Mistborn: Secret History is a companion story to the original Mistborn trilogy. As such, it contains HUGE SPOILERS for the books Mistborn (The Final Empire), The Well of Ascension, and The Hero of Ages. It also contains very minor spoilers for the book The Bands of Mourning. Mistborn: Secret History builds upon the characterization, events, and worldbuilding of the original trilogy. Reading it without that background will be a confusing process at best. In short, this isn’t the place to start your journey into Mistborn. (Though if you have read the trilogy—but it has been a while—you should be just fine, so long as you remember the characters and the general plot of the books.) Saying anything more here risks revealing too much. Even knowledge of this story’s existence is, in a way, a spoiler. There’s always another secret.
(from Goodreads)
My Thoughts:
I went into this book not quite knowing what I was expecting. I knew that this book was going to take place during the original trilogy and some behind the scenes of what was going in the original trilogy. So I knew we were revisiting the original trilogy, and I was hoping that this didn’t lessen the accomplishments of our main characters. What I found was something that was very amazing.
Almost the entire book is from Kelsier’s perspective. It turns out that his death in the first Mistborn book was not the end of this character. I like how Brandon Sanderson handled bringing him back in this series. He is still dead, but his spirit is still in this universe and he becomes able to influence the world.
This book actually made me realize how much I actually miss the character of Kelsier. Kelsier is such an interesting character: on one hand he is a psychopath and eccentric, but on the other hand he is such a smart, fun, optimistic (he never gives up!), charismatic, who does care about his friends. He is also everything that I love about the Rogue Archetype in Fantasy. I love the shenanigans Rogues can come up with, the plans, and the execution of those plans and Kelsier definitely embodies almost everything I love about Rogues.
Another thing that I liked about this book is the worldbuilding. I think this is the book with the most detailed given so far about the actual lore of the Cosmere Universe. This book is definitely a good book if you want to learn more about the Cosmere Universe as a whole.
I also like how we do get to know more about the God Preservation. There were scenes in this book that made me go: Wait? What? That was indirectly caused by Kelsier?
Also that scene where Kelsier meets Vin and Elend in the spirit realm for the last time, actually brought tears to my eyes over this reunion.
I guess my one criticism is that the book is labeled with “minor spoilers for The Bands of Mourning”. Honestly you can read this book without worrying about that. I definitely think you should read this after The Hero of Ages.
Overall, this is the best book in the Mistborn Series since The Hero of Ages. This book is proof that Mistborn can still go in many different directions and has me excited to explore the rest of The Cosmere. I am also interested in what Kelsier does next. And this book makes the ending of The Hero of Ages even better! If you are a fan of The Cosmere and Mistborn, this is a must read!
Three hundred years after the events of the Mistborn trilogy, Scadrial is now on the verge of modernity, with railroads to supplement the canals, electric lighting in the streets and the homes of the wealthy, and the first steel-framed skyscrapers racing for the clouds.
The Bands of Mourning are the mythical metal minds owned by the Lord Ruler, said to grant anyone who wears them the powers that the Lord Ruler had at his command. Hardly anyone thinks they really exist. A kandra researcher has returned to Elendel with images that seem to depict the Bands, as well as writings in a language that no one can read. Waxillium Ladrian is recruited to travel south to the city of New Seran to investigate. Along the way he discovers hints that point to the true goals of his uncle Edwarn and the shadowy organization known as The Set.
(from Goodreads)
My Thoughts:
I am just going to say it: Mistborn Era 2 is the most fun Fantasy series I think I’ve read. It may not be the most deep series, it may not be what I consider to be “best”, it may not be the most epic series, it may not be grim dark, and it may not be a grand scale series like the first Era, but it’s the most fun I’ve had.
I think the best thing I love about this series is the party dynamic. The dynamic between Wax, Wayne, Marasi, Steris and MeLann is part of what made this book so much fun. I swear the dialogue in each Sanderson book seems to get better and better.
This book convinced me that Wayne is my favourite character in this entire series. He’s the most charming character, he’s the most funniest character and he’s just the most interesting character in the party. Although I have to say: Steris is my new favourite character in this series. I have to give Brandon Sanderson props on this character as she maybe the best Autistic character I’ve read in a major Fantasy series. She’s funny, prepared and her interests are what makes her a great character. I think Steris is the secret MVP in this book. I truly think she was the one with the most character development in this book. I also like how Steris and Wax learn to love each other during this book.
The climax is about what I’ve come to expect from Brandon Sanderson and this series. I love the action sequences we get in this series and I still do. Mistborn’s magic system is still one of my personal favourites in all of Fantasy.
As for worldbuilding, we did get to see a bit of what’s life like outside of Elendel as our heroes do go and visit another city for a bit. We also learn that there is a whole other culture in the south of Scadrial (the world where this series take place). I also think this is the book that really emphasizes how interconnected the Cosmere really is to this world.
Oh and no spoilers but the ending of this book really surprised me, but also had me asking questions (I’m immediately reading Mistborn: Secret History to get some answers).
I guess my main criticism is that Brandon Sanderson didn’t really do anything different in this novel. It’s about exactly what you’d expect from reading both The Alloy of Law and Shadows of Self.
And the point I brought up from my last Mistborn review of the need for more characters representing the different Allomancy powers still stands here. I want to see more Allomancer characters!
Overall, I had a very fun time reading The Bands of Harmony. The main thing I love about Mistborn Era 2 is the characters, as they are all characters that are really likeable. And as I said earlier in the review, Mistborn Era 2 is the most fun Fantasy series I think I’ve read. If you love Mistborn and the Cosmere, definitely give this one a read.
The dead are walking, men die impossible deaths, and it seems as though reality itself has become unstable: All are signs of the imminence of Tarmon Gai’don, the Last Battle, when Rand al’Thor, the Dragon Reborn, must confront the Dark One as humanity’s only hope. But Rand dares not fight until he possesses all the surviving seals on the Dark One’s prison and has dealt with the Seanchan, who threaten to overrun all nations this side of the Aryth Ocean and increasingly seem too entrenched to be fought off. But his attempt to make a truce with the Seanchan is shadowed by treachery that may cost him everything. Whatever the price, though, he must have that truce. And he faces other dangers. There are those among the Forsaken who will go to any length to see him dead–and the Black Ajah is at his side….
Unbeknownst to Rand, Perrin has made his own truce with the Seanchan. It is a deal made with the Dark One, in his eyes, but he will do whatever is needed to rescue his wife, Faile, and destroy the Shaido who captured her. Among the Shaido, Faile works to free herself while hiding a secret that might give her her freedom or cause her destruction. And at a town called Malden, the Two Rivers longbow will be matched against Shaido spears.
Fleeing Ebou Dar through Seanchan-controlled Altara with the kidnapped Daughter of the Nine Moons, Mat attempts to court the woman to whom he is half-married, knowing that she will complete that ceremony eventually. But Tuon coolly leads him on a merry chase as he learns that even a gift can have deep significance among the Seanchan Blood and what he thinks he knows of women is not enough to save him. For reasons of her own, which she will not reveal until a time of her choosing, she has pledged not to escape, but Mat still sweats whenever there are Seanchan soldiers near. Then he learns that Tuon herself is in deadly danger from those very soldiers. To get her to safety, he must do what he hates worse than work….
In Caemlyn, Elayne fights to gain the Lion Throne while trying to avert what seems a certain civil war should she win the crown….
In the White Tower, Egwene struggles to undermine the sisters loyal to Elaida from within….
The winds of time have become a storm, and things that everyone believes are fixed in place forever are changing before their eyes. Even the White Tower itself is no longer a place of safety. Now Rand, Perrin and Mat, Egwene and Elayne, Nynaeve and Lan, and even Loial, must ride those storm winds, or the Dark One will triumph.
(from Goodreads)
My Thoughts:
“The sweetness of victory and the bitterness of defeat are alike a knife of dreams.
-From Fog and Steel by Madoc Comadrin”
Robert Jordan, Knife of Dreams
Knife of Dreams is the last The Wheel of Time Book written by Robert Jordan and wow did he go out with a bang in this book! We continue the storylines of Rand, Mat, Perrin and Faile, Elayne and what’s going on with the White Tower. Rand is mostly trying to form a truce with the Seanchan by meeting Tuon (which quickly goes wrong). Mat continues to develop his relationship with the real Tuon all while being on the run. Perrin is trying to rescue Faile, while Faile and her friends are planning on their own escape. Elayne’s storyline of becoming Queen continues.
This book has so many epic moments. It may have the best opener so far in this series. We get a sword duel right off the bat! And it’s a great start to the book. Also I think is the longest Prologue we’ve gotten so far in the series at 80 pages. I am actually going to miss these long Prologues since they show a lot more of what’s going on in the world that doesn’t involve the main cast and how much bigger this story is.
Other moments that stood out to me: Loial gets married (we also finally get a POV from him, he’s been one of my favourite characters and it’s great that we finally get that). We finally learn what’s in the letter Moiraine gave to Thom (She’s alive!). We get a great fight scene with Rand and Logain against Trollocs. Nynaeve sends Lan off to fullfill his prophecy and She makes sure that Lan doesn’t have to do the fight alone (it’s a really great scene). Finally finally we get resolution to Faile’s kidnapping storyline and Elayne finally becomes Queen. The battle of Camelyn was so much fun. Birgitte is the real MVP of Elayne’s storyline for sure. Both of these storylines felt really dragged out but finally we get some actual resolution to both of these storylines.
I also really enjoyed Mat’s chapters. Mat is slowly growing to be a favourite for me. The first book I didn’t like him that much, then in book two he was barely in that book. Then in book three was when I started liking him. This book to me is what finally convinced me that Mat is one of my personal favourite characters. He does a lot in this book: building a relationship with Tuon, learning that Moiraine is alive, gets into a fight, and leads his army into battle. Mat is a great character.
In terms of worldbuilding, we do learn a little more about how Ogier’s live, how they perform their marriages (it’s very quick). We kind of learn a little bit of how the Seanchan succession works.
Now I do have some criticism, there was a chapter where there was a meeting between The Forsaken. Honestly, The Forsaken are really bad at their jobs. As they stated in the meeting: “Oh we got to break the seals” and “we got to kill Mat and Perrin” and it’s urgent. I was like: Wait? Wasn’t that already very high priorities for you guys? You really are terrible at your jobs. I know I’ve stated a few times that I think there is a villain problem in this series, and I still think that’s true (although the scene with Semirhage was really good in this book).
This is more of a nitpick but: How long exactly was Thom having the letter, was waiting for Mat to finally ask about what’s in the letter? Like he’s had that letter since book six! How long was he waiting for Mat to ask about the letter? I like to think he was thinking: “C’mon Matt ask. Please just ask.”
I did find one or two chapters of Perrin and Elayne’s chapters a little rough to get through which was more at the beginning of the novel.
Overall, Knife of Dreams definitely feels like a return to form for this series. After a filler novel in Crossroads and an okay book in New Spring, reading this felt like the series is back on track. If I am being honest though, finishing this book feels very bittersweet. While this is a really good novel that Robert Jordan has given us, it’s also his last novel. I definitely feel like it’s a tragedy that Robert Jordan couldn’t finish this series. Do not get me wrong I am excited to read Brandon Sanderson’s books. I made it clear that Brandon Sanderson is one of my favourite authors and I am confident that he can finish this series successfully. But it still feel sad that this is Robert Jordan’s last book, as I do believe he had a real vision for this series, and he created a great fantasy world with great characters. Anyways this was a really good novel and I am looking forward to reading Brandon Sanderson’s The Wheel of Time books.
Hello everyone! Welcome to the Monthly Wrap-Up where I give updates on my reading and other things I’m up to in the past month. So let’s get to it!
Total Books Read: 4
So this is the month with the least amount of books read. There is a reason for that: Knife of Dreams is a much longer book than what I normally read, so yeah…
Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
I was excited to read the sequel to Parable of the Sower, but I didn’t like this book as much as I liked Parable of the Sower. Most of the characters felt one-dimensional and there was a lot of human suffering which I thought was disturbing and excessive.
DNF: The Hunt for Red October by Tom Clancy
DNF – 344 pages at 52%
Another DNF! This was the most boring “thriller” novel I’ve ever read. This was very boring, with endless meetings, and one-dimensional characters. Also this book’s protagonist was boring and was a complete gary-stu.
Mayday by Thomas H. Block
This was probably the best book I read this month. I know it has it’s flaws but I still like it. It’s a good story with characters you want to see survive and it’s a pretty good time overall.
Fantastic Four, Vol. 8: The Bride of Doom by Dan Slott (Writer)
Bride of Doom and the Kang Storyline was my favourite. Both of these storylines were a lot of fun. The only thing that bogged this book down as how disjointed this graphic novel felt.
Currently Reading:
Knife of Dreams by Robert Jordan
I’m about over 400 pages into this book, honestly this book is so much better than both Crossroads and New Spring. I feel the series is back on track so far…
What I’ve been doing and watching:
This has been a pretty good month for me. I planned out my vacation days for this year. I am looking forward to my vacation in July-August of this year. I have everything booked! We’ve been blessed lately with great weather and I am enjoying my time outside.
I finished watching A Kind of Spark tv series and I liked it. It was pretty good overall. I liked Season 3 of The Librarians, it was a fun season and I liked how the character of Jenkins took on a bigger role in this series.
I think the most important thing that happened to me this month is that I returned to in-person Magic the Gathering by playing one of my personal favourite formats in the game: Commander.
It was great returning to in-person again. I miss the community, the game and the in-person interaction in the social game of Commander.
And to make the return more sweet, out of the 4 rounds I played today, I won two of those rounds! I won the first round with my most favourite tribe in all of Magic the Gathering: Merfolk! I assembled a draw engine with my commander, Kumena, Tyrant of Orazca and Thrasios, Triton Hero and because of my draw engine I drew my Overwhelming Stampede causing me to win the game! And in the last round I won the tiebreaker with my Queen Marchesa’s Game of Thrones deck by having the highest commander cost, having the most permanents and most damage dealt by a commander. Winning those two rounds (especially the first round with Merfolk) is a sign that I still have it. I look forward to playing again soon!
This month I did a one-shot D&D playing a level 5 Path of Zealot Barbarian. The premise was we had to save a town from a curse. Our party had a Tiefling Swashbuckler, Goliath Twilight Cleric, and a High-Elf Illusion Wizard. It was a fun one-shot.
Plans for Next Month:
I’m excited for the D&D Campaign that I’m going to start. I plan to read some more Fantasy novels this month including books from one of my favourite authors. And I’m looking for the first few days break of the year is coming up.
Author: Dan Slott (Writer), Mark Brooks (Cover Art), R.B Silva (Illustrator), Mark Waid (Writer)
Genre: Superheroes
Pages: 192 pages
Synopsis:
Marvel’s First Family are at each other’s throats! As the Earth-ending threat of the King in Black rages on, half of the Fantastic Four have been Knullified — and are out to destroy their friends and family! And as if that weren’t enough, an ancient force has reemerged in the Multiverse. Who — or what — is the Reckoning?! Then, Reed and Ben use the Forever Gate to finally explore somewhere new — a bizarre realm where no one has ever gone before! Can they (or our letterer) survive…the Onomatopeiacolypse?! And Johnny’s love life is changed forever when he must choose between his soulmate and his ex-wife…but wait, is that Crystal back in town? And speaking of romance, an old enemy is about to take a momentous step. Who will be…the Bride of Doom?
COLLECTING: Fantastic Four (2018) 31-35
(from Goodreads)
My Thoughts:
Fantastic Four’s Bride of Doom has three main storylines: Ben and Reed going to a different dimension. Doctor Doom is getting married and all the versions of Kang are trying to kill all versions of The Fantastic Four.
Honestly Bride of Doom and the Kang storyline were my favourites. Those two storylines were a lot of fun. Doctor Doom is one of my favourite Marvel Villains so I am always happy to read another Doctor Doom story. While the Kang storyline in addition to being fun paid homage to Fantastic Four’s past and had a few heartfelt moments in it.
My main criticism of this graphic novel is that it feels very disjointed. There’s three main storylines (the traveling to another dimension, Doom’s wedding and Kang). But then there we get an updated origin story for the Fantastic Four with a few shorter stories paying tribute to Fantastic Four’s past. I also felt that Johnny Storm’s lovelife subplot in Bride of Doom ended without any resolution.
Lastly, Johnny Storm was a complete idiot during the Bride of Doom story!
Overall, I had a good time reading this graphic novel of a collection of Fantastic Four stories. I recommend it if you are just looking for a good time with a Marvel Comics Team that’s still fun to read to this day.
Twelve miles above the Pacific Ocean, a missile strikes a jumbo passenger jet. The flight crew is crippled or dead. Now, defying both nature and man, three survivors must achieve the impossible. Land the plane. From master storyteller Nelson DeMille and master pilot Thomas Block comes Mayday, the classic bestseller that packs a supersonic shock at every turn of the page….the most terrifyingly realistic air disaster thriller ever. Like a growing tidal wave, the escaping air was gathering momentum. A teenaged girl in aisle 18, seat D, near the port-side aisle, her seat dislocated by the original impact, suddenly found herself gripping her seat track on the floor, her overturned seat still strapped to her body. The seatbelt failed and the seat shot down the aisle. She lost her grip and was dragged after it. Her eyes were filled with horror as she dug her nails into the carpet, as the racing air pulled her toward the yawning hole that led outside. Her cries were unheard by even those passengers who sat barely inches away from her struggle. The noise of the escaping air was so loud that it was no longer decipherable as sound, but seemed instead a solid thing pounding at the people in their seats……
(from Goodreads)
My Thoughts:
Mayday is a story about survival after a military exercise went wrong and a missile hit a passenger airline. Five survivors now have to find a way to safety, all while dealing with trying to find a place to safely land the plane, deal with the brain damaged passengers and a storm.
Mayday is an interesting story, as there is so much going against our protagonists that it makes their journey for survival all the more interesting. In addition with dealing with issues such as a storm and not running out of fuel and how to land the plane, they have to deal with the brain damaged passengers, a military commander trying to cover this up and the Insurance Company of the Airline wanting to make sure the plane doesn’t make it back.
While I hate to call the brain damaged passengers “zombies” as technically they are not dead. They do exhibit enough of the typical “zombie” behaviour that they practically are zombies. And it definitely does help raise the stakes and the tensions for our main characters.
The characters of John Berry and Sharon Crandal were great characters that when we get their point of views, we really understand what they are going through in this book. And I do like the ending that these two characters got in the end. John, Sharon and Linda are characters you want to see survive.
However, I do have a few issues with this book. Some of the POV changes very abruptly which made me a little confused at times.
Also the beginning of the story started being a little boring but fortunately it does get interesting.
I was also a little disappointed with the ending of the novel. While I am happy for our three main character’s ending. I hated the way the main antagonist, Commander Sloan of the novel was defeated. We don’t see our main antagonist get defeated, instead we are told about his defeat that completely happens off-screen. I’m sorry but we need to be shown how our main antagonist was defeated. As Commander Sloan was the true antagonist of this novel and we need to see his defeat for closure and it would have made the novel’s ending better in my opinion. Simply being told what happened is very anti-climatic and such a lame way of knowing what happened to our main antagonist. Show don’t tell!
Overall, I still like Mayday despite it’s flaws. It’s a good story with characters you want to see survive and it’s a pretty good time overall. I recommend it if you want to have a quick read about an airplane disaster.
Here is the runaway bestseller that launched Tom Clancy’s phenomenal career. A military thriller so gripping in its action and so convincing in its accuracy that the author was rumored to have been debriefed by the White House. Its theme: the greatest espionage coup in history. Its story: the chase for a top secret Russian missile sub. Lauded by the Washington Post as “breathlessly exciting.” The Hunt for Red October remains a masterpiece of military fiction by one of the world’s most popular authors, a man whose shockingly realistic scenarios continue to hold us in thrall.
Somewhere under the Atlantic, a Soviet sub commander has just made a fateful decision. The Red October is heading west. The Americans want her. The Russians want her back. And the most incredible chase in history is on…
(from Goodreads)
My Thoughts:
DNF – 344 pages at 52%
This has got to be the most boring “thriller” novel I have ever read. I was very bored with this book. And if I am bored by a “thriller” than something really went wrong. There were sections in this book where almost nothing happens! All that happens in these parts is description of what this ship is like or history of a ship and that’s all that happens!
There are several meetings that happen, and it just seems endless. Like these groups of people have a meeting, then one person goes to another meeting where they react to the previous meeting then make a decision that will eventually cause another meeting.
I honestly didn’t feel any tension at all while reading this book. Part of what makes thrillers work for me is when I worry about the characters and what they are going through. Here though I wasn’t even worried for any of our characters.
Speaking of characters, Jack Ryan is probably the most bland Gary Stu protagonist I’ve read in a while. He has almost no real flaws and he’s good at almost everything. He’s so perfect that he’s boring. And the rest of the cast all seem to be one-dimensional characters that I couldn’t care less about.
This book was a disappointment for me, as I was expecting an engaging Cold War Thriller. All I got was a boring military fiction novel.
In 2032, Lauren Olamina has survived the destruction of her home and family, and realized her vision of a peaceful community in northern California based on her newly founded faith, Earthseed. The fledgling community provides refuge for outcasts facing persecution after the election of an ultra-conservative president who vows to “make America great again.” In an increasingly divided and dangerous nation, Lauren’s subversive colony–a minority religious faction led by a young black woman–becomes a target for President Jarret’s reign of terror and oppression.
Years later, Asha Vere reads the journals of a mother she never knew, Lauren Olamina. As she searches for answers about her own past, she also struggles to reconcile with the legacy of a mother caught between her duty to her chosen family and her calling to lead humankind into a better future.
(from Goodreads)
My Thoughts:
Parable of the Talents is the sequel to Parable of the Sower, which continues the story of the life of Lauren Olamina. We see her go through building her community of Earthseed at Acorn, the destruction of her community, her time in slavery, her escape, and search for her daughter and rebuilding Earthseed.
This book is honestly just as prescient as the previous book. This book came out in 1998 years before a certain US President won on a promise of “Make America Great Again”. Also digital reality is becoming more and more real with the releases of VR sets.
I love the character of Lauren Olamina. These two books are almost a biography for this one character as it tells the story of this character from her early life to almost her death. And most of it is from her point of view and I feel like that’s something special and helps make these two books unique to me. Her character growth from being just a young woman trying to survive day-to-day to being a leader of her own religion and community is amazing and it’s believable.
I also like how we get to see things from Lauren’s husband Bankole and her daughter’s point of view. Getting both of these characters point of view on Lauren’s life definitely helped make things a lot more interesting to me.
I must say I do like Octavia Butler’s writing style. It’s accessible, able to be hard hitting in your emotions and definitely gets you thinking while reading this book. Most of this book was a page-turner for me.
I have a few issues with this book though. The first issue I have is characters. While Lauren, Marc (Lauren’s brother), Asha (Lauren’s daughter) and Bankole are great characters. The rest… aren’t that great. There are a lot of names of characters to go through in this book and they don’t really leave much impact. They come into the story, maybe do something or something happened to them and they either disappear or die from the rest of the story. And that’s the case with the rest of the cast. While characters such as Harry return in this story, he feels a lot more minor. Which is odd considering he played such an important role in the previous novel.
There is a lot and I mean a lot of human suffering in this novel which is disturbing (rape, murder, slavery, beatings etc.) and it’s a lot more excessive in this book than the previous novel. And I don’t think the book gives enough time to see what the impacts of these events have on our characters as it feels like: Oh something bad happened to this character… moving on.
Overall, this was another decent book from Octavia Butler. I definitely would like to read more from Octavia Butler in the future as I do like her writing style. If you want to read a Science Fiction/Dystopian novel that is prescient, this is still worth a read especially to conclude Lauren Olamina’s story.
A lone astronaut. An impossible mission. An ally he never imagined.
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission – and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.
Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.
All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery-and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.
And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.
Or does he?
(from Goodreads)
My Thoughts:
Project Hail Mary is about an Astronaut who is the only survivor of his crew on a desperate mission to save Earth from a solar dimming event that could put Earth into an Ice Age.
The first thing that I liked about this book is it’s plot. I really liked how the stakes were very high in this book as if our main character Ryland Grace fails in his mission many people on Earth can die. So yeah the stakes are a lot higher in this book compared to The Martian. It was also interesting as Ryland has to figure out who he is and what made him do this mission throughout the book. And I like the way they did this, there is the storyline with Ryland currently on the mission and then he gets these flashbacks that show us the kind of person he was before he went on this mission.
I also like Rocky the Eridian Alien. With this character, Ryland Grace and Rocky form a very fun buddy comedy duo. I love the relationship between Ryland and Rocky. This friendship between these two unlikely explorers was one of the most fun things about this book.
Again I love the amount of science that was put into this book and it definitely feels like Andy Weir did a lot of research. I also did like the comedy in this book and it helped make this a pretty decent read. This book was very well paced and it was a real page-turner for me as I had to know where this story was going.
The ending wasn’t what I was expecting but it made sense for our main character as he is a teacher and he loves his kids.
Now my main criticism of this book is our main protagonist. At first I thought, “oh an amnesic astronaut who has to figure out who he is before it’s too late” would be an interesting idea. But it turns out this character feels like a Mark Watney 2.0 (the main character from The Martian). Nerd who likes space? Check. Wisecracker? Check. Comedian? Check. Quirky? Check. It’s practically the same character the only real difference is that he’s a teacher who loves kids and he’s a bit of a coward.
This is more of a nitpick but I just find it very hard to believe that China, United States, Russia, Canada and the European Union working together on this project. As for one thing they are spending a very large amount of money for this. And given our current political climate USA, Russia and China working together on something feels highly unlikely right now. We can’t even agree on action on Climate Change right now! Also why would you give one person (Eva Stratt) so much power and authority to do whatever she wants?
Overall, this was another decent read from Andy Weir. Andy Weir is definitely a good Science Fiction author and if you like Science Fiction about space, Project Hail Mary is a read you definitely should give.
Hello everyone! Welcome to the Monthly Wrap-Up where I give updates on my reading and other things I’m up to in the past month. So let’s get to it!
Total Books Read: 6
My five books a month streak is finally over! I managed to read six books and almost 2,500 pages this month! I can’t believe it’s the end of April and I’m already read about 21 books so far this year!
The Martian by Andy Weir
I liked this book. It was a nice Science Fiction that actually felt like Science Fiction and not a borderline Fantasy novel. Our main character is someone you want to root for and it’s a fun survival story.
New Spring by Robert Jordan
Well this is definitely better than Crossroads of Twilight. I mean this book has a reason for existing unlike Crossroads. I like this book because we get some real chracter development from two great characters and it does make some of the relationships we see between the Blue Ajah make a lot more sense in the Wheel of Time books.
Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson
Oh Brandon, why do you have to be such an amazing author? This was a great novel that improved on everything from The Alloy of Law, it brought the cast from the previous book. And this book feels like a proper sequel to both The Hero of Ages and The Alloy of Law. The ending of the book was truly a heartbreaking ending and I really am loving Mistborn Era Two.
Kings of the Wyld by Nicholas Eames
This was an okay light-hearted Fantasy read. This was definitely one of those books that really felt like Dungeons & Dragons to me. It’s not one of my favourite Fantasy books but I can see why some people would like it.
Shutter Island by Dennis Lehane
This was a nice thriller and it was definitely a page-turner for me! It’s definitely a good choice to read for the thriller genre but it’s best that you read it blindly.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Continuing my break from Fantasy by reading my second Andy Weir novel. I will be posting my review for this novel very soon, so stay tuned (I literally finished reading this earlier today).
Currently Reading:
Parable of the Talents by Octavia E. Butler
Yep, I’m finally reading the sequel to Parable of the Sower. I hope this is good because I want Octavia Butler to be my new favourite author!
What I’ve been doing and watching:
This has been a pretty active month for me. I went to see the Dungeons & Dragons movie: Dungeons & Dragons Honor Among Thieves. I actually liked it. It was a fun movie. I liked the references to the Forgotten Realms lore. I liked some of the jokes and the action sequences was very fun to watch. The film did capture the feeling of a D&D Campaign.
We had a beautiful week in April where it was very warm, bright and sunny. And I tried to be out as much as I could during that week.
I’ve also been enjoying the adaptation of one of my favourite novels: A Kind of Spark by Elle McNicoll. This book got adapted for TV by the BBC and I am enjoying this series! It’s staying true to the book and it’s themes but I am enjoying the new subplots they added to it! What’s cool is that most of the actors are actually Neurodivergent, which is groundbreaking! Elle McNicoll continues to be one of my favourite authors and this series only convinces me of that more and more.
In my Dungeons & Dragons campaign, I finished the Dragonheist Campaign! And my Bard character got out of the campaign alive! Yay! I am looking forward to a new campaign that I will be participating sometime in May. This time I’m playing as a Rogue Thief Tabaxi.
Plans for Next Month:
No real big plans. I hope to be out more as the weather gets warmer. I am looking forward to the new season of Torchwood from Big Finish Productions. I am hyped for this new season! I am also hoping to watch more of The Librarians this coming month.
In terms of reading the next few books will not be Fantasy reads. I want to focus on some Non-Fantasy reads for most of this month. Near the end of the month though I will be returning to a certain very long Fantasy series so stay tuned!
Spencer's Bookcase 