Joel Hill
What can I say? Ninth and final book in my favorite series. Such a bittersweet ending and a perfect final chapter.
I'm going to miss these characters
The Expanse had turned into my favorite book series and it's gotten to the point where I really can't be critical about them anymore. I'm so invested in the story and characters that it's hard for me not to like whatever James S.A. Corey comes up with.
Having said that, this book really felt like a step above the rest. It dealt with themes of loss, legacy, and death in ways that made it feel mature while still being fun and exciting.
Can't wait for the next (and possibly last?) book!
A good quick book that has me very aware of my walking speed. I enjoyed it, it's the type of horror that seeps into you over time rather than shocking you upfront.
It feels great to be back in the Mistborn universe, but wow, what a change! The technological leap after 300 years has landed us in the wild west and it is awesome! Gun fights, trains, electricity, and skyscrapers.... And yet somehow it still feels very much like a Mistborn book.
The Alloy of Law is a faster paced action story that has a “buddy cop” kind of vibe. It's a refreshing change, and it sets up what may be another dive into Mistborn lore. Really looking forward to books 2 and 3 in the Wax and Wayne trilogy!
Okay, I'm all in on David Foster Wallace! I actually went in to this set of essays with little to no knowledge about Tennis and very little interest in the sport. Despite my previous indifference the author kept me invested from cover to cover.
I don't know if I'd recommend this to everyone. It's not exactly thrilling, and it's dense with facts and footnotes that were sometimes overwhelming.
Overall I'd say this collection is like a long road trip with the author. He takes you on a journey through a place he loves and points out all the important bits along the way. Parts of it are a slog and you just need to get through them because you have a destination he wants you to get to, but overall the journey is something you look back on fondly and really there was no other way to get where you were going anyway.
Anyway, yeah, 5/5 and I want more.
Nope, not for me! There seem to be two groups of people out there: those that love Ninefox Gambit, and those that didn't finish it. I won't be finishing this book.
If you like to be dumped into a complex far out SciFi setting where nothing is explained and every other word was invented by the author, then shoot me a message. I'll mail you my copy.
3.5/5
A short story collection that was a nice sprinkle of lore and character development. It's a good read, and some of Abercrombie's writing is in here, but I wasn't really into the main set of stories that follows a couple of characters throughout the years. It was interesting, but I think their story would have been better as a stand alone book.
Worth reading? Absolutely, especially if you like Nine Fingers (read the last story for that one).
I finished the book last night and I still feel like I'm wrapping my head around the insanely imaginative world Liu Cixin created. I wasn't driven to read this book for the plot or for the characters, but to watch the universe unfold as I flipped the pages.
If you've read the first two books in this series then you know exactly what you're getting into with Death's End, however it is probably the best of the three. The translation was phenomenal and the scope and scale of the story was so much more grand than The Three Body Problem or The Dark Forest.
I can't recommend to everyone, but if you're into hard SCI FI this series needs to be on your list.
I enjoyed the book, and it had some fantastic moments, but I do feel like it's a weaker entry in the series.
A detailed and horrific personal account of how a Jewish couple survived auschwitz. I don't feel like anything I can write here will give justice to what Spiegelman put to paper. Do yourself a favour and read this book.
Interesting characters, a wonderful setting, and layers upon layers of mystery that consistently unfold until the very end. It's not a roller coaster ride, more of a hike through tough but beautiful terrain.
I think this was better than the first book. We get a more in depth look at the three main protagonists, a greater story arc is taking shape, and it's even started to expand on the greater lore of the Mistborn series. Very much looking forward to the next book and the conclusion of the Wax and Wayne trilogy!
More a 4.75 than a 4 but I also don't want to give it 5 stars.
Loved it, and I'm not stopping to read anything else until I've finished the trilogy (other than book club picks of course).
Without spoiling too much, I enjoy how much more important magic and the supernatural are in this trilogy in comparison to The Age of Madness. The lore is really cool and I appreciate it having a more front and center importance to the plot. The characters are not as diverse, and the writing is not quite as good, but this is a worthy first entry in the First Law world.
I love these books! Moooooore! I want mooooore!
I've read just about every book Abercrombie has written in the First Law series and this one is probably the best. The Heroes is action packed, fast paced, exciting, but most importantly an earnest and damning examination of the violent people he often glamorizes in other books.
Abercrombie writes a lot about the pointlessness of war and the waste of human life but he's never been so focused on his critique of violence as he is in The Heroes. War is not glamorous, and “heroes” as they are often worshipped in his stories are nothing more than ordinary people that can swing a sword and have been lucky to survive long enough to earn a name... names that are soon forgotten once they've been put “back to the mud.” Abercrombie is usually really good at weaving complex morality into his tales, but he's at his best in The Heroes.
It also sets up the Age of Madness trilogy and frame those books in a new light. Calder is now one of my favourite characters and I really didn't see that coming and it makes me want to re read that entire trilogy!
Anyway, yeah, damn good read.
4.5/5
Hey, someone spilled a western novel all over my favourite fantasy saga! What is fresh hell is this?? It's actually one of Abercrombie's better books as it turns out.
I picked this up after finishing The Heroes and couldn't put it down. Gold rush towns, greedy prospectors, and a sprinkle of characters from previous books fleeing war and violence (or seeking it out) for a better life in “The Far Country”. It's definitely the most disconnected book from the ongoing First Law Saga as not much of consequence happens here to set up the next trilogy, but we do learn a bit more about the lore of the old empire, which is always welcome.
I can't spoil much in this book with my review. Just... if you're a fan of certain characters from The First Law you need to read this because it goes places. Lamb... oh Lamb. My favourite coward, shame he lost that finger at some point...
I couldn't put this down! The history of chess wrapped up in the story of one of the most important games ever played.
Not something I'd recommend for everyone, but for me this was almost perfect science fiction. It's full of wild and mind bending ideas and it will keep your imagination running at top speed the entire time.
My only critique is that I didn't connect well with the characters, but then again they aren't really the focus of the book either. They are mostly there as a vehicle for the story of humanity and the Trisolarians and that's fine.
Awesome book, and I'm looking forward to the third chapter!
It's no surprise I liked this book, I've turned into a massive Abercrombie fanboy. I don't want to spoil anything so I'll just say I liked the whole thing right up until the conclusion.
Pretty great!! Loved the short story per chapter format and how each character's tale also unraveled more of the overall plot and details about the book's universe.
I'd like to read the rest of the series but it's a big commitment so I might take a break to read other stuff.
Mars is definitely “Hard Sci-fi” and maybe isn't for everyone. I LOVED the detailed and imaginative story of the planet, however I had a really hard time caring about the characters. They would pop into the narrative and become the focus of the story only to be unceremoniously removed once their part of the book was over.
I'll probably forget about the characters soon after finishing the book, however it sparked my imagination and I'll probably dream about Mars for a long time.
Giving it three stars because I consider that to still be a good rating, but I really can't recommend this book to everyone.
This is probably a 7/5 for literary scholars but I have a small smooth brain and I have no idea what I just read.
I mean, I understand the broad strokes of the overall story, but the prose was... Experimental? I really didn't know what was going on at many points in the story.
Although I found the book confusing, it gets a 5/5 for ideas, philosophy, and imagination. I also laughed out loud a few times, which is rare for me, so it gets points there as well.
All in all, this is an amazing book if you have the time and the will to analyze every page. Or maybe think of it as a pilgrimage if you live and breathe dystopian sci-fi like 1984 or Brave New World?
Anyway, I can't wait to discuss this at book club, it was a great choice!
I've got no problem recommending this to fantasy fans. It's got cool magic, interesting politics, and the characters have a lot of depth. My only complaint is that it wraps things up almost too quickly. I was left wanting more, which is good, but the end of the story arc comes at you so fast that you almost can't process a lot of the heavy material thrown at you.
For a while I thought I would end up giving this a slightly lower review, but it just didn't feel right giving it only 3 stars and the last 3rd of the book really picks up! 3.5 stars rounded up to 4!
It's not better than the first book... But that's a tall order. It's an amazing read, and anyone that liked Mistborn will not be able to put this one down, especially the last 1/3. It provides mystery, high octane Allomancy, and then it knocks your socks off with the setup for book #3.