Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion
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Beware of Chicken 3
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Vagabond Treehouse (2023) [Beware of Chicken 3 - December 4th]
King Bullet #12:Iain!!! This is so depressing!!! I know I just need to give it a bit more time, but man. *grumble*
And done with Broken Room!Great insight on the origins, Iain!
Yes, I listened to the afterword--not that I remember anything! But I did think the Pedro Pascal bit was interesting--he is also going to be starring in the new Last of Us HBO series set for 2023. Yet another protector of a young girl across country role. I think this would be
Thanks for the end-summary Soo, and the details on Axel! I missed a lot of that. Still working on being able to listen and understand.
re: immigration--I always enjoy it when an author includes and thus brings attention current issues, without trying to solve them. Doesn't keep me from getting riled up when I read stuff though! I should take that energy and do more research, then write some letters. I don't envy the people trying to reform immigration--there's a lot of knots to deal with.
Going to start Lux soonish--decided to toss in The Emperor's Soul first, but it's pretty short.
King Bullet #12: WHEW! Dark tones are still there but the story finally moved to where its less screaming into the darkness. 😋
Nirkatze, so did you like Broken Room? 🤔😁
Soo wrote: "Nirkatze, so did you like Broken Room? 🤔😁"lol, yes! I couldn't follow everything, but it was fast paced and entertaining, and at times thoughtful. 4 stars.
Gonna start Emperor’s Soul tmrw after the Broken Room
Brian wrote: "Gonna start Emperor’s Soul tmrw after the Broken Room"Yay! I've been lonely posting in there. >.<
Finished Emperor's Soul. Starting Lux.
Ha. I’ll try Lux after Souls. Your too fast for me !!!
Nah, just on break right now. Long days of chillaxing and reading. :)
King Bullet #12: Well, it wasn't the ending I wanted, but it was a classic Stark book + well written. I was going to leave it at 3 stars, because I think Kadrey could have done better. Then upped the rating to 4 stars because the writing is fine. I just didn't like the way it went. I was comparing the fact that I gave the last Alex Verus (which is also novel #12) 4 stars and I enjoyed that one less than Sandman Slim. In many ways, Kadrey has a better handle of his character, Stark, than Jacka does on Verus. It wasn't a matter of good writing or best ending. It was all about how disgruntled I was by the ending. Hahahah!
Technically, the story was fine and very in line with the rest of the series. I just wanted more and better. I know, I'm a greedy reader. lol
So, I bumped the rating to 4 stars.
Now, going into my re-read for Blackflame. I need a genre hop before starting A Terrible Fall of Angels.
Nirkatze wrote: "Broken Room Chapter 22 Cars [spoilers removed]"Yeah LOL Great advice for RL!
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Timelord Iain wrote: "@Soo: I felt like it could have been just another entry in the series if the last 3 chapters were changed a bit…"I think that was Kadrey's intention. From the interview/etc that I read, he wanted to finish the series in order to write other stuff. To throw his brain into other stories and develop his writing more.
It's well written and very much a Sandman Slim book. It just wasn't the big bang of other events within the series.
I'll also jump in on Lux after I finish one of the books that I'm currently on.
Lux Chapter 1--poker and bucket list!What's on y'all's bucket list? Most of mine is books, but I'd also like to go see Hobbiton and go scuba diving around the Great Barrier Reef. Lots of travel locations.
Lux Chapter 2--big bang! I had trouble following everything--had to listen like 3 times, before I gave up and just went on to chapter 3. Mostly 'cuz I suck at paying attention to audio. If I try to multitask, or my attention wanders, I miss whole chunks. And the whole point of doing audio is to be able to multitask. So definitely weight-lifting for my brain.
Lux Ch 3+ here we go backstory!Lux Ch. 6 the post--I'm imagining doing sun salutations on this thing.
LMS Vol28, Ch8: Seo Yoon learns about the small good deeds that Hyun and his sister do for their elderly neighbors. Hyun is pretty sweet! Even if he does come across as a penny pincher. lol
Plus, Seo Yoon gets mad at Hyun, but it wasn't his fault. I wish the translation for exactly what she did was better because I'm betting it was hilarious. Bad for Hyun. Good for the readers. =D
Terrible Fall of Angels - This reminds me of how well Laurell K. Hamilton can weave a story. Though, there's still too much personal life drama redirected into the story board. *shrug* That may always be the case.
I thought it's cool that Jonathan Maberry's quote is on the cover.
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Timelord Iain, Tech Support
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rated it 5 stars
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Timelord Iain wrote: "I've now rewatched Doctor Who to the mid-point of series 7... the end of Amy & Rory, the revelations about River Song... all that's left is the intro of Clara Oswald, and the end of the 11th Doctor..."That's about as far as I've watched total--I've only gotten up to the first Peter Capaldi episode, I think. Keep meaning to pick it back up again.
Choko, I finished A Terrible Fall of Angels. It was a good story. It's closer to what LKH used to write before the polyamorous aspect took over too much of the plot line in Anita Blake. It still seems like there are emotional sessions bleeding into the story more than it should. Usually, I like Holter Graham as a narrator, but he's not the best fit for this story.
Zaniel Havelock aka Havoc is pretty great. I enjoyed getting to know him better. He's a mix of naive and protective that works well within the story. I have my fingers crossed and hoping that some of my speculations about what may happen will not happen.
I am starting The Terrible Fall of Angels tomorrow... A family member, not even 40 years old, decided that life was too hard and took his life two days ago... This has been ... hard. So I am trying to read, but I am doing it a bit slower right now... I am still here though...
I am so sorry Choko. A good friend Of mine fromThe service killed himself two years ago. Very hard. Your in my thoughts
Thank you, Brian... Everyone around is feeling bad, but his kids, 13 and 15, they are really on my mind... And he himself, of course... Life is too short to begin with. What does a person have to feel, in order to shorten it even more...
I am so sorry to hear that Choko. I knew a young man a few years ago who killed himself, and I couldn't understand either. I had the opportunity to talk to a suicide survivor a few years later, and they described it as looking down a hallway, and only seeing the same thing stretching into the future--unable to see the potential side paths or doors. That helped me...visualize...though I still can't fully comprehend. And we're left behind to pick up the pieces and try to navigate the wake. My heart goes out to you and to the family.
Hugs, Choko! That's tough! How are the kids doing?
Choko wrote: "I am starting The Terrible Fall of Angels tomorrow... A family member, not even 40 years old, decided that life was too hard and took his life two days ago... This has been ... hard. So I am trying..."I'm so very sorry to hear this. Big hugs Choko.
Nirkatze wrote: "Broken Room Chapter 27--y'all weren't kidding about the horror elements this author is known for. [spoilers removed]"Sigh. I listened to this chapter while eating breakfast this morning. Bad idea LOL Guess the weird stuff is going to start picking up.
The Broken Room.Timelord Iain wrote: "Made it past first chunk of flashbacks (not counting that quick interlude in the middle of the flashback section)..."
I had a similar thought regarding (view spoiler)
Thank you guys for everything!!! Hugs back ❤️.Soo, the kids are absolutely devastated! I think they can't believe it... He was one of those extremely energetic, gregarious, bigger than life, party all the time kind of character, who always had time and attention for them. I think this is what makes it so incomprehensible for all of us... If he was struggling with obvious depression, it would have been easier to understand... This came out of nowhere. Everyone around him now feels guilty for not seeing the deeper problem or not fixing it somehow. But that would have been impossible, when he was always around people and they always were there for him... What else could anyone do? This is why I wish people would reach out more, if they struggle with such thoughts... You don't know what might help... So, if ever anyone feels even an inkling, get in touch, I will call back, I promise!
Saying that it's easy to ask for help is easy to say. Asking for help is hard. If you're the kind of person that other people turn to for help, it does not make it easy to be the person asking for help. This is an unfortunate truth. It's needing someone else to take the same kind of role that you give to others. You would think that if you have a problem and get to a point where you want to talk about it, it is as simple as deciding to do that. But it's not that easy.
It's easier if there's a person in your life that is a good listener and actually listens to what you say without making demands. Sometimes, all a person needs to do is talk. Isolation of thoughts can be a limiting demon that's hard to break free from.
A good part of what people do are based on the expectations of those around them. You wouldn't think it makes a huge impact on your choices and etc, but it does.
There's no need to blame. No one needs to take on a load of "I should have" or give blame in "he should have", etc. Blaming doesn't make it better. It won't fix anything.
Be sad, cry, talk, open eyes and hearts to see. Maybe the next time a loved one or stranger is in pain and you feel like you can say or do something to help, you will.
In the end, no one is the person that passed away. Only he knows exactly what he was thinking and feeling. Can't do anything about that.
You can share that you are upset, be willing to talk about your own responses and listen to others that need to share. Sharing and forgiveness is a hard but great parts of healing.
We all want to hide away our pain. Like it shouldn't be seen. Well, life has pain, and it's kind of dumb that we rationalize it's okay to hide it away from everyone. At least with family and friends, it should be a safe place/person to be vulnerable and show & share pain. We make pain a bad thing. Like it's only a mark of darkness. Yet, pain is also a warning system, signs of growth, change and a way of showing the depths of fears and joys.
Soo, you are absolutely right... Asking for help is very, very hard... And you never want to be a bother... I know that very well. And I know this should not be so, but reading and talking books with a group really makes me personally feel so much better, than if I isolate myself and do it alone... My dad used to be the person I would discuss books, history and politics with, but now he is old and his brain just doesn't work the same... During my recovery from the cancer treatments, I tried to read on my own, get my brain back on line, but only when I started reading with the group again did my mind and soul start functioning right again... These BRs and the friends we make through sharing our thoughts and emotions over books really does miracles for the mental health!!!
I'm so sorry Choko! Big hugs indeed. I hope you and yours are holding up and can process grief together.Thanks Soo for sharing your thoughts about this too. You never know what's going on inside someone's head, and unfortunately society has pushed not sharing pain with others. I think some of that is changing and talking about mental health has become a lot less taboo of a subject.
Yeah, the idea that mental and emotional stability is a separate thing from every day life is weird. We have lots of weird quirks to our social structures that need to be adjusted. Talking is a good step for that, and we definitely have a lot of random sharing via net. The good with the blah. XD
Emily, thank you! I have no idea how people used to do it before the 60's and 70's, when it started to be OK to say that not everything is just fine... Thank goodness we are not in the 50's, because G-d forbid, you said anything that might have given the idea that things in your family might be a bit bumpy. This stiff upper lip, Stepford wives culture must have been absolutely stifling...
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I don't think it hits me as much as it used to... being active socially on GR the past 7 years has helped, I think... and Discord... less alone in my own thoughts 24/7...
Well, we feel blessed you are here, Iain! Actually, I feel this way for just about everyone here:)))
Same!I've definitely come to appreciate the importance of a good listener and the need to just talk it out--it's hard for a lot of folks to listen without trying to control or direct the conversation--I keep thinking back to one scene in Buffy the Vampire Slayer where Willow is complaining about something and Buffy tries to offer a solution--which just makes Willow more mad. Then Buffy says something like "Oh--is this a 'feel-my-pain' conversation? I'm sorry, I thought it was a 'solve-my-problems' one. I'm ready now." And I realized--that's so true. Sometimes people just need to share. Sometimes people do need help solving problems--but until they are ready to ask for it, unsolicited advice is usually the worst advice, regardless of content. And that can be very hard.
I like that my "book family" was mostly in place before the pandemic and it grew during it. =DThat's why I get annoyed when GR breaks a bit more, because it makes me wonder where we can transplant to keep our book family together. lol
GR's definitely not the most robust system, that's for sure....Aaand taking a left turn--I'm about 80% done with Lux.
It's been a while since I read the Reckoners series, and I have forgotten most of the mechanics. I'm having fun with the technology and Epic powers, and trying to puzzle out weaknesses. The characters are fun (especially the Texan with the prosthetic leg), and it carries some interesting thoughts so far.
Probably because of recently reading Malice, but I keep coming back to the Paradise Lost quote: "Better to rule in hell than serve in heaven." If given the choice, of being free but in squalor, or living in a paradise as a slave, what would you choose?
I think the answer lies within the kind of mentality that people have and what they think of as adversity. Depending on phrasing, it would be easy to say that we are all slaves to corporations. lol I'd survive in either scenario, but I'd probably pick free in squalor over being a slave in paradise. It's not paradise if you're a slave.
Which would you choose?
Definitely free in squalor! But freedom is such an elusive concept... You can turn it into a negative within societal structures, just as you can equate being employed to slavery... It all depends on your own perception of your situation...
LMS Vol29, Ch3: Thus far, Weed has been able to (mostly) hide that he transformed into different races for various quests. During his Master's Quest, a lot has happened, and one of them was to teach Orcs how to sculpt & enjoy art.
5 Orc Lords hustle from Vargo Fortress to Morata and confront Weed. They recognized him because he SMELLS like the Orc Karichwi. Hahahahah!
Someone needs to throw Weed into a lake or bath. LOL
Nirkatze, that is something ive been trying to keep in mind lately when listening to people. Sometimes people just need to complain and dont necessarily want people to solve their problems... there was an episode of parks and rec where (view spoiler) tagged just in case. But sometimes people just need to talk about their pain without someone else trying to solve problems...Oooohhh thats such an interesting concept to think of... but yeah definitely on the side of freedom in squalor. But choko makes good points on what exactly the definition of freedom and slavery..
I suppose if I were going by my inspiration, it would be the situation in the book Lux--sort of an anarchic post-apocalyptic world with pockets of "civilization" ruled over crazy superhero tyrants. So, you could scrape out a living by trying to hide from the superheroes and their lackeys, or live in a crazy superhero's sphere of influence with all the amenities--but you are living at their whim.I don't know that I have the talents to survive by subsistence and scavenging, but I know a lot of folks who do. I'd probably try to make myself useful to one of the free cells.
Has anyone taken a peek at Sanderson's Secret Project #2 yet? Usually, I don't like reading sample chapters--if I start something, I want to finish it! I don't like waiting!--but I took a little peek....and I didn't want to stop reading. The premise looks really funny.
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Beware of Chicken 3 (other topics)
Beware of Chicken 3 (other topics)
Night of the Living Deed (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Nora Sakavic (other topics)Jordan L. Hawk (other topics)
Jordan Castillo Price (other topics)
T.J. Klune (other topics)
Derek Alan Siddoway (other topics)
I felt similarly when I was about where you were, but it ended right before I got too antsy.