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Bearing an Hourglass
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Trea & Krissy - Incarnations of Immortality Series
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Denise, Manufacturing Director
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Nov 29, 2015 11:23AM
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Hey, Krissy! My husband, who isn't on GR, wants to read this at the same time we do. I've got BRs set up for the 1st and 7th so far, but can do this anytime after that.
Lol. Coincidentally I asked my brother if he wanted to join too since this is his type of book. He told me he read it back in high school and it's always been one of his favorites. Which excites me even more. If he loves it then chances are it's a great book. The bad news is that he said it was the best book of the series and he quit reading it after only a couple more books. So I hope the series isn't a dud!Anytime after the 7th is fine with me. Just let me know when you are done with that book and we will start this one.
Krissy wrote: "Lol. Coincidentally I asked my brother if he wanted to join too since this is his type of book. He told me he read it back in high school and it's always been one of his favorites. Which excites me..."Did he never read Being a Green Mother or And Eternity? Those were some of the best of the series! (I read the series in high school myself, but it's been years since then for me!)
Bearing an Hourglass was the worst for me, though For Love of Evil is a close second. However, I haven't read the eighth book, Under a Velvet Cloak, in the series, nor do I own a copy like I do the others. Is that one we're going to try to read?
I'll have to text him later today and ask what specific book he stopped with. He was vague when he told me initially. He just said "a few books in"
Krissy wrote: "I'll have to text him later today and ask what specific book he stopped with. He was vague when he told me initially. He just said "a few books in""I can understand him stopping after Time or even Fate, but Fate's book starts this really cool story arc that doesn't end until the end of the series, even though it is confusing. I just went with it, but I can see where others wouldn't want to.
I'll be starting this sometime on Thurs or Fri. I asked my brother what book he stopped at but he couldn't remember if it was book 4 or book 5. I'm going to guess book 4 since you said book 5 was one of the better books in the series.
Krissy wrote: "I'll be starting this sometime on Thurs or Fri. I asked my brother what book he stopped at but he couldn't remember if it was book 4 or book 5. I'm going to guess book 4 since you said book 5 was o..."Sounds like a plan, I'll be ready to go on Thursday!
Well I'm about 42% of the way in. Zane just collected the soul of the old man that was tied to his wheelchair and wanted a hymn sung before he died. So far it's okay but not great. I don't know why but I expected it to be funnier? For some reason I assumed this was more of a comedy. Disappointing to find out it's not.
Krissy wrote: "Well I'm about 42% of the way in. Zane just collected the soul of the old man that was tied to his wheelchair and wanted a hymn sung before he died. So far it's okay but not great. I don't know why..."Sounds like you've either read Xanth in the past or were thinking this was that series! Piers Anthony's Xanth series is full of puns and is very funny. This was a more serious series for him. That being said, if you finish it and don't want to continue the series, don't feel obligated to do so. Bearing an Hourglass is a really bad installment of the series, and I know it will probably turn you off of it completely!
Actually I've never even heard of this author until this book. I assumed it was funny because it is tagged 'humor' on it's main page. I've got about an hour left of the audio so I'll be finishing up tonight
Krissy wrote: "Actually I've never even heard of this author until this book. I assumed it was funny because it is tagged 'humor' on it's main page. I've got about an hour left of the audio so I'll be finishing u..."Yeah, his Xanth books are much funnier. Let me know what you want to do when you finish it!
Oh I remember these books read them years ago. I enjoyed them but not as much as I enjoyed the puntacular Xanth series
Finished. Apparently I didn't have as much left as I thought. The last 45 minutes of the audio is an "author's notes" part. Anyway, I thought the entire thing was just okay. Everyone that I personally know that has read and loved it say they read it way back in the 80's or 90's. I wonder if they would still feel the same way if they read it for the first time today. I've just read too many outstanding fantasy novels this year so this book had big shoes to fill. Unfortunately it fell short. It doesn't help that I was hoping it was going to be funny. I was actually looking forward to a humorous book. It did pick up a bit in the second half once Zane went on strike and started fighting off everything Satan was throwing his way. But by then I was only semi-invested in the story.
Krissy wrote: "Finished. Apparently I didn't have as much left as I thought. The last 45 minutes of the audio is an "author's notes" part. Anyway, I thought the entire thing was just okay. Everyone that I persona..."Do you want to continue the series?
Krissy wrote: "Maybe I need to check out the other series."You might like it a bit better, but I was reading both series in 93-96ish and remember Xanth as very funny, but this one rather serious. And Eternity can be humorous, but that means slogging through 6+ books to get to it.
Trea wrote: "Krissy wrote: "Finished. Apparently I didn't have as much left as I thought. The last 45 minutes of the audio is an "author's notes" part. Anyway, I thought the entire thing was just okay. Everyone..."Ugh. I don't know! I'm torn! There has been many series where I wasn't impressed with the first book but ended up enjoying the rest of the series. So I say let's try one more. I don't want to give up yet!
Krissy wrote: "Ugh. I don't know! I'm torn! There has been many series where I wasn't impressed with the first book but ended up enjoying the rest of the series. So I say let's try one more. I don't want to give up yet!"Word of warning, Bearing an Hourglass is very tedious and confusing! I wouldn't use it to be your litmus mark for continuing the rest of the series. I recommend reading Xanth first or even If I Pay Thee Not in Gold first, see if you like those better, then decide. Or you could stick through book 3, see how it goes.
Well I have to read book 2 anyway for a different challenge. It is locked in and I can't change it. Obviously I did that before I read this book :/ But I think I'll still check out Xanth. It sounds like something I'll enjoy more.
I've got us updated for book 2. I like to schedule buddy reads, so would you like to set a date for us to start this on next month? I'm pretty open right now, but I know my In Death gals like to read at the beginning of the month.
I'm up for whenever. So just let me know when you're done with the next In Death book and we can start our book :)
How about we plan for January 6? I've got a group read on the 4th, then my birthday, so this gets it in fairly fast, and I should be able to get to it on that date.
Krissy wrote: "Happy early birthday! Mine is tomorrow :) And the 6th sounds perfect."Happy birthday to you! Mine's the 5th, and my son's is the 14th. One of my nieces is on the 6th, so we're a bit busy with birthdays in the first couple of months of the year!
I'll mark it on my list so I won't forget!
In this family December is the busiest month. My daughter's bday is on the 4th, I'm on the 21st, wedding anniversary is on the 22nd, FIL bday is on the 24th, then Christmas! Luckily we get a break in January. The next bday is my oldest daughter's and it's Feb 1.
Krissy wrote: "In this family December is the busiest month. My daughter's bday is on the 4th, I'm on the 21st, wedding anniversary is on the 22nd, FIL bday is on the 24th, then Christmas! Luckily we get a break ..."Oh, jeez! Our break comes after February 15th, as that's my daughter's birthday, and we don't have anything else until May!
I read this right after my Fatal Series Group read and am just now getting to the point where I'm reviewing the books I've read lately. Have you read it yet? If so, are you going to continue the series?
I haven't read it yet. I've only just got the audiobook copy. I plan to start it next week since i already have a book planned for this weekend.
Krissy wrote: "I haven't read it yet. I've only just got the audiobook copy. I plan to start it next week since i already have a book planned for this weekend."Ah, ok!
Krissy wrote: "Your one star rating worries me :/"I never have liked this book, and this time was no different. To me, it is the weakest book in the series.
I'm going to have to push this to the first week of Feb. I am behind on my Jan reading and am struggling to catch up.
When you have every day meticulously planned the entire month is thrown off when you get even one day behind. So I really fucked myself when it took me not 1 but 2 extra days to finish Winter!
Krissy wrote: "When you have every day meticulously planned the entire month is thrown off when you get even one day behind. So I really fucked myself when it took me not 1 but 2 extra days to finish [book:Winter..."Krissy, I know exactly what you mean! I'm slightly behind myself because it took me several days to get through a couple of books. I try to plan for about 25 books a month, and feel lucky if I go over that!
Well I gave this book a shot. My husband comes home from deployment tomorrow so I spent all day cleaning and doing laundry. I needed an audiobook to listen to while I did all this work so I started this one. Normally audiobooks help me keep my mind off the work so it goes faster. Not this book. I felt every single minute. It started out okay. The whole Norton and Orlene thing was okay. But once he becomes the Incarnation of Time the book really went to shit. Nothing was even remotely interesting about his abilities/powers/whateverthefuckyoucallit. At least Death was a little more interesting than Time. By the time I got to the 50% mark I realized I was barely paying attention. I finally gave up at the 63% mark. By that point I just didn't care anymore :/
The one thing I did like was when we saw where book 1 and book 2 intersected. I enjoy it when a series of books are woven together in some way even if they are stand alones. So when Satan sent him to confirm his story about the guy and it ended up being Death from the previous book I was like "hey! I remember that!" Too bad that is the only thing I really liked.
So needless to say I don't think I will continue this series. And I can't tell you how disappointed that makes me because I was initially so excited to start this series. But i just can't get into the books.
Krissy wrote: "Well I gave this book a shot. My husband comes home from deployment tomorrow so I spent all day cleaning and doing laundry. I needed an audiobook to listen to while I did all this work so I started..."Totally understandable. Time's book is the weakest link for me, and I kinda figured it would be the tipping point for you. I'm going to continue them, and I think we're friended anyway, so you can at least read my reviews of the other books as I get them read. I'll let Denise know to archive the thread.
Books mentioned in this topic
Winter (other topics)If I Pay Thee Not In Gold (other topics)
Bearing an Hourglass (other topics)
Being a Green Mother (other topics)
And Eternity (other topics)
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