chickenlady's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Death of parent
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, and Death of parent
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Violence, and Blood
readwithria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
I love Brandon Sanderson, and decided to branch out from the Cosmere into some of his other works. His pacing and action sequences are amazing, as usual, and the world building is intriguing and unique in so many ways. There are, however, a few things that bothered me about this particular book.
My biggest issue was with some of the slang and place names in the book. This book takes place twelve years after some of humanity received their powers, and all of the characters we meet are over the age of 18. And yet, somehow, curses have completely changed. The three that Sanderson created for this series were
1. sparks (replacement for damn, fuck, and other exclamations)
3. Calamity (seemed like a replacement for things like “Jesus Christ” or “holy shit”)
4. Shlonts (an insult, similar to shithead)
Why on earth would slang change that quickly? It makes no sense, and every time I read one of them it completely took me out of the book.
Similarly, the name of Chicago was changed to Newcago, and I’m sorry but that’s the worst place name I’ve ever heard. This is Brandon Sanderson we’re talking about, and the best thing he could come up with was Newcago?? I’m bamboozled.
Last, but not least, Brandon Sanderson is not a romance writer in any way, and because this series is his take on the novelization of the comic book structure, there obviously needed to be a romance subplot. But oof, it wasn’t good. This might be the worst Sanderson romance I’ve read.
Now that I’ve gotten past that though, here are some of the things I DID enjoy!
- the world building is so good! The Epics, their powers and weaknesses, the tech, how the city was changed by the events of the prologue, it’s all so well done! Sanderson is the king of unique world building
- the secondary characters! I love Abraham and Cody so much, and Tia really grew on me
- A couple of the twists, especially the aftermath of the limo (iykyk)
All in all, this is definitely a series I will continue despite its flaws. 3.5 stars.
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood, Death, War, Car accident, Classism, and Colonisation
kermitkid's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Car accident, Violence, Kidnapping, and Gun violence
Minor: Cursing
aylaravenstar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, and Death
cookiemonsterrr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
There were lots of twists and turns, some I predicted and some I didn't. I found myself liking all the main characters, even if some took a while to settle in my good books. Brandon Sanderson does a really good job at pacing and writing stories full of action like this!
I'm super excited to read the other books in this series! I want to see how the story unfolds from here and how life is after
Spoiler
the Reckoners managed to kill Steelheart and Nightwielder.This is my first Sanderson novel, definitely checking out the other books in the series + the other ones he wrote!
Moderate: Murder, Death of parent, and Child death
thebowandthebook's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Child death
hayleyvharrington's review against another edition
Moderate: Death, Child death, Murder, Violence, War, Death of parent, and Gun violence
ellanorte's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Death, and Death of parent
joufancyhuh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Gun violence, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Grief, and Police brutality
Minor: Car accident and Child death