I read this only for Ley Line Drifter by Kim Harrison because I'm on a re-read roll.
That being said, I really enjoyed spending time with Jenks, his faI read this only for Ley Line Drifter by Kim Harrison because I'm on a re-read roll.
That being said, I really enjoyed spending time with Jenks, his family, and a little adventure with the rest of the team.
Dryads are a nightmare. :)
Also, it lays to rest the speculation about whether the pixies know about the other special qualities of a certain cursed potion. I think all of these extras are necessary on the read-through, honestly. The PoVs alone are worth it....more
I read this for the delicious short by Kim Harrison that shows us exactly how Ceri became Al's familiar a thousand years ago. Not much on its own, butI read this for the delicious short by Kim Harrison that shows us exactly how Ceri became Al's familiar a thousand years ago. Not much on its own, but a LOT in conjunction with the Hollow's series.
Well worth it, and more so for the look into both Al and Ceri's psychology. :)...more
I am quite happy to read about young Rachel Morgan in her novelette, freshly wanting to join the IS and having to deal with her mom, her brother, and I am quite happy to read about young Rachel Morgan in her novelette, freshly wanting to join the IS and having to deal with her mom, her brother, and her father's ghost.
Of course, magic doesn't always go the way we want.
Introduce ourselves to Pierce, here. :) Cool little mystery/adventure, too.
I'd recommend this for anyone who wants the story that is only hinted at in the later novel....more
This being one of those 'what you see is what you get' kind of book series, I should mention that it's a specialty item. It's on the lower end of the This being one of those 'what you see is what you get' kind of book series, I should mention that it's a specialty item. It's on the lower end of the LitRPG spectrum, devoting itself to godlike actions and fights that are more in line with Dragonball Z by way of cybernetics in an otherwise magic-dominated world.
Cool idea, often fun in the action and okay in the characterizations (if not particularly brilliant), the series has a lot of faults but being fun makes up for a lot of it.
This later book is rather scaling back on the uber over-the-top stuff and the limits of our god-like dungeon core MC are finally coming to the fore. Of course, it's not really all that fair, having been limited by another *literal* deus ex machina, but all told, it was kinda expected.
All in all, though, I rather wish it was more polished. That more care had been taken with the characters. Otherwise, it's really a Deus-Stu kind of tale....more
Mark Lages always circles around the traditional everyman tale. It's not something we see much of these days, but it ought to be something we're awareMark Lages always circles around the traditional everyman tale. It's not something we see much of these days, but it ought to be something we're aware of.
Characters don't have to be bigger than life. They can be very, very normal and still have a lot to say.
In this case, it's the way an entire novel can be written as a marriage vow as seen by a 21-year-old contemplating all the ups and downs of a pretty full life with his intended.
Some happiness, but mostly, it's maintenance. A good dose of mutual disappointment, a liberal helping of stupid mistakes, and a splash of understanding.
The point is, in the end, that one should always go into situations with your eyes wide open, I suppose, but the power of this book lies in letting us make up our own minds.
As always, the writing and the subject material are mild, overall, and almost always conversational. It's easy-going despite the few tragedies we encounter, and never offensive. Overall, it's almost always about honesty, and that takes courage, too.
More a series of vignettes and abject realism describing his time in a Siberian prison for four years, Fyodor Dostoyevsky writes something that weighsMore a series of vignettes and abject realism describing his time in a Siberian prison for four years, Fyodor Dostoyevsky writes something that weighs heavy on the heart even while the book does not describe any kind of plot or true closure.
That's okay. He writes fantastically plotted books later on and he draws from his intense despair and sharp eye in the human psyche in those later novels in amazing ways. This one, however, is still quite rich and lush with characters and details, immersing us in truly morbid circumstances without quite destroying us.
What do I mean? Well, Dostoyevsky is well aware of the nastiness of the human condition and having experienced some of the worst effects of being on the bottom of the rung, while also having such an intense desire to see the best in anything, find even the tiniest of sparks of optimism, this book is an awesome example of dichotomies.
I loved the joy of having meat on one of the three holidays that even convicts could celebrate. I loved the spectacle and the play. I loved the revels and the consequences of smuggling. I loved the way that the hospitals were used to hide and escape the otherwise horrible conditions, even when the reused hospital gowns weren't cleaned, full of lice, seeping scabs, other excretable decaying matter.
And then there were the convicts themselves. So many intrigues and floggings, intimidation, and crazy hierarchies. And of course, the crimes and the punishments. The whole place is a malicious spider sucking the vitality out of all its inhabitants.
It is pretty hardcore. Of course, there are many other modern examples, so much so that it is a genre as prison fiction, but this is still pretty unique and VERY autobiographical.
So why didn't I give it a full five stars?
Put simply, I didn't really ENJOY it as anything other than an analytical exercise.
Long before there was Fight Club or a long line of doubles, doppelgangers, strange tales of evil twins or Evil Spock, even Dostoyevsky, the brilliant Long before there was Fight Club or a long line of doubles, doppelgangers, strange tales of evil twins or Evil Spock, even Dostoyevsky, the brilliant classic Russian novelist, directed his hand to this very psychologically weird tale.
Strangely enough, Dostoyevsky doesn't make this particular novel as dark and cringy as most of his works. Indeed, even though it IS very paranoid and anxious and disturbing in a very Philip K Dick way, it also comes off as something of a straightforward comedy.
The main character is a person that no one wants or needs. No one respects him. He's weak and submissive and never stands out in any positive way. This is written so well that it's horribly entertaining all by itself, with us watching him squirm and do things that sadly remind us of ourselves in our weakest moments, apologizing profusely, hinting broadly, breaking down at inopportune times in a very Social Anxiety kind of way.
But then his double starts invading his life. Better than him, more productive, socially acceptable, and rather devious. I swear, I thought we were dealing with Tyler Durden.
The best part of this is the fact that we don't actually know whether we were dealing with an actual evil twin scenario or whether it was all in his head. It's not QUITE a comedy unless the reader is into really dark ones. :)
This novel was a really nice surprise. Dostoyevsky is still a master in my book. ...more
Still enjoyable, overall, with a sudden decision to go space odyssey while the minions take care of the home-front. Not bad, mind you, and it gets faiStill enjoyable, overall, with a sudden decision to go space odyssey while the minions take care of the home-front. Not bad, mind you, and it gets fairly amusing as it goes hard-SF and even a bit doctor strange, but what else would you expect when your MC is a GOD. Or, you know, a fairly high-tiered godlike entity of LitRPG dungeon core fame.
Overpowered? Yes, of course, but now we're finally getting some slight course corrections. A few knockdowns. After all, we can't let these upstart kids run ramshod across the universe. :)
My one complaint?
We don't really spend enough time on all the diverse cast of minions/minor deities/or high leveled mortals trying to get crap done. We flit between them a bit too much to really get into them.
Otherwise, if you're just looking for some beastly high-level throwdowns and godlike s**t, then you're probably looking in the right place with these novels. It's good for what it is....more
Truly, reading these is scratching that itch that desires totally overpowered battles on epic grand scales, as told from the PoV of a god.
Of course, tTruly, reading these is scratching that itch that desires totally overpowered battles on epic grand scales, as told from the PoV of a god.
Of course, this is still LitRPG but it has dropped most of those roots except for the brief times when the massively overpowered dungeon core makes new "children" who will wreak more havoc on undead, celestials, demons or when he expands his territory and takes more and more of the populations under his fatherly wing.
You know, like a god. And he tests himself against ever stronger beings.
I admit I like the huge scope and the quick pace. It is, more and more obviously, like playing a video game. And yes, I'm waiting for a chorus to sing out, "no duh!!".
I'm still having some fun with this LitRPG, but I should mention a few things.
It reads like a total authoritarian nightmare dressed up as a god just tI'm still having some fun with this LitRPG, but I should mention a few things.
It reads like a total authoritarian nightmare dressed up as a god just trying to set things right. When the baddies are bad with the same mind-control stuff, total suppression of free will, and are locked into a never-ending cycle of worship that they believe comes freely from themselves... and THEN we compare the same with our heroic MC who -- lest we forget -- basically killed humanity in a robot uprising before he was given control over a dungeon core, here -- we might want to investigate what might be going on.
And yet, we're meant to see him as a savior, a good guy, always looking out for his people and his 'children' and doesn't mind how many continent-busting machines of war he has to use to free everyone else from another tyranny?
Maybe it's just me. Maybe sometimes I like to see ultimate power at least TRY to do something right, but every step of the way, these slave colors are completely re-writing his allies. All in the name of good.
Other than that, lots of great action and cool robot vs mega-undead action on all possible fields of battle....more
Magic robotics, airships, orbital facilities, dungeon cores, and global thermonecromantic war.
This is what happens when a LitRPG title diverges from Magic robotics, airships, orbital facilities, dungeon cores, and global thermonecromantic war.
This is what happens when a LitRPG title diverges from its leveling roots and just goes nuts with Big War.
Granted, I wish there were more character development and even some (at least minor) conflict on the personal stages with the main characters (or dungeon, who can't seem to do any wrong), but for the most part, it's still a light title that manages to be fun.
Is it just me, or are all the repeating sections, slightly modified by PoV, a bit annoying?
Never mind. Overall, the book kinda reads like a carbon copy of one or two others in the same genre, with slight fundamental differences in focus. Since I liked those, originally, I am okay with it here, but I'm marking it down in my head for being rather unoriginal....more
This book is really all about war above ground rather than anything that might happen in a dungeon. Sure, there are some nice level-up points within tThis book is really all about war above ground rather than anything that might happen in a dungeon. Sure, there are some nice level-up points within the side characters and the dungeon, himself, but while this is entertaining on its own, collecting the full hoards and mass-death, we are missing actual character development.
Fortunately, the book is also short and what it does offer is still fairly interesting... if totally expected.
One thing I should mention: some more editing would have done this novel justice, if not for the line-item stuff, but whole story areas that are repeated, often verbatim, if also done from alternating PoVs. I'd say, "Choose one." More isn't necessary.
While the Dungeon MC does seem to be RATHER uber-powerful at almost every moment and he really has a "aren't I a nice guy" mentality, I'm still quite While the Dungeon MC does seem to be RATHER uber-powerful at almost every moment and he really has a "aren't I a nice guy" mentality, I'm still quite enjoying the tale and the progression.
In other words, it's almost entirely about the incidental characters and how they deal with him. Plus the ravening hoards. Can't forget the ravening hoards.
While I've read much better LitRPG books, the fact is, this one is still certainly entertaining. The kingdom grows larger! Of course, we all know who the real power is....more
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