There Are No Giant Crabs in This Novel: A Novel of Giant Crabs by Jason Pargin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wiiiiiiiild. MindF, nuts, chaotic, funny, batshit cray plotting, and yet, brilliant.

You'd think I'd be prepped for this kind of great mental abuse or the freaking fantastic one-liners that not only infest my tongue but sit rent free in my head, or the kind of plot shenanigans that would make good Doctor Who shit itself, but noooo, not even being used to the previous John Dies at the End novels quite prepared me for THIS JUMBO PANTY TWIST.

The title doesn't even do it justice. Trailer park idiots having plot armor doesn't come even close to justice. It could be read as a novel of one crazy thing happening after another, of course, but the idea set-ups really kinda transcend all that. Hell, I could say There Are NO Jumbo Straw Men Arguments in This Novel with as much honesty as the title gives us, but not even that does it justice, because we ARE dealing with idiots after all. Just smart enough to live, with luck enough for Stitch, and an inverse proportion of self-preservation.

But they care. They have a jumbo amount of care, you might say.

And a jumbo problem, too. Mountains of body parts, mind controlling super intelligences, scourges, time-accelerated colonies, portals, and yes, crabs. And pretty boys that like to set things on fire. Including Best Buy.

Muahahahahaha this novel was crazy fun. Way out there. Wacky. And even, oddly, rather hard-hitting in the feels. I didn't expect that.

Nuts.

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A Divided Duty by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

All right, I have to admit this is a LOT better than the previous Daye novel. I don't have to start screaming that Toby is acting like a completely befuddled moron again. Or that she's utterly ignoring the good advice of the people who love her.

This one just happens to be a pretty great tale about saving family. Or if not ACTUAL family, it's close enough as to make no odds. And if it comes with a bunch of baggage from 19 other novels, at least we have a moral compass to follow and some blood magic to keep the truly bad shit from getting that much worse.

But you know what I like most about this novel? We're returning to the land where we need a candle to light our way. And for those of you who still remember the series, that particular book is a true highlight.

Toby, with a ton-more Fae blood in her than before, with the authority of the Fae Court and a more loving position with the Sea Witch, is in a position to do a lot more good than before.

Now, if only the Fae would just stop the whole generational cycle of abuse. Please. Damn.

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Silver and Lead by Seanan McGuire
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The good: Auntie is always a breath of fresh air and claw. The mystery is fairly interesting, at least at first.

The so-so: Toby is... getting a bit annoying. Being pregnant doesn't explain how so very often she gaslights Tybalt. And no, wanting freedom after going stir crazy is not a valid excuse to throw good advice out the window, even IF it is a REALLY REALLY old trope for tv and movies and churned books.

I guess I'm a bit more than annoyed. Characters who have shown brains in the past and who have gone through a TON of crap and supposedly learned from past mistakes should NOT be doing such blatant stupidity not just once, but three times in one novel. Often specifically because her husband JUST wants to protect her and is worried about his wife who is 8 months pregnant. And is getting targeted by political crap. And has long-standing enemies still free and acting suspicious.

Okay. I guess I'm very annoyed. I know we're given Toby's PoV and reasons and they seem very valid and all but she keeps on getting captured and poisoned and threatened and gets her head bashed in but it's all OKAY because a Knight and she's important and the Queen expects her to be above and beyond so that's all the reason she needs to have to be stupid as hell.

Toby. Seriously. It IS okay to slow down for half a second and if you can't, GATHER YOUR TROOPS and STOP GETTING MIND-FUCKED. Again.


But the good? I'm still invested enough in the series that I can get this emotional over the stupid decisions instead of just dropping it.



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Home Sweet Home by J.R. Mathews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Absolutely beautiful. So much happens. I love Mathews' writing.

This concludes this particular series and while I was pretty much enthralled from the start, I was truly amused and thrilled by the utterly bonkers power levels we got to by the end. Sure, we get to god-levels in LitRPGs all the time, and MANY of these substitute for mental health manuals almost automatically, but not ALL of them pull it off.

We went from baby god to beastly in this book, but what was most amusing was the pure enjoyment the character (and I) had with all the different kinds of power-enhancement schools, be it card-making, divinity, cultivation, chaos magic, or even System-like adventuring. And being chased by hard-hitting gods the entire time, getting pissed off that you're screwing up all of history, was just great spice.

But really? The novels are about friendships. Letting people in. Letting go of your preconceptions and the past, or perhaps letting go of the future. Indeed, a lot of it was all about letting the present happen, letting those who love you be there for you.

But written large. Fantastical. Timey-wimey, illusion-heavy, phased reality, gorgeously diverse storytelling. With dimension-hopping spiders.

And the cutest mimic ever.



Truly great stuff. Rich as hell.


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A Trek Through Time by J.R. Mathews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wonderful. Very light timey-wimey stuff, but perfectly aligned to service a great story.

If the first novel was packed with great plot and progress, this one took a more steady turn to cultivation. It didn't go ALL OUT into the progression/regressor direction, but it had enough of both to keep us on our toes. Especially when it came to killing the gods that kept coming to kill him. :)

Yep. This is a light, easygoing, friendship-building novel that includes killing gods.

And I'm all for it. Stuck in the deep past, surrounded by old, doddering old gods and upstart new gods, and the cultivators that keep all the gods in check... a new power has come to the world. One with cards. :)

Muahahahahahahahaha what a delightful mess. And it's genuinely heartwarming, too. Jake's magical market is thriving.

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Jake's Magical Market by J.R. Mathews
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I was extremely impressed with Nova Roma, so picking up Mathews' other series was a no-brainer.

I was immediately impressed with the easygoing and laid-back personality and was amused by the card-based magic system I'd grown to love in All The Skills, but what really sticks with me is the amazing variety of plots, locations, characters, reversals, power-ups, and eventual massive last reversal.

I am used to something on the level of maybe half as much happening in another LitRPG of the same size.

But more than all of that, I have grown to truly love this guy and his overall positive attitude, not to mention his mostly positive choices. Sure, some really questionable actions and choices ARE here, but I'm loving the conflicts.


I DID imagine that this was going to be a truly laid-back LitRPG based on the title, and it has a ton of it, but amazingly enough, it also has the full works. And more, on top of that.

A definite recommend.

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The Second Expedition by Tao Wong
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have to say this is... decent. It still feels just like a long-running Kung Fu series, with a few enlightenment sequences to give us the true progression feel. The story is simple, with a few side adventures and reversals ending in the sub-arc that was the initial reason for the adventure in the first place.



I want to like this more than I do. It's ... decent. Not that exciting. Just solid. I may return to it sometime, but I keep wondering if it'll get truly interesting soon.

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