First Line Friday 56 || Game Gone Wild

It’s time to play “guess that book” and also watch our TBRs weep.

Book Beginnings is hosted by Rose City Reader and is all about the first line of a current/upcoming read. Friday 56 is a meme hosted by Freda’s Voice, where you turn to page 56 (or 56%) in what you’re reading a find a snippet that jumps out at you.

Click To Reveal The Book

YOU FIND YOURSELF IN A MAZE FULL OF TWISTY PASSAGES…

Literature professor Dr. Addie Cox is living a happy, if sheltered, life in her ivory tower when Harris Lang, the famously eccentric billionaire tech genius, offers her an unusual job. He wants her to guide a mercenary strike team sent to infiltrate his island retreat off the northwest coast of the United States. Addie is puzzled by her role on the mission until she understands what Lang has built: Insula Mirabilis, an isolated resort where tourists will one day pay big bucks for a convincing, high-tech-powered fantasy-world experience, complete with dragons, unicorns, and, yes, magic.

Unfortunately, one of the island’s employees has gone rogue and activated an invisible force shield that has cut off all outside communication. A Coast Guard cutter attempting to pass through the shield has been destroyed. Suspicion rests on Dominic Brand, the project’s head designer— and Addie Cox’s ex-boyfriend. Lang has tasked Addie and the mercenary team with taking back control of the island at any cost.

But Addie is wrestling demons of her own—and not the fantastical kind. Now, she must navigate the deadly traps of Insula Mirabilis as well as her own past trauma. And no d20, however lucky, can help Addie make this saving throw.

• Gloriously nerdy and geeky and gamer.
• All sorts of nerdy references.
• RPG brought to life.
• And then gone horribly wrong, like it does.
• Smart, quippy female protagonist with a PhD in literature.
• Gaming world based more on Lord of the Rings and mythology.
• Protagonist who suffers from PTSD, as the survivor of a school shooting.

5 On My TBR is hosted by E. @ Local Bee Hunter’s Nook and is meant to take place on Mondays. But since Fridays tend to be my TBR-focused post, I’ve decided to combine them here. Next Monday’s prompt is: roadtrip.

Like I’ve been doing with many of these prompts lately, I’m going to spin this one. Since I don’t read many contemporary books, most things I read can’t really be classified as “roadtrips” in any sense. So instead, I’m going to do: books that involve traveling.

               

Everything Sad Is Untrue by Daniel Nayeri

This is sort of a multigenerational tale, done in an interesting format. It’s basically creative nonfiction, where the author writes about a child (a slightly different version of himself) in a classroom in Oklahoma telling the story of his ancestors, from his family fleeing Iran and going all the way back to ancient stories. I love this premise, and I’m super curious about how it works out as a method of storytelling.

Shinji Takahashi and the Mark of the Coatl by Julie Kagawa

It’s got “globe-trotting” in the first sentence of the blurb, so I think it’s safe to say that there will be travel involved. Plus, it involves a Society of Explorers and Adventurers, which sounds like it’ll be a lot of fun! I’ve enjoyed Kagawa’s Shadow of the Fox series, so I’m looking forward to checking out her middle grade work. Sounds like it’s going to be packed full of adventure. Plus, coatl is just a hecka fun word to say.

The Bone Ships by R. J. Barker

Listen, I’m just as disappointed as you are that I haven’t read this one yet, when it’s so obvious that I’m going to love it. I even have this book and the sequel and absolutely no reason not to have picked them up. I have no excuses. Nothing. I also have no idea whether or not travel is involved in this, but I’m going to assume that there is because that’s usually the case when ships are involved, bone or otherwise.

We Ride the Storm by Devin Madson

It’s got the word “ride” in the title and a picture of people on horses on the cover, so I’m counting it. It mentions war, and people necessarily travel during war, yes? See? Makes perfect sense. This is another one I’ve been meaning to read for a while (though, in this case, I don’t own a copy, so there’s that). It just sounds like the kind of epic fantasy I’m bound to enjoy!

Rust by C. J. Stilling

After enjoying Death Warden, I really want to read more of Stilling’s work. This one features characters banished to a distant world, and I’m not sure you can get more in the sphere of “traveling” than that. Even if it wasn’t willing travel, it still counts. Soap operas tend to be hit or miss with me, but I want to give this one a shot, considering the author. Plus, it sounds like it’ll be an interesting mix between dystopia and space opera, and that definitely grabs my attention.

What are you reading this week? Share its first line in the comment below or drop your own First Line links!