Book Haul of Misery III - The Final Miseration!

(Please read Misery Part I and Misery Part II for the full miserable experience)

Well, good morning Pilgrim. I figure you’re not really a Stranger any more if you’ve come back for the final edition of my Most Miserable Book Haul of All Time Ever, all thanks to Vault Books. (do I know how to give credit where credit is due or what?)

In February of 2023, I received the second special edition book of the Grimnoir Chronicles. It had been 5 years since I had received the first special edition book. Everything was clicking, right? We expected to have the third and final book in our hands within 6 months, because now that all the obstacles were overcome, we were sure the guy at Vault Books (Steve Diamond. Again, nothing positive is being said here) wanted this project over with just as much as we did. 4 months later Lord Larry claimed book 3 was almost ready to go. We were hopeful and thought Christmas of 2023 at the latest. Then crickets. Again. In October there was a random comment from the Vault Guy on Lord Larry’s site saying the book was going to the printer. Then crickets. Again. January of 2024 passed and still nothing. Not until April of 2024 did we get another snippet of info, from Lord Larry (who we were sick of hounding for *(&^%$ updates) and that was to say there were “issues” with the cover. Another 4 fething months of waiting.

And then, I finally got the final book, Warbound. Here are the beautiful pictures.

Opened September 5, 2024

7 1/2 years later, I FINALLY get the third book. Never again.

Beautiful Cover

Gold Stamping really stands out

Lucky Number 98!

I will not say this has been worth the wait. This has been the MOST MISERABLE EXPERIENCE I HAVE EVER HAD FOR BUYING OR BACKING A BOOK PROJECT. While I will continue to buy Larry’s book (I just love his stories) I will never again back a project he suggests. I will certainly never buy a book by Steve Diamond (who is an author).

That being said, these are beautiful books and I will enjoy looking at them. They also have new introductions so when I go to re-read these, I plan on reading these editions and not my old ebook versions.

So Pilgrim, do you feel ready to move on now? That’s really good to hear. Mainly because you’re a ghost and I’m sick and tired of getting the chills every time you come to haunt me thinking you’re a real live blogger. Shoo, ghost, shoo!

Book Haul of Misery II

(Please read Book Haul of Misery I if you haven’t already, to get the background on my journey to hell and back.)

Well Stranger, you decided to come back, did you? I’m not sure if that qualifies you as very brave, or very foolish. Maybe you’re a mix of both and Fate brought you to my camp fire so as I could beat the foolish right out of you with this here bag of fritos chips. But either way, let me continue my tale fraught with woe and misery.

---

Opened August 29th, 2024

After having received the first book, Hard Magic in 2019, hopes were running high that the following two books would quickly arrive too. Unfortunately, as we all know, covid hit in 2020. Coupled with a paper shortage, things were delayed. If you read the comments section at Vault Books, you can chart our dissatisfaction as the months and then years rolled by.

FOUR YEARS LATER…..

Children were born and grew up into toddlers. Old people died. Matrix Resurrections was released and promptly forgotten. Dune, Part I was released and gave hope to millions of Dune fans around the world. I discovered the talented Angelina Ross. I was no longer a callow youth in my 30’s. The world as we knew it in 2019 no longer existed.

Now remember Stranger, during these four long, arduous years, there were no updates of any kind from Vault Books. Every tiny bit of info that was gleaned was pulled, like a rotten tooth, from the unwilling mouth of Lord Larry himself. I now know what a nagging wife feels like. It is a horrible feeling and it was a horrible experience.

And then, a miracle occurred.

Hallelujah and Amen! Spellbound was in the house in February 2023!

Spellbound dustcover

Spellbound actual cover

#98 – Because I’m just that special

Covid was over. Alternate printers, the original printers had gone out of business (supposedly), were found. Trees were chopped down like grass and paper was no longer in short supply. We all expected that in 6 more months, we would have the final book in our hands. The End was in sight.

Or. So. We. Thought.

Wut?! That pesky work calling you again Stranger? You should quit that boring job and become a land surveyor like me. Fresh air. Sharp machetes. No busybody managers micromanaging your every move. You don’t like the cold and the heat you say? You pansy. Get out of here. But be sure to come back next week when I’ll make you cry buckets with the final tale of woe of this most Miserable Journey Ever. I do suggest you bring your own fire though, I don’t share with pansies…

Book Haul of Misery I

I just opened this last night. It has sat unopened on my bookshelf for the last 5 years. Misery.

Four score and ten months ago, I began a Journey of Misery the likes of which I hope never to repeat. Sit down, be welcomed Stranger, to my cozy camp fire and I will relate the first part (of three) of my Journey of Misery.

Eons ago, in the vast misty days of yore, Lord Larry did announce that Vault Books would be releasing his Grimnoir Trilogy in a special leatherbound edition. This was broadcast throughout the land in the middle of 2017, The initial announcement by Vault Books did proclaim that this trilogy would be released on a set schedule with the first book, Hard Magic, to be released in the summer of 2017. At some point that was retconned with no notice to read “Hard Magic will be released in 2018”.

For unknown reasons, and with no updates, the first book was not released until mid 2019, two YEARS after it was supposed to be. And even that was because I, along with others, went and bugged Correia on his website, on twitter and on facebook. All we all really wanted were some updates and reasons for the delay and we got bupkiss.

2 Years Late

With this being two years late, or even just one year if you’re going by the retcon data at Vault Books, I was expecting to get all three of my books (I had ordered the numbered bundle, and I was the Incredible #98) at once. Oh, I was so naive. I received Hard Magic, and Hard Magic alone.

By this point I didn’t know if I would ever get the next two books, so I did not open the package. Like the picture at the top states, I waited 5 years to open this. And last night was the night. I will be showcasing what I paid for all those years ago.

Dust cover. Very nice looking.

The Actual Cover.

The Inside Page.

Besides my eyes, this is one more reason why I buy ebooks now. They are either available or they are not. There is no delay and no stony silence about where your money went.

Thankyou Stranger, for sitting down with me and listening to my opening ramble, I sure do appreciate it. What’s that? You have to leave for work now? Sure, I understand. But I’ll be here next Friday too, with part two of this tale of woe and misery, if you think you can bear it.

Book Reviews ≠ Book Reports

I’ve been mulling over book reviews and what they are good for over the past several years. I’ve written several drafts and most of them descended into rage fueled rants that I was simply not comfortable with. So it’s just been an idea floating around inside my head.

Until today.

For me, a book review is simply a blog post with my thoughts (random, scattered, tangential OR completely ordered) on the book as I read it, as I thought about it beforehand and afterwards. As you get to know me and see how I rate and write about various books, you begin to learn the ins and outs of what I’m looking for or not in a book. My book reviews are tiny little snapshots of me as a whole person, glimpses into my soul as it were. I’ve always known this and operated this way, but hadn’t mentally codified it.

A book report on the other hand, is a medium by which you the reader hope to convince someone else, probably a tyrannical evil stepmother, that you have read the book and comprehended the basic plot and perhaps some of the deeper meanings if the author was the kind of jerkwad who thought their words were akin to gold.

I can understand why book reports exist. Kids need to be forced to do certain things and reading books is one of those things. They might not comprehend everything in the book, but their minds are like rubber, it must be stretched. If you just give it stuff that doesn’t challenge it, it will never grow.

But once you start reading for pleasure, all that changes. Once you start reviewing, the reasons that drive you onward, while not infinite, are so much greater that trying to nail it down to even a handful is a fool’s errand. Why I review and more importantly, HOW I review are going to vastly different from you.

That is why I had to leave the site Goodreads (which I now refer to as Devilreads). They enforced a certain way of writing a review that was more akin to a book report than an actual book review. When everyone says the same thing about a book, with just tiny, minor variations, it makes for a very bland experience. The whole point of having a place with thousands of different people is to get thousands of different views and thoughts and ideas.

That is why I have always used my blog as my main book review outlet. Here I can say what I want, how I want and any old thing that enters my head is perfectly acceptable in my review. If I’m reviewing “How to BBQ a Raccoon” and I end up spending the whole post talking about a camping trip the book made me think of, that’s my choice. Now, if you don’t like that, the wonderful thing about blogging is that you can stop following me at any point.

Give me the freedom to speak my mind as I wish.