colleen the convivial curmudgeon > Recent Status Updates

"A Chance in Hell" - One problem with reading a themed collection of short stories like this is that, by the time you get to the end, you've seen most variations played out already. This variation was another "devils in a carnival stealing souls" thing - though I did like the heroin ex-demon thing.
I wasn't really a fan of the idea that if you get tempted by one of the big 7 the once, you're auto-slated for Hell.

I was talking about this series with a friend recently and was saying how I love the characters and their interactions, but the plots/mysteries have often been a biy iffy.

Well, in this one, not only do I feel like.nothing muvh has happened over half the way through, but even the interactions are lacking.

Having a hard time staying focused... Here's hoping it picks up soon.

'Inside Man' - One of the cooler stories - I liked the memory thing. Minir complaint that the only "circus" aspect was more reminiscent of IT than anything else.

'Freak House' - part of the Strays series, which I'm not familiar with. Lead is a half-djinn, which is an interesting and unique.twist. Story was ok, though the writing had a pretty typical UF vibe.

'Parlor Tricks' - Nicely violent version of a familiar story.

'Recession of the Divine' - Playing with an interesting concept, sort of like American Gods - i.e. the gods are desperate for prayers/beliefs and the power which comes from it - though the story, itself, was fairly predictable.

If I were the sort to easily DNF books, I'd probably drop this one. Digger is just so stupid. I mean, she's a thief posing as a lady's maid in a remote/secluded house and yet she keeps stealing shit. I mean, does she not realize people will realize things are missing, and there are only so many suspects to go around? And, of course, she's gotten herself into trouble... Talk about TSTL

'Duet with Darkness' - I kinda guessed where the story was going - at least the gist of it - but it was done pretty well. Another where the carnival aspect was peripheral to the story, but the story was good enough I didn't mind as much as with some of the others. I'm not familiar with the series it comes from, and this almost makes me want to check it out. Almost... But the writing was kinda choppy.

'The Cold Girl' - Ok story, but a bit.cliche. would've liked more description of the nature of the Vold Girl and the carnie folk.

'The Sweeter the Juice' - An ok twist on a zombie story, but the carnival was pretty peripheral to the story again. More window-dressing that anything.

'Werewife' - I liked this one better. Wish a bit more time was spent on Valentina and the carnival itself, and I was expecting a bit more of a twist with the end, but, overall, better than some of the other ones.

"I looked upon [my father] as one might upon a minor pagan god, earnestly desiring his goodwill, but never quite certain how to propitiate him."

'Demon Barker of Wheat Street' - Meh. Almost skipped this one, since I've only read the first Iron Druid book, but I figured spoilers don't matter too much since I don't really plan on continuing the series. This one was pretty standard UF, only taking place in a Carnival. Didn't have the same haunting/weird vibe of the first two stories.

"Three Lives of Lydia" - liked the story, but the ending was a bit too abrupt.

'Painted Love' - Well, that was an interesting little twist.

"Fantasy is the only way we can understand reality... The world is full of devils and thieves, Miss Stewart. To make the darkness playful is the only way to survive it. We must externalize that which might kill us otherwise."

"Everyone needs a muse... especially the melancholy. We live in a Gothic age. It's refreshing to see a crowd who acknowledges it, those who cannot ignore pain and darkness yet come together in celebration, a living memento mori... "

The word 'troll', in referring to a net troll, as lost all legitimate meaning. It one referred to malicious shit-stirrers. Now it's used for 'anyone who does something I don't like'.

Blah blah blah

Rory: "Lexie, how come you haven't mastered magic in 5 days and started building a gargoyle army?" "Lexie, you animated this tiny thing and it went wrong. Should you be messing with this stuff? How can we be sure we can trust the gargoyle, anyway?" "But, seriously, why aren't you making an army of gargoyles yet?" This cyclical pattern is within 2 pages, and on repeat. Srsly, wtf?

So, Lexie's pretty much an inconsiderate bitch. Awesome...

OMG, this is so bad. Big chunks of awkward, expositionary dialogue, rampant cliches, stupid characters doing stupid things (like, yes, let's sneak into the park where people are hovering so that when the cops show up we'll totally be found being suspiciously on the scene), and gaping holes in plot points from the start. I'm tempted to just chuck this one, which I rarely do - but I'm also morbidly curious...

"Different people remember things differently, and you'll not get any two people to remember anything the same, whether they were there or not. You stand two of you lot next to each other, and you could be continents away for all it means anything."

"Nothing's ever the same... Be it a second later or a hundred years. It's always churning and roiling. And people change as much as oceans."

"I do not miss childhood, but I miss the way I took pleasure in small things, even as greater things crumbled. I could not control the world I was in, could not walk away from things or people or moments that hurt, but I found joy in the things that made me happy."

"I'm going to tell you something important. Grown-ups don't look like grown-ups on the inside either. Outside, they're big and thoughtless and they always know what they're doing. Inside, they look just like they always have. Like they did when they were your age. The truth is, there aren't any grown-ups. Not one, in the whole wide world..."

"She was the storm, she was the lightning, she was the adult world with all its power and all its secrets and all its foolish casual cruelty."

"I liked myths. They weren't adult stories and they weren't children's stories. They were better than that. They just *were*."