Indie Book Club discussion

I'm starting this topic a little early so I don't forget while I'm gone on vacation.

Enjoy the discussion everyone!

Ohh yay.

Anyone who wants the SW version a half price voucher is available on this code LD57
https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...

Congrats Alex!

Thaddeus can you put this up on the home page?

Ta

Oh yay! I almost forgot about this. I've read this book. I can participate in discussion and do Nano...I think. :)

Depends if there is any discussion;)

Uh... maybe. I am a mod, but I'm not quite sure how to do that (which is why it hasn't been done for the Other category either).

I'll have a furkle and see what I can find.

Edited extra bit: ah ha! I've got it up. Now I need to take down Altmortis and put up Paw-Prints... [I'm remarkably deficient at technical things, so this may take a little while].

Hehe. I'd forgotten about Paw-Prints too.

Furkle... good word.

I have had a tremendous amount going on in my personal life, so I haven't been able to keep up over here as much as I'd have liked - anyone into the book yet?

It's on my Kindle but I haven't started it yet. Unfortunately I wanted to read both this and Paw Prints (Other Book of the Month), and the first week or two of this month was occupied with getting stuff released and finishing off a work in progress. Decided to read Paw Prints as I'd just read the first book of the Light Beyond the Storm Chronicles.

Actually, that may present an interesting point of comparison when I do read this book. Paw Prints is a sort-of follow up to a previous book, and obviously The Shining Citadel is the second in a series, so it could be useful to compare and contrast how easy (or not) it is to jump in mid-series.

I have read the book previously. I am attempting to participate in NaNoWriMo this month, so I'm not doing a whole lot of reading currently.

I am up for chatting over what I remember of the story and characters if anyone likes that sort of discussion. :)

I think you should be able to pick this up if you haven't read book 1 (or haven't read it recently) at least I hope so!

There is some background info which it is helpful to know and which is refered to but as this is a story in its own right then you should be OK.

I am not reading Paw-prints as I have some books to read for a course, a ton of writing and other personal stuff going on. This will still be here next month and I've noticed the chat sometimes drags over.

okay, I just started this. It's still November, right? :-D Good beginning, picking up with some characters who came in near the end of the last book; I would recommend reading Book 1 first. Readers might be able to pick up on what's happening without reading it, but you'll know a lot more about the characters and the worlds and the conflicts that are going on if you've read it first.

Yes book 1 certainly helps, book 2 explains quite a bit about the world. Thanks Kyra, hope you like it.

Love your trolls :D
Really enjoying this so far!

Thanks, yes the trolls are interesting - not your standard mindless type. My WIP actually follows some of the troll characters from book 2 so if I ever finish the damn thing there will be more troll fun:)

Glad you are enjoying it.

Just started this. Not read enough to comment beyond that, except to say the writing style seems slightly improved from the first book.

I think that is a complement :)

Something like 20% in now.

I think it was a wise decision to make Marden and Th'alia the focus (at least at the start). Works well, and I imagine that'd be the case if I hadn't read the first book.

Interesting choice to add some moral ambiguity. The first book was very black and white (I know that isn't in fashion now, but I don't mind black and white morality so long as it's clearly intended).

Their relationship is complex :) I really like Marden, he is so much more than he first appears. Both Marden and Th'alia have a complicated relationship with the others, and it changes during the story.

Interesting that you see Book 1 as black and white, as I don't - there are good guys and bad guys but the "good guys" kill, steal, lie and what-have-you. Of course if you are the good guys that is ok;) That is one of the many things I love about a story, different people see different things in the same story.

That's true, but the theft/murdering is always for a noble cause, like Robin Hood.

I can't imagine Archos deliberately choosing to be evil, whereas Marden I could see doing good or bad things.

Fair enough. Archos can be a bstd when he chooses to be:) But ultimately he is a good man. Marden, well he is, at first, a product of the system. You will see how that pans out.

Oddly, I always thought Alex's world was more shades of gray. Archos is decidedly good to his people, but he is still sort of a crime lord and his people are thieves, assassins, elves (in a land where they are slaves) and mages (in a land where magic is banned).

I love a world where an anti-hero is the good guy and the ruling power is decidedly evil. I so hope there's an uprising in the future :)

He could be considered a crime lord, but when the laws are evil then a crime lord can be a good guy.

I think it is relative, the laws are good or evil depending on whose side you are on;)

The history is the Witch-hunters have ruled for 300 or so years, and what was done in fear and trying to protect the common people has now become corrupted. A lie told often enough becomes a form of truth. Ignorance and fear mean people do not question the status quo, and so it persists.

About 70% in now.

I like the way the storyline's going and the balance of it so far. Sometimes I think ideas are a little bit laboured (just read a bit about Marden's thoughts and he seemed to repeat himself a little).

I like the trolls/hraks, and think it was a good idea not to refer back to Malia too much.

I think Marden is trying to convince himself, he is a tinsy bit messed up:)

I like the trolls too, they are fun. They'll appear again in Book III:)

hehe, I'm odd, I like Marden myself, and I LOVE the trolls. :)

Marden turned out to be far more complex then I first planned. Poor fellow has a bit of a rough ride.

finished this the other day, and realy enjoyed it. I also especially enjoyed Marden's character arc, and how he deals with learning everything he's been taught is a lie. I think he's a genuinely good man, who wants to be a good man, but has had the wool pulled over his eyes for so long he has to start out learning again what being "good" really means.

Yes, eventually a lie becomes the truth if it is told often enough. Marden will appear in later books.

Slightly off topic but here is my latest author interview. http://authorsinterviews.wordpress.co...

Just finished this today. Would've done so yesterday but my Kindle's battery needed recharging.

I liked the battle scene, and the storyline twist at the end. I think the detail (I felt it was excessive in the previous book) was better, although there was sometimes repetition/labouring the point.

The pace of the book was well-judged, and I liked the storyline. Sometimes I felt the dialogue was a little unnatural, lacking some informality/subtlety.

Not sure at the moment what rating I'll give it. I'll write the review in the nearish future.

Rated, and the review's up here: https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

Thanks! And thanks for taking the time to review it.

If anyone is interested Thaddeus was kind enough to run an author interview with me here http://thaddeusthesixth.blogspot.co.u...

Come and meet my character Olek. ‪#‎Fantasy‬ http://libraryoferana.wordpress.com/2...