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The Will of the Many by James Islington

First book in the Hierarchy series, which I believe is planned as a trilogy. The second is schedule for release later this year. Had a false start with this book last December, but was too Stormlight Archive brained and only got to page 3. It took until now for the Libby hold to come back to me. Honestly, the worst part of this book was that the wait time for it is so long. Once I started the pacing was so well done I couldn’t put the book down. It felt like I was at the mercy of everyone else’s plots the same as Vis. Just constantly jerked around by a series of unending machinations.

I do have some critiques, mainly that the main character does fall into a bit of the “main teenage protagonist is good at everything” trap. Overall, that issue didn’t bother me much. The book is first person from the main character, Vis’, point of view. It’s clear he’s only a semi-reliable narrator. He isn’t getting away with his lies as well as he thinks.

This is clearly a book 1/setup book. So many issues are introduced, and it was easy as the reader to lose sight of the larger issues in favor of the minor, more immediate problems. This feels intentional, in my opinion. Like it’s a feature of Vis being a teenager and also losing sight of the larger goals.

The world itself is very interesting. Unusually, I didn’t mind the school aspect of this book. But I am hoping for the world to expand in book 2. The Roman Empire is not my Roman Empire, so I wasn’t expecting to be so engrossed in a vaguely romantic empire inspired setting, but it really grew on me. And I hope book 2 delves more into the details and implications of the pyramid scheme magic system. This, more than anything, is a defining part of this world.

Overall, I ended the book feeling like I had no idea what was going on anymore but probably in a good way. But also that my opinion of book 1 will be heavily influenced by book 2.

“That’s how the Hierarchy operates, after all: the potential of reward ahead, the menace of punishment chasing behind. Even if only one of them is usually real.”

“‘Keep in mind what I’ve said. Victims can still be enemies.’”

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The Westing Game by Ellen Raskin

A book I remember liking as a child - many, many years ago. After a couple of decades, the details have faded, but I remembered really loving the book. It’s cute! Turtle is the best. The motivations of Sam Westing make no sense but that’s fine. A cast of characters is gathered into an apartment building to “solve” Sam Westing’s death per the terms of his will, like a weird version of Clue. The characters make the book more than the plot. It’s still childishly funny.

“It is not what you have, it’s what you don’t have that counts.”

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The Poppy War by R. F. Kuang

Book 1 of the trilogy. This was a weird reading experience. The beginning of the novel, on the surface, sounds like something I would not like: teen protagonist goes to military school, has to deal with school bullying, ends up having magic powers and learning under a mysterious older master. Despite usually not liking teenage protagonists, Rin was engaging very early, and I was super on board with her journey to escape from the role she was being forced into as a lower class, female orphan. And then found her military school experience very interesting, and was appreciating how many of her issues - with classism, racism, etc - were not things she could actually escape, they just changed form.

If the entire book was written in keeping with part 1, I’d easily put this book on my highly recommended list. But then part 2 happened. Somehow, while the actual action was ramping up, the book felt like it lost steam. In theory, I don’t mind a tonal shift, and think one was appropriate in this instance. However, it needs to be executed carefully. After spending about 35-40% of the book effectively world building, and laying a foundation for the book in a well-paced way, the plot through part 2 felt incredibly rushed.

Further, I have a decent enough working knowledge of the history of the second Sino-Japanese war to recognize a lot of the inspiration for the plot. While I don’t mind drawing from real history for a fantasy novel, I wish part 2 had lingered more and integrated that history into the fantasy world more completely. Instead, it felt a bit like a copied list of historical events with the names changed. The list like quality left me never quite emotionally connecting with the events or the characters as they experienced them. Without that connection, by the end of part 2, very few of the character’s motivations made much sense. They seemed they were just whatever was needed to advance the plot.

On positive notes, even when I started to disconnect from the plot, the writing style (sentence structure, word choice, etc) was very well done and made for swift reading without getting fatigued, so there was never a moment where I wanted to DNF. And main character, Rin, started out very well - overcoming my teenage protagonist bias.

Overall, I think this book had an interesting foundational idea with a lot of potential, but tried to fit too much into one book and in doing so sacrificed having truly impactful emotional experience of the plot, and connection to the characters. Still undecided if I’ll try the second book in the trilogy, but leaning towards no. I do have another book by the same author - not of this series and written later - that I am going to try eventually. I liked the prose enough to give the author another shot.

“Destiny is a myth. Destiny is the only myth. The gods choose nothing. You chose.”

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The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Full disclosure, I have seen the movie. It’s been a long time, but I remembered more than expected. The movie was enjoyable. The book was also enjoyable. Aside from not really having surprises in the plot, I think the only real cross contamination is that Martin will always have Alan Rickman’s voice in my head.

This is book is like if Doctor Who was satire. Amazing how some of the themes are still applicable today. Ridiculous bureaucracy and cops using excessive force, just to name a few.

Not all of the humor landed with me, but I enjoyed the satire aspect. I’m a fan of absurdity in comedy, but mostly when it’s absurd situations. Other parts, like the name Slartibartfast, just don’t really do it for me.

‘“I don’t want to die now!’ he yelled. ‘I’ve still got a headache! I don’t want to go to heaven with a headache, I’d be all cross and wouldn’t enjoy it!”’

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Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones

Cute and easy reading. I adore the Studio Ghibli movie on its own, and now, having read the book, I think it’s an amazing adaptation. The movie plot isn’t one-to-one the same as the book, but they share a similar soft and silly feeling, and invoke the same nostalgia. I probably won’t reach for this book for a reread the way I rewatch the movie. But definitely putting it on my cozy books to recommend list.

Lettie is more central to the book plot. And Howl is so much more pathetic in the most hilarious ways.

“I’m a coward. Only way I can do something this frightening is to tell myself I’m not doing it!”

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The Way of Kings Prime by Brandon Sanderson

Why did I read this? Because I’m still in post Wind and Truth withdrawal. Was it worth it? Probably not, but I found it enjoyable on some level and I don’t regret it. Was more engaged with the story than I was for Elantris, and never hit rage-quit levels of frustration like I almost did with Well of Ascension.

This was academically interesting to read for sort of tracking the growth of a writer. And also to see the evolution of an idea from first draft to finished product. The base here wasn’t bad, but it was unfocused, confusing, and many of the characters lacked the depth that is my favorite part of the Stormlight Archive.

Is it possible for a man to so fill his life with important things that he doesn’t have time enough left for the ones that are vital.

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A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine

The sequel to A Memory Called Empire. I started this one but progressed slowly because it was January. I may need to reread it with fresh eyes later. The first half of the book was very good, but not as engaging for me personally as book one. Part of this was probably the seasonal affective disorder, part was because the POV character list expanded to include a child. While it is an engaging child, I always struggle with young protagonists. However Mahit and Three Seagrass are still there and causing trouble by being disaster lesbians. Mahit, especially, is dealing with the consequences of her actions (and Yskandr’s) and grappling with the ways she is now foreign to her original home of Lsel, while also being too foreign to be of the The Empire. The dichotomy of not being truly at home in either. Plus, she has a fully adult Yskandr in her head, which is an adjustment.

The alien threat that Mahit made the empire aware of at the end of last book is front and center as the big issue this book. The author does an excellent job of making them seem distinct and alien from humans.

Once I came back to the book near the end of February, I immediately got sucked in. The political intrigue is high. The potential invading alien force has things tense. There’s a distinct feeling of uncertainty and a sense of … either devour or be devoured, on many levels. The parallels between the ‘aliens’ and stationers in relation to the empire are strong. And so is the idea that neither side can interact without being affected by the other. I might come back and comment more on themes later after I’ve processed the book more.

Overall, I really liked it. Mahit, Yskandr, and Three Seagrass were highlights as always. Twenty Cicada also joined my favorites list. I’ll need to reread it when feeling more fresh, but still think it was an amazing book even if it didn’t grip me the way book 1 managed.

“<Propaganda’s fascinating when it’s inside your own mind,> Yskandr murmured.”

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Vengeful by V. E. Schwab

The sequel to Vicious. Each book in this series seems to have one quarter that’s slower and more difficult to get through. For Vengeful, it’s the first quarter. Afterwards the book really hits its stride and doesn’t come back down.

The Januaries hit hard this year, so reading has been difficult. But I managed to stick to reading every day, even if just a few pages. This was the first book to finally pull me out of the slump a bit. The prose is an easy read, and the very short chapters make it easily digestible. My only issue is the early chapters jump around in the timeline a lot. While each is clearly labeled, I still had trouble keeping track of when each chapter was.

The plot picks up with our main characters from book one. Sydney is growing up. Victor is suffering the consequences of dying. Mitch is around. Eli is having an exceptionally bad time. Some new characters are introduced. I’m still unclear about the actual character of one of them, June, aside from a convenient plot device. The other, Marcella, is kind of lost in the first quarter but becomes rather interesting in the rest.

While the main characters (mostly) remain the “villains” in this book, they are somehow not the most horrifying or terrifying people in the book.

The book was engaging and exactly the kind of light adrenaline rush I needed right now, even if it’s not a book that I’ll find myself returning to for a reread, or that will live rent free in my head. But it’s a good series, I might read more by this author.

“Normal is overrated. Spoken like someone who didn’t have to work so hard at it. Who hadn’t needed normal to survive.”

“Crime has gone down, as promised.” “No,” said Stell, “it’s simply been consolidated.”

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A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

This might be my favorite read of 2024. HIGHLY RECOMMEND. A sci-fi mixed with mystery. The space colonizing human empire of Teixcalaan requests a replacement ambassador to the empire from the independent space station colony of Lsel. With no explanation of why a new ambassador is needed, one is sent with only an extremely out of date memory chip of the first ambassador.

The book has everything. Engaging characters, political intrigue, poetry, mystery, budding relationships, and a fascinating look at the nature of individuality and what makes a person. The pacing and prose are both excellent. Honestly a 10/10 book for me. VERY excited to start the sequel.

“There is, Tarats believes, a kind of inevitability to empire unchecked.”

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Wind and Truth by Brandon Sanderson

Spoilers!!!!!:

Book 5 of the Stormlight Archive. I finished the book in four days and immediately started a (much slower) reread. Decided to spend time processing before putting thought to words. It’s a book I increasingly like the more I sit with it. First, I’m a sucker for stories that circle back on themselves, where they repeat in some ways earlier events or themes. This book does this so well, both internally and back to previous books in the series. Even in how the Way of Kings Prelude and Wind and Truth Postlude were both Kalak’s point of view. Second, slightly related to the first, I love good foreshadowing. This book strikes an amazing balance between satisfyingly foreshadowed events and surprises. Third, the characters continue to shine in this book.

This is definitely a conclusion to an arc, not to the series. It answered so many questions, and raised so many new ones. But given the scope of Stormlight, it had a lot to do in a short (relatively- can’t believe I’m calling a 1300+ book short) amount of time, and it did so mostly well, but I think page constraints contributed to some parts feeling a bit rushed.

I hope audiobook listeners check out the art - especially the chapter headings. It was so incredibly impactful and a defining part of my reading experience. I cried at the epilogue arch with Kaladin’s face on the stone, and had to put the book down for a few minutes before finishing.

In my opinion, parts of day one were a bit rough (though I am appreciating it more on reread, even if it still feels a bit clunky). But the rest of the book was excellent. This book deviates from the previous format, both in that it’s separated by days rather than parts, but also in that previous books have, generally, been a slow build to a huge dramatic climax (Sanderlanche). Where this book felt as if it was a Sanderlanche of the first half of Stormlight Archive.

Favorite character arcs this story include Adolin (and Maya), Jasnah, Renarin and Rlain, and Kaladin. Jasnah’s was emotionally rough but not unexpected, and feels necessary for her character. Renarin and Rlain are just perfect, and I was pleasantly surprised at how their developing relationship was handled. Adolin and Maya are fantastic, per usual, and their interactions were a highlight. Kaladin’s plot started a bit rough. I wasn’t entirely convinced by it until the part where he fights Nale, but that scene sold me on it. Once I was sold on it, I was ALL IN and there was no going back. Considering the events of Rhythm of War, this was the only way I would have accepted Kaladin making a sacrificial play - in choosing to live, of sorts.

Wasn’t expecting how little we got of El or Moash. Curious to see where that goes in the back half. Very excited for more Yanagawn (hopefully).

This book is not a happy ending, but it is a hopeful one. People are separated or dead (or presumed dead), large portions of the continent lost. But, so much room has been left for the back half. It isn’t over. It has a distinct feeling of, as Wit said, that they will be warm again. Not quite sure how I’m supposed to wait until book 6 though. Reread to cope, I suppose.

Might edit this later when I remember everything I wanted to say but forgot about.

“A little,” Renarin said. “The thing is, the deepest truths always sound a little trite. Because we all know them, and feel foolish being reminded.”

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Perdido Street Station by China Miéville

This book follows a pair in a discrete interspecies relationship as they navigate their lives in the city of New Crobuzen. Isaac, a human scientist who is generally an outsider to the academic/scientific community, gets tasked with assisting a visitor to the city recover his ability to fly. The visitor, Yagharek, is a garuda (bird like flying species), is unable to fly after being punished for committing the only crime his people recognize, choice theft. Meanwhile, Isaac’s girlfriend, Lin, an artist and now an outsider to her original New Crozuben khepri (humanoid insects) community, is commissioned by a mob boss to create a work of art. Beyond the plot, this is a book about ethically/morally complex choices which don’t always have clear answers, the nature of consciousness, and transitions.

I knew this book was my type of thing very early on; however, though it is a good book I would hesitate to recommend. World building is done effectively and quickly. The main characters are well-established as people living in complex situations. The world of New Crobuzon is so well described it is a visceral experience. Rarely have I read a world and physically felt the environment to such a degree, as if the city grime made manifest on my own skin.

The reason I would hesitate to recommend this book is the prose. It is a beautifully done - stunning in some instances - but a challenging read. Highly recommend if you enjoy long descriptions of the environment and eclectic word choices. There’s an amazing contrast between the flowery language used to describe the world, and how the nature of the world being described is often odd and incomprehensible, brutal and disgusting. Sometimes the description went a bit overboard, in my opinion, where it carried on long enough I would lose focus and then suddenly find that something important had been introduced in the middle of a paragraph. It tested the edges of my vocabulary, which I usually appreciate but in this case happened often enough it could be distracting. It is not an easy read. But it is a good one.

The pacing of the book also felt a bit odd. The first couple hundred pages went quickly, and the last couple of hundred were engaging, but the middle felt a little bogged down despite important things happening.

To describe the book with no plot spoilers, it would be a group of people in an adult, very dark, Alice in Wonderland/cosmic horror flavored city, and those people get themselves into capital-s Situations. The weirdness makes sense in this world, and though I often would ask “What was that????” and have backtrack when something particularly odd came up, very few of the oddities felt out of place.

As someone who reads a lot and is a fast reader, this book forced me to slow down. I can’t remember the last time a book - regardless of length - took me over a month to read. At times this made me impatient, but I still enjoyed the journey. Did I like it? Yes. Would I recommend it? Maybe, depending on the person. Will I read more by this author? Very likely, but it might be awhile. Will see the next time I’m feeling up for a challenge.

“”This is what makes the world, Ms. Lin. I believe this to be the fundamental dynamic. Transition. The point where one thing becomes another. It is what makes you, the city, the world, what they are. And that is the theme I’m interested in. The zone where the disparate become part of the whole. The hybrid zone.””

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DNF - The Sword of Kaigen: A Theonite War Story by M. L. Wang

My first DNF of the year. I was pretty sure it wasn’t for me within the first 30 pages, but it came highly recommended so figured I’d push through to give it a fair shot. Got to page 100 and decided to stop there. I only continued even that far because the book felt like it could, eventually, turn into something more to my taste. Either by adding more complexity to the characters, or beginning to address themes that were being teased, or have some sort of conflict/action introduced. But by the time I stopped I was mostly just dissatisfied and not looking forward to reading. Life’s too short and my TBR list is too long to spend time reading things I don’t enjoy.

The book follows two characters, a mother and son. Part of the issue is I struggle with any media with a teenage protagonists, and found this to be true with this book. Also, in 100 pages very little actually happened. There was substantial world building done in the first part of the book, and much of it was well done; however - and this is a matter of personal preference - I wasn’t particularly interested in the world that was being built.

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The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Light and fun with some unexpectedly heart wrenching moments. The variety of species, all distinct, is done very well and is enjoyable. The crew were fun and easy to get attached to individually and together. The plot is engaging without being overly complicated, so this is a good book for decompressing after reading something with intense world building.

My only “complaint” is just a personal issue I often have in sci-fi - that there are time skips based on a made up date system. I find this really difficult to follow since I can’t conceptualize how much time has passed.

This doesn’t rank as highly for me as Psalm For The Wild=Built, but that’s just a matter of personal preference. I’ll definitely end up reading the next book in this series eventually.

“In many ways, the idea of a shared stock of genes drifting through the galaxy is far easier to accept than the daunting notion that none of us may ever have the intellectual capacity to understand how life truly works.”

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Stormlight Archive 1-4 Reread

With book 5 coming soon, I decided to do a reread of the first four books now that I’ve read the rest of the Cosmere to see it again, fresh, with the broader context. This series really pays off on reread. In my opinion, coming back through a second time equalized my enjoyment of each novel. Not that any of them were bad on first read - individually, they are my favorite Sanderson novels to date, so saying I enjoyed one more than another is still comparing within my top 5 - however, a reread has made determining my favorite Stormlight book extremely difficult. Maybe impossible.

For myself, I stand by the reading order for Cosmere introduction. Mistborn is often the recommended starting point. At the advice of a friend, I started with Stormlight instead and am glad for it. I would not have read more Cosmere if I started with Mistborn. Well of Ascension would have been a DNF, and probably would not have picked up Stormlight. Which would be terrible, as it’s one of my favorite series ever now.

On reread, I think either Stormlight or Warbreaker is the correct place to start. Or, to read Warbreaker before Oathbringer. Oathbringer was my least favorite of the four on first read. With context from Warbreaker, it was more enjoyable. And then read Dawnshard before Rhythm of War. Edgedancer, though it is chronological before Oathbringer, can be saved for after finishing ROW.

Oathbringer might still be my least favorite of the four, if only because Dalinar’s are my least favorite flashbacks. But it has my second favorite Sanderlanche. Nothing quite hits like Way Of Kings. And where Rhythm of War was my third favorite originally, because on first read, I found Venli chapters difficult to get through. On reread her perspective was fascinating and filled with lore. Her character seems so incredibly emblematic of the themes of Stormlight, where anyone at anytime can change to be better than who they were at the start. So on reread, the ROW experience felt significantly more balanced and made me love a book I already liked. Way of Kings on first read felt slow in parts, where I was so invested in Kaladin’s story and then bored by Shallan. This was not the case on reread, where it is Shallan’s chapters dropping hints of the overarching plot set against Kaladin’s more personal journey.

Overall, Stormlight is amazing. Kaladin owns my heart. I spend almost as much time wondering who Shallan is as she does. Unclear how I’m supposed to make it until December.

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Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

I read it mostly for the Cosmere lore. This book was sometimes fine but it’s the second Cosmere book I almost decided not to finish. Not to say it was bad, but it never hit a point where I was particularly engaged. The characters (Sarene and Raoden) often felt like prototypes for ones in later works who feel more complex and complete. Like this was a practice run.

The chapter point of view alternated every chapter in a consistent pattern that sometimes felt forced, as if the narrative pacing was forced to fit the structure rather than using the structure to enhance the narrative. This resulted in very odd pacing.

The magic system manages to be the most pedantic in the Cosmere to date, which isn’t a criticism, just a comment. I don’t mind it at all.

Character’s personal arcs didn’t always make much sense. And one character is named Dilaf which was really distracting as I kept misreading it as DILF, which kind of took me out of the scene.

There were hints of Cosmere lore, and recognizable people and magic that I saw in other books and now make sense. It was nice to get a more in depth explanation for Elantris based magic that has been spotted in other Cosmere books.

“”We’re not dead, Galladon, and we’re not damned. We’re just unfinished.””

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White Sand Vol 1-3 by Brandon Sanderson

These were available so I skimmed them in one day. My opinion on graphic novels has not changed; I still find them visually overwhelming and difficult to read. Just overall not my thing. (The exception being The Sandman, but that’s a different story).

Can’t say I absorbed much of the plot, but the art is good. The first style reminds me of the way scenery used to be animated in “old” movies like The Aristocats. The second style felt more modern. Starker lines, fewer details. An art style I don’t like as much, but it made it MUCH easier to focus on the written words. The third art style strikes the best balance between interesting art while not being so overwhelming with the details as to detract from the words.

This felt a bit like Star Wars and Cosmere crossover. Got strong Tatooine vibes. Overall, I found most of the characters a bit annoying until the last half of volume 3. However, this is the introduction of Khriss, so worth checking out for her backstory, and for more info about another Cosmere planet (Taldain) and magic system. If you’ve read Mistborn Era 2, it adds some context. Surprised Sanderson included a stay at home dad character, which was a fun surprise. Whoever drew Baon in volume 3 knew what they were doing and I’d like to thank them for their service.

Of them, volume 3 was the most interesting. Worth noting that there is an Omnibus version. After doing some comparisons with a friend, they are not identical. There is some different dialogue throughout. And the Omnibus includes other things, like Khriss’ notes.

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Arcanum Unbounded: The Cosmere Collection by Brandon Sanderson

This post does not include discussion of Edgedancer or Secret History as I’ve read them previously and did not reread them here.

Arcanum is worth flipping through if you’re Cosmere obsessed. Some of the short stories are more worthwhile than others. There are description blurbs for many of the systems of the Cosmere which are very informative.

Thoughts on them, in no particular order:

Allomancer Jak … was something. In my opinion, the most skippable story in the collection. I’m perfectly happy with AJ only being the occasional broadsheets blurb.

The White Sand snippet was interesting, but I’m not sold on reading a graphic novel. Other than The Sandman, graphic novels aren’t really my thing. My interest is mostly related to larger Cosmere lore introduced in Lost Metal and possibly hinted at in Tress of the Emerald Sea.

Eleventh Metal didn’t really add much to the Mistborn series. It only confirmed suspicions about Ruin’s involvement in everything. Worth reading if you want more Kelsier.

Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell was a great mini stand alone story if you’re into suspense and mild-horror. Got invested early and thought it was a great inclusion. Did not seem to have a lot of lore implications, but does add a bit of context to The Sunlit Man.

Don’t have much to say about The Hope for Elantris. Might make more sense if I’d read Elantris.

The Emperor’s Soul is my second favorite of the collection. Shai was one of the most personally relatable characters in the Cosmere. The story touches on topics of philosophy and theology and just what generally makes a person. Weirdly reminds me a little bit of Cyberpunk 2077, but with magic rather than a tech.

Sixth of the Dusk is by far my favorite story in this collection. Basically set in a Cosmere version of Polynesia/Australia (where all the wild life can and will kill you). One of my favorite environments described in the Cosmere, and one I’d least like to visit in real life. Story was incredibly suspenseful. The writing did so much work in such a short amount of time. Honestly, it’s proof that Sanderson can write a good story in under 100 pages. It’s another example of Sanderson using a dart board with random words to make a magic system. In this case, magic birds. There’s serious hints towards larger Cosmere involvement without giving any concrete answers. Very intriguing.

“That was the nature of the waters. You never knew what lurked below.”