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A review by casey_zi
On the Shoulders of Titans by Andrew Rowe
3.0
This book was the most fun I've ever had reading an exposition dump. I mean, why just follow a character who goes to magic school à la Harry Potter when you can feel like you're the one attending the school yourself?
I could see it getting tedious for some people. However, I think the action sequences and adventures made it well worth it, at least for me. If you managed to make it through the info dump in the first book, you'll likely have no problems here.
Something that really started to grate on me was the repetition of some phrases. Particularly "I folded my arms," "Character X folded his/her arms," or "Character X folded his/her hands." Everyone spends so much time wincing I wish they could learn some new facial expressions, like at least grimacing for once. I understand that in a long book written by a single author there is bound to be some repetition, but geez dude, you can use a thesaurus!
Also, I really hope the author doesn't go with the childhood friend romance trope in following installments. That's one cliché I've seen too many times already.
I like Sera and Marissa a lot, though. Wonderful girls and friends to Corin. Patrick as well. I wish the series would do more with them, give them some more development or arcs of their own or something apart from the progression of their powers.
I also appreciate that the main underlying conflict isn't black-and-white. There aren't really "good" or "bad" guys here, just several groups with different opinions on what is best for the future of their country. I'm interested to see where it goes, as this series is apparently going to 7 books. Plenty of room for a ton more plot.
3.5 stars, recommended if you liked the first book.
I could see it getting tedious for some people. However, I think the action sequences and adventures made it well worth it, at least for me. If you managed to make it through the info dump in the first book, you'll likely have no problems here.
Something that really started to grate on me was the repetition of some phrases. Particularly "I folded my arms," "Character X folded his/her arms," or "Character X folded his/her hands." Everyone spends so much time wincing I wish they could learn some new facial expressions, like at least grimacing for once. I understand that in a long book written by a single author there is bound to be some repetition, but geez dude, you can use a thesaurus!
Also, I really hope the author doesn't go with the childhood friend romance trope in following installments. That's one cliché I've seen too many times already.
I like Sera and Marissa a lot, though. Wonderful girls and friends to Corin. Patrick as well. I wish the series would do more with them, give them some more development or arcs of their own or something apart from the progression of their powers.
I also appreciate that the main underlying conflict isn't black-and-white. There aren't really "good" or "bad" guys here, just several groups with different opinions on what is best for the future of their country. I'm interested to see where it goes, as this series is apparently going to 7 books. Plenty of room for a ton more plot.
3.5 stars, recommended if you liked the first book.