Reviews

On the Shoulders of Titans by Andrew Rowe

nest's review

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

josephine687's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

sofvaz8's review

adventurous medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

polarbbp's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Lots of lore dumping and gratuitous exposition

trnolan's review against another edition

4.0

Fun and nicely paced. Was able to work through it rather quickly and Rowe kept the plot moving. I have some minor quibbles but the standout feature is the main group and the relationships between them. The reader gets invested as the students get more powerful or learn to trust one another. Rowe is at his best when writing Corin but some of the others get more development this time around. He can go overboard in trying to write clever dialogue and it takes me out of my reading flow. But it hits more often than not.

The only other major complaint is the "plot armor" that borders on ridiculous for way too many people. This book is chock full of fights but we don't often see consequences of those fights. At least not to people we are invested in or know anything about. Maybe that's not the vibe that Rowe is going for but I think he's doing his inspirations (JRPGs and Lit RPGs) a disservice if he doesn't utilize loss or consequence. I hope he does better in book 3 which I'm planning to read soon.

Still a great book that I would recommend to anyone looking for a fun fantasy adventure/easy read.

shdnx's review against another edition

4.0

An excellent book! Sometimes a bit slow.

tanishamahajan's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

t_shaffner's review against another edition

3.0

This book was fun and a highly entertaining read, but not quite up to the level of the first one. As feared based on the end of the first one, the political dynamics took a much greater part in the plot and the focus was much more on them. This is overall a much weaker and less enjoyable aspect of the book, and as such it suffered for it.

That said, it was still fun overall and I'd recommend reading it for any who read and enjoyed the first one.

midnightgarden's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

beccaj2180's review

5.0

These novels are so epic. I love the characters and Corin's awkward relationships with them. I also love how complicated Corin is as a character. I find myself wanting him to succeed in everything he does. He doesn't seem to realize how important he has become. I can't wait to read the next one!