leitnerkev's reviews
676 reviews

A Short Walk Through a Wide World by Douglas Westerbeke

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I think this story can be seen in a number of different ways - as a purr adventure story, one of self-fulfillment and empowerment or as a metaphor for a life lost to personal pursuits and its gains and losses or as an exploration of the famous quote, "not all who wander are lost", or even as a consideration of the story of mankind which wonders what more worlds are there to conquer? 

An slim, quick-moving, accessible novel which maybe promises more of an intellectual or symbolic tale than it ultimately ends up provided. 
The Deluge by Stephen Markley

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challenging dark emotional inspiring tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book is a masterpiece. Brutal and unrelenting, this book grabs you by the throat, chokes off all your air while dragging you down to down stone steps to a shadowy dungeon where it ties you up and inflicts the pain and horror of human greed avarice pride and stupidity on you as the reader foe nearly 900 pages. It's difficult and complex and intricate and wide-ranging in its reach. I am quite sure I'll never read anything quite like it ever again.
Locklands by Robert Jackson Bennett

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A solid epic conclusion to this trilogy. This story was exciting and fast-paced, and had a depth of character and consequences which made it a worthwhile contribution to the genre. I did very much prefer book 1 to the rest of the books in the series, and I also thought the author was a little too impressed with the magic he created (scriving), but overall I am pleased with the trilogy.
The Endless Vessel by Charles Soule

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Very readable, fun plot, with anexcellent twist.
Stations of the Tide by Michael Swanwick

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Loved it. Weird as one would expect from swanwick but surprising, fun, inventive and immensely satisfying. One of the best reads foe me so far this year 👏
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars by Christopher Paolini

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

A really good space thriller. Fun ride
The First Binding by R.R. Virdi

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adventurous dark emotional informative inspiring lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This is a really, really good book. A high quality fantasy story. I can tell you I would have been obsessed with it if I'd read it in my teens. The style and ambiance of the prose is stellar and its centralization of storytelling is its best quality. I can say it got too long, however, as can happen when an author is too in love with their own tale. If it had been a 500 page book, this would have been 5 stars. Anyway, recommended.
The Other Valley by Scott Alexander Howard

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

An enjoyable read that nevertheless let me down. The premise is high concept and so I was hoping for an exploration of fate and reality and consequences. We get some of those concepts as context as the plot progresses but ultimately the story is an old one - a chance at rewriting one's life and the rejection of regreat. Ennobling, in a way, but ultimately a waste of the exciting world which was built for what seemed like a lab for an idea book. This was not, unfortunately, and idea book. It was a love story, both between characters and for the MC to herself. 
Flee North: A Forgotten Hero and the Fight for Freedom in Slavery's Borderland by Scott Shane

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4.0

Firestarter by Stephen King

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adventurous dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I mean it's a fun classic King thriller, good pacing, accessible and punchy writing but it is hard to excuse King's penchant for sexualizing young girls. I think this 8 yr old was naked 3 different times and he was insistent on characters talking about her beauty. It's creepy. I think modern King is better about this stuff but yikes it's cringey reading back in his catalouge.