The third installment finds us about a year into the ...
589028
The third installment finds us about a year into the apprenticeship and Peter has a sense of equanimity about all the odd things he encounters and doesn't understand.  A young son of an American senator is dead in the Underground and it just seems off.  Peter is called in to keep things calm for he sake of the FBI agent that comes over, not surprisingly that is a big fail on keeping things quiet from her.  New facets of this world keep coming and the premise that Nightengale had missed them due to lack of Londonness and quiet after the war makes sense.  Can't wait to see what new creatures and mayhem from the Faceless One develop in the series
3644146
Interesting Developments here as the kids continue to develop and new antagonists are introduced.

Looking forward to the third book.
4213045
This third (and best up to that point) installment was a great cliff hanger. The only downside to it is that we're still waiting (years later!) for the next book to pick up the story!!
4131874
This picks up another 10 years or so after volume 17. I think the most striking difference to me is how this is more of a slice-of-life atmosphere, than the frantic attempts of the earlier novels where Lawrence was attempting to maintain his finances and occupation. Whether that's good or not is subjective, but I find the new tone more enjoyable. The novel leaves plot hooks for the future, so I will be looking forward to future novels.
1491645
Book 3 of The Pagans trilogy, The Earth Goddess, has a different tone than the first two stories.  The focus is now on the developing spiritual concepts of this time period (3000 BC), so not surprisingly, there is a lot less fighting and killing.  Indeed, after an initial spate of it, most of the subsequent bloodshed occurs offscreen.

  Richard Herley sets this story about 8 years after Book 2 (The Flint Lord).  Tagart, Fodich, and Lord Hewzane serve as a bridge between the two novels.  Rian and Ika are also present, albeit in lesser roles.  For the most part, we are treated to a new cast of characters, and new lands to explore.  Paoul, the hero is initially being raised by Tagart, but is not of Tagart's bloodline, and that's a nice change-of-pace.  Like his stepdad, he has his flaws.

  Despite the paucity of gore, TEG is not a boring read.  The writing is strong, and the pace for the most part moves along at a nice clip.  The major characters are well-developed (maybe that's the upside to less bloodshed), and there are some deep insights about Religion in this story that are still applicable today.

  The ending seemed a bit hurried to me, but it still had some neat twists and all the major plotlines (Paoul's heritage, religion, and love issues; plus Hothen's lot) are tied up.  The book closes with a kewl epilogue.

  4 Stars for The Earth Goddess; 4 Stars for the series as a whole.  The books are not stand-alones, so start with the first one, The Stone Arrow (it's FREE!), and enjoy the historical adventure.
124225
The story really picked up in Vol. 3. Part 1 & 2 were ok, but 3-5 were great, very compelling. I can't wait for Vol. 5 to come out so I can continue this story that's finally beginning to unravel into something interesting.
4583009
This is a very intriguing continuation; it manages to avoid the usual weakness of the second volume of a trilogy.
One of the things I liked the best was the reality that folks in their 20's (or 50's or 60's, for that matter) do not make plans which stand the test of actual battle; the plan goes to heck when the shooting starts.  Way too many books with miraculous escapes and heroes who survive unscathed no matter what the circumstances.
Characters continue to develop well, and some of the new characters are unforgettable.
Alternative low-impact living are explored, which is cool.
Looking forward to the next installment!
3963558
After reading the first two books i wasn't surprised to see the same emotional connections coming so strongly through the pages of this edition.. You see how conflicted Elder is with his past and how he really wants to help Pim. But will either ever really be ready to open up so the other can help?
204159
All in all, this was a good book although it doesn't quite pick up steam until the final third portion.
2180647
Haven't finished yet, but I assume the last 1/3 will be as good as the first two.
1663393
Annamaria is barely an afterthought in this volume. While I thought that was attributable to the interlude nature of the installment, she doesnt have much of a role in later books either. While her place in those books seems limited to that of a plot device, however, shes just sort of irrelevant here. Joliethe girl who helps Oddis a great new character, and I enjoyed getting to experience part of the narrative from her perspective. Given that narrative change, however, I would have expected her to become an ongoing member of the cast of characters, which she does not. There aren't as many great side characters as in the first three books, but definitely more than in book four.

Odd Interlude isn't as beautifully quotable as the first two books in the series, but it pulled me in much quicker than books three and four. (It didn't tug on my emotions enough to have the teary tidbits from the first two books, but it was still quite good.) The tension and pacing were enjoyable, and the details of the plot had enough complexity and interest to them to drag me along quite readily. The genre change was executed skillfully, such that I didn't feel wrenched out of the immersion.

While Odd Interlude isn't the hilarious, whimsical, beautiful thrill ride of the earliest books (Odd Thomas and Forever Odd), its absolutely a return to better plotting from Odd Hours. Its about equal to Brother Odd in plot depth, but better in terms of pacing and tension.
4536629
Expected Season 3 -- and this was a year old - season 2
3368073
The characters are becoming more three-dimensional in this, the second book of the Ascent series.  There is also mystery and some revelations.  Book 3, here I come!
3461556
An excellent installment of the series, keeping the crew learning and growing both as characters and size looking forward to the next one
887681
Books 1 and 2 were building up and book 3 continued the experience.
1079747
Not as good as the last two but still pretty good.
2659117
The prophecies laid out in the first two volumes begin to take shape in _The Shards_, the third volume of Gary Wassner's increasingly enjoyable _GemQuest_ saga.  Over the course of the three books in his GemQuest saga, Wassner's skills as a writer are catching up to his skills as a storyteller.  That is not to say he isn't a good writer, just that story is stronger than the writing.

While on the surface the saga thus can be characterized as your typical "good guys rally to thwart the destructive plans of the evil overlord," there is more to it than that, and Wassner's skills as a storyteller prove it with each succesive volume in the _GemQuest_ saga.  Part of the fun of that trope is seeing how many ways it can be spun, and in Gary's case, I like what he is doing.  Colton, the evil overlord, while not seen very much, is handled very well both in the scences he is featured, as well as the scenes when other characters try to understand the nature of his "evil." Perhaps, these scenes depicting the "good" characters discussing the nature of Colton's evil are the strongest, as the characters debate about his motivations and reasons.  From the first volume through to this one, Wassner is revealing more about Colton and his motiviations and origins.  There still isn't enough told about him in this volume to gain a full measure of his motiviations, but this revealing is perhaps the most tantalizing part of Wassner's traditional saga.

Another strong aspect of the overall story is how well the decisions and events of previous volumes play themselves out in the subsequent volumes, including this one. For the most part, I think the characters are pretty well-drawn, even if they are overtly nice to each other.  In a cast of characters as large as Wassner has created, not all the characters are going to be one's liking, in this case though, only one character really didn't sit well with me, Tamara, one of the Sisters of Parth.  The Sisters of Parth were tasked with protecting an ancient map and knowledge of the land.  Throughout the _The Shards_ I found her to be a bit too naive, particularly when faced with revelations about her character.  The remaining characters; however, are plausibly drawn.

There were intermittent spots where a copyedit would have enhanced the story and book, but on the whole, I like where the series is going, that is to say, there are a few different directions where the story can go.  This sense of unpredictability is very appealing.  I also liked some of the new creatures and monsters introduced and fleshed out in _The Shards_, I'm seeing hints of a couple of different myths here.

Suffice it to say, I'm looking forward to where Gary takes the story in the next volume, Revenge of the Elves.