I felt similar to you, though book 1 I gave a solid 4. I disagree with others that book 2 is waaaaaaaaaaay worse then book 1. Characters are worse in the second book and the info dumping and show now explain later is so tiresome. It’s 550 pages of meh to achieve 100 pages of awesome at the end. Book 3 was really good though I gave it a 4.5.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yeah that's just not enough "awesome" for me to continue on reading so much I don't love.

Whole heartedly agree with your review. Nothing inherently wrong with the book, but at the same time nothing particularly great. I quit the trilogy around a quarter of the way through book 2. It just never grabbed me.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yeah I keep hearing the ending is amazing, but there's so much to read to get there, and that prospect doesn't seem fun.

@andybarker8787

5 ай бұрын

It’s 100% not amazing. It’s a total cop out Deus ex machina plot device that kills all 2000+ previous pages

I've read the trilogy, and let me just say the only reason I still keep them on my shelves is that the covers look nice. I'd give the trilogy as a whole a 3/5. It was fine, and had some interesting plot ideas, but it was just kind of bland.

@joshyaks

Жыл бұрын

This series currently remains on my shelf for the same reason! :D (I rated the trilogy 5/10.)

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yeah the covers really knock it out of the park. Sucks that they are the best part of the book!

Can't disagree more. This was a 4, next book a 4.5 and the last a 5. Best time travel story I've encountered in a fantasy series

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

So glad you loved it Sean!

I started reading this series expecting a lot, and I had a similar "meh" feeling throughout. Some things were really interesting but it failed to grip me. I got to the third book and realized I didn't really care what happened and didn't have a connection to any of the main characters, so I bailed to read something else. Your thoughts aren't identical to mine, but they are certainly very similar.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

It's unfortunately because everyone seems to be saying that the final scenes of this series really stick the landing, but I just don't want to push myself through so many pages to get there.

Felt about the same about book 1. The series doesn't really improve. The last book gets a lot of credit for the ending but that's like just the epilogue. The rest ranges from nonsensical to mediocre

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yeah that doesn't seem worth it to me.

I finished the 3rd book in this trilogy very recently and did find the series, as a whole, to be enjoyable and worth the trip. The books do get better and the plot has some excellent twists and turns. I do recommend at least checking out book 2 if you're inclined. But that being said, it's not the greatest fantasy series you'll ever read. My biggest problems concerned writing choices. For example, the word "hesitated" is used at least once per page and I counted it's use 5 times on a single page once. The word repetition took me out of the story but it didn't stop me from enjoying it and finishing up the series. Great review and happy reading to you

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the suggestion!

Oh yes, The Shadow of Promising Plot... That Kind of Happened but Actually Not So Much (in later books).

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

LOL

I think book 2 is worth trying because story gets more complex in a really good way

Was just about to start reading this book. He said he was inspired by Sanderson, which is what drew my interest to the series. Hopefully I have a better time with it than you. This seems like a fair review. I like time travel, so hopefully that aspect makes me enjoy the book. I don't read a lot of books with time travel so that actually makes me more intrigued.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yeah there's a reason so many people like this series - I hope it's a fit for you!

I heard to story gets better and better. You should definitely consider continuing Matt!

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Fine.....

I read the first two and for the life of me I can’t remember any of it. That’s why I haven’t read the third.

That book was a 4 star for me. It fast pace and the mysteries kept me engaged the way through. The beginning of book two is a pretty big lull compared to that - which pays off imo, but if one is not invested enough it might be tough to get through. During the first 20% of book two you get an answer which reframes a bit of book one, and sets up the big frame story of the series. The ideas and themes that started there are ones of my favorites and hooked me - and the series continued delivery on that made me rate each book higher than the one before. If you are teetering on continuing I would say, get trough the first 15-25% and reevaluate then. That said, I completely get why for some this series won't be higher than a 3 star. I think it uses the magic system to create a fun puzzle of a plot, but it definitely sacrifices personality everywhere else.

I really think that this series is very underrated. Loved the first one and the rest were even better. Rarely do I encounter fantasy that is able to be both exciting but incredibly insightful as to its theme - which here is what does it mean to have free will? Ill preface this with I enjoy your videos, but lately I feel like you predictably dislike a series and then say "psh, its not Malazan"

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Sorry you feel I'm too negative on books, but looking back on my last handful of reviews the scores were: 5, 5, 4, 1, 4, 5, 4, 3, 5, 5, 5, 4.5. Pretty high scores in general!

@MaxFidler

Жыл бұрын

@@MattsFantasyBookReviews It could just be what YT is showing me too FWIW. Either way we all have our opinions! :)

I felt the same way about book 1, but book 2 really opens the world and becomes much more complex and book 3 is an amazing finale.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Good to know!

I had very mixed feelings about this trilogy (so much so that my spoiler-free review of the entire trilogy ended up being an absurd 60 minutes in length!). Ultimately the series as a whole was 5/10 for me. I agree with you about the bland characters and the dislike of time travel and dreams, and I don't think there's anything in books 2 or 3 that will improve your opinion on the series a whole lot.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

How did you feel about the ending? Everyone raves about it.

@joshyaks

Жыл бұрын

@@MattsFantasyBookReviews I'm trying to even remember how it ended, and I read it just last year! I guess it mustn't have been all that memorable for me.

Honestly....i love WoT. So honestly i think youve kinda sold me on this book. Plus...bro..that cover art. Orbit is really out here putting out the best covers.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yeah that cover art is absolutely INCREDIBLE.

@bripost

Жыл бұрын

I completely agree about the covers. This series looks fantastic on my shelf.

As the story goes on, there is a LOT of amazing stuff. The world building is next level, the characters are great.

If you don't like time travel don't bother continuing. It gets more of that. I love this series BTW.

Hey Matt. I recently discovered your (awesome) channel and our tastes seem to line up quite a lot! I gave this one a 3/5 on goodreads back in 2018 and didn't feel compelled to continue either 👍

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Thanks so much for the kind words!

I was disappointed in this one too. I didn't like the time travel aspect of it, and I think that's mainly because it wasn't what I was expecting. I also thought the characters were just ok.

Couldn't agree more, everyone kept saying it was just great but I finished the whole thing and the great was never there just "meh" during three books. Based on your reviews, I dare say you are better of DNFing the series right here.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Great to know, thanks!

Oh my, James was influenced by Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive (he himself admitted it), so he used the same structural narrative: telling story through characters past and subsequently building characterization through infodumps. Given how you don't mind such structural narrative when written by Brandon Sanderson, I'm surprised you didn't liked a literal self-proclaimed copycat. Almost like, there's an issue with Brandon's books, which you are able to recognize only when other authors repeat them.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Now that you say it I can definitely see the influences - but honesty in my opinion it's a poor copycat. What made Stormlight so special for me is the worldbuilding, magic, epic plots, and epic conclusions to each book. This book was (pun intented) a shadow of Stormlight in all of those regards.

Great video, Matt. I agree, this series is just...ok.

My friend said you have to give it a chance and each book gets better. He’s never read Wheel of Time or any Brandon Sanderson though. Not sure if that made him enjoy it more through that lens 🤷‍♂️.. cover art looks dope though

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yeah cover art is absolutely top class.

Well, my comment with "I hope at least you'll enjoy it" didn't age well.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

LOL! I did enjoy it, just wasn't in love with it.

Unlike a lot of books that take a while to get caught up in the story, this one sucked me in right away. Things went fairly well. Until I got to the middle of the book. Things took a dive from there. I really enjoyed the main characters Davian, Wirr, and Asha. As for Caeden, I never connected with him; thus his chapters felt like more of a chore to read. As much as I liked Davian, his story took a left turn in the middle of the book. That is where the book really lost me. Also, I didn't get any Wheel of Time vibes, so perhaps it happens in books 2 & 3? However, I did get vibes of Raymond Feist's Magician for Davian in the middle of the book . . . where things took a left for me. And yeah, I didn't like Magician either.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yeah the Davien "twist" REALLY took me out of the story.

I'd recommend checking out Mike's book reviews if your on the fence about continuing. He's got a solid take on it

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Thanks, I'll check it out!

Couldn’t agree more with most of your assessments. Specifically the small feeling world and the bland characters. There are great ideas and plot points in the story but the setting and characters often took me out of it. The ending of book 3 is terrific. But it’s a slog to get there.

I couldn't get into it either, though I wanted to.

I bailed halfway through the 3rd book. I did not care about a single character, and I do not understand the hype.

I was just searching this series on your channel earlier this morning!

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

You willed it into existence!

Ha. I feel ya on this one. My review was also a solid "meh". Never got to Book 2. PS -- I too hate time travel stories so, so much. So much.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yeah something about time travels really just takes me out of the story. Sometimes it's done right...but definitely not here.

If you're not a fan of time-travel stories, this definitely isn't the story for you. I got a third of the way through book 2 and put it down and haven't had the urge to pick it up since. I want to finish since I bought all three but it's a struggle to want to read it.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Yeah I hear the ending to the series is amazing, I just can't bring myself to push through to it.

Each book gets better and better.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Great to know, thanks!

@angelamccollister

Жыл бұрын

@@MattsFantasyBookReviews Although I wrote that comment before I heard you say you don't like time travel so you may want to go ahead and skip the remaining books. Lol

youre like the ign of booktube

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

LOL how so?

@corban2264

Жыл бұрын

Is that suposed to be a compliment or an insult ? I honestly can't tell.

@josephwilson-doan4163

Жыл бұрын

you’re like an extract of vanilla

Hi 👋 like ur honest review video 📽🎥 you can’t like every fantasy book you read. Happy reading to you 🎄❄️☃️

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Thanks Safina!

This book has been on my shelf for a year, untouched. I don’t know why, but I’ve felt like I’m going to feel exactly this way about it. Just meh.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

A lot of people like it, so maybe you will too!

I completely agree with your thoughts on this book Matt! The world felt super small, the characters were bland, the writing was average, and the plot was just okay for me. I'm reading the third book now and it's still in the three star realm currently.

@MattsFantasyBookReviews

Жыл бұрын

Everyone says the ending of the 3rd book is incredible, so I hope you love it!

I just finished this series, book two is better but book three is a complete train wreck. Deus Ex Machina at its most annoying!

No this entire series was about a 3 of 5