SOS: Serious Overload of Series discussion

Myself and Jeann will be buddy reading The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern from August 20th to the 31st if anybody would care to join us feel free :)

I may join you, Kat! I'm back from vacation at that time so I'll be able to post and comment while I'm reading (or listening in this case because I have it in audiobook.)

Awesome D.G. I hope you do decide to join in it's always fun to read with more then one person. I never could get into listening to audiobooks I guess I just don't feel as connected as I do when I'm reading a book for myself

Excellent I've read so many good things about it that I can't wait to start it :)

I've read this one, I hope you all like it. I thought it was beautiful, very magical and different from what I normally read.

I'll have to keep an eye out for your discussions once you get going in August!

Ok Kat & DG, you guys ready for this? I'll be picking this up for the 2011 Shelf now :)

I actually started this one late last night before bed, I only read about 20 or so pages but I'm really surprised i'm getting into it because this really isn't something I normaly read and i'm reading it for Bingo too :)

Ok I'm about page 30 or so and it is reminding me so much of The Prestige!

I've never read The Prestige but from the blurb on the back cover it does sound very similar to Night Circus. I'm quite liking this so far :)

Oh, I never read The Prestige either but it's a movie :)

I'm about 27% of the way through, I'm really enjoying it too. The characters are really intriguing and the circus aspects is so interesting to watch unfold. I really like the concept of the Midnight Dinners and how it became a Night Circus too.

Have you read Water for the Elephants? So far this is trumping that one so much, there wasn't much circus stuff in the other one despite the setting.

No I haven't read Water for Elephants, I wasn't really sure about reading it cause I'm usually a pretty good judge on if I'm going to like something I read or not and I've been on the fence so to speak with that one for a while, I might give it a try some day when I get my TBR pile down to a normal size :)

Yeah I wasn't really a fan of that one, it was more about animals and cruelty to animals than the majestic circus stuff that I was looking for.

I really enjoy the illusionist stuff and the battle between both of them at the moment. I'm not too sure about Marco 's relationship with isobel, they are together right?

I'm not quite as far as you in my reading, I just finished the part where Marco shows Isobel his magic for the first time :)

Oops, hope I didn't spoil anything. I've been at home with the flu so been reading through this like a dynamo :) I'm really enjoying this so far.

No you didn't spoil anything :) I don't really mind spoilers anyway, I usually find they just give me something to look forward to...lol

I'm getting the impression that Marco and Isobel are in some kind of relationship since they seem to be spending lots of time together.

Just reached 49% around page 199 or so. (view spoiler)[I think Tara's demise is a sign that the cracks of the flawless and successful Night Circus is starting to show. I think Mr A-H who most likely had something to do with her death.

There's something mysterious and magical in play here which became apparent after that discussion between people of the Midnight Dinners, saying they never got sick and Mr B's hair stopped thinning (forgot his name).

It seems like the circus is a little too pristine and something will happen to tear it down. (hide spoiler)]

I'm only around page 100 but I really liked the concept of the midnight dinners I think something like that would be so much fun to attend :)

Page 267, 65% (view spoiler)[OK I think I'm picking up on something here, I'm beginning to think that the mysterious Mr A-H is actually Celia's dad (I forgot what his name was again). I mean she's hinted that he's around but not actually gone, and they haven't actually showed up at the same time before. We also know that Mr A-H has some powers too that are kind of similar to Marco's (ie. manipulating memory).

I get how powerful Celia is from her simple physical manipulation but I'm still not too sure about Marco's power. I mean fair enough he can do things subtly and in the background and on a larger scale, but it doesn't really seem as specific or as impressive as Celia's. (hide spoiler)]

I'm in... not very far into the book, but will be reading it before the weekend is over because ALL THE LIBRARY BOOKS.

Awesome, welcome Erin!

OK, I retract what I said about my previous spoiler (view spoiler)[I remember Mr A-H is Marco's backer, not Celia's. Because of that one time when he came up to Marco and talked to him. Also his power is more like Marco's. Now it all makes sense. (hide spoiler)]

So got to page 118 last night.
(view spoiler)[I am a little aggrivated by how vague everything is so far. The language is absolutely stunning, but it is lacking in the details that (arguably) matter. How did Prospero become the magical disappearing man? What is the actual scope of the competition between him and the man in gray? (Or their two students, as the case may be) And what are the actual moves that are being made by either party? Morgenstern seemes to be striving for an air of mystery, and she has attained that for sure, but there is also just a lot of vagueness going on. (hide spoiler)]

Yeah Erin, I'm nearly 85% of the way through and I must say some of those things haven't been addressed yet. Based on other reviews there's a big reveal at the end though. I hope it answers so questions because it's just a little frustrating being kept in the dark.

Also I find it hard to believe that the whole competition has spanned over 16 years or so. (view spoiler)[And that Prospero managed to make his physical body disappear for that long. He's basically dead even if they say he isn't. (hide spoiler)]

I'm only on page 120 but so far I have to agree with everything that Erin has said it is all very vague which does give it a mysterious edge, but I would like to know how some of the things happened as well with what Erin spoke about. So far I find it very entertaining

I kind of devoured the book, finishing it today.
Overall I loved it, and will be posting a review soon, but there were a few things that left me dissatisfied.

End of book spoilers:
(view spoiler)[Bailey's involvement seemed like it was kind of thrown together at the last minute almost? Or is that just me? And the same with Tsukiko's. She said she had to step in, but I don't recall it being very clear as to why she had to step in, other than her own pain and jealousy. (hide spoiler)]

I'm almost to the middle of the book, I'm just taking my time with this one so I can enjoy it more I read a few pages here and there then I go do something else then I come back and read a few more, I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I have been :)

OK I'm finally I've finished the book. Was afraid to read the final bit because there were some glaring problems I was starting to have about the plot.

End of book spoilers (view spoiler)[I think it was mostly a bittersweet ending, with Celia and Marco escaping the competition and finally ending up together in the only way they could (similar to the end of the Hunger Games, but much sadder).

Bailey is simply an innocent boy who loved the circus, but his involvement in it ever since he was a kid sort of grounds that he's tied to it somehow.

Like you, I think the ending was thrown together somewhat, like they didn't know how to end it. Beautiful writing, evocative descriptions, but there are some glaring problems that are never answered, or just touched upon lightly.

Like what actually happened to Prospero/Hector? I know he trapped himself in spirit land or something but he's technically a ghost, right? In the book, it says he was looking for immortality.

Why does Mr A-H have no shadow? Just because he's old, and lived for thousands of years. And how, is it magic?

Why do the two keep on pitting two people against each other in the competition? Like, what's the point of it? If someone dies and the competition is over, they just start all over again anyway. Seems like there's no point to it. I know Celia mentions that they are too afraid to go directly against each other. Also somewhere they say they've both lived for too long that they aren't really human anymore. It's still not a plausible explanation.

Why would Celia and Hector keep going on for a competition that has no point, has no conclusion and not even try and find out more about it for years (I think it was 16 years it spanned?)?

What was the point of revealing that Tsukiko was a previous competitor when you already knew that one of the competitors had to die? I mean, fair enough she tries to end it early because she's jealous. However she did state to Bailey that she just did not care what happened.

Why does Chandresh keep on making himself forget things?

So apparently with the competition, if anyone from the outside interferes then it will become void. And Celia and Marco aren't allowed to collaborate or seek outside help for the competition. It felt like when they found out about each other, that nothing happened except they fell in love with each other. Then what was that big hoo-ha about you can't know who your competitor is and everything if nothing was going to happen?

Also with the point above, Isobel intefered for the competition ever since it started. When she decided to stop, it all fell apart. And she just conveniently departed the scene. Based on the terms above, wasn't it meant to have no outside inteference?

Celia and Marco are so flat! All the characters are so one-dimensional, except for the kids. The love story is so secondary to the plot that you just didn't care at that point. I wanted more Night circus, and midnight dinners, and chocolate mice.

I feel like the climax of the plot and unveiling the mystery of the circus was a big fat disappointment. Like at the end it's meant to all mean something significant, but it doesn't really. All it is, is that the circus is constructed upon Celia and Marco's magic. That's all there is to it.

Did anyone know what the significance of the deal between Widget and A-H were at the end? Like A-H said he would pass the circus over to widget something to do with the competition reaches a stalemate before he is born - but looking at the time these events happen after all of these things happen? Weird. (hide spoiler)]

Overall, I give it a 4. I'll write up my review later, I really did enjoy the uniqueness of the book and the descriptions of the circus and everything, but anything regarding plot or characters was a glaring disappointment.

I posted up my humungo review here: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

I'm kinda in a stall pattern with this one right now as I'm trying to concentrate on finishing my bingo book for this week and next weeks last shelf call before I finish this one up :)