Spaßvogel

So Kvothe forgot about the Name of Iron Fleet?

I liked Karl Edward Wagner's more hehe.

Just finished the 8 (so far) books of de Castell's Spellslinger series. Couldn't find a fully likable character in the entire thing. Not a one. I only kept reading because I had nothing else to read and I read very quickly so it's not much of a time investment. Someone suggested I read his other book, The Malevolent Seven, and it's the same thing...not a likable character in the bunch so far. It's like the author is just being stubborn and not giving in at this point. I've read many books with anti-heroes before that were 100x more enjoyable to read. I don't get why his books are pretty much fully cast with a-holes. One of the books (Soulbinder I think it was) features the main character's a-hole-ness as its primary plot device. If he just goes along with other characters (who were trying to help him!) half the book would have been avoided and maybe there would have been a lot less damage porn.

Blessed Odds (Riftborn Book 2) by Steve McHugh on February 21st. Cult Classic (Eric Carter Book 9) by Stephen Blackmoore on July 11th

Ehhh. Guess I'll go back to waiting for WoW.

Amos Wins haha. That was my first reaction. I think I re-read the epilogue 30 times.

Finally got around to the 6th Eric Carter Novel by Stephen Blackmoore. Other than his reference to Portland, Washington, it's been a good addition to the series. Some excellent character development and some interesting things from the first couple books coming home to roost.

Thanks, I'll check it out.

I loved this series, and Elliot James seems to have evaporated. Social Media accounts have no updates. Website has no updates. I think there's more story there to be told.

Couldn't find an unlocked thread. Delete this if it's wrong. While I kill the time between the last Alex Verus and the next Harry Dresden, someone suggested I read the Craig Schaefer-verse books. (Luckily he has a handy dandy reading order on his website). Starting with the first few Daniel Faust books, then over to Harmony Black, then back and forth a bit until we get to the spinoff of the spinoff...anyway... Has anyone else read these? It's sort of the Marvel Cinematic Universe version of world building, and it works...mostly, but it really seems a bit overly planned out and inorganically written. It's possible this is another series that's not served by binge-reading (inconsistencies are more noticeable, writer-tics more obvious...etc), but so far nothing has caused me to *stop* reading them. Okay but not great? So far I've read about two-thirds of what is available.

I participated in the Collaborative Writing Challenge's Steampunk project The Army of Brass. (I think I was told that I was responsible for 20% of the final project, but that is just a guestimate). The book is available for pre-order. Worth every penny of that .99 price! (Or free if you have Kindle Unlimited) Army of Brass on Amazon

This isn't to the level of a "Rant and rave" but I feel like Cersei shouldn't have nearly the military strength to withstand a siege by any of the factions out there. With King's Landing in near complete anarchy by now, the sparrows all dead, the gold cloaks decimated, the Tyrells are enemies now, the Freys are dead, the Vale's in the North, the who does she think will back her? Where is she going to get food? I feel like the show is going to fudge things to make Cersei more formidable, where every decision she's made has made her own position a house of cards. Either way, the season is off to a good start.

Speaking of Jon, did anyone notice his eyes were red/pinkish like Ghost's when you first see him? Then they fade into normal? I was watching on a stream so it wasn't super clear to me.

I thought the cousin Lannister speech dragged on way too long...same with the Grey Worm/Missendei scene. That was 20 minutes of the episode right there.

Well, every interview about that scene indicated it was supposed to be consensual. The director just massively failed to convey that because it wasn't apparent at all.

The black gate was one of those "necessary" things IMO, because it sets up so much stuff that pays off later. Bleah.

I don't buy that it would tip the hand too much. They establish so hard that Walder Frey is being a jerk. Hiring a crappy band could just be another dickish move on his part and doesn't necessarily ruin the surprise. It's still a pretty big leap to slaughter. I think the potential "aha" moment by the audience when they realize WHY the band is so bad is far more fulfilling outcome and was worth the risk of the probably handful of people who might guess what was coming. I mean, even if they do guess that it's a trap, which by the larger context isn't that much of big guess, they aren't going to fathom the depths and completeness of the slaughter. That stuff would still be a shock. I think they overplayed the value of the shock and gutted the surreality that leads to it.

I know people have mentioned this, but I don't get the completely arbitrary change of the musicians being good.

Man Grey Worm was scrawny. Removing Dontos has messed up the pacing of Littlefinger's departure...seems like he has been leaving for three episodes...and unless they move the PW up, he is going to be still around the rest of the season isnt he?

I don't think they can get Xaro out of the Vault can they? There is only one key, and I assume that they aren't going to leave it around.

I had a feeling I would be let down after Blackwater. The shortcomings of this episode have been well expressed here in the previous pages. The burning of Winterfell was very shoddily explained. They never showed the "army" outside. If they hadn't gotten Ramsay cast, they still could have put a guy in full plate on a horse with the flayed man on his shield, pointing at the horn player to blow again, and the point would've gotten across just fine. I suppose they wlil have a call back in the beginning of season three and actually show this scene...at least I hope so, because I don't think the TV viewer is going to be able to figure things out. House of the Undying was short, simplistic, and a huge let-down. Dany's big Drakaris moment was such an anti-climax...it came off as an episode of Sanctuary or something instead of HBO's Game of Thrones. There was one shining moment in this episode, however, that almost makes up for the rest; Maester Luwin's death was the first scene in the TV series that actually made me get teary. I knew it was coming, and it had been a very moving part of the book as well, especially with Rickon for whom Luwin was almost his only father figure. I guess we'll see what happens next April.