Cycle of the Scour #1-3 (October 2023)

[Ann-Marie]

Through Chapter 15 of The Red Sea (view spoiler)[The boys are back on the island, Dante is sick and Blays is sticking by him, confident if he catches ronone that Dante will get a cure. Sad to see the captain die, I liked her but I like Naran as well. That magic battle on the bridge was fun! I so want Dante to try to master Ether after he gets cured (I mean you know it is going to happen, or at least some long term solution to the problem and he can leave that crappy island again). I am glad that Niles isn't Dante's father and they just entered the dream place and first thing he encounters is his real father, let's see how that goes.

Sorry to ramble lol (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Nirkatze wrote: "That makes me curious to get to the next book, but also a bit hesitant to get to the next series... I'm not a huge fan of prequel series. I always want to know what happens after, ..."

Oh good! I must've misread one of your comments, about Dante's father--I thought that meant the WHOLE SERIES was about Dante's father's adventures... so glad we're not done with Dante & Blays!

[Ann-Marie]

I have a little more than 2.5 hours left on the audio and I just finished probably my favorite sequence in the books so far, it was better than the ending of book 2! Will definitely finish today, depending on the ending I may start the next, not sure yet lol

[Ann-Marie]

Finished (view spoiler)[Niles, you bastard, completely deserved to die. I am glad Dante had a chance to kind of make peace with his father. I loved Winden, she was wrong to keep the secrets from Dante but once she came clean she was a solid ally. Gladdik appears to be the main bad guy in the next book so he will not be getting his deserved death right away sadly.

I thought the battle scenes were pretty terrific, and the bridge fight was surpassed when they fought on the platforms! I hope that this is a place that Dante & Blays visit often, I'd like to see what is happening in later books. (hide spoiler)]

I enjoyed this one the most so far, maybe because the action was focused on a much smaller area that prior books? Not sure but I am very much looking forward to the next book.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Exciting... I might not get to this until Monday... we'll see...

[Choko]

I am reading Black Star #3 , up to Ch. 13... (view spoiler)[ I can't believe Dante went head first into Blays' business and totally ruined his plans! If I was on B, I would want to strangle him even more than before! I wish we had gotten a bit more information about the lady he was working with. She seemed like she was on top of things and I am hoping for more of her.

Dante also has a new lady working with him. I am not sure about her yet. She seems very mercenary... I do like the young priest that hangs out with them though...

As you guys said, the one good thing that came out of the clusterfuck was B running away to become a student to Min and now he is able to feel and see Nether , so this promises to be exciting.

The new psychedelic lights and weird creatures are an interesting conundrum. Dante is on the way to talk to some reclusive monks about it, let's see what happens:) (hide spoiler)]

[Ann-Marie]

Choko wrote: "I am reading Black Star #3 , up to Ch. 13... I can't believe Dante went head first into Blays' business and totally ruined his plans! If I was on B, I would want to strangle him even more than bef..."

Yes, Dante was an asshat for that!

[Ann-Marie]

The Silver Thief

Through Chapter 9 (view spoiler)[So Dante & Blays will definitely fight for Colleen, right? Like 0% chance they do not end up fighting Gladdic in a big battle between Colleen & the Mallish. I would have preferred that they killed him in the last book and moved along to someone new to battle, even if it was someone from the same group. I know that is nit-picky lol

Now a legitimate complaint so far - WTH is up with the Asha story-line? I thought the Citadel peeps could sense with someone was using the nether and she uses it a lot. She stole Dante's sword which annoys me and I would love to have him return to Narashtovik and just murder her face but I know he won't. I hope that including this makes sense at the end but right now I guess I'll have faith....

Loving the banter and the action has been decent as usual. (hide spoiler)]

[Ann-Marie]

Through Chapter 16 (view spoiler)[Gladdik summoned a demon? That cannot be good for anyone! I am so tired but wanted to post that I am now a bit annoyed about the Asha story-line. I am not a fan of her chapters at this point. (hide spoiler)]

[Ann-Marie]

Through Chapter 26 (view spoiler)[I don't see how Dante and Raxa (realized I was spelling her name wrong this whole time when I swapped to the ebook a bit ago) will meet up in this book unless the ending is wrapped up very quickly. I wonder if the Citadel peeps will snag her doing her shadow walking thing and that is the ultimate connection to Dante. According to the time left in book on the Kindle I have just over an hour left and I still do not see the value in her chapters.

Meanwhile the boys have been up to all kinds of stuff. Will Gladdik survive another book? I am not sure if they are up to defeating the main demon yet, forget what he is called, especially after Gladdik let it eat 300 people!

So far I am not liking this one as much as I did the last which is disappointing because I was liking each one a little more than the last so far. Anyway I'll finish tonight and post final thoughts tomorrow. (hide spoiler)]

[Ann-Marie]

Finished (view spoiler)[What a downer of an ending. I was way off on how Raxa would be brought into Dante's circle, I feel like that story-line was an absolute waste of time, a chapter at the beginning and then again at the end would have accomplished the same goal and wasted a lot less pages in the book.

I was surprised a bit that Dante & Blays were not more invested in the Collen people but I really shouldn't have been. The last part of the book with the battle with the Andracs and Star-Eater was pretty epic but the ending and Dante realizing that he had been used again, this time by the Keeper.

Also Gladdik is still alive, a fact I find very upsetting. Him disguising another priest so he could make his getaway was a good move on his part but I wanted him to die at the end of the last book and he is still alive heading into book 3? le sigh (hide spoiler)]

Overall liked it less than the last book, thus breaking the streak of enjoying each book a little more than the previous one. There are 8 books in this part of the overall universe, if this turns into a trend I may take a break.

Edit - This is for The Silver Thief, would have been nice if I mentioned that....

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I'm a bit behind on Cycle of Galand, but I hope to catch up this week/end, now that I'm mostly caught up on the start-of-month glut of Buddy Reads...

I've been ignoring BRs in favor of personal binges a bit more, lately, but it hasn't hindered me too much, yet...

[Ann-Marie]

Timelord Iain wrote: "I'm a bit behind on Cycle of Galand, but I hope to catch up this week/end, now that I'm mostly caught up on the start-of-month glut of Buddy Reads...

I've been ignoring BRs in favor of personal bi..."

Personal reading? Unacceptable!

I'll probably get to book 3 early next week, you will likely pass me & have all 4 finished by then lol

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Ann-Marie wrote: "Yeah I am through Chapter 6 and it is a few years after the last book, Dante & Blays are again traveling [spoilers removed]"

I love the bromance and the antics... and the typical travelling...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Ann-Marie wrote: "Through Chapter 15..."

Read this early... I thought the dad's name was Larry, or something with an L?

Just wanted to say... (view spoiler)[yea... sad to see the captain die... the series seems to kill off alot of female characters... Blays love interest... the leader of the mages... the captain...

Maybe I'm just inflating it, and should just say secondary/tertiary characters... like Dante's replacement friend from book 3... (hide spoiler)]

[Ann-Marie]

Timelord Iain wrote: "

Just wanted to say... yea... sad to see..."

I agree but I was trying to give Robertson a pass to see if this trend continues. I thought about starting the next today but I started listening to Sharp Ends and loving it! I have a IRL book club book to read for Friday night but I think I am going to listen to The Wound of the World then the book club book, then the last of this series for this month.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I feel like not much has happened, and the book is half over already, somehow... typical with these books, despite being super long books :D

[Ann-Marie]

Timelord Iain wrote: "I feel like not much has happened, and the book is half over already, somehow... typical with these books, despite being super long books :D"

When the action happens though I enjoyed it quite a bit!

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Ann-Marie wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "I feel like not much has happened, and the book is half over already, somehow... typical with these books, despite being super long books :D"

When the action happens though I..."

Agreed... but this first Galand book still might be my least favorite book to date... if only because I found it annoying how often Dante thought of running away and leaving people to die...

This attitude was more acceptable when he was weaker and younger, but he's reached a level now, where you'd think he'd take responsibility for his actions... with great power comes great responsibility, and all that...

[Ann-Marie]

He got a pass from me because of the shenanigans with getting him to the island and all the lies but if this bothered you then I am very interested in seeing your reaction to book 2...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Now I'm worried :D

From the blurbs, it sounds like Dante's actions throughout this series cause alot of consequences...

(view spoiler)[This book causes Gladdic to go on a rampage... stopping Gladdic unleashes (view spoiler)[the White Lich... stopping the White Lich forces Dante, Blays, and Gladdic into some sort of alliance / teamwork that grows into a longterm thing... defeating the White Lich doesn't fix everything, because now one or more of the Gods are pissed off... things escalate, a multiverse opens up, and the only way to save the main world of the story is to destroy a portal world... and they learn the world of portals has millions of people on it... and that's kinda where the series has left off at the moment, with the newest book (hide spoiler)]... as you can see, I've spoiled a ton of stuff, just reading blurbs... (hide spoiler)]

[Ann-Marie]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Now I'm worried :D

From the blurbs, it sounds like Dante's actions throughout this series cause alot of consequences...

[spoilers removed]... as you can see, I've spoiled a ton of stuff, just rea..."

I hadn't read the blurbs and now I feel like (view spoiler)[it's going to be a lot of downer endings to the remaining books in the series! Also very sad to see Gladdik doesn't die any time soon....Let's hope that the banter keeps up to offset some of that at least! (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Choko wrote: "I am reading Black Star #3, up to Ch. 13....."

I am FINALLY finishing up Arawn by jumping into #3 and hoping to continue into Galand #1 after and actually catch up! I just hit this same point--(view spoiler)[AND OMG! I am so pissed at Dante for that exact reason! You'd think he'd know Blays well enough to like, trust him? Or at least confront him in private instead of assume that Blays had turned coat, and like, even if he had, warning the King, the bad guy in the whole deal?? REALLY??? GAH! (hide spoiler)]

[Ann-Marie]

Nice! And that seems to be a consensus opinion about that, what a jerkface move!

[Ann-Marie]

Dammit I started a post through chapter 5 of Wound but it must have been on my work computer and I never posted! I am now partway through chapter 9 but my earlier post (view spoiler)[was a pretty good rant about Raxa, how much I dislike her chapters, why didn't Robertson just give her a dedicated book and have her join the main books when her storyline actually meets up with Dante & Blays, blah blah She has the Cycle of Arwan now, I guess to teach herself like Dante did?

So far as the boys, Dante folded about the Colleners but Blays was awesome, like yeah we can still leave these guys! Dante is back to killing people and while they deserve to die so does the Keeper. Not a whole lot of action so far which is disappointing, pretty sure that will change though. (hide spoiler)]

[Ann-Marie]

Through chapter 11 of Wound (view spoiler)[Dante is back in Narashtovik and Raxa is going to get hers, so exciting!!!!!! Also I love the Norren so much and we got Mourn AND Hopp, loved that! Hoping it is about to get good!!!

Also letting Naran go after Gladdik does not sound like the best thing for the captain.... (hide spoiler)]

[Ann-Marie]

Partway through chapter 18 in Wound (view spoiler)[I hate the Keeper, I almost want her to die as much as Gladdik..... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I plan to read Silver Thief this afternoon, I think... or tomorrow... one or the other...

[Choko]

Started The Red Sea #1 ... It catches you right from the start, doesn't it! The nether burn seems vicious! And I am glad we are pretty much right after the previous book timeline wise...

[Ann-Marie]

Through chapter 23 (view spoiler)[finally some action! Dante's & Blays's journey through the jungle was awesome and then the fight with Gladdic was pretty terrific too! I like that it is picking up and I am very glad Naran survived! (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I'm halfway through Silver Thief, and I feel like I'm reading a Dante book and a Lies of Locke Lamora book, whose pages got shuffled... (view spoiler)[these 2 storylines seem completely separate... almost feel like it should be a spinoff...

"When the Dante's away, the thieves will play"... (hide spoiler)]

[Choko]

The Red Sea #1 ... Ch. 5 (view spoiler)[ So, Larson Galand is Dante's father... And they have to find some cure for his disease...

They also just got scammed with empty shells:))) (hide spoiler)]

[Ann-Marie]

Choko wrote: " The Red Sea #1 ... Ch. 5 So, Larson Galand is Dante's father... And they have to find some cure for his disease...

They also just got scammed with empty shells:))) "

That shell thing was funny! They can be so dumb lol

[Ann-Marie]

Timelord Iain wrote: "I'm halfway through Silver Thief, and I feel like I'm reading a Dante book and a Lies of Locke Lamora book, whose pages got shuffled... these 2 storylines seem completely separate... almost feel li..."

(view spoiler)[I was not a fan of so much Raxa in the book for sure. (hide spoiler)]

[Nirkatze]

Ann-Marie wrote: "Nice! And that seems to be a consensus opinion about that, what a jerkface move!"

Finished Arawn #3 The Black Star ! I was a bit ... darn, I don't know if I'm reverse peeved, or feel like Blays got some of his own back (view spoiler)[when HE went and ruined everything DANTE had been planning with the black star... and it ended up right in the hands of the worst bad guy!

I do feel like the ending wrapped up really nicely... I didn't see it coming until Blays died, and then I was like, oh! Dante's gonna scrap all his big grandiose immortality plans, he's got to bring Blays back and THANK GOODNESS! I would've never forgiven him if he hadn't.

I loved how that kingdom got free, and that the King went bankrupt. Hah! (hide spoiler)]

Spellcheck also just taught me I've been mispronouncing grandiose as grandoise all my life. Whoops.

Hoping to start with Galand in a day or two...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Blame tortoise and Blastoise :D

[Ann-Marie]

Nirkatze wrote: "Ann-Marie wrote: "Nice! And that seems to be a consensus opinion about that, what a jerkface move!"

Finished Arawn #3 The Black Star ! I was a bit ... darn, I don't know if I'm reverse peeved, or ..."

(view spoiler)[For sure when Blays died I was like Dante is going to save him, zero tension about that lol (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Continuing with Silver Thief this morning (ate dinner last night, and just kinda never stopped watching TV / game shows after)...

I really want to see Gladdic get his comeuppance :D

Dante & Blays seem stuck in an underdog situation, for now, until they can finish learning about (view spoiler)[ethermancy and Andracs (hide spoiler)]

This storyline, and what we spoiled from blurbs, is giving me some serious Primeval vibes (the UK sci-fi show from awhile back, with (view spoiler)[portals to dinosaur times/dimensions) (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

The only way I see the 2 storylines connecting, is (view spoiler)[if the mages are behind the combat that's started with the thief groups... or things escalate into a war with the mages...

Raxa is about to maybe become leader, and has been playing life in GOD MODE, since getting that super sword... sounds like a Shardblade from Stormlight Archive, or that magic blade from The Edge series... (hide spoiler)]

[Ann-Marie]

Timelord Iain wrote: "The only way I see the 2 storylines connecting, is..."

(view spoiler)[I wasn't mad about how this happens but I thought it was rushed. (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

The audiobook for Silver Thief is hell weird...

The final chapter, "End Credits", is 2hrs long... has me worried it's going to end on a cliffhanger... (view spoiler)[Dante is trying to flush out Gladdic, and stop him from running a Nazi oven on the citizens of the nearby town, and it's only just finally jumped back to Raxa in the bathtub where she was ambushed (hide spoiler)]

[Choko]

Nirkatze, I hear you about the end of the first trilogy. I myself, really loved that third book:)))

About 80% in The Red Sea #1 ... I am enjoying it. It feels like the author is taking the classic Adventure route more than the Fantasy one, but I am here for it either way. The banter is still great. I was not expecting (view spoiler)[ that the dude he helped wasn't his father for real. I hate when you can't trust the veracity of a whole people because of their culture... It is horrible what happened to the original people of the island, and the guilt the ones who are there now feel... The visits to the afterlife were interesting. I wonder if they will be able to make any of the last two seeds grow...

I hated that Gladdic killed the Captain! It happened so fast!!! Them retaking the ship was pretty awesome!

So Gladdic has both Either and Nether to work with! But is hiding it from his boss... Hmmm... That makes him even more dangerous!

I like Dante's adopted sister. I hope she survives. As you guys were saying, the author tends to kill off good secondary and tertiary characters. I have been paying attention, and he does it pretty equally to males and females, but we tend to notice the females more, probably because they all had good potential for more prominent roles... (hide spoiler)]

This series has definitely grown on me and I am definitely invested at this point. Kind of like what happened with the Sun Eater series - it took a second, but it really got me eventually. I really hope Iain you are watching out for when the new books are coming out for all those new to us series, because I don't want to miss them...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I've now confirmed the last half dozen chapters have been mis-clumped into End Credits... last listed audio chapter is 26, and I'm on 29 now...

[Ann-Marie]

Timelord Iain wrote: "I've now confirmed the last half dozen chapters have been mis-clumped into End Credits... last listed audio chapter is 26, and I'm on 29 now..."

Yes! That threw me off when I tried switching from ebook to audio!

[Ann-Marie]

Choko wrote: "Nirkatze, I hear you about the end of the first trilogy. I myself, really loved that third book:)))

About 80% in The Red Sea #1 ... I am enjoying it. It feels like the author is taking the classic..."

(view spoiler)[Iain made the point that the author is more likely to kill a FEMALE secondary character which seems to be true although I wouldn't bet on any secondary character to survive.

I too was sad when Twill died but I do like Naran tons. (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Ann-Marie wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "I've now confirmed the last half dozen chapters have been mis-clumped into End Credits... last listed audio chapter is 26, and I'm on 29 now..."

Yes! That threw me off when I..."

I really liked Silver Thief... (view spoiler)[the Raxa plotline hasn't been resolved to have any meaning to the larger plot yet, but the Dante finale was super epic (even as I lost some of the details to how Gladdic unleashed a river-sized Andrac, until the secret cave was revealed)...

Dante was a bit too quick to murder that doppelganger kid... Gladdic has been clever one too many times, already...

I really liked how the ending harkened back to Cally using Dante against the Arawn council in Norashtovik... (hide spoiler)]

[Ann-Marie]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Ann-Marie wrote: "Timelord Iain wrote: "I've now confirmed the last half dozen chapters have been mis-clumped into End Credits... last listed audio chapter is 26, and I'm on 29 now..."

Yes! That t..."

I really enjoyed half of the book too lol

[Ann-Marie]

Finished Wound (view spoiler)[So Gladdic summoned the White Lich and he will be working with the boys to defeat him. I think that the last bit of the book was solid, decent action that I enjoyed. I don't even mind where Raxa's story ended up. How good would it have been if Dante had the bone sword though? (hide spoiler)]

I liked this better than the last one but there was a bit too much of nothing much happening for a decent part of the book for me. It will likely be this weekend or early next week before I read the last for this month.

I typed this last night when I finished and never posted it like a dummy.....

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Is this Cycle broken into trilogies?

It seems like Gladdic/Mallon is the threat in the first 3 books... (view spoiler)[the White Lich is the threat in the next 2-3 books... then Taim is the threat in the newest books... (hide spoiler)]

If so, I wouldn't be opposed to slowing down a bit, and just doing 3 each month... 1-3, 4-6, and 7-8... and hope 9 comes out sooner than later...

[Ann-Marie]

So wait, he started Cally's spin-off series before the Dante/Blays series was finished? I am confused and his web site was not helpful. Are we reading 2 incomplete series?

I would be fine cutting to 3 a month especially if the series are ongoing, if that is what the majority go for I will not read book 4 this month. I was considering reading that Janny Wurts series that is starting next month but that book has like 1 million pages and I want to start the Cosmere because I am a glutton for punishment lol