The Sword and Laser discussion

Aaaah, first of the month. I read the book in print version and then just yesterday finished the second one in ebook.

Anyway, as Our Mod says, go forth! Or is that fourth? On the first? I wanna be first! I'm chomping at the bit to be the posting champ! And other tepidly amusing puns. Was a good book and I could hardly wait out the month to start posting.

The book itself: Good heft, nice looking cover easy to hold and read. I didn't realize until the end but the book is set in a special font. It all added up to an extra element of buy-in for the book's events.

Which are...nice slow burn and intro to the world. It's all coming along cosy with a dark underpinning just out of sight until (view spoiler)[Emily decides she needs to chop off her finger to avoid a compulsion. Aaaaagh! (hide spoiler)] The way Emily approaches that event is emblematic of her world view. She takes big / traumatic / dangerous events with the same lack of emotion that she would eating dinner. Her analytic mind is her gift and her curse as she is poor on social interaction with normals. (I wouldn't know anything about that.)

And, keeping a theme from last month, (view spoiler)[we have a sudden offer of marriage. Actually, not just one, but two! Emily seems to be collecting monarchs. (hide spoiler)]

The ending feels kinda rushed...but I did appreciate that the book came in at just about 300 pages. It's not overlong which I find most fantasy and even a lot of SF is these days. Novel size was just right.

I dunno if I'd call this "cosy." Parts of it definitely are. The stakes get too big and too dangerous for cosy tho.

I gave this a fair shot having read 121 pages out of 317 pages but time to LEM this one.

I'd call it cozy but there are definitely some larger stakes. But no larger in many ways than in Bookshops & Bonedust. I finished it and was actually annoyed that (view spoiler)[the dude kept having to rescue the girl (hide spoiler)]. While I am kind of interested in the larger mystery, I'm probably not continuing. Too many other worlds I'm more interested in.

I agree, the stakes are far larger than the fate of a single shop. Can't say more without spoilers, but (view spoiler)[ the return of the King clearly spells the death of at least one and possibly many entire villages (hide spoiler)].
I actually greatly enjoyed this book! All the way until the ending. Also because (view spoiler)[ the guy has to save the girl, but also, even though Emily herself says simply being rescued feels anticlimactic to the traditional Faerie story, that's pretty much what happens. I expected her to use her experience and knowledge of Faerie to come up with an unexpected and Faerie Tale-worthy win, and kept expecting it to happen right until they got on the boat. (I absolutely fully believed the rescue was a dream or illusion and she would wake up and save her own day... But it never came. (hide spoiler)]

In re terpkristin's spoiler. (view spoiler)[I'm a guy, so take this with a grain of salt. The scales seemed even to me in that he rescued her from the realm of fairy, just as she was saving his bacon in the world of academia - he needs her credibility to overcome his previously shoddy research. And there is a mild subversion of the man rescues damsel story in the fact that she leaves him hanging without an answer to his proposal. (hide spoiler)]

Liam wrote: "I agree, the stakes are far larger than the fate of a single shop. Can't say more without spoilers, but [spoilers removed].
I actually greatly enjoyed this book! All the way until the ending. Also ..."

I had hoped for the ending you thought was coming. I mean it was fine but I look at another book I've been reading recently and it could arguably considered a similar ISH situation and it ended more like I hoped/wanted/expected.

terpkristin wrote: I look at another book I've been reading recently
ooh, what book might that be?? :)

Liam wrote: "terpkristin wrote: I look at another book I've been reading recently
ooh, what book might that be?? :)"

(view spoiler)[ A Court of Thorns and Roses (hide spoiler)] I don't want to ruin anything so won't say more