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Ross (3284 KP) rated The Trouble With Peace in Books
Sep 28, 2020
Superb dialogue, plotting and war
I received an advance copy of this book from netgalley and the publishers in exchange for an honest review.
This is the second book in Abercrombie's second proper trilogy in the world of The First Law. I will admit to having issues with the first book, A Little Hatred, but they were mainly a result of the book building on from the previous trilogy (and the standalone books) but being a significant amount of time later. I had felt the characters had been left as "so-and-so's son/daughter" with minimal introduction otherwise.
Those issues are now long-forgotten, as in this book all characters receive enough attention to embed themselves and find their voices (no longer are Vick and Savine the same in my head, likewise Leo and Orso, although I have to admit that Clover and Broad still cross over in my mind).
The plot follows some gentle political and social manipulations, both in the capital Adua, and also in the North. Things quickly develop into a much stronger and very possible uprising against the throne, and more importantly against the corrupt financier and magician controlling the throne.
There are some truly superb action sequences in this book, where the action flows seamlessly from one character's PoV to another, almost as if watching a film, where the camera follows an arrow and watches the intended target until they stab at someone, who the camera then follows. This allows the action to unfold across both sides of the conflict and give the story from multiple angles. One of these scenes was one of the best told battle scenes I think I have ever read.
The plot is strong, the characters similarly, and the dialogue and narration is Abercrombie at his best. The crossing, double-crossing and triple-crossing is a joy to read. It is rare in a "grimdark" book to see one of the nastiest characters getting their comeuppance but at the end this is delivered in a fairly shocking manner.
This may just be Abercrombie's best book yet, in my humble opinion.
This is the second book in Abercrombie's second proper trilogy in the world of The First Law. I will admit to having issues with the first book, A Little Hatred, but they were mainly a result of the book building on from the previous trilogy (and the standalone books) but being a significant amount of time later. I had felt the characters had been left as "so-and-so's son/daughter" with minimal introduction otherwise.
Those issues are now long-forgotten, as in this book all characters receive enough attention to embed themselves and find their voices (no longer are Vick and Savine the same in my head, likewise Leo and Orso, although I have to admit that Clover and Broad still cross over in my mind).
The plot follows some gentle political and social manipulations, both in the capital Adua, and also in the North. Things quickly develop into a much stronger and very possible uprising against the throne, and more importantly against the corrupt financier and magician controlling the throne.
There are some truly superb action sequences in this book, where the action flows seamlessly from one character's PoV to another, almost as if watching a film, where the camera follows an arrow and watches the intended target until they stab at someone, who the camera then follows. This allows the action to unfold across both sides of the conflict and give the story from multiple angles. One of these scenes was one of the best told battle scenes I think I have ever read.
The plot is strong, the characters similarly, and the dialogue and narration is Abercrombie at his best. The crossing, double-crossing and triple-crossing is a joy to read. It is rare in a "grimdark" book to see one of the nastiest characters getting their comeuppance but at the end this is delivered in a fairly shocking manner.
This may just be Abercrombie's best book yet, in my humble opinion.
ClareR (5784 KP) rated The Atlas Paradox in Books
Jun 21, 2023
I should lead with the fact that everything I write about books is my own opinion, and you’ll see why.
The second instalment of anything creative seems to be the hard one: the difficult second album, and in this case, the second in a book trilogy.
When you’re building a new, different world, I should imagine that there’s so much to think about. Every aspect has a new perspective. People have different life choices, new rules, new laws, and I can see why in many books in this genre (fantasy, in this case) there’s a need for more than the average amount of description. As a reader though, I feel there needs to be a sweet spot, because I do enjoy the interactions between the characters as much as the more descriptive passages. For me, it’s a large part of what propels the story forward. I like to hear the characters.
Ok, I’ll just say it: I found The Atlas Paradox really hard work. It has taken me nearly three weeks to read, which is a long time for me. I would pick it up, start reading, find myself skipping pages and trying to find something to grab me, feel guilty and backtrack.
I still love the Libby/ Nico/ Gideon story arc, and Callum and Reina seem to be a bit of a revelation. I think Libby could be very interesting in the next book, in particular.
But I think that as a whole it felt like The Atlas Paradox had lost its way somewhat. There was a lot of sitting around and thinking, and not enough action related to the thinking. I actually believe that this book was killing time for book 3 - which incidentally, I will read.
I know that seems crazy after what I’ve just written, but I do believe this trilogy still has something interesting to say, and I really hope it says it in book 3 (The Atlas Complex). And really, the character Atlas did seem to building himself up to something - it’s just taken him about 900 pages to do it. There’s so much promise here, and ever the optimist (with a healthy dash of realism!) I want to see what happens in The Atlas Complex.
The second instalment of anything creative seems to be the hard one: the difficult second album, and in this case, the second in a book trilogy.
When you’re building a new, different world, I should imagine that there’s so much to think about. Every aspect has a new perspective. People have different life choices, new rules, new laws, and I can see why in many books in this genre (fantasy, in this case) there’s a need for more than the average amount of description. As a reader though, I feel there needs to be a sweet spot, because I do enjoy the interactions between the characters as much as the more descriptive passages. For me, it’s a large part of what propels the story forward. I like to hear the characters.
Ok, I’ll just say it: I found The Atlas Paradox really hard work. It has taken me nearly three weeks to read, which is a long time for me. I would pick it up, start reading, find myself skipping pages and trying to find something to grab me, feel guilty and backtrack.
I still love the Libby/ Nico/ Gideon story arc, and Callum and Reina seem to be a bit of a revelation. I think Libby could be very interesting in the next book, in particular.
But I think that as a whole it felt like The Atlas Paradox had lost its way somewhat. There was a lot of sitting around and thinking, and not enough action related to the thinking. I actually believe that this book was killing time for book 3 - which incidentally, I will read.
I know that seems crazy after what I’ve just written, but I do believe this trilogy still has something interesting to say, and I really hope it says it in book 3 (The Atlas Complex). And really, the character Atlas did seem to building himself up to something - it’s just taken him about 900 pages to do it. There’s so much promise here, and ever the optimist (with a healthy dash of realism!) I want to see what happens in The Atlas Complex.
Ross (3284 KP) rated Sword of the North in Books
Sep 29, 2017
The story picks up where The Grim Company left off. Where the first book really focused on the main group's journey with some side chapters in the north, this now splits into each of those main characters' solo journeys. We move between Brodar Kayne (and The Wolf), Sasha, Eremul the half-mage, Cole, Yllandris and the thoroughly detestable (but brilliant) Sir Meredith. All of their stories tell of different events, and few of the them cross over, meaning this book really is rather epic.
A number of threads from the first book are either progressed, explained further or closed off, and a number of new mysteries, invading forces and battles are introduced.
For the second book of a trilogy you would expect little extra additions, progressing those introduced in the first book and seguing into the final instalment. Not so here, as a number of new, critical elements are introduced, some very late in the book, which are leading to a fairly epic third book to close off.
Absolutely awesome.
A number of threads from the first book are either progressed, explained further or closed off, and a number of new mysteries, invading forces and battles are introduced.
For the second book of a trilogy you would expect little extra additions, progressing those introduced in the first book and seguing into the final instalment. Not so here, as a number of new, critical elements are introduced, some very late in the book, which are leading to a fairly epic third book to close off.
Absolutely awesome.
Sawyer (231 KP) rated Lego Star Wars: The Video Game in Video Games
Dec 18, 2017
Lego Star Wars is the earliest of the Lego franchise based games I can remember with its success came tons of other games of its kind Lego Indiana Jones Lego Lord the Rings Lego Harry Potter the list just goes on and on Lego Star Wars drops the player
straight into the cockpit of the Vessel that is Star Wars the pre sequel trilogy you work your way through multiple levels that cover the series in chronological order each level has tons of hidden areas and items to find characters to unlock and just plenty of reasons to replay them there are lots of characters to unlock with certain characters having different purposes for the game some of the characters are for fighting some of the characters are for building items and others are for getting into special areas or solving puzzles this game is oozing with charm and comedy which would soon become the trademark of the Lego games no voice acting or dialogue means the story is told through physical acting and they do it a pretty good job at it
straight into the cockpit of the Vessel that is Star Wars the pre sequel trilogy you work your way through multiple levels that cover the series in chronological order each level has tons of hidden areas and items to find characters to unlock and just plenty of reasons to replay them there are lots of characters to unlock with certain characters having different purposes for the game some of the characters are for fighting some of the characters are for building items and others are for getting into special areas or solving puzzles this game is oozing with charm and comedy which would soon become the trademark of the Lego games no voice acting or dialogue means the story is told through physical acting and they do it a pretty good job at it
Alison Pink (7 KP) rated The Serpent's Shadow (Kane Chronicles #3) in Books
Jan 15, 2018
So sad to know that this is the last book in Rick Riordan's Kane Chronicles. This trilogy has been my favorite of all his works by far! I'm hoping he will work Sadie, Carter, & Walt/Anubis into another series as the end left it pretty open to be picked up into the future with new Gods & magic trying to disrupt the ancient Egyptian beliefs.
This book was great! It was a satisfying ending to the series, despite the fact that it did leave things open to being picked up in the future. (Maybe he'll do something like he did with Percy Jackson & then Heroes of Olympus?!?) Again Sadie & Carter are such likable, believable, well-developed characters. The things they go through are extraordinary without a doubt, but they are so easy to identify with...which I'm sure helps with the appeal of the series to younger readers. But just because that is the target audience, doesn't mean an adult won't enjoy it.
The book is full of history, love, battles, & courage that it is very easy to get wrapped up in.
This book was great! It was a satisfying ending to the series, despite the fact that it did leave things open to being picked up in the future. (Maybe he'll do something like he did with Percy Jackson & then Heroes of Olympus?!?) Again Sadie & Carter are such likable, believable, well-developed characters. The things they go through are extraordinary without a doubt, but they are so easy to identify with...which I'm sure helps with the appeal of the series to younger readers. But just because that is the target audience, doesn't mean an adult won't enjoy it.
The book is full of history, love, battles, & courage that it is very easy to get wrapped up in.
Alison Pink (7 KP) rated Switched (Trylle, #1) in Books
Jan 15, 2018
This was a great book! Ihad previously seen it on Barnes and Noble's website. I had it on my list to purchase for my Nook, but before I got the chance to, I won a copy from First Reads. This book was a quick interesting read.
It was a bit of a Twilight wanna-be as I'd heard & read in some reviews. However I don't believe anything can live up to Twilight so I went into this book with a clear head. It is about a girl who discovers that she is actually a Trylle princess...in other words, she is a troll. Yup, I said troll!!! I don't want to give too much away, but my outlook on trolls has changed after reading this book! I really look forward to the next 2 books in the trilogy. I may even have to get the ebooks. I don't know if I can wait for the print versions to hit the shelves!
I am very curious to see what happens.
It was a bit of a Twilight wanna-be as I'd heard & read in some reviews. However I don't believe anything can live up to Twilight so I went into this book with a clear head. It is about a girl who discovers that she is actually a Trylle princess...in other words, she is a troll. Yup, I said troll!!! I don't want to give too much away, but my outlook on trolls has changed after reading this book! I really look forward to the next 2 books in the trilogy. I may even have to get the ebooks. I don't know if I can wait for the print versions to hit the shelves!
I am very curious to see what happens.
Rachel King (13 KP) rated Specials (Uglies, #3) in Books
Feb 11, 2019
I loved this book and thought it was the best of the trilogy. The excitement of Tally and Shay's destruction of the Armory, Tally helping to defend Diego from attack, and other scenes - written so well that I could almost feel the adrenaline pumping through my own veins. The feel and speed of the book had a cinematic quality. I imagine Westerfeld wrote in this style on purpose to capture the style of the Specials, just as the second book had an "airhead" style of writing. The vocabulary also reflects the subculture of the Specials with words such as icy, which indicates the state of being clear-headed. I was saddened by Zane's death and disappointed that Tally could not have had more of a good-bye with him before he died, but I did like that she was reunited with David. I'm rather split as to which boyfriend of hers I prefered, since Zane and David are both very different and compliment Tally in different ways. Fortunately, Westerfeld made that decision for me.
Elizabeth (1521 KP) rated Entwined with You (Crossfire, #3) in Books
Apr 24, 2019
I'm going to assume that this series is not a trilogy because just about everything was left unresolved. The story felt rushed and all over the place, things added just to fill space or for shock value. Too often I found myself thinking how incredibly unbelievable it was and couldn't understand how they could overreact one minute and then completely underreact the next.
Maybe it was the amount of time that passed between my reading the first two books and this one, or maybe it was all of the other books I'd read during that time that had me more aware of its shortcomings. The number of times the word "deft" appeared made me never want to see or hear the word ever again. I was reminded of its overuse in "Fifty Shades" as well. I'm sure there are other ways that these authors can convey the prowess and skill these men possess.
If I could give half stars, I would have given this 2 1/2, but since I can't, I rounded up to 3.
Maybe it was the amount of time that passed between my reading the first two books and this one, or maybe it was all of the other books I'd read during that time that had me more aware of its shortcomings. The number of times the word "deft" appeared made me never want to see or hear the word ever again. I was reminded of its overuse in "Fifty Shades" as well. I'm sure there are other ways that these authors can convey the prowess and skill these men possess.
If I could give half stars, I would have given this 2 1/2, but since I can't, I rounded up to 3.
MelanieTheresa (997 KP) rated Final Shadows (A Bishop Files Novel, Book 3) in Books
Apr 26, 2019
I adore Kay Hooper and the Bishop/SCU/Haven stories. That being said, these Bishop Files novels don’t seem to have the same….punch, if you will, as the main stories. This was a disappointing end to the trilogy, and a disappointing installment in the Bishop/SCU universe.
Almost the entire book is the characters talking. Explaining what happened over the last two books and why, explaining what’s going to happen and why, explaining what they need to do to end the “war.” SO.MUCH.TALKING. Even when action moments took place, they were over far too quickly, and then – you guessed it – back to talking, because evidently they found it necessary to dissect every little moment. Not even Bishop or Miranda were excluded from this overly descriptive narrative. At this point in the series, did we really need a rehash of what everyone’s powers/abilities are?
The ending of this book made me say “What?? UGH. That’s how it’s ending?”
Looking forward to eventually returning to the main SCU storyline.
Almost the entire book is the characters talking. Explaining what happened over the last two books and why, explaining what’s going to happen and why, explaining what they need to do to end the “war.” SO.MUCH.TALKING. Even when action moments took place, they were over far too quickly, and then – you guessed it – back to talking, because evidently they found it necessary to dissect every little moment. Not even Bishop or Miranda were excluded from this overly descriptive narrative. At this point in the series, did we really need a rehash of what everyone’s powers/abilities are?
The ending of this book made me say “What?? UGH. That’s how it’s ending?”
Looking forward to eventually returning to the main SCU storyline.
BookblogbyCari (345 KP) rated The Mister in Books
May 19, 2019
It lacks the shock and drama of Fifty Shades. (1 more)
It's too slow.
Not as good as the author's Fifty Shades trilogy
There are probably a great many women hoping for another "Fifty Shades" book direct from the same author - but they will all be disappointed, for the reasons above.
Additionally although the book is written from the POV of both the male and the female central characters, the male part is written from the first person, while the female part is written in the third person. And the erotic scenes take place from the male POV. So, it's written more for fans of "Fifty Shades as Told By Grey", rather than "Fifty Shades" per se.
The central female character got on my nerves, lacking in confidence where she ought to have it in spades.
I got half way through the book and stopped. I was mildly curious about the background story but not enough to persevere with such a slow book.
Additionally although the book is written from the POV of both the male and the female central characters, the male part is written from the first person, while the female part is written in the third person. And the erotic scenes take place from the male POV. So, it's written more for fans of "Fifty Shades as Told By Grey", rather than "Fifty Shades" per se.
The central female character got on my nerves, lacking in confidence where she ought to have it in spades.
I got half way through the book and stopped. I was mildly curious about the background story but not enough to persevere with such a slow book.