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Yes yes very cynical indeed

Gosh this is bleak

Will be interesting to see if I change my mind on this, as generally the reviews appear to be "book two is where it all comes together" but while this was enjoyable, there was the fantasy version of technobabble and unstoppable forces literally colliding in the air over protagonists heads.

It's not bad, but the thought of nine more doorsteps means I'm going to have to pace them out.

Going back to PEI next week

After reading other fantasy books where characters pick up new languages instantly (and annoyingly) it's quite nice to have a protagonist that struggles with their new language. For about half the book. Then it's annoying.

There's still a bit of standard introspection where Alberich dwells on the same problems a few times, but less egregiously than Tania or a host of others. There's less fighting in this than you might expect from the text. His background is referenced a lot but he's in new situations from the first chapter. And the new situation is the Collegium, so it's back to school. Again.

The last third is back out again though and more enjoyable.

Read this after seeing the Netflix film. It's not really like the film but also I can absolutely see where the film is coming from. The dialogue is very funny with modern vernacular in a "Euro medieval" frame.

The "exclusive epilogue" doesn't add anything, mind.

First re-read, still excellent

Maybe I'd enjoy this more if I was reading less Lackey books in one go (and this is definitely my cue to stop for a bit). But there is less action in this one and an awful lot more "thinking and feeling bad".

The secondary plot is also just competency porn which can be satisfying to read but sometimes the Valdemar universe is a bit too perfect, even the antagonist in this book considers optimal logistics.

This is actually the second time I've read this, but it's felt a much longer read the second time. It's enjoyable, I really like priests from Karse (although I'm realising I've missed another sequence between this and the last books chronologically).

Yes I bought the set, to summarise the other six volumes, the students grow wiser, and enter the second year, living together then living apart, and start to think about their careers. Except actually funny.

The actual plot is three girls starting at Sheffield uni and getting into much funnier and dramatic versions of a normal university experience. Alcohol, tragedy, fresher's flu.

Post Kickstarter post surgery reading!