BookWyrm

Geekess rated Of Kings and Killers: 3 stars

Will Wight: Of Kings and Killers (Paperback, 2020, Hidden Gnome Publishing)

Of Kings and Killers by Will Wight (The Elder Empire: Sea, #3)

Calder has been declared Imperial Steward, the official successor to the Emperor. He leads the Empire from the throne, just …

Geekess rated Of Sea and Shadow: 3 stars

Will Wight: Of Sea and Shadow (Paperback, 2020, Hidden Gnome Publishing)

Of Sea and Shadow by Will Wight (The Elder Empire: Sea, #1)

The Guild of Navigators has ruled the Aion Sea for centuries, using their fleet of mystical ships to collect trade …

Geekess rated The Shadow Of What Was Lost: 3 stars

James Islington: The Shadow Of What Was Lost (Paperback, 2014, Aslaradis Publishing)

The Shadow Of What Was Lost by James Islington (The Licanius Trilogy, #1)

It has been twenty years since the end of the war. The dictatorial Augurs—once thought of almost as gods—were overthrown …

Geekess rated An Echo of Things to Come: 3 stars

James Islington: An Echo of Things to Come (Hardcover, 2017, Orbit)

An Echo of Things to Come by James Islington (The Licanius Trilogy, #2)

In the wake of the devastating attack on Ilin Illan, an amnesty has been declared for all Augurs - finally …

Geekess reviewed The Will of the Many by James Islington (The Hierarchy, #1)

James Islington: The Will of the Many (Hardcover, 2023, Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers)

At the elite Catenan Academy, a young fugitive uncovers layered mysteries and world-changing secrets in …

Review of 'The Will of the Many' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

Loved this book to bits! 5 out of 5 stars
Red Rising (first book) meets The Name of the Winds meets Hunger Games. Doesn't feel derivative though, it feels fresh.
Normally, I don't like the first person limited and present tense, but it works here. One would think this is trope gallore, but strangely it isn't. Yes, all the tropes are there, but they are worked out really well and believable.
Vis and Darrow could be twins. Same simmering anger. Vis is Kvothe, but without the Gary Stu vibe. Maybe because we're seeing him work at things, failing at things, even though that is as flimsy as it can be? I don't know.
The last part has Vis as Katniss, but without the whining and pathetic love triangle.

James Islington doesn't leave too many Tjechov's guns on the mantle piece unused, which is nice after reading Martha Wells Murderbot Series. …

Loved this book to bits! 5 out of 5 stars
Red Rising (first book) meets The Name of the Winds meets Hunger Games. Doesn't feel derivative though, it feels fresh.
Normally, I don't like the first person limited and present tense, but it works here. One would think this is trope gallore, but strangely it isn't. Yes, all the tropes are there, but they are worked out really well and believable.
Vis and Darrow could be twins. Same simmering anger. Vis is Kvothe, but without the Gary Stu vibe. Maybe because we're seeing him work at things, failing at things, even though that is as flimsy as it can be? I don't know.
The last part has Vis as Katniss, but without the whining and pathetic love triangle.

James Islington doesn't leave too many Tjechov's guns on the mantle piece unused, which is nice after reading Martha Wells Murderbot Series. I did expect Cyrol (audiobook, don't know the spelling) earlier in the book though, maybe as an eyeless helper in the Labyrinth. This was better though. Glad he could make it :-D
The ending was a bit confusing. I may have to re-read that part to understand. I get that Vis was copied. I understand now the writing on his arm. But what was it with the snowy world? There seemed to be three of him, not two. Confuzzled.

Can't wait for the sequel!

Geekess rated Network Effect: 2 stars

Martha Wells: Network Effect (Paperback, 2021, Tor.com)

Network Effect by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #5)

Murderbot returns in its highly-anticipated, first, full-length standalone novel.

You know that feeling when you’re at work, and you’ve had …

Geekess rated Exit Strategy: 3 stars

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #4)

"Martha Wells's Hugo, Nebula, Alex, and Locus Award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling series, The Murderbot Diaries, comes …

Geekess reviewed All Systems Red by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)

Martha Wells: All Systems Red (EBook, 2017, Tor.com)

"As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, …

Review of 'All Systems Red' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Not bad, slightly entertaining, fun premise. But not very good either. Maybe it was the narration: it felt... off. I had to fiddle with the speed-settings during most of the book (1.15x speed). I think better narration could have made it a more immersive read. But maybe the mechanical voice was intentional, it is about a bot :-)
Still, I liked it enough as a short palate-cleanser that I jumped into the sequel.