Karen Chance Fans discussion
This topic is about
Touch the Dark
The Cassie Books
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Touch the Dark (Cassandra Palmer #1)
Ok, just looked everywhere for the letter W....can't find any for X.
I wanted to do a re-read of the series as well, but am waiting until after I finish Dory's books. (I have put those off for a while now.)Taking notes is a great idea. I took notes like a maniac on KMM's Fever series. I was so proud. However, I think I crossed over into psychosis somewhere down the road.
Guys, I have been doing my best to push the series among my friends/co-workers, but everyone is finding it difficult to get through this book. They think it's boring. I keep telling them to just get through it because the rest of the series is so great, but I don't think they're going to. Bummer.
I think it's because of the flashbacks.....they are annoying in th beginning until they become an integral part of the story.It's likeGreywalker, you have to take a step back when it happens...see the forest and not the trees. KC become more adept at telling her story or you get her weirdness as the books progresses.
Maybe they should try MD for size?
I read Md first too. If I hadn't I would have probably not continued TtD, cause I hated that one in the beginning.
I know...the nightmarish flashback were better defined and clear cut, closer to Dory's life too.
I have just started this book and am in fact only on page 101 :) I'm glad that I'm not the only one strugiling (sp?) to get through it though I only struggled in the first chapter :)
Are y'all talking about the same book??? Touch the Dark?? I just finished it Tuesday night and I don't remember a lot of flashbacks. Some, sure, but not overwhelming...
Sorry Kathy, in the Dory books there are a few flashbacks that are better done than the visions of Touch the dark. Since TtD was the first novel...in my opinion the technique was not perfect. Once you get used to them popping in the story....they become an integral part of it.
I really liked this book. After I finished it, I ended up picking up the next three in the series. I loved how it started with the action right away.
I just started and I am in love with this book. So mad I hestitated in waiting this long to read it b/c of all the mixed reviews! Well at least book 5 is already out =DDDDDDDDDD
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Awesome! So glad you took the plunge...
From the Cassie Palmer FB page, Q&A: Karen says there is something special about the satyrs in TtD that are dark fey. What is the "something special?"
I just started and it is good so far. :-)
it's been awhile since i read this book but i was hooked from the begging. As much as i want to liked this book i don tthint i would re-read it.
@McCora: Speculating is on! I'm betting it has something to do with the Black circle experiments on the Dark Fey. Satyrs are Fey, and they can't be Weres too... normally.
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Woohoo, congratulations Sarah, that's awesome!
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I really loved the first book of the series. It did such a great job of setting up the next books. Can't wait to read more.
I liked the first book, but I really felt like it was a big set-up for the rest of the series. I can only think that Karen Chance already had plans for the rest of the series in her head when she went about writing this book. There were a few places I found a little confusing. I think with all the "time travel" and world building sometimes I would forget where I left off when the characters made it back to the "real world". I can't wait to continue the series, however. I haven't been put off by it at all. I think it did great for setting up. Now that I am more familiar with the world that Karen Chance built things shouldn't be so confusing for me (fingers crossed)!
Hi Jennifer, Hi Amy :)I think it's generally accepted that Touch the Dark is probably the worst book of the series. There is a great deal of exposition and setting up plot lines, but I promise it gets better from here on in! It's actually really fun to reread Touch the Dark when you've read all the other books, because you can see just how far the characters and certain relationships have developed. Stick with it ladies, the next few books kick ass! :D
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I never thought the first book had problems, and I still enjoy re-reading it.
What first brought this series to your attention?
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I was browsing round Amazon - the bit where it says "Customers who bought this also bought ..." - and that's where I came across Touch the Dark.I must admit, I'm one of these people who tends to read the bad reviews first. I want to know what people didn't like to try to figure out if I might feel similarly. (Though so many bad reviews are just drivel like "Took 2 weeks to arrive!!" or "This book is rubbish" with no further explanation).
As I recall, most of the bad reviews said it wasn't as good as Twilight, which counted as a plus to me! :) I took a chance (ha!) and ordered the first three books and have been hooked ever since.
I think it's generally accepted that Touch the Dark is probably the worst book of the series. There is a great deal of exposition and setting up plot lines, but I promise it..."Really?! I didn't know that...whoops. I actually read the first book LAST (again, whoops!) and didn't mind it at all. It actually answered a lot of questions for me. I thought it moved pretty quick. Is my memory that horrible (very possible) or am I just crazy (stronger possibility)?
Or maybe because I liked the rest of the books, I overlooked it's flaws?
Well, I suppose every book will get a different reaction from different people! It's just that I've read so many opinions saying that they weren't all that keen on Touch the Dark, but stuck with the series and came to really like it as they read on. I liked Touch the Dark first time I read it (though the time travelling was a little bit confusing), but I do definitely think the subsequent books are better. Maybe saying the "worst" in the series was a bad choice of words. Maybe I should have said the "least best" LOL! I wasn't trying to say it's a bad book, just that later books are much better, in my opinion. Sorry if I've confused y'all! You can call off the pitchfork-wielding mob now! :D
LOL I like "least best"..Sorry Lannister, I didn't mean to call you out on that or make you feel bad. You definitely were just stating a common opinion, I just felt like *I* was the one out of the loop. Don't worry, it was my fault!
Oh no problem Catherine, I didn't think you were calling me out or anything. It's good that there are a lot of different opinions, cos then there's always something to talk about! That's kind of funny that you read Touch the Dark last! What a shock discovering that Pritkin was actually an asshole LMAO! :D
I have read all the Cass. and Dory books. I'm just sitting here twittling my thumbs waiting on the next books. I haven't seen where the next Cassandra book is coming out.
Hmm wonder where Cassandra came from lol. Guess I was looking for a name change
I have read the series backwards. I started with the first two Dory books (after picking the first one up randomly off the shelf at the library, like you do) and loved the characters. So far I've only read the first Cassandra Palmer book and am looking forward to book #2. It's been great (and a little shocking where Mircea is concerned ;P) to see the characters from another point of view. I can't wait to read the second one, but I do agree that the first appeared to be a 'setting the scene' kind of book (especially compared to the Dory books).
I don't think I struggled through the first book...I kind of instantly fell in love with and just kept going...all the way to the Dory series. I personally think the the further in the series she gets the books quality stay the same but the CHARACTERS get better. I mean you learn more about them, the story continues, I think the first book and kind of the second one was SOOOO much more about setting everything up that NOW we can get into the REALY gritty stuff. I really liked the first book though, it isn't my absolute favorite of hers. I think number 5 is, buttttt I do still think it's fabulous and made me want to read the next books.
I didn't struggle with the first book either, but I think I got a little confused with all the time travelling. But yeah, I agree Aileen. What I love about this series is the characters and the fact that KC has a sense of humour. It makes such a difference in a story when you care about the characters. It's the difference between liking a book and loving it. I think her characters are so well developed, and they get better with every book. Not that many authors can claim that.
EXACTLY!!! I think I INSTANTLY fell in love with these books because of Cassie. She is just TOO hilarious. And then adding in Pritkin and Mircea and Rafe and Marlowe and just...EVERYONE!!!! Too good for words...
I like the fact that Cassie's not super powerful. What I mean is, I love someone like Kate Daniels, who will pretty much kick everyone's ass. But sometimes when you read a lot of UF, you're basically drowning in super tough women, so it's nice when you get a heroine who's a little more human. A heroine who nearly has a heart attack when she has to run a bit, and who falls on her face and gets pelted in a food fight! Cassie's a lot more like a regular person than many UF women, despite her mad shifting skills! KC isn't scared to make her look a bit silly sometimes and we laugh at her, but we're sympathetic too. It's a great mix.
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Sarah ♥ dog crazy ♥ , Mircea's Moderatrix
(last edited Oct 02, 2012 01:12PM)
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rated it 4 stars
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Mine too. I think part of it BECAUSE she isn't super powerful...except at the shifting thing which we now she screws up a lot and just makes everyone laugh. I like that she is more like a regular girl with flaws then some perfect chick who doesn't break a sweat. Cassie's more interesting then the other ones in my opinion.
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Couldn't agree with you more! Cassie is freakin' awesome, BECAUSE she's kinda normal, in a way..
I saw this quote posted on a bondage website:"Never say never to the universe for it delights in giving us that which we most emphatically declare can not be."
Karen Chance (Touch the Dark)
KC has a diverse readership.
LOL! Nice pick up. :)
Lol that was...that was just great. And true!!
I read Bk 3 first - it was one of my first UF/PN reads and I was pretty confused but enjoyed the characterisation. A while later I thought I'd try again starting with book 1. I never found TtD boring or annoying, perhaps it was because I already knew the characters and wanted to know more about Pritkin. I also loved the relationship between Tomas and Cassie - I was hooked from the opening scene.
Wow Anna, I think I would have been very confused if I'd started with Book 3, especially as the whole geis storyline was already in full swing by then. I'm glad it didn't put you off though!I always find it slightly surprising when KC says her stories are plot driven, because I think her characterization is what really sells the books. I can forgive a book that has a fairly predictable plot if the characters are wonderful. That's really what sells it for me. (It's why I love ASOIAF so much. GRRM does the best job with characterization.)
I think the characters definitely make the stories. Although I understand what she means by plot-driven- whatever happens between her characters takes place because that's where the plot line of the story needs to go. Instead of starting off with, "what would this character do?" she says, "where does this story need to go?" and alters her characters' behavior accordingly.I was never annoyed by Pritkin, because I could see that he'd eventually come around. I was definitely intrigued though. I took a gamble and bought the first two books together. It definitely paid off!
@Lannister - true but then he kills them!! :(@ Claire - I think I've usually lost the plot half way through but don't mind so much as I'm still drooling or laughing! :P
Anna, LOL, well none of my personal favs have died yet (though I suspect I won't be saying that come the last book of the series) so GRRM is still my favourite author!
So I take it Jamie is a bit of a survivor... (mmm rubs chin thoughfully)
Karen Chance Fans
Books mentioned in this topic
Touch the Dark (other topics)Greywalker (other topics)
And I will be taking notes everytime I come across a noun that starts with a difficult-to-find letter. I think I also may take notes for a trivia game. It's good to have a purpose in life....