I mean i haven’t heard anyone except maybe TreeBeard overwhelmingly loving this book 🤣 if you love The Rock movies and want one in book form, here you go. 🤣🤣🤣
I would agree that the book does come off as a bit cliche and very much action adventure. But I would say that that is a strength for accessibility. It may be more of a dumb action movie book, but that makes it easily digestible for the greater audience. The humor reminds me a bit of Douglas Adams, especially the bits of the actual handbook that we are given. But I will say, if you want to see this done in a more satisfying way, I would really recommend checking out the Magic 2.0 series. From, Scott Meyer
I don’t think it was dumb, and love it for anyone who gets swept away in it more than I did. I never read the Hitchhiker’s Guide but that makes sense as a comparison from what I’ve heard about it over the years. I just really wanted to see what Sanderson could do with fantasy and magic that was locked into the rules of investiture but this was still fun. Thanks for the rec!!! I’ve never heard of that I’ll look into it. 🤗
Oh my god…I’m so sorry for your loss. Sending you all the virtual hugs and hoping booktube gives you some sense of comfort or escape as you are adjusting to your new normal
I jumped out before the spoilers began, but I loved hearing your spoiler-free thoughts! Sounds like another easy and escapist read from Sanderson, though I wasn't expecting the sci-fi elements to be so much of a focus! Not dying to get to this one, but I am glad it was overall enjoyable for you ;)
Haha that fair. Thanks for watching the spoiler free section. This is a case where I should have read the blurb first because I thought I was getting sandersons take on like Merlin….and I got hitchhikers guide meets Jason Bourne 🤣
@@RodgersReads Honestly, I can't blame you for that. I really like this title, but it gives off very different vibes than what it sounds like you are actually getting lol 🤣
@@esmayrosalyne 100% 🤣 I also need people to reel in the length of their titles because this one is so long I had to shorten it to title my review about it 🤣
(some degree of spoilers for the premise below) Interesting! I haven't read many (maybe any?) stories in this kind of genre before (amnesia plot, portal fantasy, etc), so that probably influenced my experience, since it felt newer to me. I can imagine how if it's something you've seen often already, it would feel a little more worn and cliché in execution.
Totally fair. It’s present more in movies that I’ve seen (Total Recall, Bourne Identity Movies, etc.). I hear for people that have read Project Hail Mary, the humor and setup of Frugal Wizard is very similar. So if you like this, maybe check out that one!
I honestly don't know where I can fix this book in my TBR this week because all my brain is thinking about is finishing the Mistborn trilogy and finalizing on my adventure in Scadrial by the end of this month(I wanna start Roshar next month hopefully)...Anyway, thanks for making my choice for me. The book just got shifted to when I'm done with the Scadrial books lol...I'm on a Sanderson roll and I don't want to ruin it with something subpar.
Yeah I’d say if you’re wrapped up in and thriving with the cosmere push this back for now as it is the only non-cosmere secret project. And then you can just slot it in whenever you’re in the mood for a quick, fun action-adventure Sci fi
It definitely gave more Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy when I was expecting A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking. So, I liked it but it isn't a love, sadly
I felt the same. Everything in the book was enjoyable but I didn't love it. I didn't connect with any of the characters and while I was happy to come along for the ride, I don't think I'll be thinking about this book much now that I've finished.
Yaaaas so nice hearing people had a similar reading experience to me. I found myself barely highlighting anything unlike tress, and since it wasn’t cosmere there also weren’t Easter eggs to look for. And since the magic was so minimal it was truly just a fun popcorn action flick in book form, which is fine but is nowhere near my favs of his works
I just listened to your iniital impressions because I'm only 50% finished with the book. I'll come back later to watch the rest of the video after I finish the book. Now that you mention, I do see the Project Hail Mary connection. I am agreeing with your general thoughts. It's meant to be a fun adventure quest, but I felt like we had that with Tress. Tress oozed charm and the narrator added a lot to the story. This book doesn't have that X factor like Tress that elevates it from being just a fun story. I was hoping for something with a different tone and right now it feels like Tress (which is also a rescue mission story) but not as good. I am hoping for something unexpected in the second half, but my guess is that it's going to be just a straightforward tale. It also doesn't help that I just finished a multidimensional story (Infinity Gate) that satisfied that Sci-fi itch much better. I'm sounding a bit negative but it's mostly I was hoping for something serious in tone and not the YA adjacent dad humor that worked well in Tress but isn't as successful here. There are things I like about it, but not going to be an all time favorite Sanderson unless the ending is something special.
I feel all of this, and I sounded negative too but it was still like a 4-star experience. Having time to think on it more I think some of the missing X-factor is that this is basically our world so all the cool stuff he does with worldbuilding are nonexistent and we’re left with something feeling slightly more generic. I hope the ending blows you away and I look forward to your spoilery thoughts when you come back 🤗
@@RodgersReads Just finished it and while I think the second half was a little better for me, overall settled on a three star rating. Like it was enjoyable, but wasn't anything special. I did really like the Epilogue. I prefer his Skyward style of sci-fi and Tress humor/YA-esque writing worked way better for me than this book. Glad others are having fun with the book, but I hope the next two books have a different tones compared to these. And I really hope he doesn't do first person again. I'm normally fine with Sanderson prose, but some of the narration by John was cringy. Also, I agree with you about the characters. They felt like archetypes. Likeable (except I still didn't like John) but unmemorable.
I agree that this just wasn’t my particular cup of tea. I feel like the Bourne Identity setup has to have a character you’re intrinsically rooting for, but I wasn’t compelled to like him. Overall, everything was the epitome of just OK. It’s like an action movie I’d watch with my dad on a Sunday afternoon but never think about again later.
100% agreed. It was all good but since it was all based on the mystery now that we know the mystery I feel like this one has almost no reread benefit because we have no Easter eggs or anything to look for. Ah well, it was fun for what it was and I’m not mad at it so that’s fine 🤷🏻♂️🤣
This was my most anticipated of the Secret Projects books but it is now firmly in the category of least favorite Sanderson books I've ever read, definitely subpar for what I've come to expect from him. The main plot was very boring and basically did nothing for me--the FAQ sections were by far the most entertaining aspect of the novel.
Wow I had such a different experience reading this book but it requires SPOILERS: . . . . . . . . . . . . I didn't like the protagonist in the beginning either and considering his character arc I actually think you are not supposed to like him. The rating he does and stuff are character flaws you're supposed to question. For me his arc really did resonate and was emotional but that's because I have experienced something very similar and I can understand that if you are not that person, then you are the one frustrated by such a person so I get it but I related to him too much not to love it. The other part of the book I absolutely loved was the ridulculous handbook itself. I found it laugh out loud funny and it really did add to my enjoyment of the book. I enjoyed the sci-fi world building of it.
Love that it worked so well for you that’s awesome. I think a lot of my complaints fall back to this book was not at all what I expected based on the title. I should have read the blurb to better set my expectations. Lesson learned. 🤣
Great review again! And I think this book won't work for me :/! I won't read it. I'm not a scifi fan and characters are my favorite part about books and if they aren't that amazing, I'm not sure I'm going to like it.
Thank you!! Yeah I mean, I have heard a lot of parallels to the tone and setup of project Hail Mary so if you love that, then give this a go. If you’re not in the mood for like a The Rock style action movie in book form, then this is not for you
Thanks worldhopper for bringing me to your channel! You are a such delight & SO eloquently spoken 🙌 can’t wait to check out more of your content ☺️🥳
Yay worldhoppers!! Aw thank you so much for your kind words that made my day! Hope you enjoy more of my content when you get to it!!
Heard a lot of mixed reviews on this one. Thanks for this!
I mean i haven’t heard anyone except maybe TreeBeard overwhelmingly loving this book 🤣 if you love The Rock movies and want one in book form, here you go. 🤣🤣🤣
I would agree that the book does come off as a bit cliche and very much action adventure. But I would say that that is a strength for accessibility. It may be more of a dumb action movie book, but that makes it easily digestible for the greater audience. The humor reminds me a bit of Douglas Adams, especially the bits of the actual handbook that we are given.
But I will say, if you want to see this done in a more satisfying way, I would really recommend checking out the Magic 2.0 series. From, Scott Meyer
I don’t think it was dumb, and love it for anyone who gets swept away in it more than I did. I never read the Hitchhiker’s Guide but that makes sense as a comparison from what I’ve heard about it over the years. I just really wanted to see what Sanderson could do with fantasy and magic that was locked into the rules of investiture but this was still fun.
Thanks for the rec!!! I’ve never heard of that I’ll look into it. 🤗
Sorry I’ve been not around my husband passed away two weeks ago dealing with a lot… coming back to RUclips slowly… happy reading to you! ☺️
Oh my god…I’m so sorry for your loss. Sending you all the virtual hugs and hoping booktube gives you some sense of comfort or escape as you are adjusting to your new normal
@@RodgersReads thank you 🙏
I jumped out before the spoilers began, but I loved hearing your spoiler-free thoughts! Sounds like another easy and escapist read from Sanderson, though I wasn't expecting the sci-fi elements to be so much of a focus! Not dying to get to this one, but I am glad it was overall enjoyable for you ;)
Haha that fair. Thanks for watching the spoiler free section. This is a case where I should have read the blurb first because I thought I was getting sandersons take on like Merlin….and I got hitchhikers guide meets Jason Bourne 🤣
@@RodgersReads Honestly, I can't blame you for that. I really like this title, but it gives off very different vibes than what it sounds like you are actually getting lol 🤣
@@esmayrosalyne 100% 🤣 I also need people to reel in the length of their titles because this one is so long I had to shorten it to title my review about it 🤣
@@RodgersReads lmaooo, they do get aggressively long these days, right!? hahahah
(some degree of spoilers for the premise below)
Interesting! I haven't read many (maybe any?) stories in this kind of genre before (amnesia plot, portal fantasy, etc), so that probably influenced my experience, since it felt newer to me. I can imagine how if it's something you've seen often already, it would feel a little more worn and cliché in execution.
Totally fair. It’s present more in movies that I’ve seen (Total Recall, Bourne Identity Movies, etc.). I hear for people that have read Project Hail Mary, the humor and setup of Frugal Wizard is very similar. So if you like this, maybe check out that one!
@@RodgersReads I'll put it on my TBR! ...Which continues to grow at an unstoppable pace, but I'll get to it eventually lol.
I honestly don't know where I can fix this book in my TBR this week because all my brain is thinking about is finishing the Mistborn trilogy and finalizing on my adventure in Scadrial by the end of this month(I wanna start Roshar next month hopefully)...Anyway, thanks for making my choice for me. The book just got shifted to when I'm done with the Scadrial books lol...I'm on a Sanderson roll and I don't want to ruin it with something subpar.
Yeah I’d say if you’re wrapped up in and thriving with the cosmere push this back for now as it is the only non-cosmere secret project. And then you can just slot it in whenever you’re in the mood for a quick, fun action-adventure Sci fi
Great review Rodger. It was kind of Mid for me too.
Thanks Chas! That’s too bad but they can’t all be winners I suppose.
It definitely gave more Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy when I was expecting A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking. So, I liked it but it isn't a love, sadly
Sounds like we were in the same boat with this one, alas.
Did you get those bookcases from target? If so, I have the same ones!
My hubby got these shelves for me from Amazon years ago it’s a Sauder 5-shelf bookcase according to the order history, is that what you have too?
I felt the same. Everything in the book was enjoyable but I didn't love it. I didn't connect with any of the characters and while I was happy to come along for the ride, I don't think I'll be thinking about this book much now that I've finished.
Yaaaas so nice hearing people had a similar reading experience to me. I found myself barely highlighting anything unlike tress, and since it wasn’t cosmere there also weren’t Easter eggs to look for. And since the magic was so minimal it was truly just a fun popcorn action flick in book form, which is fine but is nowhere near my favs of his works
I just listened to your iniital impressions because I'm only 50% finished with the book. I'll come back later to watch the rest of the video after I finish the book. Now that you mention, I do see the Project Hail Mary connection. I am agreeing with your general thoughts. It's meant to be a fun adventure quest, but I felt like we had that with Tress. Tress oozed charm and the narrator added a lot to the story. This book doesn't have that X factor like Tress that elevates it from being just a fun story. I was hoping for something with a different tone and right now it feels like Tress (which is also a rescue mission story) but not as good. I am hoping for something unexpected in the second half, but my guess is that it's going to be just a straightforward tale. It also doesn't help that I just finished a multidimensional story (Infinity Gate) that satisfied that Sci-fi itch much better.
I'm sounding a bit negative but it's mostly I was hoping for something serious in tone and not the YA adjacent dad humor that worked well in Tress but isn't as successful here. There are things I like about it, but not going to be an all time favorite Sanderson unless the ending is something special.
I feel all of this, and I sounded negative too but it was still like a 4-star experience. Having time to think on it more I think some of the missing X-factor is that this is basically our world so all the cool stuff he does with worldbuilding are nonexistent and we’re left with something feeling slightly more generic. I hope the ending blows you away and I look forward to your spoilery thoughts when you come back 🤗
@@RodgersReads Just finished it and while I think the second half was a little better for me, overall settled on a three star rating. Like it was enjoyable, but wasn't anything special. I did really like the Epilogue. I prefer his Skyward style of sci-fi and Tress humor/YA-esque writing worked way better for me than this book. Glad others are having fun with the book, but I hope the next two books have a different tones compared to these. And I really hope he doesn't do first person again. I'm normally fine with Sanderson prose, but some of the narration by John was cringy.
Also, I agree with you about the characters. They felt like archetypes. Likeable (except I still didn't like John) but unmemorable.
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I interpreted Logna as a variation of Loki, curious to see what others think?...
Oooh interesting. I hadn’t thought about it much but you’re probably correct
Now that you point it out I can see it. Apparently "Thokk" was the name of one of Loki's disguises? So seems likely.
I agree that this just wasn’t my particular cup of tea. I feel like the Bourne Identity setup has to have a character you’re intrinsically rooting for, but I wasn’t compelled to like him. Overall, everything was the epitome of just OK. It’s like an action movie I’d watch with my dad on a Sunday afternoon but never think about again later.
100% agreed. It was all good but since it was all based on the mystery now that we know the mystery I feel like this one has almost no reread benefit because we have no Easter eggs or anything to look for. Ah well, it was fun for what it was and I’m not mad at it so that’s fine 🤷🏻♂️🤣
This was my most anticipated of the Secret Projects books but it is now firmly in the category of least favorite Sanderson books I've ever read, definitely subpar for what I've come to expect from him. The main plot was very boring and basically did nothing for me--the FAQ sections were by far the most entertaining aspect of the novel.
Aww that’s too bad that it was your most hyped and than was a pretty big letdown. I don’t disagree that the FAQ sections had the most charm
Wow I had such a different experience reading this book but it requires SPOILERS:
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I didn't like the protagonist in the beginning either and considering his character arc I actually think you are not supposed to like him. The rating he does and stuff are character flaws you're supposed to question. For me his arc really did resonate and was emotional but that's because I have experienced something very similar and I can understand that if you are not that person, then you are the one frustrated by such a person so I get it but I related to him too much not to love it.
The other part of the book I absolutely loved was the ridulculous handbook itself. I found it laugh out loud funny and it really did add to my enjoyment of the book. I enjoyed the sci-fi world building of it.
Love that it worked so well for you that’s awesome. I think a lot of my complaints fall back to this book was not at all what I expected based on the title. I should have read the blurb to better set my expectations. Lesson learned. 🤣
Great review again! And I think this book won't work for me :/! I won't read it. I'm not a scifi fan and characters are my favorite part about books and if they aren't that amazing, I'm not sure I'm going to like it.
Thank you!! Yeah I mean, I have heard a lot of parallels to the tone and setup of project Hail Mary so if you love that, then give this a go. If you’re not in the mood for like a The Rock style action movie in book form, then this is not for you