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reubenalbatross 's review for:
Shadows of Self
by Brandon Sanderson
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Oh my God I was SO disappointed by this book - at times to the point of anger.
I had to drag myself through it because I've heard this Era gets better, but like during Alloy of Law, I was just BORED and underwhelmed. How could the first trilogy have been so good, yet this is the follow-up??
If the next book doesn't get any better, I will probably have to give up on the series, which I REALLY don't want to have to do.
So, here's a list of my issues with this book:
- There was almost no worldbuilding or power growth. Alloy of Law at least established the new world, so there was some interest, but this had basically NONE. And I really enjoyed the power growth and learning in the first Era, but again, this one was devoid of it - all the characters just had the same abilities without learning anything throughout.
- All of the relationships between characters are so shallow and basic.
- Wayne was good comic relief at times, but just seems like a parody of a character, rather than a real, fleshed out person.
- EVERYTHING seems so toned down, underdeveloped, and no way near as intriguing or complex as the first Era.
- I hardly felt any emotions while reading it. The only times I did feel something were when characters from the first Era were referenced/made an appearance.
- One of the plot points is that the world is stagnating because they have been provided with everything they need. In concept, this is a really interesting idea, but I think in trying to incorporate this, Sanderson just made the book a drag to read.
- Wax is supposed to have a lot weighing on him because he has to protect 'hundreds of thousands of people', but we never get to SEE them. We hardly get any insight into the non-nobility world, so Wax's worries about his responsibilities don't hit hard at all. In the first Era there were characters like Vin and Spook that were skaa and enabled an interesting power dynamic/class discussion. In this book they're all just privileged knobs.
-Bleeder's motivation for everything just being that she was 'mad' was such a weak motivation for a villain. Everything about her was so surface level, and her character just seemed like an excuse for destruction and conflict, rather than an organic villain story.
- All of the reveals were 100% predictable and nothing shocked me at all.
Just WHHYYY??
I had to drag myself through it because I've heard this Era gets better, but like during Alloy of Law, I was just BORED and underwhelmed. How could the first trilogy have been so good, yet this is the follow-up??
If the next book doesn't get any better, I will probably have to give up on the series, which I REALLY don't want to have to do.
So, here's a list of my issues with this book:
- There was almost no worldbuilding or power growth. Alloy of Law at least established the new world, so there was some interest, but this had basically NONE. And I really enjoyed the power growth and learning in the first Era, but again, this one was devoid of it - all the characters just had the same abilities without learning anything throughout.
- All of the relationships between characters are so shallow and basic.
- Wayne was good comic relief at times, but just seems like a parody of a character, rather than a real, fleshed out person.
- EVERYTHING seems so toned down, underdeveloped, and no way near as intriguing or complex as the first Era.
- I hardly felt any emotions while reading it. The only times I did feel something were when characters from the first Era were referenced/made an appearance.
- One of the plot points is that the world is stagnating because they have been provided with everything they need. In concept, this is a really interesting idea, but I think in trying to incorporate this, Sanderson just made the book a drag to read.
- Wax is supposed to have a lot weighing on him because he has to protect 'hundreds of thousands of people', but we never get to SEE them. We hardly get any insight into the non-nobility world, so Wax's worries about his responsibilities don't hit hard at all. In the first Era there were characters like Vin and Spook that were skaa and enabled an interesting power dynamic/class discussion. In this book they're all just privileged knobs.
-
- All of the reveals were 100% predictable and nothing shocked me at all.
Just WHHYYY??