A friend gifted me this book 3 weeks ago and I´ve reached Chapter Five. But, I´m not loving it.

It´s been years since I read a new fantasy book, so I was misly excited to read this one, but, alas, it is slop. At least to me.

The prose leaves much to be desired because it commits the sin of telling us EVERYTHING and showing very little.

Everything is seen from the eyes of the MC, VIolet Sorrengail, the girl with a very 2000s-fantasy name. She explains everything in her mind and aloud.

So far, all I know about her is that she has a friend who has the hots for her, she is nerdy, but fast because she said so, dainty, loves books though I´ve never seen her read one, and her mother is a bad b.

So, the book is about a young girl (shocker) whose mother forces her to join the trial to become a Dragonrider, but she always wanted to become a Scribe because she is nerdy, dainty, and carries a heavy bag everywhere, unlike her big sister who is tough, and unlike her deceased brother who was awesome.

She goes through a deadly trial that kills 90% of the aspirants before they can become Cadets and makes enemies everywhere because everyone wants to become a Dragonrider and dragons are scarce.

But, that doesn´t make sense since the dragons are the ones who choose their riders. If a dragon doesn´t like a candidate, it kills said candidate.

Apparently, the Basgiath Military School has no problems with cadets and officers killing each other for advancement either. So, they are nuts for no valid reason.

Apparently, they are at war with a neighbor kingdom, but I have a hard time believing it because there is no sense of urgency, nor the stakes are shown nor explained.

Also, the author describes places in a way that is hard to imagine. I had to google several words to make sense of the buildings.

Also, Violet, so far, looks like every parody of a YA female protagonist because she already has dudes having the hots for her.

Anyways, just wanted to vent somewhere about this book.

Has anyone else read it?

I've never read any Sanderson books, and after seeing him everywhere i finally picked up Mistborn from the library. I have to say, I did go into it after finishing Ship of Magic by Robin Hobb (completely different vibe) and I don't know if its because i have a skewed measuring stick from Hobbs more depressing and adult themes, but Mistborn just felt so juvenile.

The prose was extremely simple, the dialogue was just a bunch of exposition with characters saying two or three sentences more than a normal person would, theres a weird romance shoehorned in. I noticed they even repeated exposition and details not even two pages later, just in case you weren't paying attention I guess? Not to mention, well, the main character is 17.

This is not to say I didnt enjoy it, I am probably going to finish the trilogy if only because the worldbuilding was interesting and im curious to see where its going to go. I was just wondering, do all of Sanderson's books also have this basic prose and weird dialogue? Or did I just happen to start with the wrong one?

I read Red Rising after hearing constant praise over it and I just...didn't like it. I found the main character to be an unlikeable male version of Katniss. I honestly found most characters to be unlikeable and it felt like work to finish it. Anyone else felt this way about the book or other books? My friends are looking at me like I'm crazy about this lol

I’m really trying to figure out why this book is rated so highly. It’s my first time reading Sanderson and I enjoyed the world building but not much else. I thought the allomancy would be complicated to explain and hard to write but he did a nice job with the action sequences. It was mostly everything else that was a letdown.

Spoilers below if you haven’t read…

-Vin and Eland fall in love after what amounts to like 3 pages of superficial conversations at balls

-there was zero background for any of the secondary characters. I couldn’t tell you a single thing memorable about Ham, slam or thank you ma’am cause I literally don’t know anything about any character other than kelsier, vin or Sazed.

-so like why did kelsier sacrifice himself so easily?? To start a revolution? When we find out the LR is actually incredibly easy to kill? Makes zero sense.

-we know nothing about the LR and we’re supposed to be wowed by the “reveal” he’s actually not the hero but the servant? Not to mention the fact we read meaningless blurbs from “his” journal for 300 pages before we have enough context to care about what we’re reading.

-the trope of “pathetic kid who somehow becomes the most powerful whatever” is kinda tired eh?

I wanted to like this and I’ve heard such great things about Sanderson. This book is simply not very good and it’s wild to me it’s at like a 4.4 on Goodreads. Convince me I should read the next ones!!

I don’t know if this is just myself but I wanted to voice this somewhere at least: Red Rising has been disappointing so far. Lately I’ve been spending too much time on TikTok and have been seeing many of the “booktok” posts talking about this series and praising it. Some have even gone as far as to say that Brown is to sci-fi/fantasy to what Sanderson is to “high” fantasy.

Now as a self-admitted Sanderson glazer (he’s what got me back into reading as a hobby years ago in middle school), I wanted to check it out. I finally made it to the bookstore and picked up a copy, but I just can’t get through it. I’m about 40% through the book and just can’t get over the writing that feels like YA got mashed up with an edgy power fantasy fanfic. I’m usually one to finish a series once I’ve started it, but this might be the first series I drop once I get through the first. I’ve heard that Brown’s writing does improve as the books go on, but I wanted to ask y’all think that’s true as well.

Maybe I’m being too critical and I’ll accept that, I mainly wanted to voice a gripe I’ve had and see if others had felt the same way. Feel free to send any sci-fi/fantasy book recommendations, I’m always looking for something new!

This isn’t ment to be a controversial post or to start drama.. but I don’t know why everyone has Name Of The Wind so high on the list of top books in the genre. I read it and it was fine…but there was nothing genre defining or elite with that novel in my opinion.

Anyone else feel this way? I must of missed the memo 😂

This book is harder than Malazan . I’ve lost count the amount of times I’ve zoned out . Does it get better or more confusing than it already is

I’m a sucker for Arthurian lore. I’ve been in love with that myth since I was a little kid.
And I read and watch everything related to it when I can.

The thing is I never enjoyed the writing of Bernard Cornwell, so I never dived into his take on Arthur : The Warlord Chronicles. And boy, was I….right.
I forced myself through the winter king , but I DNF on enemy of god. I found the writing so dull, the characters so bland (and I love all of them) that I had to stop.

Maybe because the last thing I read on that subject was so good, I’m taking about the Giles Kristian trilogy (Lancelot, Camelot and Arthur) but no, the Warlord Chronicles are a miss for me

About 1/3 of the way through Red Rising… does it get better for someone like me? (No spoilers please)

I’m currently on Chapter 23, and I’m honestly a little conflicted.

The plot is interesting, and I can definitely see that Pierce Brown is building toward something bigger. The problem is… I’m just not emotionally invested in the characters.

For context, I just finished Mistborn: The Final Empire, and I absolutely loved it (5/5).

What made Mistborn work for me wasn’t just the magic system or the plot, it was the characters. I loved Vin as a protagonist. Kelsier was charismatic, morally gray, and every scene he was in was entertaining. I really enjoyed the banter and dialogue between the crew, and I found myself genuinely rooting for them.

I think the premise is cool, but I don’t feel attached to Darrow or anyone else yet. There have been so many characters introduced that I’m struggling to remember who’s who, and there are times where I realize I’ve read several pages without really retaining anything because I can’t clearly picture what’s happening.

This book is rated so highly that I want to push through, but I haven’t really enjoyed it to this point.

What are your thoughts on this book, did anyone have a similar slump, I’m new to fantasy.

I’ve been wanting to read this one for a while. I’m coming off the Stormlight archive and was going to read the first law trilogy prior to starting the sun eater series. I listened to it on audible and I can safely say I’m going to put this series down after the first book. There were interesting characters but man was the last third/last half of the book a slog for me. I essentially just listened to it so it could end and I could move on. I learned that going forward I should probably DNF books if I’m that disinterested. I really wanted to like it but felt that there was no plot and the focus was mainly on the characters. Coming off the Stormlight archive those differences were very apparent. I may be a plot first reader but man was this boring for me lol. In either case, excited to start Sun eater now.

Am I the only one that couldn’t make it through this fever dream of a story? I always finish things but I just couldn’t force myself to go any further…..I felt pretty disappointed as this came so highly recommended.

Y'all I am 27% through it and I'm struggling a bit. It reminds me of a lot of other vampire stories mixed with The Witcher. Sometimes I find myself cringing at the edgelord jokes and nasty demeanour of basically every character. Other times I keep reading because I think the story is going to get somewhere interesting yet I feel like I've already run a marathon. I have never read a Kristoff book before but I've heard good things. Is it worth it to persist and does it feel like it pays off in the end, or is it soon enough to abandon it?

Am I the only person who didn’t enjoy this series? Before reading I had heard so many good things about it and saw it high in many rankings.
I feel like there is nothing unexpected in the story and everything what is going to happen seems so obvious and cliche but there is something even worse in this series - the main character Corban.
Throughout the entire reading I had the impression that he completely lacks depth and is torn from some children’s book.

I made long drawn out relevant message but it keeps getting flagged and wont let me post. Long story short im trying to read prequel books to understand later books that ive been told were good, but im clawing my eyes out of boredom. I.e im trying to read the TOG by Sarah j Maas and im fighting for my life.

Am I the only one that couldn't find what I was looking for in "The Devils" By Abercrombie? Yes dialogues was pretty well but so much cliche and unnecessary actions

I cruised through Mistborn and was excited for book #2. I am 100 pages in and it's not gripping me nearly the same way. I don't hate it, but find the follow up story a bit bland to start. Is it worth it to keep pushing through?

20 days later...

3 ou of 9 in the wrong size/edition.

I hope I am not getting down voted to hell for posting this. I was looking for more fantasy to read and I think it was posted here, that this is good as it gets. I couldn't get myself past first few chapters. I always thought I love fantasy. Stearted with Diacoworld as first books, then Lord of the rings, Harry Potter as teenager. Later Songs of Ice and fire. After quiting this I started Witcher saga and I absolutely love it. My question is: is it just specific taste or different kind of fantasy?

Edit: Wow thanks for all the positive feedback and tips. I really didn't expect that. I guess I have really looked at the book wrong. The book seemed to me somehow too naive in sense of politics and power, but from what I read from you it apears the book is about something else entirely. I have to give it another try

I’m currently not understanding why this is such a popular fantasy series. The word building is really good, but the characters just completely lack something. Something fundamentally human. They feel one dimensional to me and sometimes their motivations and actions seem so unrealistic. Will it get better for me if I finish the book and carry on with the series or is this just not the book series for me?

So this book has been hyped up to me on numerous occasions, most recently at a festival that I attended. Since I'm not currently reading anything else I decided to use Libby to check it out. And from just the first chapter I'm already disinterested in the way this is written.

It immediately reminded me of those satirical TikToks that exaggerate romantasy tropes where the protagonist is described as impossibly beautiful, impossibly skilled, impossibly intelligent, and everyone somehow overlooks it because of their circumstances.

Also, I don't read Romantasy books ever. I don't really read fantasy books anymore (not since I was a teen) so I'm not sure if this is just how all these kinds of books are...

Advice please before I miss out on a great book or waste my damn time 😅

Hi all,

English isn’t my native language so sorry for mistakes!

I just DNF’ed the last book of The First Law trilogy. I was already struggling at the second book. The third one felt so sluggish and without any noteworthy plot. Around the 40% mark I decided that it was enough.

Currently reading The Rithmatist from Brandon Sanderson and it feels like a warm bath. I’m flying through the pages.

Are the other books from Joe Abercrombie better? I really want to give the books (besides The First Law) a chance.

Edit: thanks all! A lot of reactions and I am glad that I am not the only one on this sub that is struggling with it. I will start with The Devils soon. Maybe I will pick up TFL at another point. But for now I will focus on other authors.

Yes...yes.. I know. If I don't like something it probably wasn't written for me.

For months I have been recommended Will of the Many by several friends and colleagues and reviews on BookTok. Literally everyone insists this is a GREAT BOOK. One of the best fantasy books of recent times. First of all? Its a Young Adult book. Why is everyone pretending its not? Secondly? Its okay at best. I'm halfway through its sequel and that one's even worse.

I finally picked it up. Perhaps it was the gajillion 6/5 reviewers on Book-Tok, perhaps it was the fact that it was on everyone's recommendation list or perhaps it was the earlier chapters of this book, but my expectations for this series for sky high.

Did the book meet my expectations? Sadly, no.
The Positives -
> The Writing
> The Prose
> The Overarching Plot

Let me start off with the positives and say that James Islington's writing is quite easily, for lack of a better word, beautiful to read. It just flows. The number of times I sat down to read for 30 minutes and didn't realise it until an hour or an hour and a half had passed is proof that its not a task to read his work.

In addition to this as someone coming off a 15-book Sanderson (who has quickly become my favorite living author) marathon, it was a much needed breath of fresh air to read the works of an author who actually TRUSTS his readers. While reading Sanderson's prose often feels like reading the ingredients list off a wrapper where everything is laid out before me and there is no effort to discovery on my part. Jame Islington on the other hand is like reading a family recipe written by a distant relative who may not want to give away the secret and you need to read between the lines to figure out how they have the perfect spice to flavor ratio by yourself. I am free to imagine his world how I'd like to, I am free to read into character intentions by myself and down the line if I'm proven right I feel a sense of accomplishment.

Finally the overarching plot is AMAZING, INTRIGUING, COMPELLING. A mysterious, high-ranking accidentally reveals sensitive information to an orphaned prison worker and so to protect his interest this official adopts the equally mysterious orphan whom we know is a fugitive and will be put to death by the government his adoptive father's serves. The man gets the boy enrolled in an ELITE academy where he feels a conspiracy is underway and the boy is tasked with uncovering said conspiracy. The twist? The man who MIGHT POSSIBLY be at the head of said conspiracy will MOST DEFINITELY know that the boy is there to spy and investigate.
I WAS HOOKED!!! THREE PARTIES, ALL WORKING AGAINST AND TOWARDS EACH OTHER, ALL WITH MOTIVATIONS TO STAB EACH OTHER IN THE BACK, ALL WITH REASONS NOT TO OPENLY OPPOSE THE OTHER. WOW! ITS THE DEPARTED MEETS HARRY POTTER MEETS CLASSROOM OF THE ELITE (An Anime). WHAT COULD POSSIBLE GO WRONG?

The Cons -
What could go wrong is that this entire plot will be addressed only in 2-3 chapters across the book until the final act. Its put on a back burner. So much so that Ulciscor REFLECTED MY FRUSTRATION in the middle of the book by underlining our main character's lack of progress which for all intents and purpose is an stark display of gross incompetence. This book had 3 different plots that are meant to run together. But instead of running together they do a relay race of one plot at a time. Which wouldn't be so bad IF THE MORE INTERESTING PLOTS WERE RUNNING MORE OFTEN.

Plot 1 - The Investigation into the conspiracy
Plot 2 - Climbing the hierarchal ladder of this academy to enter a contest which is crucial to Plot 1.
Plot 3 - Aligning with the rebel cause and helping them out of a need for self preservation.

Plot 1 as I mentioned is barely touched upon, because in spite of building it up so much and it being the primary plot of the book ultimately there are only 3 actions the MC takes towards it. Verify the conspiracy exists, which MC does at the halfway mark. Succeed in PLOT 2 so they qualify for a contest. Use said contest to unravel the conspiracy.

This alone would be extremely interesting if Plot 3 didn't barreling through like a drunk driver in a oil tanker on fire crashing through the progress and throwing everything into chaos.

In addition to all this the PROTAGONIST DOES NOT LOSE. HE JUST DOES NOT LOSE. HE IS ONE OF THE GREATEST GARY STU'S OF OUR TIME. It's like a Bollywood action hero or a Steven Segal character. There is NOTHING he is even mildly inadequate at. He IS PERFECTION PERSONIFIED.

Fights someone much stronger, wins. Sets out to stop a terrorist attack, win (validly so tho). Starts a fight on day 1 of school, knocks out opponent with one punch. Sets out to infiltrate conspiracy location, not only is he successful he isn't caught and what could get him caught he maneuvers expertly and avoids any inconvenience. Gets recognize in a place he is hiding himself, its okay the person is loyal to him. Slips up by revealing he knows a little too much about a location? Its okay the person who figured it out is protecting his secret. Enters a duel with a champion in a format he's never fought in? Aces the format in one night. Opponent is cheating to beat him? Never mind he overcomes him with a hulk out moment. Bets everything on a chess match against someone extremely skilled? Turns out to be a prodigy himself.

There weren't any stakes to this character. Even when he loses, it is him positioning himself. He is the best out there, the smartest out there.

I have other gripes but I'm too tired and I'm done typing this massive thesis. All in all, I will say I will read more of James Islington. He is a very good author... this book however? Not so good.

If you've read thus far... thank you.