Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

This is a Buddy Read of Zoe's Tale starting September 25, 2017.

Starts Monday. :)

I'll probably be on time lol.

I just finished Words of Radiance, so I am ready for something lighter.

John wrote: "I just finished Words of Radiance, so I am ready for something lighter."

sweet! I think this counts haha

Starting today. :)

I'll be starting today too.

Starting today too. (Actually 2 pages in and first impression "HOLY YA!" (Meanwhile I'm 800 pages into Words of Radiance reread) so putting that on pause to read this.

Lol

I'm about a chapter in and I agree it has a YA vibe. (view spoiler)[At least Zoe is coming off more assertive and sure of herself. I don't know that I'm in the mood to handle the whole "does he like me?" all about the boy mentality.

Honestly I think I'm going to have more of a problem with the dual timeline thing. It feels like backtracking. (hide spoiler)]

Robert wrote: "Starting today too. (Actually 2 pages in and first impression "HOLY YA!" (Meanwhile I'm 800 pages into Words of Radiance reread) so putting that on pause to read this."

I didn't catch "reread" the first time I read this comment, and I tried to imagine putting WOR down at that point to read this. Did not compute.

It barely computes. I just got up to (view spoiler)[The surprise 4-way duel and Kaladin part yesterday and was driving an hour-plus. I didn't want to put it down, so I let the kids listen to radio Disney while I had it one earbud on bluetooth (switch back between audio and physical). Now I'm up to meeting Lift for the first time (hide spoiler)]. I actually don't want to put it down and don't have to entirely b/c I can at least do audio when carbound, but figured I needed to zoom through this buddy read first. Only an insane person would put down WOR on a first time read at this point in the book.

On a side note, I was in person with my brother in law yesterday and we were talking about The Stormlight Archive. He didn't audiobook it all, so whenever he mentions a character, he keeps mispronouncing their names and was getting miffed at my corrections ;)

Niki Hawkes wrote: "I'm about a chapter in and I agree it has a YA vibe. ..."

Yep, that is intentional. From Scalzi,

Finally, Tor and I have a marketing goal for Zoe’s Tale, which is that we wanted to make it accessible for teen readers. Note that “accessible for teen readers” is not precisely the same thing as “writing a Young Adult novel”; the audience I wrote ZT for is the one that is (or is like) the audience who have read other books in the series. At the same time, both Tor and I are aware that all the instances of the word “fuck” in the other books (for starters) are enough to keep the books out of some school libraries they might otherwise have been in; it would be a shame to have that happen in the OMW universe book that actually has a teenager as the main character. So part of my mission with this book was to write a story that would give the longtime fans everything they come to the OMW universe for, and at the same time leave open the door to younger readers. Again, a challenge.

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2008/02/0...

Nice - thank you John, for that extra background info. In that case it will be interesting to see how successful he is at blending what we've come to expect with this new POV. I'm hopeful lol.

I missed the WoR comment the first time around too. I'd say anything you can do to stall for time on your reread before the third book is a win haha. I'm slowly working my way through a reread of the first. I noticed the same thing with Audio vs Book - a friend of mine had no idea who I was taking about when I said "Jasnah" with the audio pronunciation haha.

Here is the story set between this and The Human Division:

https://www.tor.com/2008/07/20/after-...

As for this, I am on Chapter 4 and so far it's fine. It reads quickly, and though I'm not blown away yet, it seems like it will be an interesting new perspective to the last book. I think he writes Zoe pretty well so far, and she is a more interesting character than Jane has been throughout the series, but again, it's still pretty early.

Through Ch. 9 (view spoiler)[I'm grudgingly liking it. I normally don't have patience for overlapping timelines (I think that's what I meant by "dual" timelines) because of all the repetition and no new plot-advancement. However, I'm actually liking the sentimentality with Hickory and Dickory. The fight breakup scene was really funny. (hide spoiler)] So far I'm definitely entertained.

Through ch. 13 (view spoiler)[not much to talk about with this one considering it's the same crap, different POV. I did appreciate their foray into the forest and I suppose knowing what's coming made the creatures in the trees more interesting. And hey - FINALLY Scalzi is describing some of the aliens in detail. I no longer picture hickory and dickory as Great Danes lol. (hide spoiler)]

I left my e-reader in my Mom's hospital room last night, so I am a little behind. I should be back on track tonight though.

Oh! I hope she's doing okay? :(

I"m through chapter 13 as well. Like you said Nikki, not much new to the story. I am enjoying though overall more than The Last Colony. I connected well to the loss of the PDAs. It was conveyed more viscerally, I feel.

I think I'm enjoying it more than the last too. Through ch 17 (view spoiler)[although I can't stand it when characters make harebrained decisions. Like Zoe running off after the boys even though it's clearly not a good idea. It takes a character with common sense (who I actually like) and does a 180. I very much hated that element. (hide spoiler)]

I"m finished. I was looking forward to the end of the book to where it would explain what exactly Zoe does towards the end of the Lost Colony and it didn't disappoint. (view spoiler)[Though Enzo's death hit harder than it did in Last Colony - (not at all really), it lost impact because we knew it was coming. I'd almost recommend reading these two books as companion pieces to pick one up, then down, and keep the timelines the same as best as possible. (hide spoiler)]

Robert wrote: "I"m finished. I was looking forward to the end of the book to where it would explain what exactly Zoe does towards the end of the Lost Colony and it didn't disappoint. [spoilers removed]"

I finished over the weekend. I think I did like it better than Last Colony, surprisingly. I agree, Robert, I think I would have enjoyed the entire tale better had it been alternating POVs in the same novel. I was interested here, but since it was not much new until the last few chapters, I didn't really get into it as much as I could have. (view spoiler)[ I did like the part where the Oben (I'm doing audio, so I've no idea if that's spelled right) chose to fight for Zoe, free of all obligations. I'm glad Dickory didn't die... I really thought he might have (hide spoiler)]

I am about 2/3 of the way into it. I just finished Chapter 17, and I am still enjoying it more than Last Colony, but it seems like it is almost completely without any stakes as we know what will happen at the end. Hopefully, I am wrong and the last third surprises me.

I was totally off in my last comment. Everything in Part 3 was amazing. (view spoiler)[Zoe's speech to the Obin releasing them from their obligation was the best of Scalzi that I have read. I think he wrote Zoe's character better than anything else in the series, with the possible exception of Perry (who, after reading his blog and tweets, seems like he is written in Scalzi's own voice) which is pretty impressive. The ending is still pretty fresh, as I just finished reading it about 90 seconds ago, but I am all in on the last two books. (hide spoiler)]

John wrote: "I was totally off in my last comment. Everything in Part 3 was amazing. [spoilers removed]"

Agreed John, once Zoe goes on his mission we get Scalzi at his best. Finally tapped into some connection and emotions to the characters. I'll be looking forward to the Human Division.

I agree - I'm glad he ended with a bang! I also agree that the scene was the one I felt the most emotionally invested in for the series so far (aside from the very beginning of OMW). I'm a sucker for sentimentality done well.