Lost Lore Readalong! discussion

As always, feel free to chime in if you are a bit late (I'm WELL behind at the moment, but still plan to hit each thread some point soon). Spoilers are welcome, Jeff should be around to answer any questions people may have...

What Benedict said! I'll be dropping in throughout the day, in between chasing a 2 year old and rocking a newborn. Thanks for reading!

This reminded me of some of the old Forgotten Realms stuff with its monster infested lost city and a treasure hunt that goes all wrong. I thought the world was pretty cool with the totems, and the plant magic etc...
There was also some great creepy monster moments, especially with the spider and it web of guts. DX

A weird thought and a question- I don't know if you're familiar with the old Outer Limits tv show (the one that aired around the time the original X-files did) you may not be old enough to have watched them(you don't look it from your authors page) but they never ended happy or when they did it was a happy like you have here, where everything you wished for is granted but at a massive cost. I am terrible at thinking of questions but I wondered when I finished reading this if you had seen them or what had inspired the ending, and if it was typical of your writing style?

Jennifer wrote: "This reminded me of some of the old Forgotten Realms stuff with its monster infested lost city and a treasure hunt that goes all wrong. I thought the world was pretty cool with the totems, and the ..."

Hey Jennifer!

Funny that you mentioned Outer Limits, my friend actually told me about that show just this week and said that I would really enjoy it. I think I'll have to get my hands on it based on yours and his recommendation. I love anthology TV and am glad to see it returning to mainstream again.

To answer your question, I would say that not all of my stories make the protagonist pay such a high cost, but I definitely feel like anytime a character achieves their dreams they should have to lose/give up something to do it as I feel like the old quote stands true, "Nothing great is ever achieved without much enduring." The inspiration for the ending happened from the idea of the Flaw itself. It's supposed to be a terrible place, and I didn't think many would survive it no matter how experienced and prepared they were. Plus I wanted Scrap to have a poignant reminder of his purpose there, and losing the people closest to him seemed the best way to get that message through to him.

Oh, and glad you liked the creatures. One of them is actually a pet of a villain in the novels that was a ton of fun to write.

Thanks again for reading!

Thank you for your answer! Yes, you definitely should check out the OL series!

Cool little adventure. "Be careful what you wish, you just might get it" comes to mind. A few editing issues here and there, but an enjoyable read. I liked most of the little group and enjoyed the overarching friends as family theme at the end. The totem magic system intrigues me and I'd like to see more of it.

I found this story a very easy read. I kept thinking though that Scrape was going to wake up outside the city and have all his friends still there.

I had a hard time picturing the characters but really likes the interactions. I am not sure I liked the fact that he had to loose all friends and basically let a couple die. Did you have Laughs bait the thief into getting ripped apart because then we wouldn't mind him getting killed?

I, too, found the totem magic a great concept. I do think that while Scrape was working on the carbon paper, Tama could have been a bit more animated trying to get his attention. I would have been going nuts.

Bryan wrote: "Cool little adventure. "Be careful what you wish, you just might get it" comes to mind. A few editing issues here and there, but an enjoyable read. I liked most of the little group and enjoyed the ..."

Thanks for the read, Bryan! I am glad that you enjoyed the story.
In an effort to introduce the world of Chilongua I wanted to make the story itself familiar (a dungeon crawl) as the world itself is rather different. Totem magic depends on unlocking the power found in the hundreds of types of wood found across the world with the right carving. Screw up the carving and try to use the item and the totems can have disastrous results. That system, along with botamancy, have been a blast to play with, and are both something I try to explore further in other stories set in the universe.

Sandy wrote: "I found this story a very easy read. I kept thinking though that Scrape was going to wake up outside the city and have all his friends still there.

I had a hard time picturing the characters but ..."

Hey Sandy! Thank you for reading and hope you enjoyed it! You are not the only one to have commented on the dark turns the story takes at the end. It's definitely something I went back and forth on, but the way I saw it, Scrap was so determined and single-minded on finding his family's totem that he was only ever going to understand that he was surrounded by his true family if he lost them all. A brutal way to learn a lesson, but it was one he needed.

The intention of Laughs baiting Baji into getting killed wasn't necessarily to ease Laughs's own death later on, but rather to serve as a reminder to Scrap of the dangers he put his friends in weren't just from the Flaw and Old Hathis.

I am glad that you liked the totem magic too! Like I mentioned above, it's a fun system to explore, and with so many different trees found across Chilongua, it makes for some cool possibilities when putting the carvings on weapons, armor, and anything else with wood.

I'm tearing into this tonight, Jeff! I loves me some dungeon crawls, so I'm quite looking forward to it. I'm very interested in your concept of Totem Magic and wondering how else this ties into the recently released City of a Thousand Faces. Does it serve as a prequel of sorts? Will we be seeing any of the characters again?

I quite enjoyed this story and liked the totem magic system was indeed an interesting concept. I would like to learn more about that and what can be achieved with it.

I pictured Hathis like the lost city in The Jungle Book movie (the one from 1942!) I've seen many times in my childhood. Though this one was more darker and dangerous of course.
Personally I thought Baji had it coming. She never stopped insulting Laughs and I was sure he will lose it at some point despite his always present smile and laugh, so it didn't surprise me much. To be honest I wasn't even sorry to see Baji go. I never liked her. She never stopped complaining and made sure she was only there because of the promised treausre. Personally, I don't think any of them were real friends or even family to Scrape save for Tama. They were all driven by their own greed. Scrape no exeption of course. But they all would have abandoned him the moment their treasure was in danger. Still not talking about Tama who was the real hero here. I think his treasure was the real one: his friendship with Scrape which lead him to this death, and I hope Scrape realised what a great thing he lost with him.

The name Flaw seems like an interesting choice of name. It made me think of Hathis as the symbol of treasure, something which is desired and the Flaw as the human greed, which destroys everything in order to get what it desires no matter the consequences. Does it makes sense? As Tama said Scrape's hubris was indeed their fate as the Flaw was the result of humankind's hubris when they built Hathis. At least that's what I was thinking while reading.

As for the characters, I had a hard time picturing them. I couldn't decide if they were animals, humans, humans with animal characteristics or what? Considering everything this was an interesting read and despite its flaws (pun totally intended, hah) I pretty much enjoyed it.

Mike wrote: "I'm tearing into this tonight, Jeff! I loves me some dungeon crawls, so I'm quite looking forward to it. I'm very interested in your concept of Totem Magic and wondering how else this ties into the..."

Thanks for reading, Mike!! As a dungeon crawl extraordinaire I'd love your thoughts after you're done. Great question. The Light in the Jungle explores the Flaw and Old Hathis, both places are frequently mentioned in the book as the main villain is a jungle-diver (a term used for rangers crazy enough to enter the deep jungle like Trinka) who has been there, survived, and captured a pet from the ruined city's depths (one of the creatures mentioned in this short story). I wanted to explore the place ever since it was first mentioned in the novel. The characters themselves do not pop up in the first few novels, but some will show their faces in later sequels/prequels.

Also, I am woefully behind on the read-along, but I am psyched to journey into the Barrowlands!

Timy wrote: "I quite enjoyed this story and liked the totem magic system was indeed an interesting concept. I would like to learn more about that and what can be achieved with it.

I pictured Hathis like the l..."

Hi Timy and thanks for reading! I am so glad that you enjoyed the story.

You are spot on with your observations. The name the Flaw actually has dual meaning in Chilongua. It is called that because of the jagged wound its created on the all-encompassing jungle that rules the continent, but also because of what it's unleashed upon civilization... a place that incites horror, both externally and internally for anyone that goes there.

I think Baji was definitely given an unfavorable light (in the jungle... sorry, couldn't resist) in this story. I wanted to create as much turmoil as I could between her and Laughs, and Baji's tough background made her have little tolerance for Laughs's constant banter and terrible jokes. I may explore Baji's background in a future short, as I think she has a better side that needs to be shown. Though she meets her end pretty terribly here, I think her beginning is worth investigating.

The characters themselves are a mixed bag of races. All of the non-human races are sentient, bipedal versions of creatures found through out the jungle/forest.

Thanks again for the joining us on this read-along!

Jeffrey wrote: "Timy wrote: "I quite enjoyed this story and liked the totem magic system was indeed an interesting concept. I would like to learn more about that and what can be achieved with it.

I pictured Hath..."

Hah, I knew I was smart ;)

Thanks for the answer :) Well, I guess everyone has a better and a bit darker side, so she deserves a second chance from me if you ever get to write her story. And I'll make sure to put your book on my ever growing TBR list...

Once again, sorry for chiming in so late. I'm trying to keep my comments brief at this point!

This was an engaging story, particularly the setting and the unique types of magic. I'd have loved to see more of the totemic and botany magics in action. Those were fascinating.

I had a bit of a harder time with the characters in this story. I constantly felt like there were one too many party members in the adventure for me to keep straight in my head and perhaps not enough information/connection with each character to differentiate them, especially early on. I never quite felt that I understood what the different races mentioned were or that the group really had a connection with each other except through Scrap.

Jennifer hit the nail on the head with comparing this to Forgotten Realms dungeon crawls. That's exactly what this reminded me of, and I loved it. The jungle setting and totem magic and crazy monsters were a blast to read about it.

I also had some trouble keeping the characters straight. For example, I thought that their guide was someone they'd just hired, not a lifelong friend. That said, the heart of the story was definitely the interactions between Tama and Scrap. I know the title is probably meant to refer to Hathis / The Flaw, but Tama was definitely the light in this story!

Kathryn wrote: "Once again, sorry for chiming in so late. I'm trying to keep my comments brief at this point!

This was an engaging story, particularly the setting and the unique types of magic. I'd have loved to ..."

Hey, Kathryn! Thanks so much for reading and glad you enjoyed the unique world of Chilongua. It was difficult to try and give each character their time to shine in this one, but thus is the challenge with short stories. I would really like to explore each of these characters more further down the road with their own short stories as they are not featured in the current novels. However, the Flaw and one of its creatures are.

Travis wrote: "Jennifer hit the nail on the head with comparing this to Forgotten Realms dungeon crawls. That's exactly what this reminded me of, and I loved it. The jungle setting and totem magic and crazy monst..."

Thanks for reading, Travis! I am glad you enjoyed it! Tama and Scrap were definitely my favorite of the 5 adventurers to write about. It was difficult to make Tama go the way he did, but that was going to be the only way that Scrap learned from their journey together.