May-June 2015 Group Read - Werewolves

[John]

It's chock full of werewolf goodness.

[Ashe]

John wrote: "It's chock full of werewolf goodness."

You might even say it's a bit...long in the tooth.

[John]

You did NOT just go there.

[Quentin]

Oh he went there...he went there!

[John]

Because werewolf puns are something we could really sink our teeth into.

[audrey]

Quentin wrote: "Oh he went there...he went there!"

Agreed, that one was a real howler.

[John]

And so it begins...

[Ashe]

Things are getting hairy in here.

[audrey]

Just a garou-p of folks bemooning the prevalence of puns...

[Ashe]

Oh that one was beautiful. Like a full moon.

[Quentin]

You guys! Your jokes are the reason fur me checking this board.

[Ashe]

I'm glad puns are so infectious.

[Julie]

GAROU-P. I just shrieked.

Anyway, hi guys! I've never participated in a group read before, but I just realised that the theme was werewolves, which are one of my favourite things ever, so I couldn't resist. Probably going to give Dreadful Skin a shot between other book club + Hugos reading. :>

[John]

I'm lycan(thrope) these puns.

Okay, that one's a stretch.

You know, Ghost Marshal II has werewolves in it. Based on people's reactions here, maybe I should ramp up their importance.

[Ashe]

Julie wrote: "GAROU-P. I just shrieked.

Anyway, hi guys! I've never participated in a group read before, but I just realised that the theme was werewolves, which are one of my favourite things ever, so I couldn..."

Glad to have you! Join in the puns!

[Quentin]

Hi Julie. Glad to see you weren't scared away by the craziness lol. I'm about 90% done with Dreadful Skin so I'll be post a review tmrw. I will say I'm on the fence about it, but I'll withhold judgment until I finish.

[Quentin]

Ok guys and gals I finished Dreadful Skin

It wasn't bad, but wasn't great either. It had some really cool concepts, but some of the execution fell a little flat. Anyone else reading this (or have read this) besides Oddmonster and maybe Julie?

[Quentin]

John wrote: "I'm lycan(thrope) these puns.

Okay, that one's a stretch.

You know, Ghost Marshal II has werewolves in it. Based on people's reactions here, maybe I should ramp up their importance."

Well John you did tell us you were a fan of "hot werewolf action" or something like that. Can't remember exactly how you said it now...

[John]

Lol. That makes it sound like one of THOSE kind of books. Not what I had in mind, although it would probably sell pretty well. :o

[Julie]

Quentin: I actually had a similar "I should have LOVED this book due to its premise, but instead it fell a little flat and meh" reaction to Cherie Priest's Boneshaker, so I wouldn't be terribly surprised about a repeat... Haven't started it yet, but I bought the ebook so it should be soon!

[Quentin]

John wrote: "Lol. That makes it sound like one of THOSE kind of books. Not what I had in mind, although it would probably sell pretty well. :o"

Not sure how your young adult market would react to that one though, Mr. Hamilton lol.

Julie: You may get the same reaction from this one, but who knows, you may love it. I haven't read any Cherie Priest before so this was my introduction. I would be willing to give another Priest book a read eventually.

[Ashe]

So far in my reading of Werewolf Pack, I've enjoyed myself. Except for chapter 11. I hate to say it, Q-man, but thus far, that's your weak chapter.

Further thought:
(view spoiler)[And I hate to say this as well but Satan was kind of boring. :/ (hide spoiler)]

[Quentin]

Now see, a lot of women like that chapter the best Ashe. Just goes to show how tastes vary. However, that chapter wasn't Weird Western, so I can see why you may like it least.

[Quentin]

So did anyone else do a Werewolf read this time? Me, Ashe, Oddmonster and? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?

[Ashe]

Quentin wrote: "Now see, a lot of women like that chapter the best Ashe. Just goes to show how tastes vary. However, that chapter wasn't Weird Western, so I can see why you may like it least."

It's definitely not the switch in time period that I didn't like. I like the purpose of it but I think some of the dialogue just didn't sit well.

(view spoiler)[I guess too, between growing up Southern Baptist and seeing varying depictions of the Devil, it just felt a little flat to me? It wasn't bad by any stretch, just seemed a little typical. But that is also definitely on me. (hide spoiler)]

[Quentin]

Hm in case any of this is a spoiler

(view spoiler)[ People have been critical of that dialogue before. I was almost going for an anachronism, but I think it almost came across as just some out of place dialogue. As far as Satan goes, I wanted him to be a little more commonplace. For one, I didn't want to detract too much from the Alpha and make him appear secondary. And also, I think everyone has their own idea of Satan in their head anyway, so I didn't want to spend a great deal of time on him. I wanted to try to keep focus on the werewolves. I was raised southern, fire-breathing Baptist here too btw lol. (hide spoiler)]

[[deleted user]]

I read through what is available online of High Moon. I may read through it quick again as soon as I can before I give my opinion. My reading time of late has been lacking. And I am still reading your book, Quentin! Very interesting ideas you've put forth on werewolf fiction so far.

[Ashe]

Quentin wrote: "Hm in case any of this is a spoiler

[spoilers removed]"

Yeah, that's about what I figured. And I'll probably finish it tonight and give my full thoughts tomorrow. :D

[Ashe]

So, Werewolf Pack done. Copy/pasting the review under a spoiler tag just so people don't have to read it if they don't want. I hope it doesn't sound harsh, Quentin.

(view spoiler)[I had fun, for the most part. There is a LOT of werewolf action to be had in this book and some interesting little bits of worldbuilding. I hesitated about the 3 stars because I know the author at this point, but I don't want to be dishonest. There were some word flow issues, one chapter had dialogue shift that didn't quite fit the tone (and I told Quentin about my own hangups for a particular scene in that chapter, but that is entirely my own opinion and doesn't factor into this review). It has its flaws, but I believe this was Quentin's first book, and first books are always like that. I will be reading the next book in the series though. I like the characters (especially Chula) and it was, again, a fun read. If you like werewolves and gunslingers, it's worth checking out on those merits alone. (hide spoiler)]

[[deleted user]]

Seems like this group read has been a howling good time for everyone!

[Ashe]

Fangs for all the good tails.

[[deleted user]]

We're all over the (full) moon about them.

[Ashe]

Now you're just clawing at the bottom of the barrel.

[audrey]

Quentin wrote: "Ok guys and gals I finished Dreadful Skin

It wasn't bad, but wasn't great either. It had some really cool concepts, but some of the execution fell a little flat."

Man, I still can't get past page 77. Two reasons why: one, every single character was more invested in telling than showing, and two, the action sequences, when they were gotten to, were written with mainly "to be" verbs. I know this makes me a pedantic wiener, but it really killed the action sequences for me.

"The captain was in there -- I knew it was him, he was wearing that waistcoat, the one that's got the blue and red on it. It was unbuttoned, and it was in pieces -- some of it on the floor -- but it was on him mostly... The whole room was splashed with red, and his chin was turned up, cocked up like he was staring at the ceiling. Everything was red. Everything was shattered."

I didn't even GET to the werewolf part of the show, basically. I was so out on the writing style. I've read a different book by this author and really enjoyed it, but I... would struggle going back to finish this book.

[audrey]

As for Dead Iron and Tin Swift, in the first book, the werewolfing of the protagonist is a major focus and done well, by which I mean that the actual complications it presents to the character have ramifications on the plot, and it's not romantic in the least. It's kind of stinky and gory. And it has an effect on the story other than deus ex canina (*side-eyes Wilder's Mate*).

In the second book, werewolfing takes a back seat to everything going *bangzzooooooooom phwoooarf* for 200 pages, which kind of invalidates "has ramifications on the plot" from the first book, but Tin Swift is so much fun that I confess I totally didn't care about the werewolf aspect. Although (view spoiler)[it creates the best opening scene in a 2nd series book ever, and there's a moment where the other werewolf in the book un-wolfes at speed and rather than everyone screaming in horror, they all comment on how everyone tends to forget werewolves don't wear pants. (hide spoiler)]

Tin Swift is too much fun for a book to legally be, in four states. It's a fact.

And I still haven't read the end of the series, so I have no idea how the werewolf arc pans out. But! It looks like a major plot point in book 1.5, Hang Fire - A Short Story, so I need to get on that.

[Quentin]

Thanks for the review Ashe, glad you enjoyed it. Now I'm even more curious to see what you think of book two.

Oddmonster, I can see why you had those issues with Dreadful Skin. I think that was part of my problem too, I just couldn't put my finger on it. Overall I thought it was ok, but it didn't blow me away or anything.

[Ashe]

Gotta get through some more books and then I'll snag a copy.

[Julie]

Finished Dreadful Skin, full review here!

It seems we all had a similar 'meh' reaction to the book -- where I wasn't wild about it, but for the life of me, couldn't put my finger on why (and usually I'm pretty good about pinpointing what my issues are with a book!). I actually liked Priest's writing style, and loved the way she described her werewolves & her transformations etc, but I think it was the structure that got me: there's no characters to get properly attached to besides Eileen, and the three-part sections meant it read more like episodic adventures rather than something with a real arc or development. In the end: not bad, not dreadful (ha), but not great either.

[Quentin]

I agree with your points Julie. I just couldn't put my finger on what it was about the book that left me on the fence about it, but it just seemed to never fire on all cylinders. Not bad, just not really good either.

[Ashe]

So, given June ends tomorrow night, I'd say the Werewolf group read went pretty well. At the very least, we filled the thread with some pretty fangtastic puns.