Fantasy Buddy Reads discussion

This is a Buddy Read for Blood of the Mantis by Adrian Tchaikovsky starting on January 16, 2025.


Happy Reading!

Thank you!

Arc 1:
1. Empire in Black and Gold (Jun 14) [link]
2. Dragonfly Falling (Aug 4) [link]
3. Blood of the Mantis (Jan 16)
4. Salute the Dark (Mar 16) [link]

===Scheduled up to here===
Arc 2?:
5. The Scarab Path TBD
6. The Sea Watch TBD
7. Heirs of the Blade TBD

Arc 3?:
8. The Air War TBD
9. War Master's Gate TBD
10. Seal of the Worm TBD

Tales of the Apt--seeing most folks recommending reading these in publication order, after finishing the series, even though some stories take place during. If interested, we could continue:
1. Spoils of War TBD
2. A Time for Grief TBD
3. For Love of Distant Shores TBD
4. The Scent of Tears TBD

Let me know what y'all think!

Spot!

Sounds good to me 😊

Do we want to make a more regular monthly commitment to this and go ahead and schedule out the first half of the year?

Or do we want to wait and see how folks are doing with this month, and choose a schedule when people get here?

OK, I guess we'll just wait and see if anyone shows up!

I need to read book 2 first... No chance this month me...

This book wrecked me, still, after years.

I'll be here... and want to continue, and make it to books I haven't read before... I say we should schedule book 4... book 4 ends the first arc... and is a pausable point while people catch up before reading book 5-7, then books 8-10...

Janny wrote: "This book wrecked me, still, after years."

Oooh, something to look forward to!!

Timelord Iain wrote: "I'll be here... and want to continue, and make it to books I haven't read before... I say we should schedule book 4... book 4 ends the first arc... and is a pausable point while people catch up bef..."

Sounds good--do you know where the other arc delineations are? I'll update the first post...

As far as I know, it's 1-4, 5-7, and 8-10... but book 4 is where I stopped last time and never got around to continuing until this BR last year...

If you want mild spoilers from what I know, (view spoiler)[after book 4, the Wasp War goes on pause while the Wasp Kinden re-consolidate... Collegium licks its woulds, and spycraft continues... by book 7, things heat back up and build to a finale... the final book seems (view spoiler)[very Game of Thrones season 8, with villainous victory at the end of book 9, but other threats released in the cult of the Worm deep underground sounding like a Worm from Dune in size (hide spoiler)]... I don't know how the series ends... (hide spoiler)]

Feb or March for book 4? If I use you as Second, @Iain--you've been saying you want to chop down February.

March, since we're unsure if others will be ready...

I think if we delay this, the other book I asked to delay, and our plans to not immediately continue Neverstone if ever, I'll be mostly fine in February...

Link to book 4 is updated in top post!

I'm trying to decide whether to eye read or audio this one... We'll see which comes first--me freeing up an eye slot or the 14 day limit... Who else still has this on their list?

I'm just waiting to pick my day... as a series I bought on Audible years ago now, this is one I really want to finish, even if it ends up just being the 2 of us... I've only read 1-4 before... and at 16hrs, this one isn't even a bit commitment... the series grows back to 24hr books after we finish this first arc... books 3-4 are the shortest in the series at 16-17hrs... rest seem to be 23-27hrs...

Oh, I'm totally in for the long haul. ^_^ No worries, we'll get through.

Hope to bang this out today...

Mmm, I'll be along tomorrow or Thurs... still not sure if I'll eye or ear it.

These have just enough summary at the start to refresh your memory... started my re-read...

I'm like 40% through already... 6-7hrs into 16hr book...

This feels like a transition book, in some ways... big things happened at the end of the previous book, and this is kind of the aftermath... chasing leads, and setting the stage for the end of arc 1 in the next book...

It's also a very easy read (in my opinion), as all the characters/races and their motivations are well-established at this point...

Timelord Iain wrote: "These have just enough summary at the start to refresh your memory... started my re-read..."

That is good to know! I should be starting tomorrow.

Eye and audio ended up tying, so I'm going with eye-read! It's only about 300 pages on my ereader (with size 6pt font) so won't take too long. I wish every book had a "story so far" at the beginning... even though this one isn't very detailed, it managed to jog a lot of stuff loose...

Through Chapter 12 and I really see what you're talking about this being a transition book--I realized I'm halfway through and I'm still waiting to figure out what is really going on in the book--(view spoiler)[with the story changing POVs and adding new ones what seems like every chapter, it's hard to hang on to all the threads. Though at least it seems to have solidified into the search for the mysterious box... but wait, no, that's only one of the main storylines, more if you count the antagonist POVs also trying to track down Scyla, and maybe tack on what is going on in Tharn as well... Then there's the tidbits of the unrest in the heart of the Empire, it's stretches out on the edges of the Spiderlands, where Che & Nero are investigating, and every now and then checking in with Stenwold too. And Salma, with his adopted army of refugees. Kinda all over the place, and all that glues it together is the general conflict against the Wasps.

I'm really enjoying all the little additional tidbits, but I'm definitely going into most of the new POVs being like, wait, did I see that name somewhere else already or is this totally new? And I've also feel like I've been waiting chapters for the information about the Bee Queen to get out. Hasn't Uctewhatsit been on that yet, already? And I like Taki, the fly pilot, and her family of fellow flyers--Che's storyline is the most fun to me right now. (hide spoiler)]

Through Chapter 16, 2/3rds in and more threads keep getting added (view spoiler)[I can't see where this is all going to come together... the different peoples under the lake are a really cool idea--but weren't there enough random balls in the air already? This book is quite the juggle. Not that I'm unhappy. It just feels like we're all in the opening of the book and we're almost to the end... reminds me kind of how The Shadow of the Gods hit me on first read. Both really enjoying and finding it frustrating that I can't quite get a handle on it.

I like the mysterious assassin-bug too--Chetsomething? It's fun trying to guess the kinden when we meet new species. Though my knowledge of bugs isn't really good enough. I didn't even know about assassin bugs. I googled them and some of them are VERY red, and apparently (as the name and character suggest) very deadly. (hide spoiler)]

Chapter 17 Hot damn, (view spoiler)[Stenwold just invented MAD and the UN. (hide spoiler)]

Finished! I'm really glad I eye-read. All the shifting POVs, I had a hard enough remembering who-was-who on eyebook. Would've been totally lost on audio.

After that moment in Chapter 17, and retrospectively too, (view spoiler)[I was getting serious WWI vibes. A little WWII too, but mostly WWI... because of how naive most of the uninvolved are, before war comes to their doorstep, and the hints of new and horrible weapons--weren't machine guns first employed during WWI? ... just did the research, and no, they came into play a little before that, in the Spanish American War and South African Boer War. Late 1800s. But widespread use in WWI anyway, and Totho's new bow makes me think of that.

Then there's Drephos's experiments... we get only a small hint of it--when Totho thinks on the deaths in one of the warehouses--but it makes me think of Agent Orange. I liked the twist, where Drephos was the one the Emperor sent for, the name that would mean Death, to send to Szar. I should have thought of him, but didn't, and it was a good reveal. He makes me think of those scientists who did human experiments in concentration camps.... (hide spoiler)]

@Nirkatze, ch 12, I agree with you all, this is such a transition book (view spoiler)[ yep, a lot of storyline. And same, with the new POV. I was sometimes thinking I was with the Che gang and other times with Tynisa when the wasps/moths new POV came. (hide spoiler)]

ch 16 (view spoiler)[ I can name so few bugs so this books are eye openers for sure. (hide spoiler)]

ch 17 (view spoiler)[ had to look up the MAD term, but yeah. And poor Sperra, she tried but it wasn't enough. (hide spoiler)]

finished (view spoiler)[ Honestly I don't remember any of the WW details from high school, I don't even remember studying it with any detail. So nice to know those details.

Yeah, Drephos new chemical weapon is going to be horrifying to see in action. And here I was so happy when the Bees reveled. (hide spoiler)]

Finished (view spoiler)[ I was at first puzzling what Teornis plan was in sending an agent that was on both sides. So in the end he wanted war so that the spider families would help? To be the one to defend the spiderlands? So intriguing, I will like to see how his webs unfold (hide spoiler)]

I like the way you describe Teornis's plans as "how his webs unfold"--seems very apt. No pun intended. (view spoiler)[Stenwold's experience with the Ants... Teornis's ambiguity... it's an interesting dynamic, where the Wasps are so clearly the bad guys... but not individually evil. And there are so many petty folks on "our" side that things aren't very clear cut... But yeah, the Bees situation is looking ominous... (hide spoiler)]

Whoo hoo! On track for joining us in June!

Haha, thanks. Yeah, only one book to join you guys.

I know bugs… but new one sneak up on me, like cicada with their decades long hibernation cycle…

And very few scientific names/classes… mostly when they’re linked to mythology or a book I read, like Spiders beind Arachnids like Arachne… or Lepidoptery being butterflies, cause of Veronica Speedwell being a lepidopterist…

@Iain, ooh, so there will be cicadas folk somewhere hibernating? I had no idea too.

The spider one I knew. In Spanish it's even more obvious since they share the beginnings of the word. Spiders=Arañas. Arachnids=Arácnidos. Archne=Aracne.

The Butterflies I had no idea, I don't even know who Veronica Speedwell is

Veronica Speedwell is a historical mystery series by Deanna Raybourn… cicadas are just a think I learned alot about last summer because it was a cicada year in USA… if cicadas appear later in the series I dunno… I haven't read past book 4 before… thats why I was gung ho to re-read and finish the series…

I love it when books teach new information--or just hint enough to get me curious and searching...

Timelord Iain wrote: "Veronica Speedwell is a historical mystery series by Deanna Raybourn… cicadas are just a think I learned alot about last summer because it was a cicada year in USA… if cicadas appear later in the s..."

Nice, we will all be first time readers then

Nirkatze wrote: "I love it when books teach new information--or just hint enough to get me curious and searching..."

Same