Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (1160)

Content

Alice (12 KP) rated Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection in Books

Jul 3, 2018

Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection

Brandon Sanderson | 2016 | Fiction & Poetry, Science Fiction/Fantasy

9.5

(2 Ratings)

Book Rating

<i>My thanks to the publisher for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review</i>

Arcanum Unbounded is an anthology of classic and epic proportions from a true Fantasy genius which was full to the brim of Brandon Sanderson’s Cosmere universe. The book followed characters we all know and love and plenty of new characters to fall for – Dusk, I’m looking at you.

The book is divided up into “systems” with a neat little explanation as to the layout of each system; which is then related to a specific setting from the Cosmere – Elantris, Mistborn, Threnody, First of the Sun and a previously unnamed and unpublished Stormlight Archive novella.

Oodles of Cosmere.

I don’t want to go into too much detail about the individual shorts for those of you who have not read any the related systems books – (you have to!) – but each story gave a wonderful insight into the characters points of view and their unique history.

My favorites of this anthology would have to be The Emperor’s Soul, Sixth of the Dusk and Edgedancer. They each brought a little something special to this book – Emperor’s Soul took me right back to Elantris, the first ever Sanderson book I read and still my favorite to this day; Sixth of the Dusk had this overwhelming silence to it even when the characters involved were speaking (though this was few and far between in fairness) and this silence across the characters when Brandon’s characters usually talk so much was brilliantly done.

Edgedancer was a book in The Stormlight Archive system, though I’m slightly ashamed to admit I haven’t read all of The Stormlight Archive books yet, but I have them and this gave spoilers into The Words of Radiance (book 2 of the series so far) these spoilers are not really spoilers to me, maybe once I’ve read Radiance it will make a difference but my first read through made no spoilery difference to me.

Each individual short in the system was preceded by a little spoiler warning if there would be one, or a note stating where in the story arc it falls and was then followed by a sweet little Postscript from Brandon – each one tailor made for its preceding event; the best postscript was for The Hope of Elantris but I won’t give anything away, you had to read it.

Overall, Arcanum Unbounded is a perfect book to dive into Brandon Sanderson’s work as few of the stories in it actually need to be read before the main story – Mistborn: A Secret History, The Hope of Elantris, Edgedancer for definite. If you’re looking for a new fantasy author to sink your teeth into Brandon Sanderson is your man.

Kudos

graveyardgremlin (7194 KP) rated Every House is Haunted in Books

Feb 15, 2019

Standouts:
Cabin D - Intriguing beginning gave way to fascinating ending.
The Nanny - This just made for a neat ghost story.
The Cat - I could use a cat like this, but I don't know if I'd survive.
Charlotte's Frequency - Creepy and weird. Me likey. After reading, I wondered who'd win in a Cat vs. Charlotte battle. <spoiler>I vote for draw, or else they team up and annihilate humanity. That's probably more likely.</spoiler>
The Tattletail - Kinda cute, actually.
Inheritor - I kinda saw where this was headed but it still made for a darned good yarn.
The Candle - Appropriately creepy and a good book ender although I'm not exactly sure what the heck happened.

Ho-hum
Autumnology - I get it, but I think I'd get it more when I'm an old geezer. Physically, not just in mind.
The Dark and the Young - This was just too long and explained things too much but with little point.
Woods - I liked the thought behind this but the ending just didn't do anything for me.
Relaxed Best - In a different anthology, I might have liked this better as I like noir, but I just didn't care for where it went.
Twillingate - Meh.

All the rest of the tales fell somewhere in between awesome and meh, but even in the Ho-hum category, I didn't actually hate any of the stories.
3.5 stars

Kudos

Kevin Wilson (179 KP) rated The Haunting of Hill House in TV

Nov 8, 2018

Beautifully and cleverly written (3 more)

Amazing cast

Amazing acting

Some good twists

A beautiful well-crafted story

This was a fantastic season. Before watching I was hearing insane hype about this show and it did get me worried. There have been many shows and movies in the past that to me were well overhyped before I watched and did not deliver. Finally the hype is real. This is by far my favourite show of the year.

It is creepy throughout the entire season while having so much emotion and believability with this family that have been through many traumatic experiences and you can see the damage and scarring within each character thanks to their incredible performance. The beautiful writing, the believable acting and eery score all add to a compelling and gripping story all the way to the end.

There are so many twists throughout the entire thing which I did not see coming. By the end, the whole thing felt like a puzzle. Everything connected in a way I never expected. What you thought were completely different things would be connected like puzzle pieces and it made the whole thing work and leave you admiring this beautiful piece of art.

I think it's obvious I can't recommend this enough. I'd love to see more from this. Maybe even make this an anthology series with a new cast and era.