SciFi and Fantasy Book Club discussion
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The River of Dancing Gods
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"The River of Dancing Gods" by Jack L. Chalker (BR)
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Got a Kindle copy and ready to go on the 7th
I read all the Myth Adventures. and I really liked them.
Woop!I'm planning to start tonight... my current book is not good for bed (kinda slow/quiet) but Chalker won't put me to sleep, right? ;)
I've started. Stopped reading another book I was finding hard work to start it (I won't name the other book & I will go back to it sometime). Thirty pages in so far & finding it very much my sort of thing.
I've paused on other books too and after one chapter and a half, I think it was a good choice. I'm positively surprised by how complex the characters' backstories are for a light and fun fantasy series.
I'm not thrilled about the social commentary in the first chapter but once we start traveling the Sea of (His) Dreams it's a bit more interesting. Still more infodump but it's not bothering me. P. 32.
p. 110 Still setting up for the series... nothing has really happened yet. And I don't think it's a series that I'm interested in. The Rules are a cute idea... gives Chalker an excuse to use cliches anyway.... ;)
Chapter 3 reminded me of guided fantasy meditations I listen to on stressful days :) I'm still waiting for some more action but at the same time enjoy the humor and calming effect.
Huh. I'm sure glad you're liking it!I finished, but have almost no interest in going on. Maybe if Ruddygore gets more of a role, and/or we see some traffic between this world and Earth prime.
This is world-building and enough drama to engage some readers, but I don't feel the authenticity of, or a connection to, any of the characters. And I have no idea what kinds of discussion questions to post, what kinds of topics or themes it could cover.
Maybe a sequel would be fun if it played with the Rules. For example if people found loopholes in them, or fought against them. I dunno, just musing... because I do own the next book and don't want to skip it.
But meanwhile I think I'll move along pretty quickly to the first MythAdventure story.
One thing I did find interesting:"... there's no such thing as luck. Not really. Good luck and bad luck are the terms we lesser ones give to angelic and demonic forces. For some reason, Joe, you have friends in high places."
I see that like I see the Rules... an excuse for Chalker to write from known tropes instead of being creative and original.
Nonetheless, it'd be neat if it were true. And I suppose religious ppl might like to think about things that way.
Oh wait, there is one discussable point. It comes later so I can't say much now, but think about the idea that villains aren't necessarily evil, but sincerely misguided.
Cheryl wrote: "Oh wait, there is one discussable point. It comes later so I can't say much now, but think about the idea that villains aren't necessarily evil, but sincerely misguided."Sounds fun :) I think spotting motives from classic fantasy books may be a good conversation starter for this one.
After reading four chapters I still enjoy it. It started to remind me of my first pen and paper RPG sessions (ah, good times). This book is like a store-bought lasagne - it's a portion of comfort food, familiar, not fine dining just empty calories and taste of cheep cheese and it works perfectly for times like this ;) Suites my mood. I'm not looking for anything innovative or mind-blowing right now.
Good point. I did propose this book as something 'light' after all. I guess, since I don't read much fantasy, the tropes and motifs didn't feel comforting or familiar. And the satirical homage didn't feel funny either. To me.
Finished. I must say it took me longer than I expected. I feel very similar to Cheryl about this book. Not disinterested but also not strongly engaged. As I stated when I began reading, I felt that the open chapters were very promising. But since then have found that it couldn't decide whether it wanted to be a comedy, a formulaic fantasy (you could see the big battle at the end signposted throughout the story), or an intriguing new universe. There is nothing wrong with that approach but the merging of all three didn't fully work for me on this occasion.
Very much an opener for a series. I will probably read book two in due course to see how things develop. In particular, Marge's continuing transformation and its affect on her relationship with Joe.
Yes, Marge's transformation is what I am most interested in... how it affects her relationship with Joe and with herself and her world, too. Remembering what kinds of lives these two had on Earth Prime and thinking about how easily they put those lives in the past is a bit interesting. For example, Joe almost never thinks about his kid anymore, so I'm guessing he's not in a hurry to start a fresh family here.
So, yeah, some ppl say it's a satire of fantasy tropes, too. And yes I can see that. But it's just too busy playing with genres to be satisfying, imo. Well, I guess that's basically what I already said. Anyway.
Maybe you can let us know whether book two is worth reading?
Will do but probably not till next year.
Ok. Finished. It was a nice bedtime story. Simple, comforting, and fun. Well, I hoped for some more comedy. The humor faded of somewhere in the middle but it was back in the last part of the adventure (the dragon, the Hare God, etc.)
I'll try the sequel for sure next year or sooner. For Christmas maybe?
Thanks for reading with me, friends!
Thank you for organizing this BR! I had a good time and I have a decent series to read if I'll feel down again.
SciFi and Fantasy Book Club
Books mentioned in this topic
The River of Dancing Gods (other topics)Another Fine Myth (other topics)
Robert Asprin's Myth-Quoted (other topics)
If we can't get enough of Chalker, we might also read Another Fine Myth. After all, my desire to give this popular and prolific author a chance was prompted by a lucky find of Robert Asprin's Myth-Quoted in a Little Free Library.
So track down your copy now, and I'll see you all here in less than 2 weeks!