American Gods - Reivew

American Gods - Neil Gaiman 

3.5/5 Stars 

My thoughts are all over the place with this book... So I'll separate this review into pros and cons to try and avoid rambling! 

Pros

I absolutely loved the overall concept of this book and found it highly inventive and imaginative. The first 200 pages or so were amazing, as I loved the slow burned discovery of the plot and what was happening in this world. 

I quite liked Shadow, as a main protagonist, as it was refreshing to see a more laid-back main character, instead of someone who's always whining or fuelled with determination etc

There were a lot of ideas in this book discussed and while I didn't fully understand them all, the ones that I did understand, were thought provoking and interesting to read about. 

I also appreciated the structure of the Novel and how it weaved short stories into the narrative and to begin with these were my favourite parts of the book, as they always gave vivid, memorable and sometimes bizarre imagery.

Cons

I thought for a while about why I wasn't enjoying this book quite as much as the novel progressed and I think it's due to the lack of commitment. Neil Gaiman includes loads of unique ideas, but without committing to any particular aspect. While I like Shadow as a character, I feel like there isn't much character development for him or anyone else. There also wasn't much focus on the general plot surrounding the war between Gods either. Also i felt a strong disconnect from the actual world, despite admiration how imaginative it is. So I liked each aspect, but nothing was fleshed out enough for me to be fully engaged in the story.

While I loved the earlier scenes with the Gods, I felt like they were completely characterised by their abilities and lacked any personality traits. Maybe that's the whole point? I don't really know, but this is just a personal pet peeve I have and why I also don't like most superhero films. I feel like these Gods could have been even more intriguing, if a few of them were explored in more depth and made into their own fleshed out characters. 

After the halfway point, I found myself getting distracted a lot and I think that's down to the fact that I just wasn't immersed in the world or story. However, I do think this is a problem I have with Urban Fantasy in general and not necessarily this particular book, but it is something that affected my overall enjoyment. 

Therefore by the end of the novel, with all of these factors combined, I had lost track of different characters (as they were only briefly mentioned previously and just felt empty) and I also lost track of the actual plot as I feel like there wasn't much of a focus leading up to the main events. But with all this in mind, I still sort of enjoyed reading it, as confused as i was....Which is why this book is so hard for me to review... and why I've probably contradicted my self a lot!

Overall

With a re-read of this book in a couple of years, this definitely has the potential to be a 5* read for me, as I did really enjoy the themes and ideas, but for now i just don't know how to feel about it. I am looking forward to watching the TV adaptation though, to see if any of my issues are addressed.

My Goodreads Review

The Great Hunt (Wheel of Time #2)

The Great Hunt - Robert Jordan 

5/5 Stars

The thing about this series is that I understand the few negative opinions surrounding The Wheel of Time in general. Yes, it is jam-packed with fantasy tropes. Yes, the women aren't quite as well developed as the men are (as of this point). Yes, certain things seem somewhat convenient for the characters and plot advancement. However, it just doesn't bother me and for someone who reads mainly modern fantasy, it's refreshing to go back to the roots of the Epic Fantasy genre and it can't be denied how much this series makes me smile! 

I found the plot in this second book to be even more enjoyable, as it still stuck to the Dungeons and Dragons style from the first book but also felt more adventurous for the characters and therefore me. In terms of the story itself, the plot expands along with the world, as we travel to new places, which of course brings along new characters. 

Robert Jordan seems to love introducing new characters... a lot. Normally i'd get bogged down and confused with all the names and trying to keep track of it all. However, much like in 'The Eye of the World', I found the character introduction scenes to be by far my favourite, as it's so interesting to learn more about the different cultures from this world through the eyes of these new people. So it's a good job there's a lot of them! 

The only negative thing I would say is that whenever the characters travel through 'The Ways' I find the writing to become quite jarring and confusing, forcing me to often re-read certain parts in order to fully grasp what's going on. However, throughout the rest of the novel, I find it to be incredibly clear and visual, which more than makes up for this. 

While this series is a massive one, I can definitely understand the popularity as (so far) it has never failed make me happy whilst reading!

My Goodreads Review

The Eye of The World (Wheel of Time #1)

The Eye of the World - Robert Jordan 

5/5 Stars

This book reminded me of why I love fantasy. It contains numerous tropes, which are now over-used and even goes parallel with Lord of the Rings at times. However I think The Wheel of Time does Lord of the Rings better, which isn't an easy task... 

The plot reads very much like a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, filled with random Trolloc encounters but also meeting mysterious men at strange inns. While being cheesy at times, I couldn't help but smile while reading these scenes as they felt so nostalgic to me as a fantasy reader.

My favourite scenes are by far whenever a new character is introduced (which happens a lot). Robert Jordan introduces his characters in such an entertaining way that clearly highlights their personality and specific skill traits that could either benefit or hinder the group. 

The world building in this book is phenomenal, as we explore various places in this first book, while still only scratching the surface of many places yet to come. This makes the scope of the world, but also the potential of the narrative for later books insane.

By the end of this first book I found myself growing attached to nearly all the main characters, particularly the main 3 guys (Rand, Perrin and Mat) and can't wait to read the next 13 books!

My Goodreads Review

Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise

Avatar: The Last Airbender - The Promise 

4.5/5 Stars

This is a perfect continuation to one of my favourite TV series.

The existing characters were all very vivid and the writing perfectly matched their individual style and personality and I couldn't help but hear their voices in my head whilst reading. The new characters introduced were each fun and unique and perfectly fitted into the world of Avatar. 

This bind up also includes many important themes with an emphasis on multiculturalism, the effects of friendship but also it explores the grey area of what's right and wrong. While still having frequent comedy moments. (mainly Toph and Sokka.) 

I would highly recommend reading the bind up edition, as it includes frequent side notes from the writers, discussing various scenes and changes that were made and their reasons behind it, which really added to the reading experience. 

My Goodreads Review

Carval

Carval - Stephanie Garber 

1.5/5 Stars

I picked this up because of the constant comparisons to the night circus, but ultimately I was left disappointed.

I found the writing to be very frustrating and the forced metaphors really just got annoying and didn't really make sense most of the time to me.

While I enjoyed some aspects of the plot, the characters were completely forgettable and had no personality or feeling to them at all. In fact, i have instantly forgotten about all of them.

Magical circus settings are by far my favourite setting for a novel to take place in, however there was next to no world building in this book, which really stopped it being the 'magical adventure' it claims to be.

My Goodreads Review