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RETIRED THREAD: Vagabond Treehouse Book Club
message 1601:
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Narilka
(new)
Jul 10, 2021 01:26PM
I read the Myth series years ago. I remember it being pretty entertaining.
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Phule's CompanyI did the calculations, and it costs more to buy the ebooks for audio discount. I'm going to get them as book by book basis. Probably end up getting them all with credits. lol
I finished the book and it was good! It had a Mash/A-Team vibe that I enjoyed. Great example of a story not using a lot of descriptors, but still be engaging by having active scenes. You get the picture by dialogue or action.
I bought the 2nd book & ready to roll when you guys are. *thumbs up*
This is the kind of story I would recommend for people that say stuff like, "I don't like reading descriptions about how ___ looks/etc." Whereas, I'm like, if I'm reading a fictional story, I like having descriptions about people/place/etc. It's when it overwhelms the story or seems like bloated text that I don't like it.
I’ll read book two as well. I just started the Warrior’s Apprentice and am down to BR a that series as well.
Woohoo! I've never listened to the Miles books. So, that'll be a new experience for me. =DI'll start Warrior's Apprentice today after I finish Deep Silence. Near the end of that one.
Phule is great because he does a weird mix of commerce & team building. Sneaky in a good way. Haha
I read 5 Webtoons and currently reading an English translation of a rom-com. Kinda torn on the whole style of the comic panels and it's weird the way it's changing due to online exposure, etc. Interesting but not necessarily good? It's like they're all learning how to make more of an impact with less panels and words. Mix of good and bad on that.
Also, it's interesting to read how many of the artists hire on help to do the coloring/etc. I'm the do it all myself type and used to that in my artist friends. Hiring help makes sense though! Especially if you try to release once or twice a week. Some are better at having a story arc than others.
I'm getting my romance/comedy/Asian-drama style fix with the webcomics. Yay! Though I may see what there is to watch on Netflix. Maybe... The time-consuming factor is a detractor for me.
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Early on, I wasn't sure about the Captain Phule, given his actions pre-story for the setup, but it seemed a bit like a fluke... just overzealous to be helpful... seemed much more thoughtful in his actions throughout the rest of the story, for the most part...
I'll catch up for Warrior's Apprentice soon... feel free to get started...
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I'll start Warrior's Apprentice today after I finish Deep Silence. Near the end of that one.
Phule is g..."
Grover Gardner is a good narrator for the series...
Very good narrator. Fast talker tho, had to slow it down a bit
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Narrators definitely vary... I slowed down Phule's Company a bit... it's nice that Audible is so granular... other audiobook players force bigger jumps at higher speeds...
Grover is great. =) I think he's the narrator for most of the Vorkosigan series. When I went to read "all" the books in the series, I caught up by audiobook. I think I did most of the short stories too. I'm in the middle of Warrior's Apprentice. Miles is great! I love the way he works out problems and isn't afraid to throw himself into each "plan". lol
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Brian, where are you in Warrior's Apprentice? I'm at one part that has me cracking up! (view spoiler)
Wee~ The re-read was great! Grover is a good narrator and the story works well in audio format. All of the things that I love about Miles are evident in the first book. I like how he has a great family and the way he doesn't think that he's super anything. Miles is really smart but he doesn't think of himself that way because it is what he is.
I started Dire Saga. It's a bit odd but I figure things will settle down. The way Dire refers to herself in third person is weird, but not so strange that it's a total kick you out of the story weird.
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I think the reason she does it is explained in the 3rd book?... can't remember, haven't re-read it yet...
Soo wrote: "Brian, where are you in Warrior's Apprentice? I'm at one part that has me cracking up! [spoilers removed]"
I'm only about 2 hours in right now. Pretty good so far.
Finished Warrior's Apprentice. Pretty decent story but found my interest waning a bit until the end. Are we reading Phule's Company book 2 soon Soo? Or the next one of Volks?
I got Phule's paradise from Libby so I am going to start it. No rush if you can't
I have Phule's Paradise and I can start it tomorrow. =)Currently wrapping up Rage (Joe Ledger) and the new book #2 comes out tomorrow! =D
Woot!
Warrior's Apprentice: What did you enjoy? Why did it seem less interesting towards the end?
That part was the setup for the next book.
Soo wrote: "I have Phule's Paradise and I can start it tomorrow. =)Currently wrapping up Rage (Joe Ledger) and the new book #2 comes out tomorrow! =D
Woot!
Warrior's Apprentice: What did you enjoy? Why did..."
I enjoyed the set up and recruitment of misfits. Could be my mood but it seemed to drag on a bit (although I am kinda in a reading slump). The end was good and I will def continue the series. Although I am still confused as to which book to read next
Ok I will start Phule #2 tmrw as well
Brian wrote: "Ok I will start Phule #2 tmrw as well"For Vorkosigan Saga, I plan to read The Vor Game next. The next couple of books are on Audible +. =D
Phule's Paradise: LOL So, I keep thinking of Phule's Company as the military version of the A-Team. Anyone else making similar comparisons? I just started it. Probably be done by end of day. Right now, I'm listening to a story at home and a different one for hiking/out of house. Switching it up to keep it interesting. =D
After an extended break, I finally started hiking again. I hate that I lost most of my progress in the last month & half. I need to rebuild stamina, muscles, lose fat, etc all over again. Laaaaaaaaaaaaame! But, better to do it than not. This time around, I don't have to experiment with shoes as much. So, less likely to get injuries due to not so great for me footwear.
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Finished Barrayar yesterday, and enjoyed it on re-read... kinda nice that I forgot so much...
Planning to re-read Warrior's Apprentice soon, too... since Audible+ has some of the short stories, Mountains of Mourning and Weatherman go between Warrior's Apprentice and Vor Game, if you care... if I remember, Mountains of Mourning is a framing story with Miles recounting events while recovering in hospital... not sure about Weatherman...
https://www.goodreads.com/series/9825...
Looks like you guys are doing some hybrid pub/chrono ordering... Vor Game is next for me after Warrior Apprentice, in chrono order... so I'll be ready for that too, sooner than later...
Will have to make time for Joe Ledger release... I knew it was approaching, but not when...
came out today! =D Woo!Not sure when the next book in the series will come out. Maberry has started a fantasy series and that should be coming out later this year or early next year. I like that he's keeping himself engaged by doing different projects. I have a few of his standalone books tagged to pick up at some point. They probably aren't as good as Joe, but I consider the Ledger books to be his best with a few other series lining up well after.
I took a look at the chronological & publication list for Vorkosigan Saga. I decided that I'm going to read the Miles books in chronological order. Those are the ones I loved the most and wanted to get reacquainted with. The other books I read more recently & not as interested.I like everything in the series, but some books are better than others. I think that it's hard for people to follow the different styles & plot points that some of the books take without having a good grounding on Miles' family & setting. Once that is developed, it's easy to appreciate & enjoy the other range of story types.
A lot of Miles' stories are a mix of intellect, politics & shenanigans. Other stories are about species, politics, big life change (slice of life in space), undercover hijinks, etc. It's not always action and I think that's a derailment for some people. Whereas, I think of the series as a great mix of experiences that are out in a made up galaxy. Mix of action, drama, humor and relatable emotions.
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Well... I like/liked it...
Probably better if you understand/expect the stories to follow Miles/his family/friends, rather than expect them all to tell a similar type of story... then again, I guess most series focus on forcing a story type, even when it stretches credulity that one small town had 50 murders...
Kind of like how the MCU tells superhero stories, but merges them with other genres of movies/stories... spy thriller, comedy, simple action, etc...
With Miles, I think the early years have more action... and the the later years have him forced to deal with the politics more, and eventually finding romance/family of his own...
The newest books, that focused on the mom again were kinda the biggest non-sequitur for me...
Phule's ParadiseThat was fun! I liked the out of the box ways that Phule went to work on the "assignment" and enjoyed seeing the crew taking on initiative and getting stuff done in their own quirky manners.
So far, the series is a mix of MASH/A-Team/Leverage of TV shows. =D
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I'm halfway through as well. U really like this series and am excited to continue series.
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I thought you were waying I really like this series... I do... and so do U ;)
Goodreads has been wonky today and I'm not fan of the captcha to post reviews. Lame!I have #3 for Phule's Company to go. How about start that one in a few days? What ya'll think?
Phule's Paradise: This is obvious before midpoint but I'll put in spoiler tag anyways. (view spoiler)
We need to talk about the butler when ya'll are done. lol
I'm game. Should be done by tonight or latest tmrw morning
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I have #3 for Phule's Company to go. How about start that one in a few days? What ya'll think?
Phule's Paradi..."
Captcha to post reviews?... THAT'S their great idea to try and cut down on paid/bot reviews?
Goodreads HAS been buggy lately... yesterday I saw the error screen and slow load times a couple times... thought notifications were broken again earlier this week, but I think it was just a slow day...
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I have #3 for Phule's Company to go. How about start that one in a few days? What ya'll think?
Phule's Paradi..."
He's his own worst enemy... (view spoiler)
Well......a Phule and his Money was a disappointment to me. Boring is an understatement. Basically a story about building a theme park????? I did read that the author suffered from some severe writer's block for 7 years and this was the first book after. I felt the pacing was off and the often humorous antics were missing.
On a positive note I still like the characters and will continue. I am waiting for audio on Libby app and says avail in 10 days or so. I am gonna start Relentless and get my action fix until the next one.
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Gray Man #10? (your link), or Rogue Team International #2?
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Also kinda forgot how queasy his evil bad guy flashbacks can get in showing horrible stuff in gruesome detail
I’m kinda worried how (view spoiler)
Audible convinced me to update the app today and I regret it… had to restart phone to get book to keep playing with screen turned off, and if I pause I need to turn phone on to unpause… controls don’t start back up correctly… don’t think apple supports reverting downloads…
Boo on Phule's #3 being boring! I'll put that into my rotation to read.Relentless #2 - May be the darkest Joe Ledger story to date. I've actually listened to it already but I'm going into it for round two because I wasn't in the right mood for the story.
The flashbacks are standard Maberry for the series. I've never really been a fan of it. He doesn't do it in a way that makes a lot of sense. *shrug* I just got used to it being Maberry's style.
(Don't read the spoiler unless you've read up to Rage in Joe Ledger.)
The weird thing for me is that I was pretty sure (view spoiler)
Audible's latest sale has good books on it. I already own most of them. HehWhat do you guys think of Seaborn by Michael Livingston? It's newish and doesn't have a lot of reviews yet. I listened to the sample and I will definitely need to speed up narration. GR listing for the book is useless. Doesn't even have the story blurb.
I'm thinking about leaving it on the Wish List and waiting for more books to come out. $5 is a good price for an audiobook, but not sure if I want to go into unknown author without more books published in the series.
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Gray man #10. Pretty good so far. Not as good as Evan Smoak (Orphan X) but enjoyable so far.
Because of the sale, Extinction Trilogy came back across my radar. You can get the bundled KU & buy the trilogy for $7.49. I read the first book & it was good thriller popcorn. Getting all three books for $8 is a good deal. =)Extinction Series
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I finished Phule's Paradise the other day, and really enjoyed it... great to see the team flowering, so to speak...
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EDIT: I guess this is what Soo was talking about?... the context made me think she meant a KU sale...
EDIT 2: I missed Soo's post from a few hours ago... apparently we were typing at the same time and posted a minute apart...
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Still looking at the genres tho...
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At first I about had a heart attack, before I realized the bill was clumped and included the cyst already...
All in all, the cyst removal wasn't much more expensive than getting a tooth crowned, and the clumped bill was alot less than the useless endoscopy I got for my stomach problems a couple years ago (that wouldn't have been such a waste if my stomach didn't get 6 weeks to heal, waiting for the procedure, I think... just kept to a strict rice and chicken and broccoli/etc diet at the time... some green tea...)
Should be smooth sailing for awhile... as long as my local medical options resolve their dispute with my insurance company... at the moment there's a possibility 90% of local medical options will be out-of-network starting in November... but the negotiations look promising, from what I hear... not resolving it would hurt 100,000 patients...
Health insurance in the US has gone bonkers. It's not a good deal for most people. Good to hear that you're doing well! =)
I read Phule's & His Money #3 last night. I think the author tried to cram too many clever things into the story. I felt like the author would skip from one event into the next without a decent setup or transition. I think the strengths for the books are the dialogue & quirky stuff the whole company + Phule does during their assignments. It had a little bit of that in this one but the focus was more on summarized events/stuff and hopping all over the place. I know the series is suppose to be a haha fun one but all the stuff that happened in the first two books were somewhat plausible. It was too quirky-wacko in #3. I did like half of what happened though. Great concepts. Not always the best execution.
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