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writer6's review against another edition
4.0
(Warning: This review features minor spoilers for The Name of All Things, as well as a major spoiler regarding the ending of the first book in the series, The Ruin of Kings. If you haven't read The Ruin of Kings or The Name of All Things yet, you might want to proceed with caution when it comes to reading my review for The Name of All Things.)
I really liked The Name of All Things for many reasons, I definitely have some very mixed feelings about the book as well. On the positive side of things, I definitely found the plot of The Name of All Things much more straightforward and easier to follow, and not as convoluted as I found The Ruin of Kings to be. The Name of All Things also had great pacing like The Ruin of Kings did, and Jenn Lyons also did a great job of maintaining the style of writing and somewhat humorous tone that I loved about The Ruin of Kings.
That being said, it really frustrated the hell out of me that Lyons basically threw Kihrin on the back-burner in this book, and pretty much focused on the characters Janel and Qown for the most part instead. While I definitely love both Janel and Qown (I honestly like Qown the most out of the two) and I think that their introduction to the series contributed a lot of great things to the series in terms of world building, I don't think that Lyons should have introduced them in this book at the expense of Kihrin's role in the series. For the record, I did think that Relos Var was a truly awesome character, though. I was also very disappointed by the fact that Tyentso was barely featured in The Name of All Things after being named empress at the end of The Ruin of Kings. Plus, I was especially disappointed by the fact that Talon was completely absent from The Name of All Things. However, I would like to mention that Jenn Lyons did reply to a tweet of mine on Twitter while I was in the process of reading this book, telling me that both Tyentso and Talon would be returning in the third book, The Memory of Souls; and I'm really hoping that Kihrin, Tyentso, and Talon will all be featured in The Memory of Souls in a much larger capacity than they were in this book.
Ultimately, my thoughts and feelings regarding The Name of All Things are definitely very complicated; since I did think that this book was better and more enjoyable for me than I thought The Ruin of Kings was in some ways. However, I was definitely very frustrated by the fact that Lyons put the spotlight on Janel and Qown so heavily in this book; and that ultimately definitely hindered my enjoyment of this book to a certain extent. Despite the complaints that I have about The Name of All Things, I'm definitely highly anticipating the release of The Memory of Souls.
My rating/score: 3 1/2 out of 5 Stars on the Goodreads rating system, and 7 out of 10 on my own personal scoring system.
***Update***
After reading The Name of All Things for the second time, I have to say that I found myself enjoying it a little bit more than I did when I read it the first time, so I've decided to raise my rating/score for the book to reflect my heightened level of enjoyment of this book.
My rating/score: 4 out of 5 Stars on the Goodreads rating system, and 8 out of 10 on my own personal scoring system.
***Update***
I really liked The Name of All Things for many reasons, I definitely have some very mixed feelings about the book as well. On the positive side of things, I definitely found the plot of The Name of All Things much more straightforward and easier to follow, and not as convoluted as I found The Ruin of Kings to be. The Name of All Things also had great pacing like The Ruin of Kings did, and Jenn Lyons also did a great job of maintaining the style of writing and somewhat humorous tone that I loved about The Ruin of Kings.
That being said, it really frustrated the hell out of me that Lyons basically threw Kihrin on the back-burner in this book, and pretty much focused on the characters Janel and Qown for the most part instead. While I definitely love both Janel and Qown (I honestly like Qown the most out of the two) and I think that their introduction to the series contributed a lot of great things to the series in terms of world building, I don't think that Lyons should have introduced them in this book at the expense of Kihrin's role in the series. For the record, I did think that Relos Var was a truly awesome character, though. I was also very disappointed by the fact that Tyentso was barely featured in The Name of All Things after being named empress at the end of The Ruin of Kings. Plus, I was especially disappointed by the fact that Talon was completely absent from The Name of All Things. However, I would like to mention that Jenn Lyons did reply to a tweet of mine on Twitter while I was in the process of reading this book, telling me that both Tyentso and Talon would be returning in the third book, The Memory of Souls; and I'm really hoping that Kihrin, Tyentso, and Talon will all be featured in The Memory of Souls in a much larger capacity than they were in this book.
Ultimately, my thoughts and feelings regarding The Name of All Things are definitely very complicated; since I did think that this book was better and more enjoyable for me than I thought The Ruin of Kings was in some ways. However, I was definitely very frustrated by the fact that Lyons put the spotlight on Janel and Qown so heavily in this book; and that ultimately definitely hindered my enjoyment of this book to a certain extent. Despite the complaints that I have about The Name of All Things, I'm definitely highly anticipating the release of The Memory of Souls.
My rating/score: 3 1/2 out of 5 Stars on the Goodreads rating system, and 7 out of 10 on my own personal scoring system.
***Update***
After reading The Name of All Things for the second time, I have to say that I found myself enjoying it a little bit more than I did when I read it the first time, so I've decided to raise my rating/score for the book to reflect my heightened level of enjoyment of this book.
My rating/score: 4 out of 5 Stars on the Goodreads rating system, and 8 out of 10 on my own personal scoring system.
***Update***
_bird_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
It’s a lot. 571 pages worth. I’m in awe at how someone has the capability to world build to this extent. This book, these books, have their own glossary, appendix etc. the imagination and creativity this takes keeps me reading this series than the story itself. 2/5 and I think I’m going to take a break before I take on the third one.
rightoftheleaf's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
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? Yes
3.5
midnightreader's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-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? No
3.25
ameltbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
rachelreadsmorebooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-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
4.0
leathor's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
atomecko's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
darkskybooks's review against another edition
5.0
This is an undeniably ambitious series. Here, in the second book, we are introduced to a completely different main character, with a new narrator construction. Whilst the first book took the form of an interrogation transcript, this one is more a series of stories told in tavern. The world is expanded and more stories are brought in, which intertwine with the first book in a pleasing way. I get a certain Malazan vibe with this interwoven story style (although the prose is very different). If anything, the prose has improved into this book, the scope of its story is slightly narrower and a lot of the heavy lifting on the world building front has already been done in the first book. This lets the room breath more and feel a little less rushed.
I am ultimately intrigued where this story is going, and thoroughly look forward to continuing!
I am ultimately intrigued where this story is going, and thoroughly look forward to continuing!