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Goddess in the Stacks (553 KP) rated The Alloy of Law: A Mistborn Novel in Books
Jan 25, 2018
A fun romp
The Alloy of Law is a fun romp in the world of Sanderson's earlier Mistborn trilogy. The world has advanced three hundred years, from medieval technology levels to about Victorian levels. Electricity is just starting to be found in homes, though people are suspicious of it, and trains and guns are fairly widespread. Think Victorian England meets the Wild West and you'll be in the ballpark. The main characters of the Mistborn trilogy have faded into legend by the time The Alloy of Law takes place, and it's really interesting to see how they are revered (or not) by the characters in this book.
The Mistborn series has a well-developed system of magic that I found unique, creative, and complex but easy to follow. Allomancy is the art of burning ingested metals to do particular effects; different metals (and the ability to burn them) allow you to do different things. Tin, for example, lets you enhance your senses, leading to the nickname "Tin-eyes." Burning steel lets a Coinshot "push" on metals, telekinetically moving the metal away from themselves. (Or themselves away from the metal, if the metal too secure to be moved!) On the flipside of the coin (Ha!) is Feruchemy - a feruchemist uses metal accessories, often in the form of armbands or other jewelry, to "store up" his resources - he can become deaf and blind for a time, in order to use that resource later and have super-hearing and eagle-eyes, for example. Nothing is ultimately gained or lost, just stored until it's needed.
The writing in Alloy was certainly not as deep as the Mistborn trilogy, but Sanderson has said in interviews that this was supposed to be a fun break between books. If you're looking for a quick, fun adventure story, this is definitely a good book to pick up. From the witty banter between characters to the surprising choice of romance, this book kept my attention from start to finish. Sanderson is a very skilled author and I am eagerly looking forward to the sequel, as the book ends on a cliffhanger!
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
The Mistborn series has a well-developed system of magic that I found unique, creative, and complex but easy to follow. Allomancy is the art of burning ingested metals to do particular effects; different metals (and the ability to burn them) allow you to do different things. Tin, for example, lets you enhance your senses, leading to the nickname "Tin-eyes." Burning steel lets a Coinshot "push" on metals, telekinetically moving the metal away from themselves. (Or themselves away from the metal, if the metal too secure to be moved!) On the flipside of the coin (Ha!) is Feruchemy - a feruchemist uses metal accessories, often in the form of armbands or other jewelry, to "store up" his resources - he can become deaf and blind for a time, in order to use that resource later and have super-hearing and eagle-eyes, for example. Nothing is ultimately gained or lost, just stored until it's needed.
The writing in Alloy was certainly not as deep as the Mistborn trilogy, but Sanderson has said in interviews that this was supposed to be a fun break between books. If you're looking for a quick, fun adventure story, this is definitely a good book to pick up. From the witty banter between characters to the surprising choice of romance, this book kept my attention from start to finish. Sanderson is a very skilled author and I am eagerly looking forward to the sequel, as the book ends on a cliffhanger!
You can find all my reviews at http://goddessinthestacks.wordpress.com
Intake 131: Memoirs of a Rhodesian Army Cadet
Book
In 1973, Sandy Sanderson attended School of Infantry in Gwelo, in what was then central Rhodesia,...
Fawlty Towers: The Complete Collection: Every Soundtrack Episode of the Classic BBC TV Comedy
John Cleese, Connie Booth and Prunella Scales
9.0
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John Cleese's special introductions to each episode are included in this collection of all 12 TV...
Sophia (Bookwyrming Thoughts) (530 KP) rated Echoes in Books
Jan 23, 2020
<b><i>I received this book for free from Author in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.</i></b>
<h2><strong>Three words: Hackers. Go. Missing.</strong></h2>
I'm not talking baby hackers who have no clue what they're doing and slipped up badly I'm talking top of the ladder ones.
Mallory Park is a hacker who moderates The Forum, a message board where hackers are anonymous, crack down on the dirty secrets of companies, and leak them out to the world anonymously. She's extremely motivated and passionate about her work, and likes to have control she's independent, wants to do her own thing, and based on her background, it definitely fits her character. Mallory, however...
Just comes out cold. Apathetic. Indifferent. She doesn't really have any clue what to do with herself because hacking IS who she is. She is also extremely brilliant (I would love to have her math skills right now in Calculus...), hates being touched (much like me...), and is as awkward as David 1 and David 2 (one of them is a <a title="The Sorcerer's Apprentice review" href="http://www.bookwyrmingthoughts.com/movie-review-the-sorcerers-apprentice"; target="_blank" rel="noopener tag">Physics major</a> and the other is <a title="Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson review" href="http://www.bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-steelheart-by-brandon-sanderson"; target="_blank" rel="noopener tag">terrible with metaphors</a>).
While I like Mallory, I think Mallory came more out of her shell when she meets Warden. Warden is very cheery, optimistic, and hilarious he's really just one of those adorable nerds who would love to squish hug. And despite the fact he is introduced as Mallory's online friend from The Forum, I can hear his voice and see his facial expressions leaping off the screen at Mallory.
There's so much anticipation and danger (and Warden's humor laced throughout) as Mallory gets closer to finding out about the missing hackers, but in the long run, <em>Echoes</em> really just teaches about online safety in a similar, yet different way compared to other books related to online safety.
But you should really just read it for Warden's humor.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-echoes-by-laura-tisda/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
<h2><strong>Three words: Hackers. Go. Missing.</strong></h2>
I'm not talking baby hackers who have no clue what they're doing and slipped up badly I'm talking top of the ladder ones.
Mallory Park is a hacker who moderates The Forum, a message board where hackers are anonymous, crack down on the dirty secrets of companies, and leak them out to the world anonymously. She's extremely motivated and passionate about her work, and likes to have control she's independent, wants to do her own thing, and based on her background, it definitely fits her character. Mallory, however...
Just comes out cold. Apathetic. Indifferent. She doesn't really have any clue what to do with herself because hacking IS who she is. She is also extremely brilliant (I would love to have her math skills right now in Calculus...), hates being touched (much like me...), and is as awkward as David 1 and David 2 (one of them is a <a title="The Sorcerer's Apprentice review" href="http://www.bookwyrmingthoughts.com/movie-review-the-sorcerers-apprentice"; target="_blank" rel="noopener tag">Physics major</a> and the other is <a title="Steelheart by Brandon Sanderson review" href="http://www.bookwyrmingthoughts.com/review-steelheart-by-brandon-sanderson"; target="_blank" rel="noopener tag">terrible with metaphors</a>).
While I like Mallory, I think Mallory came more out of her shell when she meets Warden. Warden is very cheery, optimistic, and hilarious he's really just one of those adorable nerds who would love to squish hug. And despite the fact he is introduced as Mallory's online friend from The Forum, I can hear his voice and see his facial expressions leaping off the screen at Mallory.
There's so much anticipation and danger (and Warden's humor laced throughout) as Mallory gets closer to finding out about the missing hackers, but in the long run, <em>Echoes</em> really just teaches about online safety in a similar, yet different way compared to other books related to online safety.
But you should really just read it for Warden's humor.
<a href="https://bookwyrmingthoughts.com/arc-review-echoes-by-laura-tisda/"; target="_blank">This review was originally posted on Bookwyrming Thoughts</a>
Joel Schumacher recommended Blade Runner (1982) in Movies (curated)
Mariafrancesca (30 KP) rated Skyward in Books
Mar 30, 2019
Funny (2 more)
Character development
Unpredictable twists
It has been a long time since I was captivated by a book so badly I didn’t realised is was 3 am on a week night and I was still reading it. Brandon Sanderson is an amazing writer with a style the flows smoothly. However what I love about this writer is the way he depicts his characters. In a world where bravery is valued over everything (to the point that kids are thaught to blindly sacrifice themselves rather than be marked as a coward), Spensa grew up with the stigma of a coward father. But she is a fighter and she navigates life with the confidence of a hero from the past, only to find out - when faced with reality - that being an hero is not that easy. Skyward is a book about many things: spaceships, alien war, AI and human relations with them, post apocalypse society, and search for the truth. But mostly is the journey of a teenager who though she had everything figured it out only to discover that between black and white there are all the shades of colour and that everything in life comes at a price.
Cyn Armistead (14 KP) rated Unfettered in Books
Mar 1, 2018
What a wonderful anthology! I have fallen off on reading collections lately, but I am such a total Kevin Hearne fangirl that I started looking for this one as soon as he mentioned it on Facebook. I bought it as soon as I heard of its release, and womanfully resisted skipping straight to the Iron Druid story.
I truly enjoyed most of the stories included. I did just stop reading the baseball story when I realized that it was horror, and skipped over "Dogs" for the same reason. Terry Brooks' piece did nothing for me, but that probably had more to do with the fact that I haven't read anything of the novels that seem to be vital to having it truly make sense. I haven't read any of The Wheel of Time, either, but the Sanderson/Jordan contribution was a good enough story that it stood on its own. I will definitely be seeking out more of some authors' works, like Speakman and O'Roullian. Getting leads on more good reading is always exciting!
All in all, the book is more than worth its cover price. There is absolutely no question of it being worth the time spent reading it.
I truly enjoyed most of the stories included. I did just stop reading the baseball story when I realized that it was horror, and skipped over "Dogs" for the same reason. Terry Brooks' piece did nothing for me, but that probably had more to do with the fact that I haven't read anything of the novels that seem to be vital to having it truly make sense. I haven't read any of The Wheel of Time, either, but the Sanderson/Jordan contribution was a good enough story that it stood on its own. I will definitely be seeking out more of some authors' works, like Speakman and O'Roullian. Getting leads on more good reading is always exciting!
All in all, the book is more than worth its cover price. There is absolutely no question of it being worth the time spent reading it.
The Warm Up: The Story Behind the Lycra with Television's Mr Motivator
Book
Derrick Errol Evans was born in Jamaica to a single mum, given away at just three months and raised...
Bastille Vs. the Evil Librarians
Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson
10.0
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From #1 New York Times bestselling author Brandon Sanderson and Janci Patterson comes Bastille vs....