Where are you in fantasyland? August 2023

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Where are you in fantasyland? August 2023

1elorin
Août 1, 2023, 8:50 pm

I'm traveling to Tilbora with the Scholar in book 4 of the Imager Portfolio

2Sakerfalcon
Août 2, 2023, 6:56 am

I'm still sampling A thousand recipes for revenge and also travelling in flying houses across England with The Wisteria Society of lady scoundrels.

3Karlstar
Août 10, 2023, 11:09 am

Back in Adrilankha with Vlad Taltos in Iorich. I had somehow skipped this one and was past it in the series, I'm glad I went back and caught up. It is one of the better books in the whole series, after maybe the first 3. It also helps make the following books make a lot more sense.

4rshart3
Août 10, 2023, 11:11 pm

Just back from New Orleans, finishing Final Heir by Faith Hunter. Seems like it might almost be the finish of the main series, and anyway I think I'll stop here regardless. It still had that page-turning quality & good characters, but like most long series it starts to get both repetitive in the types of situations, and a bit stretched. And they all suffer from continuous "powers inflation" (i.e. both bad & good characters get more & more strength & powers in each book).
I love this kind of supernatural fiction, but the only other series I've followed through this many books are Harry Dresden, and (historical, not fantasy) Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey/Maturin books (those I've read twice).

5Sakerfalcon
Août 11, 2023, 7:22 am

I've finished my travels in Verdania, tasting A thousand recipes for revenge. It was a great read, with an unusual food-based magic system, lots of political shenanigans, assassinations and other drama. The characters are well drawn as is the setting which is based on musketeer-era France and Brittany.

I enjoyed my adventure with The wisteria society of lady scoundrels. It's a very silly read but enormous fun.

Now I'm in a magical New Orleans singing The ballad of Perilous Graves, and in Montana at the horrific Camp Damascus.

6elorin
Août 11, 2023, 7:58 pm

At Midwestern University in Mythology 101 for a lighthearted break from the Imager Portfolio, which I am still reading through in Princeps.

7vwinsloe
Août 12, 2023, 7:16 am

8Narilka
Août 12, 2023, 10:44 pm

I am finishing up Piranesi.

9Niko
Août 14, 2023, 2:48 pm

Just getting back from a vacation in which I spent time with The Daughters of Izdihar, bopped around through a number of short stories in the collection Touchstones by Stephanie Burgis, and traveled down The Healers' Road.

Also started in on an audiobook re-reading of The Doomsday Book during the car ride.

10Karlstar
Août 15, 2023, 10:43 pm

I had a brief trip to Westeros with The Mystery Knight: A Graphic Novel, which I think is a very good version of the novella. Following the cast of characters is a little challenging at times, but not too bad.

11karenb
Août 15, 2023, 11:45 pm

I went to Newford, among other places, with Juniper Wiles and the ghost girls by Charles de Lint.

12karenb
Août 18, 2023, 6:31 pm

Now in an unnamed town about an hour from a larger city, with a bunch of teenagers who just want to graduate from high school and aren't directly fighting the Immortals. They still encounter creatures with blue light coming out of their eyes (deer, cops, et al.) and the occasional explosion, as The rest of us just live here by Patrick Ness.

13drmamm
Août 18, 2023, 8:06 pm

I have decided to commence a re-read of The Great Hunt, since the Wheel of Time TV show premieres Season 2 on September 1st. The Great Hunt along with most of the third book of WoT is covered in the upcoming season. I wasn't a huge fan of Season 1, but I also acknowledge that the production was pretty chaotic from day one, with multiple stoppages due to COVID and a lot of meddling from Amazon. It was a 6/10. Hopefully the team will get into a better groove this season.

As a side note, I am less hopeful about the Rings of Power series. It just rubbed me the wrong way, and Amazon is trying to make a show without a story, since they don't have any rights to The Silmarillion. I will still probably watch it out of curiosity.

14elorin
Août 19, 2023, 10:11 am

I finished Princeps and I am off to Terre d'Ange to reread Phedre the anguisette's story preparatory to reading Cassiel's Servant

15karenb
Août 19, 2023, 11:30 am

I am jumping between the recently re-raised island of Madrigal and the Galerano disapora neighborhood in New York City, in The last canto of the dead. Everything is more complicated, which is good to see reflected in art and not just IRL. (People who think YA is simplified should read these books.)

16ScarletBea
Août 21, 2023, 6:49 am

I'm aboard a ship going from New York to Southampton in the early 20th century, in A restless truth.

17Thebookgod
Août 21, 2023, 11:07 pm

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please read this and thell me what you think by messaging me
The black mage
I sat on the bed and looked up to the deep blue sky with my eyes full of tears the life i lived so far is just the worst i pretend i am someone i am not i try my best to avoid trouble but it not fair i always try my best but it never enough my mother and my family screams at me everyday i remember when i was a child she left me and i never knew i had a mother i hated her for leaving when i was 7 she then came back to get me i found out i had a sister 7 years later my father had try to stab my mother they started fighting over bills and my mothers cheating on him i watched it happen and as i did i opened the door and sneaked out when i was out i turn back and my mother had a gun my father had a knife my father threw the knife at my mother it hit her in the chest my mother was bleeding i fell backward my mother reached for the gun she then picked it up shot at him and he was now bleeding too i yelled for them to stop but they contined fighting i cried as i yelled stop and i sat there crying my mother then got up took the lighter in her pocket and lit it my dad got up to stop her the fire fell and the house started to burn i ran in to the woods i kept running as far as my legs could carry me i ran and ran until i collapsed i then heard some people talking i hid bind a tree to hear what the were saying they were talking about how the rebirth of pétra ariás and it sounds like it was important because this man in the ruby cloak was say they had to get it the woman in the starphier cloak said that they must get it the other 4 said yes megáli mágissa i they then saw the moon turn blood red and they then said let leave befor the come the man in the ruby cloak then took out a strange key which was golden and had a skull on it he the used the key like he was unlocking a door suddenly the place was filled with a green light and a door appeared they all went in someting told me to go in i followed them and i followed them i went threw the door to find out i was out of my world and in to a world that had 8 moons i then saw some adults i said hello to the i asked where i was they say the forest of beasts and i they asked where my parents were i said they died the said poor kid the then offered me a ride i said yes because i trusted the little did i know i would come to regret it they took me to this abandoned castle and is aid what where we doing here the said this is there base i said okey they then gave me a map of the whole world they said the may be more we got off the carriage and went inside the male whose name was paul the lady said her name was carla the other lady said her name was beth the last man said his name was harold they asked how old i was i said 14 they asked my name i said jamal brown they then told me to come in and the lady named carla said she would make food she went to the kitchen to start coking the man paul asked what was my magic power i asked what was that they said that it is a power that determes your magic field i said a not from here the said oh and te lady said the food is ready i began to eat and i fell asleep and when i woke up i was in a dugon tied up i saw in front of me paul beth and carla and harold i asked them what where they doing they said they were going to sell me to the slave master and i sai why they said because they want money i asked them to not do thi they said i should not tust people that fast

18Niko
Août 22, 2023, 8:55 am

>16 ScarletBea: I read the sample of that recently and was super-intrigued by it, but then realized it was a Book 2 and though I'd flagged book 1 as 'to be read', I haven't actually read it yet. Gave me a reason to bump book 1 up the list, anyway. :)

19Niko
Août 22, 2023, 8:56 am

Currently in the Italian-inflected city of Cartagna, in An Illusion of Thieves.

20amberwitch
Août 22, 2023, 10:10 am

>18 Niko: i loved the frist book in the series, A marvelous light, but stalled on book two, which had a very different tone, and few overlapping characters.

21Sakerfalcon
Août 22, 2023, 10:18 am

I'm in Rhode Island experiencing The red tree. This isn't as good as The drowning girl, which I loved, but hopefully the ending will pack a punch.

I'm also in Argentina taking Our share of night. This is a slow burn but it's creepy in a good way.

22curioussquared
Modifié : Août 22, 2023, 12:39 pm

I'm at the Basigath War Academy in Fourth Wing.

>16 ScarletBea: >18 Niko: >20 amberwitch: I loved Book 1 but was a little disappointed by Book 2, I think for the reasons amberwitch mentioned. I still preordered Book 3 and am hoping it's a return to form.

23rshart3
Août 23, 2023, 12:18 am

I'm in my hometown in Book of Night by Holly Black. I had no idea when I bought it that she's a local author. It's strange reading a dark fantasy with so many familiar place names & details. Pretty good, so far (which of course means not so good for the protagonist).

24vwinsloe
Août 23, 2023, 8:18 am

>23 rshart3: Hello neighbor! I knew that Holly Black was a local author, but I had never read anything by her. I now have a couple of books by her on the TBR shelf, including Book of Night. Sounds like I should read it just for the familiar place names and details. Thanks for mentioning it!

25Narilka
Août 25, 2023, 12:02 pm

I'm on some other continent in the Greatcoats world with Spellslinger.

26Cecrow
Août 25, 2023, 2:09 pm

I'd not realized at first that I was in Fantasyland, but having completed Quichotte by Salman Rushdie I'd now say it fits the bill; one of many pleasant surprises it had in store.

27nrmay
Modifié : Août 25, 2023, 4:16 pm

I finished A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking. Amusing and original!

28Karlstar
Août 25, 2023, 5:22 pm

Back to the world of Melnibone with Elric in The Citadel of Forgotten Myths, though this time on the other side of the world.

29Karlstar
Août 25, 2023, 5:23 pm

>13 drmamm: I hope you've enjoyed The Great Hunt. I'm looking forward to season two, though they have an awful lot of material to get through.

30drmamm
Août 25, 2023, 8:38 pm

>29 Karlstar: I'm about a third of the way through my re read, and I am enjoying it (again!) I think Season 2 will also include The Dragon Reborn, and I am debating whether to extend my re read to that one as well! (I'm also nervous they will cut Falme).

31Karlstar
Modifié : Août 26, 2023, 8:10 pm

>30 drmamm: I don't know how they could cut Falme, are you thinking they'll skip a lot of it? I expect we'll see a lot of it, as it features Egwene and Nynaeve a lot. I could be wrong, but if they are trying to squeeze The Great Hunt and The Dragon Reborn into one season, there's going to have to be a lot cut.

32drmamm
Août 26, 2023, 8:49 pm

>31 Karlstar: My memory is fuzzy, but various bloggers/YouTubers/etc have theorized that S2 will climax at Tear. Supposedly Rafe mentioned in an interview that many of the books had repetitive story shapes (i.e. long journey with a lot of buildup ending in a huge climactic showdown between Rand and bad guys) and that it didn't make sense to do that over and over again with a limited budget.

I'm paraphrasing and frankly butchering what was said with my fuzzy memory, but that is what my fears are founded on. Falme may "survive," but might be scaled down?!?

WAFO!

33elorin
Août 27, 2023, 10:12 am

I have come to rely on reading by Kindle too much! I devoured Kushiel's Dart and I am reading Cassiel's Servant. I have no idea when I shifted from the paperback Dart to the Kindle Servant. But we're out and about Terre d'Ange, Skaldia, and Alba.

34Karlstar
Août 27, 2023, 10:51 pm

>32 drmamm: Hopefully this isn't a spoiler, but just as book one featured several long trips (Rand and Matt, Egwene and Perrin, etc), book two also has multiple long trips. As far as I'm concerned, they can both be eliminated or shortened A LOT and lose nothing - as long as they keep the basic elements. That would still allow them to keep Falme, if they omit the various trips by various people to get there and just focus on what happens there.

Those trips had a purpose in the books that can be achieved by other means on screen, without dragging us through the whole trip. I haven't read any speculation on season two, not that I mind hearing it, but I'll just take the show as it comes. I just don't see why they would think they could skip Falme, but then I'm always baffled by the decisions writers and producers make when adapting novels.

35Kanarthi
Août 29, 2023, 1:42 am

>23 rshart3: Holly Black was one of my adolescent favorites (whose books I still reread sometime out of nostalgia), so do let me know how it is and if it's worth picking up.

I'm in the middle of Binti: Home which is listed most places as science fiction but feels much more like fantasy to me.

36Sakerfalcon
Août 29, 2023, 9:55 am

I'm in Nadezra seeking the Labyrinth's heart. This is the close of one of the best fantasy trilogies I've read in recent years.

37Niko
Août 29, 2023, 3:48 pm

Currently in Celtic Britain, with typical-for-this-time-period plot thread of followers of the "old gods" dealing with incursions from Christianity, in Sistersong. I'm finding it a bit too heavy on the "YA" side with too much "self-involved-teenage-girls-mooning-over-boys" element, but I assume it's going somewhere with it.

38rshart3
Août 30, 2023, 1:17 am

>24 vwinsloe: I liked Book of Night. I do like that genre, which helps: tough, flawed but basically decent, protagonist fighting against odds. Now I want to try some of her YAs (I like YA & children's books as long as they're good).

39vwinsloe
Août 30, 2023, 8:38 am

>38 rshart3: Great. I will get to it soon! Thanks.