Ex Libris February 2015

Novels/Novellas:
The Final Empire, Well of Ascension, The Hero of Ages (Mistborn Trilogy) by Brandon Sanderson

The Way of Kings & Words of Radiance (The Stormlight Archive) by Brandon Sanderson

The Rithmatist by Brandon Sanderson

Alloy of Law (A Mistborn Novel) by Brandon Sanderson

Elantris by Brandon Sanderson

I downloaded Brandon Sanderson's back catalogue to my Kindle for my holiday. I'd bought The Way of Kings for my boyfriend for his birthday last year, after he showed an interest when I borrowed it from the library. I attempted to read it slowly so he could catch up, but sadly my devouring ways won through and I'm now waiting for him to catch up so we can discuss it. I'm not entirely sure I can get my feelings about The Stormlight Archive into words, but it devoured my time. I could not put these books down no matter how I tried. Plot twist upon plot twist! Roll on #3.
The Mistborn Trilogy has one of the most fascinating magic systems I've come across, which made 100% sense to me, whilst also being 100% nonsense as all magic systems are. I was genuinely devastated when I finished the trilogy, and unfortunately Alloy of Law was a piss-poor followup for me. I couldn't find that connection with the characters that I had before, and was mostly kept pushign through with the appearance of an unexpectedly familiar face.
I have a tendency to fixate on an author when I can, so threw myself into everything I could of his. I have no major complaints... except that I feel his women can sometimes be samey? Not so much in any particular series, but in Elantris, Sarene definitely had Jasnah parallels, and I felt some of the characterisation was a bit two dimensional. Still the amount of worldbuilding and thought that goes into these books is astounding. I think of Sanderson as a master of 'resolution' - that is the art of mentioning something apparently in passing and slowly following it through to a pivotal plot point. Nothing in these books is throwaway and I find that exceptionally delightful.
The Rithmatist is also a delightfully fun teen book that losing nothing read as an adult. It's always nice to see a YA book that doesn't heap good fortune or bad fortune overwhelmingly on its protagonist, there's just the right amount of peril and misfortune.


The Emperor's Blades by Brian Staveley
I actually read this after a recommendation compared it to Sanderson. I wouldn't go that far, beyond setting it's incredibly different and certainly stands up in it's own right without that comparison. However, in the crowded halls of fantasy literature, it does lose its punch and begins to fade into the background. Still looking forward to the sequel though!

Asunder by David Gaider
If I'm honest this has almost completely escaped my mind since I read it, but I remember being pleased on my next Inquisition playthrough when the game referenced book events.

Wild Magic, Wolf Speaker, Emperor Mage, The Realms of The Gods (The Immortals) by Tamora Pierce

Alanna: The First Adventure, In The Hand of The Goddess, Woman Who Rides Like A Man, Lioness Rampant (The Song Of The Lioness) by Tamora Pierce

First Test, Page, Squire, Lady Knight (Protector of the Small) by Tamora Pierce

Trickster's Choice, Trickster's Queen by Tamora Pierce
In case you couldn't tell, I'm having a Tamora Pierce year. She was one of the authors to have a major effect on my reading when I was younger with the Circle series, and I never got to read anything else of hers because our local library didn't have any and I didn't have a lot of spending money for books. If I had to describe strong female characters to anyone, all of her series would be major touchpoints - with such a wide and varied range of female protagonists and a refusal to shy away from difficult situations I can't help but fall more in love with every series. I only wish I'd been able to do so when I was younger. I'm planning on finishing the experience next month with The Provost's Dog series, The Will of the Empress and finally The Circle, my first Tamora series.

Throne of Jade (Temeraire) by Naomi Novik
I have this series up to date, so I'm powering through, but I'm rapidly falling out of love with Lawrence as the main perspective character. I just find him... stuffy. I prefer characters with more gumption, and more insight into their heads. Still, Temeraire's new rebellious streak is enough to get me started with the next book (Black Powder Wars) and hopefully after that.

Anthologies:
Although I received or bought two anthologies this month (The Mammoth Book of SF) I have been unable to settle into more than one or two stories from each. I think these are going to be my slow burn books for the next few months.

Short Fiction:
The Three Resurrections of Jessica Churchill by Kelly Robson
The Hell of It by Peter Orullian
Schroedinger's Gun by Ray Wood

Unfinished:
The Stolen Throne by David Gaider