HAPPY TREES-THROWING-LEAVES-EVERYWHERE-SEASON everyone!
October is my absolute most favorite month of the entire year. It’s the true end to summer, after all! The mornings get cooler and the evenings start picking up a distinct smokey smell from all of the cozy bon-fires around the neighborhood. Clear days are beautiful and blue, and the grey-wash of rainy days get smattered with splotches of beautiful reds and golds.
Also, it’s my birthday. So like, the whole month is just a vibe.
That being said, I didn’t get a lot of reading done at all this month! I’ve been out gallivanting around, being whimsy, going on adventures, working on new projects and re-visiting old projects and sources of inspiration.
But we’ll talk about that in another post.
WE’RE HERE TO TALK ABOUT BOOKS.
The Cradle Series by Will Wright
When I’d first heard this book it way back when it was available for free on Audible (it might actually still be partially available on Audible. Who knows. I live under a rock). Since I enjoy series that have enough books to build a house with, this was right up my alley.
This wasn’t my first progression book series. After all, this wasn’t too long after I’d discovered The Wandering Inn. However, the concept of a progression series outside of say, manga or anime, was still pretty novel to me (pun intended).
I lost track of the series when Audible and I were having a spat in our long-term relationship and left off somewhere around the 7th or 8th book. Since then, Audible and I have decided that an open relationship is more suited to us and Libby has entered our literary polycule.
While waiting for a grip of other books that I was interested in reading to become available through the digital library I figured it would be a good time to see about revisiting the series.
I’ve read through the first two books so far. Unsouled and Soulsmith respectively. After knowing how far the characters come, it was a bit jarring but also really refreshing to get back to the basics in the story and to re-visit the sort of charming naivety that the main character, Wei Shi Lindon has.
We follow an ability-stunted character who uses tricks and planning to try to catch up to his peers before witnessing a sort of inter-dimensional ‘oopsie’ and gets rewarded with information that sets him off on a journey to become one of the greats. He teams up with a prickly swordswoman, Yerin and off they go into the world.
It’s got loads of action and has made me laugh out loud more than a few times. The characters are unique and memorable. It also doesn’t take itself too seriously (there are even ‘bloopers’ at the end of each book) and puts me in the mood to enjoy a good adventure. It’s also got like 12 books. Hell yeah!
Tales From The Gas Station (Volume 3) by Jack Townsend
What. You thought we were done?! You thought we were finished with the weird little gas station at the edge of some po-dunk town?! You supposed that because I’d already talked about the hand-garden, and the weird tar pit by the soda fountain, and the garden gnomes that don’t seem to stay put that I was going to just. Drop it?!
WRONG. You’re WRONG.
WE’RE SO BACK.
In this installment of Gas Station related woes, things honestly really go off the deep end. Mostly because, in a really enjoyable use of ‘unreliable narrator’ mechanic, we get to enjoy experiencing our poor main character actually lose his mind for a while.
Which, honestly, feels a bit understandable because what the fuck is even happening at that place, you know?
I keep coming back to this series– hungry for more and ready to bite– because there’s something I enjoy so much about an every-day, mundane locale being the backdrop to all things weird and surreal.
There are new players in town, the owners of the Gas Station are gone for good, and it looks like the person meant to be running the place is none other than our main character who is, let’s be real, not really in a sound state to run his own life let alone a full business.
I would say that in addition to the usual laughs, gaffs and ghouls that we also get to enjoy a dose of romance (and you know I can’t resist a dash of smooching) but our main character fumbles that, too (MUCH TO MY DISMAY).
I have to say, there aren’t too many characters that I’ve read about that made me audible go, “Can you like. Just get it together for a minute?”
But Jack is one of them.
There’s going to be a volume 4 at some point, and I’m looking forward to it. I do hope though, to see our main character maybe, possible, just a little bit, get his shit together. I want to enjoy the weird, the odd, and the creepy– but I’d also love to enjoy seeing Jack start to process and heal from the personal trauma he’s been carting around with him.
That’s it for now.
No, really. That’s it. I only read like 3 books in October.
Weird, right?
I don’t even have a strong reading list for November, either. OPE.
WELL.
Go forth and read your hearts out everyone.
Until next time!
CHEERS!
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