Lies of the Beholder Reaction Thread [Spoilers]

[StormingTexan he/him]

I read Legion a while ago didn't really like it that much and waited until all three of these were released and re-read all together. The first is probably my favorite after reading all three. I appreciate them more now that I have read them straight through. The biggest enjoyment I got out of the last book was the tie in to Perfect State. 

[BitBitio he/him]

My reaction to the end of LotB:

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Spoiler

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WHY TOBIAS NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Spoiler

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WHY IVY NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Spoiler

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WHY JC

 

 

 

[Wyndlerunner he/him]

People around me may or may not have asked after my well being while reading Lies of the Beholder, so I think that y'all can tell what my reaction was. 

I loved the story, but it felt rushed in it's execution, it felt less like the grand conclusion of Steve's story than an epilogue to that story; A "What happened after" if you will, much like the events regarding the Fellowship of The Ring in the 4th age in that LOTR Appendix

[TheLordRuler he/him]

Loved the way it started off, but the ending had me a little confused. I feel like the book would have benefited a lot from being a bit longer but, overall, I'm still really happy with the trilogy.

I've read some explanations, but I've yet to understand why Leed writing books solved his problems.

[+Ark1002]

I was kinda angry, but it had a nice revolution overall.

[Stampede he/him]

Got a little confused by the ending but the first half was good.

[Silus - Shard of Flame he/him]

Finished this one yesterday after getting the omnibus for Christmas and procrastinating it for an age and a day. I'm... conflicted. We got to see some of the things that had been hinted at: aspects turning into nightmares, Sandra, Stephen's overall downward spiral coming to a head. But none of them got real room to breath. There's been so many hints about rules and mechanics to the aspects that just got thrown out the window. The scene with Lua on the deserted island kinda says that this is on purpose, that the reals are made up and the mechanics don't matter. If this was just the last story by itself, I would be fine with this, but hints from the earlier books (particularly JC interacting with Stephen more physically) implied there was something more real to what was going on in his head, something potentially superhuman. This ending kinda laughs at you for expecting answers to questions from earlier in the series. There are a lot of things that are left deliberately ambiguous but not in a good way, in my opinion.

[Kidpen he/him]

6 hours ago, Silus - Shard of Flame said:

(particularly JC interacting with Stephen more physically)

I think Stephen's rationale for this makes sense. JC was the tool Stephen's mind used to guide his hand to the right place. Possibly just a red herring.

Although maybe we'll learn more in Perfect State 2.

[King Aragorn of Gondor]

TOBAIS, IVY, JC, NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

[Player]

On 8.10.2018 at 11:10 PM, Argel said:

I read all 3 back to back. So much I had forgotten about the middle book. Overall I really enjoyed reading trough all three again, and really enjoyed the third book.  Very impressive setting overall. Would not mind seeing a prequel or something that takes place in between 2 and 3. 

The story of the teleporting cat!

[That Violin Guy he/him]

On 8/12/2019 at 2:17 AM, Player said:

The story of the teleporting cat!

YES, or the one about the zombies

Edited September 28, 2019 by That Violin Guy

[Quoth he/him]

So I think maybe I misunderstood the ending. On my first couple of readings, I thought that Stephen was using journaling to reform his aspects anew. However, looking at people's responses it sounds like the shadow of Tobias was merely echoes in his head, prompting him to write fanfic about his aspects? Did anyone else think he was reforming his aspects?

[Kace22]

A few points:

1- JC moving his hand and pushing him out of the car was never so deep. Its a red herring. It was just a mental direction to move his own hand and to jump in the right way. JC didn't actually interact with him physically.

2- My understanding of the ending was that Steven realized it's not about boxing up his voices and knowledge and keeping them close and contained as aspects, which involves constant mental strain. The real solution is to turn the voices into aspects then send them on their way and let them do their own thing, e.g. JC and Ivy in Paris.

3- What a freakishly amazing concept by Brandon. I would love to see this re-imagined as a Monk-like TV show, with regular episodes of solving mysteries with his aspects, and season finale episodes building the drama of Sandra and the stability of the aspects.

[ShatteredDiamond She/Her]

I got a kind of minor hero-of-ages feeling when I finished it. Not similar plot, but a similar feeling to when I finished hoa for the first time.

Like. I love it, but also, hold up for a second.

The most perfect, beautifully empty feeling.