I get the point about technological advances seeming a bit too quick and convenient, but ken liu does pretty much say the magic of the world is the people's ability at engineering. Which is why they are able to mske advances a lot quicker than what would be possible in the real world. That's the fantastical aspect of this series (beside the gods)

We all know that everything must be compared to Red Rising...and we are ok with that!!

“A tenacious flower does not bloom in obscurity” never highlighted books before in kindle but so many good quotes throughout the series

book 2 is without doubt my favourite book of all time, it makes grace of kings feel like a prologue

I like the new format personally. Especially for such a rich complex book, it was nice to unpack the plot again and hear your thoughts in addition to the characters and such. Also, you never have to apologize for bringing up the Red Rising series. I'm obsessed, so it makes me happy that you guys have enjoyed it too haha

Here’s my rambler rating for the Bible. Plot: 10 Characters: 8.5 Prose: This really depends on the translation so it runs from a 6-9. Worldbuilding: 9 Emotional Impact: 10 I’m a fan. Overall I’d recommend this book. And funny enough, it’s a shorter book than a lot of fantasy novels.

NIce. Thanks for the review. I also stopped paying as much attention to the book towards the end, so I appreciated the recap!

Wow guys! This was a great episode! Can really see how much time and energy went into the plot portion, well done! As someone who didn't read the book I really enjoyed this and feel like I know all about the story BUT don't feel pressured to stretch yourselves thin in future vids!

SPOILER! In defense of the part where Kuni acts a little out of character and cheats on Jia, he was directly manipulated and tempted by the god Tazu. One of the concubines wears a necklace of shark teeth, and Lutho calls Tazu out on sleeping with Kuni, too

Yall are now in my top 3 booktube channels lol love the content.

I've added so many books to my TBR thanks to you two. Thank you!

I like it because the added content allows me to make a better decision on whether I will be reading a book or not.

Love the new format. You guys going through the plot is a lot better. You seem to have really great banter and enjoy the discussion. To be honest I thought this book was mid for all the negatives you mentioned. Debated weather to move on to book 2 but Jimmy convinced me that book too would be better. Almost DNFed half way through book 2 and then greatness happens. Book 2 is a 5 star.

Push book 2 to the top of your TBR!

As a truck driver I much prefer the longer pods 😂😂

I fully recommend the book it was a great book club pick! I think the book really picks up at the 50% mark too. I'll probably pick up book 2 next year

Alas I have to click off for the spoiler section (my copy is sitting on my shelf… staring at me now). You described my emotional experience with The Way of Kings! If I hadn’t had Words of Radiance already loaded onto my audible app I would have stopped with Stormlight because I found TWOK so satisfying.

"The Grace of Kings" is like a prologue to "The Dandelion Dynasty", my favorite fantasy series up to date. I also strugled a bit with the polygamy choice, but I understod it was a reflection of the historical model. Ken Liu says that Dara is the creation of a modern nation like America, but with an eastern model instead of a Roman one. While "The Grace of Kings" is mostly a retelling, the next books takes a different turn from the actual historic events.

Can’t wait for Richard’s ranking of religious texts! He already explained that Bible 2 was the New Testament and Bible 3 is The Book of Mormon. Now I can’t wait for how he talks abt the EAU (extended Abrahamic Universe)

Oh boy. Wait til you get to Wall of Storms. I did stop with Wall of Storms since the last 2 books is the other half of the story. The reason why I love Dandelion Dynasty (at least from the parts I have read for now) is that it gives me the same feeling when I read the Romance of The Three Kingdoms and The Bandits of Liangshan Marsh. It feels like one of the great 4 chinese novels.

This one is on my TBR! Have you guys ever read or heard of The Book of the New Sun by Gene Wolfe?

I like how they both agree 3.77 is too of a score for this book but then proceed to rate it 3.9 and 3.62 😂

You can talk about Red Rising in every single video, and I'm cool with that. 😎😄

Wow, what a nice surprise. I still have 2 hours to finish the audiobook. So, give me couple hours and I’ll be right there with you.

Do a video reacting to 1 star Goodreads ratings on the Bible.

Please try the spellmonger series, SO GOOD

I don’t read but good job! Thanks for the spoilers 😃

Book 2 is quite different in tone and is much more character driven. It's also really good. I felt pretty meh about book 1, but quite loved book 2. I wasn't loving book 1, until the last half which is when I started to get attached to the characters and felt interested in the engineering/steampunky stuff. There's definitely some commentary on the change/progress thing in the sequels. There are fairly large consequences for the cultural changes, but I would say Ken is very pro-progress, which does show. Yeah, I'm a bit curious how Liu's wife feels about these books. The books do feel a bit like they're promoting polygamy/open relationships a little (and it's not really just book 1). I'm 70% ish into book 3 and it feels a bit long in the tooth. It's good and I'm not really sure it has much "fat", but I probably could do with a leaner story anyway. I'm also reading it physically and I just tend to get antsy with chonkers when I'm not doing it via audiobook. I just don't have as much time to read physically these days, so it takes me about a month to get through 1000-ish page books. Also, Jia, has a massive role in the sequel. Like... I didn't really think about her character in the first book, but maaaaaaaan. I have thoughts for the next book. You should definitely try Ken Liu's short story collection: The Paper Menagerie. While he's talented at this epic sprawling stories, I think he's even better at short stories.

It only gets better. TGOK is the only book in the series I didn't give 5 stars (mostly due to Mata's characterization in the second half not working for me). Speaking Bones is the 2nd best fantasy book I've read. It's a stunning work.

ALSO READ THE FIRST LAW PLEASE

I'll come back to the spoiler talk here ina few days, but pg 350/600 and yes this book is a huge chance from the fantasy build ups and all that. I don't know if I like it though. I can't wait for the ending to see how it lands, but as a minor spoiler Mata kills 20,000 soldiers off the East Island. IN 5 FEAKING PAGES. I mean there is a reason Liu is able to get so much done in this book. Because he says stuff happens without anything happening. Ha! Personal conflicts are 1 page resolutions. Freaking Mata and his Uncle!!!!! Are you kidding me. Gah. I hope this ending is as great as y'all are saying. Casue as of now I also don't want to pick up the second book. Ha!

... another book for the tbr... sigh...📖🥰📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚📚

Y'all should check out the five warrior angel trilogy by brian lee durfee.

Rating this a 7!? What books yall be reading over there?? 😂

So when we start to use red rising as standard of measurement 😂… I’ll give this book 5 morning stars and 1 golden son 😅

Wall of storms when

Cogo is god and you can not tell me different

Imo one of the most overrated books ever.

This book was the easiest DNF I’ve ever done aside from maybe The First Binding. It was so so bad. I couldn’t even get past the 50% mark.