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nathonius's reviews
137 reviews
Reaper Man by Terry Pratchett
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
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? No
3.75
I really wish Terry hadn't left so much to read between the lines. In this book in particular, he leaves a lot to the imagination and while it mostly works, it would have been nice to have *some* things clearly explained.
Still, it's a solid book with fun characters.
Still, it's a solid book with fun characters.
Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.
The structure of the stories just can't keep my attention, and the writing is so detached from the characters. It's just not for me.
The Eyre Affair by Jasper Fforde
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.
Did not finish book. Stopped at 0%.
It was just too English for me. I felt like I was missing so many jokes.
Moving Pictures by Terry Pratchett
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
It's not Terry's best work. It's slow, too long, and there's just too many "look, see what I did there?" references.
Juniper & Thorn by Ava Reid
dark
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
3.0
Bookshops & Bonedust by Travis Baldree
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I loved Legends & Lattes, but honestly... I think this might be the better book. It feels like a more refined work than Legends; this is borne out by the knowledge that Legends and Lattes was written in a month, while Bookshops took much longer to produce. The author's experience shows; the rough edges are rounded off a bit in this one.
It's not a perfect book by any means; it sometimes feels like a re-tread of the first book, and the romance is there but surprisingly chaste, almost to a fault.
Regardless, the characters were all charming and the whole book is so warm. Travis has knocked out of of the park again, if you liked Lattes, you'll like Bonedust; if you were on the fence about Lattes, maybe give this a try. It's leaner, but has just as much heart.
It's not a perfect book by any means; it sometimes feels like a re-tread of the first book, and the romance is there but surprisingly chaste, almost to a fault.
Regardless, the characters were all charming and the whole book is so warm. Travis has knocked out of of the park again, if you liked Lattes, you'll like Bonedust; if you were on the fence about Lattes, maybe give this a try. It's leaner, but has just as much heart.
Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I hesitate to call this book cozy since it *does* have stakes and there are dark things that happen, but it's still very cozy.
The format of the book is all journal entries, which works well in the first two thirds of the tale but really falls apart later on during the more action oriented parts of the story.
Overall, this book is a warm hug, even if it's got a rushed ending and inconsistent pacing. The characters really feel like flawed people, not just stock story archetypes and I'm looking forward to spending more time with Emily and Bambleby in the sequel. I loved how even though the characters biggest flaws were given more nuance through the book, they were never smoothed away entirely, and they remain true to themselves to the end.
The format of the book is all journal entries, which works well in the first two thirds of the tale but really falls apart later on during the more action oriented parts of the story.
Overall, this book is a warm hug, even if it's got a rushed ending and inconsistent pacing. The characters really feel like flawed people, not just stock story archetypes and I'm looking forward to spending more time with Emily and Bambleby in the sequel. I loved how even though the characters biggest flaws were given more nuance through the book, they were never smoothed away entirely, and they remain true to themselves to the end.
Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-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
Empire of Silence feels like a mishmash of every epic sci-fi book and fantasy book I've ever read. There's swashbuckling, there's big, galaxy and time spanning conflicts, and there's even a bit of a chosen one fantasy in there to top it off.
This isn't a bad thing - it really does work most of the time. Sure, it might feel like Dune fan fiction for a few chapters, but then the author has moved on to re-telling Gladiator. Then it turns into something out of Asimov, and finally lands on Warhammer 40k.
There are really only three things that bring my rating down from a 5. First, Empire of Silence might pass the bechdel test, but only just. Second, is a rushed ending that felt incongruous with the prior 650 pages. And finally, but definitely worst of all, is the framing device the author uses for the story.
If you edited out every part of the novel where future Hadrian reminded you that this was his account of his life and gave vague, annoying hints at where the story would go, the book would be shorter and better. These interruptions are framed as the reader being someone in-universe who knows the reputation he has and the history surrounding him, but because we obviously don't know those things, these passages are intended to create a sort of dramatic tension. However their effect is instead a ham-fisted job of teasing the reader, like a movie trailer with all the best parts of the movie in it, but none of the context. It doesn't endear me to the story, it makes me feel like you're trying to sell me the rest of a series. It's even worse since most of what is teased isn't even in this first book in the series.
All that aside, this really is a fun book. Too long winded, with a pretentious framing device, but it presses so many buttons in all the genres I love, and does most of them well.
This isn't a bad thing - it really does work most of the time. Sure, it might feel like Dune fan fiction for a few chapters, but then the author has moved on to re-telling Gladiator. Then it turns into something out of Asimov, and finally lands on Warhammer 40k.
There are really only three things that bring my rating down from a 5. First, Empire of Silence might pass the bechdel test, but only just. Second, is a rushed ending that felt incongruous with the prior 650 pages. And finally, but definitely worst of all, is the framing device the author uses for the story.
If you edited out every part of the novel where future Hadrian reminded you that this was his account of his life and gave vague, annoying hints at where the story would go, the book would be shorter and better. These interruptions are framed as the reader being someone in-universe who knows the reputation he has and the history surrounding him, but because we obviously don't know those things, these passages are intended to create a sort of dramatic tension. However their effect is instead a ham-fisted job of teasing the reader, like a movie trailer with all the best parts of the movie in it, but none of the context. It doesn't endear me to the story, it makes me feel like you're trying to sell me the rest of a series. It's even worse since most of what is teased isn't even in this first book in the series.
All that aside, this really is a fun book. Too long winded, with a pretentious framing device, but it presses so many buttons in all the genres I love, and does most of them well.
Tress of the Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson
adventurous
funny
hopeful
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
4.0