4. Smoke and Shadow, part 1 (AtLA comics) -- OK, this one actually sort of begins to redeem the Ursa storyline that so disappointed me in The Search. ( Spoilers! )
You are welcome, I guess! I didn't dislike it (not like, say, Shades of Milk and Honey, which I loathed), and I enjoyed a lot of the bits you talk about here. It just never really came alive for me. It's a problem I've had with Brennan's other books, which I don't think is a fault of hers or anything; her prose is just not to my taste.
And I am glad you are read Smoke and Shadow--I think it's going somewhere very interesting, and am eagerly awaiting volume 3.
It never really came alive for me, either, but I wasn't sure if it was author or character or the memoir approach... I did find the religion thing very interesting, and something I don't think I've ever seen done before. I think I'd read on just for more of that.
I still need to catch up on part 2 of Smoke and Shadow -- I kind of lost track of that being out already, over the holidays. I'm definitely onboard for more Fire Nation Royal Family stories, so looking forward to checking out that and the conclusion!
I'm reading Saga in a really stupid order, so I've read, like, the middle 2/5th of it, but even with this limitation I can say, it is SO GOOD!
Captive Prince... I enjoyed the series, but I also know several people who bounced off it rather emphatically. I think it is one of those books that is very tuned to the id -- lots of tropes, lots of things that are basically fanservice. Which, if the specific tropes happen to match up with tropes one loves, it's great! And if they don't, not so great. For me, the tropes in book 2 are a great match, so that was a book I had a blast with. Books 1 and 3 were less tuned to me specifically, so while I read them quickly, I definitely didn't like them to the same degree as book 2. Just something to keep in mind, I think -- basically, YMMV applies to this one more than a lot of series, I think.
I don't know the full story, but it definitely started life as an online thing, coming out of fannish circles as original fic. And then I guess self-published? Before being picked up by a publisher and re-released.
So, yeah, it has every reason to be tropey and fanservicey! But those kinds of things tend to be more hit-or-miss, especially without the aid of AO3 tags to know what you're getting into up front :P
OMGGG XDDDD I will properly comment tmrw morning because it's 1am now, but I am so pleased that your review is much more sarcastic and funny than mine :DD I guess in my disappointment I got too serious, and it's so refreshing to just laugh at this:
Anyway, at this point Laurent co-ruling Akielos with him is, like, and act of humanitarian aid, because King Damianos *really* needs a power behind the throne, before he trades the kingdom for five magic beans or possibly a bowl of porrige, and while Nikandros tries his best, poor thing, that's really not gonna cut it.
and I quite liked how the "revelation" of it was handled between Damen and Laurent. speaking of that, i’m glad this wasn’t a protracted revelation, because I’m not sure I’d have stomached TWO instances of postponed enlightenment in this book -_-
and every other word out of his mouth from that point on was "Damen". Or, more commonly, "Damen, NO", as is only right and proper... LMAOOO oh yes, very apt amendment. Like, I did notice he started saying the name a lot once they got to, ahem, first name basis (first base, second base, third base, first name base ^^) but now that you said it, it’s obvious how much of it was DAMEN NO :DD Also, I was thinking - in the waiting for cp3 time I mean - whether he’ll be calling him Damen or Damianos, so I guess we got answers to that
( ... )
I didn' tmind the pacing as such (although some transitions are pretty abrupt but I think that has always been part of the style of the writing) I did think some of the plot mechanics were ridiculous (the kingsmeet piece especially and the final could have been handled a bit more elegantly)
I assume the "????" of the happy ending is why she's planning a few short stories to complete it.
You might be right about the transition problems not being new. I think I didn't notice it in book 2 because I was just skating along from fun trope to fun trope, while here my enjoyment of the tropaliciousness was less uniformly positive.
The ridiculous plot mechanics, combined with Damen being a total dolt, really annoyed me :(
ikel89 mentioned the follow-on short stories, too, including a post-Kings Rising one, but... IDK, that feels really like something that should've been in THIS book. It is part of the arc, and splitting it into a short story as if it were a side element or something extraneous doesn't feel right to me.
Also, SAGA! One of these days I will actually read all of it, and maybe even manage to keep track of what happens when despite my crazy reading order. But it's so good!
Oooh, I didn't know that. I was also a little WTFy about how exactly they're going to rule together. I can just see Damen trying so hard to actually do Kingship and Laurent being all *facepalm* and "No, seriously. Stop trying to help me."
... Damen is hardly incompetent at ruling. He's not good about intrigue and can be impulsive and naive, but he's great at leadership, military tactics and managing people. Remember how much help he was to Laurent in book 2.
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And I am glad you are read Smoke and Shadow--I think it's going somewhere very interesting, and am eagerly awaiting volume 3.
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I still need to catch up on part 2 of Smoke and Shadow -- I kind of lost track of that being out already, over the holidays. I'm definitely onboard for more Fire Nation Royal Family stories, so looking forward to checking out that and the conclusion!
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Captive Prince... I enjoyed the series, but I also know several people who bounced off it rather emphatically. I think it is one of those books that is very tuned to the id -- lots of tropes, lots of things that are basically fanservice. Which, if the specific tropes happen to match up with tropes one loves, it's great! And if they don't, not so great. For me, the tropes in book 2 are a great match, so that was a book I had a blast with. Books 1 and 3 were less tuned to me specifically, so while I read them quickly, I definitely didn't like them to the same degree as book 2. Just something to keep in mind, I think -- basically, YMMV applies to this one more than a lot of series, I think.
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So, yeah, it has every reason to be tropey and fanservicey! But those kinds of things tend to be more hit-or-miss, especially without the aid of AO3 tags to know what you're getting into up front :P
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Anyway, at this point Laurent co-ruling Akielos with him is, like, and act of humanitarian aid, because King Damianos *really* needs a power behind the throne, before he trades the kingdom for five magic beans or possibly a bowl of porrige, and while Nikandros tries his best, poor thing, that's really not gonna cut it.
HAAAAAAA :DDDD
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(But yours is funny, too! I found your whole paragraph about Nikandros hilarious, for example, because LOL, TRUTH.
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speaking of that, i’m glad this wasn’t a protracted revelation, because I’m not sure I’d have stomached TWO instances of postponed enlightenment in this book -_-
and every other word out of his mouth from that point on was "Damen". Or, more commonly, "Damen, NO", as is only right and proper... LMAOOO oh yes, very apt amendment. Like, I did notice he started saying the name a lot once they got to, ahem, first name basis (first base, second base, third base, first name base ^^) but now that you said it, it’s obvious how much of it was DAMEN NO :DD Also, I was thinking - in the waiting for cp3 time I mean - whether he’ll be calling him Damen or Damianos, so I guess we got answers to that ( ... )
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I kept forgetting where this bit was and not commenting on it, but it cannot go without a comment, and that comment is:
LOL, NICELY PLAYED XD
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I assume the "????" of the happy ending is why she's planning a few short stories to complete it.
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The ridiculous plot mechanics, combined with Damen being a total dolt, really annoyed me :(
ikel89 mentioned the follow-on short stories, too, including a post-Kings Rising one, but... IDK, that feels really like something that should've been in THIS book. It is part of the arc, and splitting it into a short story as if it were a side element or something extraneous doesn't feel right to me.
Also, SAGA! One of these days I will actually read all of it, and maybe even manage to keep track of what happens when despite my crazy reading order. But it's so good!
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