I will always make it clear at the beginning of the post that this is a spoiler discussion so anybody who hasn't read the books knows not to read any further (unless, of course, you don't care about reading big, nasty spoilers). The initial post will be spoiler free - I will not post anything specific about the books other than in the comments.
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For my inaugural discussion, I've decided to start with the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews for several reasons. First off, I discovered these books this year and love them! Also, I seem to keep talking about this books with people on Twitter, and 140 characters just doesn't quite cut it for a conversation. Plus there is so much to talk about! Please note this discussion is intended for all four books so there could be spoilers for Magic Bites, Magic Burns, Magic Strikes and/or Magic Bleeds.
Feel free to write about anything related to the series - what you thought about the books, how you feel about any of the characters, what you think of the mythology, speculation on what will happen in the next book, anything at all!
Read the comments if you want to see my theory about who Roland is, and I would also love to hear other thoughts on the clues we've been given so far!
For those who missed it, here is a recent interview with Ilona Andrews. It might give us some more to talk about.
8 comments:
We've been given so many clues about Roland... Jewish descent, the obsessive building of towers, the story about the first vampire. Who else thinks he might be this guy? Does anyone else have any other theories about Roland?
*jumps up and down in excitement*
Oooooh a Kate Daniels discussion! I couldn't pass this up. I discovered this series just this year, thanks to fellow blogges. I don't even remember who was the first one who mentioned the series but I know that a lot of the bloggers that I follow love the series. I actually think it's good that I came to the series late because I didn't have to wait for the fourth book to come out like other people did. Before I read the books, I always felt like I was more into high fantasy than urban fantasy. Now, I'm more curious about the genre because of Kate Daniels but I have a feeling it's pretty hard to top that one. If anyone can recommend a series similar to this, I'd really appreciate it. :)
I've happily recommended the series to several friends and no one has been disappointed so far. I think this is the kind of book that you can give even to non-fantasy readers and they'll end up liking it. I have to give it a try sometime.
I love both Kate and Curran and even the secondary characters (although I still haven't read the novellas that they wrote, so excited for the one about Jim and Dali!) and I'm a huge fan of the drawn out romance in the series. It's totally worth the wait. Even though they love each other, both Kate and Curran still have to work on the relationship and make sacrifices.
I think the worldbuilding in the series is unique and leaves the authors a lot to worth with. I like that they tackle mythologies from different cultures in each book because it gives the story a different flavor each time.
I think that's it! Sorry for the long comment.
Ohh, you have a point there Kristen. That would make sense. I think I want to go find my MAGIC BLEEDS and google some of the names Erra uses for Roland.
I'm also wondering if anyone has any theories on why Kate's blood magic is failing. It was mentioned a few times in MAGIC BLEEDS and I'm REALLY curious about it.
Working on a review of MAGIC BLEEDS at the moment so this is all rather fresh in my mind.
Chachic - There's nothing wrong with long comments in a book/series discussion. :)
Like you, I also just found this series this year and was mainly encouraged to read it by other bloggers who loved it. I did start the series before the fourth book was out, but I saved the third book for around the time it was coming out so I wouldn't have to wait. I had been warned. ;) And it's a good thing I listened because I HAD to have book 4 immediately.
I also generally prefer other types of fantasy to urban fantasy, and although the last two books made this my favorite urban fantasy ever, there are a few other series in the genre I've liked - Mercy Thompson and October Daye, of course. The first Corine Solomon book by Ann Aguirre was good as well (I haven't read the second one yet).
Kate and Curran are a great couple; they are so well-matched with their stubborn streaks. I do love all the minor characters, too, especially Derek and Saiman. Saiman's such a sleaze I don't know why I love him - I think it's because he's just so fascinating to read about. He's never boring, that's for sure!
The mythology is one of my favorite parts. The Indian mythology in Magic Strikes and the biblical/Jewish themes in Magic Bleeds in particular.
Janicu - Can't wait to read your review! Magic Bleeds was wonderful; I'm really not sure if I liked that one or Magic Strikes better.
Did you look up some of the names Erra used? It's been long enough since I read the last book that I don't remember what they were now. It was KILLING me after I read Kate's reference to Roland in Magic Strikes about how she'd read every passage in the Bible about him - what little there was. I kept wondering who it could be and I kept a close eye on every clue about Roland's identity in the fourth book. It's been great fun trying to figure out who he could be, and I really love how the first book started with so little about him and each book has given more and more hints.
That's a good question about Kate's blood magic. I was wondering why it got weaker, too. After she destroyed the sword, it got stronger, so I was wondering if maybe Roland's blood just gave her a temporary boost in power. But I really don't know! (Speaking of which, that whole ending with the sword? Had me on the edge of my seat. It was so awesome!)
More questions/comments:
What did you think of Kate finally telling Curran about Roland? I loved that he was so accepting about it, but I was kind of hoping for more of a reaction - shock or even just "Aha! I knew it!"
When Kate quit the Order, I wanted to cheer. It was such a great moment. Now hopefully it doesn't cause a big rift between Kate and Andrea because I do love Andrea and her friendship with Kate.
What do you think of the world? Would you want to live there?
Is anyone else worried about book 5 because of the title and ominous comments made by Ilona Andrews about it?
Has anyone read the novellas? What did you think? I have the one in Dark and Stormy Knights about Kate meeting Saiman but haven't read it yet (or any of the others).
ARRGHH for finding this post so late - sorry :( To be honest, I have absolutely no idea who Roland is, but I do like your thoughts :)
Orannia - Roland is the name of Kate's father, the one who controls the People.
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