#I'm in the middle of reading mistborn

[captain-fflewddurfflam]

I am so completely obsessed with high fantasy right now. I’m on a huge fantasy kick and I’m so sorry for anyone following for sci-fi or period drama but my blog is pretty much entirely LOTR and Critical Role right now. I promise it won’t be forever!

#I just got a subscription to dropout to watch a court of fey and flowers because I need more d&d content #I'm not even fully caught up on critical role c3 #also want to watch c1 really badly but there are not enough hours in the day! #this is a problem #currently watching the rings of power at my brother's behest and now all I wanna do is rewatch lotr #though I am enjoying trop #I'm in the middle of reading mistborn #and I just discovered a chronicles of prydain blog that's making me want to start re-reading those books (especially the castle of llyr!) #being in the middle of two D&D campaigns isn't helping either #anyway #all this to say I'm hardcore hyperfixating on high fantasy right now #and I'm so sorry if that's not your thing #sorry for the disaster my blog will be for the foreseeable future #fantasy #UGH #hyperfixation #lotr #trop #chronicles of prydain #critical role #acofaf #d&d #mistborn

[cosmerelists]

The Other Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse But Make It Cosmere

As requested by @round-hatches-are-terrifying. :)

In the Good Omens novel, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (War, Famine, Pollution, and Death), who are bikers, are followed by four other biker dudes who chose their own names to be, uh, equally ominous:

Grievous Bodily Harm, Cruelty to Animals, Really Cool People, and Treading In Dogshit (formerly All Foreigners Especially The French, formerly Things Not Working Properly Even After You’ve Given Them A Good Thumping, never actually No Alcohol Lager, briefly Embarrassing Personal Problems, and finally People Covered in Fish)

So let's say we had other Horsemen on various Cosmere planets. What would they be named?

1. Roshar (Stormlight Archive)

The Main Horsemen: War, Famine, Desolation, and Death

The Other Horsemen: Man-Eating Giant Crabs, Running Out Of Stormlight Right In The Middle of the Weeping, Ill-Conceived Boons, and Reified Gender Norms (formerly Men Reading, formerly Predicting the Future But Not Like Storm Wardens Do Because That's Just Math Basically, briefly just Predicting the Future)

2. Scadrial (Era 1) (Mistborn)

The Main Horsemen: Famine, Pestilence, Ash, and Death

The Other Horsemen: Child Abuse, Dangerous Piercings, Trying to Keep Literally Anything Clean, and Getting Hit in The Head With A Coin Like Every Night Because of Those Blasted Mistborn Flying About Everywhere

3. Scadrial (Era 2) (Mistborn)

The Main Horsemen: War, Famine, Pestilence, and Death

The Other Horsemen: Social Unrest, Rich Bastards, ACAB, and Getting Hit in The Head With A Coin Like Every Night Because of Those Blasted Coinshots Flying About Everywhere

4. Nalthis (Warbreaker)

The Main Horsemen: War, Famine, Death, and Second Death

The Other Horsemen: Undead Squirrel Attacks, Being Out of Breath, The Haunting Realization that the Gods Who Live Among Us Are Actually Pretty Daft, and All Foreigners But Especially the Idrians

5. Threnody (Shadows for Silence)

The Main Horsemen: Fire, Blood, Running, and Death

The Other Horsemen: Fortfolk-Acting-Too-Big-For-Their-Britches, Withering-That-Does-Not-Kill-You-But-Does-Make-Life-Just-That-Much-Harder-Forever, Ghost-Grandmother, and Adonalsium-May-Remember-Our-Plight-Eventually-But-For-Now-It-Is-Pretty-Bleak-Out-Here-Guys

6. Komashi (Yumi and the Nightmare Painter)

The Main Horsemen: Nightmares, Famine, Pestilence, and Death

The Other Horsemen: Artist's Block, Being Straight on a Planet Where Even the Lighting is Bisexual, AI Art, and A Stiff Breeze Coming At Exactly The Wrong Time Noooo My Rock Stacks

7. First of the Sun (Sixth of Dusk)

The Main Horsemen: Bad Death, Worst Death, Quick Death, and Slow Death

The Other Horsemen: Mainlanders, Mainlander Capitalism, Kids These Days, and Suspicious Invaders (?) From Outer Space

8. Sel (Elantris)

The Main Horsemen: War, Famine, the Shaod, and Death

The Other Horsemen: Aggressive Proselytizers, Stubbing your Toe, People Who Do Not Accept The Word of Shu-Dereth And So Seal For Themselves Their Own Inevitable Doom, and I'm With The First Guy Who Said Proselytizers (formerly People Covered in Slime)

#cosmere #cosmerelists #Stormlight Archive #Mistborn #Warbreaker #Elantris #Yumi and the Nightmare Painter #Sixth of Dusk #Shadows for Silence

[avidabsurdist]

Every time a new Brandon Sanderson book is released everyone updates their suggested reading order but all you need is the patience to be uninformed and enjoy the book!

But depending on your preference the best story to start with will be different.

If you want a crash course on the basics of The Cosmere's magic physics (Aka Investiture) so you can hypothesize on how other magic works I suggest the short story "The Emperor's Soul" as a starting point, it gives a solid overview of Realmic theory and covers Identity (a rather difficult idea to communicate) very effectively. (this is the start of the PhD route)

If you want something that's more like a traditional fairy tale as an intro I suggest Tress Of the Emerald Sea, which doesn't require a PhD in the shattering to understand. (though if you're going the PhD route I suggest reading this one later because if you're questioning the magic it's a far more confusing one)

Warbreaker is a good middle ground, if you're going the PhD route I suggest this second (it covers Intention which "The Emperor's Soul" doesn't), It's not a bad starting place either, it was my first book in The Cosmere and it's up for free on The Sand-Man's website. It's also all-around an excellent book.

I'm going to be (a tad) controversial and say I enjoy Elantris, it's certainly not Brando-Sando's best work but it was his first, and it's not a bad book to start with! just keep in mind that many of the issues in the book are things he improves on in later books.

Mistborn is two (soon to be 3) series, we distinguish them by 'Era' and they should be read in order if you want to make sense of what's going on.

Mistborn Era 1 (3 books) is also an excellent place to start, it's a YA-style series so you follow a teenager in a Post-(more like perpetual)-Apocalypse, but it's also an Epic high fantasy so if you like those and don't mind romance It's a good one.

"Mistborn Secret History": read this after Mistborn Era 1 if you're going the PHD route read anytime before The Lost Metal (Era 2 Book 4) for everyone else. (PhD track: if you want the most out of it I suggest also reading White Sand first)

Mistborn Era 2 (4 books) is a high fantasy Western set in the same world much later in time, 10/10 no notes, it's excellent.

The Stormlight Archive, TheBigOne™ It is planned to be a 10-book series with accompanying Novellas. I suggest reading in chronological order including the short stories, published so far that would be:

The Way of Kings

Words of Radiance

"Edgedancer" (novella)

Oathbringer

"Dawnshard" (novella)

Rhythm of War

Start with this series if you thirst for sprawling high-fantasy novels with page counts that would make grown men weep (the Audiobook for RoW was like 48 hours long)

The entirety of Arcanum Unbounded is not required reading, (unless you're on the PhD track) but it contains both "The Emperor's Soul" and "Edgedancer", you should probably read Elantris, Mistborn Era 1, Alloy Of Law (MB Era 2 Book 1), and Stormlight (up to Words of Radiance). If you enjoy Graphic Novels and dislike spoilers/rereading stuff when you haven't finished it yet I suggest skipping the White Sand excerpt.

White Sand is also not a terrible intro, it covers a theme in B-Sandy's work that isn't directly related to the cosmere but will give you a good insight into whether you'll like his work or not: the idea that skill is developed, not just inherent. if you're like me and dislike graphic novels GraphicAudio™ (actually a company not a joke) Has an Audio rendition that has some narrative differences from the Graphic novels (iirc at least one character is a different gender) But the Graphic novels also have a random boombox on a planet with no electricity so either should be fine.

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter is in a similar situation to Tress of The Emerald Sea except instead of a classic European Folktale Vibe it's got a Western Interpretation of Anime Vibe, ofc it's high fantasy like all Sandon Branderson's work so it's world is inspired by Japanese culture rather than just being Japanese.

The Sunlit Man read Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (Arcanum Unbounded), and at least Oathbringer (Stormlight Archive 3) before this one, unless you like being thrown into the deep end, Mistborn Era 1 & 2 would also help.

There are other routes than Ph.D., there's also the Galactic Politics route, The Secret Society route, The Worldhopper Watcher route, The Ancient History route (Aka The Shattering route) ect

if you want specific reading route recs just tell me what you're looking for I can help!

#brandon sanderson #cosmere #reading order #cosmere reading order #technically I'd call this spoiler free #unless you consider overarching themes spoilers #which is dumb you shouldn't do that #stormlight #mistborn #sixth of dusk #tress of the emerald sea #yumi and the nightmare painter #elantris #B-sandy

[riverbeatsaber]

Happy Mistborn Fortnite Friday!

ID, more pictures, and rambling under the cut

[Image ID: a picture of an embroidery project on a white fabric background. Mistborn is embroidered with copper and silver floss on the top, Fortnite with black floss in the middle, and Friday with light pink and blue floss on the bottom. There are curls of mist embroidered in light blue floss around the top and bottom.]

Here's how it looks on the back:

Here's the pattern I made, based on the original meme by @celestialkindliness / @dekartas:

And here it is displayed on the wall of my room, right next to my second embroidery project:

Now. Time for rambling>:)

This took about 7 months to make, from asking permission to the very last stitches. However, I had to adjust my initial plan A Lot to make it actually work, which explains the long time. For example, my first idea was to use black fabric for the background, but my options for that were a fabric that was way too flimsy (the marking pencil warped it) and something I realized much later was canvas- too thick. I probably could have gone to the fabric store and gotten other black fabric, but on top of that, I had a lot of trouble marking the pattern on it, so I eventually realized. Wait a minute. I can just use my regular white fabric. That would be much easier.

I also initially wanted to use a 6 inch hoop, which made the satin stitches much too big. The general maximum for the length of a satin stitch is 1cm, not 1in, so I adjusted the pattern to a much more sensible 4 inch diameter. I still worked it on a 6 inch hoop, though, because it had extra room.

The next big obstacle was that I wanted to use herringbone stitch for Mistborn somehow. After a bit, I realized it wouldn't really fit the shapes there, but I was like nooo... I have to use all these different stitches or else it won't be Good or Original... wait a minute that's not true lol. I also changed it from putting 1 stand each of 4 colors in the needle (2 copper, 2 silver) to using the silvers for the outside and the coppers for the inside, which looked better and wasn't too many strands (which might have warped the fabric).

The final adjustment was on Fortnite. I had made the outline in the middle of the project, using backstitch. One option was just to keep it as an outline. The other option was to use satin stitch to fill it in. Usually with satin stitch, if you have an "outline" it actually goes inside the satin stitch, to make it pop out more. I also kinda wanted something actually outside the satin stitch, though, because otherwise it can be pretty jagged, but that might have made the letters too big... So, about halfway through the F, I realized I could end my stitches in the middle of my outline for the best of both worlds! It also somehow made the fabric bunch up much less, which meant it was a lot less stressful to stitch.

So, there ya go, my epic tale of embroidery frustration and innovation. I used 2 strands of:

Light blue (DMC 800) with a split backstitch for the swirls of mist

The same light blue and pink (DMC 894) with a whipped backstitch for Friday

Plain black (DMC 310) for the satin stitch on Fortnite

1 strand each of light silver (DMC 168) and very light silver (DMC 762) with backstitch for the outline of Mistborn

1 strand each of orangey copper (DMC 301) and red copper (DMC 920) for the inside of Mistborn- I dunno what stitch I used really, I just did whatever there.

Finally, if you've somehow read this far, (1) i'm impressed, (2) you can check out my other embroidery if you want:]

#cosmere #mistborn #mistborn fortnite friday #embroidery #my embroidery #my posts #cosmere fanart

[theinquisitxor]

November 2023 Reading Wrap Up

I read a total of 9 books in November, which was a better reading month than I've had in a while. I also found some new favorites and new releases this month. My workload for classes was much lighter, and I had significant more reading time. I read 7 physical books and 2 audiobooks.

1.Shadows of Self (Mistborn 5) by Brandon Sanderson, 3/5 stars. Another crime mystery set in Elendel. I read this one entirely as a physical copy, but I probably would have enjoyed the audiobook more. I wasn’t as engaged in the plot as much, and it felt a bit like a ‘filler’ book to me. Crime thriller high fantasy

2.The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher, 4/5 stars. This was a creepy portal fantasy horror with interdimensional monsters and a museum of curiosities. A good spooky season read, and a book that I couldn't put down. I stayed up past 2am to read it. Horror, portal fantasy

3.The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater, 5/5 stars. My annual reread of this book starting every November 1st. I listened to this on audio, and I made November cakes in honor of my tradition.

4.Starling House by Alix E Harrow, 5/5 stars. This book was everything I enjoy in stories, and is about a struggling Appalachian town, siblings trying to survive, a sentient house, tragic dark fairy tales, gothic horror, and a beauty & the beast retelling. The pace of this book is slow, and I would consider it a deeply character driven story. Contemporary fantasy.

5.Steelstriker (Skyhunter 2) by Marie Lu, 3.5/5 stars. This is a post apocalyptic dystopian ya fantasy that touches on real world events, and certainly feels relevant to some events that have happened over the past few years. This is a fast paced, action packed duology that kept me hooked and wanting to turn the pages. Sci-fi/fantasy

6.Leviathan Falls (The Expanse 9) by James S.A. Corey, 5/5 stars. I've been reading the Expanse books for three years now, and I started Leviathan Wakes in Jan 2021. This really built up to a huge finale and gave a satisfying ending, I don't think I could have asked for better. The last ~20 pages of this were spot on. I'm very glad I read this series, even if it took me several years. Science Fiction Space Opera.

7.The Bands of Mourning (Mistborn 6) by Brandon Sanderson, 4/5 stars. Very entertaining and enjoyable, reading this series on audio is 1000% the best way for me to consume these books. This book had a lot of cool moments, parts that made me go “what?!” and some neat new cosmere/worldbuilding things in it. Crime thriller high fantasy

8.Murtagh by Christopher Paolini, 3/5 stars. Murtagh was a decently good book. Murtagh is my favorite character of the Inheritance Cycle, and I was looking forward to reading this. I enjoyed most of this book, although I thought it could have been trimmed down, and there was one section and significant trope that I did not enjoy, which affected how I felt about this book. High Fantasy.

9. Thornhedge by T. Kingfisher, 5/5 stars. This novella was exactly my type of fairy tale and brand of faeries. I also enjoyed a good representation of the middle ages, and T. Kingfisher's excellent writing. This was such a sweet story (even though it has darker moments), and I'm glad I decided to pick this up. Fantasy/fairy tale

That's it for November! See my December tbr below

December tbr:

The Lost Metal (Mistborn 7) audiobook

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows (reread)

All the Hidden Paths by Foz Meadows

Howl's Moving Castle by DWJ (reread)

Castle in the Air by DWJ

House of Many Ways by DWJ

The Damar duology (The Blude Sword and The Hero and the Crown) by Robin McKinley

A Winter's Promise by Christbelle Dabos

Realm Breaker by Victoria Aveyard

Nonfiction on audio

#reading wrap up #november reading wrap up #fantasy books #mistborn era 2 #thornhedge #the hollow places #t kingfisher #Murtagh #christopher paolini #starling house #Alix E Harrow #Steelstriker #marie lu

[thevegetablewhichnoonedaresname]

one of my favorite things to do on the train is to see what middle aged men are reading/watching on their commutes. Naruto. Mistborn. Tattered paperback copy of Wings of Fire. Wuthering Heights. Legend of Korra. Some doorstop-sized book about programming. One Piece (in Japanese, with a dustcover made out of a Whole Foods bag so no one finds out this 50-something balding man reads One Piece in Japanese on his commute, cause I guess you never get too old to be vulnerable to social pressure. except me, who found out because I'm nosy and spend my commute reading One Piece over businessmen's shoulders.)

#pickle pontificates

[eddisfargo]

1, 3, 4?

Oh yay thank you!!

#1: How many books did you read this year? According to my Storygraph, which I'm pretty sure is updated, I have read 53 books this year! Of course, the year is not over yet! I did hit my original goal of 50, although I later changed it to 60, which I will not be hitting haha. I'm currently in the middle of 10, but 0 chance I'll be finishing them all in December.

#3: What were your top five books of the year? In no particular order, because it was hard enough to get them down to 5 at all:

Waybound (Cradle #12/12, by Will Wight)

Painted Devils (Little Thieves #2/3, by Margaret Owen)

Son of a Liche (The Dark Profit Saga #2/3, by J. Zachary Pike)

The Hero of Ages (Mistborn #3/3, by Brandon Sanderson)

Network Effect (Murderbot #5/7, by Martha Wells)

#4: Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

Oh, GREAT question! I think literally everything I put above was a series I'd started in a previous year. Which makes sense because it usually takes me more than 1 book in a universe to get really invested. So this seems like a great time to include:

Jonathan Stroud, because I did start the Bartimaeus trilogy with Amulet of Samarkand, and I'm definitely planning to continue.

I also really enjoyed Beautiful, by Juliet Marillier, to the point where I'd like to read more of her stuff.

Ditto Jennifer Donnelly after Stepsister!

Thanks so much for asking, @knife-dad! This was fun!

#Yay an ask! #end-of-year book ask

[underthetree845]

ask game

😅✍🛒🛠💖👀🤗

Hello darling! Thank you for the ask (<3)

😅 (What's a story or scene you've created that you're a smidge embarrassed exists?)- God, um, I have this one x reader thing I wrote, and it was the very first piece of fanfiction I ever came up with. I wrote it in eighth grade (T-T). It wasn't super terrible and I didn't say "orbs" instead of eyes even once, I just kind of didn't know what I was doing. No planning took place, it was just a little forced, but I'm kind of proud of myself for just getting it out. It was an Armin/fem reader thing where they were going to a party dance thing and there was a confession. Kind of like a less evolved version of my recent masquerade fic, actually. I guess I enjoy writing dancing. I know I was young and everything but I'm so thankful that I hadn't figured out that I could actually post on fanfiction websites yet, I kept writing and thankfully (at least I believe/hope) that I got better. ✍ (Do you have a beta reader?)- I do not. I'm not against it or anything, I just don't. I do have this one friend that I send e v e r y t h i n g I write to though, albeit after it's published because she's not really an experienced writer (not that she's bad, just not the right person to ask for feedback). She's even read that dance fic I mentioned in the previous question.

🛒 (What are some common things you incorporate in your fics? Themes, feels, scenes, imagery, etc.)- Mutual pining is a big one for me 😭. Whether it's friends to lovers (which is what I mostly write), strangers to lovers, enemies, coworkers, etc. etc. there will always be mutual pining at some point. Even if one has had feelings for longer and I depict the growth of the other's feelings (which I find really interesting). Also- random- but I feel like hand holding/focus on hand touches is always a light thing I find myself wanting to incorporate. Not sure why.

🛠 (What tools/programs/apps do you use to write?)- I like to use google docs. It syncs to my phone too so I can write on the way to school or in public if I'm bored, stuff like that. Straight up writing in the tumblr drafts scares me, it's too easy to delete O.o. I oftentimes keep one doc for notes (if it's a longer fic) and write the fic separately. Fun fact though, when I started out, I was actually using the notes app on my phone. That didn't last long, but I still have my first few unpublished 8th grade fics on there.

💖 (What made you start writing?)- Okay so what made me REALIZE that I liked writing was my English classes in school. I've always been a bookworm- ever since I was a little kid- so it was amazing to me that I was able to create stories and show them to people in the same way real authors could. So middle school me loved doing creative writing assignments, I always went way over the wordcount, I loved reading books, etc. etc. Eventually I start getting into fandom, and through internet browsing, I come across fanfiction for the first time. I have to say, it kind of blew my mind. It's hard to explain that I never really stopped reading as much as I did in middle school and elementary school, I just read a lot more ~digital works by unpublished authors~ now (and I still do read books, I'm currently reading Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson and I love it). The rest I kind of already explained. I tried my hand at it for awhile in the notes app, eventually made an account, read, liked, etc., started posting, and the rest is history. :)

👀 (Tell me about an up and coming wip please!)- *Rubs hands together.* Okay, so: First of all, I'm ALMOST, almost I swear! I'm almost done with the next chapter for my ongoing fic. I'll probably post it sometime next weekend (I don't know if you follow it but there's that). I'm currently working on a Dazai oneshot with the pocky game (you know what that is, right?) And then someone sent me a jealous Chuuya request which I plan on completing after my other two wips since they won't take long.

🤗 (What advice would you give to new fanfic writers that are just getting started?)- EEEE! Okay okay!

Dear new writers, WE ARE SO HAPPY TO HAVE YOU HERE. Please don't be shy! Reach out, interact, share your work (if you want to) and there will be people who say hello back! Remember, don't compare yourself to other writers. We all started at some point. We all had a first post, we all make mistakes, we're all human. On that note, don't beat yourself up about making it perfect! Getting out a first draft is a great first step. It can include notes, errors, run on sentences, and that's fine because it's a draft! You do not have to be perfect, none of us are. Do not feel bad about not having the time to write, or even if you do have the time but lack the energy. Take care of yourself first always! Remember to have confidence in yourself. You created something that wasn't there before and put it out into the world and it's a story and it's yours and that is amazing in every aspect. Don't give up on yourself, take care of yourself, be kind to yourself, and you will slowly but surely find your place in the writers' community! <3

Thank you again for the asks! I hope all of you sleep well tonight. <33

#answered #ask game #sorry this was so long oh my god #emoji asks

[ceruleanfuckup]

I've been following you for a while but didn't realize you were a cosmere fan until I saw your tags on that gorgeous pink and black gem post!

What's your favorite cosmere story/book?

Okay this genuinely made me so happy. I love Brandon Sanderson! He's my favorite author. I adore how all of his books are individual stories but are all tied together in a higher level. Mistborn was my introduction to him. When I picked it up the first time, I didn't get more than halfway through. I picked it up later on a whim and started over and adored it. I have a mistcloak signed by him and everything. I really really really like the world building and magic system for Stormlight Archive but it's a very big series, all in all. Spren are so fucking cool and so are the Parshendi and the storms. I'm re-reading (or re-listening) to the series again and I'm in the middle of Oathbringer. That reference I made was a pretty damned specific one, all in all, so I'm proud of you for getting it. I think Lift is probably my favorite character in the Cosmere.

Thank you so much for the ask! This was delightful.

#cosmere #brandon Sanderson

[underlined-fires]

WIP - The Final Empire rebind

I'm in the middle of rebinding this 10-year old Mistborn paperback, because it's falling apart. I own the UK edition as well, but I'm attached to this one, because it was a gift and it's the first Sanderson book I ever read.

The cover is only half done, but I like how it looks so far. This is also my first experiment with vinyl, thanks to the friend who let me borrow their cutting machine.

#hesperis' bookbinding adventures #mistborn #I wanted to do this for binderary but I haven't been able to do any bookbinding at all for weeks due to health issues #so i'm excited to get back to it now that I can!

[thelustybraavosimaid]

My husband is gushing about the Mistborn trilogy and is telling me that the first book is the best book he had ever read.

I'm currently in the middle of reading the Seven Realms series and want to reread the Ellderet series. Is Mistborn worth reading? 👀

[mylittlecomfortplace]

The Well of Ascension (The Mistborn Saga #2) [Book Review]

➺ 3.5/5 🌟

I felt like an outsider after seeing so many high ratings of this book, but I just couldn't give this higher than this. It was actually already generous of me to give this 3.5 rating. I was about to give this book maybe a 2.5 or 3 stars, but the last 150 pages bump up the rating for me. It was exactly that part where I genuinely enjoyed this book for the first time.

For the first 600 pages, I felt like only two things are repeatedly happening. First, Vin's internal struggle: whether she deserves to be Elend's woman, or wondering if she's really just a tool being used, or if it would make her a different person if she wears a dress, or if Elend would see her as a monster because of her power, or if eloping with a mistborn like her is the right thing to do, blah blah blah. I know her insecurities and I can sympathize with her. Girl went through a lot since childhood, I am clear of that. But spending that amount of pages going on about it is frustrating for me.

Second, Elend trying and failing to secure his position as the emperor. I appreciate every effort he makes and it's clear that he's sincere in making the empire better, but I felt like every decision he made didn't really achieve anything. The more he decide something, the more his throne is slipping away from him. It was absolutely true that he's a good man, but not necessarily a good king. Maybe for now. Watching him struggle to fight for his kingdom in his own idealistic way without changing anything is exhausting me.

I'm more invested in exploring the truth about the mist and the Well of Ascension, and we got to that part eventually, but for the most part, all I can remember is that most of Vin and Elend's decisions only made things worse. The whole situation declined the more I continue reading and I know that should make this more exciting to read as it would make one look forward to what will happen next, but I think what frustrates me the most is that this middle book of a trilogy only served as the accumulation of the characters' failures and introduction of more problems, stretching it so much to make this thick book. I don't even know if my complaints make any sense to other people but all I know is that I'm not a big fan of this book, not until the last 150 pages.

I felt slightly disappointed that I didn't like this the way I wanted to and I felt genuinely sad about it, but I still have high hopes for the last book. The last part of this book actually did a good job in making me anticipate what will happen next.

#books #book review #february 2024 review #the well of ascension #brandon sanderson

[linus-wickworth]

2,4 & 17 for the book ask :)

Ahh, thank you!

Did you reread anything? What?

I have re-read! When I started reading last year, I told myself I wasn't allowed to re-read my favorites until it's been a year since I finished 'em. So from May-now, I've been able to re-read. I've re-read 45 books so far, and have quite a few more planned for this month.

Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

So, so many that are new to me. Top ones would be Brandon Sanderson and Oscar Wilde.

Did any books surprise you with how good they were?

Mistborn. I wasn't a fantasy fan (outside of paranormal and very low fantasy stuff) but I was convinced I'd love it, and they were right! The Mistborn Era 1 trilogy blew me away and I'm now making my way through all of Brandon Sanderson's books. I'm also more comfortable with high fantasy now, so that's a bonus!

Same goes for some middle-grade books. I wasn't really into them last year but I've read some amazing ones this year.

ASK ME END-OF-YEAR BOOKISH QUESTIONS!

#booklr #books

[callme6olet]

DnD and character incompetence

I dislike DnD 5E. It's a complicated relationship. I am aware that millions of people love the game, and I am genuinely happy that it has brought so many people into this hobby. I sometimes feel that bashing the five hundred pound elephant is a way of building up nerd cred, of dismissing others' tastes because we've been in the hobby since the good ol' days. I don't want to do that. I don't want to say that 5E can't be fun. I'm currently GMing a fifth edition game, and it's the best campaign I've ever been a part of. Too, the 5E design philosophy ought to be right up my alley. I love games that are streamlined but still have mechanical grit, density, and options. But at the same time, I can't stand the game. After this campaign, I plan never to touch it again.

Here's the thing: the elegance of fifth edition is centered on removing character incompetence. Your wizard never has to deal with the pain of rolling crossbow attacks at -1. If you run out of spells, you have cantrips. You attack with your best stat, deal high damage. Your fighter might not have a rogue's Expertise, but you'll never have to look down at a character sheet with two ranks among 30 skills. These experiences of incompetence, of weakness, are annoying. They can turn a player off from the game. But they also mean that your decisions mattered.

OD&D and 3.X are unbalanced, deeply imperfect. But they're art. The mechanics express something, force you to make decisions and, on some semiconscious level, learn about yourself through their consequences. 5E is an apple among oranges. The game, as an artifact, is devoid of passion, of anything artistic or expressive. It is an ode to the middle of the road, a mass-produced product designed to draw in millions with the lure of occult folk art--and yet, it lacks the courage or drive to make good on that promise. It is afraid of driving off its customers, and as such, refuses to include negativity in its experience.

Art is truth. Truth requires tension, failure, and darkness. Fifth edition is not art. Hell, it only qualifies as a game in the loosest sense of the word. Games are like dreams--they allow us to experience high-stakes decisions in an environment without real-world consequences. They exist for us to face our fears, our failures, and the parts of our psyche we're not yet ready to deal with consciously. Fifth edition removes the stakes of conflict, neuters the scale of competence and incompetence, and denies players the agency to make decisions that matter. There is no way to be bad, and so every character is made flat, uninteresting, and impotent. Playing 5E is like reading Harry Potter. There's something magical about it, and a lot of talent and effort went into it--but once you look at anything else in the genre, the luster fades in a hurry. You realize how much more this microcosm has to offer. Sure, Lord of the Rings and OD&D are strange, dense books. It takes effort to get into them. But once you do, you realize that the primordium that spawned the genre is so, so much more beautiful than its modern progeny. That we have refined the expression, but have never made anything more elemental. And when you read Jade City and The Fifth Season and Mistborn, Pathfinder and Blades in the Dark and Knave, you start to see how much is out there, start to feel like the middle of the road is a boring place to be.

#dnd #dnd5e #odnd #ttrpg

[theinquisitxor]

October 2023 Reading Wrap-Up

In the month of October I only read six books, which is not many for me, but I had a busy month with classes and a short trip. I read two audiobooks and four physical books. I enjoyed everything I read this month, and got to some new releases that I've been looking forward to.

1.A Conjuring of Light (Shades of Magic 3) by VE Schwab, 3.5/5 stars. I read this mostly on audio and completed my reread of the series. While I enjoyed the series more when I first read it back in 2018, it was still fun to revisit the series and remember all that happened. The floating market remains one of my favorite scenes/moments in a fantasy book, and I'm glad I took the time to reread this. Portal fantasy

2.Tiamat's Wrath (The Expanse 8) by James SA Corey, 4/5 stars. I'm finally almost done with the expanse series, and this book has been one of my favorites of the series. It had me turning the page wanting to know what happens next, and I've been enjoying the last plotline of this series. I'm really looking forward to the final book. Science-fiction.

3.The Chalice of the Gods (Percy Jackson and the Olympians 6) by Rick Riordian, 4/5 stars. This book was 100% just hype for the tv show, but was very fun and cute to read. It was nice seeing Percy, Annabeth, and Grover in a lower-stakes setting. This felt more like a novella instead of a novel, but was a fun nostalgia read. Middle grade fantasy

4.A Study in Drowning by Ava Reid, 4/5 stars. This is Ava Reid's first young adult book, and I was looking forward to it as it promises a dark academia fairy tale. I really enjoyed several aspects of this novel: the setting, the ambiance, the fairy lore. This definitely felt like an Ava Reid book, and touches on many similar themes as her other novels. Reid is an author that I plan to keep reading. YA fantasy.

5.The Fragile Threads of Power (Threads of Power 1) by VE Schwab, 4.5/5 stars. I’m always worried that continuation series are just going to repeat the original series, but this gave a fresh new plot while still retaining what makes the Shades of Magic special. We spend a lot of time with the characters from SoM, but we are introduced to a few new characters who are great to follow and get to know. I flew through the second half of this book, and this book felt like it was setting up a lot for the next books (even though it is almost 700 pages). Adult high fantasy.

5.The Alloy of Law (Mistborn 4) by Brandon Sanderson, 4/5 stars. I wasn't sure if I wanted to try reading the second-era Mistborn series, but I decided to give this a go on audio, and I'm very glad I decided to give it a try. This was super fun and entertaining, and different from a lot of the other stuff I read. It's a sort of fantasy crime thriller. I would recommend the audiobook. Fantasy.

That's it for October! I was hoping to get through two more books this month, but I'll have to finish them up in November. See below for my November tbr.

November tbr:

The Hollow Places by T Kingfisher (holdover from Oct)

Shadows of Self by Brandon Sanderson (holdover from Oct)

The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson (audiobook)

The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater (reread on audio)

Starling House by Alix E Harrow

Steelstriker by Marie Lu

Leviathan Falls by James SA Corey (Expanse 10)

Murtang (Inheritance Cycle book 5) by Christopher Paolini

(possibly Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros, if I feel like continuing with the series)

#reading wrap up #October reading wrap up #fantasy books #ve schwab #the fragile threads of power #a study in drowning #Ava Reid #the chalice of the gods #Percy Jackson #the expanse #mistborn #wax and wayne #brandon sanderson #my post

[ctlightner]

Storygraph Wrapped 2022

Went on Storygraph today and found my wrap-up for 2022

It's hard to believe I only read Iron Widow a year ago. I know it's new(ish), but it's been on my mind all year, so it feels like I first read it 5 years ago. It's one of the few YA books I've been able to get through and be excited about in a long time, and of course I've pre-ordered the sequel!

I'm less surprised that something TMNT related is my last-read book. Statistically speaking, TMNT had the best chance at being either first or last or both, given my brainworms

Not surprised Fantasy is my most-read genre. I've been trying to branch out a little more over the last few years, but old habits die hard. Banger year for comics, though, and I don't see that changing any time soon. Need to try and work a few more Horror into my diet this year.

I admit, I don't go out of my way to seek out queer books. By that, I mean that I try to read diversely, so queer books are definitely something I seek out deliberately, but I tend to see it as a bonus rather than the whole reason to go into something. Then again, I rarely read Contemporary anything, so there's a reason why I don't read issue-focused queer fiction as often. I've been reading more Non-fiction lately, so if I see a spike in queer lit, it'll probably be from a non-fiction angle.

I've been slowly acquiring a taste for romance books. Most of these pictured are probably there as a secondary genre, but I've read a few that were primarily Romance. The issues I'm having run parallel to me not enjoying a lot of Contemporary (which is a good portion of primarily Romance books), and also having been burned many times when I try to read Fantasy Romance. FanRo tends to lack in either of the genres while favoring the other, so I'm very, very wary about it. Recommendations appreciated.

More stats below the cut.

I've been tending towards shorter books lately. I used to be able to devour 800 pages epic fantasies, but my tolerance for high page counts has dropped significantly. The last super long books I think I read were Mistborn Era 1 seven years ago. Frostheart also doesn't feel like a tome to me because it's Middle-Grade, and MG books actually have lower wordcounts overall, and sometimes bigger font and illustrations that can pad things out. If "Escape" had been formatted like and adult book and had zero illustrations, it probably would have been closer to 250-300 pages at most.

Novellas are my recent loves, especially the Singing Hills Cycle. Into the Riverlands was not my favorite (that still remains The Empress of Salt and Fortunes), but it was pretty good. I think I'll try to reread the three books sometime this year.

Along with reading more books in general, I've been using my library more. The reason why it took me over a month to read Tender is the Flesh is because like 5 holds came in and I was suddenly given Deadlines.

Very interesting to see that over 50% of my 5 star reads were comics. I knew I read a lot of them this year, but it's nice to know I really liked a good portion of them, too. Unsurprised that the prose fiction I gave 5 stars were on the more literary and stylistic side of SFF.

I read Evelyn Hardcastle for a reading club. I'd heard of it before, but hadn't heard anything about it that would have made me pick it up otherwise. It's a very weird book. I like the time loop structure of the plot. It's pleasantly confusing and I honestly love how the constant body-jumping kept me on my toes. However, the gimmick did start to wear out its welcome a bit the longer it went on.

I grew very disillusioned by the ending, however. Up til about the last quarter of the book, it's designed as a time loop whodunnit. Very interesting. However, by the end it starts to turn into a weird, sudden exploration of the futility of the prison system. as someone who's been digging into prison abolition/restorative justice lately, I was at first intrigued by the idea, but the final few reveals ended up severely clashing with the story that came before hand. I think it ended up generating exponentially more questions about the world of the novel than it answered, and it didn't present these questions in a way that was looser, softer, less important to question due to the themes being explored.

For contrast, I also read Thistlefoot last month, and though I have a few complaints, they're not complaints about the worldbuilding. Thistlefoot is a fairy tale, a book of magical realism, filled with soft magic. and it doesn't pretend otherwise. Evelyn Hardcastle, starts out in a way that let me go along with it; I didn't feel the need to question why this guy was trapped in a body-jumping time loop. By the end, when the author tries to give answers for questions I didn't really have, it made the whole thing unravel now that the author was shifting into harder worldbuilding.

As for the TMNT actor autobiography... it's not very good. I could only ever recommend it to hardcore TMNT fans who would get something out of reading a self-published autobiography by an obscure actor in the 90s films. It's clear he wrote the book himself, though, so I have a deeper appreciation for the effort put into it than whatever Evelyn Hardcastle was trying to do.

I don't care about keeping track of the series I'm reading. I don't read 200 books a year (only 56 in 2022... a lot higher than non-readers but still nothing compared to some Booktubers), and I try to DNF when I know I'm not going to like something.

I am going to try rereading more books this year. I Am Not Immune To Consumerism, but I am trying to inoculate myself a bit. Going to not buy any more books from now til June, and try to reread a few of my top favorite books. I miss the days when I used to reread books over and over and get something new out of them.

I've already decided that Hogfather is going to be my Christmas read every year, and the Collector's Library edition is probably going to be the first book I get on July 1st.

I'll be honest: could probably stand to DNF even more. Some of the books I actually marked back onto my TBR rather than as a DNF. Often it's because I know I wanted to read it, owned it, and just wasn't feeling it. Other times it was because I'd barely gotten 10% into it and therefore didn't consider it even as something I was really reading.

That being said, ACOMAF has one more chance for me to try and read it at the behest of my friend or else I'm just gonna give up. Maybe if I borrow their physical copy I'll have better luck (I don't read a lot of ebooks, and if the library makes me give back a slow-going book before I'm done, I won't fight that hard.)

Speaking of physical books, I have a shitton of them. I primarily read physical books. I'm going to try and read down my physical TBR this year so that I can clear up my shelves a bit. 35/56 owned books in 2022 isn't bad though!

And that was reading for 2022. Lots of interesting insights for myself. Here's to a great 2023!

#reading #books #bookblr #storygraph #book review