Improving on the Fantasy for a non-fantasy fan
927325
A Storm of Swords, being the third book in the series, had given me many expectations. Martin had to continue the many stories from the following books, while giving me a reason to want to read this as a new book, and not just yet another part of a very long tale. Why should I care about these characters and what happens to them? Will the maturity and lack of respect for the readers interests still suck me in like it did in the past (lack of respect being that we all wanted Eddard Stark to live, but for some reason having him taken away from us engaged us even more than if he had been saved)? Will Martin be able to captivate me with a new story while successfully merging past events?

Move over life, because this 900+ page novel (or should I call it a collection of novels bunched into one huge masterpiece)is going to take over.

Martin makes each character unique, recognizable, and with few exceptions, interesting. He kills off characters at appropriate times- meaning that although it is unexpected when he makes this decision, you are not just upset or pleased, but also satisfied with the amount of knowledge you have gained until that point- never does he make the reader feel like he introduced a character just to kill them off. The past events are continued successfully, and, to the readers enjoyment, most of the continued stories have hidden meanings and reasoning behind them that you would have never imagined.

Basically, I don't generally enjoy fantasy books because of their predictability, lack of depth, and lack of great sequels, but Martin has put me in my place, because this series in unpredictable, unimaginably dense, and it is almost as if these books are not actually books- it is as if they already existed and are just glimpses into this amazing, entertaining world.
1773114
A nice middle fantasy. By middle fantasy I mean the fantasy elements are delightfully understated. So understated in fact that it can produce a little cognitive dissonance when they do occur.
87715
What I liked most from this title is the style and  tons of examples on illustrating fantasy characters.  It's not exactly a how to draw book. It's more for people who already have solid drawing skills and want to take it to another level by, demonstrating great compositional skills, how and where to find classic reads for inspiration, setting up live models, and props for realistic reference drawing.
2411593
Probably written for younger readers, but fans of fantasy will like this book.
631510
This is my first Baseball Forecaster and it is a solid fantasy reference which will help you win.  There are articles in here ever fantasy player should read.  I'm a long time Baseball Prospectus reader and the Forecaster looks at the relevant "advanced" metrics (strikeouts/innings pitched, OPS, etc...) solely as they apply to fantasy value.  This is geared towards auction 5x5 traditional roto, but there is a section on H2H leagues and snake drafts (which I like but the authors do not).  They present a few strategies for bidding and give many warnings about the scattershot nature of prediction.  The essays on closer volatility and short pieces on topics such as Japanese Players are also valuable.

The rankings are alphabetical by player (not broken up by team - THANK YOU) into hitters and pitchers (not by position).  There are cheat sheets in the back which look a lot like the ones I produce for myself (like power ratings by position) and these are also good.  Commentaries terse but get the info across.

Why not five stars?  One is the low production values - typographically ugly and poorly bound, the physical presentation undercuts the thoughtful information.  The cheap cover will start curling almost immediately.  Layout looks like it was done by competent amateurs rather than pros.  Many of the charts towards the back (pitching logs specifically) are nearly unreadable.  Is it so hard to put page numbers in the same place page after page?

Second is the silly insistence on proprietary renaming of rate stats - like K/BB.  This may be a gentle way of introducing new concepts to SABR newbies, but the fascist copyright notice at the beginning says otherwise.  Free K/BB for the people!

Last quibble is the statement towards the beginning that they are going to experiment with adjusting values on suspected performance enhancing drug use in the future.  Oh well, I guess it isn't based on fact after all.  Players used steroids but...wait for it... there has never been in all of scientific literature an article showing steroids help baseball performance (reviewer has an MS in Forensic Science).  Good luck with your voodoo in the future.  In their defense, a reader poll requested it.

So if you have made it to the end of this review, buy this book.  It will help your fantasy drafting, give you tools to improve play within your league, and perhaps introduce you to some concepts.  If you are a BP reader, the Forecaster does the leg work of translating performance analysis into fantasy terms.  But I am not buying this book in the future if they start throwing witchcraft darts about suspected drug use.
3920181
I came into this one without having read the first volume of the series Children of Fire- as such I couldn't be sure whether or not the piece was going to be somewhat enjoyable or a total disaster.  While the author and publisher surely advise jumping into a fantasy series anywhere other than at the beginning, the end result was firmly somewhere between the two extremes.

The bad news, in this instance anyway, is that there is absolutely no effort to provide any sort of recap of the prior volume here.  The piece literally opens with a prologue, written in present tense oddly enough, detailing some exiled Slayers feelings just prior to an assassination attempt.  From there its into the (much more fluid) past tense adventure prose so common in fantasy literature.

I suppose the greatest strength on display here would have to be Karpyshyns pacing.  For a multi-part fantasy series, his writing is surprisingly concise and not overly flowery.  This is certainly welcome, especially in the early-goings of the tale as, and Im not trying to be overly critical when I say this, not a lot actually happens.

For those of us just coming into the fold, the author does a pretty solid job introducing the fairly robust cast of characters at this point without making it feel like standard introduction fair.  Of course the downside to this is that readers who already know this entourage from the first book may find the minutia a bit more intolerable.

By about the 3/4th point onward, the payoffs do begin to come together pretty nicely and that decent pacing carries right on through to the books conclusion.

As is so common in fantasy prose, the story is told across multiple character viewpoints; some more consistently interesting than others.  Again Im reluctant to criticize developments that I wasn't enamored with here simply because I cant speak intelligently on which threads carried over from the first book.  Its entirely possible some of the character angles I found rather dull are actually important plot developments that readers have been waiting on since the first books release.

All in all, The Scorched Earth is an enjoyable fantasy romp that somehow manages to avoid becoming bogged down upon itself.  The second book in a series is often credited as being the most difficult to deliver cleanly because, by all facts and circumstances, it contains neither a genuine beginning or end.  However, The Scorched Earth doesnt seem to concern itself too heavily with this reality.  Rather, it marches along at the beat of its own drum until, by the end, most of the threads introduced are wrapped up pretty satisfactorily.  Plus the magic is undeniably interesting throughout.

I cant go quite as far as to say I was intrigued enough with the characters or plot to continue on with the series (or in this case backtrack to the beginning) but solid plot structure and efficient prose do have me interested in taking a look at some of the authors entries into the Star Wars universe.
4705561
A bit of fantasy but included are beneficial pieces of factual information.
4866164
If you like fantasy involving super hero's, you have found a good source to continue that enjoyment.

This is a more realistic take on what would actually occur if suddenly people started getting powers.  Its difficult to go down to the local department store and pick up a costume to use if you wanted to be a 'hero' - or the other type! I think young adults would enjoy this - and while I don't really fit that category I liked it quite a bit! What would your family say if you got powers?  What would you do?

Its not perfect, but is fun to read, and I read it pretty quickly.  Not sure how long the book actually is - thats one of the weakness of electronic books compared to paper.  Its well written and is definitely worth reading.  I would encourage you to start with the first one, although not necessary it just makes more sense to do so as you will then unterstand how this 'world' functions.

This would be ideal for anyone from young adulthood to those like me who remember that time!  If you or someone you know likes super hero movies, comics, and things related to that, this would be ideal.  But even if you only like fiction and have never tried this type book, chances are you will enjoy it!

I try not to rehash what the book is about - you can get a better idea reading the blurb than I can give you.  What you really want to know - Is the book good?  And the answer is Yes - so quit reading this and go read the book!
2074367
Fantasy is a great resource for women. It's written in a fun conversational tone that makes talking about deep issues more attractive!
3156094
After reading&nbsp;<a data-hook="product-link-linked" class="a-link-normal" href="/Beguilement-The-Sharing-Knife-Book-1/dp/0061139076/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_rvw_txt?ie=UTF8">Beguilement (The Sharing Knife, Book 1)</a>&nbsp;I knew the Sharing Knife series was a fantasy tending towards romance. In this second volume it is clear it is a full-blown romance which incorporates some fantasy elements.

Legacy picks up precisely where Beguilement left off, and follows Fawn and Dag as they begin the second part of their journey together, entering into Lakewalker culture. The focus is solidly on their relationship, and their love for and exploration of each other.

Certainly there are fantastic elements: the magical world they live in, Malices, ground sense, and so on. These take a significant back seat to the love story, but they are at least present.

As a fantasy reader, I found the story too slow for my tastes. Bujold's writing is good, of course, and the storytelling probably as well: it's just not my cup of tea. It's rare that I quit a series in the middle, but I'm not going to pick up the third book from this series.

If you're a fan of romance and also enjoy fantasy books, I can still recommend The Sharing Knife and Legacy. But if, like me, you prefer more emphasis on the fantasy side of the equation, you'd be best served looking elsewhere.
1344690
I like the original idea of having another Asian themed setting for fantasy.  This book is a good basic starting point by introducing multiple new races like the Kitsune and Nagaji.  I feel that it lacks the depth and page count of true world setting tome.
2678646
In the quest fantasy Oath of the Brother Blades, Thomas, the very young hero, rises by service to his Great Knight mentor, Fedrick, and his King from hungry, fatherless farm boy to a knight.  His allies and adversaries are classic fantasy folk, fairies and trolls, joined by a new creation, dragon-like zhu-longs.

What earned stars:

The author's stated purpose in writing this first book in his Brother Blades Chronicles is "...to offer YA and mid-grade readers a novel that satisfies their hunger for fantasy but doesn't compromise Christian values."  I suspect younger readers will consider Thomas' journey both inspiring and entertaining.  There are some solid imaginative sequences and the story is compactly told with a balanced blend of dialog and action.  I especially liked the way the fairy princess, Lis, has a tendency to dissolve into giggles and the fact that Thomas' fairy sword is mainly useful for escaping danger rather than fighting.

What didn't earn stars:

This special niche of fantasy has a lot of very stiff competition (think George MacDonald, C.S. Lewis, JRR Tolkien and numerous recent writers) and a new writer's work has to really sparkle to make an impression.  Oath of the Brother Blades has some nice moments that shine, but they tend to be brief.  As fantasy, most of those moments could use just a bit more embellishment.

That being said, the minor story issues that bothered me might escape the notice of younger readers.  For example, Thomas's acceptance by Fedrick is quite precipitous and not really explained.  His brief and rather dim display of virtue doesn't seem to justify it, and at that point we have no reason to believe Fedrick recognizes his special status vis--vis the fairies.  Also, I was disturbed by the fact that although the story requires some scenes of battlefield carnage they are glossed over so casually that the reader scarcely has a chance to register them.  They're there, but they're almost trivialized.  And finally, I was bothered by the use, again, of the prevailing notion used so often in fantasy that evil is physically ugly, and good is physically attractive.

Most of the work is very thoroughly edited, especially the first half of the book, but a few errors crop up in later chapters (`seam' for `seem,' a few missing participles) and throughout there is just enough overuse of the word "then" and commas (sometimes nonsensically so - "...bolted towards the prince, fists, outstretched...") to be a little distracting.

I found Oath of the Brother Blades to be suitable for younger readers and I certainly recommend it for the mid-grade audience the author is targeting.  YA readers may find it a bit too facile.  It's an entertaining effort, but it's not C.S. Lewis.
2551801
I gave up on the fantasy genre long ago.  I have nothing against it; I just stopped enjoying fantasy even before the end of high school.  This is the first fantasy novel I've picked up in over 20 years, and I did so specifically because I liked Wright's SF novels so much.  I'm glad I did.

This fantasy is grounded in our present, in Greek and other mythology, and in science, so it provides you with some reference points rather than abandoning you out on the Windy Sands of Mrrhkyirgh or some other implausible fantasy location.  The realities of the school, on which the book focuses at the beginning, provide grounding for and contrast against the fantasy elements that are later introduced.  The characters are interesting, although at certain points of the novel they undergo some abrupt and jarring changes that don't ring quite true.  The plot is interesting, and sets up some good possibilities for the next book.  This is a good choice for casual readers of the fantasy genre.
1892686
I read the first 3 books in the series as a promotional give away.  They were good enough that I will actually spend money to keep on reading.  I know of no greater tribute to a writer than to pay money to read their work.  The short episodic writing style might be off putting for some.  This fantasy work is a different take on the after life.
1775119
I am going to begin this review by stating up front that the fantasy genre is not my cup of tea. I am game for dystopian worlds and alternate universes where the world is built from the author's imagination, but people are still just people - no witches, no mystical powers, no oracle bones that can talk and no time travel. Now that that is out of the way, I will state that Ginn Hale's The Shattered Gates does not have me captivated, but it does have me intrigued.

Well written, spectacularly imagined and despite a particularly convoluted plot with multiple, coinciding story arcs - clearly conveyed. There seems to be a lot of foreshadowing in this first book, but there has been one nice surprise so far. What I have inferred readers can expect in The Rifter series, from The Shattered Gates, is a story of two men whose paths coincide and cross at different points in a non-linear time and space continuum between two worlds. Each on the fringe of society in their own way, one harboring a fantastical secret and one clueless to the fact he is the secret. I am also inferring the reader is being set up to contemplate what is being presented as good and evil from each of the MC's perceptions and all the "gray space" in between. Possibly a romance springing from a "who should you trust?" theme. Again, just inferences - this is a review of book one for goodness sake. :)

Book one is heavy on the fantasy world building and introduction of key characters, but quite lacking in any semblance of a romance. Not only is there no chemistry developed between the leading men, there is little interaction between them. Another possible reason why I am intrigued, but not captivated at this point. To introduce a world immersed in such sensational fantasy, I imagine an "introduction" book, such as The Shattered Gates is needed and the m/m relationship will take center stage as the series progresses.

For those of you who adore both the fantasy genre and m/m genre, The Rifter seems to be one that will impress, but I recommend giving it a go to those of you who enjoy a well written piece, despite not being particularly keen on fantasy. I roll my eyes at a lot of the fantasy aspects of the story, but as I read on I find myself rolling them less. I have determined that the first book in The Rifter series has engaged me enough that I will be reading on.
3495857
I feel like I've been in a reading slump.  The books haven't been bad and I'm not depressed or anything like that.  But, I just haven't been super motivated to finish anything on my "currently reading" shelf.  Everything just feels kind of meh.  When this happens, I try to pull out a new read that I can get through in a day or less.  It can't be anything too serious as my goal is to just lose myself in something fun - maybe romantic but it doesn't have to be.

This weekend I chose the second book in the Libriomancer series.  If you remember, Isaac Vainio has the ability to use books to create magic.  His girlfriend, Lena, is a dryad who is also attached to Nidhi Singh.  It's a complicated relationship and not your typical love triangle.  When a wendigo is murdered, they investigate and are drawn into a fight between the Porters (the magical group Isaac is a member of), an Asian group of libriomancers who have been around even longer than Gutenberg and a father who is using his deceased son's inventions to gain his own power.

I am really enjoying this series so far.  Hines does a good job of world building and explaining the magic that Isaac and the others use.  It allows him a lot of freedom.  Most of the books he references are from the real world but he also makes up a few of his own (I would like to read these by the way!)  When Isaac references Alice in Wonderland or The Fellowship of the Ring, the nerd in me is so excited.

The storyline here was a bit stronger than in book one and Hines opened up some interesting doors that will allow further exploration of this magic.  The discussion of physical books versus e-readers and how that affects libriomancers will speak to all readers.  Is the power in the actual physical pages or can it be held in this electronic device?

Another thing that's special about Codex Born is the love story between Isaac and Lena / Nidhi and Lena.  It makes you think about love, attraction and what constitutes a successful relationship.  Reading Lena's thoughts on attraction was thought-provoking.  (By the way, I loved the addition of her "journal" as part of the story.  It helped us get to know and understand her so much better.) I wish I could quote the entire start of Chapter 17 but I will leave you with this --

"Humans are so obsessed with true love, the perfect relationship.  They imagine that one elusive person who fits their quirks and foibles and desires like a puzzle piece.  And of course, when a potential mate falls short of that perfection, they reject them.  They were too old, too young, too silly, too serious, too fat, too thin.  They liked the wrong TV shows.  They hated chocolate.  They voted for the other guy.  They didn't put the toilet seat down.

They invent a million excuses for rejection, a million ways to find others unattractive.  Their skill at seeing ugliness in others is matched only by their ability to see it in the mirror, to punish themselves for every imagined flaw.  ....

I've never met anyone who wasn't beautiful.  People have simply forgotten how to see.  ...

The more we narrow the definition of beauty, the more beauty we shut out of our lives."

4/5 stars and highly recommended.
4800015
I am loving this book so I decided to buy it to support the author. As a binge reader of the fantasy genre it is refreshing to see some thought and plot put into the DnD-esque/LitRPG genre that I feel this is more closely related to than traditional High Fantasy. While not completely without flaws the interesting/fun characters, lack of romance (which I take as a plus, not everyone does) , and the hinting of things to come really made me enjoy the book.