Vagabond Treehouse (2023) [Beware of Chicken 3 - December 4th] Showing 1,601-1,650 of 5,829

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Spelunking 33%: (view spoiler)[yea… Naga’s a bad dude… he’s clearly been mindfucking her all along… and it seems to be self-sustaining for the most part, considering how vehemently her internal monologue jumps when she gets suspicious for a second… and what the satyrs said about already telling her about the habitable dimensions in the past… mind wipes… no wonder the Naga don’t want any mice witnessing what they do to Alice while flensing/tattooing her… (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Little bit further: (view spoiler)[Not feeling great about Alice’s interaction with the winged J-people… felt like Alice jumped to conclusions… seemed like they might want to share a fruit tray with her in hospitality… no wonder she lacks friends/allies/knowledge… and the friends she has would rather not be home when she visits…

Seems like another aspect of Naga manipulation… she was just thinking how weird her lack of knowledge/understanding was… Naga is keeping her isolated… not to mention her willingness to kill… it goes against the family motto… (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Further still… Autarch: (view spoiler)[as much as Alice is ramping up to kill this autarch, I’d be surprised if it didn’t turn out to be Thomas, stuck in the bottle world (hide spoiler)]

[RachelG.]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Emily wrote: "Wanna do a mini BR here then? I can start in the next day or two."

Looking at my friends reviews of #10, the only person in this group that's read the series is RachelG... we should ..."

I have an 8 hour drive ahead of me today and going to be listening to an audiobook for a different BR but will start Spelunking Through Hell tomorrow.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Sounds good… I’ll finish later today or tomorrow…

50% now: (view spoiler)[good thing Thomas has been found, because I was starting to hate Alice and her aggressive solution to everything… she was a fun side character in previous books, and her childhood short stories… but this fuller picture hasn’t been very flattering… I hope clearing up the Naga situation makes her more likeable again… (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

60%ish: (view spoiler)[now it seems obvious why Naga has been flensing her, if it means harvesting all this magic gel Alice could have been using to power magic... (hide spoiler)]

75%: (view spoiler)[AND the Healy Family Luck?!?... (hide spoiler)]

[Miche]

I finally finished Stuff and Nonsense today. It was adorable!

One thing I noticed is that I didn’t mind the stats on the audiobook, but I found them distracting on the ebook. Maybe it was Tim Gerard Reynolds' magic, but once I switched to the audio, I could't put it down.

I think I prefer litrpg with less stats mentioned in general, but Threadbare got me entranced with his cuteness. I will continue the series with the audiobooks. :)

[Soo]

Yay! Glad you enjoyed Threadbare. =)


Just read In the Shadow of Spindrift House by Mira Grant. Got it from the library. It has the same style & tone as Wayward Children, but with young adults vs kids. I enjoyed the story, but felt it should have had a better story voice.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Finished: (view spoiler)[sadly, I think this was my least favorite entry in the series... so much hype, and then Alice's demeanor just grated on me...

And by the end, I'm not even sure how much was Naga's fault... the Naga encounter was kinda anti-climactic, in how easily Thomas & Alice dealt with him... clearly he did alot of meddling, but some of it might just be Alice's nature, which was less clear when she was a side character...

Before this, Antimony's stories were my least favorite; one more than the other, I think... another shame, since I liked all of her roller derby short stories... I think it was how much she changed between the 2, with the whole forced undercover aspect of her story...

Anyway, back to Alice/Thomas... the epilogue was great... that's another thing that's been lacking in the series for the last couple books... Earth locales, Aeslin Mice, and the original Covenant of St. George plotline in general...

There was a point in the middle of the story where I thought the main story arc was going to pivot even more off-course, with the Crossroads thing endangering Earth's life force, but that resolved itself... then I thought maybe an interdimensional Naga menace, the way Alice was building to figuring out Thomas was trapped on the Naga homeworld... but that never materialized either...

I wonder if the next book will be another Alice & Thomas story on their year hopping dimensions... I kinda hope not; but if not that, I have no idea what's next... (hide spoiler)]

[Soo]

Iain, going by GR list, we finished Laundry Files.

Dead Lies Dreaming #1 is the first of the new series. I borrowed it from the library and going to read it now. =D

Will post here.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Soo wrote: "Iain, going by GR list, we finished Laundry Files.

Dead Lies Dreaming #1 is the first of the new series. I borrowed it from the library and going to read it now. =D

Will post here."

There are still 2 more Laundry Files books planned... (view spoiler)[one where the old guy that's kinda in charge of the Laundry Files tries to kill/defeat Nyarlathotep and fails... intended to be told like a death row confession by the guy, to Bob, from jail, before his execution for treason...

And a final book where Bob & those left force a stalemate which prevents Earth from being destroyed/sublimated completely by the Eldritch rulers... (hide spoiler)]

From there, New Management/Dead Lies Dreaming will be the only ongoing series...

I got that from my time reading/skimming Stross's website/blog/Q&As...

[Soo]

Bah, well, hoping that reading New Management now won't conflict with the last two Laundry Files. I would suspect that it won't since they were published in current order.

Audible has Dead Lies Dreaming as part of Laundry Files.

[Narilka]

Miche wrote: "I finally finished Stuff and Nonsense today. It was adorable!

One thing I noticed is that I didn’t mind the stats on the audiobook, but I found them distracting on the ebook. Maybe..."

Yay! Glad you enjoyed it :D

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Soo wrote: "Bah, well, hoping that reading New Management now won't conflict with the last two Laundry Files. I would suspect that it won't since they were published in current order.

Audible has Dead Lies Dr..."

Should be fine... I found an update, and it looks like Stross is writing a whole New Management trilogy before returning to the final 2 Laundry Files books, despite the timeline issues... here's his exact words from the chronology page of his blog... basically he's finding it hard to satirize the UK government in the current political climate...

(view spoiler)[The Labyrinth Index (set: winter 2014/early 2015, pub: October 2018, (US hbk/UK ppbk))

Ninth novel, viewpoint character: Mhari, working for the New Management in the wake of the drastic governmental changes that took place at the end of "The Delirium Brief". The shit has well and truly hit the fan on a global scale, and the new Prime Minister holds unreasonable expectations ...

Dead Lies Dreaming (set: December 2016: pub: Oct 2020 (US hbk/UK hbk))

New spin-off series, new starting point! The marketing blurb describes it as "book 10 in the Laundry Files" but by the time this book is set—after CASE NIGHTMARE GREEN and the end of the main Laundry story arc (some time in 2015-16) the Laundry no longer exists. We meet a cast of entirely new characters, civilians (with powers) living under the aegis of the New Management, ruled by his Dread Majesty, the Black Pharaoh. The start of a new series about the New Management, Dead Lies Dreaming riffs heavily off "Peter and Wendy", the original grimdark version of Peter Pan (before Walt Disney made him twee).

Quantum of Nightmares (set: December 2016, pub: January 2022)

Second book in the New Management spin-off: continues the story, riffs off Sweeney Todd and Mary Poppins—again: the latter was much darker than the Disney musical implies. (The book is written, but COVID19 has done weird things to publishers' schedules and it's provisionally in the queue behind Invisible Sun, the final Empire Games book, which is due out in September 2021.)

Season of Skulls (set: March 2017 and summer of 1816, pub: May 2023)

Third New Management novel: finishes the story, riffs off The Prisoner and Jane Austen and The Boys from Brazil. In development.

Further novels are planned but not definite: there need to be 1-2 more books to finish the main Laundry Files story arc with Bob et al, filling in the time line before Dead Lies Dreaming, but the Laundry is a civil service security agency and the current political madness gripping the UK makes it really hard to satirize HMG, so I'm off on a side-quest following the tribulations of Imp, Eve, Wendy, and the gang (from Dead Lies Dreaming) under the New Management, until I figure out how to get back to the Laundry proper.

The next Laundry Files novel, The Valkyrie Confessional (working title) won't get written before 2023 for publication 2024/25, but there will probably be a short story collection before then. (hide spoiler)]

The next Laundry Files book is called the Valkyrie Confessional, and isn't expected to be written until next year, for a 2024/2025 release...

[Soo]

That's a great update. Thanks for sharing it, Iain. =D

[Tonari no Emily]

Ack! Work has not let me read much.. Will start InCryptid tonight or tomorrow

[Nirkatze]

Whew. I may or may not have just purchased about 100 books on Audible during the sale. >.< But I stayed mostly in the $3-5 range, tested each sample, and pretty much took from y'alls recommended lists.

Picked up:
- Heartseekers - Rachel Aaron
- Detroit Free Zone - Rachel Aaron
- Threadbare - Andrew Seiple
- Lux & The Original - Sanderson
- Unhewn Throne - Brian Staveley
- Laundry Files - Charles Stross
- Expeditionary Force - Craig Alanson
- Articles of Faith - David Wragg
- Bobiverse - Dennis E. Taylor
- Antorian's Archives - Vanderkerten & Krout
- Kara Gillian - Diana Rowland
- Innkeeper Chronicles - Ilona Andrews (BR)
- Archemi Online - James Osiris Baldwin
- Junkyard Pirate - Jamie McFarlane
- Chronicles of St. Mary's - Jodi Taylor
- The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal - KJ Charles
- Threads of Fate - Michael Head
- The Sandman - Neil Gaiman
- The Threshold Universe - Peter Clines
- Girl Genius - Phil & Kaja Foglio
- The Monstrumologist - Rick Yancey
- InCryptid - Seanan McGuire
- October Daye - Seanan McGuire
- Vlad Taltos - Steven Brust
- Confederation - Tanya Huff
- System Apocalypse - Tao Wong
- Legends & Lattes - Travis Baldree

Still 1 hour left...trying not to look for more...

[Nirkatze]

Emily wrote: "Yeah Senator Vernon felt a little forced/joke character to me... Idk maybe people are really like that, but he seems to be the only one in the family

Nirkatze, yes we'll be reading #5 Monday! I be..."

Thanks for that head's up Emily! I'm enjoying TT Dominick Davidner right now--not as much as Michael's but an interesting movement--(view spoiler)[having a suspected, but not confirmed, repeater as the main, and then giving us some repeat scenes from a different perspective. (hide spoiler)] I'm usually wary of repeats, but I don't find it annoying so far. It's actually kind of nice to revisit the military academy.

Really enjoying the feel-good parts of the series.

And thank y'all for getting me in to audiobooks! Definitely diving in head first... I used to bemoan all the work I had to bring home from work, and how I couldn't read while doing it--but now I can!

[Julian]

@Nirkatze I saw you got Lux by Sanderson. I've been wanting to read that one for quite a while, want to BR it eventually?

[Nirkatze]

Julian wrote: "@Nirkatze I saw you got Lux by Sanderson. I've been wanting to read that one for quite a while, want to BR it eventually?"

Sure thing! I could do something later in next week (Weds-Fri) if you were interested in sooner rather than later. :)

[Julian]

I’m fine with whenever! I currently don’t have any large books that I’m reading so timing is perfect this week.

[Tonari no Emily]

Julian and Iain-

Finished Conjuring of Assassins today. This one was a little rougher for me, had trouble following around the midway point... But I ended up mostly liking it okay
I was most intrigued with the new character Teo (view spoiler)[ I really don't think he has the exact same magic as Romy. I almost feel like he has a more mundane cause to his lost memory--Head trauma? Although since he healed himself that would probably heal head injuries too...
I had a feeling he was some sort of underwater person though, which is confirmed at the very end when he took off with the pretty boy assassin underwater. I wonder how he could keep other people alive?
The heisty/Leverage aspects were a bit slow for me at first, but really picked up at the end at Egerik's estate. All the Italian-sounding names were kinda hard to follow with audio, but I had the ebook version too on Overdrive I kinda referenced throughout.
Romy's magic seems.. super flawed right? She can literally lose herself and needs someone else to bring her out. I hope she can figure out a way to work that better in the next one.
The magic is interesting too.. It seems they all have their own flavor of magic, but there are some things they can all do? I think that's what was happening when they helped out Placidio after he was injured.
And why can Teo and Romy talk by telepathy magic, but not him and other people.. Is it because their magics are similar (is it really the same? I don't like that unless there's a good explanation..) (hide spoiler)]
Well hopefully the next book will get audio soonish, because it seems like the more intriguing aspects of this one will continue.

[Nirkatze]

Julian wrote: "I’m fine with whenever! I currently don’t have any large books that I’m reading so timing is perfect this week."

Say Weds then? XD

[Soo]

Nirkatze, that's a good list! LoL Welcome to the audiobook madness. XD

St. Mary's is written by Jodi Taylor. *wink*

A note about Artorian's Archives by Krout & V:

The reason why I enjoy the series is because it's based in the same story world as the Divine Dungeon & the Completiionist Chronicles.

- I'm a fan of Dakota Krout. He totally won me over with the Completionist Chronicles. It's one of the best MMORPG LitRPG out there. However, he's gotten pretty busy between writing & running a self-publishing business that he's started with his wife. Unfortunately, the writing has not been improving/as good since he's gotten more busy. BUT I have faith that things will settle down and Krout will continue to evolve as a writer that's worth following.

That said, anything he has co-written should be held in high suspect and some of the newer stuff does not have the higher quality of writing & plot weaving that I've come to expect.

- NONE of the LitRPG authors are solid writers when they do a co-written piece. NONE of them. I've read a ton, and it's always a dice throw with high chance of failure.

- Divine Dungeon is the first series within the story world. Completionist Chronicles is second. The writing in DD is not as polished and fairly uneven. The audiobooks helped a lot in making the books easy to take in.

I became a fan of CC and that lead me to try DD. There weren't a lot of books by Krout out at the time, and I was hunting for good LitRPG's. The first DD book is a mixed bag, and it took multiple tries for me to get into it. Eventually, I finished the book and continued with the series. My drive to read DD was based on how well Krout used details to create the series. There's a bunch of inside jokes & interconnected details/mechanics/etc that link the series together.

For a while, I was kinda put off by the fact that Krout hasn't written/released new CC books. Now, I'd rather wait for a good book in the CC series vs the experimental/wonky quality work I've read in the recent releases.

- What makes Artorian's Archives a lot of fun is due to the nitty gritty micro & macro elements that impact the story world across Divine Dungeon, Completionist Chronicles & Artorian's Archives.

a) DD gives you a good look at how NPC/dungeons work within the story world. A bit into the micro creation/evolutions.

b) CC has more about the adventuring aspect, player skills, quests, etc.

c) AA dives into the evolution of how elements are created within the world, system tweaks, etc. It can get super boring if people go in seeking an action packed story or expect everything to make sense. It's a tall tales kind of series on the suspension of belief bridge. Most of it works for me because I've read DD & CC. I don't think it's as interesting for those who haven't read the other series. Also, V is not as good of a writer and that shows in the series.

All that said, if you want to talk about any of the books you have bought, feel free to chat here about them. A bunch of us have read most of the books in that list. =)

[Soo]

Between the Audible sale & library loans, I'm definitely swimming around in my own book world at the moment. lol Most of it has been good! A pleasant surprise. =D

I have a bunch of BR's that are packed together for the beginning of March. Will start on those in the next few days.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Legends and Lattes was great… I want more… intro wasn’t too bad on audio… Bard and Succubus names sounded auper similar, tho…

[Choko]

Thank goodness that sale ended, or I would have bought the whole site up!!! I will need some time to recover financially from this, hahaha!!! But I am ready to read anything with anyone at this point:)))

[Miche]

Choko wrote: "Thank goodness that sale ended, or I would have bought the whole site up!!! I will need some time to recover financially from this, hahaha!!! But I am ready to read anything with anyone at this poi..."

🤣🤣🤣🤣

I know the feeling!

[Tonari no Emily]

Timelord Iain wrote: "@Emily: Spelunking 25%: [spoilers removed]"

I've been wandering how (view spoiler)[ Alice stays young.. I was not expecting being skinned alive every so often. That's crazy! And she has to be awake...
I'm really hoping we find Thomas in this one.. Kinda reminds me of October Daye and finding Oberon. Seems like a common theme with McGuire haha (hide spoiler)]

[RachelG.]

Emily wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "@Emily: Spelunking 25%: [spoilers removed]" I've been wandering how"

Spelunking 17% (view spoiler)[ The skinned alive part is still making me shudder. How horrible that she goes through this process. Her traveling through the dimensions really reminds me of the Wayward Children series. (hide spoiler)]

[Julian]

@Nirkatze sounds good! looking forward to finally reading it.

[Nirkatze]

@Julian--yay! Same here. I'd been putting off the audio novellas 'cuz I didn't think I'd be able to focus. But now I have lots of practice!

@Soo--thanks for the background & corrections! I have noticed that bad writing doesn't bother me as much on audio as it does in physical, thank goodness, as long as the narrator is good. I will have to look in to the other series you mentioned before picking up the part I actually bought.

[Julian]

I've noticed with audiobooks that they have to be of a certain style for me to fully appreciate and follow along. Sanderson's writing style is extremely easy to follow along (especially the other 3 Reckoner books) so Lux should be fine.

[Soo]

Choko wrote: "Thank goodness that sale ended, or I would have bought the whole site up!!! I will need some time to recover financially from this, hahaha!!! But I am ready to read anything with anyone at this poi..."

I'm kinda glad you didn't see my question about what historical fiction you bought. It would have lead to more shopping. LOL

[Choko]

I think I bought them all, Soo... Or at least this is how my wallet feels... I was talking more about actual history books, but for the fictional ones of the genre, I would really like to reread the first two and finish off the series of Neal Stevenson about The Baroque Cycle... The time of Newton and discovery... It is quite the grand adventure...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Emily wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "@Emily: Spelunking 25%: [spoilers removed]"..."

Actually, the "hell" dimensions remind me of Wayward Children worlds... and the slim views Alice gets reminds me of the first dimension-hopping short story, with Jonathan and Enid & the train, I think?...

(view spoiler)[the flaying is horrible... (hide spoiler)]

[Soo]

I was tempted to get the Baroque cycle. I have the books and figure the audiobooks would be a good way to get them read. =)

The site wide sale happened 2 years ago. So, we're probably safe for 2 years before another one will happen. XD

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

RachelG. wrote: "Emily wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "@Emily: Spelunking 25%: [spoilers removed]" I've been wandering how"

Spelunking 17% [spoilers removed]"

I see we think alike :D

[Julian]

@choko if you want to read history books I'm game! I love reading up about things that happened in the past

[RachelG.]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Spelunking 33%: [spoilers removed]"

Spelunking 35%/Chapter 9 (view spoiler)[ For sure Alice is getting used by Naga. I don't think I understand why Alice has been spending 50 years looking for Thomas when she doesn't even respect his opinions enough to avoid Naga.

Sally is an interesting character. I like that she came to the world with the Autarach via the crossroads. Would Seanan McGuire's crossroads series tie-in with this idea? I haven't read them.

Strange about the painting of Alice hanging up. I don't know what that is about yet. (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

RachelG. wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "Spelunking 33%: [spoilers removed]" ..."

The crossroads ghost series is the 2nd Healy Family ghost character... not the babysitter ghost, the other one...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I actually haven't read that series... I've tried... the first entry is a repackage of an anthology of 12 short stories, so I struggled to get into the overarching story...

The 2nd book is more traditional and came much later... and there appears to be a 3rd book now...

I looked it up... it's Rose Marshall... Aunt Rose... and from what I remember, much of the series, or at least the first book, has to do with dealing with the ghost of the serial killer that killed Rose the first time...

[Nirkatze]

Choko wrote: "I think I bought them all, Soo... Or at least this is how my wallet feels... I was talking more about actual history books, but for the fictional ones of the genre, I would really like to reread th..."

The Baroque cycle is yet another series I've had on my TBR forever... I'd be down for BR but not until Summer I think...

[RachelG.]

Spleunking - Chapter 10 (view spoiler)[ I am thinking of why there were multiple beings who seemed like Alice that have visited Thomas before. Is it the main Alice who has been hunting him for 50 years that keeps coming back to the dimension and somehow forgets what is going on like a record player or did someone send other beings who resemble Alice for some reason.>/spoiler> (hide spoiler)]

[RachelG.]

Timelord Iain wrote: The crossroads ghost series is the 2nd Healy Family ghost character... not the babysitter ghost, the other one..."

Maybe I will try them sometime in the future.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

RachelG. wrote: "Spleunking - Chapter 10 [spoilers removed]"

(view spoiler)[I couldn't decide if it was the Crossroads sending them, or Naga... I'm pretty sure if Alice found Thomas, she wouldn't leave without him... (hide spoiler)]

[Soo]

Dead Lies Dreaming #1 - I wasn't sure if I was going to like it but the last third was a slam dunk! Nice setup for the new trilogy & characters. =D

Iain, you'll like it.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Soo wrote: "Dead Lies Dreaming #1 - I wasn't sure if I was going to like it but the last third was a slam dunk! Nice setup for the new trilogy & characters. =D

Iain, you'll like it."

I read it months ago... you weren't willing to pay for it at the time... the first few chapters take a bit of effort to get a hold of, but it all comes together really well in the end, and it has a House of Leaves vibe with the House...

[Soo]

Ah, I didn't even look to see if anyone else had read it. I see the comparison to House of Leaves. House of Leaves was more weird though.

The ending was great. The middle was meh. It would have been better if the backstory was inserted sooner than almost at the end.

At this point, we have too many series on the "Buy on Release Date" list. We could probably build a mountain out of that pile! lol

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Soo wrote: "Ah, I didn't even look to see if anyone else had read it. I see the comparison to House of Leaves. House of Leaves was more weird though.

The ending was great. The middle was meh. It would have b..."

Most of what I'm reading this year are new releases and new releases I missed last year...