Tag: Brandon Sanderson

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Book Review – The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3) by Brandon Sanderson

The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, #3)

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson continues the Mistborn saga as Vin, Elend and the rest of the crew try to unite the Empire and save their crumbling world.

The Cover: This cover is professional and has nice artwork that aligns with the series. The image fits with the genre and depicts a scene from the story well.

The Good Stuff: I loved this book as much as the first two. It progresses the story of all our favourite characters – Vin, Elend, Sazed, Tensoon, Spook, and more, as well as introducing some new characters we start to care for. The magic system continues to expand as the story reveals more of its hidden secrets and I feel that Sanderson has found a good balance of giving new readers what they need to know while not repeating too much of what existing readers have already learned. Sanderson has done a great job holding back story details that are drip fed to us over the series, and this last book reveals the last of those secrets, bringing us to a full understanding of the world and why things are the way they are.

The Bad Stuff: I really can’t think of anything bad that stood out to me. There were one or two spots where I questioned if a character had learned some of the information they knew, but I didn’t want to go back/read over to find out. I just wanted to keep moving forward with the story. I trust that Sanderson would have covered this and that I had not registered these snippets of information as I was reading.

Overall this is a great resolution to this fantasy series and a thoroughly enjoyable read. I’m going to give this one an earth moving, pewter filled 5 out of 5 golden bookmarks.

Want to know if you agree with my review? Grab your own copy from these links:

amazon.com
amazon.com.au
Kobo

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here.

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Book Review – Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (Alcatraz, #1)

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson is a YA fantasy novel about a boy called Alcatraz, given up by his parents at an early age, only to be shifted from one home to the next because of his talent for breaking things. But there is more to this boy than meets the eye and the librarians’ know it.

The Cover: I really don’t like this cover, but I can’t deny that it fits with the story, the genre, and it pitches the book to a YA audience. It isn’t unprofessional, but it certainly isn’t the best cover I’ve seen.

The Good Stuff: I really enjoyed this book. No I mean it, I really enjoyed this book. Even with all its typos. They just didn’t bother me because I was enjoying it so much. It is witty and fun from the very beginning. It even has some good tips for budding writers as Alcatraz tells his story through a first person POV – And the most surprising thing of all, is that I hate first person POV. The way Sanderson handled this was pure style.

The Bad Stuff: I’m sorry, but I have to say it. This book was riddled with typos, missing letters, word double ups, etc… and could do with a thorough edit. But honestly, I can’t say anything else bad against this book.

Overall this book is creative, well-paced, light hearted and fun. If you are looking for something a little quirky that will make you smile, I strongly recommend it. I’m giving this one a gadget breaking 5 out of 5 golden bookmarks.

Want to know if you agree with my review? Grab your own copy from these links:

amazon.com
amazon.com.au
Kobo

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here.

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Book Review – The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

The Well of Ascension (Mistborn, #2)The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson continues the story of Vin and Elend in the aftermath of the Lord Rulers fall.

The Cover: A nice cover that matches the others in the series. Nice artwork that shows you the genre of the content inside.

The Good Stuff: I really enjoyed this book. It continues seamlessly from book one with all the much loved characters and a full introduction to the Koloss, who were only breezed over in book one. The complexity of the plot seems to get deeper and deeper, with multiple sub-plots taking you through a maze of story questions that keep you reading. I would say this series was well mapped out before the first book was ever written, and what a great job Brandon Sanderson has done.

The Bad Stuff: The only criticism I have of this story is that the explanation of the magic system was repetitive and overdone. Aside from the fact that I knew about it from the previous book, it seemed too explained more than required in this novel.

Overall, this is another great fantasy novel that has hooked me into reading the 3rd novel in the series, which I’m sure will not disappoint. I’m giving this an allomantic, page pushing 5 out of 5 golden bookmarks.

Want to know if you agree with my review? Grab your own copy from these links:

amazon.com
amazon.com.au
Kobo

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here.

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Here Are My Top 10 Reads, What Are Yours?

For this post I thought I would give you a rundown of my 10 favourite books as they stand right now. You may notice that the top 5 are all by the same author. I make no apologies for this. This is my favourite author and I’m yet to find another whose writing I enjoy so much. Then the next three are again from one author – but I note that one of these titles is clearly different from the other two. Anyway, here they are:

1 – The Blade Itself by Joe Abercombie.

The Blade Itself (The First Law, #1)

Wow! I love this book so much. It has everything I want: fantasy, magic, blood, gore, great characters and more. If you haven’t read this, you’re missing out.

2 – Before they are hanged by Joe Abercombie.

Before They Are Hanged (The First Law, #2)

Oh, so awesome.

3 – Last Argument of Kings by Joe Abercombie.

Last Argument of Kings (The First Law, #3)

Oh, so twisted.

4 – The Heros by Joe Abercombie.

The Heroes (First Law World, #5)

Oh, so gory!

5 – Best Served Cold by Joe Abercombie.

Best Served Cold

Oh, so good!

6 – Alcatraz Versus The Evil Librarians by Brandon Sanderson.

Alcatraz Versus the Evil Librarians (Alcatraz, #1)

This book was a pleasure to read. It is witty and quirky, well paced and fun.

7 – The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson.

The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)

I loved the magic system in this book, I found it to be very original and interesting.

8 – The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson.

The Hero of Ages (Mistborn, #3)

Because I enjoyed the first book so much and this continues the story.

9 – The Lascars Dagger by Glenda Larke.

The Lascar's Dagger (The Forsaken Lands, #1)

I liked this because the characters were interesting and the paganism that was included in the story really helped to build a magical world for me.

10 – Blood Faerie by India Drummond.

Blood Faerie (Caledonia Fae, #1)

This book surprised me and I found it a really enjoyable read.

And there you have it. So what’s your top ten?

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in some libraries.

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Book Review – The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

The Final Empire (Mistborn, #1)
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Book Review – The Final Empire (Mistborn #1) by Brandon Sanderson The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson is a story of hope. Vin is a Skaa. A slave girl who has learnt to trust nobody. Oppressed, beaten and betrayed, her life feels worthless, until she meets Kelsier, then everything begins to change.

The Cover: A solid fantasy cover that depicts the story well.

The Good Stuff: I loved this book. There is an ‘allomantic’ magic system like I have never seen before (maybe it’s been done before, but this is the first time I have seen it). Personally, I love martial arts and I love the Matrix. The Mistborn in The Final Empire remind of both, they’re like magical Ninja’s with Matrix type abilities. Who doesn’t love a magical Ninja! Kelsier and Vin are both strong characters you will love, both with their own tear jerking stories. The Inquisitors are an original and ominous foe and the Lord Ruler is as much a god as he is made out to be. The characters work well with their individual traits and the world is well constructed with class distinctions, and a believable economy built off the backs off the Skaa.

The Bad Stuff: Okay, I’m going to be quite critical here in a nit-picking way, because I am actively looking for something to say on the bad stuff. Honestly, for me, it came down to two things. Firstly, in the beginning, there was a lot of white boarding in meetings. This took me out of the fantasy world and dropped me into the reality of my day job. There was also some word repetition with sentences ending in the same word or the same word being used several times in a paragraph. On the whole, these things were not a big issue for me, like I said… I’m nit-picking here!

Overall, this is a great fantasy novel and I look forward to reading the rest of Brandon’s books. If they are all as good as this one, I’m in for a very enjoyable time. This one gets a mist swirling, steel burning 5 out of 5 golden bookmarks.

Want to know if you agree with my review? Grab your own copy from these links:

amazon.com
amazon.com.au
Get it on Kobo

Allan Walsh writes Fantasy and Horror. If you’re looking for something new to read in these genres, why not check out his books here. You can also find his titles available in libraries. 

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