Great series. I read Foundryside and Shorefall a few months ago. It’s definitely one of the most interesting magic systems I’ve read about. Scriving reminds me of computer coding 😃
I started watching your channel on Saturday and I feel like I have already watched the majority of your videos. You are so entertaining to watch, your vids are truly amazing
Foundryside is one of my absolute favorites! I can understand some of your critiques here, but I'm happy you enjoyed it overall! It makes me so happy to see you talking about it as I don't think enough people have picked it up :)
Me too! I totally agree with your take on this book! It was good but not great. I will probably eventually read the second book but I’m not hanging to read it anytime soon. 📚❤️
I just picked this up recently and I am quite excited to get to it. I do love a complex magic system... and it does not hurt that pretty much everyone I talk to seems to love this.
I enjoyed Foundryside and love the magic system. I loved Shorefall and one of my favorite books that I read this year. I thought it was better than Foundryside.
haven't watched the whole vid yet but I have to strongly agree with your take on the dialogues/speaking. I've read a few chapters of this book sometime ago and I vividly remember I just couldn't get past the middle grade feel of the conversations. since I already bought it and can't really sell forward a kindle copy I will try perhaps look at it as a shounen manga and hope that will help me get through it. it's a really neat suggestion.
Burnt cookies are better than no cookies! Great analogy, by the way. This sounds intriguing enough for me to check out someday. Thanks, as always, for your insights!
I felt exactly the same about this book. It had everything I should love but somehow it didn't quite work. I only saw praises for this book, so I'm relieved I'm not the only one who felt this way 😅
I totally agree with you about the tone! Kind of over-the-top at times. And maybe it was just because I listened to this one as an audiobook, but I didn’t like all of the endless descriptions of scriving; I found them repetitive and at times boring. If I had read it as a physical book, I could have skimmed over those parts. 😅
if you enjoy the magic system in this book, I would recommend The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart! The magic functions through commands engraved into pieces of bone that are then inserted into "constructs," which are basically mutant animals that are powered by the bone shards and act as soldiers, spies, guards, etc. The world is also beautiful, the writing is breathtaking and the characters are much more fleshed-out than Foundryside! I read both in September and definitely preferred The Bone Shard Daughter to Foundryside.
I'm in the middle of this right now and I'm loving it! Sancia is a protagonist I immediately connected with and her whole gang of "allies" is really interesting as well (especially Orso, that guy is awesomely nuts). Plus the magic system is super unique and interesting. I can't wait to finish it/continue with the trilogy!
I really enjoyed Foundryside, but I loved Shorefall. It took the action that happened in the first book and amped it up. A great deal of stuff that was confusing in the first book was explained in the second and more mysteries were thrown in. Considering I didn't enjoy City of Stairs that much, talk about slow and over-explained (IMO) I was a little nervous about Foundryside, but it turned out to be a favorite.
I totally agree with your review! I just couldn't quite get fully into it. I'm not sure if ill read the next book or not...maybe if I have absolutely nothing else to read lol 📚
I felt very similarly about this book. It did feel a little YA confused, butI enjoyed it enough to want to read he sequel. I read his book, City of Stairs, and LOVED it. You should definitely look into it. I connected to the characters more.
The tone/narrative voice not matching the story and world is part of why I DNFed Lies of Locke Lamora so I totally understand the weirdness. I might give this one a try, but I bet it will bother me too 😅
If you like books with an anime feel to them, you might want to check out Steel Crow Saga by Paul Krueger. The world is similar to Legend of Korra (if the show had focused on everyone recuperating from being subjugated by the fire nation), with a little bit of Pokemon thrown in.
I thought EXACTLY the same. I wanted the author to explain and recap the previous scene because I was a little confused, but it would be "let me tell you what happened...." Next chapter. And I definitely agree with the scene where they are not sure who is talking, and I just thought that they appear really intelligent throughout until that scene and it just didn't sit right and was super frustrating. However, I still loved the book and intend to pick up the sequel ☺️
I liked the book, but I don’t feel curious enough to read the sequel. The tone made it difficult for me to care for the characters. I would love to hear your review about the sequel if you decide to read it. Love from Mexico 🧡
I felt like this book started slowly, but once it got into the swing of things I really enjoyed it. I feel like I’ll love the second book now that all of the backstory is out of the way. And the magic system is very cool.
As a guy who loves to check out new books based on concepts alone, this might be a little much for me. 😂 I really love your reviews though Elliot, so well done.
I felt literally the exact same as you. Like why don’t I like this?!? I just didn’t connect like I did with Robert Jackson Bennett’s Divine Cities trilogy which I LOVED. But oh well. I’m so glad other people loved it.
I read the first few chapters and then dnf'd as I was a bit put off by the things that you mentioned - the "young" feel to the dialogue and the tone/pacing of the book. It definitely seemed interesting but I don't think I'll pick it up over other options on my tbr at the moment.
Those kinds of tonal inconsistencies can either hamper a story or make it memorable in a bizarrely good way. Sounds like the latter might be the case here.
The sensing magic system sounds a bit like a combination of the Warbreaker magic system and Shadesmar. This one's been on my TBR for a while, but I just keep reading Sanderson instead :D
I haven't gotten very far in the first book but I love it and need to finish it. I recommend it to anyone I meet. The main problem I have with it is the first chapter felt pointless and it feels like the editor oversteps and tries to pad out the chapters.
I agree with you that the tone didn't hit right with me. It had a bunch of stuff that I usually love, but it just didn't connect with me. I liked the premise, but I won't be continuing with the series.
I loved Foundryside but I also agree with everything you said. That weird tone when they speak to each other made me a bit disconected with the characters, but I loved the world and magic and plot too much to care about that. Btw, which twist surprised you? I'm curious now^^
Although the magic system is complex, there is something common I found in both 'The Divine Cities' trilogy and the two books of 'The Founders' trilogy - the bending of reality.
I gotta say, the book does sound cool - but it sounds like it has a lot of anime/manga inspiration, it almost made me think if this book was an english light novel by the way it's written and how the characters act. Which isn't a bad thing at all, but from a perspective from someone who reads a lot of manga and watches anime, I totally get what you mean with how you get tired of some of the reactions from the characters lol. I think personally this book series will be a lot easier to read if you bench all three books at once due to how you say the characters doesn't reveal much to the reader and leaves you in anticipation and confusion a lot.
I've been wanting to check this book out for a while, especially after watching Jessie's review. The magic system has my interest piqued. I think I might give it a chance.
Hey Elliot, Brilliant review! I really want to pick this book up, but I have a weird question... this edition paperback you have - is it a "floppy"? :DD Thanks!
I thought I would love this book because of everything I'd heard about it and all the praise but I just couldn't get into it and it ended up being a DNF. Maybe I'll try again eventually.
I agree the magic system is complex but I kindoff found it easier to understand as I drew parallel between scribing and computer coding ( yeah nerd alert!😅). But didn't pick up the sequel as the series is still incomplete and I do not want to get so invested and then wait forever😑
I was thinking, did u think about making two versions of vids as in one spoiler free and the other just straight up spoiler discussion? I think that would be amazing.
Sadly, I DNF'd the second book because I thought the character development was pretty terrible-it felt very much as if the main characters were all exposition automatons.
Interesting... I came into this review unsure about this book and there were enough of both good and bad (to me) in the review that I’m still unsure! Haha
Great series. I read Foundryside and Shorefall a few months ago. It’s definitely one of the most interesting magic systems I’ve read about. Scriving reminds me of computer coding 😃
Actually, scriving tends to work. Computer coding will either not work or seem to work and break five months later for absolutely no reason.
Literally went to the comments to see if someone else thought this!!
I started watching your channel on Saturday and I feel like I have already watched the majority of your videos. You are so entertaining to watch, your vids are truly amazing
The magic sounds amazing! Definitely got me interested in checking the book out 😊
Foundryside is one of my absolute favorites! I can understand some of your critiques here, but I'm happy you enjoyed it overall! It makes me so happy to see you talking about it as I don't think enough people have picked it up :)
I love this series, both books are amazing but the second one really captures you with the characters and the plot becomes grand. It's simply amazing
Me too! I totally agree with your take on this book! It was good but not great. I will probably eventually read the second book but I’m not hanging to read it anytime soon. 📚❤️
I loved this book! There were times it gave me such fullmetal alchemist vibes.
I am here 2 years later to tell you this comment made me pick up the book so thank you for that
I just picked this up recently and I am quite excited to get to it. I do love a complex magic system... and it does not hurt that pretty much everyone I talk to seems to love this.
I enjoyed Foundryside and love the magic system. I loved Shorefall and one of my favorite books that I read this year. I thought it was better than Foundryside.
Ohhh that's so nice to hear, haven't read Shorefall yet but your comment made me excited to do so 😊 Thanks for that 👍🏻
haven't watched the whole vid yet but I have to strongly agree with your take on the dialogues/speaking. I've read a few chapters of this book sometime ago and I vividly remember I just couldn't get past the middle grade feel of the conversations. since I already bought it and can't really sell forward a kindle copy I will try perhaps look at it as a shounen manga and hope that will help me get through it. it's a really neat suggestion.
Burnt cookies are better than no cookies! Great analogy, by the way. This sounds intriguing enough for me to check out someday. Thanks, as always, for your insights!
I felt exactly the same about this book. It had everything I should love but somehow it didn't quite work. I only saw praises for this book, so I'm relieved I'm not the only one who felt this way 😅
Same! I'm so glad I'm not alone and I could never quite identify what I didn't like. I think she really nailed the criticism here.
Me tooooo!
I've been so on the fence about trying that book out!
I totally agree with you about the tone! Kind of over-the-top at times. And maybe it was just because I listened to this one as an audiobook, but I didn’t like all of the endless descriptions of scriving; I found them repetitive and at times boring. If I had read it as a physical book, I could have skimmed over those parts. 😅
Thanks for the review. I think i will check this out now 😊
if you enjoy the magic system in this book, I would recommend The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart! The magic functions through commands engraved into pieces of bone that are then inserted into "constructs," which are basically mutant animals that are powered by the bone shards and act as soldiers, spies, guards, etc. The world is also beautiful, the writing is breathtaking and the characters are much more fleshed-out than Foundryside! I read both in September and definitely preferred The Bone Shard Daughter to Foundryside.
I'm in the middle of this right now and I'm loving it! Sancia is a protagonist I immediately connected with and her whole gang of "allies" is really interesting as well (especially Orso, that guy is awesomely nuts). Plus the magic system is super unique and interesting. I can't wait to finish it/continue with the trilogy!
Damn, this book has been on my list for a while, now I'm gonna definitely read it!! Thanks for your review, I'm always looking for them!
I really enjoyed Foundryside, but I loved Shorefall. It took the action that happened in the first book and amped it up. A great deal of stuff that was confusing in the first book was explained in the second and more mysteries were thrown in. Considering I didn't enjoy City of Stairs that much, talk about slow and over-explained (IMO) I was a little nervous about Foundryside, but it turned out to be a favorite.
Hey I subscribed yesterday. I love your videos! ❤️
I like the merchant upper class versus lower class dynamic in books. also, this sounds like a great magic system. I'll have to check it out!
I totally agree with your review! I just couldn't quite get fully into it. I'm not sure if ill read the next book or not...maybe if I have absolutely nothing else to read lol 📚
This is such a fun review! I wasn't really paying attention to this one, but now I'm really intrigued.
I kind of agree with your critiques but it was a 5 star and current favorite for me!!
I felt very similarly about this book. It did feel a little YA confused, butI enjoyed it enough to want to read he sequel.
I read his book, City of Stairs, and LOVED it. You should definitely look into it. I connected to the characters more.
The tone/narrative voice not matching the story and world is part of why I DNFed Lies of Locke Lamora so I totally understand the weirdness. I might give this one a try, but I bet it will bother me too 😅
If you like books with an anime feel to them, you might want to check out Steel Crow Saga by Paul Krueger. The world is similar to Legend of Korra (if the show had focused on everyone recuperating from being subjugated by the fire nation), with a little bit of Pokemon thrown in.
Sounds like a very unique concept, might have to check this out
I thought EXACTLY the same. I wanted the author to explain and recap the previous scene because I was a little confused, but it would be "let me tell you what happened...." Next chapter.
And I definitely agree with the scene where they are not sure who is talking, and I just thought that they appear really intelligent throughout until that scene and it just didn't sit right and was super frustrating. However, I still loved the book and intend to pick up the sequel ☺️
I liked the book, but I don’t feel curious enough to read the sequel. The tone made it difficult for me to care for the characters. I would love to hear your review about the sequel if you decide to read it. Love from Mexico 🧡
I felt like this book started slowly, but once it got into the swing of things I really enjoyed it. I feel like I’ll love the second book now that all of the backstory is out of the way. And the magic system is very cool.
As a guy who loves to check out new books based on concepts alone, this might be a little much for me. 😂
I really love your reviews though Elliot, so well done.
I felt literally the exact same as you. Like why don’t I like this?!? I just didn’t connect like I did with Robert Jackson Bennett’s Divine Cities trilogy which I LOVED. But oh well. I’m so glad other people loved it.
I read the first few chapters and then dnf'd as I was a bit put off by the things that you mentioned - the "young" feel to the dialogue and the tone/pacing of the book. It definitely seemed interesting but I don't think I'll pick it up over other options on my tbr at the moment.
Those kinds of tonal inconsistencies can either hamper a story or make it memorable in a bizarrely good way. Sounds like the latter might be the case here.
The sensing magic system sounds a bit like a combination of the Warbreaker magic system and Shadesmar. This one's been on my TBR for a while, but I just keep reading Sanderson instead :D
I haven't gotten very far in the first book but I love it and need to finish it. I recommend it to anyone I meet. The main problem I have with it is the first chapter felt pointless and it feels like the editor oversteps and tries to pad out the chapters.
I agree with you that the tone didn't hit right with me. It had a bunch of stuff that I usually love, but it just didn't connect with me. I liked the premise, but I won't be continuing with the series.
This book was my favorite of last year and its sequel Shorefall was my favorite of this year
I loved Foundryside but I also agree with everything you said. That weird tone when they speak to each other made me a bit disconected with the characters, but I loved the world and magic and plot too much to care about that.
Btw, which twist surprised you? I'm curious now^^
I'm currently reading this and it is amazing 🥰
This one is on my TBR but now I need it sooner
Although the magic system is complex, there is something common I found in both 'The Divine Cities' trilogy and the two books of 'The Founders' trilogy - the bending of reality.
I gotta say, the book does sound cool - but it sounds like it has a lot of anime/manga inspiration, it almost made me think if this book was an english light novel by the way it's written and how the characters act. Which isn't a bad thing at all, but from a perspective from someone who reads a lot of manga and watches anime, I totally get what you mean with how you get tired of some of the reactions from the characters lol. I think personally this book series will be a lot easier to read if you bench all three books at once due to how you say the characters doesn't reveal much to the reader and leaves you in anticipation and confusion a lot.
This series is absolutely amazing! Would recommend to everyone, especially to IT people. :3
I have not read this and it does not sound like something I'd like. Great review!
I've been wanting to check this book out for a while, especially after watching Jessie's review. The magic system has my interest piqued. I think I might give it a chance.
I had the same exact thoughts. Also apart from clef I didn't find any of the other characters memorable 😅
Hey Elliot,
Brilliant review! I really want to pick this book up, but I have a weird question... this edition paperback you have - is it a "floppy"? :DD
Thanks!
I thought I would love this book because of everything I'd heard about it and all the praise but I just couldn't get into it and it ended up being a DNF. Maybe I'll try again eventually.
I agree the magic system is complex but I kindoff found it easier to understand as I drew parallel between scribing and computer coding ( yeah nerd alert!😅). But didn't pick up the sequel as the series is still incomplete and I do not want to get so invested and then wait forever😑
I was thinking, did u think about making two versions of vids as in one spoiler free and the other just straight up spoiler discussion? I think that would be amazing.
Man I really love this idea for a story and magic system but I wish it was more mature lol
Sadly, I DNF'd the second book because I thought the character development was pretty terrible-it felt very much as if the main characters were all exposition automatons.
This magic system seems to be similar to these in cosmere ... extremely similar
Mmm, I think if you like Sanderson, there’s a chance you’ll like this, but I don’t think it was derivative.
Great video!!
Interesting... I came into this review unsure about this book and there were enough of both good and bad (to me) in the review that I’m still unsure! Haha
Hmm.... The title of this video alone is boosting this book higher on my tbr, and I haven't even watched the video yet 😂
Sounds u like had too much fun reading🤣. The magic system does sound interesting, I’ll peep it
I gave this one a chance, but, ultimately I didn't like the magic system here enough that I DNF'd it unfortunately. Just never clicked for me
Just picked it up based on your recommendation. 😃
I would hate to know the history of objects omg poor girl 😱
I think you will like City of Stairs better than Foundryside
Your personifications are the best.
Ah yes, S A U C Y T I M E S
I really did not like this book. The magic was over complicated, too much exposition, and bad characters