We played a fun game of Vegas Showdown with Tina winning by a good bit. She was mistaken at one point and placed something she couldn’t, but even taking the difference out she still won by a good bit. I made an early bet that didn’t turn out, but still got a solid second. I really enjoyed the play, even if it was a bit slow at times. We had a lot of points where many people took the publicity action, which was a little surprising. Perhaps with 5 people it happens more often than with the 4 i’ve played with before.
Christian and I met at Saigon City for some pho, and it was pretty good. We had a great chat about where he is, and all the new things that he is going to be looking forward to. We went to a nearby bar and had a few drinks. On the way there the train in front of the one I was on hit a car. That made me about 20 minutes later than I was hoping to be, but I had planned to get there an hour early and hang out at Philz until Christian got in, so not a big deal.
Steph and I went to one of the restaurants that her friends and she used to frequent for dinner. I felt really out of place since I was the only SO there, and even when Sarah showed up I felt a little odd. The conversation was entertaining and when it was all done Steph realized that they were all growing a bit apart. I suggested that we could put more effort into hanging out with them, and she agreed that we should.
This book was much easier to understand than the previous two. While the aliens are much more different in temperament to humans they are decently easy to understand. I also like that the things which happened in the book aren’t as much luck surrounding a single person as they are a compounding of factors. There is a certain flow of one action causing another that wasn’t really a part of the previous books as much, he just seemed to have everything happen to him without it being because of something he did.
This book was done really well, but all the names and places were hard to keep track of. I would love a narrated video of this, but that isn’t likely to happen. I should go back through and listen while looking at maps of the Ice and Fire world to get a better understanding of what is going on. I really can’t wait for the next book and the next episodes.
I didn’t know it was going to be a strange book going in, but it really was enjoyable. The world was surprising, and the narration style was very fresh. I like the way the conflicts were set up as a mental image of things that simply are and are not done, or do and do not belong. Even with the one character, the way she sees the world made it feel much more alive and populated than just her. I really enjoyed the book.
I really enjoyed the series, especially the start of how the world was slowly discovered. The first look at the abominations beyond the fence was a surprising change. I never did understand why they didn’t just keep jumping through time until they came to a better time to set up the town instead of just accepting whatever they got on the first try. They could easily come out every couple thousand years and see if it was better to try and set up then. I guess that could be given up to the megalomania of the head guy, but it shouldn’t have been an issue at the very start of the wakeup process.
Steph and I went to Lee’s place for the little black dress and dapper suits party. We got to have some good conversations with people, and a good number showed up. I had some of the cider we brought and it was very tasty. I didn’t drink much since I was the one who would be driving home afterwards. When people started trying to watch a movie we headed out. The movie was going to be Snow Piercer, and it wasn’t downloading. The screen said it would be ready to play in 90+ hours at one point, which was pretty comical.
For games night I played Wealth of Nations with Tina, Chris, Iliya, Yanika, and one of Yanika’s friends. I chose the capital start, and was able to build 2 more capital buildings in the first turn to get an efficient 6 production. I then focused on building banks, and was able to get that going. I made some mistakes that cost me the game, but it wasn’t that bad. I also helped out Yanika in her planning and trading. She didn’t really understand how the game worked, and didn’t do all that well because of it. Tina held back at the start, then really ramped up in the late game. She got way ahead with some ruthless trading, and won by half a point over me. I really enjoyed the game, especially since I didn’t want to play a game that involved much chance. Early on Chris left to go help out Rachel, and Adam took his spot on the board.
It's an Exciting World 