I read the first two books in the series and I liked them. The magic system was a little too expansive, and ill defined. The story line was really nice, with all the different moving parts coming together. Some of the talents made for very interesting scenes. I thought the main character was a little overpowered in many situations, as well as petulant to almost any authority figure. This was especially annoying when he kept saying how loyal and respectful he was since he was raised by the monks. I look forward to the continuation of the series.
This was a really great fantasy series, and it was especially great with the different views of the history of the world. The power struggles are also a pretty amazing part of the plot, especially with the characters who really know what is going on, but not changing everything. The series is pretty long and the Kip character becomes a little overpowered quickly. I do like that he starts out as a fat kid who can’t do anything. The characters are very believable, and the different sides all follow reasonable values and are pretty consistent. I can’t wait for the 4th book.
This book was much easier to understand than the previous two. While the aliens are much more different in temperament to humans they are decently easy to understand. I also like that the things which happened in the book aren’t as much luck surrounding a single person as they are a compounding of factors. There is a certain flow of one action causing another that wasn’t really a part of the previous books as much, he just seemed to have everything happen to him without it being because of something he did.
This book was done really well, but all the names and places were hard to keep track of. I would love a narrated video of this, but that isn’t likely to happen. I should go back through and listen while looking at maps of the Ice and Fire world to get a better understanding of what is going on. I really can’t wait for the next book and the next episodes.
I didn’t know it was going to be a strange book going in, but it really was enjoyable. The world was surprising, and the narration style was very fresh. I like the way the conflicts were set up as a mental image of things that simply are and are not done, or do and do not belong. Even with the one character, the way she sees the world made it feel much more alive and populated than just her. I really enjoyed the book.
I really enjoyed the series, especially the start of how the world was slowly discovered. The first look at the abominations beyond the fence was a surprising change. I never did understand why they didn’t just keep jumping through time until they came to a better time to set up the town instead of just accepting whatever they got on the first try. They could easily come out every couple thousand years and see if it was better to try and set up then. I guess that could be given up to the megalomania of the head guy, but it shouldn’t have been an issue at the very start of the wakeup process.
This was a delightful book of schemes, good fake science, and ethical dilemmas. The most interesting part was the ethical considerations around the release of the intelligence enhancing drug, the time factor of it, and the life prolonging drug. I do wonder what would happen if these drugs were to actually come out, and also what would happen if they weren’t made publicly available should people know about them.
I really enjoyed this book, as the powers were very mundane, and something that could actually happen. I did think that the extreme delineation for the brilliants and the normals was more distinct than would be in real life. I also thought that the way all the brilliants were smart didn’t quite make sense, since there should have been a wide array of intelligence going along with the special attributes. The book was good and I’m looking forward to the next one in the series.
This was an interesting book, but not the best I’ve read. Like the last few space army books there was a hero figure who had all the action focused on them. The ending was a lot more morbid than I was expecting. The other books had a happy ending where everything turned out ok. In this book there was an ending where most of the named characters died, including the love interest (who was a hormonally aged 8 year old, strange), who was supposed to be one of the toughest in the group.
It's an Exciting World 