Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion
Archive [Retired Book Clubs]
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RETIRED THREAD: Vagabond Treehouse Book Club
Soo wrote: "Brian, I'm down whenever you wanna do it. =)Iain, Bledsoe makes you really CARE about the world and characters. It's great! I actually like both series equally. Though, I freakin' loved the 2nd b..."
I'm down for the Left Hand of God series whenever you are.
Soo I also bought the first two (The Acts of Caine) on audible. Hope they are good!
Mod
Iain, Bledsoe makes you really CARE about the world and characters. It's great! I actually like both series equally. Though, I freakin' loved the 2nd b..."
The 2nd Tufa book was great... led to me reading the 3rd book a few days later... don't think the 3rd book was as good... the resolution wasn't as satisfying...
Brian wrote: "I bought the The Left Hand of God so let me know when your ready? Want to talk about it in here??"I can start when you do! =D
Want to start tonight?
I love Caine! AHHH He's a crazy mo-fo but magnificant!
Ok. I’ll start tmrw. Have family over tonight or I would start now. Happy Easter !
Happy Easter! I'll start tomorrow too. =) And we'll post here to keep it simple.
Mod
Unlike Soo, I really liked the non-Bob books, and the new perspectives they provided... being back with Bob, tho, I feel like alot is being done to hamper his Power Surge from overwhelming the story...
Typical bureaucracy ruining everything :D
I wonder how I'd feel about this story, if I didn't know the Desperate Measures taken by the end of the book...
On a side note, I'm really happy the Puroland novella is happening, given the comment about a kaiju in Asia keeping Bob from the previous 2 books...
I started Joe Ledger #5, Extinction Machine. That's some crazy tech the "FBI Agents" have. I'm also not liking that mind reader has competition.
Timelord Iain wrote: "I did it... I made it to The Delirium Brief... and it's the complete clusterfuck, I expected...Unlike Soo, I really liked the non-Bob books, and the new perspectives they provided..."
Let me know when the novella comes out. I'll read it with ya. =D
Narilka wrote: "I started Joe Ledger #5, Extinction Machine. That's some crazy tech the "FBI Agents" have. I'm also not liking that mind reader has competition."It's scary, right?!? Another Mind Reader computer out there. Eek!
Brian, I started Left Hand of God. Around the beginning and this story atmosphere is definitely strange & cultish.
I’m halfway through. The beginning was a bit strange for sure. Little disjointed but enjoyable.
Mod
Dark days, indeed... I can also vaguely see how/why the series is headed into it's endgame... there's only so much escalation left, before the Earth is a barren wasteland...
Brian, I'm going to finish the book today. I liked it much more once events got going. Though, he's one strange kid/teen!Iain, naaaaaaaaaaaah! Some other aliens or magic bigwigs will smash stuff so things are mostly normal and going. On Earth that is. lol
Brian wrote: "I’m halfway through. The beginning was a bit strange for sure. Little disjointed but enjoyable."Finished! I kinda wish that the fights and scenes towards the end had more page time. Let me know what you think about the story.
Hey Soo. I finished too. I’m really torn on the story. Some parts were good and had me intrigued while others I was bored. The book feels more like a set up for book 2 and your right the last battle could have been better. Decent read but not binge worthy.
Mod
Story/mystery was weak, character relationships were lacking/flat, and the MC was pretty TSTL at times... the knitting aspects were nice, but weird since the MC is pretty clueless about knitting, personally, and trying to run her undead grandmother's knitting store...
No plans to continue... somehow the series has like a dozen short books and some even shorter stories, tho...
Mod
Now I’ve jumped over to Nightwise, the RS Belcher series I also picked up on sale... seems like a good fit for Bronson Pinchot narration... always puts me in a commando mindset... Joe Ledger, Nathaniel Cade, etc...
Oh dear. Audible has a 2-for-1 credit sale going on now. I've seen at least one thing I've had my eye on. I might not be able to resist this time :)
Mod
And I’ll check out the sale later today...
Nice. I’m reading Brotherhood of the Wheel now. Good characters and decent story.
Mod
I really liked the Brotherhood of the Wheel...
Soo loved it, she re-read it like 3x during my read-through...
I just wish Belcher wrote more/faster and stuck to series a bit more?
How was Nightwise? I might have to jump on that too
Mod
This is a trait I associate with authors like China Mieville (an author I don't particularly care for)...
This story has an MC that's made some dubious choices (generally for better reasons than he attributes himself)...
I liked it, and plan to read the sequel... curious to see where the author goes with it...
Not everything that happens in this story is pretty, or paints the MC in a good light... but he's usually trying to do the right thing, the wrong way or through questionable means...
In the current Audible 2-for-1 sale, I got these:- Kill Process by William Hertling
- Blackwing by Ed McDonald
- Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
- Revenger by Alastair Reynolds
I'm only sure that Battle Royale will be worth the half credit. The other 3 are total maybes.
R.S. Belcher is one of my fav authors! The only series that he has written that I'm not crazy about was the weird western one and I still plan to finish it at some point. The stuff that Belcher pulls together for the stories make sense to me but that's because I was super into all myths, supernatural, religion, etc and he does a cool job of mixing all of that into a way that can be processed + be super weird.
=D
I wish he would writer faster too. I think he lives in western side of VA. At least, from what I read about him a year or two ago. Last year, I thought I saw he was going to have an Audible Original out and then nothing happened. So, not sure what's up with all that.
Left Hand of God #1 - It was an uneven story for sure! I liked how it was character focused but it lost me towards the end. Also, that ending was very abrupt. Almost a cliffhanger. It wasn't a good ending at all. I already have the books but it didn't make me want to jump immediately into the next one. I like Cale & his crew but the world seems pretty messed up and there's a lot that you just have to go with the flow in order to enjoy the story.
Emotionally, Cale & his friends should be super messed up! The oddest assassin cult ever! So the fact that they end up being good boys/teens is a nice spin.
I also finished Bones of the Past & it was good! Jam packed with a bunch of events but it was more fun than #1 for how things pulled together. The actual plot arc was like a cool but not too important backbone to the rest of the story developments. I kinda wish Hayes would write #3 sooner vs later. lol
Mod
Soo wrote: "In the current Audible 2-for-1 sale, I got these:- Kill Process by William Hertling
- Blackwing by Ed McDonald
- Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
- Revenger by Alastair Reynolds
I'm only sure tha..."
FWIW I couldn't stand the narrator for Revenger. You might want to listen to a sample before deciding.
For the record, getting older sucks. I managed to sprain my foot just walking in my house this morning. Had xrays to confirm I didn't break anything and I'm in the clear. Hurts like heck to move though.
Mod
Hurt feet are like the norm for me, these days... working on concrete floors causes strain... I wear a knee brace about 50% of the time these days, because my weight and foot pain-related walking leads to knee pain...
I'm ever on the hunt for the magical pair of shoes that can handle 8hrs on concrete and standing on a forklift... that are breathable...
Mod
- Kill Process by William Hertling
- Blackwing by Ed McDonald
- Battle Royale by Koushun Takami
- Revenger by Alastair Reynolds
I'm only sure tha..."
I picked up Master of Formalities and Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits... I've wanted to try David Wong for awhile... loved the John Dies at the End movie, and know he used to write for Cracked.com, something I perused in college, alot...
With these Audible sales, I struggle to find anything interesting and new... and tons of things I'd recommend to others from my past reading list...
The recommendations tend to be loaded with books I already read elsewhere, because I picked up 1-2 books in the series on Audible...
I struggle with some of these Audible sales too mostly because they tend to be a lot of first books in series and I'm already juggling enough. This one is different though. I have my eye on two books.
Mod
I'm a big Rachel Aaron fan, and this sale is another reason to recommend Heartstrikers, a series about the only nice dragon and his messed up family (and how they save the world)...
On a side note... it took me 14hrs to realize notifications are broken... AGAIN... stupid GR, breaking things all the time...
Narilka wrote: "For the record, getting older sucks. I managed to sprain my foot just walking in my house this morning. Had xrays to confirm I didn't break anything and I'm in the clear. Hurts like heck to move th..."Aw, that sucks but good news that nothing is broken. Light massages & using a resistance band to help move it will assist in blood circulation and healing.
You're totally right about the narrator for Revenger. Annoying! I started but didn't like the tone. I'll probably get to it by speeding it up more.
Iain, I recommend cross training tennis shoes for good support for your feet & walking around for work. Brands that work for me: Brooks, Merrell, New Balance, Nike, some Saucony & Sketchers. Brooks website has a test to help you decide what kind of shoe is best for you. Their shoes are expensive but you can luck out & find them on sale on Amazon/REI. Getting shoes from REI is great because of the great return policy for REI members.
If you have Amazon Prime, you could test out shoes with Amazon Wardrobe. REI has nice member sales twice a year and decent clearance through the year.
I've been on an insole hunt and really like Oboz insoles. They have been great overall support for my shoes I'm using to hike in.
Oboz also have their own brand of shoes but they're too big for me or I would try a pair because I like how well the insoles feel.
Heartstrikers was great! Only series by RA that I love. The rest of her books are mostly a miss for me.Since I'm hiking every day, I'm not chatting as much on GR. I'm updating my books & the tracker. lol I've been meaning to get caught up on my BR threads. That needs to happen.
Latest Cradle book, Bloodline #9, was good! Lots of action, uniting with old friends/family and a cool setup for the next big event.
About that. Urgent Care called me this morning. They got a second opinion on my xray and thought I had a fracture. I saw a specialist today. I definitely have a broken bone in my foot. They're ordering a CT scan to see if I'll need surgery :( I'm in a boot with orders to keep my weight off it and many follow ups in my future.This is my first broken bone. I admit it has me nervous.
Mod
I mean... without some serious trigger/pressure, it sounds like brittle bones or something...
The actual break/heal isn't too bad, usually... just what you said... I broke my toe at work 6 years ago...
Dropped one of these red bars pointy bit first on to my big toe... took 4-6 weeks to heal...
Timelord Iain wrote: "How did walking break a bone?... did you trip/fall/hit something with toe/foot?I mean... without some serious trigger/pressure, it sounds like brittle bones or something..."
My foot twisted under when I stepped down and apparently put most of my weight on it. I heard a loud crunch sound and it was followed by a lot of pain, which is why I went to urgent care. Amazingly I didn't fall, caught myself and then sat down to breathe through the pain. I'm amazed I didn't hurt the ankle joint at all.
It's a bone on the top of my foot that broke. There are a ton of tendons that keep the top of your foot together. The orthopedist speculated my bone gave out instead of ripping tendons. I'm really not sure which is worse and didn't ask.
Timelord Iain wrote: "Narilka wrote: "I struggle with some of these Audible sales too mostly because they tend to be a lot of first books in series and I'm already juggling enough. This one is different though. I have m..."I love Heartstrikers :) Have finished them all or would've picked that one up in the sale.
I'm eyeing Stuff and Nonsense based on one of your recommendations Iain and Warping Minds & Other Misdemeanors as a continuation in the Guild Codex world where I've enjoyed the main series.
And I just bought both. Here's hoping Warping Minds is as fun as the main series.
Timelord Iain wrote: "How did walking break a bone?... did you trip/fall/hit something with toe/foot?I mean... without some serious trigger/pressure, it sounds like brittle bones or something...
The actual break/heal..."
And that red bar looks heavy! That must have been painful.
Mod
DO IT... Stuff and Nonsense is one of the best books ever... the world needs more Teddybear Golems... Soo agrees...
Adorable +1
Adorable +1! =DNarilka, it's easier to heal the bone fracture than torn up tendons. With a fracture, you can stabilize it to heal. Tendons & muscles are a bit of a tossup. A fine line of needing to let it rest and working the muscles to retain elasticity, encourage growth, etc.
I had a broken bone from a car accident. I thought it was a sprain. Walked on it carefully & went about like normal for 3 weeks before going to doc to see what was the problem. It started healing on it's own but I needed surgery to pin it into place. Pin is still in my foot and limits the movement a bit. Made me less flexible in that one vs normal range of movement. I wasn't a fan of crutches. Had to use it for 6 weeks? Seems like 6-8 weeks is the normal healing frame for bones/etc.
Wishing you healing vibes!
Soo wrote: "Adorable +1! =DNarilka, it's easier to heal the bone fracture than torn up tendons. With a fracture, you can stabilize it to heal. Tendons & muscles are a bit of a tossup. A fine line of needing ..."
I am not a fan of crutches. My whole body aches adjusting to them. I think I'm going to look into a knee scooter this weekend so I have options. Took off the boot this afternoon and my god everything feels like it needs to stretch it was all so stiff. And bruised hah I was good though, just let it air a bit and put the boot back on. I slept with it on last night too for the stability.
Did you need physical therapy after?
Completely unrelated. I'm seeing a beta version of the Giveaways page now. It's... different.
Fantasy Buddy Reads
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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Charlie N. Holmberg (other topics)
Iain, Bledsoe makes you really CARE about the world and characters. It's great! I actually like both series equally. Though, I freakin' loved the 2nd book in Tufa.