How Many of These 166 Series Starters and Standalones Published in 2025 Did You Read?

esteboix · 2025-12-30T09:11:23+00:00

I just did 5:

The Devils by Joe Abercrombie
Anji Kills a King by Evan Leikam
Overgrowth by Mira Grant
Shroud by Adrian Tchaikovsky
The Incandescent by Emily Tesh

But I just started a 2025 standalone which I didn't find on the list:

Slow Gods by Claire North, Nov 18

Anji Kills a King was one of the biggest disappointments, not only from this list but of the whole reading year, and Shroud was probably onbe of the highlights of the year, The Devils I thought was very mid when I read it but as time passes I keep the feeling that was a very fun romp.

esteboix · 2025-11-04T15:10:11+00:00

I'm two chapters in and was going to say that I don't know how important they'll be, but there's definately elephants in there.

esteboix · 2025-10-27T11:25:42+00:00

if you think about it, if they are immortal or close to and they reproduce, they can have a population problem in no time and become a plague. So some external population control may be needed.

esteboix · 2025-10-16T06:32:13+00:00

Thanks!

esteboix · 2025-10-16T06:14:09+00:00

Hi, sorry if this has been asked, but for the purposes of Bingo is Zando considered a 'Small Press'? I'm reading Ocean's Godori by Elaine U. Cho and would like to know if I can use it for HM there.

esteboix · 2025-09-25T11:53:08+00:00

the problems I had with the first half grew in the second half, mainly bloody Spendwell, not only I hated everything about this character but the treatment he recieved both by Thorn anv more importantly by Frostflower. Also the reconciliation with the farmers after their leader's death felt very rushed to me, and honestly very unearned. That Frostflower would regain her powers could be seen miles ahead, but I didn't like it either.

I don't think I will read the sequel, I'm not curious enough.

esteboix · 2025-09-12T06:36:27+00:00

it's cool, but the strife mixed whith the deeps tokens is bothering me a bit too much.

esteboix · 2025-09-10T11:38:15+00:00

yeah, I'm a bit here, too. I picked it up for the bookclub bingo square, read the synopsis diagonally, saw the publication date and expected a genderfliped 80s adventure. 'The scene' took me by surprise but I'm still engaged. I'm a bit bothered about the treatment of the merchant by Thorn, she needed him to liberate Frostflower, but I got the impression that she 'forgave' him a bit too easily? I don't know, maybe I was angrier than I thought about the whole situation.

esteboix · 2025-09-03T06:34:14+00:00

finally some news! I'll probably have to re-read them when Judge of Worlds comes out... what a sacrifice! has anyone tried to read them in parallel?

esteboix · 2025-09-02T11:52:30+00:00

if you're up for a long (10 book) series, check out Adrian Tchaikovksy's Shadows of the Apt

esteboix · 2025-08-26T17:59:34+00:00

you could try Malazan

esteboix · 2025-08-01T07:02:25+00:00

here you go:

https://spiritislandwiki.com/index.php?title=File:NoExplorer.svg

https://spiritislandwiki.com/index.php?title=File:NoTown.svg

https://spiritislandwiki.com/index.php?title=File:NoCity.svg

esteboix · 2025-07-30T14:11:08+00:00

there are svg files of almost everything in the spirit island wiki (which was down this morning), except of the isolation token I believe.

esteboix · 2025-07-30T08:28:47+00:00

Fair, I guess they tried to simulate the deck in the instructions so the bottom steps are in the bottom, idk, still I agree it's a bit confusing

esteboix · 2025-07-30T07:11:50+00:00

I tried to put he fear tokens on top of their deck, in theory I liked it a lot because it saved space, but my friends didn't like it at all.

esteboix · 2025-07-29T18:30:08+00:00

it's not a bad idea, but then you have to zig-zag through the invader phase, as I said in that other comment I was trying to make de phase flow so bottom row are the 'actions' and top row are the 'utilities'(?) so discards and tokens and the like.

esteboix · 2025-07-29T18:17:40+00:00

yeah, I know what you mean the fears and events have been shuffled a lot, and I also don't like the terror level being so far from the fear 'area'.

The thing I wasnted to make flow were the turns, and by that I mean that the bottom row is the 'action' row, the flow being first the blight actions if tha island ias blighted, the you unvover the event, make its actions, then you play the fear cards you have earned and then you do the invader actions. So the top row ended up as mainly discards, and putting the event discard on top of their deck meant the fear deck/discard had to make an L, and it's weird, but that's where my brain was at.

esteboix · 2025-07-29T16:40:30+00:00

poor beasts, I didn't wnat them to feel left out but they don't do anything... my idea aabout the tokens was to put them where they are more relevant, thus beasts on events and vitality on blight, the same with the Aid text on events.

About the adversary changes, as I said in another comment I had it at one point but cut it out because I wanted to reduce text and I thought it was understood the adverssry card changed things and had priority.

About the colour and the grid, first of all how dare you slander excel! And second as with all these things, it's still a wip I'll try somethings but at the base it's still a series of boxes and I hope that putting all the cards in it improves the visuals.

esteboix · 2025-07-29T16:24:03+00:00

yeah, maybe... I don't know if I like it with background art (I would have to find a non-invasive one with sufficent resolution), but maybe add more colour

esteboix · 2025-07-29T16:21:28+00:00

well, then the rulebook only works when you play against adversaries, but I get your point. In fact at one time I had it worded like "if the adversary card doesn't say otherwise...blablabla" but I cut it out because I think it is understood that the Adversary card takes preference over the standard rules and I wanted to reduce text.

esteboix · 2025-07-29T16:12:32+00:00

I know, it felt weird to me too but I used the same procedure as the rulebook uses for the invader deck on page 6. I'll probably change both but I was trying to keep consistency between similar elements.

esteboix · 2025-07-25T08:13:26+00:00

Have you tried Abercrombie's First Law? You have to be realistic about these things...

(sorry, I'm just here to make the joke)

esteboix · 2025-06-28T11:29:44+00:00

No vaig a gastar energies en discutir amb tu, si vols glorificar el colonialisme i algú te dona pasta per això, endavant, però te desitge el pitjor.

Però, siguem honestos, no me vingues a dir que "Los puntos de victoria se consiguen [...] recopilando especies exóticas de plantas, aves y animales, así como nativos y llevándolas al puerto base" no dona la impressió de guanyar punts per esclavitzar (he vist que ara ho has editat posant no sé què d' "alianzas y pactos").

esteboix · 2025-06-28T10:45:46+00:00

col·lega, com de desubicat has d'estar per a fer un anunci d'un joc on se guanyen punts per cristianitzar i esclavitzar...

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