This book is such a great followup to The Blade Itself. Before They Are Hanged builds so much on the characters in the first one, expanding their depth while broadening the world. These books are way more character-focused than world-building fantasy and I would read about their adventures all day long.
I usually take longer breaks in between books in a series, but I don't think I can keep from starting
Last Argument of Kings as soon as possible.
As a fan of the Dexter show but not necessarily the book series, I thought I'd check out Jeff Lindsay's new series. I liked the main character, but I what made me put this book down was the improbability of it all.
The main character just happens to see a magazine article and fix all his depression about what to do next. The cop in pursuit doesn't know why, but he's going to the exact city to look for the exact guy because he's going to steal the exact thing he's actually going to steal. It's all a little on the nose and completely took me out of the story. It's as if the writer knew where he wanted them to be but couldn't figure out how to get them there.
DNF at Chapter 9
Really 4.5. This is a great second book in the Powder Mage series. The characters grow deeper and the pressure builds up nicely. Tons of action with hand to hand combat and full-scale military battles. A very good political scheming backdrop as the sides use high stakes to take over Adro. The chapter structure sometimes throws me off, wishing that the three major characters POV paragraphs would be split or have a divider to help me switch. Overall, I can't wait to read [b:The Autumn Republic 20883847 The Autumn Republic (Powder Mage, #3) Brian McClellan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1393261950l/20883847.SY75.jpg 40224712] and see what happens to Tamas, Taniel, and Adamat.
[a:Evan Winter 17087338 Evan Winter https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1506183476p2/17087338.jpg] does a fantastic job in his debut, [b:The Rage of Dragons 44330000 The Rage of Dragons (The Burning, #1) Evan Winter https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1563407420l/44330000.SX50.jpg 57522473]. He keeps the action going, picking up the pace as the book goes along. The way he sprinkles the world lore into the settings is brilliant, giving the reader just enough to understand, but allowing the mystery of the bigger picture to linger. There were a few scenes that told me instead of showing me what was happening, but those were few and far between. I am very excited to read what lies in store for these characters in the next book of The Burning series
This book thoroughly plots the development of the American war time President by starting with Thomas Jefferson's restraint and finishing up with our current Iraq/Afghanistan war. I love how many personal details are included on the inner workings of the administrations before, during, and after the decisions they made. Great for anyone interested in going beyond the top level history you learned in high school.
To start off, I love this series. I love forward to reading about these characters every year with Michael's wonderful release schedule. [b:Age of War 18052169 Age of War (The Legends of the First Empire, #3) Michael J. Sullivan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1516720471l/18052169.SX50.jpg 25336191], the previous book in the series, was brilliant in tying up the first arc of this series in a dramatic, yet heartbreaking fashion.[b:Age of Legend 22819354 Age of Legend (The Legends of the First Empire, #4) Michael J. Sullivan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1562549139l/22819354.SX50.jpg 42370596] serves as the beginning of the second arc of this six-book series. We get to jump in right after the events of the last book, fast forward a bit for some character progression and realistic time gap, then dive headfirst into the two events that will be resolved through the second arc. While I really liked this book, it definitely feels unresolved at the end with the cliffhanger ending. As someone who is going to read this whole series, it doesn't bother me too much, especially since I know the next book is not far off.Can't wait for [b:Age of Death 30613608 Age of Death (The Legends of the First Empire, #5) Michael J. Sullivan https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1559735560l/30613608.SX50.jpg 51146016]!
While this book has ‘Being Yourself', it focuses on throwing out traditional standards in the workplace, in our social circles, and in our bedroom. I don't disagree with the author on all these fronts, but the book makes me feel like an outsider for having a monogamous, heterosexual marriage and having a normal job to take care of my family. This book is more of a validation for alternative lifestyles and tearing down status quos. I completely agree that the modern expectation of “go to college and work for the man” can lead to an unhappy life, but there is a personal responsibility to find income streams to take care of yourself and live the lifestyle you want.
While the book was good at covering how technology will make huge changes in certain industries in the near future, it didn't tell me a lot that I didn't already know. This may be due to the book being written a few years ago or that I'm thorough in keeping up to date on technology news.
If you aren't familiar with where major industries will see technological leaps in the coming future, check this book out.