Sam Harrison
I normally only really put reviews up on my YouTube channel but this book is so criminally under-reviewed I had to do one here too.
Partial Function rules. It's a wuxia-inspired fantasy blockbuster that gave me vibes of Westerns, of the best stuff from 80s and 90s movie blockbusters I grew up on. You have a great central cast who are all really well thought out, and very funny. The book made me laugh out loud several times, which is very unusual - especially for books not explicitly written as comedy.
The story is great with some fun twists and turns, and a loveable animal companion who is a sweet dumb little guy called Dog. Read it now, or I will never stop talking about it.
A very promising and fast-paced fantasy debut. The blistering pace may be off-putting for some, and I did wish in a few scenes to linger a little to allow the events to resonate a little more.
There's so much potential in this world and this author. Really excited to see what Ezra writes next, I will be there day one!
This book was a hair away from being a 3/5 for me. My big feeling on this book as I read it was “so this whole book is just gonna be here?”
The book was definitely good, and I enjoyed reading it the whole time and would recommend to most people who like the genre.
Extremely mild spoilers
I went in expecting something more epic and galaxy-spanning, where most of this takes place in 4 locations on 2 planets. It felt less like Dune or Star Wars or other epic space operas and more like Name of the Wind, or much more personal stories. For example the stakes were always personal, never wider and more epic.
This isn't a bad thing, and the book is definitely good, but I was just expecting it. Probably because the word epic is in reviews on the front and back cover.
One third of this book was one of the best things I read this year, one third was meandering and boring, one third was not very engaging until the very last bit.
Overall the great stuff in this book brings up the rest to a 3 star, but this would have been a 1 or 2 star of it was all the same quality.
My two biggest issues are that outside of a few key players all the characters sound like they are the same person. No mannerisms, no differences in their way of speaking. Also the science is too much, I don't need to know every micro detail of how unfolding protons works. Look at Hail Mary or Dark Matter for a way to have strong science but still keep the books fun.
See my full review here: https://youtu.be/g4EDbmKkwkQ?si=Pa9ecm0BnFmguPHN
Wow what a book. About halfway through this book I was enjoying it, but then a single chapter added a whole star to my rating and it only kept up that impressive storytelling, characterisation and overall fun. I love so many of the characters, am deeply invested in the world and am so so excited for the next one.
I loved this book, and really wavered between 4 and 5 stars. This is an excellent modern take on the old-school fantasy epic.
I was honestly shocked at how much I enjoyed this book, as I've not been able to even finish a self-published book before. Cahill is an excellent writer and I cannot wait to read further in the series.
Again, Murderbot books feel quite formulaic. This book took forever to read despite its 350 page length, mostly because it was just not drawing me through it. I think I might pause the Murderbot Diaries here and wait to pick up the third one for a while. I enjoy aspects of these books a lot, but overall they're quite formulaic and unfortunately that formula is just not working for me.
An excellent finale to an incredible trilogy. Lee's worldbuilding, characters and plot are all top tier. Honestly the only complaint I have about this book is that it's the last Green Bone Saga book.
As you may know the events in this book cover a very long period of time, which I do feel I would also have enjoyed if they were spread out across multiple books instead of all in this one with so many time jumps.
But still, there's nothing wrong with this book at all. It's like finishing a lovely meal and then finding out that the restaurant is closing for good and mourning the future meals you wanted to eat.
Read the Green Bone Saga, I'm sure you won't regret it.
This is a very hard review to write - while I didn't dislike this book I rarely felt compelled to pick it up and found it very easy to put down. Jacka's writing is good, and I liked all of his characters - especially the protagonist Alex.
I really didn't get on with the long chapters, containing multiple scenes. I feel for Urban Fantasy that Jim Butcher's Dresden Files is the perfect example, where he will write short chapters that are usually only one or two scenes with a small cliffhanger. The short chapters make the book feel faster paced, and the cliffhangers draw you in to reading the next chapter. With Fated I was often relieved at the end of a chapter and eager to put it down.
To illustrate how easy this was for me to put down - Fated tool almost 3 weeks for me to finish, where a Dresden book would normally take me a couple of days. I've even read 900 pages Robin Hobb books in under a week.
Jacka manages to build an interesting magical world in Fated, which is what will bring me back for the next entry, but it's currently at the very bottom of my TBR.
I knew from the Farseer books that Robin Hobb had incredible characters, but in Ship of Magic she also gives you an exciting and enthralling plot.
This is one of the best books I've ever read. Every character and every POV is great. She delivers some great action and tense moments, and she even made me love a naval story when I don't think I ever have liked one before. Can't wait to read the rest!
I absolutely loved this book. Fonda Lee is able to pull twists you'd never expect, drop foreshadowing that had be wary to turn the page and write chapters that make it very hard to put this book down and go to bed.
The character work here is excellent, pacing is almost perfect and I am in love with this world. I especially loved the new characters we meet in Espenia. Can't wait for the next book.
I think the shortness of these novellas and the similarity with the previous one is kind of rubbing the shine off of them. I still really like Murderbot themselves, and the adventure was fine this time around.
But while it's well written it is very samey to the previous novella. I'm hoping to see something new from Murderbot next time around.
This is truly the Infinity War for Harry Dresden. A huge climactic battle that lasts an entire book. Love, loss and huge changes fill this book as much as do some of the best action I've read in fantasy. And all of it earned by the 16 preceding books.
What a world Jim Butcher has created. I cannot wait to see what happens to Harry next.
Dresden does a heist movie, how could I not love it? Butcher sidesteps his usual magical pulp formula for something a little different and it really works. He neatly moves the ongoing narrative onwards while also offering and excellent adventure for Dresden and co.
Some lines and moments in this book made me laugh out loud, cheer and pump my fist in the air with excitement. What a book. What a series.
I listened to this audiobook while running, which David Goggins is perfect for. It is a sort of mix between audiobook and podcast, which as an avid podcast listener I really like.
Goggins follows the template established in Can't Hurt Me by giving us some more stories from his youth, some more training stories and then stories of him overcoming the odds and his own body to push himself to great feats of endurance. Definitely inspiring stuff to listen to while out running.
Goggins isn't going to be for everyone. But I really enjoyed this book. It does feel like it ends quite abruptly, but that's just what you get when the stories are real. They don't always tie up neatly at the end.
This book is very, very long. You'll read 100 pages about Fitz walking up a road. But if it hits you right, you'll love it.
Hobb's character work is beyond good. She is able to elicit tension, grief, jealousy and every other emotion under the sun with her writing. She also manages the first ever strong climax in this series, ending on a real high note.
I really struggled with either a 4 or 5 star rating here. While this is definitely a fantastic book I would recommend to anyone with the patience for it, I do feel it meandered a tiny bit more than Royal Assassin and that brought it down to 4 stars for me.
Berserk Deluxe Volume 2 is excellent, a truly dark and gritty fantasy horror manga. The art is stunning, with detailed and expressive character designs and brutal battle scenes. The story continues to follow the younger years of Guts, the Black Swordsman, as he battles his way through a dark and violent world filled with horrors.
The writing is top-notch, with complex and well-developed characters and a captivating plot that keeps you on the edge of your seat. The storytelling is both epic and intimate, with moments of high-stakes action and quieter, more character-driven scenes.
One of the standout features of Berserk is the way it handles themes of love, loss, and the cost of revenge. The characters are deeply flawed and struggling to find their place in a harsh and unforgiving world, and their personal struggles are just as compelling as the larger plot.
Overall, Berserk Deluxe Volume 2 is a brilliant addition to the series and a must-read for fans of dark fantasy and action-packed storytelling.
Upgrade by Blake Crouch is a mixed bag. While the fast-paced plot and exciting premise make it an enjoyable read, the constant over-description and use of scientific terminology felt unnecessary at times. Additionally, I found it difficult to connect with the main character, Logan, as he is not particularly engaging. However, fans of Crouch's work will likely find something to enjoy in Upgrade. Overall, it's a decent read, but I preferred Dark Matter.
As a fan of Stephen King's previous fantasy work, The Dark Tower specifically, I was excited to pick up his latest novel, Fairy Tale. Overall, I really enjoyed the book. The characters of Charlie, Mr. Bowditch, and Radar were particularly well-written and their relationships with each other added a lot to the story.
One of the things I liked most about the book was the way it blended elements of magic and the supernatural with everyday life. The story felt both whimsical and spooky at the same time, which is something King does incredibly well.
However, there was one section of the book that didn't quite work for me. About two thirds of the way through, the story took a turn that felt a bit out of place and derailed the overall flow of the book. Despite this, I still thoroughly enjoyed Fairy Tale and would definitely recommend it to fans of Stephen King's work.