chantaal's reviews
2258 reviews

why did i do this to myself lmao

referring to F2, F3, F4 as the "lower categories"? you're gonna make up a team for kian & harper but red bull, mcclaren, haas (HAAS LMAOOO???), ferrari and ALONSO all still exist? SWEDISH BROTHERS ON ONE TEAM? A DRIVER CALLED "YORRIS"??? 

can we talk about how a good part of this book has kian and harper living together in a motorhome to drive across europe for like 3-4 races??? LMAOOOO WHAT?

kudos to there being no homophobia except for one tiny thing from one asshole character, i guess. 

MY HEART CANNOT TAKE THIS

After the intense political plotting of the last few volumes, we focus back in on some incredibly emotional story beats for Suwon & Hak and Yona & the Dragons & Yun. I have no idea where the story is going from here. I am emotionally compromised. I will not be prepared for whenever we get a focus on my baby Sinha.

AND WHAT THE FUCK DID SU-WON SAY TO HAK?????

I came out of this appreciating the straightforward and interesting fantasy story we get, but feeling a little disappointed that it didn't really bring much new to the table.

Blood of the Old Kings takes place in a fantasy world where the all powerful empire maintains its power with magic. This magic is powered by the corpses of dead sorcerers, who keep being magical batteries forever and ever. Fucking fantastic magical premise, right? In this world we follow three characters who are bucking against the weight of the Empire and how it has affected their lives. Loran lost her family, and the story kicks off with her visiting a dragon and gaining power and a pretty rad sword from it and a destiny to become the next king of her conquered homeland. Cain lives in the capital, laying low and surviving as much as he can as he investigates the death of someone close to him. Arienne is magic student, taken from her home and put into school, except all this school really does is prepare their students to take care of themselves so they'll be very good, strong batteries for the Empire when they're dead.

Having three different main characters like this allowed for the story to explore this fantasy world and the politics and magic and revolution in three different ways...but the characters themselves mainly fell flat, and that's where the biggest disappointment stems for me.

Arienne probably had the most interesting storyline, as it digs into the weird, creepy, awful magic system. Her backstory and her motivations were the most interesting - she runs away because she doesn't want to spend her whole life under the thumb of the Empire, preparing for death. Unfortunately, Loran and Cain paled in comparison. Loran has a typical hero plot line (with some interesting magic), and Cain had a shadowy politics storyline that I was incredibly bored with.

The writing I think was the weakest part of the book as a whole, and led to the weak character work. I don't think this is a translation issue. The prose is serviceable. It's fine. It's so Just Fine that I didn't once feel any sort of expanded emotion toward anything except moments of huh and wow, okay. I didn't feel truly connected to the plot or characters or world whatsoever, and I spent the last third of the book mentally checked out - which is terrible, because that's when all the action stuff happens. I just didn't care! Which is disappointing!

This story ends in a way that leaves things very much open for a series, but even if it doesn't continue on, then it still wraps up fine.

I keep thinking about how I wish I had enjoyed this more, and how much more interesting the story would have been if it had been much more about Arienne. 

Anyway! A solid 3 stars, a decent fantasy romp. Nothing bad here, but nothing super great. This is actually a really good beginner level fantasy for anyone looking to get into the genre, now that I'm thinking about it. 

Thanks to Tor Books and Net Galley for the advance reader copy in exchange for this review, and HUGE double thanks to Tor Books for sending me a finished copy. Blood of the Old Kings is available now. 

I think I'm throwing in the towel. I'm done with this world.

Like I said about Words of Radiance, this series is just plain exhausting to read, and not in a fun way like The Way of Kings was. The 1000 page slog is not worth the last 200 pages, even if I did get some good fist pump moments (TEFT!!). 

I’m so glad that the Cosmere universe has rabid fans because I easily found out what the “necessary” content for Oathbringer in this book is and I can now DNF with a vengeance because I cannot STAND Lift. 

Hopefully she (and Sanderson’s writing of her) matures as the series goes on. 

3.5 stars, a nice quick lunch break read from what has become a comfort author(s) for me. There's nothing super new about this story or the romance, the charm lies in the world building.

I actually highly suggest reading the much longer and much later published Fated Blades first for a deeper dive into the world. Going back and reading the first two novellas feels much more satisfying after already being introduced to this world in Fated Blades.

This is a fantastic little novella, a story of creeping dread and psychological horror that doesn't quite wrap things up in a tidy bow. The prose is simple but effective, and the structure of the chapter breaks provides some of the tension alongside the writing. 

I don't think many readers will be happy with the ending, but I enjoyed it. I think it felt right for the story being told and the character we were following.

Major kudos to Mary Robinette Kowal for this translation and for championing Hildur Knútsdóttir. The translation feels seamless, like I was reading something written in English first versus a lot of the awkwardness that can come from translated works - especially those from the Nordic countries.