Tag: book review
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Book Review: A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green
Too often within the SFF genres, the books that we read have pessimistic outlooks on hope and kindness. They frequently portray optimism as foolish at best, danerous at worst; sometimes you’ll read a book that suggests people really would be kind, except that there will always be a few bad eggs that make the rest…
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Wheel of Time Wrap-Up (Spoiler-Free)
It took me almost a year and a half to read the whole series, but I finally finished A Memory of Light, and whoo! What a ride this has been. A pleasurable one, most of the time, but now it’s time for me to answer the question: Was it worth it? Whether you’re deciding if…
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Setting Study: A Song Below Water
The novel A Song Below Water, by Bethany C. Morrow, is a YA urban fantasy story revolving around two young women living in Portland, Oregon. The novel creates lore that takes some liberties with real-world mythos to create a story about race and about being unashamed of one’s identity. The novel’s main allure in regards…
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Book Review: Towers of Midnight (WoT #13) by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
Never once in Towers of Midnight does the story let you forget how close the Last Battle really is. After twelve books that covering roughly two years’ time, full of meanderings as the characters tried and failed to rally, it’s finally time. And I have no doubt it’s going to be epic. But we aren’t…
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Setting Study: Fennbirn from Three Dark Crowns
When it comes to conceptual world-building, Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake did well at integrating various core elements of the setting itself, with a few critical misfires that flubbed the ending. Still, the blend of various magics is unique enough, and its effects on the culture plausible enough, that it sets Fennbirn apart from…
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Book Review: Five Dark Fates (Three Dark Crowns #4) by Kendare Blake
I have been loyally following Kendare Blake’s Three Dark Crowns (TDC) series since Three Dark Crowns (#1) was published in September 2016. As personal preferences go, Three Dark Crowns seemed to be right up my alley; I liked the darker, intense fantasy, especially if it features an interesting magic system. Rating: 3/5 Stars Note: spoiler-free …
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Book Review: The Gathering Storm (WoT #12) by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
The end is drawing near. As the characters are preparing for the impending Last Battle, the narrative grows more intense and the stakes grow higher. The Gathering Storm focuses primarily on Rand al’Thor and Egwene al’Vere as they try to rally their people towards peace and unity; chaos and bloodshed will only provide the Dark…
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Book Review: Supernova (Renegades #3) by Marissa Meyer
I wanted to hurry up and finish the series since Archenemies hadn’t taken me nearly as long to read as I’d worried it would. I’d forgotten how fast YA books tend to read, at least in comparison to the Wheel of Time series. So I pushed through this on my break at work and also…
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Book Review: Archenemies (Renegades #2) by Marissa Meyer
Almost two and a half years ago, only a few months after its publication, I picked up Renegades hoping it would be another Lunar Chronicles. I left that book feeling somewhat disappointed; neither hating it nor loving it, but rather just sort of wishing it had given me something more. I’ve had its sequels, Archenemies…
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Book Review: Knife of Dreams (Wot #11) by Robert Jordan
After the slow-moving narrative of the previous book, Knife of Dreams is all it’s hyped up to be. Many of the plotlines that dragged Crossroads of Twilight are officially brought to a close as everyone steels themselves for the last battle. I’ll talk about the pacing of the overall series below, but first, let’s dive…
Katie Bachelder 