The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson

The Bands of Mourning by Brandon Sanderson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This book has all of the elements I have grown to love about Brandon Sanderson's work. It has a great setting which is built upon throughout the series, interesting characters (Wayne continues to be an all-star) and exciting action. But the thing that makes this book great are the plot twists. Action is great, but unexpected action is fabulous. The only detractor here is that it feels like we are getting a little far-flung, having introduced an entirely new civilization which somehow was not included in the original series. New theology, new history, etc. I loved the book, and trust Sanderson to pull it all together, but right now there are a lot of different strings tugging at different parts of this plot, and I hope it doesn't collapse on him. This is kind of how it felt at the end of the Reckoners series, and that wrap-up was a little messy to me. Simplicity in good entertainment is tricky.

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Oh, what to say... The Name of the Wind is such a fantastic fantasy book. The world-building is great, the characters are complete, and the good vs. evil conflict is up and running. I just can't go above three stars. While the big picture is all sunshine and roses, up close there are too many things that bug me. I can't call them out as flaws, that would be pretentious, but I can hold back a few stars.

Here are a few of the things that bugged me:
1. I would have preferred a direct narrative rather than the "story within a story" approach. The story was too deep and it was too long for that type of action. We even got into a story-within-a-story-within-a-story situation for a while. Not necessary.
2. The plot, while enjoyable, just didn't get it done. The train didn't get to the next station. All of a sudden the book was over, sans major climax and resolution. It was a huge let-down and I was willing to go down to 1 star at first, out of indignant anger. I've cooled off a bit, but I can't give more than 3 stars to a book that didn't actually have an ending...
3. Kvothe, the protagonist. While he had some quirks that made him human, which I appreciate, the chip on his shoulder was too much for me. He spent too long trying to get even. Admittedly, this is different than my other issues because it is dealing with a character rather than a feature of the writing itself, and it is the least of my concerns, but it is true. I want to like the protagonist, even after all their faults, and a lot of the time Kvothe just wasn't a character I could connect with. He was well-written, but was, well ... a punk.

As I said, the rest of the book I liked. It was a great read. While I hope that the series is "fixed" in the next book, I've heard that it might be a little slow at times, so I'm just enjoying what was there, and hoping for the best. The next book is in on my list.

The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan

The Path of Daggers by Robert Jordan
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Previous review from June 2010.

April 2016: I made it through this one again. As is the trend on my latest journey through this series, it was a little better than I remember. That is about all I've got. The story grows long and the characters are frustrating. Are that many people that thick-headed? Rand is an emotional wreck that defies his upbringing as a level-headed farm boy. Egwene is just as bad. Jordan gave these characters backstory, and to me he trashes it with their behavior in these books. It seems that he has them acting in certain ways that perpetuate his plot line rather than keeping them true to who they are. It is either that, or he is a true master and has tricked me into strong feelings about his characters but it is all going to be justified in the end. I'm doubtful about that at this point, but it is possible. So I'm giving it 2.56 stars, which rounds up to 3...