Reviews and Comments

I am torn on this book. The author has so many wonderful ideas and the book is completely worth reading for that alone. On the other side though, I feel she did not do a very good job of building a story to showcase those ideas. At times it felt like the ideas were running the entire narrative, causing characters to behave oddly out of pattern just to move the story on to the next idea. Reading this often felt like a grind to get to the end, but I kept turning pages because the concepts were so engaging.

#SFFBookClub

Starting a reread of The Locked Tomb books.

Another book I'm reading because of the Hugo nomination. This wasn't quite as much of a "nothing" novel as I was expecting. It has some real heart and a lot of great found family aspects. I did especially appreciate the way the villain was dealt with at the end. This is a very enjoyable book and I look forward to more from Baldree. Like the 4 other nominees I've read this year, this book just doesn't do anything that I feel a "Best Novel" should be doing. I need to write a longer post on that, but the review of the book isn't the place for it.

I'd given up hope, but it seems that after 8 years we finally get the sequel to The Aeronaut's Windlass

I was not intending to read this, but did since it was nominated for the Hugo Best Novel. I read Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia's earlier novel and thought it was just ok, but had been told by a co-worker this was a stronger book. Unfortunately, I didn't come away with that same opinion. There was no suspense, no big twist or revelation, and the final quarter of the book seemed to drone on forever. I know there is a lot of love out there for this book, but none from me.

This is the third of Sanderson's "Secret Novels" and the strongest so far. It starts off slower than the previous two, but ultimately builds more emotional attachment between the reader and the characters than its predecessors. I do like that Sanderson is wringing some things that aren't of epic scope (and length), but still tell an good story with impressive worldbuilding.

Making my way through the Hugo Best Novel nominees I hadn't already read.

I've been wanting to read this for a while, and now seems like the best time since it is the May selection of #SFFBookClub.

This book brought the series to a satisfying end. My only complaint is that the whole thing seems to run long with a lot of repetition. Probably about a third of the entire saga could have been cut. But still a fun ride regardless.