unique as Tombs of Atuan, but still enjoyable. Very classic fantasy feel.

A great end to a great series! I'm really glad that I decided to reread the books after all these years, so that I could feel the joy of reading them once again.

I stand by my earlier rating.

Fun, funny, and very meta.

Avasarala is the best!

I loved this book. It felt like reading (well, listening) to [b:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy 386162 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, #1) Douglas Adams https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388282444s/386162.jpg 3078186] for the first time. The humor is witty, clever, and irreverent. I could see myself reading this again in the future.

The ending! I listened to the audiobook, but I would recommend ebook/print; at times, the two different timelines were a little hard to follow in audio.

Cute story.

I enjoyed The Shadowed Sun much more than The Killing Moon. The story is more interesting, and the characters are more realistic. The book definitely has layers. There is very much the sense of characters facing genuine hardships and having the agency to overcome them—which I have come to associate with NK Jemisin's work, she does this very well. I found the romance in the book “meh” and fairly predictable. I wish that it hadn't been there, but it doesn't distract too much from the main story.

I'm not sure how she does it, but NK Jemisin somehow managed to create another fantasy world that feels different and unique from traditional fantasy world-building. The magic and lore are super interesting, and the characters complex and poignant—very “tactile” in that sense. There is no info dump; rather, you find out about the world as the story progresses, which I very much enjoy. It is hard not to compare this book to the Broken Earth Trilogy; it isn't as good, and there are some parts where the plot jumps, but it is still a great story in its own right.

The Gathering Storm is one of my favorites in the series thus far. The plot progress very quickly, and so many story arcs come together—finally—in a very satisfying way. It was a real page-turner! I really enjoyed Egwene's storyline, and the revelations there. My impression is that Sanderson cleaned up a lot of the repetitive prose that Jordan loved. There is less elaborate descriptions of settings and clothing, for instance, and almost no crossing of one's arms under their breasts. I can finally see the events leading towards a resolution of this epic story. I'm eager to read the last two books!

The foundation laid in [b:The Way of Kings 7235533 The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1) Brandon Sanderson https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388184640s/7235533.jpg 8134945] completely paid off. This book was spectacular (radiant?)—epic fantasy at its finest. Unlike the first book, this book progressed at a much faster rate, and there were lots of unexpected plot twists. The lore and the magic system rule, and there is a lot more of that in this book. If [b:The Way of Kings 7235533 The Way of Kings (The Stormlight Archive, #1) Brandon Sanderson https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388184640s/7235533.jpg 8134945] was Kaladin's book, then this one was Shallan's. I already enjoyed her as a character, but she really grew in this book and became a much needed foil to the somewhat-predictable male protagonists.

This was definitely the slowest WoT book so far. There was a lot of storytelling, but almost zero plot development. I was hoping for a real cliffhanger at the end, but not even that was delivered. I'm committed to reading through the series, but, man, this book was rough.

I decided to read this book after having read [b:Circe 35959740 Circe Madeline Miller https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1508879575s/35959740.jpg 53043399]. It was an enjoyable retelling of the familiar story of Achilles, told from the perspective of Patroclus and focusing on the romantic relationship between him and Achilles. I liked Miller's exploration of the characters' agency, in particular how a hero's decisions, often self-centered and based on pride and “honor”, can adversely affect everyone else. Overall, a great read!

An amazing end to the series! I feel like I should have been able to guess more of the big reveals given all the foreshadowing, but I didn't, so it was super fun at the end. I really enjoyed how this series managed to have one overarching story arc across a bunch of smaller, mostly self-contained story arcs. Such an enjoyable series! I will definitely be reading the other related series by Sullivan.

Shorter story, but still fun. Good world-building.

Both stories are trope heavy, but the plot, characters, and writing are all very good. As such, it feels familiar and yet new at the same time—an enjoyable read. In the overabundance of grimdark fantasy, sometimes we all just need a nice linear story arc with a happy ending, and this book serves nicely for that purpose.

Like the first book, Rise of Empire has a good and fun plot built on standard fantasy tropes. The overarching narrative arc is more pronounced in this book as well, and is very intriguing. I'm excited to see how it all plays out in the final book. I was glad to see that Arista became a main character. A fun read!