The best in the series.

Why?

Well, there’s one clear reason for my opinion, and that’s Martin’s ruthless way of toying with his readers’ emotions in the book. At times he gives the reader some slack, making them believe that hey, maybe Arya will actually get to her mother, or Tywin Lannister will turn out to be a man of honor after all — until he pulls the rug out from under the reader’s feet, leaving them lying on the ground in shock. All hope died so suddenly, the reader thought.

What also makes A Storm of Swords so powerful is that the always-fascinating events at the Wall and beyond the Wall are unfolding at an accelerating pace as we follow them not only from Jon’s perspective, but also from Sam Tarly’s, and even a third character’s. In King’s Landing, which was a relatively dull place in A Clash of Kings, more exciting things happen for a change, thanks to Tyrion and Sansa.

This book comes very close to being a perfect fantasy novel. I have to nitpick, though, not so much about the page count (~1,200) as about the rambling. The story branches off in every compass direction, and it’s questionable whether all the scenes are necessary, whether each scene contains something essential to the whole. As compelling as A Storm of Swords is, a bolder editor might have pushed Martin to kill a few of his darlings for the sake of the story’s integrity.

I'm nobody's fangirl, so I’ll risk starting by saying that The Way of Kings is genuinely original: stormlight, soulcasting, bridges over chasms, and whatnot. The author of the book, this Brandon Sanderson fellow, must be an incredible writer and storyteller, right?

So, why not full marks? Slipped with the mouse?

It took me a few months to trudge through the book, which already says something. Especially the verb trudge, which describes my reading experience with unnerving accuracy. Most of the more than 1,100 pages went by at a snail’s pace.

Most, but not all. There were some truly fascinating moments along the way; their relative share was just so small that the overall effect was like sipping water faintly flavored with a single mint leaf. In fact, the story only seemed to really pick up speed at the very end. The best spices were stuck at the bottom of the glass!

Rewarding? Sure.

But I’m evaluating the whole book here, and it left me covered in cold sweat. A bit of streamlining might have done the trick… Anyway, Words of Radiance is apparently even longer, so you can probably guess the rest.

A mass-produced road map so valuable that someone is willing to kill people to get it. Just when you thought cartography was boring.

Easiest 10/10 decision ever. I read The Cartographers as a geographer and a lifelong lover of maps, which may have had some effect on how much I enjoyed it. But then again, if you combine maps, magic, thrill, and history in a suitable ratio, can the result be anything but one of the most enchanting reading experiences of your life?

In my opinion, the book has the potential to become an international blockbuster. Peng Shepherd's previous work, The Book of M, has been translated into a few languages. I would like this to spread even more widely so that everyone who fancies maps, magic, and/or exciting stories would have a chance to read it.

The fire in the ancient Library of Alexandria was not an accident. Instead, the Library burned to protect itself and its dangerous secret: magical books. The Library survived in the form of a society of the same name, and every ten years the society recruits new members. The Atlas Six follows the training of the six newest member candidates, who are among the most talented magicians in the world. 

The book's conspiratorial idea of ​​a library staging its own destruction is undeniably original. The magic that appears in the book is also original, which Olivie Blake has not blatantly copied, at least not from any fantasy story that I know. The book manages to keep its secrets hidden and mislead its readers down the wrong paths until the very end. And at the end comes a surprise that is impressive, though nothing mind-blowing.

The characters in the book are beautiful, young, rich, clever, and immensely powerful all right, but not terribly interesting. I didn't really identify with any of them, except maybe Reina, who I think should have been featured more. The end of the story really felt a bit lackluster, possibly because it is only a staging point. That's right, there will be at least one sequel to this book. Naturally.

The social media buzz surrounding The Atlas Six has ​​not been mere mass hysteria. I think the time I spent on this book wasn't wasted. However, it remains to be seen whether I will continue the series from now on. 

The Ministry for the Future is yet another massive snorter from Kim Stanley Robinson. The scale and multidimensionality of Robinson’s works are stupendous, as is his ability to combine hard facts with spellbinding fiction.

In this book, he is once again on the issue of climate change in building a refreshing science utopia. So no climate dystopia this time. The title of the book is quite dry, and there is a lot of serious matter in the work, which is, however, counterbalanced by emotional drama. As a whole, the work is sadly a bouncing superball, exhausting in places, especially for non-English-speaking readers. There is surprisingly little room left for intriguing sections in such a thick book as Robinson keeps banging ecology, economics, and politics into the reader’s ear.

Anyway, I’m glad I got to the end. There was no waste of time, by any means. No pain, no gain!

In a way, The Overstory would have deserved 10 stars just for the respect that I felt for Richard Powers after finishing the book. Without a doubt Powers has done a tremendous amount of background work for the book, and at least my expertise is not sufficient to prove any of his claims wrong.

There are as many as nine protagonists, who at first seem like a motley crew, but most of whom I grew fond of surprisingly strongly when the story progressed. After all, it's as much a story about people as it is about trees. The book is long and slow, a little like the trees themselves. The metaphor is hardly a coincidence. And no, the book isn't suitable for the hasty. You really have to stop by it to understand the wisdom that is conveyed by it.  The same thing is urged in the book every now and then: if you stop and listen, you can hear the trees talking.

Powers invites his readers to learn more about trees, so that we could learn to understand and respect them. Still, the book doesn't preach, but really inspires to look at trees in a new way. That's what happened to me, at least. Sure, it also happened to me that from time to time I felt buried under all the philosophical reflection and the avalanche of information. I’m sure there’s a lot more to realize in the book for re-reading.

The title of the book is apt when playing with the ambiguity of the word "story". A small but charming detail.

From early on Red Rising reminded me of Dune by Frank Herbert. Power struggle in space centered on a young man. In Red Rising this young man, Darrow, just happens to be of low descent, unlike the high-born Paul Atreides. Later, the story began to be more reminiscent of certain YA dystopians, but I still suspect Pierce Brown has read his Dune.

The story kicks off strongly. The early events create tension and maintain interest excellently. Darrow seems to be a sympathetic guy. But then the schoolyard brawl begins, in which parents, teachers and other people try to get involved to the best of their ability. I never got interested in these kind of quarrels when I was a kid, and it wasn't much more engrossing, even though it occurred on Mars. In addition, Darrow became more or less monstrous as the hassle progressed.

I would say that the first part of the novel was whopping great. All the other parts were rather much more painful reading, but the very cliffhanger ending led me to believe that the sequel could very well raise the level of interest again.  

Scott Lynch has thoughtfully created a fascinating, original world. His talent to carry the story is natural. And the story is fast-paced, full of action, chicanery and tension. The characters are a colorful group of believable persons.

But what makes Lynch so exceptional as a writer is his way of weaving dialogue. The story is dialogue-oriented, and at least I enjoy it as it is. Oh, how thrilling it is to follow the conversations, especially between Locke and Jean, and Locke and Sabetha. They are juicy. They are hilarious.

The story of Locke Lamora was complex in the first place, and this third book made it even more complex. It is a fantasy book, but not very light or easy read, especially if you - like me - are not fluent in English. Anyway, definitely worth it.