The Not a Book Club Club discussion

Totally get what you are saying Alex, but I did enjoy it.

Could it be thats its a first book and the author is still learning?

Mark wrote: "Could it be thats its a first book and the author is still learning?"

I got that feeling. It wasn't a bad book, but it also wasn't great. Or, more telling, I would definitely give more of his stuff a shot if I stumbled across it and was looking for something to read, but I also wouldn't go out of my way to find more in the series just yet.

Of course, that's how I felt about Jim Butcher after reading Storm Front... so you could say that I'm interested in seeing how Brian McClellan develops as an author.

Same here Sky, I am looking for the two short stories he as written.

Mark wrote: "Totally get what you are saying Alex, but I did enjoy it.

Could it be thats its a first book and the author is still learning?"

This is what I felt. Not that I could do any better. As the saying goes, those that can, do, and those that can't, coach...or write reviews.

Just to qualify, I'm enjoying this book a lot. Now I'll get out of this section before I get spoiled.

I enjoyed it. I have a few issues with it, but mostly minor. I'm sure if I spend time I can keep poking holes, but I enjoyed the ride and want to keep reading, and that's what matters to me most.

I'm curious who this Lord Claremonte is. I forgot that the eunuch put Adamat onto him.

Kapoel is definitely my favorite character so far, so I hope he doesn't go the Eddard Stark route..

Rob wrote: "I'm curious who this Lord Claremonte is. I forgot that the eunuch put Adamat onto him."

He's a patron of the asylum that Mihali came from. He's also the gunpowder supplier I think. We only hear about him - Lord Vetas is working for him

Yes he is, he owns the biggest trading company, brings saltpetre in to the city.

Hmm. That didn't come up in my search. I forgot all about the saltpeter guy.

Its mentioned after the first visit to the kitchen, after we find out more about mihali escaping in the cake.

Oh. I searched for Lord Claremonte. That missed half the hits.

I liked it (3/5 stars) enough to want to continue with The Crimson Campaign. With how things ended up, I think this book has set up a clear main conflict for the next book. As well as the Lord Vetas plotline with both Adamat and Nila.

I agree with the comparisons to Sanderson. That's a good thing in my eyes.

You should totally join us :-)

Rob wrote: "You should totally join us :-)"

I'll do my best to catch up. Probably start the 2nd book soon.

You're only a week behind. Even if you don't catch up, it will still be fresh in people's memories.

Rob: You did a great job splitting the discussions up in the first book. You seemed to hit good plot points at the end of each segment.

Lol. Alex did this one.

Oh. Props to Alex's roll of the dice.

Alex wrote: "It was a good ending, but the novel as a whole left something to be desired. It was almost good enough in so many ways, but was just missing that extra oomph to make this an outstanding book.

For reasons that I can't fully describe, I just didn't care. The book was enjoyable (I read it fairly quickly), but I was never really drawn in emotionally."

This! This is how I feel about it.

Which character died that you were talking about on twitter Dara? I was racking my brain and couldn't come up with anything..

Of course if you just tell me their name, I probably won't remember them. lol.

Sabon, Tamas's friend and a fellow powder mage. It was just so sudden. One second he was talking to Tamas, next second a bullet flew through his brain. I actually dropped my kindle when I read that part.

Oh yeah, I liked him too.

The latest Novella is about Vlora tracking down Sabon's killer