I haven’t had much luck in the past getting the ActivityPub WP plugin to work. Maybe today is the day?

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The latest in a series of “self-help” style books I’ve gotten from the library this year.

This one had by far the “loosest” prose. Probably because the author started as a blogger rather than an academic. But this style helped the “anecdote interspersed with lessons learned” pattern that these books tend to use feel less stale.

I do think the overall lesson of “you are mortal and therefore can only give so many fucks, so choose carefully what to give a fuck about” is probably more necessary now than ever and I’m so glad I read this one.

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Like many other people I discovered Martha Wells via the Murderbot series. Until I saw the press for this book I had no idea she was also an accomplished fantasy author. I guess I have more stories to go back and read!

I really loved the characters in this one. This is one of those stories that flips between the Origin Story where everyone meets amidst a crisis and Current Day where they are reunited to face a new crisis. I thought the characters’ relationships in the Present Day flowed well from how they met in the Origin Story, and their interactions were both natural and entertaining.

I thought the plot in the Origin Story timeline was more exciting, even if there wasn’t much tension since you knew certain characters appear in the Current Day and hence couldn’t have died. It’s a story of war and defeat and desperation which is tough to beat.

The Current Day story line is much thinner and involves mystery and conspiracy but honestly it doesn’t feel like much happens so much as you’re spending time with these characters as they deal with their current problem.

As far as I know this is a standalone novel but I wouldn’t mind seeing more of this setting and these characters.

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Still enjoying reading these with the kiddo.

I thought it was interesting that Count Olaf is barely in this one, and the misery and cruelty mostly come from the situation and the setting, as well as their caretaker, “Sir”.

Still, a fun read full of dark humor and a bit more absurdity this time. Already starting on the next one.

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The children are placed with their aunt Josephine who is defined by her fear of everything. It’s a bit of a change of pace from the first two. Josephine’s fear of everything comes off a bit one-note, even among the typically clueless adults in the series.

Olaf’s plot is pretty obvious from the start too.

There is a scene that stands out with a bit of gratuitous transphobia and fatphobia as well.

Despite all that the relationships between the siblings and the fun of watching them work to free themselves from their situation make up for a lot and leave this a pretty enjoyable story.

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I came across this book at the library, and, having heard of the associated podcast I decided to give it a try.

I’ve never actually listened to said podcast, and if I’m being honest I’m not a huge fan of the McElroy Family family of podcasts in general.

That said, this was a delightful read. As with other recent D&D live play adaptations into other media (see: “The Legend of Vox Machina”) it really does capture the spontaneous humor of play at the table, while (I assume) cleaning up some of the diversions and focusing on the plot. I enjoyed the DM interjections in particular.

Definitely a fun read, and I’ll be on the lookout for others in the series.