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Missed the mark

Revisado: 04-30-25

I found these three books on sale. If I had not purchased them, I would probably have not finished.

Solid world-building, lots of action, and interesting LITRPG character development.

2.5 Stars rounded down to 2 Stars. Why not round up to 3 Stars? The juvenile dialogue was annoying.

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Good but too short

Revisado: 04-22-25

It has been years since I read the Kate Daniels series. It was fun to revisit these characters, but the book was too short. 3.5 Stars rounded down.

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Change in perspective

Revisado: 04-21-25

3.5 stars, which I'm rounding up to 4.

I appreciated the new perspective this installment brought to the series. The narration was, once again, excellent.

However, I'm unsure why the author feels the need to include tawdry sexual content. Instead of giving the book a real gritty feel, I believe it detracts from the overall story.

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Good but not Great

Revisado: 04-15-25

"Warmage," the second book in the Spellmonger series, was enjoyable but not exceptional.

I appreciated the engaging story that featured compelling action, political intrigue, and a unique magic system. Additionally, John Lee's narration was excellent.

What was lacking about the read? The narration POV of the storyteller is primarily 1st person, with limited 3rd & 3rd person narrative, and sometimes this limits the story. Minilin, the main character, is slowly maturing and becoming more likable but still occasionally acts like an ass. Most of the time, he is an honorable character with battle acumen and strategic thinking, but then he turns into a 16-year-old horny teenager with limited self-control. Lastly, I felt that the lack of development of the supporting characters detracted from the overall story.

Warmage earned three stars because of the outstanding narration and interesting story. I also purchased books 1-4 on sale and am determined to finish them.

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Over too fast

Revisado: 04-10-25

Conservation is a solid continuation of the series, introducing new characters and new challenges. John continues to grow, and as he does, so do his enemies. These are fun short reads, like eating a bag of potato chips before you know it, the bag is empty, and you want more.

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Dissapointing

Revisado: 04-04-25

I found this book and the three follow-on books in the series on sale on Audible. Spellmonger is narrated by John Lee, one of my favorite narrators. While I probably should have just purchased the first one, I did not want to miss the sale, so I took a chance on them based on the high ratings. Mr. Lee did not disappoint. His performance earned a solid four stars, but not so much with the other aspects of the book.

Overall, I struggled with Spellmonger and the writing. Much of my dislike centers around the MC. At times Minalan acts reasonably with maturity and honor, but more often, he acts like an adolescent ass, especially when dealing with sex. The introduction of sex in the magic system gave off a porn vibe and served as a detractor. Lastly, while the author introduces many supporting characters, he fails to provide enough depth to allow the reader to connect with them. They are pretty much just a nameless supporting cast. The story almost exclusively revolves around Minalan, and while he shows glimmers of honor and common sense, he usually acts like a spoiled teenager.

The writing and story earned two stars, but I have rounded the overall rating to 3 stars because of the outstanding narration.

I own the rest of the audio series and am disappointed in the writing. I cannot return them because I purchased them on sale. I am going to try to push through and hope the story improves.

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Solid addition

Revisado: 03-31-25

It was a good addition to the series, but the ending left me wanting more. The author did not leave his readers with a cliffhanger, but he left us in the middle of a quest with unresolved issues. I wish I had held off until the next book's release before reading it. I hope that the publication of the next book will not take too long.

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Excellent but my least favorite

Revisado: 03-23-25

I have been waiting for this book for four years. When it was finally released, I decided to reread the entire Stormlight Archive before diving into *Wind and Truth*. I couldn't quite remember all the details, and I'm glad I did this.

My evenings and weekend reading journey has been consumed with revisiting this series for the past six weeks. I even ended up purchasing two audiobooks because I didn't want to wait for the library copies. Rereading the entire Stormlight Archive deepened my appreciation for the series and helped me understand why I loved these books and their characters.

That said, while I enjoyed Wind and Truth and loved reconnecting with the characters, I didn't love this book as much as the previous ones in the series. I had hoped for more. At times, the story felt like it was dragging, with the characters overwhelmed by hopelessness and despair.

Lastly, while I was aware of Mr. Sanderson's plans to divide the series into two major arcs, I didn't expect this book to end on such a cliffhanger with so little resolution, such loss, and only a glimmer of hope. Although I rounded this book up to 4 stars, I found it disappointing as this is the first book in the series that has not been five stars.

I listened to the audio version on Audible, and the narration by Kate Reading and Michael Kramer was outstanding. I hope I won't have to wait four more years for book six.

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Fun Character

Revisado: 02-25-25

Edgedancer (Stormlight Archive #2.5) is a Novella about the radiant Lift and her spren Wyndel. I listened to the audio version, and the narration was outstanding. I found this short story humorous, lighthearted, and fun. Lift is a precocious and annoying 12 or maybe 13-year-old (not exactly sure), and this reader guesses that there is more to her than the outward glibness that she projects.

I wonder how old Sanderson’s kids were when he wrote this. Time-wise, in the storyline, the Novella starts off right where Words of Radiance (Book 2) ends, albeit in a different country.

This book also introduces another character, Nalan (a.k.a. Darkness). The author hints that these characters will play more significant roles in the coming books, but I cannot tell you since I am still on the waiting list for Oathbringer from my library. If you are into this series, I recommend reading this before moving on to book #3.

Read again in 2025. Lift is a fun character.

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Grows on you

Revisado: 01-29-25

As the series progressed, I gradually came to acknowledge Lawrence's brilliance. This is not an easy read. Jorg is not a likable character. Lawrence dares his readers to look at Jorg and witness his unrelenting pursuit of power and obsession with pushing back against whatever seeks to drive him in this dystopian future of mankind. Jorg’s actions are often, without a doubt, evil. However, I believe one would be remiss to believe him without conscience, as I initially thought after reading the first book.

Jorg's father and many in this world live their lives without remorse. However, I do not believe Jorg is among them. Jorg has a conscience; he knows that he often does evil but is simply willing to take on the scars in pursuit of goals.

While I became accustomed to the time jumps by the third book, this series remained a difficult read in the audiobook format. The author does announce the shift in years but I still found it hard to follow. I do not know if it would have been easier if I had picked up the written word instead of listening to the audio version, but I found it challenging to follow the story when I was never exactly sure how old Jorg was from one paragraph to the next.

Jorg slogs through a story of blood, hate, and evil across this series, seemingly with unknown purpose, only revealing the world's truths to the reader in the end. With that ending came a sense of satisfaction and an admiration for the journey.

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