Forging right ahead, this week we cover the first half of Pretties in Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies series. Things have changed because Tally has been made a Pretty, and she has a new best friend and love interest in Zane. They start a journey of rediscovery as they start to question the Pretty system. They develop a strategy to resist Pretty-brain, and try to inspire their friends to follow. It’s a great reading, and we’re definitely still enjoying the series. We’re both holding out hope that this series continues to be excellent.
Next week we will be reading chapters 21-39 of book 2 in the series, Pretties.
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It’s the second week of Uglies, and this book has really turned around for us. Can it be? Are we both in complete agreement to enjoy this series? This episode introduces romance for Asia and really great plot-twist/worldbuilding for Charles, so it really has everything. Tally truly commits to the Smoke, only to have everything burned to the ground. She and David have to mount a dramatic rescue, so there’s action as well. We also compare this series so far to other dystopian series touchstones, so you can’t miss that.
Next week we will be reading chapters 1-20 of book 2 in the series, Pretties. 
New series time, we are starting Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies, and we are pleasantly surprised to discover that these books really were at the beginning of the Dystopian revolution. We enter a post-cultural world where everyone becomes surgically beautiful when they reach adulthood, except the rebels who live out of the society in the Smoke. Will our protagonist Tally join them? Will she develop a personality? Will this book continuously and pleasantly surprise us? We shall see!
Next week we will be reading chapters 25-50 of book 1 in the series, Uglies. 
It’s series wrap-up week here at Throwback Paperback. Are the tears flowing? Well we finish the Children of the Lamp with the Grave Robbers of Genghis Khan, and unsurprisingly we have a lot of thoughts. You do not want to miss the spice as we go on another jetsetting adventure: Italy, Morocco, Kazakhstan, Australia, and Mongolia this week. The wrap up of the series just leaves us with lots of feelings that we can’t spoil here in the description. You just have to listen to find out.
Next week we will be reading chapters 1-25 of Uglies, book 1 in our new series, Uglies. 
Let’s do the time-warp again! Book 6 of the Children of the Lamp is possibly our most chaotic as the children discover the secrets of the Five Fakirs of Faizabad. The characters spread all across the globe with trips to the UK, Morocco, Yellowstone, Tel Aviv, and finally Tibet. We reconnect with Mr. Rakshashas only to lose him again, and we spend a good deal of time unpacking the very surprising ending. We also get into the tone and vibe of this book. Does it seem different to anyone else as well?
Next week we will be reading a new book in one week, The Grave Robbers of Genghis Khan, book 7 of the The Children of the Lamp series. 
It’s time for book 5 of the Children of the Lamp, by P.B. Kerr, the Eye of the Forest. This book takes our main characters plus some new additions off to South America where they have to both save the planet from Djinn related catastrophe and solve climate change. Unlike previous books in this series, it seems our characters are mostly together this week following one direct plotline, so we make up for in action what we miss in complexity. See some returns of known characters as well as some new ones as we explore another culture with Djinn connections.
Next week we will be reading a new book in one week, The Five Fakirs of Faizabad, book 6 of the The Children of the Lamp series. 
If the last book was intricate and complicated, just wait until you read this week’s book, The Day of the Djinn Warriors. Week 4 of the Children of Lamp has many many plot lines starting with the resurrection and subsequent installment of Faustina as the new Blue Djinn, the downfall of Dybbuk as Jonathan Tarot, and the rise of Iblis. We go to China as the Ifrit, or big bad as Asia calls them, try to invert all luck in the entire world in favor of evil. Of course, as always we have a breakneck rush to the finish and resolution, though for the first time, this book definitely does not end in a perfect happy ending, so we are taking the turn towards more serious topics.
Next week we will be reading a new book in one week, The Eye of the Forest, book 5 of the The Children of the Lamp series. 
Week 3 of the Children of the Lamp, and this week the adventure is off to Kathmandu in Nepal. Definitely the grossest book in the series, the twins have to save their friend Dybbuk and then save their uncle Nimrod which takes them to a snake cult in Nepal. This is the most intricate and complex of the plots we’ve had in the series and really sets up some important story lines moving forward. Mr. Groanin takes on an even larger role in this book, cementing himself as a main character and iconic comic relief.
Next week we will be reading a new book in one week, The Day of the Djinn Warriors, book 4 of the The Children of the Lamp series. 
DISCLAIMER: Charles’ audio is particularly rough this week due to NYC radiators. He apologizes profusely!
It’s week two of the Children of the Lamp, we’re reading the second book, The Blue Djinn of Babylon. Perhaps unsurprisingly, this book features another dramatic adventure that we just send a twelve year old on, because apparently that is acceptable. In a wild turn of events Phillippa is kidnapped by the twins’ grandmother, and John has to rescue her via a multinational expedition and solo trip through lost Babylon. This book really adds to the worldbuilding of the series, so you won’t want to miss it if you love that kind of thing. Next week we will be reading a new book in one week, The Cobra King of Kathmandu, book 3 of the The Children of the Lamp series. 
It’s time for a new series, The Children of the Lamp! It’s week one, so we read the whole first book, The Akhenaten Adventure. We follow our fellow New Yorkers, John and Phillippa Gaunt as they discover that they are djinn or what we would consider genies. They can grant wishes and make all sorts of cool things happen with their subconscious. This week was a lot of exposition and then all of the sudden a bunch of action at the end, so it led to a weird podcast episode. But your hosts have a lot of fun sharing personal stories, so this is a good week to get to know us and our shenanigans!
Next week we will be reading a new book in one week, The Blue Djinn of Babylon, book 2 of the The Children of the Lamp series. |
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