nemo wants to read Despite the State
Despite the State
The story of democratic failure is usually read at the level of the nation, while the primary bulwarks of democratic …
Programmer/Geek/UX Enthusiast. @recursecenter alum. Takshashila scholar. Doesn't have Aadhaar. He/him.
My goodreads is at www.goodreads.com/user/show/6170741-nemo. Other links at captnemo.in.
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37% complete! nemo has read 9 of 24 books.
The story of democratic failure is usually read at the level of the nation, while the primary bulwarks of democratic …
Content warning re-read discussion with full cosmere spoilers.
I'm reading this after almost a decade, and it was still quite fun, after having explored so much more of the cosmere. Hoid barely has a cameo in this one, and the heist went well. One of the rare times I didn't have to use Fictionary for checking up on old characters, since everyone is a first-time character.
I was watching out for mentions of shards, and Ruin but not a lot of that. I really liked the pacing of the book - it lets you breathe at just the right places, and Vin's growth shows very nicely.
One complaint I have with the novel is missing women characters. The entirety of Vin's old and new crews is male. The only other women we meet are unnamed skaa in a prologue, and a few noblewomen - one of which is dead by the end, with barely a few words. It does pass the Bechdel test on a technicality, but not really.
There's always another secret.
My Cosmere reading order was quite weird: I started from Alloy of Law, then read through Warbreaker/Elantris, and then Mistborn Era 1. By then, Stormlight Archive had picked up pace, and I've been reading up everything from Way of Kings in publication order, as it all came out.
I've since done a reread of Warbreaker, as well as Mistborn Era 2 as the sequels came out. However, Mistborn Era 1 is a very crucial part of the Cosmere, especially as we get towards Stormlight Book 5 (coming this November). There's lots of spoiler-y reasons on why, but I can skip over that.
So, I'm re-reading Mistborn Era 1, hopefully followed by Rhythm of War (only Stormlight Book I've read only once).
Two months since the stars fell...
Two months since sixty-five thousand alien objects clenched around the Earth like a luminous …
Two months since the stars fell...
Two months since sixty-five thousand alien objects clenched around the Earth like a luminous …
Egypt, 1912. In Cairo, the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities investigate disturbances between the mortal and the (possibly) …
Egypt, 1912. In Cairo, the Ministry of Alchemy, Enchantments and Supernatural Entities investigate disturbances between the mortal and the (possibly) …
Two months since the stars fell...
Two months since sixty-five thousand alien objects clenched around the Earth like a luminous …
A world divided. A queendom without an heir. An ancient enemy awakens.
The House of Berethnet has ruled Inys for …
I'm a huge fan of Pillars of the Earth, but this was not comparable. This felt much smaller in scope (covering roughly 6-7 years from 997 - 1004 CE), and the lack of written history from the era pinches the book a little.
I read the author calling out Wynstan as their best villians - the most shrewd/cunning/evil, and unfortunately he didn't feel real. While his motivations were dealt with nicely, his portrayal felt like an evil caricature.
And there's far too good things happening to the protagonists for a book of this length. It is still very much a quick fast-paced read, and hard to put down.
I would recommend this to fans of the series - some of my favourite moments while reading this were figuring out the connections to the next book.