"Master of Poisons" by Andrea Hairston (BR)

[Kaa]

Buddy read for Master of Poisons by Andrea Hairston, starting October 26 (but please feel free to jump in whenever you like)!

Please use spoiler tags and indicate chapter/percent.

[Mareike]

Looking forward to chatting about this! Thanks for organizing the BR, Kaa!

[Silvana]

I want to read this so bad.....*praying for discount/sudden appearance in Scribd*

[Gabi]

Silvana wrote: "I want to read this so bad.....*praying for discount/sudden appearance in Scribd*"

Same. I wanted to join, but now that the next BotM already is one where I have to pay € 10 to join the discussion I can't afford this one ( which is more than € 12).

[Mareike]

Oh no. I hope you can both somehow get it more cheaply soon!

I finished Book I/at 25% today (view spoiler)[and I'm definitely very intrigued by both Djola and Awa's journeys. I'm maybe a little more invested in Awa's journey right now, but I find both of them fascinating.

I'm enjoying the prose and that there isn't too much info dumping. Though I will say that with listening to it, it was a bit tricky to follow on some of the worldbuilding info. I'm still not quite sure if this is set in some post-apocalyptic/post-disaster future Earth or if it's a different planet/universe altogether. But some of the "machines" in Shadowland (for example the mechanical(?) horses) have me wondering about a possible sci-fi aspect. (hide spoiler)]

[Mareike]

Is anyone else reading this rn? I'm enjoying it but would love to discuss it properly with people. So I'd be happy to but it back onto the shelf until a time when it's better for everyone else.

[Kaa]

Sorry, Mareike. I've been delayed starting it but I'm picking it up today.

[Mareike]

No worries! I just wanted to check in and see if maybe circumstances had changed since we agreed on the date for this.

[Kaa]

I've only read the first couple chapters so far, but wow, it really throws you right into it - lots of new words and world-building without much explanation yet.

[Mareike]

Yes, absolutely!

[Kaa]

I was having a lot of trouble focusing on eye-reading this book, so I decided to switch over to audiobook. So far, that has been better, so hopefully I can start making more progress.

[Mareike]

Yay! Fingers crossed.

[Kaa]

I'm around 8%, partway through Ch. 7: (view spoiler)[Finally starting to see overlaps between Awa and Djola's stories! We have Hezram showing up as an off-page villain in both narratives, as well as confirmation that these stories are happening in more or less the same place.

I like how Awa and Djola contrast each other: Awa as a child without control over where she goes or who she is with, Djola as someone with supposedly a lot of power and control, but who is also finding that he is helpless in some ways.

And I like the world-building that is starting to be set up here. I am really excited to see more of this thread about whether the sacrifices Djola made to win peace in the past will seem worth it in the end. (hide spoiler)]

[Mareike]

Agreed. It took a while to get to that. I did like that though.

[Kaa]

14%/Ch 13: The language is still very dense, but definitely easier by audiobook. (view spoiler)[And now finally Awa has met someone we've previous seen Jolla interact with! I still don't think I fully understand the relationships between all of the different magical/spiritual systems that have been mentioned, but I'm starting to get more of a hang of the political side of things. (hide spoiler)]

[Kaa]

I finally made it to the end of Book 1, so I could look at your spoiler!

(view spoiler)[I hadn't even thought about the potential for it to be sci-fi-ish! I was just taking it at face value that it's a fantasy world. I do agree that listening can make it hard to keep track of some of the world-building.

I'm feeling a bit more interested by Awa as well. Djola was very compelling at the beginning, but I'm starting to feel like his story is starting to drag, in away that Awa's does not. He's been on this pirate ship for sooooo longgggg. I'm ready for something for to happen there. (hide spoiler)]

[Mareike]

I agree with your observations!
I had a similar process re: genre. And similar reactions to jow Awa and Djola's stories progressed in that part of the book.

[Kaa]

Book 2, ch 3: (view spoiler)[This chapter is titled "A Different Story" - in context, it seems as though it is referring to the different perspectives on what Yari and the sprites experienced, but we are also getting a different perspective on the aftermath of the raids that Djola is part of. It makes me question Djola's actions and decisions more and more, which I think is the point - he no longer seems so much the "good guy" and more the guy whose misguided focus on one particular solution is causing him to do more damage and ignore other paths. (hide spoiler)]

[Mareike]

Agreed. (view spoiler)[I really liked the way in which the two different POVs played against each other in some ways. (hide spoiler)]