Flights of Fantasy discussion

Creating the thread for this Buddy read so we're all ready. Regular spoiler consideration is appreciated! :)

Participants:
Colleen
Ala
Nyssa
Nicki
MrsJ

I got my book - let me know when yall are ready to start

I plan on starting this afternoon. Just finished my other book, so I'm good to go.

Cool!

I’m still working on the power so I probably won’t be able to start this one until Thursday or Friday.

Or you could abandon the Power, because it sucks?

It might turn around for Nyssa!

Maybe!

Maybe...

I was supposed to start this last night...

...but I recently purchased a console copy of Stardew Valley.

Yeah. I'm not getting much done.

You suck.

I'm up to Chapter 5. Bit of a slow start, but I'm interested to see where it goes with where I am now. (I would've been further, but I was sitting with Chatty Cathy on the train this morning.)

I'm also appreciative of how they've handled the introduction of a (view spoiler)[transgender (hide spoiler)] character in Chapter 4.

I purchased it last night, but haven’t cracked it open yet.

Read this last night.

(view spoiler)[I'm glad Bells is a character. Representation is a plus.

Jess is fucking dense as hell. The constant wooshing sound she lives with must be maddening.

Overall it was pretty predictable story with only average writing. But it was still interesting. (hide spoiler)]

Me or Colleen?

Ala wrote: "Read this last night.
.."

YOu read the whole fucking book last night??!



*mutters to self about hate*

Read the spoiler, even though I was hesitant.

I agree about Jess. I mean, (view spoiler)[I'm pretty sure I know the identity of the fake Mischief from page 1, and she's like, "Der der der" (hide spoiler)]

Yeah, that was one of the things. There are just so many. Toph would be able to point them out.

Ok. I'm listening to this and I'm about an hour in.

TBH, I'm a bit bored. (view spoiler)[Jess is a bit stupid and I can tell already. I'm not sure I want to get further into that cavernous space in her head. (hide spoiler)]

Jess really is pretty stupid. (Is that a spoiler?)

But I'm enjoying the story otherwise. Like Ala said, kinda typical, not mindblowing or anything, but it's a quick read and I'm enjoying it enough that I'll probably read the next in the series.

ETA: It was a bit slow in the set-up department, but things start moving better about halfway through or so.

colleen the convivial curmudgeon wrote: "Jess really is pretty stupid. (Is that a spoiler?)

But I'm enjoying the story otherwise. Like Ala said, kinda typical, not mindblowing or anything, but it's a quick read and I'm enjoying it enough..."

ok. I'll give it another hour or two.

Full book spoiler questions

(view spoiler)[Who else thinks her power is lame? She's an upgraded version of the compass from Pirates of the Caribbean.

Why is it that after a cataclysmic world-wide disaster and rebuilding do people still care who other people have sex with?

Was Orion being suddenly racist feel weird to anyone else? (hide spoiler)]

I finished this last night. I enjoyed it overall, though the denouement sort of fizzled a bit. I liked the characters, but I wish some of the secondary (tertiary?) characters were fleshed out a bit more.

I thought Jess and Abby (view spoiler)[were sickeningly cute, but in a good way. (hide spoiler)]

From the blurb for the next book it seems like it shifts to Bells as the main character, which should be fun. I did feel like the thing with Bells was a bit of a cheat, and it reminded me a little of Dreadnought.

As to Ala's spoilers:

(view spoiler)[Yes, I do think her power is lame, but I can also see how it would be useful. I mean, she'd make a great thief. ;) And I think she's probably happy just to have any powers at all, considering.

I'm curious to see more of what her bitch-of-a-sister meant by her being an experiment in future books.

I also really agree about the weirdness of the racism and the homophobia. But, like, there wasn't really a lot of people caring, so I'm not sure how much phobia there actually was.

Jess was hesitant to ask Abby if she liked girls, but she never worried about Abby being grossed out or anything. No one at the school seemed to really hassle the Rainbow Alliance kids or anything.

I think part of the problem was the author was trying to make it relevant to modern day kids dealing with issues of gender and sexuality, but it felt out-of-place in the world the author was building.

Of course, the world felt really far too much like our world at all, to be honest, for a world which is meant to be post-near-apocalypse. But I guess the other side of that is that things don't really change. I mean, look at the current state of America. You'd think the Civil Rights era never happened with some of these asshats running around...

I understand the racism a bit more, though, because the word still seems very tribalistic and I think after a fighting for resources it makes sense that people would get more cliquish, not less, in some ways.

Again, I felt like this was a bit hamfisted, but again Lee seems to be trying to tackle some modern day issues, which I appreciate, but it's sort of oddly welded into the story in places. (hide spoiler)]

Pretty much agree with everything you said, Colleen.

Except I probably won't be reading further in the series. Not because it's bad, just not my style of book.

I've finally started reading this, and to be honest, at 14% in (somewhere in chapter 2) I'm bored.

The only thing I really want to know right now is (view spoiler)[ whether or not Jess develops any powers. (hide spoiler)]

Nyssa wrote: "I've finally started reading this, and to be honest, at 14% in (somewhere in chapter 2) I'm bored.

The only thing I really want to know right now is [spoilers removed]"

That's pretty much me but a little farther in. I'm also highly unimpressed with tech. All the tech - so far - came across as pure junk.

It's supposed to be post apocalypse but it really feels like modern day with some extra dust and flying robots.

Ala wrote: "It's supposed to be post apocalypse but it really feels like modern day with some extra dust and flying robots."


^^ This

Nicki wrote: "I’ve been slow in getting to stuff because of a sinus infection, and looking at the lukewarm reception here, I’m wondering if it’s worth the time and money."


I liked it well enough to say I think it's worth someone's time... but only if you can get it for free. ;)

Yup.

Not feeling this one, so I've placed it on the back burner.