Greetings, my fellow readers,
This post is rather overdue. I had meant to post it at the beginning of the second week of January, but oh well, better late than never.
Today I have for you a review of everything I read (to completion) in the previous year. I read twenty books totally, a good deal of which were - to my delight - independently published. The majority of my traditional reads are Sanderson books, as I had been trying to read them all as fast as possible so that I would be in no danger of spoilers when I quested to Castle Dragonsteel with my companions.
If you are not a Sanderfan - as I like to call such people - perhaps skip on over to the indie section.
Traditional
This year I read thirteen traditionally published books. These were...
Mistborn: Era 1
I greatly enjoyed this trilogy. It offered much that was unexpected and appreciated for the genre of fantasy, help intriguing plots and characters, and had fascinating worldbuilding. I gave each book 5/5, but I read them too quickly to be able to give proper reviews based off of my rating system. On a 10 star scale, I believe the series as a whole would be around 9, if not 10.
There was one particular aspect of this trilogy that I was not a fan of that became most prevalent in the last book, and that one thing is a reoccurring criticism I have for the Cosmere books, but that is something I would like to address in an all-spoilers discussion of that very matter. All in all, I enjoyed the series, but especially the first book.
Mistborn: Era 2 (excluding The Lost Metal)
These books were quite enjoyable. I wouldn't say I got as invested in these as I did the former, but given I was listening to them in audio form rather than reading them, that may not be the fault of the story itself. The worldbuilding was very interesting and enjoyable, as were the different cases that Wax and Wayne handled, and the ways that they tied together.
I quite liked Wax and Wayne, they are fun characters who now abide in my mind without paying and living fee. Anything to do with the characters, really, I liked (the exception being one particular character who I really did not care for basically at all).
Like with the first era of Mistborn, though for a different reason, there was something in the last book that I was not the biggest fan of. As I said, this critique is not the same as the one I have for the first era of Mistborn. It's more of a creative decision I was, and am, skeptical of.
On the 5/5 scale, I gave each book 5 stars. Like with Mistborn era 1, I went through these so fast I didn't have time to rate them through my system. But if I were to give it a rating on the 10 star scale, I imagine it would be somewhere around an 8.
Words of Radiance
I completely forgot I read this this year, it feels like ages ago. Well, really, I starting reading it this time last year and then finished it in February, so that makes sense. I trust you will forgive me for not remembering all of the fine details of this book or all of my first impressions.
I, criminally, did not rate or review this once I finished it, but I do remember a few key things about it that stood out to me. So far, I think this would be the Stormlight book I least like. Please do not misunderstand, I do not dislike it, I just like it less. I still thoroughly enjoyed it, but the story largely followed Shallan, and Shallan and I tend to clash quite a bit. I like her and think she is a good character, but there's something about her that rubs me the wrong way (aside from the excessive use of the word "sketch" when the word "draw" should be used - that will always infuriate me and I beseech every writer to avoid this. Sketching and drawing are two different things).
In addition to that, Sanderson included a trope that I always dislike and in this context greatly disliked.
But that aside, the book was good, funny, intriguing, terrifying, beautiful, and heartbreaking, in all the right places.
This too would likely get a 5/5, or a 8.5-9/10.
Oathbringer
Ah, Oathbringer... I really liked this one. Dalinar is my very favorite character in the Cosmere franchise, and so reading a book focused on him was delightful. And heartbreaking. And terrible. And beautiful.
But this book is the first one in the Stormlight Archive to include that on-going criticism I have for Sanderson's books.
Still, it was an excellent book and I thoroughly enjoyed it. 5/5, or 9/10.
Rhythm of War
Dear goodness I read three Stormlight books this year? This must have been an exceptionally long year.
This was another book that I consumed via audio, and so once again I must disclaim that my comprehension and immersion took a few hits here and there. I was also listening to it on x3 speed for a good chunk of it, as I had to finish the book before visiting Castle Dragonsteel (though my traveling companions did make sure to move it down to x1.5 speed or so towards the end so that I wouldn't gloss over important or emotional parts).
I thoroughly enjoyed it despite this, and my companions can attest to my extreme emotional states throughout the book.
5/5 or 9/10 stars.
Elantris
This is the last Sanderson book on this list and honestly, it is probably the most unique out of all of them. I have heard many people almost apologetically suggest reading Elantris, they insist on saying that it isn't as good or as well written as his other books, that there's a rough spot at x point, that the prose are a certain way that they believe should be displeasurable to all readers, etc.
Yet, and I do believe this is not solely because of my contrarian nature, I thoroughly enjoyed Elantris and had little to no issue with it. I still have no idea what the allegedly particularly rough spot is.
I will say that it could often feel like it was dragging along, but I put that down to the switches in perspectives more than anything (I always struggle with hopping minds, though I do not oppose it all together). Though there were particular scenes that I wasn't fond of because they edged too closely to a trope, or perhaps theme, that I dislike, and tend to find boring to read.
I don't know how to explain or describe it, but the thing that I especially love about Elantris is the nostalgic feeling to it. I couldn't tell you what it is, but the atmosphere of the book is very reminiscent of... honestly, I'm not even sure what the year it would've been, but let's just say quite some time ago. Perhaps it is how contained yet creative the story is, or the character types. I am not sure. But that instantly made this a comfort read for me.
5/5 stars or 8-9/10.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
I listened to this rather than read it, and I know that seriously impacted my understanding of the story. That, or I'm just far less observant than I thought, for I entirely missed the "why" of the story. I was aware of what people said about it and how my culture has adapted and interpreted it, of course, but as I was listening to it I could not find all of these things within the story itself.
I find that quite odd, given I knew the twist to the story.
Still, I enjoyed this book, though I do feel like it ended rather abruptly all things considered.
3/5 stars, not sure what I would give this on a 10 star scale. Perhaps a 4.5?
The Boy, the Mole, the Fox, and the Horse
This little book was a dear one. It is full of sweet sayings, lovely illustrations, and heartfelt thoughts. It's a coffee table book, not a novel, but a very valuable one.
There is something very nostalgic about the overall character of this book, from the art to the writing to the things it is saying. I'm not quite sure how to describe it, but it reminds me of being read to when I was little.
This book is all the more precious to me because it was given to me by my wonderful employer (well, one of them, anyways, for there are two and they are both quite wonderful). It's value is increased by the fact that she wrote a note inside the cover.
As you can see, this book is so sentimental I can't not love it. 5/5 stars, or 9.5/10. There's no reason for it to be less than that on either scale, for it does nothing offensive in any regard.
The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
This was another audiobook for me, and I really enjoyed it. I think that as far as Narnia books go, it's the best (at least, so far). Not my favorite necessarily, but the best.
The former two books were good, but this one has an excellent balance of the elements it presents, and I think that the first two books were somewhat lacking in that department.
We also got more "show" than "tell" in this book, whereas I think that was the reverse for the first two books.
In any case, I love Narnia, and I like the books quite well.
4/5 stars or perhaps 7/10.
Independent
This year I read seven independently published books. These are...
Marked by the Dragon series by Richard Fierce
I stumbled across these books whilst rummaging on the internet. I came across the completed audiobooks, made public by the author, and quickly devoured all four (which is not saying much on my end as they are each around three hours long).
I could not tell you the name of any one or thing in this series, but I did casually enjoy it. It was well done and entertaining, just not necessarily impressive. A good side-quest in the main plot of my reading life, I'd say.
The story opens following a girl who I think was named something starting with an M. Myra? Mera? *checks* Mina! I should've remembered that, being a fan of Bram Stoker's Dracula. In any case, it opens with her and a nobleman's hunting party as they hunt down a dragon.
Mina has been brought along, as she always is with these hunts, because she has a dragon scale embedded in her leg. This scale makes it so that she can feel when a dragon is close (I think I recall the scale gets hotter the closer she is to one).
Mina wants to find the dragon that the scale in her leg belongs to, because if she finds it and it is killed, not only will she be able to remove the scale from her leg, but she will also be useless to the nobleman (whose name and position I forget).
But that's just Mina's side of things. We also follow a man, named Caden. I have forgotten Caden's ambitions and the like in this book, but I remember liking him quite a bit. He wanted to become... something like a soldier. But like, a special one.
I promise it's more interesting than the way I'm describing it makes it seem.
In any case, their paths collide and things happen and I can't tell you much more than that without spoiling it, because the books move so dang fast.
As I said, I casually enjoyed these (I should say "this," given that really its like the author wrote one normal sized book and cut it up into four audiobooks - doing a good job at picking points to end it and whatnot, though). I don't really have any criticism for them, I liked the characters, the pacing, and the plot all well enough, I just didn't get super into it.
Given these audiobooks are so short, I do recommend you give it a listen. And if you do, please come back and let me know what you thought of it! I would love to talk to you about it.
You can find the first book of the Marked by the Dragon series here.
3/5 stars, or 4/10.
Judgement Call by E.B. Roshan
This is the fifth book of the Shards of Sevia series, of which I have only read one other book.
I quite liked this one, though I couldn't tell you if I liked it more or less than the first one I read. Roshan is dedicated to telling stories full of realistic people facing realistic (though often extreme) problems from a Christian perspective.
One thing I greatly like about this series so far is that, while there's definitely intense and dramatic things that people wouldn't typically face, the books largely have a slice-of-life feel to them. We're in a war-torn land, yes, but we aren't following the revolutionaries, or the soldiers, or the leaders. We're following the little people. The bakers, the farmers, the mothers.
In this particular book, we follow Preen.
Preen is a young mother grieving the loss of her husband and struggling to adapt to life in the present, including her marriage to her fiance, Kiva.
This is a follow-up to another book following Preen, so there was a fair bit to it that I probably would've cared more about if I'd read that first. Even still, I enjoyed it. The topics were heavy but discussed in a digestible way and they were seen from a not overly common perspective.
There were things here and there that I disliked or found confusing, but over all I liked the book and would like to read the rest of the series.
If you would like my full review of this book, you can find it here.
4/5 stars, or 6/10
Lost Girl by R.M. Archer
This book is sort of a retelling of the iconic Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie (I say "sort of" because it actually takes place after the original story, but saying it's "fan fiction" just doesn't sound as good). It follows the granddaughter of Captain Hook, and she carries his legacy of hatred for Pan. In an attempt to kill him, once and for all, plans go awry and he ends up capturing her.
From there, her life-long enemy helps her to experience Neverland in a way she hadn't before, and she falls for him along the way.
Let me start this one off by saying short stories, fairytale and classic retellings (I don't like people touching the things that I like, generally speaking), and romances are not my thing. Based off the description of the book, I probably would never have read this if Archer were not a friend of mine. But she is a friend of mine, and so I did read it.
Going into it, I did not expect to like it, which is always stressful because I hate to give bad reviews on indies' and friends' books. But thankfully, I did end up liking it. Not loving it, but liking it.
I primarily liked it for the atmosphere. All throughout the story, I had no trouble believing we were in Neverland. It was very much so magical and wonderful, and I can see myself flipping through this short story again just to escape back into Neverland for a few minutes.
I also liked how faithfully Archer wrote J.M. Barrie's characters. The Lost Boys, Tinkerbell, and Peter Pan were all quite accurate to Barrie's original story, and I greatly appreciate that. In addition to that, there were a few nods here and there to the original story that I quite enjoyed.
I was not into the romance aspects of the story or of Nya, but as previously mention I'm predisposed to dislike anything being added to or changed from a classic. So I can't honestly say whether or not that was well done or not, simply because of my bias against those elements. Though given the reviews on this story are practically glowing, I trust that it was indeed well done.
You can find my review of it here
3/5 stars, or 4-4.5/10
Beyond The Black Sea: The Mysterious Paracas Of Peru by Brien Foerster
This nonfiction book gives great details of the Paracas people, from where they may have come from to why they died out. In between there we get information on the Incas and Aztecs and their relations to the Paracas.
We also get information on elongated skulls, textiles, customs, geography, and more.
It is a fascinating subject, written by a fascinating man whose career I have followed for quite some time.
This is difficult for me to review given its nonfiction and I have little idea of how nonfiction works from a writing standpoint.
I'm just going to copy my review of it here and then I'll go into a bit more detail:
The information in this book was wonderfully insightful and useful. Bren Foerster is a brilliant man with fascinating theories and studies, and I have learned much from his various works, including this book.
The rating is three stars and not four or five only because the formatting, layout, and punctuation were very poor. I didn't mind it, really. It actually worked to my advantage, because it resulted in plenty of space to take notes.
That being said, please be aware that though this book is in great want of an editor the content itself is good.
There isn't much else to say than that, honestly. I didn't go into the specifics of the formatting of this book, but it truly is a piece of work. Still, the information in it is good as gold if you're willing to sift through it.
I'm still not sure of how to rate this, especially not on a 10 star scale. Information wise, 8-9/10. Brien is an expert in this field, and he is one of the only professionals studying it. He himself has made a great deal of the discoveries and breakthroughs regarding it. So, the information in this book is hard to come by and is - for someone such as myself - invaluable.
Formatting, writing, and general readability wise, perhaps a 4/10.
Conclusion
And there you have it, all my reads of the former year. I hope that this year's list will be even longer, especially where indie books are concerned.
What did you read this year? Have you read any of the books on my list? What books are you currently reading?
I would love to hear from you.
Until next time, I remain,
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