THERE WILL BE SPOILERS.
Seriously. If anyone comments here at all, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS. So please don't read and then yell at me because you encountered spoilers. You were warned. (I will not reply to every comment; I call partial comment amnesty. But I may well join some of the discussion, or answer questions or whatnot.) I will be DELETING all comments containing spoilers which have been left on other posts. No one gets to spoil people here without a label.
You can also start a discussion at my website forums, with less need to be concerned that I will see everything you say! In case you wanted, you know, discussion free of authorial influence, since I always wind up getting involved in these things.
Have fun, and try not to bleed on the carpet.
May 7 2014, 16:50:22 UTC 3 years ago
May 7 2014, 18:02:25 UTC 3 years ago
May 7 2014, 17:24:59 UTC 3 years ago
- I missed the Halloween story, especially with it being referenced in one line somewhere else. I dunno if that's one of the changes in Rose canon or if it just didn't have a place in this formatting, but I missed how creepy and cool the whole notion was.
- Larry's story, the strigoi, and Gary coming back were all so familiar and wonderful and reassuring. Love them. :)
- I didn't remember Amy as much, for some reason, but she and Mary were two of the most interesting random side characters, I thought. I also really liked the killing of Route 14, and the notion that it was all twisted around the simple ghost of one dead hitcher! For some reason I expected it to be something bigger and more terrible, and it was really cool to have something so potentially threatening be caused by just one lost soul.
- Rose as psychopomp is awesome in general, and becoming so much more powerful and important because she's accepted her role as Bobby Cross' opponent is really cool and affirming.
- For some reason I never realized before how female-heavy Rose's stories are. I enjoyed seeing the gender balance tip a little more heavily in the direction of the main character (and of my gender; yay, seeing ourselves represented!), and that so many of the powerful alliances, friendships, and interactions were between women.
I'm excited for when I can have a dead tree copy to pet and put on my shelf (ebook was faster for immediate reading). :)
May 7 2014, 18:04:04 UTC 3 years ago
Mary and Amy were both new to this volume.
Yay, dead tree editions!
3 years ago
May 7 2014, 18:42:58 UTC 3 years ago
As for the stories themselves, I admit I was in tears when it came time for the car to get crushed. Actual literal tears. It was so beautiful and wonderful and poignant - I'm not often moved to tears, but this was fantastic and one of the most emotionally moving things I've read in ages. Simply beautiful. I love the way you've created this world and populated it with so many fascinating characters, and all of the worldbuilding that's gone on. I worked a job a few summers ago that required a lot of time on the road and a lot of time spent around truckers, and I learned a lot. You've captured the essence of things perfectly, and I applaud you.
May 7 2014, 19:12:14 UTC 3 years ago
May 7 2014, 19:10:45 UTC 3 years ago
I picked up my copy today and took it to the nearest cafe to read over cheeseburger and chips. It seemed appropriate :)
May 7 2014, 19:13:13 UTC 3 years ago
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May 8 2014, 00:05:27 UTC 3 years ago
I love the diner, I love the rules and the people she meets. I loved this addition to my collection of awesome Seanan stories. :)
May 11 2014, 20:51:33 UTC 3 years ago
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May 8 2014, 13:52:04 UTC 3 years ago
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May 9 2014, 16:25:19 UTC 3 years ago
The only downside to the book is it made me tear up a few times on public transport...which is actually a bonus but it takes explaining sometimes.
Loved Mary and Amy and leaving the story where you did makes me hope very much that you do decide to do another Rose book!
May 11 2014, 20:53:12 UTC 3 years ago
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May 9 2014, 18:39:07 UTC 3 years ago
May 11 2014, 20:53:23 UTC 3 years ago
May 10 2014, 17:13:29 UTC 3 years ago Edited: May 11 2014, 03:31:36 UTC
Two things I want to mention right now:
1. I thought what you did with the old, sappy song Tell Laura I Love Her was hilariously funny. I can't wait to find out if you gave similar twists to Teen Angel and Last Kiss. (Of course, Rose Marshall herself is second cousin to the title character in The Story of Laurie.)
2. I live quite close to part of the Atlantic Highway that was... and I'm a witch...
3. Binary scent signatures... gee, where have we seen that before? :-)
4. And now I'm certain that you've read the same mythology sources as Tom Siddell.
May 11 2014, 20:54:30 UTC 3 years ago
As to binary scent signatures, well. There's BPAL, and Conjure Oils, and every winemaker ever, and...Rose needed a sense that wasn't dulled by death, and historically, for the dead, it's smell. That's why we burn things for the dead.
I don't know Tom Siddell.
3 years ago
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May 10 2014, 20:37:07 UTC 3 years ago
May 11 2014, 20:54:39 UTC 3 years ago
May 11 2014, 01:32:41 UTC 3 years ago
I never got to read the original stories (and I won't go looking for them as you've asked us not to), but this was a beautiful story and may actually be my favorite of your books to date. The mood, the narrative style, the characters, Rose's personality, the ghosts, the world, the rules - it's all perfect, and I can't imagine meeting Rose any other way. Here's hoping we get to see more of Rose in the future! (Your schedule and commitments permitting, of course!)
<3
May 11 2014, 20:55:06 UTC 3 years ago
3 years ago
May 12 2014, 17:21:30 UTC 3 years ago
My only previous Rose story was Ghost of Bourbon Street, so I am now chortling with glee at the thought of how Dominic will react when Rose introduces him to her boyfriend.
May 20 2014, 15:53:46 UTC 3 years ago
May 13 2014, 00:59:04 UTC 3 years ago
Anyhoo, what a ride (literally). I also choked on the destruction of Gary's car. What an afterlife to pick, sir. I did like how the cars had souls and cared about their riders. Made me wonder about my car, which hopefully bears with me despite my flubs here and there (and my mom freaking BREAKING THE SUNROOF yesterday!!!! So much for setting boundaries....).
Still wondering about the Price/Healy connection, though I was amused at the Price guide to the afterlife at the end. And how Rose is going to eventually beat Bobby (with her own car?)....
May 20 2014, 15:55:12 UTC 3 years ago
May 13 2014, 03:11:51 UTC 3 years ago
I am curious as to whether you've lived in the UP and/or the Columbus area, because the bits that reference both area are so true to my own experiences.
May 20 2014, 15:55:26 UTC 3 years ago
3 years ago
May 13 2014, 17:14:33 UTC 3 years ago
I may or may not end up writing this novel, and if I do, it may or may not end up being in that style, but I think my writer's block finally broke. So if this thing ever makes it out into the world, it's at least partially because of a thing you wrote. And if it doesn't, hey, I'm writing again, I've got that piece of my heart back, and it's still because of a thing you wrote.
So, thank you for writing things.
♥
May 20 2014, 16:12:57 UTC 3 years ago
I am so thrilled!!!
May 13 2014, 18:24:58 UTC 3 years ago Edited: May 13 2014, 18:25:30 UTC
The mechanic / routewitch who crushes the magicked car so that Gary can be with Rose -- that whole scene is just about the most awesome thing EVER.
Also, I really love your love of Americana -- diners and cheeseburgers and jukeboxes and asphalt and prom dresses and all. ♥
Also I really love what you do with the trope of the deeper roads which underlie the roads we know. Ghost roads, the Shadow Roads Tybalt walks -- they make all of creation into a palimpsest where the easy-to-spot narrative is almost always concealing an older road which is underneath.
May 13 2014, 23:22:57 UTC 3 years ago
3 years ago
May 17 2014, 16:29:47 UTC 3 years ago
Firstly, I have to say that the rewrite has really improved what was already a good read. The individual stories hang together as a whole much better than before.
Merging the Tommy and Laura stories into one disappointed me at first, as the sudden realisation of who had caught Rose, and why, was delicious. But I thought they worked better together in the context of a book as opposed to a serial.
I was about half-way through before I remembered there was one story from the original which I'd liked much less than the others. The tone just wasn't the same as the rest. Then I remembered that you'd said that one story was being left out, so I hoped... And it wasn't there. It seemed weird to be pleased that I wasn't reading one of your stories...
I loved the way this book turned out. Rose is funny, heartbreaking, smart, strong and vulnerable all at once. I really hope that there will be more adventures with Rose (and Gary, of course!).
Thank you.
May 20 2014, 16:13:30 UTC 3 years ago
Thank you.
May 23 2014, 10:12:07 UTC 3 years ago
I read the first 2 stories on the train ride home - I really liked the one about Amy. Looking forward to reading the rest of them this weekend.
July 5 2014, 19:12:28 UTC 2 years ago
June 21 2014, 15:19:25 UTC 3 years ago
July 5 2014, 19:12:38 UTC 2 years ago
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June 21 2014, 19:53:45 UTC 3 years ago
Will we see more Laura? I found her story interesting, and would like to see WHY she's still after Rose, considering Tommy set her straight on Rose 'killing' him....
Will we ever see a sympatetic Bobby Cross story? I mean, YES he's evil. But he's also kinda hosed in that I THINK he's trapped in what he's doing too....
July 5 2014, 19:13:13 UTC 2 years ago
2 years ago