Dreamer and Daydreamer

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

Never again will I take for granted a full day just for reading. It's been so long since I finished a book in one day that I forgot how it feels.

Lost Stars is a good book, but it's also a frustrating one. I get it, because we know what happens in the movies, in some ways, we know more than these characters do. Still, it's very frustrating to see characters you've grown to like turn a blind eye to fascism and even justify it.

Thane Kyrell was someone I can relate to on a personal level. He's a very cynical person and to a certain extent, so am I. He is very naive and idealistic when it comes to love, though. He really did believe in Ciena and in some cases, his belief was justified. I feel sad for him though, knowing that someone you love could grasp at straws trying to defend something that's evil. His POV was enjoyable. He struggled at first, but then he found something he could really believe in.

Ciena was more of a mixed bag. I admire her competency and to a certain extent, even her honor. However, I refuse to believe that honor is more important than the lives of people or than freedom. I understand that it's her culture and all that, but it's so unhealthy. She was grasping at straws trying to defend the genocide of an entire planet, of building a Death Star in the first place and she was being an apologist for fascism.

In the end, she was broken, depressed, and suicidal because she couldn't take it anymore. And instead of finally accepting everything she believed in was wrong and she could right it, she decides her honor is more important, her "loyalty" to the empire is more important. That's not loyalty- it's being self-serving because it makes you feel better.

Nash Windrider takes the cake for the worst person in the book though. What kind of person sees his planet and everything he loves get destroyed and then decide that giving in to fascism is the better option?

Still, despite my frustrations with the characters, I really did enjoy this book. I liked seeing through the eyes of Imperial officers and what they thought. At some point, they probably believed they were the good guys. Maybe at the end, they refused to acknowledge they weren't. Perhaps that's the real tragedy- every side in the war believed they were right, until they were proven wrong. Honestly, I would have given this a higher rating if the apologism for a fascist regime didn't annoy me so much.

The ending was more open-ending than I usually like for a standalone, so I'm hoping for a sequel. Or at least some acknowledgment of what happens to the characters elsewhere.

I honestly didn't know how I'd rate this book. It started out really strong, but I found that the parts with Nynaeve and Elayne dragged, along with Egwene in T'A'R. I guess I couldn't care about Nynaeve and Elayne hunting Black Ajah and Egwene really started to annoy me with how bratty she is.

Despite that, I liked this book. There's a lot of things that really drives the plot and how the characters developed. Seeing Rand's POV again was really great in terms of seeing how he's changing and how his abilities are starting to weigh on him, as well as the prophecies. We really get to see him get more powerful, but at the same time we see the taint starting to affect him. We also learn who Rand's parents were and I liked the scenes where he acknowledged it.

We also get to see the Two Rivers and Emond's Field again. I actually looked forward to the scenes there a lot since it hasn't been "seen" since the first book and I wanted to see what happened to it. I liked those best because we start to see these peaceful farmer folk accept that their lives have changed and they have to adapt. Also, that scene with Aram was pretty sad, even if it was so short, it did have a lot of impact.

Mat seems to be coming into his own as well. There's definitely something going on with him, something that would make him someone other than a gambler. Mat is certainly a hero in this story and I expect his arc to develop a lot more.

I don't want to spoil more but as usual, I enjoyed how detailed the book was, and how everything develops. There's a lot more world building and lore in this book and both are welcome, especially since how it was delivered was handled well.

I'm looking forward to reading the next book and seeing how things develop further from here.

I received a copy for free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Trigger warnings for gore and sexual violence.

Melokai is an epic fantasy featuring a great, diverse cast of characters and an intriguing storyline which, while not having many twists and turns, still manages to be compelling.

The book starts in the mountain country of Peqya, a country ruled by women and in which men are reduced to slaves and Pleasure Givers (actual term in the book). Ramya is the titular Melokai, or the country's ruler. She believes her people loves her and are happy with her long and prosperous rule. As the rest of the novel progresses, it becomes increasingly clear that this isn't exactly the case. Her own advisers for example, express their disagreement and in some cases, disgust even at her actions. Peqya also advocates equality between women but not with men and it predictably made a lot of people disgruntled and angry with their lot in life.

Ramya isn't the only POV character though. The book features different point-of-views, from Ramya's former PG to royalty from distant lands to people in her army even. Ramya herself wasn't even my favorite POV character in this book. In fact, I found her to be arrogant and she also made some decisions which I thought should have resulted in international incidents. As a ruler, she was said to be a good one but either I have different standards or that was just what she thought of herself. It's one of those things I appreciate about this book- Ramya thinks about one thing, doesn't mind the consequences, and doesn't think about the people she's actually alienating.

The other characters are also pretty good. There's a spoiled brat prince from a desert country who gets his ass handed to him, a queen from another country who becomes friends with Ramya, and even a sentient wolf with a complicated past. All of their arcs come together to form an intricately woven fantasy world.

I also loved the world-building. It feels incredibly lush, from the decadent nations to the harsh lands the wolves inhabit, I felt totally immersed in the worlds and cultures the author was describing. I also liked the cat imagery presented in Peqya, even though I myself identifies as more of a dog lover. I also liked the writing style which conveyed the characters' personalities, motivations, and characteristics very well.

All in all, I really liked the novel and I'll also be putting the next one on my TBR list.

This really wasn’t the best book to read before, during, and after finals. The first couple hundred or so pages of the book were fine, they were engrossing and heart-wrenching. I really got a feel for the world and how Kvothe lived during those days and how it may have helped shaped him. The rest was when he was in University, and I’ll say it: reading this while being a college student myself dealing with finals wasn’t the best idea.

Kvothe is an unreliable narrator, probably. He definitely exaggerated at some parts, but the way he portrays himself is like this: he learns fast and almost perfectly. He’s good at everything, fine I get it. It wasn’t bad to read, even as a student who does struggle. He reminds me of some close friends. Sometimes, some of the things he does can induce some eye-rolling because smart as he is, he at times lacked common sense. One of the most annoying parts were the ones where Denna was present. I cringed a lot, remember that this was a 15 or 16-year-old kid, infatuated for the first time. I’m 18 at the moment and I still cringed because I remember myself two to four years ago at times.

The story itself was structured as a bit like vignettes of the interesting parts of his life. They were more like little stories with some story arcs that stretched chapters. It definitely gave a nice glimpse of his life and his stay in University. It was a very interesting way of telling a story that I liked. The interludes between several chapters were also a welcome diversion from the story Kvothe was telling.

The story itself was very well-written. I liked the prose and the dialogue felt like something actual people would say, and yes, even the cringy parts. Unfortunately, I had to dock a star because I felt like some parts, especially towards the middle and near the end dragged. It was enough to hamper my enjoyment of the story and even consider DNF-ing it. That may also partly be because I felt like I was taking too long to finish the thing and might slide into a slump again. I am glad I stuck on and I will read the sequel at some point, considering that I already have it.

Anyway, I really do appreciate what this book does and its unique premise. An innkeeper who is secretly a famous hero in retirement, telling his life story. Not quite the typical epic fantasy, and that’s something I will credit this one for.

Do I recommend it? Yes. But do not read it during finals season.

I picked this one up immediately after I finished Three Dark Crowns and it did not disappoint. It really is so much better than the first book- it's darker and expounds on the character relationships from the first book. (Warning: Spoilers for the first book)

I'm sad to say that I still didn't care for Katherine. I get that she went through a lot, etc. but she felt "too chosen one" for me. Mirabella never gave me that vibe and Arsinoe certainly never did but the entire time I was reading from her POV, I got this feeling she would be the queen and she just bored me somehow. She herself is okay, I suppose, but her arcs involving a love triangle and her being "darker" kinda felt forced and over-the-top. Also, she was the only one of the sisters who I felt like didn't care for the other two in some capacity.

I adored Arsinoe and Mirabella. They were shown to care for each other and I can really see how it was affecting their struggle for the crown. They're supposed to kill each other but they can't bring themselves to do so because of sentimentality and their own memories. As someone with two younger sisters I love and want to protect, Mirabella really resonated with me.

As with the first book, I enjoyed Arsinoe's arc best. I liked seeing her grow and accept her true abilities. I did wish she used it more though- I felt like it was a wasted opportunity. It served her well enough as a defense but she wasn't really shown using it in offense while her sisters were using their abilities. I did love her relationships with her friends Jules, Joseph, and her growing romance with Billy. I thought it was pretty natural and realistic and I looked forward to their chapters more.

I didn't look forward to Mirabella's chapters as much, but I still enjoyed them. Mirabella was practically "the chosen one" in the book, the one nearly everyone thought would be queen, and seeing her struggle both in having to kill her sisters and in having to struggle to win the crown she previously thought was certain to be hers was great to read.

There are twists in this book, both those that I saw coming and those that I didn't. I wish I saw more about what happened to Katherine during the last book and how she changed and I also hoped for more politics. Unfortunately, the politics here remain too little for my taste and my search for a YA Fantasy with a lot of politicking continues.

Still, I love Kendare Blake's writing. It's dark, fast-paced, descriptive and sucks you into the world. I'm looking forward to reading the next book and it's been such a long time I felt excited about an upcoming release.

The Final Empire follows a girl named Vin, an orphan street urchin who discovers she has the powers of a Mistborn, and Kelsier, a Mistborn half-skaa who wants to overthrow the Lord Ruler.

I read this over the span of two days, faster than I usually do, probably because it's pretty fast-paced and it has a lot of action, political intrigue, and even some drama. I even stayed up until 1:30 am this morning just to finish it, something I only did before for The Great Hunt.

I liked The Final Empire. It's full of amazing moments where characters get to show off their powers and also slower moments where we get to know the characters better. I liked the characters in this story even if we don't get to see some of them aren't really very well-rounded. The writing is more straightforward, less flowery and lyrical but it does its job to show us the world and the characters.

The worldbuilding and magic system were fantastic. You can see that a lot of effort was put into making a believable world and a magic system that works in a rational way. Allomancy and Feruchemy have to be the most original magic systems I've encountered thus far. I can vividly picture the world in my mind along with the characters and their actions.

Some of the characters felt a bit flat and some scenes seemed to go by too quickly (hence the 4-star rating) but overall, the book was enjoyable Vin's character development is amazing and I loved seeing her become a powerful Mistborn, learn political intrigue, and how to trust her friends. Vin definitely has trust issues and I liked seeing her try to trust others more. Also, I'm going to admit to being a sap and loving Disney-style romances featuring good boys who love books (I don't like bad boys). That said, that particular subplot wasn't really the highlight of the story and I appreciate it. As much as I missed reading books with romance, books that have the plot take a backseat to romance wasn't cutting it.

The highlight of this story, for me, is the skaa rebellion. It goes by pretty fast and in some parts, I was confused by how quickly it went by, but I guess I can understand it. There's a lot of political stuff going on, more than I'm used to but I love it. I actually prefer my epic fantasy to have well-thought-out political systems. If I could see a functional legal system backed by logic and political theory, I'd have my perfect book. Still, this one is good and I liked seeing Vin and Kelsier try to navigate the politics and machinations of the noble families in order to succeed. I'll admit though, I think that Kelsier's actions were very drastic by the end and the way he does it was pretty surprising. suppose I could understand somewhat since he seemed to be setting it up for some time. There were some twists in this book that can be easy to predict, but it doesn't really matter to me. I don't usually care so much about twists than I do about an interesting plot.

The way the story concludes would almost make you think that this book is standalone. There are two more books in the series that might answer my questions and let me spend more time with characters I've grown to love. I'll have to wait before reading it though since I might still need more time to fully digest the story. Still, I liked The Final Empire and I will definitely be continuing with the series. Will I read more books in the Cosmere? Yes.

This book is highly recommended for fantasy fans, people who like worldbuilding and magic systems, and people trying to get into adult fantasy after young adult fantasy.

This review is also at The Bookworm Daydreamer

I don’t know if words are sufficient to express how much I love this book. It’s just wonderful and I don’t know what to say. Before I get on to the actual review, I just want to say that I’m Catholic, going to a Catholic college and at first I was worried that I wouldn’t like this book because it might feel similar. It kind of does when it comes to describing nuns but it’s a fantasy book. They worship a fantasy god. I got over it quickly. Plus awesome, badass murder nuns.

To start, this book has one of the best prologues I’ve ever read. Short, succinct, and to the point. No infodumping, just beautifully written tension amongst lyrical prose. I loved it and the scenes throughout the book continuing it were some of the best parts, providing some of the best twists in the book.

This book stars Nona Grey, a little girl taken in by the Convent of Sweet Mercy as a novice. It chronicles her as she goes through Red Class and Grey Class. I enjoyed the depiction of her classes because it shows us that Nona isn’t invincible. She isn’t some sort of invulnerable heroine who always wins. Here, she’s depicted constantly training and honing her skills. I think that’s always essential in books featuring characters who fight because it makes more sense that way. In fact, for practically most of her fights, she loses. The moments where she wins were amazing and almost always tied back to her fierce loyalty to her friends.

I love how Nona is so loyal to her friends. She’s had so few of them that you can see how much she really treasures those closest to her. At first, I would ask why she was so secretive, why she would lie to her friends. By the end of the book, I got my answer and it was so satisfying to get there because it all starts making sense.

I mentioned that this book has twists. It has so many of them, some even turning standard fantasy tropes on their head. Many times I would try to predict something only to be wrong. It’s great. I almost never see things coming and it kept me on my toes because I was dying to find out what happens next. Most of that is due to how tense the scenes were and how great the fight scenes were written. They were great and kind of kept things realistic.

I don’t want to say any more and spoil things so I’ll just say I recommend this book to anyone who doesn’t mind something dark and violent and also involves children.

This review is also on The Bookworm Daydreamer

I've learned my lesson. No more cover buys and I should read some spoiler-free reviews of the book first. I bought this mostly because it looks beautiful. The cover is lovely and so are the illustrations in the chapter headings. Unfortunately, the book itself was a huge disappointment.

It's never a good sign when while you're reading all you can think of is "I should have bought something else." Yet, that's exactly how I felt about this book. There's a lot of YA Fantasy books out there and I'm kicking myself for choosing something which reminds me of why I stopped reading YA in the first place. There are other books out there and I should choose wisely next time.

The worst part was that this book wasn't "I hate everything about it" bad. It was just so incredibly mediocre. It manages to take this wonderful sounding concept and make it so bland I'm having a hard time caring about what happens to the characters. I'll just list my problems with it.

Not enough fantasy elements- When a book is marketed as fantasy, I expect it to have, you know, fantasy. What fantastical elements we were shown sounds so fresh and interesting it's a shame that it only shows up in the latter half of the book and even then the execution is lacking.
Disjointed storytelling- I couldn't understand what this book was trying to pull. It was like the characters just accepted the existence of this fantasy fairy tale world without first going "Okay, that's crazy. There's no way it's true." I wasn't completely sold and I couldn't suspend my disbelief.
The actual fantasy chapters- Rarely do I feel that a book should be longer than it is. I read fantasy doorstoppers and while I love those, big books can be tedious. For this one, I thought it could really benefit from a higher page count that would allow it to really develop the characters and the fantasy world. The Hinterlands also felt like it was dark for the sake of being dark. There doesn't seem to be any explanation for why it was as dark as it was. I was so disappointed that there were so few chapters depicting the actual fantasy world and I thought that it could benefit by showing and developing it more. I'm a sucker for details and worldbuilding, okay?
The main character- Yes, Alice is kind of a terrible person. Yes, she gets called out on it. But she doesn't apologize? She doesn't acknowledge how privileged she was? She really doesn't sit well with me as a character.

The things I did like are Alice's relationship with her mother, Ella Proserpine. I loved how she was so determined to bring her mother back despite all of the odds. Despite my problems with the book, that was genuinely heartwarming and some of the best parts of the book. Her relationships with her stepsister and Finch are worth mentioning as well in how it changes and is presented. Pretty good, I think.

I also loved the two fairytale chapters presented. Now those were the actual best parts of the book. Even though I felt like the Hinterlands was dark for the sake of being dark, I'd be more than willing to buy a collection of dark fairytales from the author. I did like those since they were a very fresh and interesting take on fairy tales.

So that's it for my review of The Hazel Wood. Will I read the sequel? I don't know. It's a tentative maybe for me right now. Again, I will buy a collection of dark fairytales though.

You can also read this review on my blog: The Bookworm Daydreamer

The Hobbit has always been one of those books I've always thought I should read. I've been wanting to get into Tolkien's work for a long time before I caved and finally bought The Hobbit on the Kindle store. I should have gotten a paper copy. This is something I don't think about a lot or rather, I don't think this way for the majority of books I read on my iPad. With The Hobbit, however, I started to get bogged down by the fact that I was reading it on a device.

The Hobbit is dense. Tolkien's writing is full of descriptions of places, languages, and people. Sometimes, the action feels almost like an afterthought. I know The Hobbit is supposed to be a children's book so I didn't expect it to be like those books I read today. However, having a paper copy would have allowed me to highlight and make notes on the paper so I could feel more engaged. I feel like reading it the way I did kind of took away from my enjoyment of the story.

The story was fine, if unconventional in some ways. The way it was told was kind of matter-of-fact but I nevertheless enjoyed the structure. Mostly, it's the narrator describing how Bilbo the hobbit got in an adventure, managed to get into shenanigans, but was able to save himself in the end. It's clear that Tolkien's strength is worldbuilding, not storytelling from the way he describes his world and narrates the story. The story could have been more interesting if the writing was a bit less dry, I think.

Bilbo's adventures were pretty fun if you run through the sequence of events without paying much attention to how it was written. He manages to get himself in and out of a lot of difficult situations, and manages to befriend the dwarves who were originally annoyed by him. In the end, he makes friends with the lot of them, although I felt like he never managed not to be the odd one out in the group. That fact certainly served him well at times, though.

I honestly thought that the last 35+ pages or so would be anticlimactic and I would be disappointed at the lack of action near the end but I was wrong. I hadn't seen the movies, I didn't know it was going to happen. However, Tolkien managed to surprise me and pulled it off in a pretty interesting way. The manner in which it was described can read out of a history book if you took out Bilbo. The end, with Bilbo safely back in his hobbit hole, telling stories with old friends was heartwarming and a perfect conclusion to their adventure.

I think in the end, I don't have a lot of qualms with dry text. Just some when I start to remember what I'm reading is a story, not a biography or a history book. It's still readable. It's just that if I'm reading something that's drier than usual, with more geographical descriptions than it needs, I'm better off reading it with a pen and a highlighter. Will I reread this? Yes. Will I still read the Lord of the Rings? Yes, but I'll read it and the rest of Tolkien's works with paper books.

There was once a time great epic fantasy door stoppers intimidated me. After all, I started A Game of Thrones three years ago and wasn't able to make it through half the book. Most of the books I read were easier to approach trade paperbacks with a readable font, double-spaced and written in first person point of view with a small cast of characters to follow. It then comes as a surprise that I was able to finish two big Wheel of Time books within two weeks. As of Wednesday, I was even afraid that I might be losing interest. Instead, after pushing on, I greatly enjoyed the rest of the book and found myself turning page after page.

This time, only 1 chapter was in Rand's POV. He appears from time to time, in short snippets and we see him in the first few chapters. After that, he appears in thoughts, conversations, and dreams. This allows for a lot of character development involving the other characters- Perrin, Mat, and Egwene being the main characters with POV chapters. All of these proved enjoyable and I'm really intrigued by Mat and Perrin's new abilities. Egwene is also shown as a dreamer. Perrin can also dream like Egwene, because he is a Wolfbrother. He still has yet to fully adjust to his situation though and I would like to see how he comes to accept it. Mat, is really really lucky. He has a strange sort of luck, in that he always wins and I want to know where that came from. Rand, is probably going crazy from the taint.



I love it when books end on moments of awesome (as both first two books did) and this book doesn't disappoint. When Rand touches Callandor, defeats Ba'alzamon , and becomes proclaimed the Dragon Reborn over and over again by everybody, I resisted the urge to pick up The Shadow Rising immediately simply because there are other books to read. It could have ended there. Ba'alzamon is defeated, Rand triumphed. But then Robert Jordan just goes 'Wait, there's more!' I can tell there are way more in store for our heroes, more moments of awesome, and I was even told that the later books are better. I am excited to continue and I will. But first, I'm taking a break, for real this time.

It took me a month to finish The Eye of the World. With The Great Hunt? Five days. There are so many things about this book that really makes it better than TEotW. Here, my belief that I've found my new favourite series was confirmed. The Great Hunt delves into the world that Robert Jordan has created, introducing us to new cultures, characters, and shows us more about how politics works. Being a worldbuilding nerd, I enjoyed every bit of it. Because of his attention to detail, I can picture the events in my head, I can see how they lived and acted. This is something that I always enjoy in fantasy books. Because I turn to it as a form of escapism, details were always welcome, no matter how much of it is present. Here, the world truly felt like it was opening up and I can start to see the truly epic scale of the series.

The characters have grown so much since the first book. I enjoyed reading about their development and I felt like the character progression was natural. I can see why certain characters did what they did and a certain scene involving Egwene in the last chapters of the book felt powerful. I understand why she did that and I felt her rage too. Rand was the main focus of the book, of course. Most of it involved him trying to deny who he is until the time came when he couldn't. He wanted to protect the people he loved and believed that he was too dangerous for them to be around. In the end, the Wheel weaves as the Wheel wills and he has no choice.

I basically read through the last ten chapters of the book within the span of two to three hours between midnight and two in the morning. By the time I finished reading, I felt the urge to pick up the next book which I had on my nightstand. I decided not to because it was a Monday and I still have classes to go to. The point is, the end of the book was simply amazing. I loved every bit of the battle, the struggles, and the ending. Like some other moments in the book, it had a lot of impact.

I really like seeing Rand, Mat, and Perrin grow more powerful and I wonder what else is in store for them. I originally decided to read another book from another series every two WoT books that I finish. That's not going to happen now because the next book I'm reading is The Dragon Reborn.

I don't really read a lot of classic fiction written in the 19th to the early 20th century since I usually find those to be boring. In fact, the classics I tend to like were written in the latter half of the 20th century. Nevertheless, I decided to read a classic of Science Fiction, The Time Machine by H.G. Wells. I haven't read a lot of classic genre fiction but this book has led me to believe that I would like classic genre fiction better than classic literary fiction.

The book opens with The Time Traveller describing to his incredulous friends a time machine that he had made. Later, during a dinner party, he then recounts his adventures hundreds of thousands of years from his time. There, he encounters two species descended from modern humans- the Eloi and the Morlocks. As the story progresses, it becomes apparent to the time traveller the societal ills which led to this sorry state.

I won't spoil more of the story but what really interested me was society presented by H.G. Wells. In The Time Machine, he presented the Eloi who the protagonist believed to be descended from the aristocracy as an indolent race, elegant, childlike, and intellectually stunted. The Morlocks were similarly dim but monstrous in appearance, fearing the light, making everything the Eloi depended upon and believed to be descended from the working class.

Here's what the Time Traveller had to say: "I grieved to think how brief the dream of the human intellect had been. It had committed suicide." and "The rich had been assured of his wealth and comfort, the toiler assured of his life and work."

In this fascinating paradigm, it then appears that the Morlocks were keeping the Eloi as if they're cattle. The Time Traveller sympathizes with the Eloi but I cannot help but sympathize with the Morlocks. I wondered if the result of hundreds of thousands of years of dehumanization would indeed produce such an effect. Here we saw a case of literally "eat the rich". I once read that H.G. Wells' work reflected his politics as a socialist. I myself believe in Social Democracy and I now ask if the need for an equal distribution of wealth is now even more keenly needed. If it doesn't happen, would that be the future of our society? And even if it isn't, shouldn't be a lack of inequality still be the goal along with the complete eradication of social stratification?

What I am now starting to appreciate in science fiction is the politics of the speculative worlds. As an aspiring law student with an interest in politics, I love seeing what kind of societies are predicted for our future. As such, H.G. Wells' The Time Machine was a short but very satisfying read.

I finished this book a few days ago and it took me a while to collect my thoughts. This book was huge, it took me a month to read even on my iPad’s Kindle app. Even with Whispersync, it still took me a month due to my busy schedule and breaks here and there. Despite all of that, I loved it. I love this book despite the slow parts and maybe even the slower parts, if only because of the character building and exposition. I liked the characters; all of them felt real to me, with relatable struggles and sometimes, they’re even funny.

I’ve never read LOTR but I’ve read Middle-Grade and YA fantasy with travelling bands of heroes but The Eye of the World still managed to be its own thing. Sometimes, it even reminds me of video games I like such as Baldur’s Gate and Dragon Age: Origins. I knew then that even if I was getting into a 14-book journey, I wouldn’t mind. I might take breaks but I knew this is going to be a series I can get invested in.

The story seems pretty cliche. Farmboys get chosen by a mysterious magical figure (in this case, the Aes Sedai Moraine) and go on an adventure. Yet, as the story unfolds, we discover many more things about this world. We discover the history of the land, the various cultures, and social norms (female rulers! female magic users!) which I admit, got me excited. While it felt like a beginning, it felt like a beginning to a world that’s just opening up.

The ending was also worth it. Even when I started this book knowing about the main character’s identity, I have to admit I started reading faster in breathless excitement as I read about that battle. It was incredible, especially since one of the things I love most about fantasy novels are epic displays of power.

Rating: 3.5 stars

The Eye of the World is a massive book so I decided to read this alongside it. The contrast between the genres made reading multiple books so much easier. Additionally, I got this book from Humble Bundle a while back and I’m glad I decided to read it. I really liked this book and I would have given it a higher score if it wasn’t for some things that bothered me. First, the things I liked.

I love the alternate history setting. I’m very fond of speculating on alternate history events and while WWII alternate histories aren’t my favorite- I’m from the Philippines- I liked the portrayal of an alternate United States. There’s this overarching theme of paranoia. There’s a lot of paranoia in the Empire from the secret police to loyalty to the USJ and to the Emperor. One of the characters pays lip service to loyalty but doesn’t actually appear to be truly loyal, while the other was loyal to the point of being zealous. I also liked how chapters were structured by time. You can read about events both in the present and the past which makes for pretty good exposition in my opinion. It’s showing, not telling. The overall worldbuilding with a sort of cyberpunk, futuristic 1980s the USA ruled by Japan was very intriguing if a bit lacking. Which brings me to the things that made me give this book a lower rating.

The worldbuilding wasn’t enough for me. I enjoyed reading about the world but there are some parts I found confusing and thought could have been explained better. There are parts where the worldbuilding was great and there are parts where I felt like it was lackluster. I also wish it had more descriptions. A lot of people don’t like overly descriptive books, but it’s something that I like in science fiction and fantasy. The world building alone wasn’t what bothered me, though. The characters felt flat and one-dimensional. Ben was pretty flat all throughout. It didn’t seem like he grew as a character and he stayed the same throughout the book. What depth there appears to be in his character were shown in the past segments but the present parts were lacking. Akiko’s character development felt haphazard and rushed towards the end when for the majority of the book, she was shown to be serious and a zealous officer of the USJ.

So, do I recommend this book?

If you like sci-fi, alternate histories, and giant killer robots, then the answer is yes.

I really enjoyed The Destroyer by Tara Isabella Burton. It’s set in a futuristic version of Rome ruled by Caesar and stars a daughter created by her scientist-mother. The world building is pretty interesting, which makes me sad that it isn’t longer. The mother had a lot of hubris because of her intellect which makes her make a lot of modifications to the daughter she created. I liked the main protagonist’s struggle for individuality and the portrayal of her relationship with her mother. My only real complaint is that I wish this was fleshed out more.

A nice novellete about a woman whose only clue about her father is an old book. Who her father was is obvious from the beginning but the story still managed to be compelling and interesting. I’m would love to know more about her mother though since she interests me more than the protagonist.