Vagabond Treehouse (2023) [Beware of Chicken 3 - December 4th] Showing 3,651-3,700 of 5,829

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Narilka wrote: "Choko wrote: "Now, how is that even possible??? The dude already has it hard, what more could be heaped up on him?"

I paused at book 6. Book 2 isn't really dark in comparison..."

Not book 2... book 2 of the sequel series... the newest book... Relentless comes after Rage, which comes after Deep Silence...

[Brian]

You already read those Iain ?? Or are we reading them in 2023?

[Narilka]

Choko, did you mean the first Joe Ledger series or the second one? lol It's confusing :)

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Brian wrote: "You already read those Iain ?? Or are we reading them in 2023?"

So much book talk lately, I was lost for a second... Cave 13 is August 2023... I've read all previous Ledger books...

I've abandoned Jack Reacher, after a rough couple years of newer releases... I haven't liked the series much, since at least the book that literally had nothing to do with Reacher (he spent the whole book researching his family at the library, and walked in at the end and saved the horror movie victims at the motel at the end?)...

I'll totally Buddy Read Desert Star tho, if you want... now-ish or 2023...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Narilka wrote: "Choko, did you mean the first Joe Ledger series or the second one? lol It's confusing :)"

I'm pretty sure it was a comment chain from when I responded that the newest books went super dark... then Choko asked how that's possible, given what she's seen in books so far... then I gave a long spoiler for events from the drone book and the first/second book in the sequel series...

Or I'm completely off-base, since we've been all over the place with topics, lately...

[Brian]

I’m in for Bosch and Rouge. I’m in same boat with Reacher (and Bosch sometimes). Reacher’s new books are all cookie cutter and haven’t offered me much. I’ve given up for now on Reacher even tho I loved the earlier books

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Brian wrote: "I’m in for Bosch and Rouge. I’m in same boat with Reacher (and Bosch sometimes). Reacher’s new books are all cookie cutter and haven’t offered me much. I’ve given up for now on Reacher even tho I l..."

I was a big fan of Reacher until around the one where Reacher got conscripted back into the Army in a strategy to throw him off a case...

I think Renee Ballard has reinvigorated the Bosch books... gives him a protege in the same way the show uses his daughter...

[Nirkatze]

Narilka wrote: "Yeah. I had a hard time reading dark books the last two years for some reason ;) After the holidays sounds about right since I have Space Team to finish and then What If 2 already purchased."

I'm really feeling that too Narilka... the past couple years I've definitely had a harder time reading darker books--and I do actually like Grimdark etc... I do feel I've been actively seeking lighter reads lately. Space Team sounds really funny...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Nirkatze wrote: "Narilka wrote: "Yeah. I had a hard time reading dark books the last two years for some reason ;) After the holidays sounds about right since I have Space Team to finish and then What If 2 already p..."

Space Team is hilarious... but I don't think I want to re-read it and risk not enjoying it as much... Phil Thron, the narrator, includes outtakes on the audiobook... sometimes he bursts into giggles trying to read what Barry Hutchison wrote...

[Narilka]

I haven't gotten to a book with outtakes yet. I bet those are hilarious! Phil Thron is great.

Space Team 4, through Ch 13.5 (view spoiler)[/facepalm Seriously Mech?? You can't remember the safety even on your own guns??? LOL (hide spoiler)]

[Choko]

Hahaha! That was hilarious:))) I love Space Team!!!

[Narilka]

I finished Space Team. That was fun :) It's nice to see Cal showing some heroic tendencies. Splurt is still my favorite though!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. OMG I ate too much.

[Choko]

It is that time of the year when we are all going overboard with food:) As long as we are all healthy and well, all else is secondary! It is so nice to stop the daily grind for a bit and celebrate family and friends:)

[Nirkatze]

Choko wrote: "...As long as we are all healthy and well, all else is secondary!..."

Read that line as I was steadily working my way through a pint of haagen daas. :) Happy Turkey Day folks.

[Nirkatze]

So, I just had a bit of a surreal experience while perusing the Audible BF sale today... I came across this book: Defiance: Junctionworld Book 1... and realized the author was my cousin! I knew he had been writing, and I think I even knew he wrote SF, but I hadn't ever bugged him for more info. So of course I had to put it in my cart. Hah! I'm going to read it and leave a review and never tell him.

[Choko]

How fun! Let me know if it is worth it, I will support him as well:)

[Nirkatze]

LOL For sure! <3

[Narilka]

Nirkatze wrote: "So, I just had a bit of a surreal experience while perusing the Audible BF sale today... I came across this book: Defiance: Junctionworld Book 1... and realized the author was my co..."

Cool! Hope the book is a good one :)

[Narilka]

Audible kicked it up a notch and now has $1 cyber monday deals added to the black friday list lol It looked mostly like novellas in the $1 list.

[Narilka]

Oh man! The Kaiju Preservation Society and The Broken Room are in the sale though I can't see the price since I already own both :D

[Brian]

Damn Audible!! I have like 25 titles from last sale to read still!

[Choko]

I know! They are evil!!!

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Finally found time for A Catalogue of Catastrophe... this is either the first main entry to include a Dramatis Thingamee... or the first one to include it on audio... I generally attribute these to the short stories, as a way to keep them short, without having to introduce everyone with their own paragraph... but the series has kinda gotten complicated, since the events of the last book :D

And it doesn't look like it intends to slow down, for awhile... Siobhan recommended the next entry, recently announced and blurbed, and I read the blurb: The Good, The Bad and The History

[Choko]

I will start #13 after I finish In Death #3 later today... Those books are just fun to read and they don't feel like a chore, which Wizard's First Rule kind of felt like...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

40-50% in, and my long-held head-canon about Maxwell's status as an Avatar of Time, has just been made canon, I think... and Markham, is waxing philosophical about what an end of the series would look like...

On a plot-level, this is the most pleasant story in awhile... no big worries about Leon/Bairstow, to muddy the enjoyment...

[Choko]

You are going to jinx it and something horrible will happen to one of them now:))))))

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

60-70%: I'm starting to question everything I know in the world... I've always thought/heard that Jodi Taylor is a Pantser (writes by the seat of her pants, with no plan)... but is she secretly a Planner?...

It sounds like (view spoiler)[she's tying together alot of old plot elements, like the short story where Markham & Maxwell helped deliver a baby in a manger, into a larger plot where Time has been using Maxwell/St. Mary's to guide events as needed in the Time War to come, here at book 12+ (hide spoiler)]... which is pretty amazing...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Closer to 70%: I dunno how JT is going to solve this, but I love that she's asserting some real consequences/side effects to constantly jumping all over the timeline... giving me 12 Monkeys vibes...

[Choko]

You are making me so psyched to start this!!!! Every one of your comments is making me more and more excited! This series is a favorite already, so if it's getting even better, I am going to celebrate it:)))

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

This is definitely my favorite entry in awhile... the previous entry just had me on the edge of my seat worrying about characters and implications... I paused alot...

I've been binging the hell out of this one, enjoying it, and enjoying the implications/theories abounding...

Markham & Maxwell even recently ruminated on how much darker and less fun their lives have become in recent years/books... how, in the past, they'd have been full of ideas and little care in the world about the dangers... the same things I think/complain about...

The hype is worth it, basically :D

And, once we're caught up, there's still 3+ Time Police books we can read... then we can consider the Isabella Barclay historical romance, and the other trilogy unrelated to anything, that Siobhan & Charlie are reading right now in the Last Minute thread...

White Silence

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

*sigh*... classic Jodi Taylor... things were going too smoothly (I was enjoying them too much)... (view spoiler)[things fell apart, spectacularly... Maxwell is on temporal bedrest... and now Max & Leon are fighting about the situations Max gets herself into... "we were done... Clive Ronan was dealt with once and for all... and you just HAD to seek out more trouble..."

As if Max is at fault for the events of the previous book with Dr. Bairstow, Leon being gallivanting around with Michael, and Maxwell & Markham needing to find a way to be safe, only to discover the Time War threat...

I mean, seriously... sometimes I question their entire marriage... (hide spoiler)]

GRRR!!!!

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I have a feeling that I know how the book is going to end, given the blurb for the next book...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

90%: this is getting so complicated it's making my head hurt, lol...

But I'm glad there's still more to the story, because (view spoiler)[I still don't see why the Insight Lady said she loves/loved Maxwell, at the start of the story... they only worked together for a short time, before the time travel plot picked up... and it didn't seem like they interacted much, after the interview... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

95%: Honestly, this ending has gotten so ridiculous, I don't want it to stop, now... (view spoiler)[I want more people to show up and arrest Maxwell... heretofore unknown organizations... kind of like that episode of Doctor Who where the Rhinos quarantine a hospital on the moon...

Or the Pandorica Opens, when all the aliens come to lock The Doctor away for the safety of the galaxy...

And... when I read the blurb that Maxwell was the #1 suspect in the shooting of the director of St. Mary's, I thought it was Dr. Bairstow for some reason, not Treadwell... (hide spoiler)]

JT is really writing herself into an interesting corner here... I can only imagine how it's all going to play out, in the next book... shame I/we will have to wait...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Finished, and I loved it... sounds like there's a plan for the next book... I assume it'll wrap up this Time War trilogy... assuming it's a trilogy... I think it's a trilogy... Chronicles of St. Mary's frequently sets up impromptu trilogies, these days... like the Clive Ronan one...

[Choko]

You are a reading machine! I am going to be reading this one tomorrow, because tonight I want to find out who is the killer in the In Death book... Life has been busy and I am not reading as fast as I would like to... But I am slowly and surely catching up:)

[Nirkatze]

Excited to pick up St. Mary's again in a week or so!!! Ditto on @Choko, Iain--you know how to get us psyched for a book. Too bad these're already on my TBR, or you'd have another +1. :)

@Choko--I was following y'all's conversation on Wizard's First Rule... same as you, I enjoyed the TV show, but everything I've heard about the author is just horrible... and after seeing y'all's reaction to the first book, I'm pretty sure I can strike it wholesale off my TBR list... ah well, plenty of other good things to read! Like more St. Mary's!

[Choko]

Nirkatze, good choice! The author is so preachy, so "I am smarter than everyone else", that it becomes cartoonish... I agree with one of the people discussing it, that if you read it as a budding teenager who is just getting into adult fantasy, it might impress you. It has definitely male teenage appeal. It has a good foundation for magic, but no subtlety, and very little charm...

[Brian]

Totally agree. I DNF book at half way last year

[Nirkatze]

When I think of preachy people like that, it makes me think of a quote I'm rather fond of: "Some people are like slinkies--not much good for anything, but you can't help but smile when you see them tumble down the stairs..."

Also, I already posted this in like two other places, but I'm going to be reading Firekeeper's Daughter and The Christie Affair next week by Friday 12/9 if anyone is interested in joining me. :)

[Choko]

St. Mary's #13... Up to Ch. 10 (view spoiler)[ Well, that opening was very interesting, with the woman Max accidentally killed telling her "I could have loved you, you bitch!" WTF? Who is she and why is she so angry with Max???

The decision to place Mr. B and Mrs. B(rown) in the 1890s was brilliant! They are made for that time period and would bland naturally:)

The theory of an organization, which gets a ton of money to relocate folks from their time and then kills them, only to place the next batch in their place, is horrible and ingenious at the same time. They must have a lot of funds and pull in order to achieve success in such an endeavor... That makes them ruthless, scary and dangerous, which of course, means Maxwell is going to get involved in it... Of course, that means Markham will be involved as well and we know what that combination equals - calamity!

The lady and the naked gardener:) Hahaha! (hide spoiler)]

This is so much fun! The British Museum and the second hand used store are the evil ones, it just can't be a major corporation of historical research!!!

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Choko wrote: "You are a reading machine! I am going to be reading this one tomorrow, because tonight I want to find out who is the killer in the In Death book... Life has been busy and I am not reading as fast a..."

My fast reading makes up for my lulls... I'm doing like 50-75% of my reading in 2 days a week, half the time...

Today I was busy with Synergism all afternoon, doing the final hyperactive phase of the game, I think... from here on out, I should only need to do anything similar once every 1-2 weeks...

[Choko]

I am absolutely fascinated with how you and Soo could read with the speed you do while playing games and doing other things! I can barely watch a game and concentrate on a book at the same time. I think it's a talent:)

[Choko]

St. Mary's #13... About 40% in. We are seeing some familiar faces and as you said, they are starting to realize that they are "tools of Time"... Very interesting development. I already thought that Cleo is using Max to nudge History in the right direction from time to time.

The Lady and the Butler discussing how to deal with the two prisoners was like a comedy routine! It was brilliant!!! I loved that piece of writing!:)))

[Choko]

St Mary's #13... You guys know I adore Max, but boy is she a bad patient and a total bitch when she gets stubborn! There is absolutely no reason for her to be so horrible with her husband and the rest of the world... Having to deal with my dad right now, who is being stubborn in spite of his health, I feel for everyone around her! I want to shake her and lock her in her room until she gets better...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

The Max & Leon fight almost ruined the book for me... we discussed this, back in books 1-5... their fights get so toxic... and lead to depression-based plot drama...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Craig Schaefer released Down Among the Dead Men over the summer, when I wasn't looking... and now I need to read it, ASAP...

The last book ended on a crazy cliffhanger (MC was shot in the heart and sent to hell)... this book involves him escaping hell, before the magical artifact holding his body to life fails... apparently... and it sounds like it has another crazy ending/cliffhanger of it's own, to parse out... can't wait to find out...

I love Craig Schaefer... you guys should check out this series, but it's the continuation of a mega-series of books that ended it's main arc after about 19 books and 4 series, a few years ago... now the 2 ongoing series are just continuing their own stories/arcs, independent of the mega-series arc that was mostly wrapped up...

The Long Way Down
Harmony Black -- spinoff from Faust after book 3...
Winter's Reach -- prequel / alternate world, that becomes relevant in Faust 5/6...
Sworn to the Night -- conclusion, after Faust 8 and Harmony Black 4, ties into the Revanche premise...

Midnight Jury is also linked into this, loosely... the woman that tries writing the comics for awhile is the oracle from the Faustverse... and the superhero Danielle Faust, is an alternate version of Daniel Faust, experienced in a weird mind-altering chapter of The Locust Job...

[Choko]

I had no idea that Schaefer had written another Faust book...! I need to catch up eventually. Those books are very entertaining.

I just finished St. Mary's #13 and of course I loved it!!! Apart from her acting like an ass after forcefully being grounded, everything else was awesome! I hate that we have to wait for the next book! This was so much fun and the narrator is absolutely amazing in bringing St. Mary's world to life, I can't even imagine anyone else reading these books but her. I am actually kind of sad that we are done with those. I guess we will have to do the Time Police ones in order to fill in the void...

[Nirkatze]

Started reading your comment Choko and was thinking--we have the Time Police! But then of course you finished with that thought..

Is anyone else following Jodi Taylor by news emails? I got one last week I think, mentioning there was going to be a Jodi Taylor fan conference in late May. It looks like fun! Not going to go, but part of me wants to...

I picked up the first Daniel Faust book at one of the audible sales. I enjoyed the Witches of Gotham books so far, though only read first two... and that description of the cliffhanger for book 10 makes me think of Dresden Files...

[Choko]

I started writing in my comment, that we should do a buddy read of the whole Faust universe once we finish Dresden, but I thought it might be too much for people...