RETIRED THREAD: Vagabond Treehouse Book Club Showing 1,651-1,700 of 2,932

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Nearing the end of Relentless... things are heating up towards the end, and seem to be heading down the rabbithole I kinda expected...

Kinda (view spoiler)[SHIELD vs HYDRA (hide spoiler)]

I didn't even try to follow the science behind R33 that was just explained... we've already seen it in action a couple times anyway, so I got the idea without the explanation...

I've kinda been getting exasperated with the re-explaining of Ledger's psyche... I think like every POV in the book has mentioned it at this point, including Joe himself...

And it seems awful convenient that (view spoiler)[Joe was relatively "Joe Normal" for the German prison break-in, after being barely cognizant of his actions for the first 2/3 of the book... except for the conversation with Toys he's practically been in a fever dream this whole book, based on earlier POV snippets... (hide spoiler)]

I honestly dunno how they're going to keep the world halfway functional after this book... but I feel that way with every Ledger book it seems like... just look at the big events of the past half dozen or dozen books... (view spoiler)[The Golden Gate Bridge... the baseball game drone attack... the Comic-Con zombie attack... the terrorist attack in Congress/DC... etc etc etc... (hide spoiler)]

If the last couple books are anything to go by, it's going to be a case of (view spoiler)[winning a battle, not doing much to turn the tide of the war... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I'll read Phule's Money soon...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

95%: Ok... uh... I'm finding this climax horrifyingly brilliant... classic Maberry taking a current events hot button topic and cranking it up to 11... and I didn't even really see it coming, despite the clues... (view spoiler)[I thought all the disparate tattoos and stuff was about having the right types of affiliations to fuel his wars/etc... but mashing them all together into the craziest news headline and killing all 55 governors?...

Feeds right into the fake news, grassroots vs astroturfing narrative that is rampant these days... nothing is sacred anymore... I didn't even know what astroturfing was until a couple years ago... I think the name is clever... a fake grassroots movement funded by opposition to push an agenda... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Re:Junie comment earlier: (view spoiler)[I honestly don't remember if Junie was confirmed dead in the previous book or heavily implied... sounds like a definite series finale moment, where they make you wait until the next season premiere to find out... (hide spoiler)]

Kouga (or however it's supposed to be spelled): (view spoiler)[it just came out that Kouga is Harcourt Bolton Sr., still alive and kicking... I can't remember how he supposedly died... or if we already were supposed to suspect or know they were one and the same... but on some level, I'm not surprised... Nicodemus isn't the only baddie that's miraculously survived multiple times throughout this series and the previous one... (hide spoiler)]

Mr. Sunday: forgot to mention this development earlier: (view spoiler)[seems like he's been setting up Kouga/Bolton up this whole book, so he can take over his criminal network with no hiccups... feeds even more into the feeling that Maberry is building an evil RTI organization... Church vs Sunday makes it even more on the nose than Church vs Kouga... also might mean we get more details on their supernatural natures (which I remember you don't particularly want/need... prefer it ambiguous)... (hide spoiler)]

96% now... so much has been going on that I've been rewinding a fair bit...

[Soo]

OOO

OK. I'll put my re-read of Relentless back on the current burner. It's just SO angry and I needed something less upsetting right now. There's a lot of unnecessary anger currently happening, and it was too much to add a fav story to the inferno of my life.

Audible's Out of This World sale is pretty freaking great! Has lots of first of series books, few whole series, etc. Great sale for SF. I mean, I already have most of them, but awesome for those who don't. I'm getting towards the end of the huge SF section.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I feel like I'm right back to my slump, outside of Vorkosigan Saga, the 2 Phule books we did (#3 doesn't sound promising), and Joe Ledger...

Tried a half dozen other books in my pile, and just called it a day... including Phule #3... I kinda wish Phule had resolved the casino already, instead of carrying it over into the next book...

Might finally do Warrior's Apprentice... or Alex Benedict... Gray Man sounds like a possible replacement for Orphan X stories in my rotation...

[Narilka]

That sale has sooo much to sift through.

Iain, book slumps suck. You'll get through it though.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I cast the magic spell and got my phone connected to my PC long enough to change all the books (lightning port is finicky, and I charge it in the kitchen now, so it's on a sturdy surface where the cord won't jostle, because it takes divine intervention to get the phone charging long enough for me to stop touching it and pray, these days... it's why I bought a new phone 2 months ago... but like the earbuds and controls of old phone more, sadly...

ANYWAY... whole new slew of books to finally try/get to... some have been gathering dust for over a year...

Danny Deadman spinoff from the Space Team series...
3rd Threadbare book...
Beginning of the Completionist Chronicles...
Beginning of Alex Benedict series...
Last couple Junkyard Pirate books...
Some DCI Logan books...
Warrior's Apprentice...
More T. Kingfisher...
Gideon the Ninth re-read, so I can read Harrow the Ninth and not be lost...
Manners and Monsters series...

And some books I refuse to give up on yet, and remove from my phone... Healer #3... Skulduggery Pleasant #8... Quantum Magician (halfway through already)...

Hopefully this staves off disinterest for another couple weeks... if it doesn't I might finally succumb to podcasts... because music hasn't been holding my interest lately, either...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Soo wrote: "OOO

OK. I'll put my re-read of Relentless back on the current burner. It's just SO angry and I needed something less upsetting right now. There's a lot of unnecessary anger currently happening, a..."

Missed these comments... think GR is being selective in notifications again...

Anyway, yea... I agree Relentless is super dark... too dark, if it wasn't a fave series... ending played out about how I expected...

Also agree about the sale... I still need to look through it all... most sales are a matter of finding the good stuff... this time it's about finding the stuff I haven't read yet... it's a very nice sale...

[Soo]

Where are you on Junkyard Pirates? I think I read up to #3. If you're going to do #4, let me know.

You should check out Dungeon Crawler Carl series. The first book took a while for things to settle but it was solid setup to series. I listened to the #1-3 and have #4 loaded to read on KU. Though, I'll probably just wait until audio. Haha

[Brian]

I enjoyed all the Gray Man Novels Timelord. The first one especially. I am down to BR whatever and can purchase some of those sale SciFi ones if necessary. sciFi has always been my least fav of fantasy until you two introduced me to Space Team.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Soo wrote: "Where are you on Junkyard Pirates? I think I read up to #3. If you're going to do #4, let me know.

You should check out Dungeon Crawler Carl series. The first book took a while for things to settl..."

I need to read #3 first, then we can read #4+...

Need to add Dungeon Crawler Carl to the pile... I think you recommended it before, when I was looking for something in a specific style of LitRPG, and said it was better than the other option...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Brian wrote: "I enjoyed all the Gray Man Novels Timelord. The first one especially. I am down to BR whatever and can purchase some of those sale SciFi ones if necessary. sciFi has always been my least fav of fan..."

Of my current list of books, Danny Deadman, Alex Benedict, and Junkyard Pirates are scifi... I've already read the first few Junkyard Pirate books tho... Locked Tomb is sci-fi too, but the plotting is complicated (Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth), making it harder to recommend...

Planning to dig through the Audible sale after work today...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

A Talent for War has been good so far (Alex Benedict #1)… heard it described as a mystery mashed with a space opera… kinda feels like Sherlock in space to me… with his uncle dead, he’s suddenly wealthy enough to investigate things of interest, and he has a roboWatson to do busywork like sift through 1100 books for a clue…

[Narilka]

Notifications are definitely busted again. Good thing the discussion feature still works.

[Soo]

>.< LOL For the past few months, I only refresh this page to see if we're chating. Otherwise, I'm just updating my books & taking a look at my main feed page.

I have a HUGE cart from the current Audible sale. A good list of maybe tabs too. Going to narrow it down and post what I get in a few hours. =)

There are lots of awesome selections on this sale. I kinda hope they do it again at some point. Audible must have good sales from the last $5-ish sale and decided to do it again.

[Soo]

If you're in the mood for a change of pace, try this comic: Omniscient Reader.

https://www.webtoons.com/en/action/om...

I'm around Ep14 and I like it! It's a bit like LitRPG & Portal fantasy with character profiles and abilities. Action/Survival plot. Already had a few fun twists. =D

I love the artwork and tight storyline.

[Brian]

I recommend I’m Glad You’re Dead. These books have been a pleasant surprise. Free on KU, funny but still pretty dark in some spots. Blain is a good writer who writes humor similar to Space Team

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Soo wrote: ">.< LOL For the past few months, I only refresh this page to see if we're chating. Otherwise, I'm just updating my books & taking a look at my main feed page.

I have a HUGE cart from the current ..."

I have notifications set as my homepage, so whenever it breaks it's annoying... but I definitely do like 50% of my commenting in this thread...

And don't even get me started on my rating/review backlog... if I ever get 100% caught up, it'll be a miracle...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Took most of 3 hours to go through all 60 pages of the sale... saw tons of great books on there I'd recommend to other people... found 16 I'm interested in... had to be pretty ruthless in winnowing the herd...

Checked Hoopla and found 3 available there... now I need to see if I really want everything I picked...

These are the books I carted:

The Wrong Dead Guy
A Blade So Black
A Peculiar Peril
(those 3 are on Hoopla)

After On
Phoenix Unbound
Fostering Faust
The Present
Screw The Galaxy
The Synchronicity War Part 1
In Times Like These
The Sidekicks Initiative
Time Salvager
Will Save the Galaxy for Food
Will Destroy the Galaxy for Cash
A Gift of Time
Medusa Uploaded

As you can see, my list veers heavily towards sci-fi and time travel, with some other books thrown in for interest, or for being by known authors, like the Sidekick one by Barry Hutchison... and a Harem series apparently...

[Soo]

I'm going to make my final decisions! I don't know how you were able to go through all that in 3 hours. I think I spent at least 5 looking & checking. HAHAHAH

Still not done.

Also, listened to 2 prequel short/novels for series that are one sale. One was a dude. The other one was good & planning to get the first book.

Will list when I'm done. Hopefully be done by 8pm! LOL

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Soo wrote: "I'm going to make my final decisions! I don't know how you were able to go through all that in 3 hours. I think I spent at least 5 looking & checking. HAHAHAH

Still not done.

Also, listened to ..."

I made alot of snap decisions, based on cover, blurb, and the top review in the popup... and just kinda leaned away from certain genres... helped that I think I've read 5-10 pages of the sale... now I kinda want to go back and count...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Did a recount... 118 read before... 5-10 owned and waiting to read... and then the stuff I just picked up or favorited on Hoopla...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Started Completionist Chronicles… kinda like Awaken Online, without the sinister overtones… which is my least favorite aspect of that series anyway…

At first I was confised, since it seemed like Elon Misk was the MC, but that ended up just being an alt-history backstory for the AI/MMO…

Also, the MC’s class/profession has the potential to be super OP… at least in the beginning he has to be creative to survive the puny starting stats… and that doesn’t even touch on the Pay2Win aspect of starting with such a crazy amount of in-game currency…

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Bad typing fingers wrote a bunch of Us as Is… Confused… Elon Musk… etc…

[Soo]

I <3 Completionist Chronicles! Even if it's frustrating at certain points! It has a broad range of simple & complex systems in play for the story. Nice dose of humor and you'll get a mix of totally goofball silly to woah that's dark. =D

I'm currently listening to Artorian's Archives. It's set within the same world as Divine Dungeon & CC. Artorian is co-written and I enjoyed the first book, but the 2nd one totally turned me off. Good thing I wrote a few notes or I would have forgotten. I had labeled the whole series as a No Go. I had listened to #1 and tried to read #2. Reading was not the route to go. Too many editing errors & the story arc wasn't as engaging.

I think it was 2/3 Audible sales ago when a bunch of series were on sale for cheaper. I got all the books during that sale.

On re-read, #1 was great. #2 on audio is better but eh. Books are ok but the storytelling is sloppy & sort of all over the place. Pretty sure that Dennis Vanderkerken is the one writing most of it and Dakota goes in to help. I feel like a lot of the ideas are Dakota's and DV doesn't know how to execute the stories/characters like DK can.

I think it was in #3 that tied in directly to Divine Dungeon and I gained more interest. lol In a lot of ways, this Artorian series 50/50 on micro world aspects and macro world aspects. All of the concepts are fun, but you have to be into getting into the nitty gritty details to really enjoy the process. Overall, good but the uneven pacing/writing makes it a solid 3 star in audio format vs 4 stars great.

Audible Sale I've been having odd internet issues for the past few weeks. Yesterday was another frustrating day of rebooting network. I ended up making a mobile hotspot and finialized my Audible purchases that way. Will come back & write up what I got. It's a mix of new, getting series I've started & want to finish, love the series & getting audio and found cheap KU/Audio deals so why not try.

I was amused by how some of the books were categorized and showed up in several genres and others were totally mis-categorized. lol

Totally took out of the cart books that I knew would go on sale again. Like most Heinlein books end up on sales at some point. Lots of great series #1 book or whole thing were on sale too.

[Soo]

Well, I had planned on a short hike but had to change plans.

Here's what I got in the Out of This World Sale:

- #1-2 Word & the Void series by Terry Brooks, UF
Already read #1 & want to read the rest of the series.

- A Peculiar Peril by Jeff VanderMeer, UF/SF
He writes weird really well.

- #1-2 Firemane Saga by Raymond E. Feist, Epic Fantasy
I loved Feist growing up. He has several series written within the same world and I want to re-read my favs and dive into the other series.

- Unconquerable Sun #1 by Kate Elliott, YA SF
I like Elliott a lot, but not sure if I'll love this one.

- A History of What Comes Next by Sylvain Neuvel, SF
I enjoyed the other series & shorts by the author. I'm banking that this will be as entertaining.

- #1-3 Bridei Trilogy by Juliet Marillier, Fantasy
Good author & series I've had in my TBR forever.

- Thirteen by Richard K. Morgan, SF
Action & gritty is what I expect from the author of Takeshi Kovacs. =)

- The Gates by John Connolly, UF
I like/love most of JC's work.

- Across the Nightingale Floor #1 by Lian Hearn, Asian Action/Drama
Had my eye on this for a while. Hope it's a good Asian story.

- Conquest #1 by John Connolly & Jennifer Ridyard, YA SF
Should be a fun, YA alien invasion.

- Blue Moon Rising #1 by Simon R. Green, Fantasy
A different take on fairytale style prince & quests. Should be fun.

- Tinker #1 by Wen Spencer, UF/Steampunk
I remember WS being a good author for stories with whimsy + action.

- Dark Intelligence by Neal Asher, SF/Time Travel
Asher is supposed to be a fun SF writer.

- Invasive by Chuck Wendig, UF/SF
Totally expecting Wendig to make me hate and love the plot. lol

- Faerie Tale by Raymond E. Feist, Fantasy

- In the Region of the Summer Stars #1 by Stephen R. Lawhead, Action/History
I read a bunch of his books as a kid & he's great with using lore/history.

- Mount Fitz Roy #2 by Scott Sigler, Popcorn Thriller
It will be a total popcorn, ridiculous story. I wouldn't pay regular credit or normal price, but a sale price is good for movie-action cheese fun.

Unknowns & Taking a Chance
- The Bard's Blade
- Three
- Barsk: The Elephants' Graveyard
- Ninth City Burning
- An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors
- The Robots of Gotham
- A Sellsword's Compassion (Prequel short is on Audible + & it was good.)
- The Dragon Waiting

Got cheap on KU/Audio Discount
- #1-2 Legacy of the Aldenata by John Ringo

Read & Want to Re-read by Audio
- Lord Valentine's Castle by Robert Silverberg
- #1-2 Fitz and the Fool Trilogy by Robin Hobb
TONS of the Hobb's books were on the sale & I wanted them ALL. I've read the books but haven't read #3. I bought the audiobook for #3 a while back but held off on listening to it. I'll probably re-read #1-2 and dive into #3 this year. Fitz & the Fool books are part of my favs by Hobb. Grew up reading these books throughout my life. =D

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Soo wrote: "I <3 Completionist Chronicles! Even if it's frustrating at certain points! It has a broad range of simple & complex systems in play for the story. Nice dose of humor and you'll get a mix of totally..."

From what I've read of Ritualist, DK seems like a solid author... I'm pretty wary of cowritten work in general, when it's clear co-writing is being done to expand a known literary universe/etc... usually uneven in my limited experience... more open when it's a new collaborative work because authors want to write together, etc...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Soo wrote: "Well, I had planned on a short hike but had to change plans.

Here's what I got in the Out of This World Sale:

- #1-2 Word & the Void series by Terry Brooks, UF
Already read #1 & want to read the..."

Peculiar Peril looks like the only overlap between us... alot of the stuff you picked up, I avoided...

I'm way behind on Hobb... still back in the Rain Wild series...

Hopefully you like Lisa Hearn... we tried BRing the series a few years ago using Hoopla... most of us liked the first book, but the series went downhill fast with the followups, and we all quit after book 2-3...

[Soo]

- Across the Nightingale Floor #1 by Lian Hearn

I think that was $5? So, if I like that one, cool. I think my library has the others. I can borrow vs using credits.

I got over 40 books and spent less than $250 with tax. That's a good deal for audiobooks. I am totally a fan of sales. =D

I'm almost caught up to the latest episode for Omniscient Reader. I'm gonna be bummed when I read them all and then have to wait for releases to come out. lol

I wonder if there's another one that's as good? The plot line for this one is great and I love the art.

[Soo]

I'm down to BR Peculiar Peril later. I'm sure it'll be a weird, dark and funky tale.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Soo wrote: "I'm down to BR Peculiar Peril later. I'm sure it'll be a weird, dark and funky tale."

looks like Jessica also picked it up... she listed her haul in Random Chatter...

[Soo]

I'm on a comic kick for reading and I caught up on Omniscient Reader. I really like the art & plot in OR! It's really good! If there was an anime, I'd watch it too. =D

I started The Advanced Player of the Tutorial Tower (weblink). Guy got stuck in the training tower for 12 years. He did a lot of weird stuff to get out. Hopefully, the reason why he was "cursed" to stay in the tower will be explained. This one has a lot of action, and really funny! Mostly because the MC is oblivious/obnoxious, but not in "bad" guy manner. The training tower has 99 levels. I think he beat the whole thing by "dance" fighting once. Just to see if he could. Hahahaha! He beat the whole tower multiple times and tried all sorts of "how to beat it and get out" experiments.

[Soo]

*looks at huge audiobook purchases from last few months*

Well, I can say that I've listened to a good chunk of the audiobooks I've gotten. =D

I need to make a bigger whack at my To Listen pile before having another whirlwind of "OH LOOKIE SALES!". I am such a dork! lol

I'm sorta regretting not having a Graphic Novel checkbox on my Tracker, but there's no guarantee that I'll keep reading comics. It's more likely something I'll do in phases. I hate waiting for weekly releases.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Soo wrote: "*looks at huge audiobook purchases from last few months*

Well, I can say that I've listened to a good chunk of the audiobooks I've gotten. =D

I need to make a bigger whack at my To Listen pile b..."

If you're allowed to count webcomics, just divide the pagecount by 4 or 10... I think it's 4... check the Year Rules...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I finished Ritualist... I liked how much was resolved in the first book... I kinda expected the climax of the first book to be a threat that dragged on for 2-3 books, at first...

Started the 2nd book already, and like the crew of new weirdos assembled by the MC...

And Vikas Adams is a great narrator, too... listened to him read Heartstrikers and some other stuff...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Paused Regicide around 40%... plot has been veering into the darker aspects of Awaken Online that I compared it to... I miss the party from the first book... and MC seems to be slowly succumbing to the darker aspects of the world?... alot of his actions have bud unintended consequences, it seems... hasn't been treating his new party that great either...

I did some wiki hunting, and I'm unsure how I feel about the big changes coming to the plot, either... sounds like book 5 is a Reset Button?...

[Soo]

I don't recommend reading spoilers for the series. It'll ruin the experience. Though, it sounds like you kinda did that already. Did you read Rexus? That's novella length, but hilarious addition to the series.

Regicide has a lot crammed into it. Technical details about the game world, various politics and Joe has to really figure out how to be part of a group, lead his rituralists and be a part of a larger team. Not his strong points. lol

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I didn't spoil too much, beyond blurbs and friend reviews... the wiki is kinda lacking... half my time was spent trying to see how all the series connected... I realized that when I saw the wiki was called the CAL wiki, and that the MC of the Divine Dungeon series was Cal...

[Soo]

There are lots of ways the series cross each other. Characters that show up between the series. The way dungeons work is a staple that is true throughout all series. A lot of the insider story jokes spin off of Divine Dungeon and show up in Completionist, Artorian, etc. There was a big snafu with narration change and a snarky comment about that showed up in the next book in either Divine Dungeon or Completionist. I can't remember now.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Yea... I also saw the narration switched from Vikas Adams to Luke Daniels...

I like Luke Daniels, too, but he does alot of deeper, masculine military-type stories... probably change the feel of the books a bit, even if it matches Joe better...

Think he did Terms of Enlistment

[Soo]

The change of voices was a bit weird the first time I listened to it, but I'm used to it now. I've re-listened to CC a bunch of times and did at least one run on DD. Currently working on Artorian's Archives. It's a mixed bag on the writing. I can tell when DK had more of a hand in the writing than not. Though, story elements and characters are still important to the overall world and big story arc. Took a break from AA. Listening to a variety of stuff.

New Andrea Vernon book is out. =D Excited to throw that into my rotation for humor + heroes.

[Soo]

Yesterday, I missed getting sunset by 3 min. This is the mini collage of the start of sunset & after sunset with a moon shot.



07/14 - 2:33am Posing with Milky Way. I can't decide if it's Milkyway like the candybar or Milky Way. Hahahhaha

I've gone out for about several astrophotograpny jaunts and my shots are improving! It's cool to note.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Finally re-read Warrior's Apprentice yesterday...

I basically forgot the entire book, altho it came back to me a bit...

The book I though started the Miles Vorkosigan Saga, is the next book, which starts with (view spoiler)[Miles on some ice planet in officer training as "punishment" for his actions in THIS book (hide spoiler)]

Oh, well... all caught up tho, for when you/we continue...

[Soo]

lol Did you like the re-read? I have the Vor Game set to read when you guys are ready to roll.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Yea... always fun watching Miles spin lemons into lemonade...

I've kinda loaded myself up on half-finished books and things I want to read... so not sure when I'll have time for the next book...

[Soo]

No hurry. Ya'll let me know when you're ready to go with the next book. If I feel the urge to read it sooner, I'll post when I do that.

[Soo]

- I got this because it's written by the same author of the Dungeon Crawler Carl. It was much better than I expected! 4 rough stars. Good narration, great characters and moving plot. Lots of action and totally lands in the LitRPG-Horror genre cross. Game mechanics are very light. The story was good. Author could have tweaked a few things to make them flow better, but I tend to think that in general.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I read the blurb before at some point… sounds like a LitRPG of The Perfect Game… that old story about hunting humans for sport… kinda…

[Soo]

I didn't pay much attention to the blurb. Just listened to the sample & the first few lines of blurb. It stayed on my radar because of the other books I had read by the author. At this point, I've read most of them. He's a promising author in ideas, etc. Just needs to work on characterizations, plot flow & tone. Which, it's obvious he has been working on from the differences in each series/books. =)