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Worth the Candle #3
Book III
From the age of nine, Juniper Smith began filling notebooks with his worlds, at first places of fantastical imagination, but later with each as an expression of some theme or idea that momentarily grabbed his interest. Over the course of eight years, he shared these worlds with his friends through twice-weekly sessions of tabletop gaming. Now at the age of seventeen, he finds himself in Aerb, a world that appears to be an amalgam of those many notebooks, stuck trying to find the answers to why he's there and what this world is trying to say. The most terrifying answer might be that this world is an expression of the person he was back on Earth.
Contents:
34. Weik Handum (2017-09-12)
35. Friendship is Magic (2017-09-15)
36. In Which Juniper Stares At His Character Sheet (2017-09-18)
37. Paths (2017-09-24)
38. Don't Split the Party (2017-09-24)
39. Strategic Reserves (2017-09-24)
40. The Feminine Mystique (2017-09-26)
41. Truth and Reconciliation (2017-09-30)
42. A Pleasant Interlude in Kansas (2017-09-30)
43. In Search of a Quest (2017-09-30)
44. Mairzy Doats and Dozy Doats (2017-10-02)
45. Keep Magic Weird (2017-10-04)
46. The Market of Blood and Bone (2017-10-09)
47. At Arm's Length (2017-10-09)
48. Doe or Doe Not, There is no Try (2017-10-09)
49. Math.random() (2017-10-16)
50. Copse and Robbers (2017-10-16)
51. Blood in the Water (2017-10-19)
52. Culmination (2017-10-21)
Contents:
34. Weik Handum (2017-09-12)
35. Friendship is Magic (2017-09-15)
36. In Which Juniper Stares At His Character Sheet (2017-09-18)
37. Paths (2017-09-24)
38. Don't Split the Party (2017-09-24)
39. Strategic Reserves (2017-09-24)
40. The Feminine Mystique (2017-09-26)
41. Truth and Reconciliation (2017-09-30)
42. A Pleasant Interlude in Kansas (2017-09-30)
43. In Search of a Quest (2017-09-30)
44. Mairzy Doats and Dozy Doats (2017-10-02)
45. Keep Magic Weird (2017-10-04)
46. The Market of Blood and Bone (2017-10-09)
47. At Arm's Length (2017-10-09)
48. Doe or Doe Not, There is no Try (2017-10-09)
49. Math.random() (2017-10-16)
50. Copse and Robbers (2017-10-16)
51. Blood in the Water (2017-10-19)
52. Culmination (2017-10-21)
- GenresFantasy
201 pages, Unknown Binding
Published January 1, 2017
18 people want to read
About the author
cthulhuraejepsen
11 books34 followerscthulhuraejepsen is a pseudonym of Ben Friesen. Ben is a writer and stay-at-home dad located in Duluth, MN with his wife, their son, and cat. Alexander Wales is another pseudonym of the same author.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
August 16, 2020
Ролевите игри са доста популярни - и нямам предвид само тия в спалнята. Даже не и компютърните, а настолните - Dungeons&Dragons и всички останали мега разнообразни. На мен не са ми любими, но съм играл няколко пъти. Не е зле, забавно е.
Това, което дори не съм подозирал е колко се вживяват в тях някои хора и колко голяма част от живота и приятелствата им са свързани с тия игри, колко голяма часто от размишленията и личната им философия са резултат от игрите.
Серията Worth the Candle те пуска направо в дълбокото на ролевите игри, през погледа на един младеж, който ненадейно се озовава в реален свят, базиран на измислените от него през годините светове за ролевите игри, които са играли с приятелите му.
Книгата е не само доста дълга (към 3 хил страници), ами и е далеч от приключване и авторът продължава да я дописва в интернет с по една глава на всеки няколко дни.
Освен това, книгата е и може би най-видният представител на стила "Rational fiction", при който авторът обяснява подробно и логично защо и как се случват нещата в книгата, а героите като цяло вземат обмислени, рационални решения, от които не ти се иска да се плеснеш по челото. Което доста кефи.
Въпросният младеж има доста тежък емоционален багаж и постепенно го разопакова с напредване на действието, което може би е (за мен) скучната част от книгата, безкрайните диалози между героите, изясняващи отношенията помежду им. Даже има една част (между 50-65% от книгата) дето практически нищо не се случва, освен приказки, което почти ме накара да я оставя с досада. За радост, после екшънът става по-съществен и действието се забързва.
Това ревю е същото за всички (за сега 8) части от книгата.
Това, което дори не съм подозирал е колко се вживяват в тях някои хора и колко голяма част от живота и приятелствата им са свързани с тия игри, колко голяма часто от размишленията и личната им философия са резултат от игрите.
Серията Worth the Candle те пуска направо в дълбокото на ролевите игри, през погледа на един младеж, който ненадейно се озовава в реален свят, базиран на измислените от него през годините светове за ролевите игри, които са играли с приятелите му.
Книгата е не само доста дълга (към 3 хил страници), ами и е далеч от приключване и авторът продължава да я дописва в интернет с по една глава на всеки няколко дни.
Освен това, книгата е и може би най-видният представител на стила "Rational fiction", при който авторът обяснява подробно и логично защо и как се случват нещата в книгата, а героите като цяло вземат обмислени, рационални решения, от които не ти се иска да се плеснеш по челото. Което доста кефи.
Въпросният младеж има доста тежък емоционален багаж и постепенно го разопакова с напредване на действието, което може би е (за мен) скучната част от книгата, безкрайните диалози между героите, изясняващи отношенията помежду им. Даже има една част (между 50-65% от книгата) дето практически нищо не се случва, освен приказки, което почти ме накара да я оставя с досада. За радост, после екшънът става по-съществен и действието се забързва.
Това ревю е същото за всички (за сега 8) части от книгата.
May 23, 2024
There’s something to be said about letting your characters breathe. Non-stop action can’t be all there is to a novel; you need some off time to develop relationships between the group, learn about backstories and motivations, or even joke around to build camaraderie.
Without this, the stakes can quickly become stale and meaninglessness, while the reader may lose interest in cardboard-thin characters just going through the motions.
The first two volumes of this saga, while entertaining, were slowly becoming precisely the above, as Joon and crew engaged in life-and-death situations one after another, without respite or relaxation. Luckily, around the halfway mark of this third volume, that much needed time out is finally earned, and with it comes some much needed character development.
It also helps immensely that Fenn keeps on being awesome while raising her loyalty to Joon, and their moments together are as tender as they feel genuinely earned. They just feel good together.
The rest of the crew gets their moments to shine (that Druid just kicks too much ass, as expected) and we get some glimpses behind the curtain as to what the hypothesized DM behind the whole of Aerb might be up to. Unless it’s all a giant red herring, which remains to be seen.
Onwards to Volume 4!
Without this, the stakes can quickly become stale and meaninglessness, while the reader may lose interest in cardboard-thin characters just going through the motions.
The first two volumes of this saga, while entertaining, were slowly becoming precisely the above, as Joon and crew engaged in life-and-death situations one after another, without respite or relaxation. Luckily, around the halfway mark of this third volume, that much needed time out is finally earned, and with it comes some much needed character development.
It also helps immensely that Fenn keeps on being awesome while raising her loyalty to Joon, and their moments together are as tender as they feel genuinely earned. They just feel good together.
The rest of the crew gets their moments to shine (that Druid just kicks too much ass, as expected) and we get some glimpses behind the curtain as to what the hypothesized DM behind the whole of Aerb might be up to. Unless it’s all a giant red herring, which remains to be seen.
Onwards to Volume 4!
June 17, 2020
(4.25)
Book three feels more like a true departure from the first two story arcs (RL & BJ). It has more of a sandbox feel than the adventure on a rail vibe. The party continues to expand, but the new member leaves a little to be desired for me. The true nature of Aerb starts to come into focus here as the trend of one calamity to the next begins to morph (but it's not quite over yet).
My favorite chapters in book three definitely revolve around a familiar mythical beast, though this has got to be the most unique take on it I've ever seen. The magic intrinsic to the creature is incredible and will definitely be stolen by many for there own homebrews. The second half of the book takes a bit of a dip for me, but that's far from a problem as the first two arc's astounding. The book never drops below four star quality and is fascinating throughout. This is the first (and possibly only?) arc that I struggle to name, maybe because it's not really a through line like the first two.
Book three feels more like a true departure from the first two story arcs (RL & BJ). It has more of a sandbox feel than the adventure on a rail vibe. The party continues to expand, but the new member leaves a little to be desired for me. The true nature of Aerb starts to come into focus here as the trend of one calamity to the next begins to morph (but it's not quite over yet).
My favorite chapters in book three definitely revolve around a familiar mythical beast, though this has got to be the most unique take on it I've ever seen. The magic intrinsic to the creature is incredible and will definitely be stolen by many for there own homebrews. The second half of the book takes a bit of a dip for me, but that's far from a problem as the first two arc's astounding. The book never drops below four star quality and is fascinating throughout. This is the first (and possibly only?) arc that I struggle to name, maybe because it's not really a through line like the first two.
August 11, 2023
Get's super annoying. So darn introspective (and therefore repetitive) that it's my opinion the book could be cut in half. Also, tired of the whiny self centeredness of the protagonist. If you're like me, you just want the stupid story to move forward, but the author thinks he needs to analyze just everything ... and then do that again and again and again. At this point I'm uncertain that I want to even finish book 3, not alone 6 more. On a sidenote, I'm also getting freaking annoyed with these NON-ENDING books that just go-on-and-on. Anyway, this is just my opinion.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews