Re: What Fantasy/Sci-Fi book have you just finished? Please rate it...
The Well of Ascension by Brandon Sanderson. The middle book of the Mistborn trilogy, which I am taking forever to read because real life gets in the way. Having defeated the big evil boss at the end of the last book, street-urchin-turned-allomancer Vin and her boyfriend king, Elend, discover that they've also taken out the force that was protecting the kingdom from threats both mundane and magical. Sanderson has a gift for plotting, which shows in this book as it swings from crisis to crisis in a perfectly believable fashion. Character development for the main characters is great; for secondary characters it's a little more ham-handed, but at least it's there. The unusual but original metal-driven background of the Mistborn setting gradually develops throughout the books, revealing the details to the reader as they are discovered by the characters. I also like the way the trilogy is handled--each book is a self-contained story arc, with just a few loose ends and unanswered questions carrying over to the next book.
I'd give this book 4.5 out of 5 stars, and I'm only docking it half a star because I didn't feel compelled to stay up all night reading it, at least not up until the last three chapters or so. Next up, obviously, is Hero of Ages, but I might take a break and read a lightweight Chelsea Handler book first.