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leahrosereads's Reviews (1.04k)
The message of this story was absolutely so very important, and I loved the POV being a whale. This story showed the horrors our oceans and the animals that make it their home face due to humans. I've never read anything like this before, but it's such an important topic. We need to treat all world better. End of story. It's imperative that humans do better.
Words are kinda failing me at how much I loved this.
Words are kinda failing me at how much I loved this.
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The art is out of this world! It's breathtaking and truly enhances everything about this story (which itself was a bit disjointed and lackluster). The romance in the first volume felt a bit forced, and I wish it didn't exist, but I'm not quite ready to write-off this story entirely. There's definitely some intrigue here, especially around the magic structure and organizations, and I'm interested to see where this goes.
Such whimsy! Such perfect, err, perfection! This was so completely adorable with a major dash of disturbing (so pretty much a well, perfect book for me). Zuzana and Mik are just the cutest, and I'm so happy I FINALLY read this book! It gave me a deeper glimpse into one of my favorite fictional worlds, and I'm always happy when an author gives us more of their wonderful universes.
10/10 will read again...and again...and again!
10/10 will read again...and again...and again!
adventurous
emotional
fast-paced
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I loved seeing Binti's story taking her back home, interacting with her family and Okwu, and seeing more about her heritage. What Binti goes through in this book is heart wrenching and seems to be too much that any young person should have to face. But, she does it with such strength, it's amazing. Definitely looking forward to seeing how this concludes in Night Masquerade.
Actually 4.5 Stars, but you know it deserves a round up instead of down.
Holy science and tech jargon Batman! If I had stopped to research every single tech or science related sentence in this book, I'd still be reading it and would still be thoroughly freaking confused. After the first chapter, I gave up and instead just went with the assumption that Mark Watney knows what the fuck he's doing. Kind of. He at least knows what he's talking about, and I'm just going to trust (i.e. assume) that it's all legitimate science and tech.
Even if it's not, I actually don't care. Not even a little bit.
While The Martian is a very science laden story, it's still a very human story, and that's why I think it works so well. I quit caring about if it made sense and just started caring about Mark, and what he was going through, and hoping I wasn't reading the journal of a dead man.
He was a very likable character, and I was 100% invested in his journey as a stranded freaking BAMF on Mars.
I had read a few reviews who talked about how funny this story was at times, and having read the synopsis, I assumed those people were out of their damn mind. There's nothing funny about the synopsis, but Watney's journal is filled with his humor, and there were plenty of times I was laughing out loud.
And crying. And gripping the edge of my chair waiting to get back to his journal to know he was OK. And more laughing.
And more crying.
I cannot say enough about his character. Even if you aren't a fan of science fiction, I'd really recommend at least trying this book for the characters alone. Not just Mark, either, although he's clearly the main character. His cast of side characters do add a great element to the story, and I really loved seeing the third person POVs from NASA and Mark's crew.
The plot itself felt like it had been done before, and I'm sure it had, but the Andy Weir's writing kept it interesting, and I felt like the pacing was really well done. I didn't need to skim ever during the techie parts because there was usually action immediately following it. Or Watney's witty fucking humor.
Overall, I just cannot say enough about this story, and I try very hard to avoid spoilers. So, just read it if you haven't. I know I'm late to the game with reading this anyway, but if you're even later...seriously, get to reading this. I started it last night and finished it last night - just could not put the book down.
Holy science and tech jargon Batman! If I had stopped to research every single tech or science related sentence in this book, I'd still be reading it and would still be thoroughly freaking confused. After the first chapter, I gave up and instead just went with the assumption that Mark Watney knows what the fuck he's doing. Kind of. He at least knows what he's talking about, and I'm just going to trust (i.e. assume) that it's all legitimate science and tech.
Even if it's not, I actually don't care. Not even a little bit.
While The Martian is a very science laden story, it's still a very human story, and that's why I think it works so well. I quit caring about if it made sense and just started caring about Mark, and what he was going through, and hoping I wasn't reading the journal of a dead man.
He was a very likable character, and I was 100% invested in his journey as a stranded freaking BAMF on Mars.
I had read a few reviews who talked about how funny this story was at times, and having read the synopsis, I assumed those people were out of their damn mind. There's nothing funny about the synopsis, but Watney's journal is filled with his humor, and there were plenty of times I was laughing out loud.
And crying. And gripping the edge of my chair waiting to get back to his journal to know he was OK. And more laughing.
And more crying.
I cannot say enough about his character. Even if you aren't a fan of science fiction, I'd really recommend at least trying this book for the characters alone. Not just Mark, either, although he's clearly the main character. His cast of side characters do add a great element to the story, and I really loved seeing the third person POVs from NASA and Mark's crew.
The plot itself felt like it had been done before, and I'm sure it had, but the Andy Weir's writing kept it interesting, and I felt like the pacing was really well done. I didn't need to skim ever during the techie parts because there was usually action immediately following it. Or Watney's witty fucking humor.
Overall, I just cannot say enough about this story, and I try very hard to avoid spoilers. So, just read it if you haven't. I know I'm late to the game with reading this anyway, but if you're even later...seriously, get to reading this. I started it last night and finished it last night - just could not put the book down.
Reading adult books is super hard for me at times, especially with back and forth POVs. I wish this was just Simonopio's story with his bees, because it felt like the most interesting part of this story. However, it's really his interactions with the family that make this story so absolutely incredible.
Oh how I wanted to love this more than I did. It was a boring story about one of the more interesting Star Wars characters (or, at least one of my favorites). I guess I just wish this story did Princess Leia justice, and I just don't think it did.
2019 Re-read - Still fucking spectacular!
Did I really just read my favorite book of 2015? I don’t know what other books that may be able to top THE FINAL EMPIRE, but whichever book that may be, it’s going to have to beat the following things that this one did flawlessly:
The hype was strong with this one, and I felt like it was 100% deserved.
This story takes place in The Final Empire where the majority of the population (the skaa) are looked down upon, abused repeatedly, and forced into slave labor by the Lord Ruler and the nobles. They don’t have any hope, because it has literally been beaten out of them for a thousand years.
A thousand years. Of abuse. Of being told that you’re worthless. Of believing you’re not worth a damn. How do you even attempt to combat something so large as that?
Well, if you’re Kelsier, the answer is a rebellion.
Kelsier is a half-breed. He’s skaa, but his father was a nobleman. In The Final Empire, it’s forbidden to father half-breed children, and the mothers are killed before they can carry to term. Usually. Kelsier knows what it is to be skaa. He’d been all but destroyed by the Lord Ruler. When he was captured trying to break into the Lord Ruler’s Keep, Kredik Shaw in Luthadel (the major city of the Empire), Kelsier and his wife, Mare were thrown into the Pits of Hathsin. However, instead of staying defeated or getting himself killed, he rose up, and Snapped after his wife was killed in the Pits.
Snapping is what happens to those that can gain access to the ability to burn metals (use metals they consume). Most people that Snap are Mistings. They are able to burn one type of metal, but Kelsier, is Mistborn. He has access to all the abilities that burning metals give.
Confused? I was, but don’t worry, here's a picture:
So, Kelsier takes his new found freedom from the Pits, and his discovery of being a Mistborn and decides he’s going to overthrow the Lord Ruler. It’s a daunting task, but luckily he enlists the help of his old thieving crew, and Vin (a Mistborn discovered by a member of thieving crew).
This is where the story goes from interesting to amazingly interesting, epic and fantastic.
Although I loved THE FINAL EMPIRE’s plot, setting, and Brandon Sanderson’s storytelling in general, his ability to create characters that were flawed, but spectacular, was amazing. I genuinely cared for all of the good guys, and they all felt necessary. Secondary characters can sometimes feel like filler or fodder for the author to kill off, but that wasn’t the case here.
I want to just write in vivid details how spectacular each of these characters are, but I won’t. I really don’t think I would do these characters justice, no matter how glowingly I talked about them. All I will say was that they each had their place, and that each character filled their roles in a flawless manner.
Mistakes were made, of course, to drive plot and character developments, but what I mean is that Sanderson created characters that were human and fallible, but they were each important. Good guys, bad guys, they all had their place, and even really minor characters helped drive character developments of main characters.
It was just a great experience being able to read about all of these characters and their faults and their improvements and their lives throughout the book.
I mentioned the fact that there was no insta-love, and that the relationships in this book were also done incredibly well.
So for the insta-love, I mentioned Vin above. She’s a street kid who has stayed alive by keeping her head down and using her “Luck” (burning metals instinctively). When Kelsier recruits her to his team, he gives Vin the important task of spying on the noblemen in Luthadel. While in her role as Lady Valette Renoux, she meets Lord Elend Venture, the heir to the Venture House (the ruling/superior noble house in Luthadel). Elend annoys her at first (for the longest time), and it’s not that pseudo-annoyance that turns into love the next page. No, Elend gets on Vin’s nerves. She’s skaa, and he’s a nobleman, and she really dislikes everything about nobleman. He may seem a little different to her, but Vin’s a street kid, and she doesn’t let down her guard easily.
I really enjoyed reading their interactions and how their friendship grew into something more. Like a lot of novels though, that friendship is tested, but it felt extremely realistic and necessary for the story progression.
The relationships between all the crew members also felt realistic. I know that Kelsier had worked with them all in the past, but there was this trust that was believable. Even with the disagreements, there was no underhandedness between the crew members and Kelsier.
I kept waiting for it. I assumed it would happen for drama sake, but it didn't.
Really our good guys had enough to worry about than what deceits their friends may cause them.
I may post more on this review later, so please don't hate me if this gets updated a couple more times. I have more thoughts, and maybe I'll try to clean this up a bit. We'll see.
But seriously guys, if you haven't read this series, you really should. I recommend it to you all!
Did I really just read my favorite book of 2015? I don’t know what other books that may be able to top THE FINAL EMPIRE, but whichever book that may be, it’s going to have to beat the following things that this one did flawlessly:
Exceptionally written characters;
Character development that made logical sense;
A plot with zero holes;
A setting that felt grand and realistic;
The characters, seriously, the characters guys;
A different take on abilities/magic;
World building that was detailed but not daunting;
A kick-ass female character;
No insta-love;
Relationships that felt honest and accurately depicted;
The true meaning of friendship;
A big bad that felt grandiose and undefeatable;
BAMFs doing what BAMFs do;
Yes, yes to all.
The hype was strong with this one, and I felt like it was 100% deserved.
This story takes place in The Final Empire where the majority of the population (the skaa) are looked down upon, abused repeatedly, and forced into slave labor by the Lord Ruler and the nobles. They don’t have any hope, because it has literally been beaten out of them for a thousand years.
A thousand years. Of abuse. Of being told that you’re worthless. Of believing you’re not worth a damn. How do you even attempt to combat something so large as that?
Well, if you’re Kelsier, the answer is a rebellion.
Kelsier is a half-breed. He’s skaa, but his father was a nobleman. In The Final Empire, it’s forbidden to father half-breed children, and the mothers are killed before they can carry to term. Usually. Kelsier knows what it is to be skaa. He’d been all but destroyed by the Lord Ruler. When he was captured trying to break into the Lord Ruler’s Keep, Kredik Shaw in Luthadel (the major city of the Empire), Kelsier and his wife, Mare were thrown into the Pits of Hathsin. However, instead of staying defeated or getting himself killed, he rose up, and Snapped after his wife was killed in the Pits.
Snapping is what happens to those that can gain access to the ability to burn metals (use metals they consume). Most people that Snap are Mistings. They are able to burn one type of metal, but Kelsier, is Mistborn. He has access to all the abilities that burning metals give.
Confused? I was, but don’t worry, here's a picture:
So, Kelsier takes his new found freedom from the Pits, and his discovery of being a Mistborn and decides he’s going to overthrow the Lord Ruler. It’s a daunting task, but luckily he enlists the help of his old thieving crew, and Vin (a Mistborn discovered by a member of thieving crew).
This is where the story goes from interesting to amazingly interesting, epic and fantastic.
Although I loved THE FINAL EMPIRE’s plot, setting, and Brandon Sanderson’s storytelling in general, his ability to create characters that were flawed, but spectacular, was amazing. I genuinely cared for all of the good guys, and they all felt necessary. Secondary characters can sometimes feel like filler or fodder for the author to kill off, but that wasn’t the case here.
I want to just write in vivid details how spectacular each of these characters are, but I won’t. I really don’t think I would do these characters justice, no matter how glowingly I talked about them. All I will say was that they each had their place, and that each character filled their roles in a flawless manner.
Mistakes were made, of course, to drive plot and character developments, but what I mean is that Sanderson created characters that were human and fallible, but they were each important. Good guys, bad guys, they all had their place, and even really minor characters helped drive character developments of main characters.
It was just a great experience being able to read about all of these characters and their faults and their improvements and their lives throughout the book.
I mentioned the fact that there was no insta-love, and that the relationships in this book were also done incredibly well.
So for the insta-love, I mentioned Vin above. She’s a street kid who has stayed alive by keeping her head down and using her “Luck” (burning metals instinctively). When Kelsier recruits her to his team, he gives Vin the important task of spying on the noblemen in Luthadel. While in her role as Lady Valette Renoux, she meets Lord Elend Venture, the heir to the Venture House (the ruling/superior noble house in Luthadel). Elend annoys her at first (for the longest time), and it’s not that pseudo-annoyance that turns into love the next page. No, Elend gets on Vin’s nerves. She’s skaa, and he’s a nobleman, and she really dislikes everything about nobleman. He may seem a little different to her, but Vin’s a street kid, and she doesn’t let down her guard easily.
I really enjoyed reading their interactions and how their friendship grew into something more. Like a lot of novels though, that friendship is tested, but it felt extremely realistic and necessary for the story progression.
The relationships between all the crew members also felt realistic. I know that Kelsier had worked with them all in the past, but there was this trust that was believable. Even with the disagreements, there was no underhandedness between the crew members and Kelsier.
I kept waiting for it. I assumed it would happen for drama sake, but it didn't.
Really our good guys had enough to worry about than what deceits their friends may cause them.
I may post more on this review later, so please don't hate me if this gets updated a couple more times. I have more thoughts, and maybe I'll try to clean this up a bit. We'll see.
But seriously guys, if you haven't read this series, you really should. I recommend it to you all!
Conceptually, this is a 5 star book for me. I fucking loved the premise of it, and the weirdness of this story really elevated it for me. Unfortunately, I didn't particularly like the romance element to this (it felt incredibly forced and unnecessary), the multiple POV, or the pacing. Those three items almost ruined a perfectly bizarre story. I'm definitely interested in seeing what other YA weirdness I can discover, and I'll be interested in seeing what this author puts out next.
Meh. So, I looked at some spoilers and realized this is pretty much going to be Celaena's story, and I just don't know if I have it in me to read through all of that. She is easily one of my least favorite MC's. Celaena's narcissistic and petty and talks a big game, but she felt incredibly incompetent here. What the hell am I missing? And while this is a 2012 novel when love triangles were all the rage, but dear god did it feel unnecessary here. I just don't know.
I wish this was about Nehemia. Now she was an interesting character.
I wish this was about Nehemia. Now she was an interesting character.