thegr8estangell's reviews
631 reviews

Reborn by Seth Haddon

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adventurous funny medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Haddon is the only Romantasy author I trust. His books have such solid plots! The story is cool. The magic gets explained in this one, which I loved btw, and characters so interesting! I love this world. It’s awesome. Messy bisexuals, clueless homosexuals and a wild ride. 
The Butlerian Jihad by Kevin J. Anderson, Brian Herbert

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adventurous hopeful tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Begrudgingly, I have to give props. This is a solid sci-fi space opera. Like… damnit. It’s so much better than all the other ones I’ve read by them. It’s like they hired an entirely different ghost writer. Was there still some comical evil stuff? Yes. Did they answer the question of, what if Michael Jackson had dropped the baby? Yes. But it was a solid origin story… damnit. 
Dawn by Octavia E. Butler

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reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Fuck. This was so good. This book is so… logical? Like, every reaction and action this character takes makes so much sense. I find myself thinking, yeah… that’s how I’d react too broski. This book is weird, but in a good, thought provoking way. I can’t wait to finish this series!
Angels & Man by rafael nicolás

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

So much better than the first one. 

The pacing was so much better. The plot was stronger. The musings on god were more thoughtful. The story was just overall better. Really helps bang home the misogyny of the Bible too. 
Even Though I Knew the End by C.L. Polk

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I liked the story all the way to the very end. The character didn’t grow at all by the end. I really disappointed. Bc if she would’ve thought about it for 10 seconds she wouldn’t have made that choice. 
The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yōko Ogawa

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hopeful lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Well god damn. That was heartbreaking. Melancholic. Hopeful. And overall beautiful. Absolutely loved it. 
The Fury of the Gods by John Gwynne

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adventurous dark tense
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Wow. An AMAZING end to a crazy wild series. 

Loose ends? Tied. 
Gore? Gratuitous. 
Emotions? Everywhere. 

One of the best fantasy series I've ever read. I enjoyed it thoroughly. 
Indigenous Continent: The Epic Contest for North America by Pekka Hämäläinen

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challenging informative sad medium-paced

4.5

This was really interesting. It’s an extremely, in depth analysis of the political landscape of the various indigenous nations from pre-Columbus to Wounded Knee. It really explains how they were in control of a lot of the negotiations and had a lot of political and military weight. If it wasn’t for the disease and out-right genocidal American government, things would’ve been very different. My favorite part was the interview with a Blackfoot man who was there when his tribe encountered horses for the first time and witnessed a technological shift in his culture in real time when they were embraced by his tribe. That was really cool. I didn’t know that that story was ever written down or existed. This book was extremely informative. I really enjoyed it
Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson

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adventurous medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Oh this one was much better than the previous one. The story was more interesting. The sanderlanche plot twist was more complicated and compelling. And the characters were better fleshed out. The magic system here is so cool. I just wish we had a full mistborn :’(
Paul of Dune by Brian Herbert

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challenging slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

Lord have mercy this was a train wreck. This was supposed to be a direct sequel to Dune, filling in the cool shit that happened between it and Messiah. But no! This is filled with so much nonsense! Ugh. If you haven’t read the prequel trilogy Brian and Kevin wrote, you’ll be hella confused at half the shit that happens. The majority of this book was a flashback to pre-Dune, post House Corrino events. About 1/3 of this book could actually be considered a direct sequel. The shit they did with Margo Fenring and the daughter she conceived with Feyd Routha was utter bullshit and didn’t make any sense to the plot of the story. It came out of nowhere and was just dumb. It felt like they took the writing advice of “make the worst thing happen to you characters and see how they react” to the extreme and it was just annoying. And holy fuck do they hate fat people. There was a fat sword master and he was like “look at the fat fatty mcfatterson. He’s so fucking fat how can he hold a sword. He’s so huge and fat.” I was like damn dude. Chill. I get it. Overall, a lame ass book.