Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion
Archive [Retired Book Clubs]
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RETIRED THREAD: Vagabond Treehouse Book Club
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I remember one reviewer finding this author funnier than Scalzi...
This book definitely feels like a cross between Agent to the Stars and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy...
The MC is approached by aliens because the universe is in megadebt to Earth for copyright infringement/piracy of music, and it kicks off a series of events where some aliens think it would be simpler to just destroy Earth and nullify the debt... lawyer MC ends up visiting some other planets, being on alien reality TV, etc etc (haven't finished yet)...
That one is in my tbr. I didn't get it because it's short. Hoping that the library will pick it up. =DLet me know what you think when you finish.
Mod
Cool! I'm going to recommend it to my library. hehehe =D
Brian, remember how we planned to BR House of Earth and Blood? I'm listening to it now and I don't think you'll like it. lol =DAbort! Hahahah
Have you tried reading it?
I'll listen to the end and see where it goes, but this is not a well written/plotted book.
Soo wrote: "Brian, remember how we planned to BR House of Earth and Blood? I'm listening to it now and I don't think you'll like it. lol =DAbort! Hahahah
Have you tried reading it?
I'll lis..."
I tried it and returned it to Audible after a few chapters. Was not for me
LOL good move! Talk about wannabe dark, broody, outcast main character that isn't actually much of anything but a spoiled brat in rebellion. I do think the different types of race/people are cool: werewolves, fairy, angels, demon, vampires and more.
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Abort! Hahahah
Have you tried reading it?
I'll lis..."
SJMaas seems to be a highly divisive author... super popular, but equally reviled for her plotting by people who don't like certain romantic plot devices...
I've never read any of her books, because I'm very picky in my books with romantic plots these days, but I've considered a couple times over the years...
Brian wrote: "So I have you read The Variant Saga?"I haven't started that one yet. Wanna start?
Iain, SJM is okay writer. She's definitely a YA author. House of Earth & Blood is supposed to be an adult fantasy, but it reads like a YA novel in pacing, portrayal and writing. The reasoning/actions in the story are things I'm more likely to read in a romance.
Mod
The more popular one is A Court of Thorns & Roses. I read the first two of Throne of Glass, that's the assassin series. It didn't make enough of an impression. I have #2 tagged to re-read. That was the year I was going to write a review for every book I read. Hahaha-- Then I got busy with other stuff and didn't review them all.
I can't see any 20 year old cursing with "Alphaholes". LOL That's one of the main slang/curse terms in House of Earth & Blood. Have to say that the narration is fine, but hearing it just makes the whole story sound more YA.
Timelord Iain wrote: "Soo wrote: "Brian, remember how we planned to BR House of Earth and Blood? I'm listening to it now and I don't think you'll like it. lol =DAbort! Hahahah
Have you tried reading i..."
Sure, I can squeeze it in. I own all four and have been sitting on them for a long time. Iain have you read them too?
Iain, the Variant Saga is the series bundle on Audible. Do you have it? We can BR. Easy peasy pace is fine with me. =DWebtoon does a nice job of making variety of comics that keep me interested. I like both of these new ones:
- Teenage Mercenary: Looks like the kid grew up learning how to fight in Middle East. He rescued some soldiers and help him to get back to S. Korea. Now he's learning to be a regular teen and live with his family. Love the art. Good mix of drama & action.
- Villain to Kill: Has superheros. MC was a good superhero that was framed & killed. Comes back in the body of a "potential to bring the apocalypse" bad guy. Lots of action and comedic anime style humor.
Due to the current Audible sale, I am now listening to I am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes. My library had it. =)
Mod
I know this series has always been unusual, but I feel like it's lost what little military focus it had in the first one... I didn't mind the shift in the 2nd one, but minded more in this one...
It wasn't as coherent and fun due to content like #1-2. I'm hoping #4 will be good though!
Mod
I saw your review of Quantum Magician, and have to agree... my favorite aspect of the story was the first half... reminded me of assembling the ensemble in The Palace Job
I'm almost done now, and have lost track of the MC's plans and counterplans and real plans to steal the time machine...
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By the point I got to the end of Quantum Magician, I didn't care. lol Too much hype for a so-so plot. Jaxon is hilarious! I love the way stats have a big impact with the characters and story. Usually, character stats comes across as fluffy info. Something you just take for granted. So it's nice to read a story where it's not pounded into your head what the stats are and still shows how it affects the world.
Also, the way Joe gets powered up is cool because the way he does it doesn't come across as though everything was handed to him.
Mod
Jaxon is hilarious! I love the way stats have a big impact with the characters and story. Usu..."
Most of Joe's power comes from playing the game differently that everyone else, and being an early adopter... kinda like events in early WoW and pre-WoW MMOs... like the Silithus desert stuff leading up to the launch of Ahn Qiraj raids... they recreated it a bit with Classic, but it was kinda warped by people prefarming for weeks, because they knew the goals ahead of time...
And yea... the way Jaxon is suffering for the super low charisma by having a subliminal audio filter is pretty cool... he doesn't even understand why people think he's creepy, lol... because he's not saying creepy stuff, it's just being translated that way because his charisma is adysmal, in favor of chiropractic stats... OOF...
Current Audible Sale has 2 days left. Here's what I got:- Breach #1 by Patrick Lee
- The Killer #1 by Tom Wood
- The Abominable by Dan Simmons
- Saturn Run by John Sandford & Ctein
- Redemption Road by John Hart
No idea why it's called the All Star Sale. They must be running out of ideas for sale titles. LOL
Part of what I really like for Completionist Chronicles, Cradle and System Apocalypse is that innovation is not limited. Other LitRPG stories have that element as well. I'm waiting to see if there will be more books or the writing stays okay or gets better. =)
Mod
- Breach #1 by Patrick Lee
- The Killer #1 by Tom Wood
- The Abominable by Dan Simmons
- Saturn Run by John Sandford & Ctein
- Redemption R..."
I'm not sure if I even want to look at the sale... I haven't even ready anything from the last sale yet... just finished my 2 books from the sale before the last one
Current sale has mostly fiction and mystery/thrillers. The SF/F list was 2 pages and the romance was mostly stuff I've read or no interest in listening. I enjoy reading romance more than listening to them. It's at the point where I already read or have bought the better books.
Mod
That's my issue, too... most of the recommendations I've already read as ebooks or from other sources...
I looked at a couple pages and stopped... didn't feel like going through another 40 pages so soon, when I've got so much other stuff on my plate already, plus a couple dozen backlogged sale books from the past couple sales/etc...
Think I'll limit myself to looking at your haul for awhile, and maybe picking up 1-2 items off your list if they pique my interest...
Brian, I have Variant Saga ready to roll. I can start whenever. =)
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Maybe this time I'll maintain it a bit better... because fixing it is tiresome... have to dig through comment records and app histories...
Brian, ok! I'll start tonight. As you know from experience, lol - playing catchup to update books sucks. I've done it several times and it's always been a pain. I can't rely on GR to be 100% accurate with all the changes that are happening. Today, one of the updates I know I had written for Wandering Inn (in the review) wasn't saved and I had to dig up info to re-do it.
Mod
I noticed it's free on KU, tho, so I picked it up there and I'll try to make time to read it myself... HUMPH... SO THERE :D
Change of pace is always good. I've been devouring comics. lol =)Brian, I'm either halfway or close to end of #1. Not too sure because it's just chapters in the audio and doesn't say when the books end. lol
Depressing post-apoc world. All the characters blend together because it seems like we're still in the setup phase and stuff just happens.
Amber Project #1Good concepts but poor execution. Seems too tropey? Like he took a bunch of popular post-apoc tropes and other standard stuff and threw them into a blender?
It has too much "go with it" for me to enjoy the story. The politics have better explanations. Sort of.
There's no real good/bad guys in the story. I'd like more development for the setting and how it is now for people below & above.
I'd also like to know more about the variants. Hoping that there will be more info in the next book. *fingers crossed*
Dang! Your already done. I’m only about an hour in but should be able to get int done by Sat.
Brian wrote: "Dang! Your already done. I’m only about an hour in but should be able to get int done by Sat."It's not very long at 2.55x speed. Bwahahahah! lol
Meanwhile, I am reading one of the funniest LitRPG comics! It's called the Strongest Florist. The MC is a super, beefed up guy that looks like a menacing tank in real life. His father wants him to become the world's best MMA fighter. lol
But! He actually likes flowers and wants to own a flower shop. He goes into the VR game world to make his dream come true! To become a flower shop owner! He has a super strong presence & everyone thinks he's a high level player/monster.
He's a natural warrior and he's totally dedicated to being a flower shop owner. That's landed him into a hidden super quest. Well done art and hilarious story. =D
The Strongest Florist has 22 episodes released. I laughed a lot while reading it! Great mix of humor, tunnel vision drive and action. =D
The Breach #1 is a SF thriller with time traveling, portals, wacko AI programs and a bunch of other stuff. However, the narrator was subpar and the story did not translate well to audio. Maybe I would have enjoyed it more if I read it vs listening. *shrug* I won't ever know. =P
I finally finished Joe Ledger 6. Took forever. I didn't really like the Mother Night story line. It ended well enough though. Hopefully #7 gets back to being a tad more original instead of revisiting the previous technology.Going to start Threadbare #2 next.
Mod
I think one of my favorite books is coming up, tho... one that tackles a plot/genre that would be too spoilery to even mention to try and entice people to the series...
Google says I'm talking about #8: Kill Switch... book 7 has a very memorable opening/threat tho... new stuff...
After checking the books, I think book 6 is the most rehashy of the series?... I mean, it's even named similarly to the first book...
I really need to get into the Ledger books. I Have only read book 1 and a novella. So many books....so little time
Joe Ledger is a series you'll enjoy, Brian. =) Can't believe you haven't gobbled it all up already.
If Book 6 was part of a TV series, it's that episode where producers try to save money by reusing flashbacks of previous episodes in the season. Maybe I should put that in my review :) The other books way of continuing story/villain threads worked for me. This one just wasn't my favorite. I do like how Toys is trying to make up for things. I also hope we see Nicodemus again.
Nicodemus is creepy, evil. He'll be back.
Mod
He's creepy as hell...
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Good comparison... I didn't mind the rehash of bad guy tech... I just didn't like the actual baddie... (view spoiler)
Fantasy Buddy Reads
Books mentioned in this topic
Boundary Crossed (other topics)Into the Black (other topics)
Terms of Enlistment (other topics)
The Palace Job (other topics)
The Cuckoo's Calling (other topics)
More...
Authors mentioned in this topic
Rysa Walker (other topics)Rysa Walker (other topics)
Charlie N. Holmberg (other topics)
I started with the First Hunter. That one about the world getting thrown into chaos as monsters portal into the world. People that put up a fight develop skills and can fight off the goblins/ogres/etc. Except First Hunter is a new comic and there's only a few episodes. I went looking for something else to read.
I've sampled/read a bunch of comics in the past few days. lol