Book Club Thread 1: Jake's Magical Market, Spoilers Open

Which Book Shall We Read This Month?

  • Jake's Magical Market

    Votes: 4 57.1%
  • Armor

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • The Last Wish, Introducing the Witcher

    Votes: 2 28.6%
  • Pandora's Star

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Illusion

    Votes: 3 42.9%
  • Her Majesty's Wizard

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    7
  • Poll closed .

Bear Ribs

Well-known member
Jake's Magical Market by J.R. Mathews
Meddling gods. A magical card system. An apocalypse no one could have predicted.

Jake is working at the neighborhood market under his apartment when the world ends. He expected nuclear war, a computer virus, or even climate change burning everyone to a crisp to bring about the downfall of civilization. But cruel and arbitrary gods from another world? Who would have guessed that?

When these cruel gods shuffled Earth like a deck of cards, nothing was in the same place anymore. Monsters, dungeons, and magical items appear scattered across the globe. And suddenly, everyone has access to a new, strange magical card system that gives them magical powers.

Jake, wasting his day slacking off in the cooler, as he usually did, found himself alone in a completely new and very dangerous world. Can he learn to survive? Can he collect enough cards and create a good enough deck to fight back against the monsters that have overtaken his former home? And why are these strange people that look a lot like elves knocking on the door of the market he is hiding in and asking to buy some of his goods?

The gods may have stacked the deck against him, but Jake just might have a few cards up his sleeve that will help him survive.

Armor by John Steakley
The military sci-fi classic in a striking new package

Felix is an Earth soldier, encased in special body armor designed to withstand Earth's most implacable enemy-a bioengineered, insectoid alien horde. But Felix is also equipped with internal mechanisms that enable him, and his fellow soldiers, to survive battle situations that would destroy a man's mind.

This is a remarkable novel of the horror, the courage, and the aftermath of combat--and how the strength of the human spirit can be the greatest armor of all.

The Last Wish, Introducing the Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski
"Geralt of Rivia is a Witcher, a man whose magic powers and lifelong training have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin.

Yet he is no ordinary killer: he hunts the vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent.

But not everything monstrous-looking is evil; not everything fair is good . . . and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth."

It's essentially a collection of short stories, somewhat linked together, that introduce us to the character of Geralt of Rivia, the world he inhabits, and the themes of his story.

Pandora's Star (Commonwealth Saga, #1) by Peter F. Hamilton

The year is 2380. The Intersolar Commonwealth, a sphere of stars some four hundred light-years in diameter, contains more than six hundred worlds, interconnected by a web of transport "tunnels" known as wormholes. At the farthest edge of the Commonwealth, astronomer Dudley Bose observes the impossible: Over one thousand light-years away, a star... vanishes. It does not go supernova. It does not collapse into a black hole. It simply disappears. Since the location is too distant to reach by wormhole, a faster-than-light starship, the Second Chance, is dispatched to learn what has occurred and whether it represents a threat. In command is Wilson Kime, a five-time rejuvenated ex-NASA pilot whose glory days are centuries behind him.

Opposed to the mission are the Guardians of Selfhood, a cult that believes the human race is being manipulated by an alien entity they call the Starflyer. Bradley Johansson, leader of the Guardians, warns of sabotage, fearing the Starflyer means to use the starship's mission for its own ends.

Pursued by a Commonwealth special agent convinced the Guardians are crazy but dangerous, Johansson flees. But the danger is not averted. Aboard the Second Chance, Kime wonders if his crew has been infiltrated. Soon enough, he will have other worries. A thousand light-years away, something truly incredible is waiting: a deadly discovery whose unleashing will threaten to destroy the Commonwealth... and humanity itself. Could it be that Johansson was right?

Illusion by Paula Volsky
In the land of Vonahr, the Exalted have ruled by virtue of their legendary magical abilities for centuries, heedless of the misery of the lower classes. Now revolution is in the air. . . .

For two hundred years the Exalted classes have used their dazzling magical abilities to rule Vonahr. Now, their powers grown slack from disuse and their attention turned to decadent pleasures, they ignore the misery of the lower classes until the red tide of revolution sweeps across the land. Thrust into the center of the conflict is the beautiful Eliste vo Derrivalle, spirited daughter of a provincial landowner, who must now scramble for bread in the teeming streets of the capital. With the key to her magical abilities an elusive secret, she must suddenly find a way to survive in a world gone mad ... with liberty.

Illusion is a work of fantasy on the grandest scale - a seamless web of passion, danger, heroism, and romance that will hold you spellbound from the first page to the last.

Her Majesty's Wizard by Christopher Stasheff

"Matt didn't know the scrap of parchment was a trap. So he read the runes — and found himself on a world where reciting poetry verses worked magic. His first effort got him locked in a dungeon by the evil sorcerer Malingo. Trying for light, he brought forth a fire-breathing, drunken dragon, who told him Princess Alisande, rightful ruler of Merovence, was also held in the dungeon.

Naturally, he had to free her, himself, and the dragon, using poetry lifted from Shakespeare. And because she was young and beautiful, he swore to serve as her wizard. Then he learned that his job as wizard was to fix it so the three of them could overcome all the dark magic and armies of Malingo!"
 

Ixian

Well-known member
I'll be honest, I went and bought Jake's Magical Market just off the strength of the synopsis.

Pretty good so far, but I'm a sucker for litrpg novels.
 

Agent23

Ни шагу назад!
Looking that way. I was probably overgenerous on the time allotted.
Well, it is the first ever such event, so it will probably take some time to get things started.

EDIT: Also, how do we do this? Do we have intermediate meetings to discuss n number of chapters or do we talk when all participants have read the whole thing?
 
Last edited:

Bear Ribs

Well-known member
EDIT: Also, how do we do this? Do we have intermediate meetings to discuss n number of chapters or do we talk when all participants have read the whole thing?
I see no reason for actual meetings on a forum. Instead post as you read and label spoilers as to how many chapters you are in, so others can tell whether or not it will also spoil their progress.

Like this:
Really not that fond of discovering the entire story so far was all just a dream and the actual narrator is the MC's magical fairy godmother, it really does not work when the first 55 chapters were all super-hard sci-fi in a universe without aliens.

Deadline? Like the end of the month?
One month per book. Nominations and Voting for the next month's book will begin a week before we start reading it.

If we happen to get a particularly short one and everybody finishes early, I'll open a vote if people would prefer to ratchet the start time back and begin at the beginning of the month instead of the planned 15th.
 

Terthna

Professional Lurker
Looking that way. I was probably overgenerous on the time allotted.
At first it was looking like it was going to tie with my suggestion, but someone apparently withdrew their vote. Ah well; if I keep suggesting it, eventually it'll get picked.
 

Agent23

Ни шагу назад!
At first it was looking like it was going to tie with my suggestion, but someone apparently withdrew their vote. Ah well; if I keep suggesting it, eventually it'll get picked.
I think a bunch of people might be put off because they think that the book will be hard to acquire.
 

Terthna

Professional Lurker
I think a bunch of people might be put off because they think that the book will be hard to acquire.
Both eBay and Amazon have a number of used paperback copies for around six bucks; which isn't that much more expensive than a digital copy of Jake's Magical Market. Heck, the Internet Archive even has it available in their digital library for free; if for some reason you don't feel comfortable hunting down a pirated digital copy of a book that hasn't been printed in almost thirty years.
 
Last edited:

Agent23

Ни шагу назад!
Both eBay and Amazon have a number of used paperback copies for around six bucks; which isn't that much more expensive than a digital copy of Jake's Magical Market. Heck, the Internet Archive even has it available in their digital library for free; if for some reason you don't feel comfortable hunting down a pirated digital copy of a book that hasn't been printed in almost thirty years.
Humm, a lot of people are just lazy and/or have a sense of ick when they hear second hand, IMHO.
 

The Whispering Monk

Well-known member
Osaul
Looks like Jake's Magical Market unless something changes in the next 18 hours or so.

I actually can't find a physical copy of Jake's Magical Market anywhere but Amazon, and I don't want them to have my money. Anyone seen it somewhere else?
 
Last edited:

Terthna

Professional Lurker
Looks like Jake's Magical Market unless something changes in the next 18 hours or so.

I actually can't find a physical copy of Jake's Magical Market anywhere but Amazon, and I don't want them to have my money. Anyone seen it somewhere else?
And the hardcover version Amazon sells is an exorbitant 80$. I ended up just downloading an ePub of it somewhere.
 

Lord Sovereign

Well-known member
Luckily for me I've got a kindle and it's only £3.83 on Amazon ($4.40 in your dirty American money). Got to admit, e-books are quite good. Don't have to worry about running out of space on your bookshelf, and the prices are reasonable.
 

Terthna

Professional Lurker
Why would you want a hardcover?
In this particular case, there is no paperback alternative available. In general though? Hardcovers are more durable; or were you asking in comparison to digital?
 
Last edited:

Users who are viewing this thread

Top