Oathbringer

Oh Brandon, you wonderful man, you. My favorite author is back with the third book is his epic fantasy series The Stormlight Archive. The first two books of the series, Way of Kings and Words of Radiance are two of the highest rated books on Goodreads and for good reason (no pun intended). I’ve read those 1,000+ page monsters several times, I love them so much. If you haven’t read them yet, go see my reviews for them here, or just go ahead and sprint to your nearest reading device, download it, start reading it immediately and don’t stop until you’re done. Either one of those would be good. But whichever you choose, stop reading this review now. For those of you have read the first two and somehow haven’t read Oathbringer yet, please proceed…

In this installment of The Stormlight Archive, we follow everyone’s favorite code-following, stone-faced general, Dalinar Kholin. When I read The Way of Kings the first time, I was probably most interested in Kaladin’s story. Not only because he was the center of the magical aspects of the book, but because he was the focus of the first book. The second time around, however, I found that Dalinar was more interesting to me than anyone else. In Oathbringer we finally get to read about Dalinar’s story and to me, it was the strongest part of the book. As always, Sanderson delivers on plot progression, surprises, action, and world-building, but I don’t think he’s ever quite succeeded so strongly in character development like he has with Dalinar Kholin. If you’re a fan of Dalinar like I am, then this book will leave you very thoughtful. I realize that’s vague, but I really don’t want to give anything away.

If you like the first two books of the series, then you will very likely enjoy this third installment. I’m hesitant to say it’s my favorite of the three, though I would definitely lean towards saying that it was. I loved this book and enjoyed every one of its 1,234 pages. I probably could have rated this before I picked it up, but easy five star for me. This series is the one I will anticipate most over the coming years.

Seven Surrenders

Seven Surrenders is the second book in the Terra Ignota series. Too Like the Lightning is the first book in the series, so definitely check out that review first. You can find it here. If you’ve already read Too Like the Lightning, please proceed…

If you enjoyed Too Like the Lightning (which is a very big if, I’ve found), then you will absolutely enjoy Seven Surrenders. The story picks up right where it left off and, like the first book, takes place over a matter of days (this is not the case for book three, by the way). Knowing that there are four books in this series, book two does an excellent job of progressing the plot. A lot of important stuff happens in this volume and it makes it exciting and fun. This is important because the Terra Ignota series isn’t really action-packed, but is more philosophical and intellectual.

I’d like to say book three, The Will to Battle, was my least favorite of the three and is different from books one and two in its presentation and progression. However, I will no doubt be finishing the series when book four is released.

As a final reminder, Seven Surrenders is very much like Too Like the Lightning in its themes and style. Ada Palmer has even said that if the series is four books, it would be appropriate to categorize the series into two halves (books one and two being together and books three and four being together).

An Echo of Things to Come

An Echo of Things to Come is James Islington’s second book in the Licanus Trilogy and I would best describe it as a complicated, thoughtful, for-adults fantasy novel. For those who haven’t read the first book in the series, it takes place in a world in which some people have powers with “Essence” which they can attack, heal, and shield themselves with. After a period in which this group abused their powers, the “Gifted” are now controlled by the reigning Kingdom. However, the story truly follows the very few who have an entirely different and expontellialy more potent type of power: “Khan”. These “Augers” can live for thousands of years, heal automatically, control people’s thoughts, see the future, can manipulate time itself, and much more, depending on the Auger.

            Overall, I really like this series. The way Islington uses time in his storytelling is extremely impressive. The characters live for thousands of years and a select few can move through time, which Islington uses for complex foreshadowing, character development, conflict, and other plot devices. Time travel can sometimes be tricky, but he pulls it off in such an interesting and fun way.

            The other aspect of this book that I like is that it follows characters who are so old and complex. It probes deeply at questions of morality and friendship. I personally like that sort of thing. I definitely have a bit of a philosopher inside me and like pondering these sorts of questions. Not everyone does. If you don’t, then you probably won’t get as much out of this book. That’s not say that you won’t like it, though. I think the pacing is pretty great and it’s definitely a page-turner, even with three different, alternating persepctives throughout the book.

            Like I said at the beginning, this book is for people who like thoughtful, darker fantasy. If you read the first book and enjoyed it, then you will absolutely enjoy this one as well. For me this is a somewhat reluctant four stars, edging closer to 3.5 then 4.5. That being said, I intend to pick up the third book as soon as it’s released.

I was a bit surprised at the somewhat lower rating statistics for Andy Weir’s second book. The Martian was absurdly popular and for good reason. It was hilarious, exciting, and technically smart without being too dense. I found Artemis to be of the same ilk, if not quite as good as The Martian. It takes place on the Moon’s first colony named… you guessed it, Artemis.

We discover the colony through a young smuggler named Jazz, who finds her small-time crimes escalated into something more serious because of a desire to get rich. She’s very funny and down to Earth (no pun intended), much like Mark Watney was in the Martian. For those of you interested in the audio book, it is narrated by actress Rosario Dawson, who does a seriously incredible job of making Jazz come to life. 

This is no epic read that looks into the big picture of things. It’s a contained story about crime and life on the moon. It’s a fun read that is entertaining and not terribly long (320 pages). Perhaps not quite as funny or exciting as The Martian, but very similar in tone and style.  

Let’s get one thing straight, I DO NOT like the title of this book. If you’re hesitant because of it, though, pump the brakes. This was an extremely good fantasy book that was full of powerful emotions, rich descriptions, and excellent writing. It takes place in a world where the realm of some or another kingdom is beset by ‘the possessed,’ or the reanimated dead that are controlled by demons of hell. The pure evil of the antagonists allows Peter A. Flannery to write beautifully about the major themes of the book: hope, perseverance, courage, and fear. Not only that, but the characters are very likeable and believable and the plot progression is very tight (no rambling, excessive scenes, etc…).   

I’ll expand a little more about the universe for those who are still interested. The demons that control the possessed can only be stopped by battle mages, rare individuals who can perform magic quickly and can shield the armies of men and women from the overwhelming fear that the demons exude. This information is presented at the very beginning of the book, btw. The main character, Dante Falco, is great and Flannery does an incredible job of making you care about him. This book gets a solid four stars from me and I would read the sequel if one came out (the way it ended made me think that it could be either a series or a standalone).