Comments | hamsterwoman: The Raven Tower sync read post

hamsterwoman

The Raven Tower sync read post

Apr 08, 2019 22:06

For me and ikel89 and hopefully cyanshadow and anyone else who wants to join in!

This entry was originally posted at https://hamsterwoman.dreamwidth.org/1104287.html. Comment wherever you prefer (I prefer LJ).

sync read

Comments 34

majesticzaichik April 9 2019, 13:48:30 UTC

When are you guys starting? Though to be honest, from.what I've inquired in the last few mins, this seems a little too high fantasy for me. I rarely read fantasy. I'm still a bit interested though.

majesticzaichik April 9 2019, 23:16:33 UTC

(Sorry, I can't remember my LJ login info haha, coming from DW.)

General, vague expectation spoilers with regard to your hesitation: Juvyr vg vf n frpbaqnel-jbeyq frggvat, V jbhyq fnl vg'f abg ernyyl yvxr genqvgvbany uvtu snagnfl ng nyy va grezf bs fgbelgryyvat "sbphf" be rira fgehpgher. (http://rot13.com if you aren't familiar with this method of spoiler-hiding!)

hamsterwoman April 10 2019, 08:39:08 UTC

Kinda sorta starting now, but probably more like this weekend.

But usually these things go on for a while, so feel free to join whenever you can if you do find it's Relevant To Your Interests :)

a_phoenixdragon April 11 2019, 02:46:44 UTC

What is Raven Tower? Sorry...ignorant here, lol!

hamsterwoman April 11 2019, 03:00:24 UTC

The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie :)

a_phoenixdragon April 11 2019, 04:47:35 UTC

Thank you for the clarification! That actually sounds rather interesting. :D

ikel89 April 14 2019, 21:06:02 UTC

up to page 132Here be first thoughts ( ... )

ikel89 April 15 2019, 22:55:01 UTC

up to 188
It's been > 50 pages since the last check in, which amounted to two (in numbers:2) conversation and exactly ten pages that further the plot. Zzzzzzzzzzz.

hamsterwoman April 22 2019, 23:45:46 UTC

For me the plot started feeling like it's taking off ~45% (probably ~p.195), and hitched up another notch ~56% (~p.240 maybe?)

hamsterwoman April 22 2019, 23:42:40 UTC

Because a series of choices this book made: a present-but-passive narrator voice, a stranger in a new land, coups in the new land -- are tripping me up and sending me into the place where I still seethe with discontent about Conspiracy, This is so fascinating tI can certainly see all those similarities! But until you mentioned it, I had not thought of Raven Tower in the context of Conspiracy at all, and even now they just feel completely differently to me. Like, despite being present-but-passive, the rock god and Chant are just such different narrators in all respects. The "stranger in new land" -- by which I assume you mean Eolo coming to court -- feels totally different, too, because it's not a professional traveler ending up in yet another new place (that he doesn't like much) but much more like the more straightforward fantasy trope of farmer boy coming to the big city. And the coups pick up in different places. The narrator bit made me think of Fifth Season (second person + rockiness), and the coup of Hamlet (which L has been ( ... )

Thread 8

through 56% hamsterwoman April 22 2019, 23:15:57 UTC

What is it with books that don't have chapter breaks or number chapters? It makes sync reads across different editions/mediums hard ( ... )

Re: through 56% -- a little more hamsterwoman April 22 2019, 23:35:06 UTC

I have a feeling I would like the relationship between Mawat and Eolo more if I were not seeing it at such a remove, because some of the lines are pretty good ("Apparently I do need you to tell me what I said."), and the assumptions people make about Eolo's abilities to manage Mawat's temper. It's the sort of relationship I should normally like, but filtered through second person and an inhuman POV, it comes through only very faintly, which is a pity.

Re: through 56% -- a little more ikel89 April 30 2019, 22:10:40 UTC

Your fealty kink is showing B-)

Re: through 56% -- a little more hamsterwoman May 1 2019, 00:26:17 UTC

...It might be XP

Thread 9

Nicky Drayden ms_geekette April 25 2019, 17:40:09 UTC

Since possibly more people will see it here...would anyone be interested in a group read with one of Nicky Drayden's books? She is really cool and sent me some book club goodies a few months ago that I could mail to all of you. Will have to find the package again, but I think it was some small black and white illustrations, possibly some bookmarks, and maybe some stickers? I don't really remember exactly.

She also works in software, and I *definitely* like to support STEM ladies. <3

I want to read Prey of Gods (it's sci-fi), but she also has a fantasy called Temper, IIRC. I've been nomming Prey of Gods on the Goodreads groups I'm in that have monthly reads and haven't had any luck yet on getting those yahoos to pick it. They seem to want trashy UF bodice-rippers, high fantasy or buzzy books, ugh. Am rethinking the groups I am in there. ;-P

Re: Nicky Drayden ms_geekette April 25 2019, 18:04:39 UTC

And ooh, I see qwentoozla has Prey of Gods on her TBR list at GR. *does wavy fingers* You want to read the book....yes....you are getting sleepy and will dream about acquiring this book. XD

And a LJ/GR friend gave it 4 stars which she gives *very* I mean *very* rarely, so I take that as a ringing endorsement. Some GR friends' comments about it:

4 star review: The Prey of Gods was described to me by two separate people as being the craziest SF book they’d read in a while, and they were not mistaken. What’s it about? Gods and robots, sometimes working together, sometimes really not at all. Viruses. The power of music to bring people together. Little girls with wings and more power than they know what to do with. [....] What to say about this book? It is bonkers. (she does say that the pacing seemed off at times for her but it ended up being for good reasons and that she still has no idea what PoG is about, but she's definitely up for whatever Drayden writes next)

Unusual plot and setting, GREAT characters, fun, witty writing, four stars ( ... )

Re: Nicky Drayden hamsterwoman April 25 2019, 20:07:13 UTC

I've be3en curious to read something by Nicky Drayden since I heard about Prey of Gods at Worldcon last year (Jo Walton was praising it, IIRC), so I'd be game! In a little while though, when I've finished up this, Wayfarers, and Foundryside :)

And, yeah, the fact that Drayden is a STEM/CS person was one of the things that intrigued me. It's always neat to see SFF from the science side folks.

Re: Nicky Drayden ms_geekette April 25 2019, 20:33:04 UTC

Yay! But hah, I wasn't wanting to read it right away, either, b/c I still have a ridiculous number of books out from the library right now.

It would also either give me time to scan or take pictures of the book swag so people can see what's available. Have to re-find it first, though! XD

Thread 8