Very good dystopia, where you get the inside view of how a system can just show how it is slipping, right before the fall

continuing on a good set up is always a bit dangerous. There are some inconsistencies here that require minor altercations on the first novel, that bugs me. The end seems a bit iffy.

Spoiler

Why not get more people in the safe vault?

the story is fine, well written, the look into the thunderheads mind is nice. But the big twist at the end just feels so much like a set up for a new book. The biggest thrill at the end, leaving on a cliffhanger.

I went into this with expectations about the timespan, namely that it would conclude with the return of the king, but the timepath is far more slow and this irked me. The writing is lovely, the view from gods is interesting, but the story progress is a bit too slow to my taste. Was a struggle to finish.

Good ending, diverse, not black or white. Some have a better outcome that others, but fair.

Nice little spin off what could happen if the world gets a new crises and how a brother and sister would handle it differently. Bit too much of a moral line at the end for me. The book tries to make you curious about part 3 but it just didn't tickle me

Not the happy story i thought it would be based on the reviews. I did have a few chuckles due to witty comments but all in all the story was pretty sad. Didn't like the happy end were all the loose strings are tied up.

Most of the book felt like you can't get what you want and the end was oh wait a minute, you can!

Very insightfull, a lot to take in, had to cry a few times as the realizations just hit you.
Might have to revisit in due time to get the most out of this.

Fairytales are fun, but these are so different from the Western ones. Where ours have been made to frighten and contain heavy loads of good and evil, these are more subtle. There is no real evil, most rulers are fair and wise (they might have a temper) and most people are very honest.

The story best known is that of Aladdin, or so I tought as I knew the Disney interpretation but the fairytale is very different from that. The character of Aladdin is not very likeable, as a good adolescent he is a pain in the donkey towards his parents (which he has) and he has unlimited wishes! Also there is no Jasmin but the princess Badroulbadour. Biggest difference is probably that the whole story takes place in China (making the broadway adapation from last year more realistic than expected as their Aladdin was of Azian decent).

good light read to just enjoy
Bit on the nose, and i wasn't really feeling the big reveal thing, was made out to be much more than it should have been. Still, was a good read, especially in the summer