Vagabond Treehouse ~ [Fall 2025: World of Chains #1-3 (Wayward Bard) | The Perfect Run 1-3 (alternating)] Showing 2,551-2,600 of 2,654

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Returned to Grand Game #5... much higher stakes in this series, lol... constantly worried how MC is gonna get out of tough binds... especially since he starts the book stuck in a corrupted dungeon above his level, and things just keep escalating... and while the MC has a few spare life tokens, the spirit wolf companion doesn't, and threats to her life keep happening too (this is a child wolf that died and became a spirit wolf, from the wolf pack in book 1/4... so inquisitive and prone to running into danger)

[Narilka]

I bought The Perfect Run II and have it loaded up to get started.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I can start whenever

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Grand Game 5 was really a return to the book 1-2 formula... Self contained zone book solved by the end...

[Narilka]

Weird, I missed these messages. I started yesterday. The Perfect Run II through ch 9. It picks up right were book 1 leaves off and already there's something different. (view spoiler)[The cat got powers!!!! Quicksave has got to find that kitty again. I'm sure it will show up later in the story. Schrodinger's cat is going to be Chekhov's cat, just you wait ;)

Very interesting that he's joined Il Miori (or however it's spelled, I know very little Italian). I loved his back and forth with Wardrobe on his costume lol She seems like BFF material.

It also seems he might have found someone who can remember him. It could be a "be careful what you wish for" situation so we will see. I hope for the best.

Even with all his chaos and inanity, Quicksave cares. This is a more hopeful story than I was expecting from the original blurb.

We'll see how much progress he can make on preventing the second apocalypse. As if the genome wars weren't enough.

And that one fight with the psychos summoning goblins or whatever and them being afraid of his bunny LOL More proof that things do remember even if it isn't always humans. (hide spoiler)]

[Narilka]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Returning to Battle Mage Farmer has been so pleasant... Halfway thru #6, and I'll probably read 7-9 over the next few days... Toss in 1-2 BRs"

I put the first book of Battle Mage Farmer on my wish list so I don't forget to check it out in the future. You guys find so much good stuff :)

[Narilka]

The Perfect Run II through ch 11 (view spoiler)[The more time we spend with these characters, the more I like them. Panda is so silly at how he took Ryan's order to call him Sifu seriously lol I thought the character was kind of pathetic in book 1 but he's grown on me here. I am really liking Wardrobe and her power. Such limitless possibilities.

I do wonder if Livia will now be able to remember him across all loops or if this was a fluke. I think we'll find out in this book as there's no way this loop is going to be a keeper. Perhaps he'll also have Len work on a way to transfer other memories back in time, though they haven't started that yet.

Of course the cat went to Vulcan lol Spoiled rotten there before so might as well go back :D (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I'll probably read this week, but I don't mind you being a bit ahead for once :)

I'm hitting a bit of a wall on desire to read the pile of BR books planned at the moment... remaining spookies, and other BRs, with few exceptions... even my LitRPG binges (Grand Game and Battle Mage Farmer) and other pre-downloaded stuff...

So I'm just continuing with the rest of my Kate Daniels re-reads, after reading 1-7 and all the side content...

[Narilka]

No problem at all. I'll probably still be on Perfect Run when you get your mojo back :D

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I figure out the secret recipe to reinvigorating my BR reading, in short order, usually... we'll see...

I might jump to Of Monsters and Mainframes

[Narilka]

As always, report back! I don't mind having my wishlist expand :)

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Had to buy a new phone case... It's had a loose rubber flap and damaged kickstand for awhile, since I started using it more often... But I took it out of my pocket tonight and noticed a new big crack and I'm like "how?"... Don't think it's much protection anymore... It must be the pressure of being in my pocket when I'm in the car and it's against the door or on forklift, no idea...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Started my Empire trilogy re-read at work last night... that's been a vague plan for months now, started picking up the audiobooks on sales...

Daughter of the Empire
Servant of the Empire
Mistress of the Empire

[Narilka]

A new phone case isn't that bad. You've had a lot worse recently!

I tried the Empire series and while I finished book 1, I had no desire to continue. I was just too bored.

Yesterday I probably could have finished Sightwitch while I waited for my car's yearly maintenance except I didn't feel like carrying a hardback with me. So I started I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons on my Kindle while I waited. I do enjoy Beagle's writing style as I was instantly dropped into a fairy tale. Around 20% and I'm not sure why this is considered cozy other than it is currently slice-of-life-ish. (view spoiler)[I feel bad for Robert and all the dragonlings he has to kill. The Dragon Market sounds godawful, like the wet markets from Asia we hear about. This is more sad and depressing than I thought it would be. (hide spoiler)] Pretty sure you all read this last year in the Cozy November thread right?

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

yea... I swear it's always something tho, nearly weekly... torn pants/shirts, broken recliner, etc etc etc etc....

Phone case replacement is $10

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Empire trilogy is my favorite from the Riftwar series... cozy politics, like the Shalador trilogy of Black Jewels, or Goblin Emperor, or the Foreigner books... not for everyone, but a favorite genre for me and Nirkatze...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

People that did the BR definitely thought it was marketed wrong... most were unhappy with the results vs the expectations... I missed the BR, but saw the discussion...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Gonna try a Hellequin Chronicles re-read on Kindle Unlimited Read & Listen... Arthurian Legend mixed with Greek mythology Urban Fantasy... the book 7 finale annoyed me the first time around, because it was just a transition to a bridge trilogy to a finale series that ran for 3-5 books... it's all done now, tho, I think, and I can read without buying them, so I want to revisit...

Crimes Against Magic + 6 books, then
A Glimmer of Hope + 2 books, then
Sorcery Reborn + 2 books, apparently...

It's funny... looking at release dates, the author didn't drag out the ending... the last 2 trilogies released faster than the first 7 book series...

[Narilka]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Empire trilogy is my favorite from the Riftwar series... cozy politics, like the Shalador trilogy of Black Jewels, or Goblin Emperor, or the Foreigner books... not for everyone, but a favorite genr..."

I guess cozy politics isn't my jam. I bounced off Empire and really didn't enjoy Foreigner. I think I remember Shalador being OK though I'd need to go look at old reviews if I have any.

[Narilka]

Timelord Iain wrote: "People that did the BR definitely thought it was marketed wrong... most were unhappy with the results vs the expectations... I missed the BR, but saw the discussion..."

I expect Ann Marie to have had an epic rant lol I may go search for the old thread once I finish to see.

[Narilka]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Gonna try a Hellequin Chronicles re-read on Kindle Unlimited Read & Listen... Arthurian Legend mixed with Greek mythology Urban Fantasy... the book 7 finale annoyed me the first time around, becaus..."

Does that mean you opted against Of Monsters and Mainframes or did you try it and DNF?

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I started OMAM and discussed the first 20% in the Spooktober thread.... Wish it was a BR... So much/little going on that I want to discuss as I read... Makes it a not great work listen...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I read from 20% to 49% at work tonight, and moved on to other things... I'm liking ruminating on the book for a bit, rather than finishing all in one go...

I started Hellequin #1 before bed yesterday, read 20-49% OMAM before jumping to Hellequin #2... I forgot how much I loved Hellequin 1-6, the first time around, before I felt baited and switched by the book 7 non-ending... the blurb heavily promoted the penultimate/ultimate nature of the last couple books...

And now I'm reading Kate Daniels Wilmington Years...

Looking around reddit a few weeks ago I learned Renee Raudman didn't take it well when Ilona Andrews listened to fan complaints/etc, and chose to start using other narrators for varying character voices, initially for the Catalina trilogy of Hidden Legacy... before too long, she stopped responding to emails... and that's why Renee Raudman stopped being used as the narrator for recent Dina books in the Innkeeper Chronicles series, and Kate Daniels: Wilmington Years... burned bridges... sad, really... I found Renee Raudman narrating EVERYTHING a bit samey, since Ilona Andrews uses certain character archetypes, but I miss her for OG series like Kate Daniels and Innkeeper Chronicles... I like consistency in narration, once a series has started...

[Narilka]

Timelord Iain wrote: "Looking around reddit a few weeks ago I learned Renee Raudman didn't take it well when Ilona Andrews listened to fan complaints/etc, and chose to start using other narrators for varying character voices, initially for the Catalina trilogy of Hidden Legacy... "

That's too bad about the narrator. I agree that Ilona Andrews' heroines are very samey if you read the different series too close together and I love them anyway :) A different narrator for each main series makes a lot of sense to me to help differentiate them. Not everyone has the range of Jeff Hays!

[Narilka]

The Perfect Run II through Ch 29. Just like the first book (view spoiler)[I'm shocked that Ryan achieved a major goal so early. He now has a way for Len to remember AND Livia. And it's probably during the most insane, messed up run of all time lol This has been absolutely bonkers. I know it can't last but I can't wait to see how it ends. And how Ryan figures out how to send the black goo home because that seems to be really important given how the powers work.

I'm sad that Eugene Henri (the cat, no idea on actual spelling) wasn't truly given a power, just had an extra dimensional hitchhiker for a little while. That was also resolved earlier than I thought it would be.

I really liked the flashbacks to Monaco and one of Ryan's perfect runs. Gives me a lot of hope for New Rome's ending. (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I'll join soon ... Read HWFWM 12 today

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Read Night Hunt & Grave Night...

This series has the worst story structure of any novella series I can think of... it's designed to be episodic-ish, but so many plots carry over for multiple books that you're never really satisfied...

This 10th book might have been the most complete story to date, the culmination of the last 7-10 books, depending on when you think the important overarching stuff started (when it started, vs when it was revealed a bit)... and it resolved so fast and created new problems to be explored in books 11-12... I thought the series was done, but a 13th book released recently and will come to audio early next year... it's been 3-4 years since the last book came out... I guess maybe the new book is starting a new arc...

[Narilka]

Hmm. Amazon had an outage yesterday and my notifications still aren't right yet even though I've logged in this month. Hope it gets back to normal soon.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

it's sitewide... been broken for 36hrs

[Narilka]

Fun times. At least the Discussions tab still works.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Yea... if that ever broke, I don't know what I'd do...

[Narilka]

You and me both! Maybe it's time to finally make that backup Discord channel we've talked about lol

[Narilka]

Ilona Andrews announced the narrator for their upcoming This Kingdom Will Not Kill Me release - Kristen Sieh

https://ilona-andrews.com/blog/this-k...

I don't think I've listened to anything by her before. I'll probably buy a physical copy of this anyway :)

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

My year of bad luck strikes again...

I mentioned buying a new phone case last week... started using it on Saturday... it has a hefty back metal circle where the back stand is secured, and I was unsure if it's in any way magnetic, so I didn't want to set it on my PC while sideloading audiobooks, so I put it on a plastic tub nearby...

Unplugged USB from PC and went to put cord back... didn't unplug from phone yet, the cord caught on the tub and yanked phone out of my hand and to the ground... 2hrs later, I notice my phone cracked... there's an impact crater on the left middle of phone, and a #2 crack on the left side of phone with a straight line all the way across the middle of the phone... hairline crack, barely noticeable with finger, and if you catch the light just right... but it means the phone is now more likely to damage further, even with screen protector helping protect a bit still...

Guess it's time to admit I'll be buying a new phone soon...

My umpteenth item replacement of the year...

[Narilka]

You're going to have all new everything at the rate you're going!

[Nirkatze]

I think it's time to start checking the corners of your apartment for satchels of animal bones or something... seems like you've been cursed...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

All Janet's fault...

[Nirkatze]

Probably. :)

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Finished reading the existing Harbinger PI books, and they're like a Dresden Files speedrun, or Supernatural series speedrun...

It rushes through plots at a breakneck speed...

(view spoiler)[series started with UK wizard investigator moving to Maine and opening shop... quickly entangled in a bunch of cases... first story arc involved missing memories that got him sent to ass end of Maine...

Eventually learns he's had OP magic tattoo'd to his body by his parents... mom isn't dead but undercover vampire taking down vampires that tried to kill her...

Then events lead to him wielding Excalibur and the town sheriff possessed by Merlin...

Finally takes down supernatural serial killer, and thwarts evil cabal, but triggers the prophecy to ruin the world (sealing away all magic and the Faerie Realm)...

This has unforeseen consequences, cause of experiments the evil cabal did on unsuspecting humans around the world...

MC brings back magic by using the Spear of Destiny (that he's known the location of for a bunch of books now and I forgot to mention), but the side effect is he's gonna get pulled to Purgatory for using it on humans instead of supernatural threats (I forget the details of that)...

Then he spends a book in Purgatory (my Supernatural reference, altho Sandman Slim works, too)... and when he sorts that out and returns home with some friends and enemies, it's like he's in a new timeline where he never left and things have changed and some dead people are alive again, etc...

And that's where the series paused for 3 years until the new release getting audio soon...

And this summary complete skips over the all over the place romance of the series, with the survival of that serial killer a few paragraphs ago, and the secretary he got when he moved to Maine...

Early on, he was with the survivor, but it was more of an immersion therapy thing for her... then a romance with the secretary was on the table... then the secretary went off with the MC's dad for a bunch of books for plot reasons and to start a magic school... then the prophecy cropped up... then she said "I've always loved you" despite no momentum in like 7 books... then he spends a book in Purgatory, and returns to a new timeline... and from what I see of reviews/complaints about the new book, that's all retconned and she's with someone else now, and the survivor girl is back on the table... altho it seemed like there was burgeoning potential with the girl he met in Purgatory that tried to resurrect someone... altho maybe that's off the table too, since that guy is back to life in the new timeline...

And these books are all 4-5hrs long... (hide spoiler)]

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Finishing the 5th Solar Clipper trilogy from Nathan Lowell... I kinda regret spreading this trilogy out so much this year, regarding the overarching plot... but the plot hardly matters, anyway... it's just an excuse for the usual Lowell coziness in space, with coffee and mercantilism...

[Narilka]

Funny enough I've been considering a relisten of the Wizard's Butler soon because I could use some proper coziness :)

The Perfect Run II through Ch 34 and 3ish hours left. (view spoiler)[The book is running out of time. I'm getting the impression that this will end on or very near when this current loop ends.

I love that Livia is on the verge of convincing Ryan he doesn't have to be alone any more and that it's OK to trust. I'm thinking that's how his final run is ultimately successful - with the help of others who remember. The interesting part is he could change his mind and reload without transferring anyone's memories at any time if he has a freakout.

Utter hilarity that Vulcan put bunny ears on his latest suit. She doesn't even know about the plushie in this loop LOL (hide spoiler)]

[Narilka]

I finished I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons yesterday. What an odd little story. I enjoyed it more once I got over my mismatched expectations. Time to head back to the old thread and open spoilers.

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Narilka wrote: "Funny enough I've been considering a relisten of the Wizard's Butler soon because I could use some proper coziness :)

The Perfect Run II through Ch 34 and 3ish hours left. The book..."

I'd probably read Wizard's Butler a 3rd time...

I keep picking and choosing my reads and putting off Perfect Run... I know I need to pay attention to all the developments in Perfect Run, but also I have so many horror reads remaining before the end of the month... standalones with entirely new characters/settings... I like doing series at work where I'm already settled into the world and don't have to worry about missing stuff much... constant juggling...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I'm gonna try Mark of the Fool... it's on my radar for awhile... 10 book series (and counting?)...

Book 4 was the Daily Deal yesterday, for $4... the first book is $7.49 with KU Whispersync, and most of the other books are $5.05... so not a crazy discount... but gave me a reason to re-read the blurb... and it's basically a LitRPG Academia story, MC resisting the Chosen One narrative... (or at least trying to)...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Looks like the ebook of #10 came out in July, when the audiobook of #9 came out on Audible... and #10 is the series finale...

So, this is a pretty good time to give the series a test run :D

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

The more I read, the more I appreciate series with endings... I like longrunning series to keep me busy, but I'm also kinda over neverending series with no planned ending...

Obviously I have plenty of those in my TBR, too, but I can think of too many that just went downhill after awhile, or I lost faith they'd ever finish in the author's lifetime / satisfactorily...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Wandering Inn: the author has a planned ending... they just kinda created a crazy scope... they kinda regret that, and wish they could write other worlds, but don't plan to abandon, even if the story is only 33-50% done online, so far, and like 15-20% done on audio...

Dark Hunterverse & Argeneau Vampires = good examples of lost quality...

He Who Fights With Monsters = example of a series that feels like it could have ended with the resolution of the Astral Kings / Nexus plotline, but started a new arc after a 12 year time jump...

Psy-Changeling / Guild Hunter = series by Nalini Singh heading towards Dark Hunter / Argeneau territory, maybe...

Dresden Files = unsure Butcher writes fast enough to finish, now... wonder if, maybe some day, James Butcher might help ensure it ends?... I've been liking his Unorthodox Chronicles...

Seanan McGuire / Brandon Sanderson = it's a good thing they're writing machines, since October Daye, InCryptid, and the Cosmere are big scope projects, but at least they release year in, year out...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

Mark of the Fool is a Travis Baldree narrated series... WIN...

[Timelord Iain, Tech Support]

I like these kinds of LitRPGs, where the MC has to overcome a limitation and finds ways to make it OP in other ways...

Path of Ascension got super grindy with it, but Mark of the Fool seems primarily story focused with a school dynamic similar to Mother of Learning, with MC, sister and friend...

[Narilka]

Timelord Iain wrote: "The more I read, the more I appreciate series with endings... I like longrunning series to keep me busy, but I'm also kinda over neverending series with no planned ending...."

Me too. I'm definitely preferring completed series these days or stand alones. I'll probably be looking at some older stuff to read next year like I did this year with those Mercedes Lackey and Tanya Huff series.

There are some authors I trust to finish things like Brandon Sanderson, Ilona Andrews, John Scalzi. I think we'll see a proper end to the Dresden Files though if he didn't publish any more, Battle Ground is a decent enough ending. The fact that there's no end in sight and about a billion words already published has kept me from The Wandering Inn.