Okay, so I didn't get back in time to finish posting the books I finished last year! Oops! But I'll write them down anyway, and then start counting from there.
-47) The Short, Victorious War - by David Weber
Another Honor Harrington book finished with my dad (we've agreed to take a break and read some Star Wars books next, thankfully), and again, it has an interesting story and a well-drawn setting, but the writing is incredibly unwieldy, always skipping important scenes and going on for chapters about things that don't really matter in the long run. Still, at least my favorite character didn't die this time!
-48) Illusion - by Paula Volsky
I always enjoy this book. The language is very beautiful and it's a flowing, poetic book that sets the French Revolution on a fantasy world. The way it demonstrates how quickly those who are searching for freedom can fall into anarchy is terrifying, as is the depths of class stigma, but it also draws out hope and overcomes the social problems to have an engaging love story.
-49) The Gates Of Twilight - by Paula Volsky
I'd never read this one before, but I'm glad I found it. It's set several hundred years after Illusion and paints a beautiful country (I believe it's based off of India?) that is both trying to work with and trying to be independent of its more 'advanced' neighbors (probably England?). The story of the spy who sneaks into the temples to find out the truth behind their cult is very nicely balanced by the old world princess trying to do her best for her country yet still live a life she's happy with.
-50) Land Of The Burning Sands - by Rachel Neumeier
The second in the Griffin Mage trilogy, I found this one even better than the first! The story of a slave who's searching so desperately for freedom yet keeps finding himself enslaved over and over again was so beautiful, in part, I think, because he was such a smart, kind man himself that could never turn away from helping others. And the engineers who couldn't keep a conversation going without degenerating into technical jargon were a lot of fun to read. Aside from the character story, though, the overarching plot concerning the griffins definitely amped up its danger and suspense!
1) A Memory Of Light - by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson
I actually had the chance to go down to Provo, UT for the midnight release of this book and get to meet Brandon Sanderson personally. He's a really great author and a very likable person, so it was quite an amazing trip. But even more amazing was the ending of this series. As I mentioned, I've been reading this series for most of my life, and I am comfortable saying that I found the ending satisfactory. I finished it 24 hours after I received it, so I'm sure there's plenty I missed that I'll get the chance to go back and discover anew, but overall, I am very content. I definitely cried, and I laughed even, and there were a surprising number of happy, bittersweet scenes, but in the end, it was everything we've been building up to, which is tough when it's such a large, encompassing series. Amazing congratulations to Brandon Sanderson for being able to so competently tie up such an involved storyline, even when he's admitted there are things he didn't understand about Robert Jordan's notes. There are still questions, but there are more answers and conclusions and wonderful character moments, and so...I'm definitely happy. And I better stop before I start dropping spoilers!
2) Law Of The Broken Earth - by Rachel Neumeier
The last of the Griffin Mage trilogy, and I found it enjoyable from beginning to end. It was nice to get a resolution from the characters in the other books, and I quite liked the completion of the storyline about controlling the griffins. I'll definitely be looking into anything else this author might have written so far!
3) The Black Ship - by Diana Pharaoh Francis
This was kind of a 'meh' book. It started out very interesting with an engaging character, but after the two-hundredth thing had gone wrong before nightfall, I was a bit tired of trying to cheer the characters out of their dark moments. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't great, and the language was a bit crude.
