An instant favorite - a thrilling conclusion to the first Mistborn trilogy, filled with epic magic fights, amazing characters, and clever twists. ThisAn instant favorite - a thrilling conclusion to the first Mistborn trilogy, filled with epic magic fights, amazing characters, and clever twists. This series was so well planned, I love when there can be big reveals that have been subtly hinted throughout all books, or change the meaning of events from prior books.
Between this and Stormlight Archive, the Cosmere Universe is turning into my favorite thing. Will definitely be consuming every other Cosmere related book that I can. All hail brando sando
lets gooooooo. it’s so funny to read this with cosmere knowledge, as i can predict/understand some of the workings of the magic mysteries better than lets gooooooo. it’s so funny to read this with cosmere knowledge, as i can predict/understand some of the workings of the magic mysteries better than i should. i probably should have read these before Stormlight Archive.
but still lots of twists, turns, gags, and goops.
i will say, like 60% of this book is a Networking event where all the characters meet up between themselves for 1 on 1 chats. A lot of chats that i bet would have more meaning upon a reread.
i’m all aboard the brandosando train. choo choo!!...more
Another incredibly done fantasy epic. The answers are coming!!! The stakes are rising!!!!!!
Some incredibly satisfying climax scenes that made me laugAnother incredibly done fantasy epic. The answers are coming!!! The stakes are rising!!!!!!
Some incredibly satisfying climax scenes that made me laugh, cry, and cheer. I’m so glad I read all of these in succession, and that the next one is just 5 months away.
Off to go read all the other Cosmere books now. I do wish I had read the Mistborns and Warbreaker before these, in some ways it felt like i was watching Drag Race All Stars without knowing the prior seasons.
I wish i could spend 10 hours deep in a wikipedia hole to make sure i understood everything that happened - the coppermind site is a blessing.
some spoiler/OMG moments: (view spoiler)[ when kaladin was lost in the storm and dalinar gave him a vision with his dead brother, leading him to get his 4th ideal, i cried
when naivani did her "JOURNEY BEFORE DESTINATION YOU BASTARD" moment i died and came back to life. NOT MY DAUGHTER YOU BITCH for a new era
when maya "woke up" with "IT WAS MY SACRIFICE. YOU CAN'T HAVE MY SACRIFICE" omg chills - we've been expecting this would happen for a while, but what a great rollout. just when we thought the chips were down.
when RLAINE took charge and a corrupted Truthwatcher spren claimed him, i got goosebumps
when VENLI demonstrated her powers and Leshwi "turned" and broke down and decided to protect the radiants, OMG
when Taravangion became Odium's vessel ... !!!!? the game has changed! Tricking Wit !??!?! NOT MY DEAR WIT!!!!!
The Sibling is NONBINARY, we must protecc
The gloom/grim of the tower occuptation was hard on our heroes and sometimes us as readers. I knew salvation was coming but it was a slog.
Jellicle Heralds come out tonight, Jellicle Heralds come one come all. They are becoming bigger characters! The lore is getting deeper and deeper.
The Dog and The Dragon ... just beautiful writing.
seems like some real important shit went down in this novella that has a big impact on the world - surprised it didn't make it into the main series.
thseems like some real important shit went down in this novella that has a big impact on the world - surprised it didn't make it into the main series.
the story was fun - for one character it was all a giant build up for a punchline that was honestly pretty good. what brandon sanderson did with disability perspectives was really interesting too. a nice one. it definitely had a different 'vibe' than the stories so far....more
now THIS is an epic. Such a tightly woven story, where every chapter drops hints and information that ultimately becomes a piece of a large, complicatnow THIS is an epic. Such a tightly woven story, where every chapter drops hints and information that ultimately becomes a piece of a large, complicated, but thoroughly-crafted puzzle....more
it took a while but the epic magic fights finally began, and i’ve finally come around - it’s not always about the destination, the journey is pretty git took a while but the epic magic fights finally began, and i’ve finally come around - it’s not always about the destination, the journey is pretty great too ...more
**spoiler alert** i don’t think i’ll ever forget how one character just (metaphorically) fcks the magic out of another.
the writing hasnt really improv**spoiler alert** i don’t think i’ll ever forget how one character just (metaphorically) fcks the magic out of another.
the writing hasnt really improved. very few characters are given distinguishing personalities (“I am good because i must be good”).
the magical gay tension gives top tier giggles
the Phillip/Visander plot was also great - pls give me more Phillip in the third book.
the book leaves you with one big question: is he a sub bottom on his own accord or because he is wearing his sparkly bdsm collar??? its the “TELL ME”s that always get you.
the lore is getting rather corny… the Animal Trainer Woman, the body snatchers, the endless artifacts and magical powers. and then theres the neverending parade of baddies (oh you thought this was the bad guy, actually it is his father). the clear reveals (...more
thots: - SO MANY magical artifacts. my goodness. just when you think you've seen them all, here comes another special doodad!! - Vanilla, shallow, blankthots: - SO MANY magical artifacts. my goodness. just when you think you've seen them all, here comes another special doodad!! - Vanilla, shallow, blank-slate characters with little defining personality traits - The first act of the book mostly gives "he knew it was important, but wasn't sure why !!??" vibes. mystery for mystery sake, which seemed kind of lazy to me. - MC is sooooOO good at deduction. Multiple times he just speaks at a character, saying what they are thinking or what they might have said. Just let them speak!!!
spoiler-zone (view spoiler)[ - okay, so are they going to fck in the next book?????? - reincarnation is real and if ur a sub bottom u will always be a sub bottom - james is simply too sexy uWu - the twist saved this book, turning something rather pedestrian into an interesting story. some of my critiques for the first 2/3 of the book can be explained by this twist. - i ... actually don't know what the next book will be about, they didn't seem to leave with a ton of open questions (and considering MOST characters were unalived...), but the premise should be pretty interesting so we will be reading (hide spoiler)]
A solid 3.5 but will round down for being a bit sluggish ...more
goodreads app crashed after i wrote several paragraphs about this. won’t be doing that again
anyways, * slow-building, character-focused saga. the 5 stagoodreads app crashed after i wrote several paragraphs about this. won’t be doing that again
anyways, * slow-building, character-focused saga. the 5 stars is really for the deep, deep development of the MCs * amazing character building - both despicable and likable characters * great worldbuilding, lots of rich histories * tropes avoided 100x * clever, witty writing * very gruesome, hard to recommend for that reason...more
Great set-up … first of a fantasy & swords trilogy, seemingly one big epic. Memorable and well-drawn characters. Gritty but light tone. Overall, very Great set-up … first of a fantasy & swords trilogy, seemingly one big epic. Memorable and well-drawn characters. Gritty but light tone. Overall, very solid.
Took me forever to read this, but I look forward to the rest of the series....more
A very, very satisfying finale. Incredibly fun, I was racing to find out how this series would end. There are plenty of epic moments, lots of clever sA very, very satisfying finale. Incredibly fun, I was racing to find out how this series would end. There are plenty of epic moments, lots of clever storycrafting to get the right people and pieces in the right places, fun bouncing narrative point of views, lots of call-backs to story pieces set up in the chapters and books prior. It follows a pretty common YA format of "we think we're in the clear ... oh shit complete destruction now" for a long time, which honestly is stressful even when I know it's coming.
I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed the final battle - (view spoiler)[ It was satisfying to see Greenlaw's Forged powers come into play alongside's Genesis "Shoulder to Shoulder" mantra. Ultimate teamwork power unlocked. (hide spoiler)]
(view spoiler)[It was also nice that there was such a low bodycount among the main characters by the end. It just made for an enjoyable finish. Sometimes I just want a Happy Ending, ya know. I don't want any more books in this series, even though it ends incredibly open-ended ("WHAT WILL HAPPEN ON EARTH?"). Another book would mean conflict and would soil my happy ending. (hide spoiler)]
I think more people should read this series. It definitely has the material to be a hit....more
a fun continuation of the story - a very solid middle book that says (100) times "they made us into monster warriors. we will not forget what they dida fun continuation of the story - a very solid middle book that says (100) times "they made us into monster warriors. we will not forget what they did to us!" ( as all second books of a YA Trilogy are required to do)
it's nice how inclusive/diverse the cast of characters is (AND THEY WERE ROOMMATES!!?) - and the alien world building is fun - there's some none-too-subtle social commentary at play that was nice to see. the unnecessary romance from book one becomes a major part of book two. the twists were fun but if i think too hard about it, i can see holes poking through.
violent queer black fantasy epic with elements from african myth.
when i finished reading the first 100 pages of this book, i hated it. it was so graphviolent queer black fantasy epic with elements from african myth.
when i finished reading the first 100 pages of this book, i hated it. it was so graphic, so focused on cocks and circumcision, and everything was written in a style that made it unable to distinguish metaphor from actual events.
but then... when the plot kicks in, when the Fellowship of X-Men & The Argonauts assemble and the heroes' journey begins and it isn't just a bounty hunting anthology... then i was totally into it - the African myth elements were interesting to learn about, i started caring about the characters, and i enjoyed thinking about the aspects of the unreliable narrator. the language still remained flowery - often times it was impossible to tell which character was saying something and to whom - it was still very violent, so much murder - and some things i still remain totally confused by (the Aesi?? i still truly have no clue) - but finally with a plot, a guiding star, and a unique male-male relationship beyond violent sex settling in, it took flight.
it ends in a way that makes me want to read the second book, something that i didn't think i'd want to do for 90% of the novel, especially considering how long it took me to read this.
i'd also love to read a historical cultural companion of this - to hear from which places the author drew inspiration and references from....more
Very fun concept - the magic-like Nyxia makes for a great prop throughout the story, I'm curious where the story goes in the next two (I plan to read Very fun concept - the magic-like Nyxia makes for a great prop throughout the story, I'm curious where the story goes in the next two (I plan to read them soon). It has a possibility of becoming far too outrageous in its unlimitedness.
As far as writing, it's pretty average - the standard YA to-the-point, dialogue-heavy writing is here. Several of the characters are basic tropes, and there's obviously a groanworthy teen romance.
I definitely feel there is some inspiration from Ender's Game and Red Rising (both books I liked more than Nyxia).
As far as the story, it managed to surprise me a few times. About halfway through I knew I would have to finish reading this book in the same sitting - for this feeling alone I've rated the book highly. It's definitely gripping, and has that epic outcast-vs-the-world feel that is fun to read. Like other books of this genre, I glossed over the fighting - i just don't get anything out of reading a bunch of descriptions about punches.
I had A LOT of questions by the end. I can't tell if they're plotholes, bad construction, or clues/foreshadowing for future books. A lot of things just didn't make sense to me in the world the author created.
So that I can revisit this later, here are my questions/raw reactions to parts of this book: (view spoiler)[ * I liked that he failed at being captain * I hated how they made Kaya out to be some kind of super genius strategist when the strategies she was coming up with were so basic. Any usage of the word "strategist" made me cringe. * it was not that rewarding to see them finally win just by knocking out Morning. I would have liked to see some intense moment of cleverness happe * I don't really understand the times when Nyxia "comes to life" and saves Emmett. Deux Ex Machina. I assume this will be "answered" in the next book * I don't understand how any of Genesis 12 was actually any good considering Morning must have destroyed them in every single competition. from a points perspective the others must be really really bad, no ? like Anton was made out to be a formidable opponent but if I remember he didn't even have guaranteed entry to Eden ? that woulda mean he's pretty bad -- but he's introduced as a foe. * I still never understood why only some of them got to go. why not just send them all ? never understood. * also don't understand the "Defoe used competition to make us hate each other" argument when gen12 had to do exactly the same things ??? it was their own faults for hating each other but narrator voice makes it seem like Defoe is to blame ??? * why was there an article about gen11 but not gen12? (hide spoiler)]...more
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