This time around, I’m not putting the book title in the post header. That’s because I’ve read more than one book this go-around and I’m lumping them together with short reviews.

First up is Brandon Sanderson’s The Rithamtist.

Why I read it: My brother loves Sanderson’s books. When I told my brother the author would be signing at a couple local-ish spots in June as a heads up for him, he said he’d only go if I went. Not wanting to go into the signing without ever having read something of Sanderson’s, I opted for the book he’s promoting with this tour.

Mini-review: Slow start isn’t a bad thing. In this case, it was. The book dragged for the first 100 pages or so. It picked up after that and I did finish the book. I never could quite reconcile the modern-sounding language with the Victorian-era alternate-Earth setting. It actually took me probably half the book to sort out this was an alternate history rather than a post-apocalyptic setting. (Dense, me?) I honestly thought it was something like Hunger Games where a cataclysmic seismic event had fractured the North American continent and we’d reverted to Latin names for everything. The story itself was intriguing but the ending was a let-down.

Final review: Thumbs sideways. Intriguing premise but in the end not my cup of tea, I guess.

Next, I’m going to lump the other two books together. Storm Front and Fool Moon, both by Jim Butcher.

Why I read them: My brother loves the series. Thought I’d give it a try.

Mini-review: As with Sanderson’s book, the premise is intriguing. But in the end, the style and genre just aren’t my cup. All the side characters felt very flat and often times I found the plots too convoluted for sanity. I did laugh at many parts, mostly just little one-liners here and there. That said, I haven’t fallen in love with Harry Dresden enough to take the plunge on the further series.

Final review: Thumbs sideways. I won’t be reading more of Dresden but I’ve spent worse time than reading these books.