Reviews and Comments

(marking as read, even though I haven't read the Epilogue, which I'm planning to read after [b:Evershore|58465495|Evershore (Skyward, #3.1)|Brandon Sanderson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1636833412l/58465495.SX50.jpg|91782364], which apparently fits just before the Epilogue).

Spensa's journey is too plainly laid out - the plot is not what happens to her, it is what the author wants to happen to her for her character growth. So instead of her character growth feeling organic because of her own actions, it feels like a middle book written to provide situations for that to happen.

Also due to where the book takes place, the setting is very unnatural and artificial, so the author gets too much leeway on engineering the plot, instead. While I liked some of the conclusions (Delvers are Jason's AI), and the explanation the book provided for the adventure "Path of Elders" (Chet is also a Delver), many of the elements feel like an "invented set piece that needs to be explained away" (Taynix = Reality Icons).

On the overall direction of the series, I loved [b:Skyward|36642458|Skyward (Skyward, #1)|Brandon Sanderson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1531845177l/36642458.SY75.jpg|58411143], but the series is trying to be grand and centered at the same time, and that's where it's failing for me. When answers to lynch-pin questions take an entire book to answer (what are delvers?), it doesn't feel like its the same series anymore.

-1 star because women are missing in this tale about science.

Really enjoyed the first few chapters, but as it gets weirder (mixes more fiction into the telling, which becomes a fever ridden dream towards the end) - I felt more and more disconnected from the theme. It is a fantabulous work - merging fiction and history together in something that transcends both. The book's core exploration - "how our minds break down as we approach the unknown" is very fertile ground for ideas, imagery, and storytelling. But it equates paradigm changes in science to "moments of epiphany" far too often. It is however, a work of fiction, and it works well for the theme, it just doesn't work for me.

A lot of people have mentioned that this is a very approachable book, even for non-physicists. I agree, but would also add that for anyone who studied quantum physics even at an undergraduate level will likely find the explanations very hollow of actual meaning. There are vague analogies and metaphors, which are good approximations, but very often elevate straight-forward approaches to epiphanies.

I really enjoyed the first chapter, which I read with no recollection or idea of what the book was about. Only after reading it did I find the whole "mixes fiction with history" aspect - still curious what the "one fictional paragraph" in the first chapter is. Might do a reread to find that. Current guess is the cannon ball explosion.

I'm going to repeat what almost every other reviewer has already said: This is a great book, and it does some things really well, including staying away from the "grimdark" genre. There is hardly any action, most of the book takes place inside a palace, there are elves and goblins, and no one is inherently bad.

I finished Farseer trilogy recently, and it gets quite dark at times, and has some entirely evil characters (their motivations might be explained later, but they appear entirely evil for no reason for most of the book). On the other hand, here the characters are all trying their best to do good.

Not just personal good, which is what you expect from the characters (like in A Song of Ice and Fire), but "Good" in general. And navigating this labyrinth is our main character. There are a lot of excellent character studies in the book, and the author does a really good job of having us understand the motivations of every character.

5/5, would read again.

Reread Notes [2021]: Did a re-read in anticipation of the sequel ([b:The Witness for the Dead|41302953|The Witness for the Dead (The Goblin Emperor, #2)|Katherine Addison|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1603852509l/41302953.SY75.jpg|64512163]). Still love everything I loved the first time. I was more confused with names this time around, not sure why. But it gets better towards the last third. The sequel's out, but not in India so far, so I have to wait a bit more. Knowing that Celeher is the protagonist in the sequel, I did search for hints, but only found that the ending of Celeher's arc in the first book sets him up somewhat for the sequel. I also really loved the ending this time, very poignant.