Geekess > Recent Status Updates

I know I've read this before, but it feels really different this time. It has been years. A bit... bland and disjointed. Maybe it's me.

Very hard to stay focussed in this book. I loved the newer Islington book (Will of the Many), but this one.... it's meh up to now at least. Had to retrack often because it is confusing sometimes. The story can't really grab me. Which is a pity, because the premise looks nice.
I'm told the second book will be better, and the third awesome. So I'll persist.

Frankly, the writing is terrible. It's like a 16y/o schoolboy trying out fanboy writing of anime. Typical "everyone has magic except for 1 poor boy". I can tell you, in the end he has the most magic. Boohoo.
But... someone I trust for same taste in books (but less critical of technique) recommended it and said it would get better with time. So I'm hanging in there for the full book at least.

Hmm... anticlimax. Feeling... betrayed. Expected more.

I *know* I like Michael's books. But just as with Nolyn, the first half doesn't grab me at all. I used the book last night as a welcome relieve from [i]Be the Serpent[/i], in order to be able to fall asleep while listening. Fall asleep quickly.
The writing is neat, and I know the story will be awesome, but the writing is also teflon. It doesn't stick.

I don't think I want to be reading this book. This is killing me. Seanan knows how to ramp up the tension to 300% in the first quarter of the book already. The heart-ache already. The sadness. I don't want the things to be happening that are happening in the book. I especially don't want more bad things to happen. But this is Toby Day. It will get a lot worse.

Not really liking this book. I hated the play-part. This book is really all-over the place, and since we already know where the MC Severius will end up (since that's told from book 1), there is no tension at all. Everything happens to him. He isn't actually *doing* stuff. He doesn't care, and I don't care about him. Also, it's all about him desiring women. That gets old real quick.

Well, color me confused. The book starts somewhere in the middle and that's not done in a good way. I had to go back to the previous book to check if I hadn't accidentally missed an entire chapter. But no.
Also, it reads as a part 2 of the first book, since that one had nothing resolved and ended rather weird and abrupt.

This book moved into firm Sci-Fi territory. I like it. But... while I like the language, it also makes it a bit... boring. The interesting premise of the torturer from the first book is gone. The mystery of Jonah is on.
Strangely enough, while the narrator of the audiobook is most excellent (on 1.1 speed at a minimum) I prefer the ebook, because it's hard to focus on the long-winded paragraphs droning on.

I have a love-hate relationship with LB: I really like her ideas and worldbuilding, but I don't like silly romance. And this books is one mass of silly romance. There's no reason for the romance, and the book would be better without it.
I think for this reason, the TV-series Blood & Bone was better than the (first) book of that series: The intertwining of the Six of Crows story gave it more meat than "just romance".

Don't know when I actually started. 6 months ago? Tried the audiobook: narrator is horrible for this book. Tried the ebook. Slightly better. The story grips sometimes, then slips again. Its too... uneven. Tries too hard. Too... girly, maybe? I don't know. It's like I'm reading a romance novel without the actual romance. The magic is cool-ish. I'll keep on reading now and then, because of the magic.

Previous book was nice, on a re-read (couldn't remember anything of it). This one has promises, but is a bit bland/boring so far. I've never read this part before. Let's see what happens.

I don't know what percentage actually. I have read part of this. Can't remember any of it. Don't know if I *want* to, given the reviews. But I'll try a gain later, someday.

I like the concept, but the narration gets in the way of enjoying the story. I'll try again later, maybe with an ebook version.

Yeah.... booooring. Maybe I'll try to finish this later. The sequels don't come close to the first book.

I want to like it. I really really really want to like it. But I don't. I'll try again, later.

My goodness, this writer is *tedious*. Waaaay less fun than the previous three, yes even clunkier than Scott Westerfeld. Hard to continue, this is boring and trite, and he ruins the characters with highly illogical actions/teen drama. Yuk. So sad.

The frequent switching of viewpoint was a bit confusing at the start, but quickly the story sank it's claws into my flesh. I like the worldbuilding. It feels fresh. The words are well-crafted. Not entirely sure about the narrator though. She reads a bit too slow and wooden, emphasis often on the wrong parts of the sentence, trying to add drama, and overdoing it slightly. But I can probably speed that up a little.

Getting Douglas Adams vibes here... Ik earth is massieve computer, fish, rats (instead of dolphins and mice)...

Don't get me wrong, I love the worldbulding. It *is* awesome. But then there's the mixture of sci-fi and fantasy. Of common colloquialisms and the beautiful otherworldly setting. I hate the teenager-speech. It's too bubbly and shallow (in writing, not contents). It's sloppily done. Lazy, bad writing. I don't see any of the promised "beautiful prose". It reads like a beginning author's pulp in a very cool setting.

I want to like this book. The premise is awesome, and a lesbian MC is that as well. However... I don't know. It's all "tell" and barely any "show". Tamsyn does a better job with the environment and worldbuilding, but the characterization is...bad. MC describes all women as "hot". Well, that doesn't show me *anything*. It feels...puerille, and if the MC were a man, I would have put the book away for a while.

Maybe it's the audiobook. The narration isn't very good. Slurred, and the voices are ... horrible. Toe-curlingly horrible.The names are confusing, mostly because of the bad articulation. I don't know what they did to the audio to mangle it so. Story so far is... meh. I want to like it, but don't know if I can.

Same narrator, but the higher, slicker, "verity" voice. Don't like it for Antimony (not at all overall, but least for her). It was probably postproduction effects or something like that in the previous book.

Author is a marvel fan and it shows (too much?) in the Antimony-books. We have Nightcrawler (Sam) and the Carnival, Tarot, Roulette and Firestar/Dazzler in this book (though with fire instead of microwave/light). She even points out in meta (the Lowry-land explanation) that there are small name changes because of copyright. But the characters are copies. But the writing is entertaining.

About the narrator: I thought Audible had switched narrators, because this one has a more smokey voice, which fits perfectly with the rebel brat Antimony. But it turns out it's the same narrator as with the Verity books. Well done!
Have to say as well: the luck-premise is fresh and original. The Hellfire-Club angle (esp. the Firestar copy story) isn't. But she hangs a lantern on it, so... mkay.

This one is a lot more fun than the previous one, fortunately, if a little predictable.

I like Verity a lot less than Alex. I don't really care for the 'dance reality-show' angle here. The story is a little boring. Where I couldn't put the previous 2 books down, this one... meh. Probably another authority person who is the bad guy. That male judge and Lyra or something. Jessica is probably red herring. Or maybe I'm thinking too complicated again. Hope the next book picks up speed again.

I still like this book a lot. But even a cryptic zoologist should know that ducks shouldn't eat bread. If McGuire had done her homework here, she would have known bread is very harmful for ducks.

I like this book even more than the previous one. This series is picking up steam!
Oh and guard Lloyd is mighty suspicious with his surprise at Alex still being alive.

I'm suspecting uncle Mike to be some kind of ringer. He's too conveniently placed.
I like this book more than I should.