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isabellarobinson7's reviews
723 reviews
Jade War by Fonda Lee
5.0
Rating: 5 stars
I mean, of course it is 5 stars. Of course it was incredible. But was it leaps and bounds ahead of its predecessor, like I was lead to believe...? Mmmm, maybe not quite.
I mean, of course it is 5 stars. Of course it was incredible. But was it leaps and bounds ahead of its predecessor, like I was lead to believe...? Mmmm, maybe not quite.
Jade City by Fonda Lee
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Rating: 5 stars
This is the first real, proper, whole hearted, non-reread-or-franchise-related, five stars I have given out in a long, long time. And man, does it feel good. And MAN, does Jade City deserve it.
I knew it was good from the first few chapters - I was hooked almost straight away by Fonda Lee's vivid descriptions and addicting authorial voice - but then THAT THING happened and my jaw was. On. The. Floor. I did not see that coming. At all. I thought I had a pretty decent idea of what the story was going to be about, the roles each characters would play in the narrative, but I wasn't too mad about the (seeming) predictability because I was really enjoying myself. But then around the 50% mark this one event threw me for a loop and I was just dumbfounded. And we still had half the book left! From that moment on I was well and truly invested in what the book and world had to offer, and was well and truly along for the ride where ever the sequels might go.
And something happened I wasn't actually expecting: I was concerned about the characters. As a largely plot driven reader, I rarely find books where the characters are the main draw-in for me. But the characters in Jade City were so interesting, that I found myself actually wishing that the sequel was more of the same. I just wanted to read about these characters going through in- and external clan strife, and being involved in minor skirmishes, not an actual conflict that would do anything to wider world or story! I know this is a ludicrous demand, (and I knew that when I was making it) as if this actually happened it would probably get old real fast, but that's how absorbed I was by the made up lives of these fake people Fonda Lee was creating with her mind.
It was strange for me, because I related very specifically, but also very differently to all three of the main Kaul siblings. Impulsiveness has, like Hilo, often been sited by others as one of my defining characteristics; but Shae's trepidation when it comes to responsibility, and her running away to just study like a default mechanism... mmmm, I felt that on a personal level. I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion or not, but while I enjoyed reading about Hilo and Shae, the character I initially latched onto was Lan. Maybe it's because I am also the eldest child, but I was rooting for him. In whatever he was doing, I wanted him to succeed. With all of them, I was deeply invested in their lives and actions, so when that spoilery thing happened (of which I will not disclose any further details) which greatly impacted all the characters' trajectories, I felt that. And the implications of this event... oooooooooo I can't wait to find out more.
I finished the second half of Jade City so fast, I don't have the greatest grasp on the pacing of that part of the story, because my own pacing (as such) was so out of whack that I couldn't hope to keep track of the passing of in-world time. I forgot that events were happening days apart for the characters, because to me it was only hours. I may have also been binging it as an escape to real world problems... but no psychoanalysis today thank you.
Upon finishing Jade City, I think I lasted about an hour and a half before running to grab Jade War from the library and starting it. Now I'm a quarter of the way through it. I'm really patient like that.
This is the first real, proper, whole hearted, non-reread-or-franchise-related, five stars I have given out in a long, long time. And man, does it feel good. And MAN, does Jade City deserve it.
I knew it was good from the first few chapters - I was hooked almost straight away by Fonda Lee's vivid descriptions and addicting authorial voice - but then THAT THING happened and my jaw was. On. The. Floor. I did not see that coming. At all. I thought I had a pretty decent idea of what the story was going to be about, the roles each characters would play in the narrative, but I wasn't too mad about the (seeming) predictability because I was really enjoying myself. But then around the 50% mark this one event threw me for a loop and I was just dumbfounded. And we still had half the book left! From that moment on I was well and truly invested in what the book and world had to offer, and was well and truly along for the ride where ever the sequels might go.
And something happened I wasn't actually expecting: I was concerned about the characters. As a largely plot driven reader, I rarely find books where the characters are the main draw-in for me. But the characters in Jade City were so interesting, that I found myself actually wishing that the sequel was more of the same. I just wanted to read about these characters going through in- and external clan strife, and being involved in minor skirmishes, not an actual conflict that would do anything to wider world or story! I know this is a ludicrous demand, (and I knew that when I was making it) as if this actually happened it would probably get old real fast, but that's how absorbed I was by the made up lives of these fake people Fonda Lee was creating with her mind.
It was strange for me, because I related very specifically, but also very differently to all three of the main Kaul siblings. Impulsiveness has, like Hilo, often been sited by others as one of my defining characteristics; but Shae's trepidation when it comes to responsibility, and her running away to just study like a default mechanism... mmmm, I felt that on a personal level. I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion or not, but while I enjoyed reading about Hilo and Shae, the character I initially latched onto was Lan. Maybe it's because I am also the eldest child, but I was rooting for him. In whatever he was doing, I wanted him to succeed. With all of them, I was deeply invested in their lives and actions, so when that spoilery thing happened (of which I will not disclose any further details) which greatly impacted all the characters' trajectories, I felt that. And the implications of this event... oooooooooo I can't wait to find out more.
I finished the second half of Jade City so fast, I don't have the greatest grasp on the pacing of that part of the story, because my own pacing (as such) was so out of whack that I couldn't hope to keep track of the passing of in-world time. I forgot that events were happening days apart for the characters, because to me it was only hours. I may have also been binging it as an escape to real world problems... but no psychoanalysis today thank you.
Upon finishing Jade City, I think I lasted about an hour and a half before running to grab Jade War from the library and starting it. Now I'm a quarter of the way through it. I'm really patient like that.
Empire of Silence by Christopher Ruocchio
adventurous
slow-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Rating: 3 stars
Man, that beginning was so great. It had everything I wanted from The Name of the Wind - an old, washed-up hero telling his story, but in a sci fi setting and overall just... better. I was invested in the world, the power dynamics and (kind of) the characters. But then we did the same thing. Again. And again. And I got bored. It got so repetitive, that even though I quite enjoyed the first few repeats, I learned you really can have too much of a good thing, because it really grated on me the third and fourth time we ended up doing the same thing again.
I knew these books existed before they seemed to blow up online in the past year because they have been stocked at my tiny library for years now (who knew, but it was actually ahead of the trends for once), so I had pretty high expectations going in, and while the beginning was very promising, the rest was a real let down.
Man, that beginning was so great. It had everything I wanted from The Name of the Wind - an old, washed-up hero telling his story, but in a sci fi setting and overall just... better. I was invested in the world, the power dynamics and (kind of) the characters. But then we did the same thing. Again. And again. And I got bored. It got so repetitive, that even though I quite enjoyed the first few repeats, I learned you really can have too much of a good thing, because it really grated on me the third and fourth time we ended up doing the same thing again.
I knew these books existed before they seemed to blow up online in the past year because they have been stocked at my tiny library for years now (who knew, but it was actually ahead of the trends for once), so I had pretty high expectations going in, and while the beginning was very promising, the rest was a real let down.
Dragonsteel Prime by Brandon Sanderson
He goes on to explain how the book never seemed to "click together" for him and he ended up largely abandoning it. Instead he more or less scrapped Dragonsteel for parts, taking out chunks of ideas that he fixed and adapted to fit other works that did succeed in getting published.
And in a similar vein to this book, the ending of this review will be lacklustre and abrupt, because everything I want to say I have said, and I have no concluding thoughts.
adventurous
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
Rating: 3 stars
My decision to read this book was almost 100% due to Michael Kramer and Kate Reading's narration. I was uploading the e- and audiobooks to my laptop in order to transfer them to my phone so I could read them (does anyone actually read on their laptop/computer) and when the audiobook finished uploading, it just started to play. I'm not exaggerating when I say I heard Michael Kramer coming out of the speakers and thought, "whelp, I can't stop him now. I guess I'm reading this book." I mean, who am I to switch off Michael Kramer?
Dragonsteel Prime had some good ideas character-wise and thematically, but Sanderson just did not have the skill to execute them in a way that draws readers in, like he does now. I read another one of the "Sanderson Curiosities" a few years ago, The Way of Kings Prime, and most of the criticisms I brought up in my review for that book translate to this one. The characters have none of the complexities that Sanderson is known for, and because of that, if this book had been traditionally published before his other works, I don't think we would have latched on to the characters like we now do.
The same goes for his early plot work. The beginnings of great stories are there in both Dragonsteel Prime and The Way of Kings Prime, but they are really just parts of the design process that lead to us getting the cannon The Way of Kings. In that way, I feel like I read the development of The Stormlight Archive backwards, going from the regular published The Way of Kings, to the prime version, to even earlier in the story's evolution with Dragonsteel Prime. Reading in the opposite direction to the author writing is an interesting experience. There are sections from Dragonsteel Prime that are obviously ripped out and refined before being included in later works, (the idea of the Shattered Plains is just too good a concept for the way it was utilised here) but there are other, more subtle ways this book has helped Sanderson become the author he is today. Some of those ways are probably only known to him.
The best part of Dragonsteel Prime was Hoid/Wit, or Topaz/Cephandrius, as he is called in this book. Reading those sections truly felt like I was reading modern Sanderson writing. Even if the characterisation of the rest of the cast was a bit bland, (Jerick in particular) the charm and, well, wit of Hoid/Topaz/Cephandrius (crikey man, pick a name) was timeless and evidently was something that came naturally to Sanderson early in his career.
Surprisingly for a Sanderson, the ending was the weakest part. The "twist" was obvious from a mile away, and there was no satisfying outer conflict resolution to make up for the severe lack of nuanced inner turmoil. What I am trying to say in so many words, is that the emotional beats Sanderson is known for were certainly no where near as strong as they are now, and there was no Sanderlanche in sight. I know at the time, Sanderson intended for this book to be the start of the series that would become his magnum opus, as he says in the introduction:
My decision to read this book was almost 100% due to Michael Kramer and Kate Reading's narration. I was uploading the e- and audiobooks to my laptop in order to transfer them to my phone so I could read them (does anyone actually read on their laptop/computer) and when the audiobook finished uploading, it just started to play. I'm not exaggerating when I say I heard Michael Kramer coming out of the speakers and thought, "whelp, I can't stop him now. I guess I'm reading this book." I mean, who am I to switch off Michael Kramer?
Dragonsteel Prime had some good ideas character-wise and thematically, but Sanderson just did not have the skill to execute them in a way that draws readers in, like he does now. I read another one of the "Sanderson Curiosities" a few years ago, The Way of Kings Prime, and most of the criticisms I brought up in my review for that book translate to this one. The characters have none of the complexities that Sanderson is known for, and because of that, if this book had been traditionally published before his other works, I don't think we would have latched on to the characters like we now do.
The same goes for his early plot work. The beginnings of great stories are there in both Dragonsteel Prime and The Way of Kings Prime, but they are really just parts of the design process that lead to us getting the cannon The Way of Kings. In that way, I feel like I read the development of The Stormlight Archive backwards, going from the regular published The Way of Kings, to the prime version, to even earlier in the story's evolution with Dragonsteel Prime. Reading in the opposite direction to the author writing is an interesting experience. There are sections from Dragonsteel Prime that are obviously ripped out and refined before being included in later works, (the idea of the Shattered Plains is just too good a concept for the way it was utilised here) but there are other, more subtle ways this book has helped Sanderson become the author he is today. Some of those ways are probably only known to him.
The best part of Dragonsteel Prime was Hoid/Wit, or Topaz/Cephandrius, as he is called in this book. Reading those sections truly felt like I was reading modern Sanderson writing. Even if the characterisation of the rest of the cast was a bit bland, (Jerick in particular) the charm and, well, wit of Hoid/Topaz/Cephandrius (crikey man, pick a name) was timeless and evidently was something that came naturally to Sanderson early in his career.
Surprisingly for a Sanderson, the ending was the weakest part. The "twist" was obvious from a mile away, and there was no satisfying outer conflict resolution to make up for the severe lack of nuanced inner turmoil. What I am trying to say in so many words, is that the emotional beats Sanderson is known for were certainly no where near as strong as they are now, and there was no Sanderlanche in sight. I know at the time, Sanderson intended for this book to be the start of the series that would become his magnum opus, as he says in the introduction:
"In 1999, [...] it was time to do my “big” fantasy. The book that would launch my big series. My Wheel of Time, Lord of the Rings, or Dragonriders of Pern. The work I was confident some day, everyone would know me for.
That never happened."
He goes on to explain how the book never seemed to "click together" for him and he ended up largely abandoning it. Instead he more or less scrapped Dragonsteel for parts, taking out chunks of ideas that he fixed and adapted to fit other works that did succeed in getting published.
And in a similar vein to this book, the ending of this review will be lacklustre and abrupt, because everything I want to say I have said, and I have no concluding thoughts.
American Prometheus: The Triumph and Tragedy of J. Robert Oppenheimer by Martin J. Sherwin, Kai Bird, Kai Bird
challenging
tense
slow-paced
4.0
Rating: 4 stars
You know, there was a time when knowing the name of the father of the atomic bomb would get me some rather impressed looks during my habitual "did you know?" section of every conversation. Damn you, Christopher Nolan. You took away my fact and made it into common knowledge. I hate it when they do that. Now I have to go find some other obscure piece of information to wow people at parties.
You know, there was a time when knowing the name of the father of the atomic bomb would get me some rather impressed looks during my habitual "did you know?" section of every conversation. Damn you, Christopher Nolan. You took away my fact and made it into common knowledge. I hate it when they do that. Now I have to go find some other obscure piece of information to wow people at parties.
Doctor Who and the Web of Fear by Terrance Dicks
4.0
Rating: 4 stars
Maybe four stars is too much, but this was honestly just what I needed at just the right time. When I finished it, I had half a mind to turn around and start it again.
Maybe four stars is too much, but this was honestly just what I needed at just the right time. When I finished it, I had half a mind to turn around and start it again.
Making It So by Patrick Stewart
4.0
Rating: 4 stars
I don't often read memoirs, but who am I to say no to Jean-Luc Picard? (And yes, Picard>Kirk. Sorry, I don't make the rules.)
I don't often read memoirs, but who am I to say no to Jean-Luc Picard? (And yes, Picard>Kirk. Sorry, I don't make the rules.)