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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
 Posted - 07 May 2018 : 01:54:37
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I just finished reading the Riftwar Saga, the first four books of the series. I've decided to do the Empire trilogy next, since it covers a lot of the same time period.
I think I'll take a break after these books, so I don't burn out on the series, as I've done before. Not sure what that break will consist of, though. |
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goblins
Acolyte
15 Posts |
Posted - 15 May 2018 : 21:20:40
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I started on Shadowdale this past weekend. I’m just a little bit in, but I like it.
I ended up enjoying Neversfall, so I am happy I made it through this time. I like the main character Adeenya quite a bit. The story is a mix of mystery and military/political intrigue, but it is heavy on the relationship dynamics as well. It touches on colonialism, and the tension between cultural conservation and xenophobia, but it doesn’t explore these issues in great detail. Most of the conceptual focus is on the moral gradations of Law.
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Taleras
Seeker
75 Posts |
Posted - 16 May 2018 : 00:56:11
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Just finished The Ghost King which was my favorite of this most recent trilogy within the Drizzt series, although I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending. I'm onto Bands of Mourning now, but am excited to get to Gauntlgrym and see what's next for the series...
Although I also want to get to the rest of the Cosmere, as well as WoT. I need more time to read... |
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Bragi
Seeker
USA
90 Posts |
Posted - 16 May 2018 : 23:58:28
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| I've been listening to Whisper of Waves on audio book and I have come to realize I pronounce quite a few realms terms incorrectly. Most egregious of which are the names of the months. I'm working on correcting that but 30 years of pronouncing something incorrectly is hard to change. As for the book itself, it has been interesting. It made much more sense once I realized it was set in the Lake of Steam area and not the Lake of Mists area. |
In Pursuit of Better Worlds,
Bragi of Erin |
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Taleras
Seeker
75 Posts |
Posted - 17 May 2018 : 00:52:45
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quote:
Originally posted by Bragi
I've been listening to Whisper of Waves on audio book and I have come to realize I pronounce quite a few realms terms incorrectly. Most egregious of which are the names of the months. I'm working on correcting that but 30 years of pronouncing something incorrectly is hard to change. As for the book itself, it has been interesting. It made much more sense once I realized it was set in the Lake of Steam area and not the Lake of Mists area.
I can't speak to that book in particular, but I have noticed when different narrators do books in the same series or "realm" they often pronounce things differently. So you might not be wrong... |
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Taleras
Seeker
75 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jun 2018 : 16:23:22
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Just finished The Sapphire Crescent, it was a fine book. I am sure that I will finish the trilogy at some point, but definitely not on my radar right now. I also cruised through a bunch of the Cosmere short stories, most notably Mistborn: Secret History, which objectively is kind of a bad book, but the background to Era 1 and the tidbits to Era 2 that you get are quite interesting.
I'm trying to decide whether to start WoT or continue the Drizzt series with Gauntlgrym... Any suggestions? |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jun 2018 : 17:25:15
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quote:
Originally posted by Taleras
Just finished The Sapphire Crescent, it was a fine book. I am sure that I will finish the trilogy at some point, but definitely not on my radar right now. I also cruised through a bunch of the Cosmere short stories, most notably Mistborn: Secret History, which objectively is kind of a bad book, but the background to Era 1 and the tidbits to Era 2 that you get are quite interesting.
I'm trying to decide whether to start WoT or continue the Drizzt series with Gauntlgrym... Any suggestions?
I've not read either, myself, but I've heard good things about the Wheel of Time books. |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 08 Jun 2018 : 17:37:09
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I'm revisiting the four* books of the Hitchhiker's Trilogy, right now. I will likely read another standalone novel or two after that, before getting back to the Riftwar-related books
I don't know if I've ever mentioned this, in regards to the Hitchhiker's books -- but there was some censoring of the language in those books, when published in the US. I did not know this, initially... My original copies were from the early 80's, and I'd gotten them from a used book store. Then I lost my copies in the fire. When my wife and I were on our honeymoon in Ireland, we wandered into a bookstore in Dublin, where I saw an omnibus printing of the four books. So I decided to go ahead and replace my copies.
I read the books on the flight home (Dublin to Orlando, non-stop, is not a short flight!). I'd read my original copies enough that I noticed some changes here and there, and so I googled it when I got home, and that's how I learned about the censorship.
Other than little bits here and there, the most notable change was the guy at the party who'd won the award for the most gratuitous use of the word "Belgium" in a serious screenplay -- in the original version, it was the f-bomb. And that version isn't as funny, to me, as the edited version.
*There are four books in the trilogy. Rumors of a fifth book are the most vile heresy. |
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Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 08 Jun 2018 17:38:13 |
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goblins
Acolyte
15 Posts |
Posted - 11 Jun 2018 : 14:00:57
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I finished Shadowdale over the weekend and started on Tantras. I’ve been reading Forgotten Realms novels off-and-on pretty much since they started being published, but I never really conceptually embraced the setting much more than as a framework to drape the trappings of the tabletop game over. I was really just looking for a substitute for the sessions I had stopped having opportunities to play. The Finder’s Stone trilogy and now the Avatar series have me hooked into the Realms as a world onto itself. The characterizations and plotting have been very satisfying and I’m growing more-and-more attached to the universe independent of its relationship to the gaming sourcebooks which fostered my initial interest. I know some of what is coming, and I am excited to see it play out.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 18 Jun 2018 : 18:06:48
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Currently working my way through the Legends of the Riftwar books; I'm now on the second book, Murder in LaMut. I kinda remembered the prior book, Honoured Enemy*, but this one, it's been a long time since I read it and I may have only read it the one time -- so it's almost a new read, to me. I'm 100 pages in, and thus far, I've not remembered anything from having read it previously.
The next book will be the third one of the series, focused on and titled for my fave character from all of the books, Jimmy the Hand.
After that, I'll dip back into the new pile of books, and then back to Midkemia for a while.
*Yes, the British spelling. The Legends of the Riftwar books were published in the UK, before being published in the US. I'd never even heard of them, until my absent, senile, and still-missed friend SiriusBlack said something about it, back in the day. |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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Taleras
Seeker
75 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jun 2018 : 15:21:18
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quote:
Originally posted by goblins
I finished Shadowdale over the weekend and started on Tantras. I’ve been reading Forgotten Realms novels off-and-on pretty much since they started being published, but I never really conceptually embraced the setting much more than as a framework to drape the trappings of the tabletop game over. I was really just looking for a substitute for the sessions I had stopped having opportunities to play. The Finder’s Stone trilogy and now the Avatar series have me hooked into the Realms as a world onto itself. The characterizations and plotting have been very satisfying and I’m growing more-and-more attached to the universe independent of its relationship to the gaming sourcebooks which fostered my initial interest. I know some of what is coming, and I am excited to see it play out.
How is Tantas? I have read Shadowdale, but never continued on. I liked Shadowdale because it felt like a DND excursion into itself, even though I only ever played once way back in the day. I did have a hard time pushing through it in some spots though. Not sure why, but I had a hard time keeping focused on it. |
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goblins
Acolyte
15 Posts |
Posted - 19 Jun 2018 : 23:30:11
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quote:
Originally posted by Taleras
How is Tantas? I have read Shadowdale, but never continued on. I liked Shadowdale because it felt like a DND excursion into itself, even though I only ever played once way back in the day. I did have a hard time pushing through it in some spots though. Not sure why, but I had a hard time keeping focused on it.
I think the story really speeds up in Tantras and Waterdeep. I was already planning on posting in this thread because I blew trough them so quickly and started Prince of Lies yesterday. I think they do an excellent job of keeping the action moving while still developing the main protagonists and adding in interesting side characters as well. I ended up really enjoying the first three novels.
Edition rule changes are always controversial, and I have my own personal thoughts about them, but just as a matter of craftsmanship, I think the authors did a good job of working the story around that framework. |
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Taleras
Seeker
75 Posts |
Posted - 21 Jun 2018 : 15:02:29
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| Oh, that's awesome. I did feel like Shadowdale dragged, so maybe the next two will be more to my liking! |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jun 2018 : 02:19:36
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I just finished reading Jimmy The Hand. While I did like it, and while one of the characters gave me an idea for an NPC, there was one major element that bugged me... The story starts right as Prince Arutha and Princess Anita are being smuggled out of Krondor by the Mockers. It's only a year or two after that that he befriends a fellow Squire, Locklear, son of the Baron of Land's End.
But in Jimmy The Hand, he travels to Land's End, the then-Baron only had one child, and it wasn't Locklear. The end of the book sees the barony in need of a new baron, but the most likely candidate was barely old enough to father a child.
So either the most likely candidate for the new Baron did not get the Barony, or there's a serious timing error, here.
I think it would have been a lot better if this book, written well after the Riftwar books, had been set pretty much anywhere else.
I started reading a recent acquisition, The Robots of Gotham. I'm not quite 100 pages into it, but it's already quite interesting. Part of the premise is that intelligent machines have taken over a good chunk of the world -- but not in Terminator or The Matrix fashion. There's no Skynet or anything like that -- the machines are independent AIs, each with unique personalities, and a couple of the ones intro'ed thus far act like humans do (Nineteen Black Winter, at one point, quotes Yoda!). While the machines have staged coups and takeovers in some countries, in other countries, they were actually elected, or the citizens of the nation invited the machines in to rule the place. And the places run by robots are one universal faction, either; they seem to emulate human tribalism, somewhat (at one point, off-camera but still mentioned, one of the highest-level AIs literally nukes another AI).
And though the Americans are anti-robot (Understandably, with most of the East Coast under robot control), most humans have at least grudgingly accepted co-existence with robots. The main character is a Canadian businessman who defends the fact that Canada is run by an elected robot, and he goes to great lengths to save Black Winter's life and help him out later. (He also failed to recognize Black Winter's Star Wars quote, but the book is set in 2083; obviously, the movie franchise eventually petered out)
It's interesting thus far, and I'm curious to see how it plays out.
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
Edited by - Wooly Rupert on 24 Jun 2018 05:07:02 |
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George Krashos
Master of Realmslore
Australia
6666 Posts |
Posted - 24 Jun 2018 : 04:59:29
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Just finished "Sisterhood of Dune" and "Mentats of Dune". No one in my city seems to have "Navigators of Dune" so online I shall go!
-- George Krashos |
"Because only we, contrary to the barbarians, never count the enemy in battle." -- Aeschylus |
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CorellonsDevout
Great Reader
USA
2708 Posts |
Posted - 25 Jun 2018 : 00:37:17
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| Reading Point of Hopes, the first in the Astreiant series. There is interesting world-building around astrology, and I love a blend of mystery and magic. |
Sweet water and light laughter |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 26 Jun 2018 : 18:38:25
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Robots of Gotham was quite the good book, and it leaves plenty of room for a sequel. I'm going to be keeping an eye out for that one.
I'm not sure what to read next... I've gotten quite the stack of new books, of late, so there's plenty to read, there. I've also gotten some FR books that I missed the first time around. And I'm still slowly working my way thru the Riftwar books...
So I've got plenty of choices, there. I'll likely not decide until I get home from work, do a bit of pedaling, and then sit down to grab some dinner. |
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Candlekeep - The Library of Forgotten Realms Lore
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I am the Giant Space Hamster of Ill Omen! |
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goblins
Acolyte
15 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jun 2018 : 17:46:25
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
I started reading a recent acquisition, The Robots of Gotham. I'm not quite 100 pages into it, but it's already quite interesting. Part of the premise is that intelligent machines have taken over a good chunk of the world -- but not in Terminator or The Matrix fashion. There's no Skynet or anything like that -- the machines are independent AIs, each with unique personalities, and a couple of the ones intro'ed thus far act like humans do (Nineteen Black Winter, at one point, quotes Yoda!). While the machines have staged coups and takeovers in some countries, in other countries, they were actually elected, or the citizens of the nation invited the machines in to rule the place. And the places run by robots are one universal faction, either; they seem to emulate human tribalism, somewhat (at one point, off-camera but still mentioned, one of the highest-level AIs literally nukes another AI).
And though the Americans are anti-robot (Understandably, with most of the East Coast under robot control), most humans have at least grudgingly accepted co-existence with robots. The main character is a Canadian businessman who defends the fact that Canada is run by an elected robot, and he goes to great lengths to save Black Winter's life and help him out later. (He also failed to recognize Black Winter's Star Wars quote, but the book is set in 2083; obviously, the movie franchise eventually petered out)
It's interesting thus far, and I'm curious to see how it plays out.
That sounds really interesting, and at least initially, seems a more plausible take to me on the social implications of non-biological consciousness. I've often wondered if selection pressures would exert themselves on AI. |
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goblins
Acolyte
15 Posts |
Posted - 27 Jun 2018 : 17:49:42
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I finished Prince of Lies on Monday. I've been enjoying the Avatar series quite a bit as a character-driven adventure. I've particularly found a lot of the side characters interesting (such as Sneakabout). I would have made much different choices with the theological metaphysics, but that didn't get too much in the way for me. I’ve gamified my reading/listening a bit over the years so as to help deal with plot holes or world building inconsistencies in genre fiction. Rather than approaching a novel as canon, I think of the author as a bard retelling their own particular version of the events. This psychologically allows me to compartmentalize the good and the bad, and gives me the best chance of finding something to enjoy in my time with a story.
One aspect of the series’ theology I found interesting is that it basically dispenses with the Good-Evil axis as being central to the god's "office" or “portfolio”. Although I've always appreciated the relative complexity of the nine alignment system, I still think it smuggles in some pretty significant biases into a game world that is otherwise far more flexible than a lot of high fantasy. I personally prefer an Authority/Pluralism axis over a Law/Chaos one. The deities in Avatar don't spend much, if any, time on substantive morality. It's basically all procedural discussions driven by the parameters of the platonic ideal that their office represents. I found the idea of mortal supplication to a god as being a necessary precondition to avoiding the eternal damnation of the faithless to be a particularly strange creative decision in a universe with chaotic (and perhaps even neutral) good deities. By ignoring "good" as an independent concern, it drives even more home that there is significant conflation of authority with law.
Another noteworthy twist in the Avatar theology is what happens at the end of Prince of Lies in regards to the transcendence of one of the characters. I always assumed the Good/Neutral/Evil designation was distilled from the concept the office represented, but existed sometimes in tension with that abstraction. The resolution suggests that Good/Neutral/Evil could be reflective of the personal behavior and/or character of the deity and not derived from its conceptual office. I guess I’ll see in Crucible if this is how it plays out. Some of the Nentir Vale novels I’ve read seemed to have a similar approach.
As I was reading Prince of Lies. I thought to myself that I really wished they had treated it as a part of a sequel series, and not grouped with the first three books. I had enough affection for the characters that I found the climax of Waterdeep emotionally resonating. I wish I would have had a chance to let it sit with me a bit. I then checked the publication dates and saw there was a substantial gap between the 3rd and 4th novels, and that it really was structured the way I had wanted. I’m going to pay attention to publication dates a lot more closely now when planning my Forgotten Realms reading. I know there is a significant gap between books four and five as well, but Prince of Lies didn’t have the same emotional impact of Waterdeep for me, so I’m going to complete this story now instead of waiting until after I read more 90s novels.
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CorellonsDevout
Great Reader
USA
2708 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jun 2018 : 00:23:35
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| Because the gods are a very real and active force in the Realms, and is quite polytheistic, most Faerunians worship more than one deity, though there may be one they "favor" slightly above the rest. Others have distinct patron deities (like priests and clerics, for example). A deity is both defined by its portfolio, and yet not, because while they represent certain things (be that something concrete, like storms, or something more abstract or emotion-based, like love), they are not unthinking beings. They have desires and emotions, and while their motives aren't always comprehendible to mortals, they do act "human" sometimes, even if their reason for doing so make little sense to us. |
Sweet water and light laughter |
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goblins
Acolyte
15 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jun 2018 : 01:11:22
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| That was always my interpretation as well. I thought it made sense too with a game that let you attain immortality in some versions. What struck me about Prince of Lies (if I’m remembering correctly) is that the faithless are tortured for eternity for not submitting to at least one god. And (again if I’m remembering correctly) it’s presented as a fundamental law of existence outside the control of the individual gods, with no suggestion of special dispensation for good deeds. I would think that would be one the main purposes of a chaotic good deity. |
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CorellonsDevout
Great Reader
USA
2708 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jun 2018 : 02:02:04
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| It's been several years since I have read that book, but from my understanding, the Wall (which I don't really like the concept of, but it's there, so) is for those who truly either completely defy all gods, not worshiping them in any form, not even lip service, or do something *really* bad to a sacred space, like a temple or altar. Most Faerunians, even those who may not necessarily have a "patron deity" are taken in by the god who best aligns with their ethical and moral outlook. The Wall is obviously large enough to have thousands of damned souls, but it is something that has likely been built up over time. I think you have to do a lot to end up on the Wall. |
Sweet water and light laughter |
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Demzer
Senior Scribe
877 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jun 2018 : 09:22:40
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quote:
Originally posted by goblins
... with no suggestion of special dispensation for good deeds.
Why should there be? What makes you think that a good person may be Faithless? The Realms are literally full of good deities that cover all aspects of human life and if you fall into one of those (you are "good" in the D&D sense even if you don't pray), the good deity that covers the best of your action spectrum will take you in, no matter what. The Faithless are people that, even in a world with evident and clear manifestations of the existence (let alone power) of the gods, deny their allegiance to anyone. Explicitly defying anything divine. This is not something I see anyone that falls into the D&D definition of "good" doing.
If I remember correctly, the Wall of the Faithless was built by Jergal, during the time of Netheril, when many powerful mortals thought themselves candidate to godhood and regarded the deities as merely one step ahead. The Wall was a reaction to keep the elite of Netheril "in it's place" and has sticked since, as a punishment for those that deny the divine and defy the gods. |
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goblins
Acolyte
15 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jun 2018 : 12:29:58
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Thanks to you both for the thoughts.
quote:
Originally posted by Demzer
The Realms are literally full of good deities that cover all aspects of human life and if you fall into one of those (you are "good" in the D&D sense even if you don't pray), the good deity that covers the best of your action spectrum will take you in, no matter what.
That’s how I always conceived D&D theology, but I felt Prince of Lies didn’t present it that way. I have to throw in the caveat that I don’t have the novel in print, so I may just be misremembering, or have misheard a key passage or two, but I think there are at least two different incidents in which it is explicitly discussed that if the characters are killed, they will end up in the Wall because it was too late for them to achieve grace. They were willing to continue with their quest despite this grave danger because they wanted to prevent the destruction of the world. That’s an incredibly selfless and compassionate act, but yet not enough to redeem them. You can tease quite a bit out of a judge’s personal ideology by observing who and what they sanction, and how severely relative to other offenders and offenses. You can make similar inferences regarding a legal system as a whole. In Prince of Lies, the sanctions Mystra is threatened with, and (if I’m understanding the PoL theology correctly) the fact that mortals can’t escape damnation without supplicating themselves, reserves the ultimate sanctions for procedural offenses and not substantive ones.
quote:
The Faithless are people that, even in a world with evident and clear manifestations of the existence (let alone power) of the gods, deny their allegiance to anyone. Explicitly defying anything divine. This is not something I see anyone that falls into the D&D definition of "good" doing.
I feel this perspective is very firmly rooted in the Law side of the axis. Egalitarians reject hierarchies, particularly ones based on intrinsic factors outside the agent’s control (like being born mortal). My D&D pantheon would include chaotic good deities (and probably neutral good ones - but I haven’t thought as much about that) that don’t require personal allegiance to themselves.
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Demzer
Senior Scribe
877 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jun 2018 : 15:23:44
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quote:
Originally posted by goblins
I have to throw in the caveat that I don’t have the novel in print, so I may just be misremembering, or have misheard a key passage or two, but I think there are at least two different incidents in which it is explicitly discussed that if the characters are killed, they will end up in the Wall because it was too late for them to achieve grace.
I've re-read parts of Prince of Lies and didn't find these two incidents. All the references to the Wall of the Faithless are either descriptions of it or point out the misuse that Cyric is doing of it (ie. sentencing the False Gwydion to it).
Gwydion is False because he paid lip service to Torm without truly embracing the god's ethos (well, actually conducting his life contrary to the ethos he claimed to follow, since he was a coward).
Later on, in his unlife, he acted in accordance to Torm's ethos and was forgive of his mortal misgivings with Torm accepting him and even resurrecting him when asked to.
I think the whole analysis of the Wall of the Faithless sometimes is steered by the emotional reaction to it's supposed use by going with word of mouth but most of the times people don't do any kind of research on it. All good deities of Faerun allow mortals that conducted their life according to their ethos to go to their realm in the afterlife even without proper explicit devotion.
As an example, if you've never heard of Ilmater (extremely unlikely) but you were a compassionate being always helping the poor and downtrodden and striving for their betterment than you can bet that he will "claim" you by opening his realm to you in the afterlife. If you heard of Ilmater it doesn't make sense that in all your life doing exactly the same thing his church does all over Faerun you didn't even for a single time offer him a prayer, or a thanks, or a donation to his churches, or helped out his faithful handing out blankets and food, or ... you get that.
I don't see it possible for anyone "good" in the D&D sense going to the Wall.
Keep in mind that at the start of Prince of Lies the actions of Gwydion mark him as much more neutral than good, he is a coward trying to pass off as a faithful of the god of duty and bravery. During the story he slowly turns to goodness as a reaction to the injustices perpetrated by Cyric. |
Edited by - Demzer on 28 Jun 2018 15:31:14 |
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goblins
Acolyte
15 Posts |
Posted - 28 Jun 2018 : 20:26:52
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| After I finish Crucible I may pick up the texts and dig into this a little deeper in a separate thread. Not only do I want to take a more detailed look at PoL’s theology, this series has me thinking about what “faith” means in a world where there is demonstrable evidence of the existence of deities and how that might impact religious belief for people that want to be “good” (but would normally eschew religious practice). Thanks for the discussion. |
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CorellonsDevout
Great Reader
USA
2708 Posts |
Posted - 29 Jun 2018 : 03:03:02
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| Let us know. I won't go into much more here, as this isn't the threat of it, but I think, as far as being "good" goes, it is what Demzer said. There are few true atheists in the Realms (as the gods are a real and established fact), so "faith" is more about your faith/belief in what X god stands for (in other words, moral outlooK). And if you you strive to be good but don't have a patron deity, chances are you nevertheless acknowledge the gods in some form, so you will be taken in by the god who is best aligned with your ethics. |
Sweet water and light laughter |
Edited by - CorellonsDevout on 29 Jun 2018 04:20:11 |
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 09 Jul 2018 : 03:44:00
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I finally finished The Legend of Eli Monpress... It wasn't bad, but it was far from great -- to the point that I was getting tired of reading it (it's 1000 pages; the book is actually an omnibus of 3 books).
Part of the problem was that it wasn't what it was sold as. I found it on a list of books that said "if you like capers, read these books." And then I looked at it, and saw the blurb "Fans of Scott Lynch's Lies of Locke Lamora will be thrilled with Eli Monpress."
The Locke Lamora books were great -- I heartily recommend those. Seeing that blurb was a major selling point for this book.
There were a couple of heists, but they barely went into caper territory, and they were not the major focus.
And all Eli Monpress has in common with Locke Lamora is that he's a thief who can improvise, and has a tank for a buddy.
Also, the back cover says it's "A tale of high adventure, romance, and larceny." It has adventure and larceny -- but the promised romance never even threatened to rear its head. There are two major female characters. One spends the book trying to capture Eli Monpress and bring him to justice, the other is a demon-possessed compatriot of his. In neither case was there anything approaching romantic feelings towards anyone else. The motivations of the male characters were flashy thefts and a good swordfight, and again, nothing approaching romance (not even a roll in the hay with a friendly barmaid).
I might have liked the book more if it wasn't sold as something it wasn't... The worldbuilding was kind of interesting. Everything has intelligent spirits, whether it's a door, the wind, an animal or a tree. And wizards don't work magic -- they can communicate with spirits and get the spirits to do things for them. So a wizard can get a stone spirit to raise a stone barrier around someone, for example.
Eli Monpress is special because spirits simply want to work with him. He doesn't have to bind them like other wizards; he can just ask a spirit to do something, and it does. His buddy Josef has the Heart of War, the greatest awakened sword in existence -- and an extreme reluctance to use it. Nico is possessed by a demon that she's trying hard to contain; she gets some really nifty abilities from this, but has to fight to keep control of herself. And the last character, Miranda, is hunting for Eli because his thefts give wizards a bad name.
It had potential, but I went into it expecting a cunning caper, and the promise of romance made me think Eli was somehow going to win over Miranda. The book loses for failing to live up to its promises.
Next up, Master Assassins, another recent acquisition.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 15 Jul 2018 : 16:31:43
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quote:
Originally posted by Wooly Rupert
Next up, Master Assassins, another recent acquisition.
So this one was kind of different... The story revolves around two half-brothers, their uncle, and camp follower fleeing for their lives from the army the men all served in.
The overall story was interesting, but a couple of things bugged me... One was the book being written in present tense. I'm not used to seeing that, and it's so different from pretty much everything else I read that I was constantly aware of it.
The other thing was that the author apparently loves unanswered questions. And in most cases, this works. Where is the half-brothers' father? Why was his knowledge so dangerous? Why were the half-brothers raised in separate households? What happened to the girl both brothers loved?
But then there was the lingering question of relationships with that missing girl. We know in flashbacks that she and Kandri, one of the half-brothers, were intimate... What really bothers Kandri was that his half-brother Mektu claims the same thing. Mektu is known for saying nonsensical and untrue things, but these claims bother Kandri so much that it impacts the relationship between them. Mektu knows this and seems to revel in it. This whole subplot seriously detracted from the overall story, to me.
There are other unanswered questions, and the author leaves a lot of room for the promised sequel, which I will likely get. While I did like this book, I also found it lacking something; I hope the sequel is better.
Right now, I'm reading the newest Dresden Files anthology, Brief Cases. I'd read prolly half of the stories before, but at least a couple were new, and I don't recognize a couple others from their names.
I'm not sure what will follow that one.
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Wooly Rupert
Master of Mischief
USA
36804 Posts |
Posted - 16 Jul 2018 : 04:34:26
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...And I just finished Brief Cases.
I'd originally thought it only had one short story I'd not read before, but I bought it because it was bring all those stories together -- they'd been scattered across multiple sources, and at least one of them was a royal pain in the oshiri for me to find.
But it turned out that 4 of the stores were new to me. And the last one, "Zoo Day," does something interesting: there's actually three conflicts going on there, all told from the perspective of a different character...
And one of those characters was the Temple Dog, Mouse. Mouse has been a supporting character for quite some time, but Changes was the first time we really got to see him in action. He'd done a lot before, but Changes was where we get to see the *real* Mouse. So seeing part of the story from his PoV was cool.
Also, one of the short stories is from the perspective of Waldo Butters. And the author's note before that one was interesting, too: Butters was intended to be a single-use, throwaway character. But then the author needed a supporting character for a particular role, and Butters was handy, so he wound up becoming more a part of the main story.
I really, really wish Butcher would hurry up with Peace Talks!
(Also, I'm wondering if the main baddie from "Zoo Day" was a throwaway villain, or if he's got some connection to the Black Council.)
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What are you reading? (2018-20??)
