#finally I can unblock ssp4 tags

[puddlejumper38]

Rating the Secret Projects

Tress of the Emerald Sea: 7.5/10

The Frugal Wizard's Handbook for Surviving Medieval England: 2/10

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter: 9/10

The Sunlit Man: 6/10

So here's the details, with spoilers.

In general? This was fun. I loved the anticipation of receiving the next secret project and the presentation has been next level. I love the look of these books. The decorated hardcover with no dust jacket is one of my favourite types of books. And with the art inserts and endpapers.

Might as well start with Tress, for consistency. Its a good book, maybe even crossing the line into a great book, for all that I didn't quite connect with the characters. And that's the reason for the lower rating, really, I found Charlie annoying and in all honesty struggled with having a talking rat. There's a time and a place for a talking rat. I absolutely loved the magic system. That was very very cool.

Ah. The Frugal Wizard. I gave it a higher score when I finished it out of an attempt not to be negative. I didn't like this book. I will never reread it, out of sheer annoyance. Dear fucking god what a slog. Anyway the actual Handbook parts were worth something I guess.

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter. This one is a masterpiece. Interwoven plot threads, fascinating premise, interesting characters, flawlessly executed... oh wait, no, it was narrated by Hoid. Hence the missing point (it could have been 10/10). But Hoid being there brought Design and I like Crytics. I really like the Cryptic sense of humour, which is always fun and after Dawnshard I also find the Sleepless interesting. Actually, point in favour of this book - the cosmere references worked well for me. I also really loved the art, just particularly nice for Yumi. I've already reread this one.

The Sunlit Man. Hmm. I didn't love it. And can I say, straight up, I hate the name Zellion? It fills me with an unparalleled rage. I was hoping Zellion would DIE, but alas now I know who Zellion is he won't die any time soon. I didn't connect with any characters in this one, and didn't find the magic system or the plot particularly interesting. I did experience the very Branderson experience of wanting to reach through the pages and into the yet unwritten Stormlight books to find out What The Fuck Happened. Two orders? What? Also I'm mad about Auxiliary. I like spren. Fuck you Mr Branderson, that was not where I thought that was headed. As a side note, he says in the early stages of the concept the character involved would have been Shai. Unfortunately, I'd have preferred that.

So. All in all this secret project thing has been genuinely great, with Yumi and the Nightmare Painter as a stand out favourite. I love that book.

#secret project spoilers #Tress of the Emerald Sea spoilers #The Frugal.. oh I'm not typing it out. Minimal spoilers anyway. #Yumi and Nightmare Painter spoilers #The Sunlit Man spoilers #ssp1 #ssp2 #ssp3 #ssp4 #ssp 4 spoilers #my ramblings #finally I can unblock ssp4 tags