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Lux


QuantumSpren

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Brandon really likes dropping surprises on us! Although I feel like I would have liked to have known about the release date beforehand.* 

The first chapter was really interesting, and it's nice to get back into the Reckoners world. 

 

6 hours ago, theofficetroll said:

I'm curious where it fits. If it's an alternate world, same world but earlier/ coinciding, or what.

That's a good question, and one I've seen pop up here and there. All of the interviews and times Brandon has talked about it, I felt like these novels/novellas would take place post-Calamity, but the synopsis doesn't make it seem that way. I guess we'll have to Read And Find Out! 

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Spoilers 

Spoiler

I don’t know…

The poker scene felt really weird  to me because it seems like they’ve known each other for along while but the old dude was easily bluffed, and seemed to think the other man couldn’t lie, which he obviously can

So do they know each other or not?

And the whole thing with the sword cutting the chocolate bar also just felt off

 

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Finished about an hour or so ago!

 

I think this was the second best of the Reckoners book, with Steelheart in first place. And that's saying something since I'm not a fan of audiobooks AT ALL. I have maybe four total, and none of them are finished. (Dan Wells' Zero-G audio-novellas, and The Original are exceptions; but those were built for audio, which is a very different beast than something like Lux that's really made to be both print and audio.) Listening to this made for a weird experience. Had this just been a book, I probably could have knocked it out in a single day and have put on a nice soundtrack for the experience. But the audio form meant I had to sneak in almost fourteen hours of listening time, which was far more than ever before. I guess it wouldn't have been a problem if it wasn't a Sanderson book, but still...

I really liked the science-y aspect of this book, but it felt a lot like Rhythm of War in a way, where Sanderson had characters discover secrets, explain the secrets, and then use the secrets. There were times where this became repetitive, but it all worked out in the end.

Jax is a solid leading man. He's a lot like a Science Hero in an Action Hero's world, contrasting David's Action Hero with a Science Hero's demeanor. Zeff (which I couldn't help but think of "Szeth" until I saw the spelling), Abigail, Hersh, and Wade were all solid characters as well. Each had their own flavor and dynamic with Jax, and none felt too cartoonish, like the side characters in the original trilogy sometimes felt. Paige was the heart and soul of this book, and I'm very excited to see where her story takes her.

Lastly, leading up to this book, Brandon kept saying that the story of Lux takes place during and after Calamity. This is a technical truth at best - Lux takes place at the same time of Calamity, with their endings lining up pretty well. If the Reckoners was a series, it'd be easy to imagine the two books' finales happening at the same time.* (YMMV on whether or not this would be a good thing, considering the stakes are different in each, but it's food for thought.)

 

Overall, Lux was a very good addition into the Reckoners fold. It's a lot darker in tone than David's story, and I like that aspect of it.  I'd love to see this turn into a complete trilogy over the next few years, because Jax and Paige's story is far from over. The twists and turns in this novel are pure Sanderson, and the writing is world is crisp and distinct from other Reckoners locations. I'd give this a solid 8.5/10.

 

Other notes:

I know it's not stated, but I imagine Jax as black.

*While listening, I kept thinking about the Reckoners as a television show, and how to balance both stories. I currently have it as two dual stories being told. Season 1 would deal with David's story in the present and Hersh's backstory in the past. Season 2 would begin with Mitosis in the present and Jax's backstory in the past, and then the two would ultimately sync up. Season 3 would be the dual stories of Calamity and Lux. This is all subject to change, but that's how I have it now.

I still worry about The Apocalypse Guard and how it'll fit into all of this. I really want to see the book someday. Given Dan's reading of it last year, it'd probably do really well as an audiobook. But I honestly don't care about the form so long as it comes out. And who knows, maybe we'll get that Mizzy story too.

Lux's first novella's working title was Deathrise. I kept wondering why that was when the book came out, but it makes some sense as of why by the end.

Not really related to Lux, but as much fun as this surprise drop was, I think I'd like something of a scheduled window for future Mainframe drop dates. Maybe not specific days, but something like "Coming, Spring 2022" or whatnot whenever possible.

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