Jasher Drake
this was really fun! all the raistlin and magius stuff ruled and i enjoyed seeing more of sturm, even if he was pretty underused.
my biggest issue is that this completely retcons the legend of huma books, and even totally erases kaz from existence. sad to see such well-established lore, and some of my favourite stories, completely written off like this.
great finale though, and weis and hickman's writing style really does it for me.
Weakest of the trilogy by far, but still has a few fun moments and memorable fights.
Definitely think I did myself a disservice by having such a big break between reading this and the previous book; I'd forgotten so many of the returning characters and plot points.
Pretty stoked John Carter and Dejah Thoris finally get to spend some time together though. What a friggin' romance. ❤️
Found this one tough to get through at first, but man alive, those last few books are something else!
Not too sure about Sanderson's writing overall yet, to be honest. The constant lore dumps during the first half of the book were often distracting and tiresome. I also found myself struggling to visualize people and creatures throughout the story, especially in a lot of the skirmishes and battle scenes later on.
The thing I did fall absolutely in love with were the characters. Well, most of them. Dalinar was the standout, and Kaladin's arc was really engaging. Shallan's stuff, on the other hand? Abyssal. Everything slowed to a crawl when it came to a chapter of hers, and it all feels like wasted time, especially with how abruptly it ends.
I think my favorite thing about Sanderson, though, is the way he does dialogue. Brilliant, captivating, and real. I could read any of these characters talk to each other for hours on end; he just makes it all so interesting.
Gonna try and burn through the rest of the Stormlight books early next year if the Almighty wills it!
Who doesn't love a tragic little gothic horror?
Really dug the three-part layout of this story with the focus on different characters each time, but it did seem to lose its momentum a little bit in the middle.
Great conclusion though, and Morgoth was a super memorable villain (even if his name was directly stolen from Lord of the Rings haha).
Absolutely love the character of Kaz and this book did such a great job at completing his journey - but I sadly found a lot of the Minotaur stuff a tad tiresome, and a few of the plot beats a little uninspired.
Really gonna miss this series though! Knaak has a truly engaging, unique writing style that pulls you right into the action and doesn't let go.
Had such a blast being back in the world of the OASIS with these characters. Although the original nostalgia-fuelled buzz of Ready Player One has worn off a little bit, Ready Player Two manages to up the stakes, up the references and tell an epic tale of the things, and the people, that we love.
Really do recommend checking this one out! Whether you read the first one years ago or you simply lost interest in the premise - this is a super worthwhile, timely, and entertaining sequel. May even be the Empire Strikes Back to the first's Star Wars.
Woah, woah, woah! An absolute all-timer of a fantasy tale full of memorable characters, wild adventures, and a whole lot of heart.
That final battle with Huma vs. Takhisis? Might just be the coolest thing I've ever read.
Definitely going to be checking out more of Richard A. Knaak's stuff ASAP and going to be inspired by this crazy little book for a while.
Loved the sprawling cast of characters and kaiju that this follows, as well as the really creative use of location and timezone in every chapter.
And the monster fights?! Was skeptical that the huge battles we're used to in Godzilla flicks wouldn't translate well to paper, but boy was I wrong. Some of the most exhilarating and intense action I've read in years.
Loved being back in the world of Dragonlance and had an absolute blast devouring this book - but didn't find myself engaging with the actual story so much this time around.
Our heroine, Destina, frustrated me. She's set up in the first act as a really well fleshed-out protagonist that you can't help but relate to and feel sorry for but by the end of the book it's like her actions don't even stay true to who she was set up to be, and it gets harder and harder to root for her.
Add in the whole time-travel element with Tasslehoff that was already done well multiple times in the original series, and everything just feels a little like a shallow repetition of what I once fell in love with.
In saying all of that however, I love Weis and Hickman's writing style. I loved reading a story set in Krynn again and I loved all of the callbacks and characters from stories of old. I also really dug the tension of the finale and really do hope that we see more from this series because even though this might've been a bit average, it has set up some very very exciting stuff.
This book was so good! Didn't know what I signed up for when I decided to read a collection of essays, but honestly loved it! Bruce Campbell has a style of humour very similar to my own and there was so many times when I found myself genuinely cracking up over his writing.
And although there were some essays that I liked less that the others (the tree-planting & exercising ones), they were still super fun to read and all in all I enjoyed this a lot more than other non-fiction and autobiographies I've read recently.
Hail to the king, baby!
Can totally tell why this is such a highly regarded classic. Sure it isn't one of my personal favourites ever, but the story, characters and writing-style actually made this a super enjoyable read for me.
I've never been the biggest fan of period dramas, and although I'd like to think of myself as a romantic at heart, I never have found myself drawn into those types of stories. Usually I‘be found that the majority of stories akin to this tend to be pretty much the exact same story, with a few slight variations. But, I actually found myself loving the particular character interactions and drama in Pride and Prejudice, and it's probably thanks to the way that Jane Austen managed to make these character all unique and add an amount of humour in this that I never expected.
All in all, I really enjoyed Pride & Prejudice, and would 100% recommend it to everyone, even if it isn't usually your thing.
Simply capital!
I received an Advance Review Copy of this book. This is my independent opinion.
Looking through my Goodreads a few months ago I was surprised with how many books I've given 5 stars. Like surely all those books I've rated can't all be masterpieces, right? So I made a commitment. I wasn't going to just throw out 5/5s willy-nilly anymore, I was only going to give them to stories that completely captivated me, moved me, entertained me and had me on the edge of my seat.
And then along comes E.M Powell with her latest mystery and try as I might, I couldn't help but rate it honestly.
‘The Canterbury Murders' once again follows Stanton and Barling, two men who now are no strangers to murders and mysteries after solving a few in the last entries in the series. This time though, they are caught completely unawares as disaster strikes at the Canterbury Cathedral, a place they were only visiting by chance. With a superb cast of shady characters and an almost impossible deadline to meet, can they solve the mystery before it's too late?
Powell never fails to impress me as she takes the reader back in a journey through time, you honestly feel like you're there in Canterbury, and that the story you're reading is just so real. This is an absolute credit to the her and all of the research she does and dedication she has to the subject matter. It makes everything come alive and jump off of the page.
Then we have the characters, and man alive do they deliver. No joke, Stanton & Barling may just be my favourite duo to ever be put on paper. Each character is so fleshed out and unique and that makes for engaging moments of banter, conflict and discussion. And that actually goes for every character in this book, each one is absolutely and believably brought to live, even though the majority are entirely fictional.
Then there's the mystery, the crux of the whole book. This is the first time in a long time that a mystery was too smart for me. I thought I had it figured out and I was completely wrong. I ABSOLUTELY loved it. Everything ended up making so much sense, how everything played out was nothing short of masterful and the conclusion left me breathless. I will say though that it did feel like the mystery took a while to actually get going, but when it got going it really got going and you see that the setup was super important.
Lastly, the final chapter hit me harder than I think anything I've ever read ever has. Such a phenomenal piece of writing that made me unexpectedly well up with emotion.
I loved every single bit of this book, and E.M Powell has made me fall in love with the historical fiction genre, something I never really found all too appealing before reading her incredible works. Each of her books feels like an improvement on the last and every one of them is an absolute must-read. I cannot wait for whatever comes next.
Such a mind-blowing and insightful book on the human psyche and what makes people act the way that they do. It's also a fascinating look at what life is actually like for a g-man and I found myself learning a lot about the FBI, numerous cases that they've cracked and a lot about the infamous serial killers themselves.
Mindhunter wasn't an easy read though, let me tell you that! No punches are pulled when it comes to the gruesome and horrific details of a lot of these cases, and at some points I found myself having to take a break from reading just to get my mind off of the horrible acts described. The fact that it took me about two months to get through this whole thing probably speaks for itself in that regard.
In saying all of that though, I've definitely gained a newfound respect for the people who devote their lives to work like this.
