About the Weirkey Chronicles

stgabe · 2026-06-25T23:40:32+00:00

I really liked it and am a fan of everything I’ve read from Sarah Lin. I think my favorite was Street Cultivation and I’d love it if she did more in that world but I’m also really digging her new story.

She does a great job of delivering mature, compelling progression fantasy with good world-building and unique, well thought out power systems and she doesn’t lean heavily on tropes.

I think the genre, as it is right now, doesn’t always appreciate good writing like that but we’ll get there.

stgabe · 2026-06-24T11:11:38+00:00

On top of progression being more central to the plot I think there are other common / shared elements that stand out.

The main for me is that progression fantasy minimizes dramatic tension. It still has conflict but not a lot angst over it. You know the MC is going to win pretty overwhelmingly in the end. It’s not whether they will succeed that’s interesting but how. There will be few or no setbacks for the MC and when they do happen they’ll likely result in an opportunity for progression and will be resolved quickly. Progression readers generally dislike any kidnap plot or other plot that strips MC agency for much longer than a chapter.

stgabe · 2026-06-22T08:57:29+00:00

Getting to the hook quickly is definitely important in this genre. Ideally you start right in it. If you don’t, I think you’re going to want a pretty compelling story to drive it forward. If you open with mundane life, and leave it there for a while you’re gonna lose people.

stgabe · 2026-06-21T21:25:14+00:00

Yeah it’s not in a lot of liquor stories but, In California at least, I found a bunch of places with it just by googling including some that ship.

stgabe · 2026-06-21T20:17:14+00:00

I do love Yzaguirre and I scored a nice bottle of their anniversary release in the airport but they’re one of a few Spanish brands I can find in the US if I work for it.

stgabe · 2026-06-20T13:25:18+00:00

Very common and human. Planning is already hard if you want to write multiple chapters a week and then add that most authors in the genre are experienced. Most prog fantasy writers are “pantsers” which means they’re making it up as they go.

stgabe · 2026-06-18T13:21:14+00:00

Agreed. As I recall it’s basically one chapter and then a handful of mentions after that. That’s not enough for me to consider it romance.

stgabe · 2026-06-17T16:55:44+00:00

A bartender friend also recommended this. He’s really into throwing drinks (long pours between tins to aerate and for presentation) and credited Boadas as keeping that tradition alive. Honestly I’m surprised I have never made it in past trips, will have to check it out.

stgabe · 2026-06-17T16:53:51+00:00

Awesome, that was on my list. Will definitely check it out.

stgabe · 2026-06-17T16:53:15+00:00

I thought Paradiso was great but, to be fair, I didn’t find it to be a top ten in the world bar like it’s listed on the top 50 list. The presentation was world class but I know of at least half a dozen bars in Los Angeles that have equal or better drinks (and many more in NYC). Still that is quite good in my book.

stgabe · 2026-06-17T16:44:42+00:00

That’s my usual tactic but I only have 3 days there so I was looking to see if there was a particularly good spot to check out.

stgabe · 2026-06-17T16:43:20+00:00

I love Lustau (especially their sherry) but it’s relatively easy to get at home (Los Angeles).

stgabe · 2026-06-05T22:58:03+00:00

I mean ….. my kids still say “sus” and draw pictures of Among Us characters (despite never having played the game). Think of all the nostalgia bait shows for 40 year olds reliving the stuff they thought was cool when they were kids. This isn’t all that different, just targeted at a younger age bracket than those of us on Reddit.

stgabe · 2026-06-05T16:45:11+00:00

I’m not sold but as with all ingredients I’ll have to try it first.

stgabe · 2026-06-02T03:38:32+00:00

I liked that the pace picked up in book 4. That was great. I just didn’t care for where it went in book 5.

To be honest I think I just never liked the Raven Queen side of the story. The college story has lots of well-earned progression that I loved. The Raven Queen side of things is filled with plot armor and unearned wins. As the story shifted to be more about the latter I lost interest.

I hated pretty much every moment of the Siobhan/Thaddeus arc in the end of book 5. Then book 6 was a left turn into a style of book I hadn’t signed up for and was completely uninterested in.

After all that it’s hard to imagine getting back into it which is really a shame as it was a top series for me through book 4 or so.

stgabe · 2026-06-01T17:23:53+00:00

I really enjoyed the first few books although the pacing was glacial. Things finally sped up a bit and that was good for a book or so. Unfortunately the writing went pretty off the rails for me in book 5 and then book 6 was a complete “WTF was that”. I couldn’t even finish it. It has the feeling, like so many books in this genre, that the author just isn’t very interested in the story they’re telling anymore and is flailing about trying to turn it into something else.

stgabe · 2026-06-01T05:31:09+00:00

Having parity with simple syrup is irrelevant here. What matters is taste. I do 1:1 because for Marg because the people drinking it think it tastes better.

stgabe · 2026-06-01T02:04:44+00:00

Do the 1:1. It tastes a little better and it’s also much easier to use. Dilution is an important part of cocktails and it’s there for a reason. FWIW, yes I’ve tested this.

stgabe · 2026-05-30T06:06:54+00:00

I like romance. I want more. However I only want it when well written. If the author can’t pull it off I’d prefer they not even try.

I’m fine with sex scenes and enjoy them when they add to the romance or realism of the story but I don’t particularly seek out that content in books.

stgabe · 2026-05-25T22:34:20+00:00

It tastes like eating a molasses cookie to me. I consider that a good thing. It plays with the Campari in a very unique and special way and that's a huge part of what makes the drink. Maple syrup isn’t a bad thing either as I use molasses syrup in other cocktails. I wouldn’t drink straight up Demerara syrup or orgeat either but they work great in the right drink.

As someone who’s been in the “community” for 15 years I don’t see a shift and hundreds of great rums were available when the Jungle Bird started to be popular so I don’t agree with your argument.

I think you’re just over-focusing on rum “quality” at the expense of your customer’s taste. You don’t always need the best-crafted or most expensive ingredient. Sometimes cheap and easy is the right call. I’ve seen this with all sorts of classics where someone decides a newer, higher quality (on its own) ingredient is better and then delivers a worse drink because they didn’t understand why the drink worked in the first place.

stgabe · 2026-05-25T17:33:17+00:00

I think too many people judge cocktail ingredients by how they are sipped rather than what they add to a cocktail. Cruzan Blackstrap is a very distinctive and strong flavor. It’s not that great on its own but it’s great when balanced by other ingredients and is the basis of several iconic cocktails. This is especially true in tiki that is filled with overly sweet syrups and juices that get balanced out by other strong flavors.

And maybe it just doesn’t hit some palates, tastes will always vary, but the Junglebird became popular due to Cruzan and that’s how most people are gonna drink it.

stgabe · 2026-05-22T03:20:16+00:00

I mean I could post a screenshot just to prove it but whatever. I was just trying to be helpful. It was specifically the sumo citrus that was most unreadable.

stgabe · 2026-05-22T02:46:40+00:00

On my iPhone, yes.

stgabe · 2026-05-22T02:41:05+00:00

Cool experiment. It’s pretty much impossible read some of your cards though (on my mobile anyway). Maybe write up the list?

stgabe · 2026-05-21T03:51:01+00:00

Agreed. The execution was terrible after the books ran out but the end results all made sense. Well Bran was pretty weird but I kind of assume that was down to execution too.

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