Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion
This topic is about
The Liar's Key
Archive [Retired Buddy Reads]
>
The Liar's Key [Mar 1, 2018]
message 1:
by
Niki Hawkes, I made it past GOTM... barely
(new)
Oct 17, 2017 03:09PM
Mod
reply
|
flag
*
I'll be in for this. Read Prince of Fools last year and I want to try and get all of Lawrence's books off my TBR this year!
Started it last night. Is anyone else reading it? :)
I'm here @Virginie but can only start it after two more days. I have a simultaneous start of another ML book and Anni had already waited two months for me. Keep reading and please post chapter updates and spoooilaaahs 😊
I'll join you soon. I hope that's ok with you.
Edit: How is Snorri doing now?
Of course it's OK with me :) I'll probably read (well, listen) very slowly anyway 'cause I'm really busy these days.I saw that you're re-reading Prince of Thorns! I don't have time to do the same but I'm following the thread. I want to see all those presents unwrapped ^^
It's been four years...my Jorg withdrawal symptoms were getting...unmanageable...😝@Anni's presents are now famous 😃😀 I'm glad bcuz its such an added visual extra. Good to know you will be *lurking* us....
I will start it tonight.
Forgot all about this! Damn I'll hopefully pick it up this week. After finishing the first book, I've not felt a strong urge to jump into the second one, like I did with Jorg.
I'll start tomorrow. Today is More of Malazan day.
Yay. Didn't make any progress :( You'll catch up with me soon, and I'll get to open spoileeeers :D
Just started this morning - I'm not 100% feeling in a 'witty protagonist' mood, so I'm hoping things get serious pretty quickly to keep me engaged.
I'm five chapters thru. Main story has barely started so there's nothing really important to post. I like how there was a short review of Book 1.@Virginie...😁 at the descriptions of Clan Olaaf. I literally ugly snorted into the book and since I was on a City Tram at the moment...everyone had a "whaaa...where's the horse" moment...
CHAPTER 3 NOTHING IMPORTANT TO THE PLOT IN THIS SPOILER
(view spoiler)
@Manju and @Seàn...how far along are you both? Petrik's review reckons this one will be slooooooow.
in chapter 3. nothing much of importance has happened yet. Jalan and his antics so far...
I'm at Chapter 8 now. I'm enjoying it, but the pace is a bit plodding for now.
I read up to about 25% and gave up. Hope you all enjoy it more. Maybe if I actually get through all my March books I'll go back to it.
opting out of this as i have too many books going at this moment and it's too slow to keep my attention. sorry..
Manju wrote: "opting out of this as i have too many books going at this moment and it's too slow to keep my attention. sorry.."that's the reason you're quitting? Sure it's not because the main character is such an unlikable deuche? :P
Diana, I din't even know you had started the book 😜😂 come back if you can. @Manu, you too. Well, like I said...Petrik did warn it would be slow. I am starting to trust Petrik's reviews. Weeehll, xept for *yerk* F&tF. I especially like how he gives the one-line summary at the top. That said, remember this is a second book. It is, of its nature, gonna be thin on big events and plot resolutions, and thick on exposition and character development. I am enjoying these things, though more for Jal than Snorri who is just *pfaugh* (view spoiler)
So I, like Seàn and Virginie, am enjoying it bcuz I like that douchebag narrator whom you can never really trust cuz BOOK 1 SPOILER (view spoiler) + the Norse vibe. Btw what is with all the Norse that is in my face since Jan? American Gods and then this series. I should totally read the Gaiman like Fin sez just to anchor it all in place xcuz I know so little abt the Norse pantheon. Also thankfully, in this book his cowardice isn't laid on as thick as it was in the last. Honestly, every tenth page in Prince of Fools we kept being told how he is cowardly and likes to run from things. And then he runs at them! 😂 so booyah @slight unreliability of this narrator.
However, I can totally see where you ladies + Morte may get tired of the trekking thru the icy wastes with the large dangerous Viking...
Btw :-/ at how I am now slightly cribbing abt Mark Lawrence. I can't believe myself. I LOVE Mark Lawremce. I am such a cow + is all Malazan's fault.
+ this book DEFFO is not so bad. You guys want a really terrible second book that drags its feet like it had concrete tied to its ankles you go read *hiss* FitzChivalry. Btw loved how Petrik hated Fitz Book 2 😆 bcuz so did I. Still n all, it was so cute how frust 😡 😤 he got and was venting all over the place. And let us not be forgetting Satin.
But I digress.
I finished 12 chapters. I can't wait till SPOILERS TO CH12 (view spoiler)
Sorry @all for the long and slightly rambly post. I felt like including the Petrik PoV for this book to amplify my thoughts and then I ended up typing too much and now I can't be stuffed to chop bits off.
i don't mind slow. but its just am not in mood for slow right now. :(:( but i will try to get back to it later this month. :D
Manju wrote: "i don't mind slow. but its just am not in mood for slow right now. :(:( but i will try to get back to it later this month. :D"Oh I know! You, me and them classics...
:-D
No pressure, no fuss. And deffo no guilt. As the wise woman sez, guilt is no bueno.
#Veronica
I'm mid Chapter 10 right now. Will come back and edit this comment to answer you Zaaragorn when I have some time.For now: I really like what Lawrence did with Jal. Unreliable narrator indeed :o
This year, I've read American Gods & Norse Mythology by Gaiman, a manga series called Vinland Saga (quite good btw) and now this... Vikings! VIKINGS EVERYWHERE!
PS: talking about waving magic swords and now "chopping bits off".... 😂
Zaara wrote: "Diana, I din't even know you had started the book 😜😂 come back if you can. @Manu, you too. Well, like I said...Petrik did warn it would be slow. I am starting to trust Petrik's reviews. Weeehll, xe..."Eh. I don't think second books get a free pass for being boring just cuz they're second books. The book should still be interesting and not put me to sleep :-/
I gotta say the first 5 chapters of the book were great! They were funny and light and that's what I'm expecting from this series, a fantasy comedy. The last 5 chapters have been.... Ok. I'll keep reading because I am enjoying it, but, recently, I almost wanted to skip pages to get to the interesting bits. Like the next barn fire!
@Murf is reading with us too...how nice!Virginie wrote: "For now: I really like what Lawrence did with Jal. Unreliable narrator indeed :o
This year... Vikings! VIKINGS EVERYWHERE!
PS: talking about waving magic swords and now "chopping bits off".... 😂
@Virginie has sharp eyes and has noticed my inner psychotic Jorghood...shhhhh, it is our secret, ok?
Heh, I love it!
Btw @Anni and I also have a word for the "waves sword around" thing...in German the word klingendeklingen is the sound of blades slicing thru the air. Happened during one of our Abercrombie discussions in the winter (first book is called The Blade Itself) so if you see that word randomly popping up in the middle of chats, that is what it means.
Oh...seems like we both have been having a bit of a Nordic run, no?
Deffo I will also read Norse Mythology.
Chris wrote: "They were funny and light and that's what I'm expecting from this series, a fantasy comedy. The last 5 chapters have been.... Ok. I'll keep reading because I am enjoying it, but, recently, I almost wanted to skip pages to get to the interesting bits. Like the next barn fire "
Haha 😝 Murf nothing like a good bit of comedic bawdry or just plain good ol' wenching to break up the dullness.
But fyi, events do get a NON-PLOT RELATED ABT TONE AND PACE (view spoiler)
Reading update: I'm thru Chapter 16.
I did get my wish...
SPOILERS CHAPTERS 12-16 + SOME BROKEN EMPIRE TIMELINE ANALYSIS (NON-PLOT RELATED)
(view spoiler)
Ok I go now. Actually I logged in just bcuz there are fewer ppl on this thread and also I wanted to reply to @Virginie.
@Stromblessed....
How daaaaaaarre you ditch Jal and Snorri and Tutt? And yawn at them? Now I'm planning a hideous revenge. Ima say something mean abt Kaladin when you least expect it. That is, providing I could ever start reading abt the man.
😈
@Seàn...just hello. Din't want to talk to everyone on the thread and not you, woulda been rude. So just a random hi and where did you reach Seàn?
Zaara wrote: "@Murf is reading with us too...how nice!Virginie wrote: "For now: I really like what Lawrence did with Jal. Unreliable narrator indeed :o
This year... Vikings! VIKINGS EVERYWHERE!
PS: talking a..."
If I could get my bibliophobic husband to listen to (it's not reading but it's as close as I'll get with him) all of Stormlight, all of Mistborn, and Warbreaker. You bibliophile can do it, too! I dare you to read it and then say something bad about Kaladin. It's a dare, so now you have to read it ;-)
I'm still sitting at Chapter 8 - haven't really had the urge to pick this up in a few days. I'll see if I can get back to it - but I think I may just be a bit fed up with 'witty' protagonists, they seem to be turning right off books at the moment.
//abandons, because schedule is far too full
Ha did everyone else just put a hold on this and I am talking to myself?I finished. I didn't find it so bad. Heck, I even liked it tho' I felt it was a bit jerky and all over the place like the book was trying to be/do too much and ended up tap dancing on roller skates
FULL BOOK SPOILERS
(view spoiler) but it certainly improved a lot past the halfway mark. Deffo watching someone tap dance wearing roller skates is more entertaining than watching them trek thru endless wastes on a hopeless quest = bloody honourable Snorri.
I like him. Who can HELP liking him?
I also want to give him a swift kick since he knows (view spoiler)
I dunno why everyone is finding this book such a dirge. To me it will warrant a re-read AFTER I am more familiar with Norse myth if only bcuz it takes so many leaps and directions that I feel I have missed something important.
Or is the Dark Goddess funking with my head agn?
I like the Red and Blue and Garyus plotline the best. That's the one I will be looking out for in the final book.
I think I better stop typing noe.
Diana Stormblessed wrote: "I dare you to read it and then say something bad about Kaladin. It's a dare, so now you have to read it ;-) "Deal!
Reading it in April.
@Zaara: Not on hold but listening very slowly :( I'm crazy busy with my new job.Don't worry though, I'll find the time to post a big spoilery monologue at some point :)
@Zaara & Diana: Huh... I like Jal, Kaladin AND FitzChivalry....They're all complaining and whining all the time but I love 'em anyway :p
No worries...go at your own pace, hon...I will stick arnd to discuss.
Virginie wrote: "@Zaara & Diana: Huh... I like Jal, Kaladin AND FitzChivalry....They're all complaining and whining all the time but I love 'em anyway :p"
No, just no. Kal is a hero. He cares about others. His problem is he takes too much responsibility. He blames himself for things outside of his own control. Jal is a spoiled child that cares about no one but himself. And Kal isn't whiny, he's clinically depressed. He's actually legit mentally ill. Jal is just an immature, whiny brat. It's like comparing apples and milk. No. Just no.
Virginie wrote: "@Zaara & Diana: Huh... I like Jal, Kaladin AND FitzChivalry....They're all complaining and whining all the time but I love 'em anyway :p"
And Fitz is whiny but he tries. He's just got a long way to go but he cares about others and wants to make things right.
Now you've got me all riled up and clutching my pearls. How dare you! ;-)
Virginie wrote: "@Zaara & Diana: Huh... I like Jal, Kaladin AND FitzChivalry....They're all complaining and whining all the time but I love 'em anyway :p"
@Virginie...hello you! I like Jal...he's such a geniAss, no? All those levels. And those locked portions of his memory + the unreliable narrator. How he is always more than what he seems. Especially this. I like SNORRI bcuz he is huge and honourable and hurting and so clean despite the kind of pain that makes ppl bitter and ranty and cynical.
I haven't met Kaladin...like I was telling Diana...
And I'll pass on FitzChivalry...tho' I'm the first one to admit he may improve on further acquaintance....if he can jezzt....bring it...
"it" being this nebulous and vaguely defined thing...i dunno...zing??? Allure? Manhood?
Certainly I like his wolf! The wolf has enuf personality for the two of them....IMO.
So I agree with you 2 outta 3 and am negotiable on the third 😝
Diana Stormblessed wrote: "Jal is a spoiled child that cares about no one but himself. "Actually Di, Jal is a fukkin liar who sounds like a whiny and cowardly bitch but actually runs AT every problem instead of away, always telling you he did it purely by accident and out of extremely selfish motives. Don't listen to his bombastic veneer. Ignore it completely and look at what he DOES. Underneath he's all muscle and tricksy brain.
(view spoiler)
This distinction (that he's actually outright unreliable as a narrator bcuz of his lies and memory gaps) actually becomes much clearer at the end of book 2 so I don't blame you since you legit DNF before that. But there were hints in Book 1 with the fake locket that wasn't fake + his memory holes.
I'm all in the do not underestimate Jal section. And obviously in the minority....
Diana Stormblessed wrote: "And Fitz is whiny but he tries. He's just got a long way to go but he cares about others and wants to make things right."Oh this I agree with 100%
+
I love how we are able to do cross-book analytical talk.
When I read Stormlight obviously I will have lots more to say. I hope you will come on that thred to talk to us, @Diana. It's always so much more of an added experience going thru a series with someone who is really fiercely passionate about it + you are very cute with your big Kaladin love. Though you will have to fight that Ron for him ;-)
Its been ages since I read a book with Ron and Mayim.
Diana Stormblessed wrote: "No, just no. Kal is a hero. He cares about others. His problem is he takes too much responsibility. He blames for things outside of his own control. Jal is a spoiled child..."Hum. I didn't mean to rile you up.
I agree that Jal is immature. But there's definitively a case to be made for some mental illness there as well IMO. Lying to yourself and others is one thing, but it goes farther than that for him: changing his own memories, blacking out and going berserk, etc.
I haven't finished the book (nor the trilogy for that matter) and could be proven wrong. In my eyes, Jalan has a very low self esteem and is unconsciously putting himself down. Yes, he boasts about being handsome and a prince but those things, he was born with. When it comes to...hum... personal talents and skills (yeah, couldn't find a better way to word it), he's always saying that he's only capable of running away But he runs towards problems... Gah, I can't convey my thoughts properly :'( I'll come back after pondering on this some more.
EDIT: started writing this before you said you were riled up lol
EDIT 2: and before Zaara's comments (hello you! :D). So... What she said. :p
Virginie wrote: "EDIT: started writing this before you said you were riled up lol"😂😂😂
#coincidence
This made me realize that a Stormlight Archives re-read is urgent! I can't properly make my case when the details are all fuzzy in my head :(
@Virginie, glad I have at least one more person in the minority corner with me...Seán wrote: "I'm still sitting at Chapter 8 - haven't really had the urge to pick this up in a few days. I'll see if I can get back to it - but I think I may just be a bit fed up with 'witty' protagonists, they..."
@Sean...I know you've read lots more in the genre so I'm chary of outright recommending anything to you. Perhaps go old school...they have an entirely different modality of storytelling, if you're in the mood for something with a bit more gravitas. There wasn't too much acerbic wit in oldschool classics like LoTR or the Worm Ourobouros for instance. Maybe something weighty like Anathem? It seems like a book I would like very much and perhaps you will too...
Did you already try Children of Time? Tchaikovsky is very good altho' I've only read the one book with an (IMO) *yerk* + implausible enemies turn troooo lurrve meme...still n all, the mind of the man writing the book itself was honkin' fab. And not prone to wit merely for the sake of being witty.
I dunno what else to say to you now Sean. Haha you should soooo come read Malazan with us 😂
Virginie wrote: "This made me realize that a Stormlight Archives re-read is urgent! I can't properly make my case when the details are all fuzzy in my head :("YAAAAASSSS. It is already pencilled in the official calendar. Kicks off April 10. Now...as Diana sez...you HAVE to come.
Woooooot!
Zaara wrote: "Diana Stormblessed wrote: "And Fitz is whiny but he tries. He's just got a long way to go but he cares about others and wants to make things right."Oh this I agree with 100%
+
I love how we are a..."
Oh don't worry. I'd def be there ;-)
Virginie wrote: "Diana Stormblessed wrote: "No, just no. Kal is a hero. He cares about others. His problem is he takes too much responsibility. He blames for things outside of his own control. Jal is a spoiled chil..."Ok, I agree. I see your and Zaara's points. He's def a little messed up about himself and using immaturity as a cover.
Ok 😂 what is with today and the timing? I just went on your status update and said I'll deffo be there for Six of Crows...
Zaara wrote: "Ok 😂 what is with today and the timing? I just went on your status update and said I'll deffo be there for Six of Crows..."lol. Timing is everything.
Zaara wrote: "Ok 😂 what is with today and the timing? I just went on your status update and said I'll deffo be there for Six of Crows..."Oh my... The Six of Crows BR starts tomorrow...
*drown in books*
Virginie wrote: "Zaara wrote: "Ok 😂 what is with today and the timing? I just went on your status update and said I'll deffo be there for Six of Crows..."Oh my... The Six of Crows BR starts tomorrow...
*drown in ..."
*Pulls you out and sits you at a desk with one book* Take it one book at a time :-)
