Hello all, and welcome to my Science Fiction November monthly wrap-up. While not all of my reads are strictly within the science fiction genre, I would argue that a couple of them are genre-blending enough to qualify as fantasy scifi and scifi horror. I think the Book of the Month will come as a surprise… to absolutely no one.
NB. Books are rated within its genre. For avoidance of doubt, rereads are not considered for Book of the Month.
Hello all, and welcome back to my monthly wrap-up. As real-life work pressures crank up for the final quarter of year, I found myself reading a bit slower for the month of September. It’s also getting harder and harder for me to even come up with short reviews. Thankfully, I was still able to write a bit more for the Book of the Months, as it felt right to do so. And yes, it’s Books of the Month as there were two which both scored 5-stars and earned a spot amongst my favourite books.
NB. Books are rated within its genre. For avoidance of doubt, rereads are not considered for Book of the Month.
Hi everyone! The month of August had been incredible, and not only from the perspective of the great reads that I had as you will see from the ratings of the books below.
What made this month phenomenal for me was The Sandman TV adaptation on Netflix, which is now one of my all favourite adaptations of all-time. It’s been almost a full month since its release on 5th August, and I’m still obsessed with the show ( and especially with Morpheus, Dream of the Endless, King of Dreams and Nightmares, etc etc). I loved the audiobook which came out a couple of years ago, but I’ve to say TV show was better. It was as faithful an adaptation as it could be to fit the medium, and I personally found that the changes that were made served the story better in current times. I also couldn’t believe that I would ever say I found a better Morpheus than James McAvoy, but Tom Sturridge was simply sublime and beyond perfect for this role. I’ve rewatched the entire show at least once, and Morpheus’ scenes countless times.
I could keep rambling on and on about The Sandman, and perhaps I might write a post about it later this year. For now, let’s get back to my bookish monthly wrap-up shall we?
NB. Books are rated within its genre. For avoidance of doubt, rereads are not considered for Book of the Month.
Hi everyone, can’t believe that I’m back for another monthly wrap-up so soon. I’ve been getting back in the groove with some high/epic fantasy books in July, although I did feel a need to switch gears a bit after reading a pretty darn big one, which was none other than the massive sixth book in the Wheel of Time series.
NB. Books are rated within its genre. For avoidance of doubt, rereads are not considered for Book of the Month.
Hello everyone! I did wonder if I should keep up with my monthly wrap-up for June or do a half-year recap of best books read so far. I decided with stick with the wrap-up in the end as I thought my Books of the Month will end up being on the half-year list anyway.
I can’t believe half of 2022 had passed by already. Hope that all of you have been reading great books so far this year. Before I start, can I just say that Stranger Things Season 4 was absolutely phenomenal! I still can’t stop thinking about it, and that ending.
NB. Books are rated within its genre. For avoidance of doubt, rereads are not considered for Book of the Month.
The Hero of Ages by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“I am, unfortunately, the Hero of Ages.”
The Hero of Ages is exactly as epic a conclusion as I remembered. I feared that knowing all of the big twists and reveals might lead to it not being as powerful upon rereading as it was when I experienced it the first time, but those concerns were unwarranted. My anticipation of said reveals made for a reading journey that was just as fulfilling as my first read-through. Sanderson’s Mistborn trilogy isn’t quite a perfect series, but it’s very, very close. With fantastic world building, high stakes and palpable tension, mysteries to be solved and a whole plethora of wonderful characters to root for, philosophical musings on belief and hope balanced with brilliant action scenes and some of the most cinematic and interesting magic systems I’ve ever encountered, I don’t think it’s at all a stretch to call Mistborn a masterpiece.
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Hello all! Welcome back to my monthly wrap-up.
Amazingly, I found my Book of the Month for May right at the very beginning of the month, but that’s not to say that the books that came after that were not good. Most of them were great reads (in fact, only one book disappointed me), and I’m happy to say that the series conclusion that I was looking forward to delivered very satisfactorily. I did start to feel a slight burn-out from reading almost non-stop fantasy (albeit mostly Middle Grade) and ended the month with two crime/mystery thrillers.
NB. Books are rated within its genre. For avoidance of doubt, rereads are not considered for Book of the Month.
The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4.5 of 5 stars
I first read Mistborn: Era 1 a little over 7 years ago. While I loved it in its entirety, I remembered thinking in hindsight that The Well of Ascension was significantly weaker than the first and third novels in the trilogy. I was mistaken. While it wasn’t quite as fast-paced as its predecessor, this was still a phenomenal book in its own right. It’s not quite perfect, but it is much stronger than I recalled. And there was so much that I had forgotten! As with all of Sanderson’s work, The Well of Ascension is brimming with fascinatingly scientific magic systems, a compelling plot, mysteries that don’t give themselves away too quickly, and characters with flaws but a ton of heart. Rereading this series is reminding me of why Sanderson is one of my favorite authors of all time. He never lets me down.
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Hello all! Welcome back to my monthly wrap-up. I can’t believe that four months had already gone by this year. One positive development so far in 2022 is that international borders are opening up and I’m looking forward to be able to travel again, one of my other favourite things to do besides reading.
April was another great month of reading, as we continued our Middle Grade series reads and started the epic reread of all the Mistborn books in preparation for the release of The Lost Metal in November this year.
NB. Books are rated within its genre. For avoidance of doubt, rereads are not considered for Book of the Month.
The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
“Ash fell from the sky.”
So opens The Final Empire, and I was hooked from that very first sentence. When I first read it, I considered Mistborn one of the best fantasy trilogies I had ever read. Upon rereading The Final Empire seven years later, I can tell that my opinion there isn’t going to change. I can’t choose favorites among Sanderson’s Cosmere; I love every world he’s introduced, and have loved every book in he’s written in the Cosmere so far. However, I do think there’s something truly special about the world of Scadrial and the magic systems it introduces. And that’s not even getting into the wonderful cast of characters, the heist planning, the philosophy, and the fight for freedom. There’s so much to love about this book.
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