Bongo50
Little Sibling
Currently reading The Book of the War
Posts: 44
|
Post by Bongo50 on Aug 18, 2022 18:14:06 GMT
Yesterday, I started listening to the Faction Paradox Protocols with little prior knowledge of Faction Paradox and I have now finished the first 3 audios. Here are my thoughts:
The Eleven Day Empire was not what I was expecting. It felt a lot more grounded and less mystical than I thought it would be. The Eleven Day Empire itself also felt less sci-fi-y than I expected. However, I really enjoyed the audio on the whole. The Sontarans were a nice surprise and the characters were likeable. The whole thing of shadows and shadow weapons was also really cool and felt more in line with what I was expecting from this series.
I enjoyed The Shadow Play even more than the first audio. Lolita felt like an interesting character and the Eleven Day Empire felt more fleshed out in terms of the way in which members have their own personal hours and minutes. That felt really inline with what I was expecting from Faction Paradox. Moreover, the stuff with Cousin Justine obtaining the Grandfather's shadow was interesting. I also liked Godfather Morlock.
While I still enjoyed Sabbath Dei, I did not enjoy it quite as much as the last 2. The story and the mysteries it presents just don't feel as interesting as the previous 2. However, I did really like how the Faction interacts with humanity, particularly with entities such as George III's court. Sieur d'Eon also felt like a really interesting character. I'm very excited to conclude this story with In the Year of the Cat, likely tomorrow.
|
|
Anastasia
Cousin
Liberating the oppressed of the Houses and toppling regimes.
Posts: 154
Preferred Pronouns: She/They
|
Post by Anastasia on Aug 18, 2022 20:50:02 GMT
I do love the protocols, I picked them up about a year and a half ago at a car boot sale along with the first three True History of the Faction Paradox (Body Politic was signed by a very big who actor who was in in it, won’t so in case of spoilers.) I and I fell in love with the main characters (well the goods ones as well) I personally rather enjoyed Sabbath Dei and In the Year of the Cat as they are set around the place my ancestors lived all the way back to that time and they star the Order of St Francis (of more commonly know, the Hellfire Culb) who one of which plays a rather important part in that story is tangential related to me (very distant and it’s not much of note he had many illegitimate spawn.). I hope to see more of your journey through the Faction Paradox Protocols.
And good luck.
|
|
|
|
Post by doctornolonger on Aug 19, 2022 2:57:18 GMT
Great review(s), thanks for posting Bongo50! I totally get what you mean about groundedness vs mysticism – that's a very specific dynamic where the series loves to subvert expectations, at its best. I felt the same way about the Eleven-Day Empire in The Shadow Play, which was really a shame because it was destroyed! Gah! Talk about killing your babies! Recommendation: You're in the perfect position to breeze through the comics, whenever you get the chance. They're very much doing their own thing, but they were intended to tie-in to Sabbath Dei/ Year of the Cat – if I recall correctly, the audios were supposed to be prequels to the comics, but they came out first, so really the comics were a sequel. (I don't think I'm getting that backwards!) Anastasia , what an interesting reveal about your heritage … did you choose your username because you are the witchblood in our midst?  |
|
Anastasia
Cousin
Liberating the oppressed of the Houses and toppling regimes.
Posts: 154
Preferred Pronouns: She/They
|
Post by Anastasia on Aug 19, 2022 7:16:50 GMT
Anastasia , what an interesting reveal about your heritage … did you choose your username because you are the witchblood in our midst? well I chose it more along the lines of it just vibe with me when I needed a new name. But It’s possibly I was subconsciously influenced by it? |
|
Bongo50
Little Sibling
Currently reading The Book of the War
Posts: 44
|
Post by Bongo50 on Aug 19, 2022 8:59:45 GMT
Recommendation: You're in the perfect position to breeze through the comics, whenever you get the chance. They're very much doing their own thing, but they were intended to tie-in to Sabbath Dei/ Year of the Cat – if I recall correctly, the audios were supposed to be prequels to the comics, but they came out first, so really the comics were a sequel. (I don't think I'm getting that backwards!) Thanks for letting me know. I'll take a look at the comics today or tomorrow once I listen to Year of the Cat. |
|
Bongo50
Little Sibling
Currently reading The Book of the War
Posts: 44
|
Post by Bongo50 on Aug 19, 2022 16:44:25 GMT
I have now finished In the Year of the Cat and I enjoyed it more than Sabbath Dei. I felt that the stuff with the Great Houses and the trial was cool and Lolita was a good villain. I find the way in which history was altered quite interesting. I'm excited to listen to the final 2 audios.
|
|
Bongo50
Little Sibling
Currently reading The Book of the War
Posts: 44
|
Post by Bongo50 on Aug 20, 2022 16:56:16 GMT
I have now finished Movers and I think it is my favourite yet. I felt that all the characters were on point and the story was interesting. I particularly liked Justine's bits which I assume were a flashback of some form that was being altered by events in the present? Whatever it was, it was interesting. I'm excited for A Labyrinth of Histories. |
|
Bongo50
Little Sibling
Currently reading The Book of the War
Posts: 44
|
Post by Bongo50 on Aug 21, 2022 13:08:17 GMT
I have now finished A Labyrinth of Histories and I think it's my favourite so far. I really liked the bits about Justine's first interactions with the Faction and I also feel that it has started to give Morlock a more sinister feel. The thing with killing your ancestors to remove your link to the present also felt really interesting. I think it's a shame that there were only ever six Protocols and I really hope that True History is as good. I will be starting that series at some point soon after I rewatch Pyramids of Mars.
|
|
|
|
Post by doctornolonger on Aug 23, 2022 17:48:15 GMT
I have now finished A Labyrinth of Histories and I think it's my favourite so far. I really liked the bits about Justine's first interactions with the Faction and I also feel that it has started to give Morlock a more sinister feel. Yes, I agree. Movers and Labyrinth give a particularly unsettling view of the Faction that I don't think any other stories have fulfilled. Justine and Shuncucker, twin victims of Morlock's iterated "carrier project"; Morlock and Sabbath, walking blindly toward a temporal distortion in the faith that they will play their parts in the bootstrap paradox, consequences be damned… Anyway. True History is by no means a straightforward continuation of Protocols, so now's the golden opportunity to take a break and jump to another part of history by reading the comic, if you're interested. It's just two issues. |
|
Bongo50
Little Sibling
Currently reading The Book of the War
Posts: 44
|
Post by Bongo50 on Aug 23, 2022 21:44:59 GMT
I very much want to read the comics, I just haven't got around to it yet. Perhaps tomorrow, or maybe the day after...
This isn't really related the the Protocols, but how much do the Mad Norwegian Press books need to be read in order? I was always planning to, but I have a copy of Of the City of the Saved... which, after the Protcols, I'm feeling a real itch to start. Does it rely at all on having read This Town Will Never Let Us Go?
|
|
|
|
Post by doctornolonger on Aug 23, 2022 22:18:47 GMT
This isn't really related the the Protocols, but how much do the Mad Norwegian Press books need to be read in order? I was always planning to, but I have a copy of Of the City of the Saved... which, after the Protcols, I'm feeling a real itch to start. Does it rely at all on having read This Town Will Never Let Us Go? Nope, not at all! All the MNP books are standalone except for referring back to concepts from The Book of the War, but even that isn't in a way which makes BotW required reading. |
|
Bongo50
Little Sibling
Currently reading The Book of the War
Posts: 44
|
Post by Bongo50 on Aug 24, 2022 7:44:03 GMT
This isn't really related the the Protocols, but how much do the Mad Norwegian Press books need to be read in order? I was always planning to, but I have a copy of Of the City of the Saved... which, after the Protcols, I'm feeling a real itch to start. Does it rely at all on having read This Town Will Never Let Us Go? Nope, not at all! All the MNP books are standalone except for referring back to concepts from The Book of the War, but even that isn't in a way which makes BotW required reading. Good to know, thanks! |
|
|
|
Post by tichepotato on Aug 24, 2022 22:24:47 GMT
Great review(s), thanks for posting Bongo50 ! I totally get what you mean about groundedness vs mysticism – that's a very specific dynamic where the series loves to subvert expectations, at its best. I felt the same way about the Eleven-Day Empire in The Shadow Play, which was really a shame because it was destroyed! Gah! Talk about killing your babies! I find it interesting how, of the early stuff, the most mystical of the Faction Paradox stories is the one set in a non-descript town probably on the outskirts of London, and one of the stories most grounded in character and concept is the one set in an alter-time shadow of London. From an outside perspective, it doesn't look like it'd work. When considered in the context of the stories themselves, of the franchise they're a part of, and the franchise that span off from? |
|
|
|
Post by doctornolonger on Aug 25, 2022 19:53:25 GMT
I find it interesting how, of the early stuff, the most mystical of the Faction Paradox stories is the one set in a non-descript town probably on the outskirts of London, and one of the stories most grounded in character and concept is the one set in an alter-time shadow of London. You should post this again so I can like it more than once!  |
|
|
|
Post by bumbles on Sept 1, 2022 10:06:46 GMT
I wonder if events in “Weapons Grade Snake Oil” affect the consumption of the Empire by “Her”, as there’s a satellite to the Empire protected by its own Loa.
|
|
