Review goes here

Review goes here

Cried at Itkovian's death, and if you don't, I fundamentally don't understand you as a human.

Review goes here

Review goes here

Review goes here

Review goes here

Cried at Anomander's sacrifice. RIP my king.

Review goes here

Review goes here

Review goes here

Review goes here

Review goes here

Review goes here

Review goes here

Review goes here

Review goes here

Review goes here

Review goes here

Cried when Dalinar relapses into alcoholism and retreats to his room, and also when he's drunk in a flashback and Renarin comes to him. As somebody who can relate to those scenes, it hit me hard in the best way. Also cried tears of joy at the climax where Dalinar rebukes Odium.

Unfortunately, one of the worst fall-offs in series quality I've seen in a long time. Partially, this can be attributed to two of my favorite characters being sidelined (Dalinar and Szeth). However, I don't think that's the main issue-- the main issue is the overfocus on lore and exposition in Navani's plot arc, to the exclusion of almost everything else. And I'm a person who Likes lore and worldbuilding! I read the Coppermind for fun! Kaladin's arc was also strangely repetitive, in a seemingly conscious fashion. I was excited at the beginning to see him forsake his life as a soldier and move into life as a sort of advocate for soldiers suffering PTSD, but the quick rollback of that plotline really disappointed me in favor of returning to his Words of Radiance character arc, just even bleaker. Shallan and Adolin had an okay arc in Shadesmar, and I did like the actual progress that was made in Shallan's character overcoming her DID, but I noticed the prose especially in those sections just felt... sophomoric, and Shallan felt unlikeable in a way that I don't know. Maybe on a reread I would think differently, but I suffered through most of the novel. Moreover, the Sanderlanche at the end failed to manifest. Dalinar fighting Ishi was suitably epic, but it barely featured, and Kaladin saying the words... again... felt like an almost sad effort at intentionally echoing past glory.

Review goes here

A somewhat slow start to the series, which plays into many of the traditional fantasy tropes. It's also strangely detached from the subsequent books and required some soft retconning to make sense. Still, it's solidly written standard epic fantasy fare, and unlike some of the later novels, avoids getting bogged down in plot snarls and/or excessive character work with unlikeable characters.

The real turnaround of the series, right before leaping into the Sanderson-written ending trilogy.

In my opinion, the definitive ending novel for an epic fantasy series. This is the book that should be held up as an example for Rothfuss and Martin and even Sanderson himself when they're working on the ends of their own series. It masterfully ties together pretty much every single open thread throughout the sprawling series, calls back plot point after plot point without feeling fanservicey, and manages to have a single battle take up the majority of the novel without ever dragging. Makes the entire series worth it all on its own. There are so many Crowning Moments of Awesome in this book that it's basically impossible to resist reading in one sitting.

Definitively the best book I've ever written. I genuinely think that every single person on the planet earth would love this book if they read it. Cried at Kvothe's parents,

The scene when Kvothe kills the fake Edema Ruh is one of the most viscerally affective pieces of writing I have ever read ever. The scene of him laying awake at night, worried about what he's done, then having to comfort one of the girls who was raped and concluding with Sometimes, I think of [the men I killed] and smile will probably always be permanently lodged in my memory.

I can't say this rating is like, an objective recommendation, but the book did appeal to me. It's more poetry than prose, but there are still singular beautiful moments. Also, I have a signed copy.

I'm not entirely sure why this book is looked upon so relatively unfavorably compared to the first in the series. I enjoyed it just as much, if not more. The harebrained schemes are back, the banter is back, and the past-frame-story is probably the best in any of the books. I hesitate to say that the negative reception is due to a strong female character, but... well.

I distinctly remember sitting in an armchair in my living room, reading this book on my Kindle, getting to the Red Wedding, and looking at him open-mouthed in absolute disbelief. Plot twists are sometimes overrated, but wow this one landed. It really is just that incredible. It's too bad about the next two books.

Might be lower. The sheer pointlessness of the Quentyn plotline is almost offensive. Also, if you're not rooting for f!Aegon, you're stupid.

The Drizzt series might be the single most important series in how my eventual taste in fantasy developed. It was most of what I read for a long time, and I still really like it (particularly the Entreri books).

The Entreri and Jarlaxe sub-trilogy is really, really, genuinely good.

Fun fact: this is the first book of the series that I read! The whole Transitions series is really good.

At the end when Cattie-Brie and Regis die.

Not only did the ending of this book make me cry, it gave me a whole existential breakdown for the first time in my young life.

This book just has, like, an unique aesthetic, unearthly quality that elevates it beyond any easily descibable details. A must-read, and I have a feeling on a re-read I might rank it higher.

I genuinely don't remember reading this, but two stars is what I have down.

The quest-travel section drags a bit, sadly.

The passages following the Bloody-Nine in the battles of the north are some of the most bone-chillingly badass/terrifying descriptions ever put on paper, and the fight with the Feared is worth reading the entire series for.

The series starts slow, as its main strength is the absolutely devastating emotional blows that are delivered via long-term character work, but it's very worth it.

A disclaimer: I have not suffered sexual assault and I was socialized as a man. For that reason, while the rape scene in this book was extremely disturbing to me, I don't think it affected me as viscerally as it does some, and I entirely understand anybody who finds this novel unreadable because of it. To me, though, it's delivered in a way that makes sense for the story, and it serves a purpose. That is acceptable to me, though again, I understand if it's not for some people. Kennit is one of the most complex characters I have read, and seems to me to be more of a deconstruction of the "charming rogue" trope than anything else. He is a horrific person, which is hammered home by the aforementioned scene, and yet everything about how the narrative is framed outside of his perspective makes you Want to like him. It makes you want to believe he's going to get his redemption, that he's not actually rotten to his core. But he is. He could not overcome his trauma. Despite everything, the world would be better if he had burned to death on the decks of Paragon.

Nighteyes :(

Such an interesting direction for the series, and yet it's handled impeccably. Most of the novel is genuinely just a depiction of Fitz's domestic life, and it's still super interesting. Granted, I think part of that is that you've been with this dude for six books at this point.

I bought this book in my childhood comfort Barnes and Noble the night that I learned that my best friend had killed herself. For that reason, any review I can write will be far from objective. Still, the end of this book, and this series, brought me to bittersweet, cathartic tears on a picnic blanket in the park. Saying goodbye to Fitz and the Fool felt like saying goodbye to a part of myself-- but a part that had lived a good life, and knew it was time to go.

This entire is really the beans and rice of modern, Sanderson-inspired epic fantasy. For what it is, it's fine. It just doesn't really reach above its station. Feels more like content than art.

There is something about Glen Cook's prose that just grounds you in the world. The Black Company reads like you're sitting across the table from Croaker, sharing a drink, and hearing his fucked-up war stories. The almost blasé tone the narration takes intentionally undercuts the insanity of the story to wonderful, unique effect, and I genuinely believe any prospective writer of fiction should study it.

Confusing, obtuse, yet fun to dig into.

One of the best books I've ever read. The prose is stunning, the plot is engaging, the characters are likeable and hateable, often at the same time, and the worldbuilding is on the top tier of all fantasy. To top it off, Dickinson handles themes of colonialism, imperialism, eugenics, capitalism, diversity, and fighting against hegemonic systems with a clarity that make many much more mainstream works seem facile.

A nearly Stormlight-level drop in quality, though because of the sheer incredibleness of the first novel, still manages to be good. I think it gets away from what the first novel did well in search of variety, which is respectable, but it also meanders overmuch in that search. Maybe tries to do too much different at once. The description of the Mbo and its interactions with the Masquerade are just as fascinating as anything from the first novel, though.

This series can entertain you as long as you don't notice the psuedo-fascist right libertarian overtones and you can handle how horny it is. The first books are better than the rest.

Very cool concept! Don't remember much of this book, but the conceit stuck in my mind.

There's something with a chicken, I think.

An incredible central conceit combines with well-realized characters and some of the best worldbuilding I've ever read to produce a truly fantastic novel. The only thing that keeps it from reaching four stars is that the there are parts of the book that I wish got more time-- not to the expense of anything else, but maybe just adding extra length? Like, more time in the academy would be super cool, but maybe I'm just a sucker for that setting. I guess I should read the Magicians, huh?

One of the greatest fantasy titles of all time. Seriously. The book's good too, but wow, that title.

Cried at the end with Essun's revival by Hoa.

Unique pseudo-steampunk fare with almost new-weird esque worldbuilding, unfortunately held down by weak prose and/or pacing and/or something that I can't identify. Just lacks a certain je ne sais quoi. Notable for having a married man as a protagonist, which isn't super common!

Grimdark Harry Potter in a very thinly veiled pastiche of turn-of-the-century China. So thinly veiled that it's almost distracting at times, and I almost wonder why it's not just alternative history fiction.

Super interested in reading. I'm so ready for Mao Zedong's Communist Revolution: Fantasy Grimdark Edition.

Truly infuriating that this book ruins the title scheme of the other five. I don't remember reading these, honestly, but these are the ratings I have down!

The change in setting was awesome! Wish it stayed there.

Literally did not read most of this book. A rare zero stars. Maybe it would be better on reread, but I did not enjoy it the first time through.

The short stories are okay, but the mainline books are incredible.

Looking forward to reading the rest!

A book that has stuck with me despite being kind of bog-standard licensed fiction fare. Takes all the best parts of the Warhammer setting and spins an incredible story out of it. It's been a long time, but I could still tell you the basic plot beats and how it made me feel, which is a sign of a well-written book!

This book was either too complicated for my preteen mind or just obtuse, because I read it like three times and still never knew what was happening. I lean towards the latter explanation.

Did not interest me enough to want to read the rest.

An extremely unique novel, but one that I hope gets some company soon! It's like steampunk slash fantasy slash regency diplomacy slash fantasy of manners, or more succinctly, Girl Genius meets Machiavelli. An extraordinarily likeable protagonist helps gloss over a lot of the flaws of the story. Has more complicated names than Dostoevsky. If you're bothered by not knowing who people are, it might be a good idea to keep a notepad to write names down.

Lost me somewhere in the middle because of the sheer bleakness of it all, but it's a defining piece of internet-age fiction. I'd almost go as far as to call it essential reading.

Pretty good, but it's just so fucking long. Can't wait until Wildbow's writing gets edited down into actually readable forms.

Very fun to read in the first half, then has one of the absolute worst endings of all time, featuring probably the Worst sex scene of all time. At least Sam and Gilly was consensual and not pedophilic. The first half still manages to buoy it to a good rating!

Interesting first part, enjoyed reading about Alan Turing's gay adventures, terrible ending. Actually one of the worst endings ever. No points for noticing a trend with Stephenson's books.

Great central conceit, makes metaphysics critical to the plot and interesting, likeable characters, fun mystery-- and an ending that's actually satisfying and makes sense! The best of Stephenson, in my opinion.

Very strange misogynistic undertones (I hesitate to call them undertones). Also, bad. Still some cool concepts though.

Still has a lot of interesting parts, but there's a lot of chaff too. Losing the charm of the Canterbury Tales homage doesn't help either.

I've heard there's a huge drop in quality after the first two books, and they also get very islamophobic. Probably won't read them unless they drop into my lap.

Absolutely incredible central conceit. The idea of this sprawling empire ruled by a game is fascinating to me! As a player of games and game developer myself, I almost wish that the book went into more detail about the titular game, but I recognize that it wasn't needed for the narrative. My introduction to the Culture left me wanting to read more.

Half sci-fi adventure, half "science fiction of manners". Like Star Trek but only the parts where Picard uses the strength of reason to communicate with alien civilizations.

Even MORE science fiction of manners. It's definitely on the literary side of scifi, whatever that means.

Even MORE!!! science fiction of manners. If you like it, it's here!

A good book featuring a sadly unique protagonist for science fiction-- a middle aged woman.

The change in focus to political wrangling and boots-on-the-ground adventure, while still centering the powerful, likeable protagonist from the prior book, bumps Barrayer up in quality compared to its predecessor.

Horus is such a fucking stupid, unbelievable, Saturday morning cartoon villian that it spikes a lot of the story down. It's a shame because he's written so well in the prior book.

I have a weakness for nerds in space.

Fulgrim is so stupid it's painful.

Just uninteresting.

Get up.

My experience of reading this was as one novel, so that's how I'm going to rate them. Great books! ADB is my favorite writer working in the Black Library space.

Existentially terrifiyng.

I can't say I really understand the hype, but maybe it's a Seinfield Isn't Funny situation.

Before I am crucified and burned at the stake, possibly at the same time: I really need to reread Dune. The first half of the book was incredible, but the part immediately after the timeskip lost me so hard that it impacted my overall enjoyment of the novel. Still, I was super young when I read the book, so I feel like maybe on a second take my opinion would change.

Better than the movie! Granted, I don't like movies.

Fun fact: I started the series with this book. I didn't even notice.

Fun fact: As a kid, I pronounced Number 1's name "knee-zero-one".

This book is terrible.

A very cute framing device (that doesn't make any sense) fails to save a depressingly uninspired final book.

These books are just genuinely good, dude.

NICOOOOOOOOOOOO

Nico Di'Angelo turned me GAYYYYYYYYY

These books are ALSO just genuinely good, dude.

Fun fact: I once wrote a respect thread for Nico on reddit. You can find it here! I cried when Nico reveals he's had a crush on Percy. This book singlehandedly made me realize the importance of representation in popular media.

Doesn't stick the landing :(

Never read the rest!

I am ignoring how horrible Rowling is as a person in these ratings. I can't really advise actually buying these books because of that, but they were still very important to me. Harry Potter was the series that got me into reading at all-- before, I thought it was supremely nerdy and uncool. It literally shaped who I am now. I wish she wasn't so awful. (Also, I have a distaste for people hanging large parts of their self-identity of their fandom for these books. But I don't like to yuck other people's yums, so I will say no more.)

Probably the second or third most impactful series in terms of how it affected my eventual taste in books.

Fun fact: When I was like, eight years old, I participated in a Ranger's Apprentice roleplay board in very broken English. Probably helped mold me into wanting to be a writer!

This book is super dark for a children's novel. The protagonist gets addicted to fantasy!heroin. What the fuck?

Reepicheep :)

One of the most impactful books in my development as a reader! Also, I think this series is way too maligned for being a Star Wars ripoff. Like, yes, it is, but what's wrong with that? Fantasy Star Wars with dragons and a cool magic system is sick.

Roran steals the show.

In the words of NBC's Tim Daggett, flies high and sticks the landing. Impressive.

This gets four stars for being probably the best young adult fantasy novel I've ever read. Read it!! Two of the best protagonists in all of fantasy lit, excellent humor, and really compelling alt-history worldbuilding.

I want to go to Prague just because of this book.

Cried at the end :( We hardly knew ye

Really want to read this!

The weird puberty parallel at the end is weird, but it does make sense. I did not cry at Pan and Lyra separating, though I know a lot of people did.

I only read this one! It was okay.

The second book in the Guardians of Ga'Hoole spinoff series Wolves of the Beyond, which I won in a sixth-grade book giveaway.

I think this is the third book in the series, but it's the only one I read!

Fun fact: I started reading with this book!

Highly recommend! One of the boldest endings I've read, and a truly fascinating setting.

Does something super interesting where it seems like it's going to be a new weird, magical realism style police procedural, then it seems like it's going to be like a full-out urban fantasy police procedural, and then it's revealed that really there's no magic, it's all sociology and bueauracracy. A real journey.

Really good! Might be four stars just because of how unique it is. There's nothing else like it.

Confusing. Might be better, might be worse. I don't think this particular book rhymed with my heart, but I respect the effort.

This book really upset tiny Evan because it gets so weird out of nowhere.

For a book written for teenagers, has a very remarkable ending.

Gives one of the most thrilling, historically important events of all time the dramatic flair it deserves.

Too academic for my tastes, but well-written for its kind.

Repetitive, without breaking any new ground.

A good examination of an extremely critical period in American history.

Not too academic, but still dense. Not afraid to take a view on history. Recommended!

Okay, but didn't go in nearly as much detail as I would have wanted, and when it did go in detail, it wasn't presented very well. I get the sense the author wasn't comfortable with the subject matter.

This book did not rhyme with me, but I respect it nonetheless. Perhaps it's because I hate running.