series

Legion Series by Bradon Sanderson | Book Review

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The book Legion is the first of three in a series by the same name, which has also been collected and sold as one bigger book, which is makes it a bit awkward to search for. Here is it all collected in one book.

Genre: Sci-fi

Pages: 350 in total

Synopsis

Stephen Leeds is perfectly sane. It’s his hallucinations who are mad.

A genius of unrivaled aptitude, Stephen can learn any new skill, vocation, or art in a matter of hours. However, to contain all of this, his mind creates hallucinatory people—Stephen calls them aspects—to hold and manifest the information. Wherever he goes, he is joined by a team of imaginary experts to give advice, interpretation, and explanation. He uses them to solve problems. . .for a price.

His brain is getting a little crowded and the aspects have a tendency of taking on lives of their own. When a company hires him to recover stolen property—a camera that can allegedly take pictures of the past—Stephen finds himself in an adventure crossing oceans and fighting terrorists. What he discovers may upend the foundation of three major world religions—and, perhaps, give him a vital clue into the true nature of his aspects.

My thoughts

Rating out of five: Book One – 5 stars. Book Two – 4 stars. Book Three – 2 stars.

Brandon Sanderson is one of my favourite authors, which is what made me pick up this series. It started out with a great concept, a genius who has split himself into aspects, creating side-kicks with specialization in different skills, different personalities and made up backstories. For example can there be one expert in language, fighting, deciphering code or computers. With Sanderson funny dialogues, and an imaginative plot with a camera that can take pictures of the past, the first book comes together into one perfectly entertaining story.

In the second book it starts to get a bit repetitive. The plot is still exciting, the interaction between the different hallucinations/characters still entertaining to follow. But it also brings with it the beginning of what becomes my big problem with book three, where Stephen Leeds becomes even more overwhelmed with the aspects he’s created, and Sanderson repeating how they’re made up way too often. It feels clunky in the story, which is weird since the fact that they’re in Stephen’s mind doesn’t really matter to it. He’s created them in a way where Stephen does everything he imagines the aspect characters doing.

In book three Sanderson doesn’t succeed in portraying how Stephen is suddenly losing his mind completely, and still finish the plot he’s built up. It doesn’t feel as fast-paced, entertaining or exciting anymore. My thoughts through the whole third book was “let’s get to the end and see if the aspects are still there or if he’s gotten rid of them somehow”. To me it feels rushed and much less clever than the first book, somehow. It was the execution I disliked more than the concept of the ending, I think.

I would definitely recommend this book, especially to anyone wanting to read some sci-fi, have a quick refreshing read between larger books or want a book that include some questions of psychology.

Favourite quotes

“My name is Stephen Leeds, and I am perfectly sane. My hallucinations, however, are all quite mad.”


Book Series I Want to Finish Part 2 | Book Things

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I went through my TBR and cleaned it out, what was most difficult was deciding what series I want to finish – some I started as a kid or teenager, some I needed a break from. Here’s part one. 

 

Monster (Gone #7) by Michael Grant

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Let’s see how long ago I started this series … Likely nine years ago (!!!). This book was released last year, another book this year. This shouldn’t be happening, the series was finished a long time ago. But I can’t stop now?! I have to finish this, unless this book is completely awful, in which case I guess I’ll find out reading it.

 

 

 

Opposition (Lux #5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

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The first three books of this series was good. A bit predictable, but entertaining. I still have this fifth book left, along with some extra material and hope to finish it just to see how it ends. Do you ever read a series too fast and suddenly you’ve gotten enough of it, like it’s way too much and you need a break? Usually happens with tv series, but apparently book series as well.

 

 

The Shadow Cabinet (Shades of London #3) by Maureen Johnson

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The problem with trying to finish series is that I don’t remember the plot of the first (two) books sometimes. Maureen Johnson seems like a awesome person, and I recently read “Truly Devious” which was everything of the modern boarding school mystery I didn’t know I wanted, but I’m going to have to read some summaries before starting the third book of “The Shades of London”

The Saga of Larten Crepsley by Darren Shan

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Last post here I mentioned how much I want to finish Demonata by Darren Shan. Then I remembered I didn’t finish this one either, it’s a spin-off of the original “Cirque du Freak” series. I’m honestly finishing these series to figure out how scary they are compared to me first reading them as a kid.

Edgedancer by Brandon Sanderson| Review

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Stormlight #2.5

Pages: 270

Genre: Epic Fantasy

Synopsis

Lift has appeared a few times in the first two Stormlight books, but here you get an entire story around her. From how she saved the prince, to seeing more of how she is able to use her awesomeness, Lift being hunted and hunting the Darkness and trying to find out if she wants to take on responsibilities.

 

My thoughts

Rating out of five:

fire

I read this fairly quickly and thoroughly enjoyed it. I just picked this book up because I wanted to start Oathbringer and saw many recommendations to read this first. Lift’s story was a really positive surprise, as there wasn’t much focus on her in the first two Stormlight books I didn’t realize her childish personality had such a context and background. She’s smart, in ways I recognize from Mistborn’s Vin and that helps to take her seriously. I really liked her as a character and am looking forward to finding out her place in Oatbringer and why Sanderson seemed it necessary to tell this story. Not that I’m complaining as it’s a good one!

The story itself managed to surprise me a couple times. Like I suspected certain people to be more than appeared, which Sanderson always does in these books, but not in the ways that mattered in the end. I especially like how the whole self-discovery of Lift is well-done, without being very obvious about it as she’s running away (again), handling a new city and plotting her way through every crisis. There’s no better way to get to know characters personalities than through their interactions with others and a few moral dilemmas.

It had started to consume her. If she’d stayed, how long would it have been before she wasn’t Lift anymore? How long until she’d have been gobbled up, another girl left in her place? Similar face, but at the same time all new?

Also Wyndle is absoloutly adorable, even if he seems pretty annoying to have to deal with all the time. I love the dynamic talking with Voidbringers or other daemons/magical animals brings. In every book, but this one in particular, Sanderson writes with such a playfullness that I sometimes think he’s mocking us all and it’s wonderful.

I would recommend reading this book if you’ve started the Stormlight Archive and is interested! I read it between the second and third book, as seems to be right. A tips is to get the “Arcanum Unbounded” by Sanderson as it contains Edgedancer and other Cosmere short stories by Sanderson, for about the same price.

The feelings this book gave me: pure glee and grinding my teeth in fear of Lift getting caught at every corner, warm feelings for this world and all the personalities in it.

 

favourite quotes *spoilers*

“I want control,” she said, opening her eyes. “Not like a king or anything. I just want to be able to control it, a little. My life. I don’t want to get shoved around, by people or by fate or whatever. I just . . . I want it to be me who chooses.”

“I will listen,” Lift shouted, “to those who have been ignored!”

 

 

Book Series I Want to Finish | Book Things

aquapages // eline1 Comment

So I’ve gone through a lot of my unfinished series and sorted them into those I want to finish and those I’ve finally given up on, if you want that second list please let me know.

Splintered by A.G. Howard

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It’s a great series so far and I have yet to read book three Ensnared and the shorter story Untamed. I need to know how all these characters ends up, even though I didn’t feel as excited for book two as book one. It helps that it has fantastic goodreads ratings (4.2!!)

 

Demonata by Darren Shan

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Listen, I started this series back when I was a kid. It was absoloutely horrifying and I LOVED IT. Darren Shan was the author behind a lot of my nightmares, but I weirdly related to the main character that as far as I remember was nothing like me. I’ve read book one through eight out of ten and I really want to read the whole thing again. I distinctly remember a boy absoloutly hating his sister and putting rat guts in her hair towel. And then everyone partners up with demons, or something. There’s some twisted characters. Darren Shan’s other series Cirque du Freak is a great vampire series as well. I’m convincing myself here, I need to pick these up again soon.

All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness
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I really liked book one, I don’t really remember book two. I think I’ll need to reread it along with reading book three, which is the reason I haven’t done it yet. I hate rereading books I kind of remember, if they’re not really good. I love witch books though, and the time travelling in this series was actually good.

 

 

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

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Shatter me was a nice trilogy, I didn’t agree with every choice and the first book was the best, but especially with the novellas I was satisfied. Then a new book comes out, which I’m all excited about and I’ve seen one good review in a sea of bad ones among the book blogs I follow. They’re all saying how excited they were, then the characters changed too much and all went to shit. I’m slightly horrified, but still thinking about reading it. It has a good goodreads rating, but I’m suspicious.

 

Of Neptune by Anna Banks

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This is a cute and entertainting mermaid series and I’ll be delighted to continue it with the third book and novellas during next summer. I really like gathering up summer reads, anyone else?

 

 

 

The Others by Anne Bishop

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Vision in Silver, the third book in the excellent The Other, an urban fantasy series. It’s one of the better urban fantasy I’ve read, maybe beaten by Patricia Briggs’ Mercy Thomson series. If you have any urban fantasy recommendations, send them my way! I really like how the community of supernatural beings are built up in this one, along with the main characters place among them as an diplomat of sorts.

The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson | Review

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Stormlight Archive #1

Pages: 1000

Genre: epic fantasy

 

Synopsis

A new Cosmere novel, it’s an epic story of war and kings battling for power on the world of Roshar. Shardblades and Shardblades transforms normal men into near invincible warriors and to obtain them many has given their life and even traded kingdoms. The battle of the Shattered Plains one of the worst, and the place Kaladin was brought as a slave. He was a soldier before a betrayal, and now he’s in the front line carrying a bridge and watching everyone around him fall by the enemy’s arrows. In a war that doesn’t make sense, where the armies are uncordinated and the many leaders always has more slaves coming to take the dead one’s place, Kaladin’s trying to survive. At least most of the time.

At the same time a Brightlord and commander of an army Dalinar Kholin is having visions of ancient times and the Knights Radiant and he can’t decide if they’re real. His late brother, the king, seemed to go mad with the same thing at the end. Across the ocean a young woman named Shallan is plotting her own plans trying to save her family. She’s trying to train under a scholar, heretic and overall unusual person, Dalinar’s niece Jasnah. Everything is intertwined in this confusing war.

 

My thoughts

Rating out of five:

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It’s the best series I’ve read by Brandon Sanderson yet, having read Mistborn, some of The Reckoners and Warbreaker. They’re all complex, amazing stories. But in this series you really start to see the connections to the Cosmere universe, if you know where to look.

The characters are all well-written and dimensional, with unique personalities and their own motives, like any Sanderson characters. My favourite in this book I would have to say is between Kaladin and Dalinar. Kaladin has been betrayed and branded a slave, he’s basically sent on suicide missions the whole book with his team at bridge four. The momen he takes on the responsibility of his fellow bridgemen’s lives my interest of him as a character along with respect for him was through the roof. The things he accomplishes from there and the journey he has, where he’s beaten down so many times physically and mentally, it really makes this book.

But he’s nowhere near the only character this book is about, I think I even like Dalinar even better. He’s the perfect general-character, with his flaws and strengths and mannerism. How does Sanderson write every trope so well? Shallan is another great character, as she travels to the scholar Jasnah to train under her and steal something from her. But Shallan has her flaws, which sometimes made me really annoyed at her character and how – understandably – immature she is compared to the rest of them.

The plot is great, and I won’t say much about it in fear of spoiling it. There’s lots of battle scenes, and I enjoyed following Kaladin and his bridge the most, as they tried to survive being in the front line, basically as bait for the Parshendis attacking. The magic system, with the storm-infused spheres as sources. What can I say, except gush over how incredible it is. Something that used to be of value to magicians has since become actual currency, which becomes vital for the plot, it’s great.

I feel myself wanting to say this is not the book to start with if you haven’t read Sanderson before, maybe with the exception of being really into high fantasy. It’s easy to get into the world in comparison to other similiar books I’ve read, but it’s still a lot of info, especially connecting it to the Cosmere plotline and I won’t understand everything until further read-throughs. I’m so excited to see where the rest of the series is going!

 

– favourite quotes –

*warning: minor spoilers*

“Sometimes the prize is not worth the costs. The means by which we achieve victory are as important as the victory itself.”

“A man’s emotions are what define him, and control is the hallmark of true strength. To lack feeling is to be dead, but to act on every feeling is to be a child.”

“He’d never been an optimist. He saw the world as it was, or he tried to. That was the problem, though, when the truth he saw was so terrible.”

“The immortal words: ¨Life before death, strength before weakness, journey before destination.”

 

Book Series I Won’t Finish

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I’ve gone on a purge of my tbr list and realized there’s book series I won’t ever get to because of various reasons. It might be years since I read the previous book, maybe the book  wasn’t that good or it didn’t need to be made into a series. So here’s my official goodbyes!

 

Throne of Glass: Tower of Dawn, book 6

As the series have progressed it went from young adult to new adult, the focus of plot and characters have shifted and for some reason I lost interest with each new book. Book five was a struggle to get through. I think there’s been too many let-downs that I can’t get over, it’s a whole post in itself. I’m still on the fence if I’ll ever give it another try, but I think I’ll spare myself from it.

The 5th Wave: The Infinite Sea, book 2

I’ve picked up the second book of this series twice, and while I liked the first one I couldn’t get into it. I have yet to see the movie with Chloe Graze Moretz though (I love that actress).

The Darkest Minds: In the Afterlight, book 3

The biggest problem is that I don’t know if I read the second book “never fade”. I’m pretty sure I did, because I tried to start it again and it was just familiar enough to be boring. That along with having been some years, I don’t think I’ll get to finish this one.

 

 

 

Night School: Endgame, book 5

Read it so long ago, started the book again, but wasn’t feeling it. Won’t happen, even though it has good ratings.

Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children: Hollow City, book 2

The first movie was good, will watch the next one too, but the book I read so long ago and doesn’t really catch my interest anymore.

Embassy Row: Take the Key and Lock Her Up, book 3

First book in the series was fun, second book more of a mess. I won’t get to the third, even though it has good ratings.

 

 

 

 

Silence Fallen by Patricia Briggs | Review

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Mercy Thompson #10

Pages: 370

Genre: urban fantasy

Synopsis

Mercy Thomson is a coyote shapeshifter living among werewolves. It has been true for most of her life, but certainly now when she’s chosen an alpha werewolf as mate. In this book she’s suddenly attacked and abducted (again?) by one of the most powerful vampires in the world. Which lands her without the pack bonds, money or clothes a long way from home, in Europe, searching for allies and enemies. Also the ghosts of Prague doesn’t seem to be leaving her alone.

 

My thoughts

Rating out out five:

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Travelling is nice and expands the universe, but it also leaves the familiar, already established world and friends. With no new interesting characters being introduced, just varies of the same old, the character interactions felt flat. Might’ve been saved by learning anything new about the character’s, especially the vampires, backstories, but it wasn’t enough of that either.

The problem is that this book has been done before, in all the nine other Mercy Thomson books. Until now I felt every book has contributed something, but this book just floats on past glories and reveals. Even the plot is sentered around it, about how great Mercy is and the victories she’s done. The humble-bragging and “I’m/she’s great because” speeches made me cringe because they seemed so misplaced. Really I’m giving this book a star extra because I agree Mercy’s pretty great, but if you skip this book and go straight from book nine to eleven, I don’t think you would notice much difference. Maybe one reveal towards the end that will hopefully play out further in next books.

The only thing that made me giggle was a surprise guest, which I’ve halfway guessed wasn’t who I thought, but the reveal managed to sneak up on me anyway. Slow applause for that, I could see the hints spread throught the book afterwards.

 

See How They Run by Ally Carter | Review

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Embassy Row #2

Pages: 336
Genre: young adult, mystery

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Summary

Grace’s past has come back to hunt her and if she doesn’t stop it, Grace isn’t the only one who will get hurt. Because on Embassy Row, the countries of the world are neighbours and stand like dominoes. One wrong move can make them all fall down.

My thoughts

Rating out of five:

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No. Noope. Glad to be done with this book. It showed the series had a direction, but too much went wrong along the way.

I don’t even know why I would review a book I didn’t like, but I feel like I would appreciate it if someone warned me? I liked the other series by Ally Carter and if I’d read a review like this, I wouldn’t have bothered to pick this one up. Go read the Gallagher girls or even better; the Heist society. They’re both better than this one, even if it has its moments and good quotes.

To start off on a positive note: here you got young adult characters that actually behave like young people, however serious the situation is. It’s refreshing and it seems like they characters have grown up a bit since the last book, which makes completely sense.

I didn’t really know what this book would be about – at all – since in the first book every secret seemed to spill over and was eventually wrapped up with a bow on top. How could there be any more skeletons in the closet after that? All praise to Ally Carter’s creativity to figure that out – and she did. This book have good action, it’s fast-paced and have its moments. You think the plot twist is obvious, but there’s always more undetected hidden behind them. The mystery wasn’t as original as I hoped. It got an okay backstory though, and that’s about what I can say without spoiling anything.

These teenagers got to be very energetic. That’s a looot of running around, which I don’t really care for. It might be a choice taken to keep things interesting and the reader alert, but I don’t really care to follow when they return to places for the who-knows-how-many times. You got a lot of hiding spots, and surely need them with all this drama, but it’s a bit overkill.

That’s the thing about being the girl who’s spent years convincing the world she’s not afraid of anything: at some point, someone is going to find out you’re afraid of everything.

The main character, Grace, has changed since the first book too. She’s as wild and upredictable as usual, but no longer considered as paranoid because she’s proven herself at last. The relationship between her and her brother seemed more real, as did the friendships she finally developed with the other embassy kids. She seem to have PTSD, or something similar, and it’s well shown throughout the book. It makes Grace and the plot seem more real, since you’re shown the consequences she has to deal with. I was worried at the beginning that this book would follow the usual recipe: girl meets boy, drama happens and they have to fix it together, everyone acts before they think, but it magically works out anyway and finally they get together. It wasn’t completely like that, to my relief. Some of the elements are certainly there, but Carter managed to add some dimension to it.

Also, the adults seem to finally have been introduced to the plot, even going so far as keeping an eye on them. Wow, who would have known they could have information and perhaps be willing to help? “See how they run” was predictable at times, but well-written and a step up from the first book. Still it didn’t do enough for me to concider picking up the third book of the series. I believe I’m done with this, there has to be better mysteries out there to read. I think it’s beccause the plot is built on one too many clichés, and that’s honestly why I didn’t figure out all the plot twists; I thought it wouldn’t be that obvious. This book certainly tries to keep your interest and who knows, perhaps it will work for you, but I’ll throw in the towel and say I’m happy to have finished it.

“She’s right, of course. There’s a loop in my life – a pattern of violence and death and heartbreaking sorrow that I would give anything to stop. To rewrite. To end. But my walls are not yet high enough, not strong enough. What Ms Chancellor doesn’t know is that I never will stop building.”

Empire of Storms (Throne of Glass #5) by Sarah J Maas 

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Pages: 700

Genre: young adult fantasy

5

 

tre

Spoiler-free part

positives

cute, well-rounded characters, good twists & plot, nice scenes, manon is my queen, elide is just lovely, aelin is kickass as usual and deserves none of the (mostly friendly) hate she gets from her friends/fellow characters or readers, derserves all the hate from enemies bc they better be terrified

negatives

very similar to “a court of thorns and roses” and “acomaf” in places, sometimes it has very long action sequences that drag on, parts of the plot seems to be just planning or filler for the big reveals and scenes, which i found annoying. how the whole chaol situation was handled

I would have loved for certain explicit scenes to have been put in an additional novella or online or something, because as they had nothing to do with the plot, I found myself just annoyed at them? I wasn’t in the mood I guess, but had to go back and forth to see if I could skip the pages without someone interrupting them with a sword out or something *hah that wasn’t meant as an innuendo*. Like in A Court of Mist and Fire these scenes contribute to the plot as well as show different sides of characters. In this book the sex scenes seems more like side-projects or well-written fanfic thrown into the rest, but still not connected with it. Does that makes sense? Let’s be real; it’s just smut for smut’s sake. And nothing wrong about that, but:

1) It diffuses the line between ya and na to the point where I know it will make certain younger readers uncomfortable, or at least uncomfortable to admit they’ve read it (been there) and if it isn’t necessary, why? and 2) It was at the points in the book where i personally was just like; “can you get that crazy away from me so I can deal with the crazy that is Aelin’s war? WHat is this girl thinking – that’s what’s interesting?” You might argue it was used to distract the reader, but still.

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Side-note: It’s been over a year since I wrote this review and I never picked up the next book in this series, I’ve found the plot forgetable honestly, and the negative sides overpowered the good. I don’t want to find myself annoyed and let down after reading a book of this size and popularity. The series seem to get more unorginal with every book and I don’t need to see where this is going, at least not anytime soon. But I have a lot of thoughts so if you’ve read the book please read on –

Major Spoilers Below

 

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Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare

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Genre: young adult, fantasy

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I have mixed feelings about this book. It held on to my attention, had some beautiful writing (Clare’s gotten so far since her first book, it made me smile when I realized) and it had parts that I thoroughly enjoyed reading. But there’s also things I get caught up on and the ending left me with a bad feeling.

the shadowhunter universe

I like how Clare has extended the universe and continued to explore it, “The Infernal Devices” was a great series that I wouldn’t want to be without. “Lady of Midnight” had some cringy moments (parabati curse and forbidden love among them) that was drawn out, reminding me too much of Jace and Clary’s brother-sister scare. This book had some of the same problems, but more the fact that it floated on “guest-appearances” from earlier characters which hindered getting to know these new characters better. Still, it’s amazing how many point of views this story is told from and I liked their individual voices.

I love Julian’s personality and his protectiveness, it’s a different toughness than the previous shadowhunters we’ve gotten to know. That’s one of the things of shadowhunter’s ideology I wish was explored more. There’s a whole culture which the kids off-handedly struggles with and dislikes, but it’s not really explained. I mean – what would the next series be about then, ahhh. For example, it’s mentioned how all the kids likes things that are somewhat forbidden (computers, mudane culture, etc) and Diane’s history, but somehow we ended up with Institue-drama and talk about how corrupt the Clave’s council is or something. The focus feels off. Diving into the shadowhunter warrior culture that promotes certain thinking and brute solutions, and maybe a possible shift, is more interesting than circling back to these Clave-so-corrupt plots we’ve followed before.

*ALL THE SPOILERS BELOW*

the ending, a rant & a question

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