Reviews with content warning for Blood - Vyjednavač

I don't really know how I feel about this one... The world building was, as usual for the author, impeccable and the magic system compelling, if a little confusing. It was more predictable than I would expect a political intrigue ridden book to be and the romance sub plot(s) were kind of uncomfortable and cringe inducing. There were times I was really enjoying it, but I think the overall take away was pretty mid.

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badbadwolf's review against another edition

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adventurous tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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cinhein's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

Single-handedly responsible for a 7 month reading slump.

The first Sanderson book that was genuinely a slog to get through.

It is distinctly mid-2000s in vibe (not complimentary).

The 'villains' being entirely justified but ThEy WeNt ToO fAr had to be tired when it was published. Now it reads like a bad joke. Sure, it would suck for the Main Characters but we've just spent 600 pages surrounded by characters doing their best to prove that they would deserve it.

And no, the sex slave-slaver romance will never work no matter how you try to justify it.

There are 3 good characters here, and I spent most of the book hoping that everybody would die violently else. Not a great response to trigger for a book with a main theme of 'war bad'.

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takarakei's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

Wow! What a wild ride, especially with the graphic audio. I did follow along with an ebook as it was my first time reading this (and there's def some small bits left out of the GA, so I'm glad I did that - it was mostly inner-dialogue stuff but still a bit curious). The ending of this book really takes off and that especially on GA was like "eeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!"

I just honestly had a GOOD ASS TIME reading this book. Really enjoyed the characters! Lightsong especially was just hilarious (also one of my fav tropes: the reluctant hero). The interactions between characters was fun to read, good banter. Sanderson is really good at writing distinctly different povs and then weaving them into a storyline that comes together in the end. THE MAGIC SYSTEM is SO cool! Felt like magic created for visual artists for sure.

The ending was what is described as a typical "Sanderlanche" where there's really a point of no return while reading and you're not gonna wanna put it down. So much happens at the end it's a lil nuts in a "I'm at 96% in this book and HOW is this gonna end" way - and how it does end is a little abrupt. Supposedly, Sanderson is going to write more in this world, and I could definitely see how that's possible with where things end (although it is definitely still a standalone so no worries about a cliffhanger).

So far... this is my top rated Sanderson book, but I've just started Stormlight and was told to read this before Words of Radiance (which I have HIGH expectations for).

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aleyajo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Giggling and kicking my feet, Brandon you’ve done it again.

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bergha1998's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad 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

4.5

Utterly brilliant, such good world building and characters. The magic system was so interesting and well paced in when the reader was given more info. I liked Siri’s plot the best, but all of them were interesting. Not to mention how opaque everyone’s motives were and the mystery of that. I also liked all of Vivianna's inner dialogue about who she had been raised to be and what she had been told to believe.

Fantasy, Magic System, Multi-POV

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samxe12's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious 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? Yes

4.5

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thecheeseowl's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-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? Yes

3.0

I have a lot of mixed feelings about this book.
*Spoilers ahead*
one hand the world building in this book is fantastic with a magic system that was fully thoughtout and brings a lot to the world. But I don't think it was explained to the audience as well as it could have.

I like Seubron, Siri, Vivenna, and Lightsong. They are fun to root for and bring a good through line throughout the book. But most of the other important characters changed sides late into the book causing me to lose in vestment in all of them. It got to the point where most of reveals started to feel cheap.

The book unceremoniously kills Blushweaver. Her death was only used to develop Lightsong as a character and did not feel like it was a natural conclusion for her story.

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