(no subject)

[sideways]

 Current media round-up:

• Finished the four seasons of Killjoys that exist! (And keep typing Killyjoys.) Season 3 won me back over where season 2 had wobbled a little, and then season 4 was ridiculous but ridiculous in ways I couldn't help but thrive upon. Looking forward to the grand finale next year.

• Read the first Murderbot book and started on the second. It has a lot of elements I like, but the echoes of Raksura ring very strongly and I'm struggling not to constantly draw comparisons. Obviously there are plenty of writers who just write the same book over and over and I've found many of them enjoyable nonetheless, but. Hm.

• ...got bored with Skyrim again. LOOK, if every second quest wasn't twenty minutes of dungeon-diving that'd be one thing, but it is and it's not my favourite kind of RPG anyway and meh.

• Instead, I've turned to my favourite kind of RPG company and picked up Tyranny, since the whole package was on sale for cheaper than base-game Pillars of Eternity: Deadfire. (One day, my love...) It's very PoE in its mechanics with an unusual plot - your character is an enforcer for an evil conquering overlord! - so I'm enjoying myself already.

Comments

[cloudwrack]

/replying 1000 years later, sorry

That's good to hear! I wanted to like D'avin, but found him the least interesting character by far in S1 - here's hoping S2 will win me over.

Having now read the free Murderbot short story, I can definitely see those similarities. The drive to rescue people despite being somewhat disaffected fits, too... but it's one of my favourite character types, so I can't complain. Agreed on the technical merit of Raksura - I've fallen in love with this series and can't put it down, but the prose is more of an occasionally-repetitive vehicle for the story than anything else. The worldbuilding (and the sheer amount of fun involved) is what stands out to me as exceptional.

RTMI = relevant to my interests (a fandom community I was in used that phrase constantly, so it's worked its way into my vocab). Oof - if it's that difficult early on, it might not be for me. We'll see how brave I'm feeling when the next Steam sale rolls around!

[sideways]

The nice thing about proper blog platforms: being able to carry on conversations pretty much whenever...

Have you ever watched Person of Interest? It's kind of like how Reese became increasingly endearing as he grew out of the stoic manpain schtick.

Agreed, huge fan of the repressed, untrusting loner finding the family they so badly need. And both series have shameless heart, which I think counts for a lot. AND I was knocked so far sideways when I realised my wistful "aw, Moon and Chime would be cute" was not doomed by Moon's obvious future partnership with Jade. (She's not even subtle about Chime's heart-eyes for Moon! I just didn't think it would actually eventuate!)

I ended up switching the difficulty level down to storymode and that's been WAY easier. Like, battles are 90% a spectator sport now. So that's helped.

[cloudwrack]

I've seen three seasons of POI (one day, I will sit down to make some headway with the remaining two) and Reese's character growth from No Fun Man to Some Fun Man was one of the things I especially liked. That is encouraging!

SO much heart. Raksura is just... the opposite of those fantasy worlds you sometimes come across that feel like they were a chore to create. The internet told me Moon/Chime would happen, but I was still thrilled when she went there (unambiguously!) So many narrative choices in these books just fill me with glee.

Storymode sounds like a very useful setting. I won't lie, knowing it exists has increased my desire to play this already awesome-sounding game by 200%.

[sideways]

Season 4 is def worth the watch, it has one of the best episodes of the entire dang show in it ovo

Raksura feels like proof that you should just write what interests YOU the most, because someone out there will probably like it too. I've read a number of other contemporary novels with technically better writing, but it felt like the author was breathing down my neck wanting me to enjoy it the way they wanted me to; Raksura was just fun.

Ooh, obligatory question: how would you envisage your 'Raksona'? Aeriat/Arbora, caste, colouration, name?

[cloudwrack]

Yes! As someone who is often unsure whether anyone else will pick up what they’re putting down, Raksura is very encouraging to me. :D I’m coming up on the end of the series despite not having much time to sit down this month (as my consistently late comments show) and juggling other books at the same time, so she’s definitely doing everything right re: readability. I’m so sad it’s almost over.

If I were really and truly trying to base a character off myself, they’d be an Arbora, buuuut - I think I have to go with Aeriat. Flight! Wings! There’s no deeper reason. After a bit of idle doodling, I think I want them to be a red-scaled warrior named Rowan (I was torn on picking a real-world plant for the name, but if Briar and Bramble are allowed...)

[sideways]

Some potential good news there: for the steep cost of $1 per month on Patreon you can get access to aaaaaall the short drabbles Martha Wells has written over there. Some are more interesting than others, but there are a lot of nice snippets about Raksuran life.

Aww, Rowan is very cute, and I'm a firm believer in following winged dreams.

[cloudwrack]

Belated thank-you for the heads-up! I finished Harbours of the Sun a little while ago and have made a start on Murderbot - it’s helping a bit with the series withdrawal (I now see what you mean re: similarities), buuut I still want more Raksura. :( (Especially Consolation & co.! They’re trying so hard not to eat people and I’m very proud of them!)

[sideways]

Kethel was in the latest one! It's a sign, I say!

How did you like Harbours of the Sun? I found less questions were answered than I was expecting for THE FINAL NOVEL, but it was a good run overall.

[cloudwrack]

Yeah, that's pretty much how I felt. I was expecting (or maybe just hoping for) a lot more on the Fell-Raksura connection and the forerunners/foundation builders, but still had a great time with what we did get. Not sure how I feel about that rather abrupt ending, but I'm glad it didn't just wind down after they destroyed the weapon - Moon's adventure as a captive in the city was fun, although I wanted to see even more politicking. And more of everything else!

(On the one hand, I wouldn't want to see Raksura become one of those series that drags on forever and runs its plot/setting/characters into the ground, but on the other - I genuinely don't think I'd ever get bored.)