Jay
This was an enjoyable short story, and the magic was cool as fuck. Hope that it comes back at some point in other stories.
Dividing the book into three parts, the first one was hard to get through. It was slow moving and there was a lot of information thrown at me from different perspectives. This isn't a negative outright but it takes a minute before it comes together. The middle part is where that happens and it starts to really pick up. The final part, the ride towards the end was honestly exhilarating. I literally didn't put it down once I hit the last 200 pages.
While I was down on the first sort of the book, Stina Leicht kept me in it with the wonderful characters and their interactions.
There's a lot in Persephone Station and I can't say it was perfect but, in the end, it was definitely a fun ass ride.
Genuinely kept me on the edge of my seat throughout and was hard to put down at times. This was a bit of a side excursion for me while I'm in the middle of Stormlight but I ended up putting a pause on my read of Oathbringer due to how good Skyward is getting. Spensa is a real treat to follow as a main character and the supporting cast were all enjoyable in their different ways.
TLM had the unfortunate job of following up on what I believe to be the second-best book of the series, the best in the era. I think it delivered and gave a mostly satisfying conclusion to Era 2 of Mistborn. I talked a lot about the growth of these characters in my review for The Bands of Mourning and in The Lost Metal they truly realize who they are. It got me pretty emotional reading them getting to that point and seeing the different paths they chose for themselves. Honestly, the only part that was really lacking was the ending, but I expected that as I knew this era was more of a transition project than anything. Still, I came away with some of my favorite characters being from the transition project that wasn't supposed to be this big.
I thought it had quite a lot more lulls in the story compared to the other entries, but it always pulled you back in. A lot of growth/potential growth for Wax & co. So many plot threads and stone left unturned heading into the next entry that it felt like a tunnel to the next entry rather than its own. Either way I still had a good time with this and look forward to reading the next.
Whew, what a book. I had enjoyed Era 2 so far, but I hadn't been thrown a heater like The Final Empire or The Well of Ascension. Well, this is that heater. So much growth happened for the cast and there was never a period where the story dragged. But man, I have SO many questions after finishing this.
As a whole, I really liked this book. I thought it was a great introduction to this world and the character in it. I didn't have much trouble getting invested in the story and I stayed engaged as I was reading. I did find myself feeling rushed to the end during the last few chapters, but I feel like that may have been on purpose. The best thing that I can say about Renegades is that after reading it, I'm super excited to start the next book in the trilogy.
I thought this book was good for the first entry in the trilogy. I found the pacing and character progression to be lacking but for now, I'll chalk it up to it being the first book in a trilogy. I'll re-evaluate my opinion once I have the full picture. Until then, I'll say this book did its job of making me interested enough to continue on.
A new story but also a retelling from a different POV. A lot of things that I've read in these books make a lot more sense now. My understanding of this world has expanded greatly through this story, and I can't wait to see how much more it has to offer.
“Our weakness doesn't make us weak. Our weakness makes us strong. For we had to carry it all these years.”
This book did a lot of heavy lifting to set things up for book five. Due to the amount of balancing, it feels less balanced compared to the others. Still very enjoyable nonetheless. I loved how much focus previous side characters got in this and that did a lot for the pacing.
“Yes, I began my journey alone, and I ended it alone. But that does not mean that I walked alone.”
There are many paths your journey can take but you must choose a path. I can safely say that this is my favorite entry in the Stormlight Archive so far. I was pulled into every page in Oathbringer and I felt compelled to give it my full attention. I was surprised by how much this book got to me emotionally but so many moments hit me.
“What is the most important step a man can take?”
Wow. What a fantastic ending to the trilogy. I wasn't sure what I wanted out of the final book, but I got it. I felt like my memory was put to the test quite a lot as this book had me recalling past information and turning it on its head. In the end, I got very emotional but the ending was a beautiful one. A fantastic end to what may now be my favorite book and one of my favorite series.
Having heard a lot about this series and Brandon, I had somewhat high expectations for what I was getting into. Crazy part is that those expectations were smashed. The characters especially our main Vin were great. It was thrilling, emotional, and just cool as fuck. Probably my favorite magic system in anything I've read/watched/played. Excited to get more of it in future entries.
Quite a different experience from the first trilogy of the Mistborn saga but a really good one. I was unsure about getting used to a new set of characters, but I came away loving this main cast. The setting and the use of magic in a more modern Mistborn world were mad interesting. Looking forward to where Wax goes from here.
I won't lie, early on I was really not feeling it and almost gave up on this. I stuck with it though assuming it'd capture me, and it did. There are different perspectives (of time) and that's what really kept me in it because young Locke's life was very enjoyable. The setup for what goes on with adult Locke ends up being very worth it. Locke and his friends are a delight to be with and the situations they end up in our crazy to say the least. Not the star of the show but a close second, is the city itself. The way Camorr was described throughout the book made it feel more alive than most of the worlds I've experienced. So, despite the slow start, The Lies of Locke Lamora is a captivating and bizarre story that was well worth the read.
Took a bit for me to get into this entry compared to the first one. Once things pick up, it keeps that pace. I missed the vibe of the first book along with the missing characters, but the new ones introduced were still a treat.
“Honor is dead. But I'll see what I can do.”
Damn. From start to finish, this story had me in its clutches. I thought the first book was excellent, but this one is something greater than that. The way everything comes together in the final part is probably my favorite ending in anything I've read, watched, or played.
"We don't handle this world. We make it handle us."
This is a perfect story to me. There was a point during the previous book where the scope of this story started to worry me with how big things were getting. However, Fonda Lee not only squashed those worries but she knocked this out of the park. I don't think I could've asked for an ending better than this.
The clan is my blood, and the Pillar is its master. On my honor, my life, and my jade.
Jade City was the story I didn't exactly know I was looking for. Crime fantasy? Hell yeah, sign me up. The story took a few different turns I wasn't expecting, and I came out liking most of them on the other end. There's a lot of players in the story that could make it a little too cluttered, but Lee found a way to make every part of this story perfectly digestible. I didn't love the ending but as a whole Jade City did more than enough to make me excited to pick up Jade War.
The Well of Ascension had a tough job following up the first book in the series, but it did the trick. It was a slow starter but ended up being a strong follow-up to the series starter. It wears a lot of hats as it tries to tie up some storylines while moving us towards the end of the series. I'm not sure where things are going at the end of the trilogy, but I can say that The Well of Ascension had me reaching for the next book immediately.
"You never get to be ready. You just have to move forward anyway."
The Sunlit Man presents an interesting issue where the main character is one that from the current Stormlight Archive books but many years after where we currently are in time. Names and places you know are brought up but you're in a completely different place with a main character that seems new to you. A lot has happened between now and this future. The story and its world gave me a lot of Mad Max vibes and I enjoyed it quite a bit. Nomad is a wonderful character and I felt emotional throughout this. I left with more questions than anything but I think that was by design.
I got a lot of mixed feelings about Priory.
I love how much lore and history I got out of this book. I really want more out of this world and hopefully a sequel one day. I enjoyed a lot of the side characters in this to the point of wishing they had more important roles haha. (Specifically, the pirates!)
I'm putting this in the middle cause its part good, part bad: I think the magic in this universe is super interesting, but I felt like it was a letdown a lot of the time when it was used.
The multiple POVs worked for the most part but at times it felt like I spent too much time away from specific characters that could've used more development time. While it did have its hype the ending felt very rushed which was odd in a book that seemed to take its time with everything else. A side effect of maybe the changing POVs and the depth of this book is that I didn't really get attached to many characters on an emotional level, so it made some things fall flat for me.
All-in-all, I liked The Priory of the Orange Tree and I'm looking forward to reading more from Samantha Shannon.