Fantasy Aficionados discussion

I just finished reading Hounded and I have to say that I had a ball! I even caught myself doing the classic nerd thing: Re-reading different sections aloud to my husband (which then require a back story as to why they were so funny!), lol.

I'm super excited to learn that Hearne's Iron Druid series has been picked up for three more books!

I have a question: Kevin Hearne has popped in at one of my other sites and there is a group here dedicated to his series. Would you all like to see if we can get him to dip his toes in FA and talk about his book?

Only if someone asks him why he wrote about a weird celtic sword guy.

Ala wrote: "Only if someone asks him why he wrote about a weird celtic sword guy."

Ack! You forgot the "sexy" part.


;-)

No.

No I did not.

Yes.

Yes you did. You missed it and put "weird" in it's place. It's ok, I love you regardless.

Here! I fixed it for you:

Ala wrote: "Only if someone asks him why he wrote about a sexy celtic sword guy."

ಠ_ಠ






I'm going to read this with the group, it better be good.

Ala-It really is a much better book than the cover makes it look


not that the cover isn't, ummm, nice :D

Ala wrote: "ಠ_ಠ






I'm going to read this with the group, it better be good."


It's actually pretty funny, to be honest. Reminds me of MHI (but not as much action).

I think you'll like him, Ala. He doesn't mind smacking people around...

Tracey wrote: "*folds arms* If he threatens to trip you as we all run from the zombie invasion, MrsJ, I'll be on the ground too - we can get each other's backs."

I say we jump him early, soon as we see the first leg drag walk...

You'll never take me alive!

*points fingers and makes pewpew sounds*

:-)

I just saw this as the group read and I'm snagging it on my Nook as soon as I get home. :) Yummy & funny? I'm totally there.

Tracey wrote: "Day from hell. Week from hell. Wanna go home and curl up with sexy Celtic sword guy."

{{{{Tracey}}}}

I hope it gets better soon! Sexy Celtic sword guy should help. But chocolate helps a lot, too. *nods*

Awww, sorry it's so crappy, Tracey!
I'd vote for BOTH sexy Celtic sword guy AND the chocolate... preferably with some booze in it. :)

oh! Do you have any lavender essential oil? I would suggest a nice hot bath (with chocolate and sexy Celtic sword guy), followed by a lavender sugar scrub (lavender helps to relax you). Rinse and relax (with a glass of wine, sexy Celtic sword guy, and chocolate).

*shakes head* Yall are making it so much harder for me and Ala to read this


Ala.

You shot first.

:D *Grant made a SW reference*

Hey! Kevin (I feel like I know him now, so it's Kevin :D ) made a character that men & women can like. YOU can like him cause he kicks ass...I can like him cause he's sexy and loves the earth.


See, we're both happy. :-D

Our little Padawan is starting to grow up *tear*

This is such an entertaining book, very amusing bordering on cheesy. Slight oddball of a book, 2000 year old druid who acts and talks like a 21 year old college kid, well-researched mythology, really funny dog sidekick.

And what's wrong with the cover?



It's a guy with a sword *shrugs shoulders*

After reading the book, I've decided that I LOVE the cover. The cover is really, really true to how the character is described in the book. Even down to the necklace he's wearing. The sword is actually important to the story line.

We're always complaining when a cover doesn't match the book...

Grant... AND he's sneaky. Uses his magic to conceal a few things... and he's got a mad hiding spot for a sword. And he knows how to use it.

I really enjoyed this--it was a fast, fun read. I wouldn't call it cheesy; it's aware of conventions. Interesting in that it recognizes real life police will get pulled into shennanigans, which I always appreciate. I won't say Hearne is an autobuy yet, but he's coming close.

Carol wrote: "and he's got a mad hiding spot for a sword. And he knows how to use it."

I'll just...


I'll just walk away now.

Mrs. Joseph - I think the guy on the cover matches the character pretty perfectly too. If I read the book without seeing the cover first, I would've pictured someone pretty similar to him.

Oh Ala-CArol is just messing with you! lol

I think it was very well researched re: the celtic stuff. That was my concern regarding this book, and I am glad it isn't the case

I just ordered a copy of Hounded. I had been debating picking one up for a while and when I joined this group and saw it was next month's read I decided to pull the trigger. I look forward to the discussion after I get it read.

plus, there are a LOT of star-wars references...

Maggie wrote: "plus, there are a LOT of star-wars references..."

it's a trap. I just know it is.

Ala wrote: "Maggie wrote: "plus, there are a LOT of star-wars references..."

it's a trap. I just know it is."

Now Ala, would we do something like that? *innocent face*

MrsJoseph wrote: "Hey! Kevin (I feel like I know him now, so it's Kevin :D ) made a character that men & women can like. YOU can like him cause he kicks ass...I can like him cause he's sexy and loves the earth. "

It's times like these when I feel like I'm the wrong side of the gender divide...

Colleen ~blackrose~ wrote: "MrsJoseph wrote: "Hey! Kevin (I feel like I know him now, so it's Kevin :D ) made a character that men & women can like. YOU can like him cause he kicks ass...I can like him cause he's sexy and l..."

*snicker*

I had my first introduction to Kevin Hearne (got his books free because I blurbed a book by his publisher - yeah perks) and I absoltuely had a blast. It reminds me a great deal of Butcher's Dresden, which I also enjoyed.

They send me all four books so I'll definitely be moving on to the next one.

I thought Hounded is great fun Michael!

I liked the book. The best part for me was that the hero doesn't try to save the world or prevent an apocalypse. Like all of us, he tries to make a decent living and stay alive in the process. I can relate. And his conversations with his dog are beyond my powers of description. Simply marvelous. Each one caused a smile.

Maggie and Olga - you both remind me of one of the reasons I loved this so much --- FUN. So much of fantasy these days is just dire and depressing. I don't want to have to down a few prozac before "escaping" into an author's fantasy world. I'm so happy to see there are those out there writing funtasty (not a typo - although I'm legendary for doing so.)

Michael wrote: "Maggie and Olga - you both remind me of one of the reasons I loved this so much --- FUN. So much of fantasy these days is just dire and depressing. I don't want to have to down a few prozac before ..."

Legendary for typos or funtasy? Actually downing a few prozac would do little good as you have to take one a day for a month before prozac has an effect.

Lol - legendary for typos. I wasn't trying to be literal, just trying to mention that I want to escape to a place of adventure, and spend my time with characters who I would like to be friends with. I think some of that "fun" has gone out of some recent fantasy. I'm not saying that they aren't good read, or insinuate people shouldn't like such things. I'm just stating my personal preference for wanting to feel better after finishing a book then worse.

Michael, your comment brings me out of my "lurker" persona to say that I agree with you. I recently bought the entire trilogy of The Hunger Games and read it straight through, expecting to have a good, light read. I was so wrong. When I arrived at the end of all the gloom, doom, blood, and destruction, I wanted to slit my wrists. I didn't like any of the characters anymore, with the exception of Peeta. Everyone else I still liked died. People make fun of the Twilight saga, but it ended happily. The good guys won. I read that series about ten times, but once, possibly twice, will be enough of The Hunger Games for me.

Two comments.. First, the thing about Peeta, sort of a spoiler so maybe you could mark it.. Second.. Just wondering.. What in a story about kids being forced to kill other kids for entertainment made you expect a light, fun read?

@Robin - glad to see I'm not alone.

@Dawn - good point about kids being forced to kill (each other or adults). Seems to be more common these days - Hunger Games, Ender's Game...I'm not sure why this has become a popular "YA theme" - I prefer my Harry Potter and C.S. Lewis - which have kids on adventures trying to be virtuous.

I actually adored Ender's Game. The rest of the series became darker, but the first book blew me away. I never saw that ending coming.

Dawn, I suppose that I hadn't thought that deeply about the subject matter of Hunger Games. It was marketed as YA, and my former students were all lauding it. I thought some of the rules of the genre included not killing children and having a happy ending.

I also don't view the killing in Hunger Games as having been done for entertainment. They were forced to kill because the government wanted to keep the districts in line with a show of their power.

How do I mark a spoiler? This is the second comment I have made. I will delete the comment if you prefer.

Michael, thank you for making me feel welcome.

Robin, anytime. As to spoilers...enclose any spoiler stuff by [spoiler] this is spoiler stuff [/spoiler] but replace [ with < and ] with >.

Robin wrote: "I also don't view the killing in Hunger Games as having been done for entertainment. They were forced to kill because the government wanted to keep the districts in line with a show of their power..."

Well, that was certainly what the government said.. But the fact of the matter is, the people in the capital loved the games and for them it was purely entertainment. Of course you're going to say "we're doing it because you rebelled and have to be in line", you're not going to say "we're doing it because it's damn entertaining".

But anyway.. This is all off topic, so I'm not going to go into anymore. It just baffled me that, YA or not, you expected it to be light when the whole premise was kids killing other kids. That kind of blows the whole kids don't kill kids in YA thing away, seeing as though that's what the entire series is about..

I didn't expect it to be light. I don't expect fantasy or science fiction to be light - as in no angst at all. Of course I expect conflict. Twilight was filled with conflict and angst, and I enjoyed it. What I don't like is reading three books for a downer ending. It doesn't have to be roses, but it would be good if it were at least satisfactory.

Robin wrote: "I recently bought the entire trilogy of The Hunger Games and read it straight through, expecting to have a good, light read.

Well if you weren't expecting it to be light, then I'm not sure what this was supposed to mean. I'm just commenting based on what you said in the first place.

I'm currently reading Hammered and am having such a great time with Atticus and Oberon. I laugh out loud at something almost every chapter. The only real issue I have with these books is that the majority of the female characters, including Granuaile, feel a bit one dimensional/stereotypical. Even with that gripe I love these books.

It's a common misconception that YA will be easy and light. But there are some YA books which deal with some very serious issues - abuse, trauma, suicide, death, eating disorders, self harm, and many, many other things.

Of course, those tend to be less on the fantasy/sci-fi end of things, but dystopian books, by their nature, tend to be on the bleak side.

That said - things like Narnia and the early Harry Potter books aren't really YA. They're more targeted for the 9-12 age range - also called middle-grade, juvenile, and, sometimes, children's literature. (Though I prefer not to use children's 'cause that makes me think of little kid books.)

Unfortunately it's become the norm to lump MG and YA in together - which causes a lot of these issues. It's a pet peeve of mine, actually... but at least it opened an opportunity for us to all learn something. :>

Robin--thank you for coming out of your "lurker personality" and contributing. Your thoughts are appreciated. I'd rather you kept your comment in than deleted it.

I'm actually with you on the YA "rules." It had been a very long time since I read in the genre--with the exception of Harry Potter--and so when I read some of Holly Black's works, I was quite surprised at how dark they were--imprisonment, torture and killing. I'd still say it holds true for me for true "Young Adult." The more 'dubious' works I read as a teen were adult ones. In my day, people were fretting about Judy Blume's Forever, (view spoiler)[ because they had sex. (hide spoiler)] In fact, what I remember reading that was questionable was Stephen King and then the Thomas Covenant books (desperate for fantasy books then).

And now back to your regularly scheduled Kevin Hearne thread.

Athena-Nadine wrote: "I'm currently reading Hammered and am having such a great time with Atticus and Oberon. I laugh out loud at something almost every chapter. The only real issue I have with these books is that the..."

I'm with you on that one, although i try to remind myself that gods weren't known for being particularly fleshed out as characters. Except maybe Hera.

Dawn wrote: "Robin wrote: "I recently bought the entire trilogy of The Hunger Games and read it straight through, expecting to have a good, light read.

Well if you weren't expecting it to be light, then I'm no..."

Perhaps I should have said "fast" rather than "light." My bad.

I haven't read The Hunger Games (though I own the entire series) because of the subject matter. I was very concerned about how everything it would go. Seemed I was right.