Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion
Archive [Retired Book Clubs]
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RETIRED THREAD: Vagabond Treehouse Book Club
Ugh. Another series ender that I'm on hinderhooks about!!! Not sure if Jacka will make a killer ending for Alex Verus, but I"m going to cross my fingers and hope!
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LOL Well, Wong is a common name. Tao is a little less so. HeheheChinese comics have terrible names! Mostly because they're direct translations. They're worse than the Korean titles. Hahha
Just finished "A Beauty, A Fatal Concubine" aka Pampered Poisonous Royal Wife. The gist is sort of accurate, but not really. Hahah
Yao had a terribly tragic life and died. She wakes up and finds out that she's alive again as a young teen. I really enjoyed how the memories Yao had of her life (1st time around) impacted her 2nd round. How the information she had was true to what had happened but lacked a lot of knowledge about why.
Going from the intro, I was expecting lots of death, sabotage and crazy shenanigans. That happens but in ways that I didn't quite expect. While there are distinctly dark tones, the story grew into a satisfying mysteries/heists/capers type of events. The main characters are great and I liked how clever events connected. The what had happened in the first life vs changes in 2nd life and how information from both merged into answers.
Excellent drama with a touch of romance. It wasn't insta-love. Woo!
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Brewer is like an anti-"Irene Kennedy" (or at least I think she is?) from the Mitch Rapp series... kinda wish she hadn't carried over from book 5... looking at blurbs and top reviews, it doesn't seem like she gets any better, only worse, as the series progresses from here on out...
Minus the last 2 chapters, this was the best Court Gentry book for keeping good people alive and happy... (#6 Gunmetal Gray)
She does get worse. I love that series
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Will be a shame when I run out of books, tho...
X-Files - That old shadow guy that was always smoking? She's less than the smoker dude. lol =D
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I'm not sure I get this... I've seen bits and pieces of X-Files, and know about the Cigarette Smoking Man, and some of his importance to the beginning and end of the series... and the crazy clone stuff from them Audible stories we listened to...
The smoking guy in X-Files was one of the super covert guys. He pulled a lot of strings and created setups/danger/etc in X-Files. Court Gentry, Mitch Rapp, etc makes me think of the behind the scenes shadow leaders.
Brewer is like that except without as the bigger influence as the smoking guy.
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Link? Anything good? I haven't gotten the email yet and the website hasn't been updated. lol
Not too much really. All the ones I like I've already read.
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Tracy Crosswhite #1, one of Tammie's Mystery suggestions...
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Something No One Knows -- Audible Original, 3 good narrators (Kirby Heyborne does Vampire Accountant I think, Vikas Adams, and Khristine Hvam)
Artful -- available on KU Read & Listen
The Green Ember caught my eye because the prequel was on sale... might look into it... middle-grade series with anthropomorphic rabbits... people compare it a bit to Narnia apparently... not surprised I found it available on Hoopla (they try to have alot of kids series, I think)
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The sale email/banner hasn't shown up for me yet. I'll look again for it later. Snagged Artful. Yeah, that setup for Amazon is weird. It doesn't always look like that. Not sure what the deal is but that style shows up for some books.
Someone post the link for Audible sale? I haven't gotten the email and no banner. Audible is dropping the ball. Heh
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Duh. I totally didn't see that. Thanks, Iain! =)
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DIRE Time is the Hitler one I was thinking of when I read book 2, and is the end of the first story arc... book 4 is the banana republic book where DIRE takes over an island dictatorship for the common good, lol... typical DIRE... reminds me of Tropico and the 4th season of Leverage, I think...
The series goes all over the place... 5th book is in the UK, and the 6th book is in a Dante-inspired Hell...
Also, I was on TVTropes and learned the series started as a WORM fanfic called DIRE WORM, which explains the Y2K dystopic setting for the first DIRE book, before power was restored... really gives that WORM feel, I think...
=DThis week, I've been listening to a bunch of rock music. I'm making my way to listen to Spotify The Best of (Year) playlists. Initially, I had planned to listen to just 2008-2020. I may make it 2005-2020. =D
Most of it, I've heard. There's about half that I haven't heard! It's cool to see the changes in style and I adore the ballads from metal bands. Heh
Plus, songs by bands that are popular and normally, I don't care about the albums. There have been several that surprised me to be a lot of fun. Like U2 is popular and I only like some of their songs.
Other than that, I've been reading a light novel called The Rebirth of the Malicious Empress of Military Lineage. Isn't that title a mouthful? Hhahahaha
So, apparently, Chinese light novels are webnovels with short chapters. Which is hilarious! A short Chinese chapter has been anywhere from 3-12 pages in English. Hahahah
OK. Due to the story being a translation + most likely an amateur writer/etc, I have to be more forgiving about spelling errors/etc. The fascinating parts are the cultural/historical/philosophical aspects that are littered throughout the story. That flair of "Asian fantasy" that I feel is missing from the popular Asian themed stories are abundant in the Asian comics & light novels that I have been reading.
At first, I was turned off by ridiculous titles. Then I realized that's due to direct translations of the titles or the attempt to have the English equivalent in meaning. The darker titles with cumbersome labels have been great! They end up having more complicated characters and plot.
I'm also amused by the translator notes. It adds to the reading adventure. =D
I nee
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I've heard about asian light novels that are like "left side novel, right side comic panels"... a book/comic hybrid...
After some rando reads this week, I'm now booked for my whole work week, I think...
Need to finish Echo... couple chapters behind on the slow Vlad Taltos BR... Siobhan finally started True Bastards... said I was starting Simon Snow #2 a few days ago... and it's about time to read Shadows of the Apt #5... and Manners & Monsters #1 is creeping up on me...
Hope I didn't forget anything, because that's already too many books...
LOL =) That's a light stack for you, Iain. ;)Oh yeah, I was writing that I need to look at the Audible Sale. I'll probably do that later tonight.
Light Novel: Depends on whether or not it's Chinese/Korean/Japanese/etc. I'm going to guess that the comic light novel is due to the story is from a popular light novel & put into comic format. Japanese light novel has a slightly different meaning. It's aimed for teens to young adults and still in shorter format.
From Rebirth of the Malicious Empress:
Stuff that had me laughing my butt off. One of the running jokes is that the Male Lead is the most beautiful male figures with the countenance of a god. Hahahhaa! The translator keeps writing reactions to the description with eyerolls and barfs. lol
Going back to cultural sayings that are probably considered crude jokes (paraphrased): Within context of the story, these made me laugh.
- Turn raw rice into cooked rice. (Taking virginity & making 'adult')
- Head shake. Tsk tsk. No red blossom on white. (They didn't consummate the marriage yet. This is historical fiction. Marriage isn't considered to be truly set until sex, etc. And obviously, there's gotta be a boatload of kids.)
Audible SaleI can't see what the price is because I already have the book but Heroes Die #1 is on the sale. I love that series!
Will make my final choices for books later.
Upside: I already own most of the books I'm interested in reading. Saves me money!
Downside: Not many sparks for new books to read.
ETA: Ok, thought I'd make purchases later but nah.
The audiobook for the System Apocalypse spin off series came out today. Taking a chance and reading it. Did the KU borrow & audiobook discount. I'm sure Tao Wong did minor edits vs writing the book. I think Craig Hamilton is ok indie author. So, maybe it'll be good? *fingers crossed*
*** mental cheer run *** I listened to a bunch of rock music the past week. Spotify's Best of Rock (Year) lists from 2005-2018. I liked the older releases more than the recent ones. No surprise. There was a couple of years where all of the rock bands wrote great ballads. Woo! Love rock ballads!
Today, I tried listening to the current hit lists. Ya'll have no idea how much I eyerolled while trying out the Country Hits list. I was like... this isn't country. Sometimes, it didn't even sound like pop country.
Also, why is there a phase where high pitch vocals are super popular and they do this whiney singing crap? High vocals is fine. But sing on pitch and have the music + lyrics be interesting. It's not like the vocals aren't already tuned to heck and back. So... are the producers tone deaf? =P
Right now, I'm torturing myself with the Hot Hits in US.
I'm retraining the algorithms in my Spotify. There's a weekly playlist called Discovery. That playlist was great for the first few years I had Spotify. I'd find new bands/artists or songs every week. The last couple of years, the music has been weird. I know part of that has to do with the current music trends. I'm not always a fan of what's popular.
1 week of listening to Best of Rock music and the this week's Discovery playlist is much better than I've heard in a while. Woo!
Normally, I'd listen to music while driving or hiking. I've been keeping to shelter in place again because my area has a high infection rate. blah
It's odd to make new habits, but it's good to have a variety of interests so I don't feel like I'm getting bogged down by boredom. =)
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I didn't want to read any of my BRs this morning... eventually settled on reading Brothers in Arms, my next chronological Vorkosigan book (#8)... I forgot the whole (view spoiler) storyline existed...
hehe sneaky way to retrain the algorithms.
=D Pandora used to be my go to. It also has an interesting algorithm for figuring out what to play.
The thing about Spotify that appealed to me was the international music that is also available on there. So, I can browse other country music. My go to when I first explored were J-Rock, Chinese, Korean, some orchestral arrangements, and Euro stuff. A mix really. =)
I used Spotify (free with ads) for two years before becoming a paid membership. I got the family plan and gave away the other spots as gifts to friends. Don't tell Spotify. ;)
Also, the main character in the current Chinese light novel I am reading is one of the best! =D BwhahahaStrong, female character that's a genius but has a variety of quirks due to her overpowered brain. She's smart, grouchy, has zero desire to be in the spotlight, a musician, gamer & hacker. Oh and she can fight. LOL
It's totally mixing up all of the things I would want in a character and making it work. =) Heheheh I'll have to see if this particular author wrote any other stories once I'm done with Ma'am YOu Have Been Uncovered.
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I forgot how much of a jerk his brother was, but it makes sense considering the actual details. I didn't hear any phone rings. =D No way I would have missed that. hehehe *ring ring*
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No way I would have missed that. hehehe *ring ring*"
it was actually pretty quiet/distant... or maybe I'm just imagining things... or misassociating...
I was near the end of Castle season 3 yesterday, and had to pause to tell if the sound I was hearing was weird subtle backsound/music to a Castle scene or the occasional imbalance sound I hear from my ceiling fan... it was Castle, surprisingly...
Weird how sensitive your hearing can be at times, yeah? During my music spree, there have been times when I thought the phone was ringing or an alarm and it turned out that it was an odd addition to the song. lol
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OO let me know if I should buy it. I was going to wait for it to go on sale. Ma'am You Have Been Uncovered:
So, the main characters had a kid. Little boy. All of their friends are big power houses within science, medicine, gangs, etc. All of them love the baby and spoil him rotten. When the parents found out about it, they decide to "train" the baby to make sure he doesn't become a brat. lol
In Asia, it's common to have a month celebration after birth. It's part of the old tradition where the baby doesn't get a name and stuff until it's lived at least 30 days.
During the baby's 1 month celebration, one of the family friends gives the baby a gun as a present. A gun as a present for a one month old boy. Hahahahahahah
Ahhhh, it was a great story! I kinda wish I read Chinese now. =) I know the translation is missing stuff and that was part of the fun to figure out.
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Between SymboGen, the rogue doctor
Group making Chimera, the rogue Chimera group led by Sherman, and the military medical response group…
I think the first book was like that too. Let me know how it goes. =D
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I stopped around the halfway point for the day, and she's in captivity and (view spoiler) is experimenting on her...
Running out of time to find agency... I feel like I'm gonna have the same dashed hopes in the 2nd half of the book and in the final book...
Events may turn around. Finished Fifth Season, and I'm surprised by how popular that series is and not surprised at the same time. Great world setting and wackadoo end of the world cultural setting. Except, the story didn't dive into the characters or world enough to really do more than make a few brush strokes. I liked that the author wasn't afraid to present unusual settings for relationships and actions. A lot of friend's reviews talked about how depressing the story was and I could see that. However, Robin Miles narration made the story feel rather driven and lively. That couldn't make the actual words more "active". The pensive & indirect POVs were not in favor for me. While it gave a nice vibe for the character, it didn't add enough to the story to make things feel solid. Too much was relied on reader's just taking what is told vs weaving a world, characters and events into a whole that's fun to compile.
There were segments of beautiful writing that highlighted thoughts, character observation and dark actions. If the whole story was more like that, easy 4 star read that hedged on 5.
Artful - It just dawned on me that this is the same author that wrote Sir Apropos of Nothing. =DI really enjoyed reading that book! First book for Sir Apropos is better than the others written. I think total of 3? It's been a while. I re-read #1 a few times. So, that makes me excited to read Artful. That author doesn't publish as often. I think he does other things. His books are mostly movie adaptations & stuff.
Iain, I started Mirror Dance. HahahaMiles' Quote:
Everyone else has an evil twin. I have an idiot twin!
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You can't blame Miles for this one. This is totally Mark. Hahahah
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)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
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Charlie N. Holmberg (other topics)
Jumped ship and grabbed October Daye and read it super quick... got a hankering for new releases...
Super ready for Risen in December... FINALE!!!