The Book Lair - all book talk ITT

[castor212]

its p damn good

it starts ok, tho kinda drag on in the middle, but then the last part really pump me up

better than WoK, about the same as WoR IMO

[eddyak]

I started reading Sanderson's latest series, but I have to admit, none of the characters really caught my attention in any meaningful way. Kaladin was meh slave jesus, whatshisface who hates Kaladin felt like he existed just to shove Kaladin further and further into a corner, the woman and her teacher felt unremarkable, and the moment you'd gotten used to one magic system along came freaking gravity mage ninja man to throw all that up in the air.

I don't remember exactly why it didn't grip me, but I think I'm gonna have to give it another go- it is Sanderson, after all, and basically all of the guy's other stuff has grabbed me in some way, I just felt lost throughout that (those?) particular book(s).

Oh, I remember a part of it- The beginning, with the respawning warriors, was intriguing. Then they literally vanish for the rest of the series, and that annoyed the crap out of me. That one chapter was most interesting than the rest of what I'd read.

[castor212]

they came out again

but not soon

and this novel is a doorstopper kind

[castor212]

Finished Worm.

I have mixed feeling. Some part is good, some is ehhhhh, some is kinda bad.

First parts were good, really good worldbuilding, honestly props to that. But it started to drag on in the middle, tho some spike of excitement here and there. On later part i started losing interest, and some parts in it and for the ending are kinda handled badly.

Tbh its really a mixed feeling lol. It was mostly good but i wasnt wowed much.

Also mfw the worm word actually showed up maybe like 5 times throughout lol.

Imma continuing on reading Pact. So far its good, albeit i feel that the protag is a bit unrealistic in that he is a bit too calm handling this shit. I would have lose my shit much faster in his place. But probably its part of characrer building.

Can imagine supernatural tv show with nice soundtrack atmosphere while reading this, which is a plus in my book.

[eddyak]

Yeah, the Slaughterhouse Nine were really, really drawn out. Taylor's involvement with them should've been cut down to almost nothing after they left Brockton.

[aldeayeah]

Had to put off reading it for about a week, about to start

so good then? how compared w/ WoK or WoR?

I finished a while ago. It's a bit disperse; I think WoK and WoR are better structured.

I also think it has a real problem with too many characters and too much happening. The expansion of the story hasn't been too graceful IMO. Some characters feel like they need either more screen time, or to fade entirely into the background.

[castor212]

Come to think of it it was p wobbly in the middle for me too

[aldeayeah]

Also some of the stuff that gets skipped is really weird.

Spoiler:

Like, Szeth joins team Dalinar and nobody bats a fucking eyelash or has a serious conversation with the guy! I get it that one must assume that happens offscreen, but what the fuck?!

[castor212]

yeah i think thats weird too, lol, youd think hed get more of fair share of stink eye

[aldeayeah]

Another one:

Spoiler:

Kaladin flies Shallan to Thaylen City. This is the first time they're together since Shallan learned he had killed her bother.

The whole trip happens offscreen.

[4score7years]

Finished Oathbringer. Pretty good. On the one hand, I kind of appreciate the genuinely massive scope of this story and all the moving pieces but at the same time yeah this one wasn’t quite as tight Story wise

takes a little while to get going and part 4 is a little slow

Overall really enjoyed it, though. Great character moments, interesting and surprising but logical world development, some hype stuff at the end. Good stuff

Spoiler Talk:

Spoiler:

Some of the Cosmere stuff (Nightblood) was good some was eh (Azure and they spend way too long in Shadesmar)

The nameless fused vs whoever fights are kind of boring

liked the Venli/Eshonai switch thing (everybody thought Eshonai would be the Parshendi Radient but then no)

Dalinar’s story arc here was just perfect and really satisfying

with luck the Shallan love triangle is gone for good because man those chapters could be cringe

What the fuck happened to Rlain? “Everybody keeps ignoring me”->literally ignored for the rest of the book

Also fuck Moash

[4score7years]

Bonus Spoilers:

Spoiler:

What the heck is Nale doing? Does this have any internal logic, or is he just a lunatic? “Ah yes, this land was the Parshendi’s, something I’ve known for literal thousands of years, and have still constantly done my own thing murdering would-be Radiants, but now that I’m talking about it with Szeth I’m switching over to their side”

for a guy who rambles about following the law the dude switches sides like 4 times

like, did I miss something, or is the last switch just completely insane?

[castor212]

Spoiler:

I guess 4 thousands years of strictly following the land's law change his perspection

I dunno what Ash (or one other Heralsd, forgot which) said that makes him so sure that it would be the Radiants that bring about Desolation, but I guess its like

>in Azir land, follow Azir law
>In Alethkar land, follow Alethi laws
>The true ownser of this land is back, follow their law

or smtg like that? this is just rationalization on my part, im also p confused what exactly brings about him changing sides

[4score7years]

Having finished Oathbringer, my current ranking of all Cosmere books (and a couple of the longer shorts) with a few comments. No Spoilers:

Rankings

The Emperor's Soul (Legit amazing, best thing he's ever written and pretty much standalone)
The Hero of Ages (pretty much perfect ending for Mistborn imo)
Words of Radiance (WoK lays the foundations but the series really starts to shine here, with some of the most satisfying and epic moments in the whole Cosmere at the end)
Oathbringer (Has a few stumbling points, but really amazed me with the scope and depth of the story. Roshar is unbelievably fleshed out and seeing the vast number of story elements interact is incredible to me)
Way of Kings (A bit slow at first and takes some time to get you into the story, but does a good job setting the foundations for the epic story that unfolds after)
The Final Empire (Strong start to Mistborn and a great book in its own right. Kelsier and Vin dynamic is good and the "heist" dynamic works to draw you in)
The Well of Ascension (Good but worst in main MB trilogy, has some slow politicking and such, Zane's edge is silly. Good twists though)
Warbreaker (Cool world, Nightblood is good, Vasher/Denth substory resolution is genius, but not all of the resolutions are as satisfying and the other twists are more hit/miss)
Sixth of Dusk (Main two characters have a great dynamic and the world is genuinely awesome. Probably my fav of the Arcanum Unbounded shorts apart from Emperor’s Soul)
The Alloy of Law (A fun lower-stakes read with some great action and a pretty sweet villain, but this was meant to be standalone, and it kinda shows)
Shadows of Self (AoL's characters can't sustain a full series, worldbuilding starts to feel a little stretched and twists a little less clever imo)
Bands of Mourning (see Shadows of Self, Wayne isn't as funny as Sanderson thinks)
Edgedancer (Lift isn't as funny as Sanderson thinks, and the plot consequences are odd (see earlier Oathbringer spoilers comment))
Elantris (Not bad with some interesting ideas, but it's noticeably less polished, especially character writing. Also the Elantrian twist resolution doesn't really make sense)
Secret History (Don't like the character writing (seems very ooc) or the worldbuilding implications. That's like, the whole thing, so :/)

[castor212]

Was secret history the one where Kelsier

Spoiler:

went ghost mode

[4score7years]

Was secret history the one where Kelsier

Spoiler:

went ghost mode

Spoiler:

yea

very odd book

[castor212]

i find that one absolutely boring lol

[castor212]

Finally got around to read A Dragon of a Different Color

man I love this. the 3rd book before this was amazing and this one stepped it up.

[GundamFSN]

Finished reading a Wrinkle in Time. I realized I'm probably too old to read this, but eh a man has to read regardless. The premise is pretty good, particularly the introduction of three Mrs. The middle part is okay, but finally got somewhat annoyed by the 5 years old kid who is so full of himself. The end part is a pain to read just because how obnoxious the main character became at that point, and then deus ex machina happened to save the day. I was like yeah of course this would happen, huh.

Maybe it'd have been interesting if it had more buildups/backstories or at least a hint of character development, but alas

Guess I'm gonna read Notes from Underground next. Actually hyped for this one so I hope it doesn't disappoint.

[JayEmmanuel]

finished Oathbringer

that was both exhilarating and satisfying of a read.

Especially the last part battle. I practically had a high budget, CGI action packed movie going on in my brain while reading it.

Yeah, but the ending annoyed me a bit.