Reviews with content warning for War - The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England

This book is kind of a disappointment.

I love the world building. I love how it's a medieval fantasy setting with a futuristic lense on top of it. It leads to a very unique setting that the characters explore.

I love the protagonist in this book especially when he is by himself and it is only his internal monologue. The other characters were weaker and just not as fleshed out as he was. I would have preferred if the main character had spent more time with it only being him because those pages flew by while the other pages of him interacting with the others were more of a slog.

I didn't like John's romance with Sefawynn I feel it was kind of a forced romance that only happened because they were two main characters of the opposite sex. I have noticed this trope happens in most Sanderson books and I find it annoying but it's not a deal breaker in his writing or anything.

The death fake outs in this book are so obvious that I did not register them as deaths. I just couldn't believe that the book tried to fake Ealstan's death twice.

The best parts of this book were the FAQs that were sprinkled throughout they were really funny and explained world building that would have been out of place in the main story. When the story felt like a slog I would read it for the next FAQ almost like it was a reward.

This is a book that has a lot of potential but I feel that it did not fully meet my expectations. If this got a sequel I would read it but I would not recommend this book over so many other great Sanderson books.

Content Warnings

nicoley3's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

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

3.0

The writing style was obnoxious, but apparently not obnoxious enough for me to quit. The one redeeming factor of the book was the main character’s development arc at the end.

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victoriastarkid's review

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adventurous hopeful medium-paced

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

3.5

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jbt1234's review against another edition

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adventurous funny inspiring mysterious fast-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

5.0

While I found the first couple of chapters shaky, I quickly realized that that was just the point! Confused and without memories, our main character goes on a wonderfully paced journey of adventure and self-discovery. The final climax is so tense and exciting, it was amazing to see it top the adventure that got us there.

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