[QuickTidal]

Finished book 1. Really awesome and finished as strongly as it started. Some big surprises near the end, some of which I wasn't expecting.

A few spoilerific things.

Spoiler

Nitpick first: So the pop culture references (including a whole whack of DOCTOR WHO ones near the end) got a BIT too overboard by the end. When every few paragraphs has some line form a movie, or reference to a tv show or comic...it started to jump me out of the story a bit. I think the one that was jarring was when Zzzap burned a bunch of the exes during the attack on the Mount, and said "Better nuke them from orbit, it's the only way to be sure" (An ALIENS reference), because I'd just seen about five other movie references in that section alone. In the beginning of the book Clines was doing it subtly (like Butcher does), throwing in a reference her,e and a reference there...but the last section of the book is RIFE with them and I got a tad annoyed.

But seeing as my only complaint is an overabundance of pop culture ref's...this book is still a solid, solid read.

Did anyone else google the Maxim 100 lists for the last number of years and try to find a female star between Elisha Cuthbert and Cameron Diaz at #22...where Stealth said she once was located...? No? Just me then? Okay. />

I really liked everybody's THEN chapters, as the 1st person POV enabled us to get inside everyone's head properly, while leaving the NOW section in 3rd person. Stroke of genius. And I'd be lying if I didn't think that Cairax's backstory chapter wasn't the most entertaining. No quotes for dialogue...hell not even the other side of the conversation he was having....just his own thoughts as he tries to offer up explanations to his other form, and then the other side of becoming that form. That chapter just really showcased some talent at looking through the character at a very interesting angle.

Also, anyone think the Abyss/Other place he went to to GET the demon will play a future role? even though he's gone now.

Anyways, great stuff. Can't wait to start book 2!

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 25 July 2013 - 01:08 PM

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 25 July 2013 - 01:06 PM, said:

Finished book 1. Really awesome and finished as strongly as it started. Some big surprises near the end, some of which I wasn't expecting.

A few spoilerific things....

Spoiler

Nitpick first: So the pop culture references (including a whole whack of DOCTOR WHO ones near the end) got a BIT too overboard by the end. When every few paragraphs has some line form a movie, or reference to a tv show or comic...it started to jump me out of the story a bit. I think the one that was jarring was when Zzzap burned a bunch of the exes during the attack on the Mount, and said "Better nuke them from orbit, it's the only way to be sure" (An ALIENS reference), because I'd just seen about five other movie references in that section alone. In the beginning of the book Clines was doing it subtly (like Butcher does), throwing in a reference her,e and a reference there...but the last section of the book is RIFE with them and I got a tad annoyed.

But seeing as my only complaint is an overabundance of pop culture ref's...this book is still a solid, solid read.

Did anyone else google the Maxim 100 lists for the last number of years and try to find a female star between Elisha Cuthbert and Cameron Diaz at #22...where Stealth said she once was located...? No? Just me then? Okay. />/>/>

I really liked everybody's THEN chapters, as the 1st person POV enabled us to get inside everyone's head properly, while leaving the NOW section in 3rd person. Stroke of genius. And I'd be lying if I didn't think that Cairax's backstory chapter wasn't the most entertaining. No quotes for dialogue...hell not even the other side of the conversation he was having....just his own thoughts as he tries to offer up explanations to his other form, and then the other side of becoming that form. That chapter just really showcased some talent at looking through the character at a very interesting angle.

Also, anyone think the Abyss/Other place he went to to GET the demon will play a future role? even though he's gone now.

Anyways, great stuff. Can't wait to start book 2!

Spoileriffic responses....

Spoiler

Re the pop culture refs, yeah but it was such a fun part of the whole thing that it didn't bug me. Plus the survivors' 'competition' to take out famous exes basically demanded that sort of thing and it was damn funny.

Re Stealth/Maxim, no, but i had a good laugh at how Clines used that to establish she's a superhero vigilante genius AND a supermodel.

Re the Then/Now segments - yeah i enjoyed that approach, especially where it included characters like Banzai who don't have a 'Now' but are there to add perspective to other characters like Gorgon.

Re Cairax.... oh, RAFO. You have NO IDEA how much you must needs RAFO.

Seriously, just go read 2 and 3. Just go.

[QuickTidal]

I'm picking up both books tonight on my way home from workie. The plan is to read EX-PATRIOTS right away and leave EX-COMM for next weekend's cottage funtimes!

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 25 July 2013 - 02:48 PM, said:

I'm picking up both books tonight on my way home from workie. The plan is to read EX-PATRIOTS right away and leave EX-COMM for next weekend's cottage funtimes!

I'll bet even money QT leaves for the cottage minimum half-way thru EX-COMM, 3/2 he's finished and rereading the end.... any takers?

[Hound]

I just finished Ex-Communication and WOW what an AWESOME book! My favorite of the series so far. That finale, and the whole build-up to the finale, was crazy good. Loved it! Can't wait for the next book!

14 by Clines is also very good btw! Sort of a cross between Lovecraft, Lost and The Twilight Zone. Different in style and tone from the Ex-books, but Clines keeps steadily building the tension and the suspense, which keeps you turning pages to know what will happen next. Anyway, this is one of those books where the journey is more interesting than the destination (finale). Excellent book!

[Abyss]

Blurb on amazon.ca for EX-PURGATORY....

Spoiler

When he's awake, George Bailey is just an ordinary man. Five days a week he coaxes his old Hyundai to life, curses the Los Angeles traffic, and clocks in at his job as a handyman at the local college.

But when he sleeps, George dreams of something more.

George dreams of flying. He dreams of fighting monsters. He dreams of a man made of pure lightning, an armored robot, a giant in an army uniform, a beautiful woman who moves like a ninja.

Then one day as he's walking from one fix-it job to the next, a pale girl in a wheelchair tells George of another world, one in which civilization fell to a plague that animates the dead…and in which George is no longer a glorified janitor, but one of humanity's last heroes.

Her tale sounds like madness, of course. But as George's dreams and his waking life begin bleeding together, he starts to wonder—which is the real world, and which is just fantasy?

Wow... looks like we're going alternate dimension or telepathic attack this time...

Jan 14 2014 street date!




Also, i just realized that in the finale of EX-COM

Spoiler

Max uses the Crimson Bands of Cyttorack on St George.

[Coco with marshmallows]

Having seen the 'Byss raving about it, bought the first three last week and ploughed through them.

Thoroughly enjoyable, deserves a TV series by HBO.

Can't wait for no 4.

[Abyss]

Cocoreturns, on 09 August 2013 - 07:51 PM, said:

Having seen the 'Byss raving about it, bought the first three last week and ploughed through them.

Thoroughly enjoyable, deserves a TV series by HBO.

Can't wait for no 4.

I WIN!!!!!

...ahem... i mean, 'good choice'.

[Coco with marshmallows]

Abyss, on 09 August 2013 - 08:23 PM, said:

I WIN!!!!!

Don't start that sh** again, don't you remember what happened last time?

[QuickTidal]

spoilers for EX-PATRIOTS

Spoiler

Okay, so a few things. I wondered for the whole first book where they were getting power from, and unless I missed it somewhere in that book, the second book made me do a DUH! when I realized that Barry generates it all through that huge conductor. A good way to have them get power.

I've also cast some characters in my head, so they read in their voices. Those are as follows:

St. George - Matt Smith (Yes, I made him British, so what!)

Danielle (Cerberus) - Felicia Day (this was a no brainer...petite feisty redhead)

Barry (Zzzap) - Joseph Gordon Levitt

Stealth - Scarlett Johansson (her voice is sexy as hell, a bit raspy....plus she's got the curves too)

Lady Bee - Kristen Bell (the blonde hair with dark streaks just made her pop into my head, plus her voice fits with the sass)

[amphibian]

Yeah, you should read the books more carefully if you're going to start casting people like that, QuickTidal.

[QuickTidal]

amphibian, on 14 August 2013 - 03:39 PM, said:

Yeah, you should read the books more carefully if you're going to start casting people like that, QuickTidal.

Meh, I cast who I wanna cast. I care little if they fit perfectly.

If they ever made a movie they'd make concessions on casting as well that might not match the books.

[Abyss]

RESPONSES IN POST BELOW...

QuickTidal, on 14 August 2013 - 01:47 PM, said:

spoilers for EX-PATRIOTS

Spoiler

Okay, so a few things. I wondered for the whole first book where they were getting power from, and unless I missed it somewhere in that book, the second book made me do a DUH! when I realized that Barry generates it all through that huge conductor. A good way to have them get power.

Yep, that was where we first met Zzzap in EX-HEROES.

I've also cast some characters in my head, so they read in their voices. Those are as follows:

St. George - Matt Smith (Yes, I made him British, so what!)

Too goofy looking and wiry. George is essentially a big, plain looking guy who's attitude elevates him, pun intended. More Matthew Fox in my head.

Danielle (Cerberus) - Felicia Day (this was a no brainer...petite feisty redhead)

Danielle is a neurotic egghead... could work if they de-glamoured her a bit.

Barry (Zzzap) - Joseph Gordon Levitt

I'm pretty sure Barry is black.

Stealth - Scarlett Johansson (her voice is sexy as hell, a bit raspy....plus she's got the curves too)

You don't know yet why this is funny, but you will.

Lady Bee - Kristen Bell (the blonde hair with dark streaks just made her pop into my head, plus her voice fits with the sass)

I'm 90% sure Bee was latina... in my head Michelle Rodriguez with blond streaks.

[QuickTidal]

Abyss, on 14 August 2013 - 06:23 PM, said:

RESPONSES IN POST BELOW...

QuickTidal, on 14 August 2013 - 01:47 PM, said:

spoilers for EX-PATRIOTS

Spoiler

Okay, so a few things. I wondered for the whole first book where they were getting power from, and unless I missed it somewhere in that book, the second book made me do a DUH! when I realized that Barry generates it all through that huge conductor. A good way to have them get power.

Yep, that was where we first met Zzzap in EX-HEROES.

I've also cast some characters in my head, so they read in their voices. Those are as follows:

St. George - Matt Smith (Yes, I made him British, so what!)

Too goofy looking and wiry. George is essentially a big, plain looking guy who's attitude elevates him, pun intended. More Matthew Fox in my head.

Danielle (Cerberus) - Felicia Day (this was a no brainer...petite feisty redhead)

Danielle is a neurotic egghead... could work if they de-glamoured her a bit.

Barry (Zzzap) - Joseph Gordon Levitt

I'm pretty sure Barry is black.

Stealth - Scarlett Johansson (her voice is sexy as hell, a bit raspy....plus she's got the curves too)

You don't know yet why this is funny, but you will.

Lady Bee - Kristen Bell (the blonde hair with dark streaks just made her pop into my head, plus her voice fits with the sass)

I'm 90% sure Bee was latina... in my head Michelle Rodriguez with blond streaks.

Spoiler

Son of a...I KNEW that Barry was black too and yet I totally forgot since I read EX-HEROES. My bad, I'm such a tool. Okay then....I need to recast Barry in my head. Hmmmm. Patterson Joseph would be good. Great actor. Okay...and done. Okay, I could buy Matt Fox as St. George....dunno why Smith popped into my head....but I can recast that. The Scarlett thing....someone ices her as a celebrity kill don't they? Bugger. If Lady Bee is latina then I must have glossed over that, as I immediately heard Bell's voice in my head when she talked in HEROES. However, if we are casting her as latina I don't see Michelle Rodriguez...how about Morena Baccarin?

This just goes to show you how fast I'm blowing through these books when I read them. I'm missing important character shit.

Apologies Amph, you are right I need to pay more attention to specifics as I read.

I can't even believe that when I didn't have their descriptions handy, I immediately cast them white in my head. That's kind of a scary wake-up call to where my brain goes without paying attention. I feel awful.

Thanks guys for setting me straight.

This post has been edited by QuickTidal: 14 August 2013 - 07:08 PM

[QuickTidal]

While we are at it, the periphery human characters are getting lost in the shuffle for me every time they go out on patrol. Can we do a list?

Jarvis - Southern guy, yes?

Billie - No idea. Old, young?

Hector - Latino, tats, buff.

Lynne - Young girl, brown hair, not exactly the sharpest tool

Danny - No idea.

I can't think of anyone else just now....but those are the ones I've run across that I'm trying to keep track of. I wish there was a character list.

[Abyss]

QuickTidal, on 14 August 2013 - 06:39 PM, said:

...

Spoiler

Son of a...I KNEW that Barry was black too and yet I totally forgot since I read EX-HEROES. My bad, I'm such a tool. Okay then....I need to recast Barry in my head. Hmmmm. Patterson Joseph would be good. Great actor. Okay...and done. Okay, I could buy Matt Fox as St. George....dunno why Smith popped into my head....but I can recast that. The Scarlett thing....someone ices her as a celebrity kill don't they? Bugger. If Lady Bee is latina then I must have glossed over that, as I immediately heard Bell's voice in my head when she talked in HEROES. However, if we are casting her as latina I don't see Michelle Rodriguez...how about Morena Baccarin?

I vaguely recall the Barry info comes up only once and fairly quickly at the beginning, easy to miss.

The Stealth thing is a total RAFO but you'll get a good laugh when you get to it.

Morena Baccarrin is a bit more pixie than i picture Lady Bee, esp since it's hinted but never stated Bee was a stripper before the zombocalypse.

Quote

This just goes to show you how fast I'm blowing through these books when I read them. I'm missing important character shit.
...

It's popcorn reading at least on the surface, easy to blow by little details. And (most of) it isn't really important to the story.

QuickTidal, on 14 August 2013 - 06:43 PM, said:

While we are at it, the periphery human characters are getting lost in the shuffle for me every time they go out on patrol. Can we do a list?

Jarvis - Southern guy, yes?

Billie - No idea. Old, young?

Hector - Latino, tats, buff.

Lynne - Young girl, brown hair, not exactly the sharpest tool

Danny - No idea.

I can't think of anyone else just now....but those are the ones I've run across that I'm trying to keep track of. I wish there was a character list.

One of my few critiques of the series is that Clines intros 'normal human' supporting characters with just a name, ie: 'Billie and Jarvis started firing their guns at the exes' as the reader's first intro to Billy and Jarvis. Sure the 3p viewpoint character knows who they are, but it's a bit jarring to the reader who feels like they missed an intro somewhere.

Not spoiling anything, Jarvis is a late 50s male, rancher type with a beard, and Billie is an ex-marine, female, blond pixie cut. No recall re the others.

[Salt-Man Z]

I picture Barry as a kind of cross between Community's Donald Glover and the guy who plays Miles Dyson in T2.

Oddly, I also pictured Regenerator as Donald Glover, but in a lab coat.

[Abyss]

I'm reasonably sure Regenerator was white based on an EX-H description

Spoiler

of his injury

but i could be wrong.

[amphibian]

Regenerator is basically an older version of Cyclops from X-Men.

MODGOD NOTICE OF CONTENTS REMOVED

This post has been edited by Abyss: 15 August 2013 - 07:28 PM

[Salt-Man Z]

Oh no, Regenerator is definitely white, I think that's made clear at some point. I just pictured him as black for the entire first book. I did that for one of the main characters in Karen Traviss' Wess'har series, as well (plug, plug): Adrian Bennett, who even got his own cover art.

I figure it almost makes up for me picturing Duiker, Dassem, Shadowthrone, and Pust as white dudes.