maartje_volder's Reviews (578)

What to say here? I wanted to like this book. I heard such good things about it. But I didn't like it. The pace was weird, the way it was told didn't spark my imagination. Parts felt rushed, others to slow. I can see how this could be a great tv show, the right elements are there, but on paper they don't feel right to me.

I love the way this is all written down and the adventure. Only down side was that after a great battle, the was a great deal of book left and it felt meandering. It was unclear where it was going and that's just not my style XD
drove me mad

I like these books. They have a nice flow, aren't full predictable, and have a good bit of action in it. And a bit of humor.

Good story, leaves a lot of guess work in the first half which is nice. The middle is a wonderful unfurling of the plot, but the way the heros go isn't the only thing that is going on. It's nice to see a world that does not revolve around the main characters. And then, the end. Doors are closed, some seem slammed shut, others are opened and most seem to lead to dark paths. Can't wait to find out more in book number 4!

Right, so I had this idea that the last book was a set up to the new book, but for the author it is just that he likes to leave the world in turmoil. Like an open wound he was like 'yeah, I'm gonna let this fester, maybe I'll look into it, maybe I won't'. So I felt the story would pick up where it left of, but I was wrong. It threw me a whopping 250 years into the future.
That took some adjusting. But I managed. I love fairy tales and this mythical land has glimpses of magical things but it is just all so raw and relastic. Nobody is perfect. You have to question everything. I really liked it, it's the only way you can make such long books and keep them interesting.
The 5th book has been out for a while now, but I can't seem to find the English version for that :( So now I'm sad and unsure what to read next.

I try to do one biography a year and this year I wanted to watch Rocketman so I opted for the Elton John story. It's a good story, something you expect from a man like him. But although he is brutally honest, there are points that seem to be skimmed over. The focus is mainly on how fun and good everything was, while dropping extravagant outbursts like it's no big deal. Then again, it is better to have an outset on life where one focuses on what is good about it day to day. As a more pessimistic person, this whole story would have been so different and the outcome would have been a bit more drastic as well. So I forgive him for that.

Good story, reminded me of Stephen King s 22 11 1963. You don't follow the main shifter so a lot of the last third of the book feels rushed because changes happen and before you can adjust another one is coming.
So it felt to long towards the end, just how many crazy stuff can I add, and the concept and outcome has been done before. Fun read, but the best.

Some classics are wonderful, and some are just not for me.
The first book was alright, although the accounts of fights were a bit short. I knew about the windmills, I just had the idea that there was more behind it than what I knew. I was wrong. The book is also filled out a lot by meeting people and them telling their stories. So at points it's a bit of an inception book. The side characters were of more interest to me than the main.
Book 2 just seems to be repetative. The storyline is very light and the author ever so often reminds us that Don Quixote is mad but wise. I promised myself I would finish it, but it took some effort.

So book 1 maybe 3 starts, book 2 is a solid 1 star. Average out to an average of pretty bad.

I generally liked it, but the last part felt hurried. Like the story needed wrapping up asap and thus boom here is how it turned out to be so.