Keeper of the Lost Cities #8 Legacy - Thoughts from 4th Reading

This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS from late in the set.  Do not read this post unless you've read ALL of the books that have been published.  You've been warned.

#8 Legacy is when the secrets begin to be revealed.  Many fans think these later books are boring and pointless when to me, they are great.  I have thought of one reason why some fans find the later books boring.

The Keeper series is for middle-grade readers and it is certainly written on that level.  However, the overarching storyline is quite complex, really too complex for middle-grade.  Many of the target readers are struggling to see what Shannon is doing because it's so complex.  I've figured a lot out along the way, especially about the Forgotten Secrets, but I'm still completely confused about other things.  This is precisely why I love this series so much; it's so much fun trying to figure it out with the obscure clues we have been given.

Page 14  "We've been playing defense for far too long," he said, clearing the thickness from his throat.  "And that is never a good way to win."

Mr. Forkle knows that they need to be more aggressive.

Page 16  He turned to meet her gaze.  "We're spiraling toward war.  And not an isolated battle.  A global conflict involving every living being."

The following passages are from the washed memory that Forkle returns to Sophie.

Page 322  They started out talking.  But talking shifted to teasing.  And teasing turned to taunting as the voices grew louder and louder.  Angrier and angrier.  Sophie couldn't make out any of the individual words.  But she could feel them cutting deeper and deeper.

Page 337  "I don't know," Amy admitted after downing half the bottle.  "I guess I thought..."  She looked away, tears streaming down her cheeks.  "Those things I said to you—"  "I don't even remember them," Sophie assured her.  "Seriously.  In the memory it was just a bunch of noise.  I couldn't separate out the words—and I don't want to know."

In my post for #7 Flashback, I included some passages pertaining to Keefe's recovered memories.  The memories had been washed, or so they thought, but the memories were damaged.  Tiergan explained that washed memories, if recovered, would not be damaged.  The ones that were damaged had been shattered. 

It's apparent that Mr. Forkle chose to spare Sophie from knowing what cruel words Amy said during their fight.  He tampered with the memory so that Sophie wouldn't be able to hear what Amy had said.  There's no other explanation.  Sophie has a photographic memory, and Amy's words should have been in the memory.  Mr. Forkle didn't tamper with the memory he returned to Amy, so Amy knew what she had said.  

I want to revisit the Inflicting session from Book 3 with Bronte, Kenric, and Sophie.

From the first Book 3 post:  

On page 215, Kenric gives Sophie a suggestion on how to inflict, but then he quickly adds, "At least, that's what I remember studying," as if he needs to explain how he knows so that it won't be suspicious.  If Kenric is Forkle, then he does know about Inflicting, since he worked on genetic experimentation with Inflicting.

From the second Book 3 post: 

The Kenric in the Inflicting session seems to cover for himself when he mentions how Inflicting works.

Page 215:   "I believe the first step is to identify the emotion you want to unleash," Kenric offered quietly.  "At least, that's what I remember studying." 

He added that last part to cover.  The surviving Forkle is the one who tested the Inflicting genes to make sure that they were safe for Sophie.  This is another clue that the Kenric in the Inflicting session is the surviving Forkle.

I was getting closer.  It's irrelevant which brother was in the Inflicting session since they considered themselves to be one person and shared their memories with each other.  Regardless, a Forkle did inflict on Sophie years before, and he inflicted positive emotions on Sophie.  He knew from past personal experience how inflicting works, no matter which brother was in the Inflicting session.  He covers for himself when explaining to Sophie how inflicting works, saying that he had studied it.  

We learn in Book 8 that when Sophie manifested as an Inflictor, she simultaneously manifested as an Enhancer.  When Sophie inflicted on Amy, Forkle grabbed her hand and was able to inflict positive emotions into her mind in order to get her to stop.  Forkle knows exactly how inflicting works, even though he doesn't have that ability. 

On page 342, Mr. Forkle goes into a detailed explanation of the five unmapped stars and how each of them creates a different form of quintessence.  Here is a summary:

Elementine - the most powerful, can be used to create explosive substances like frissyn

Marquiseire - abrasive, reflective, most versatile, works at a cellular level

Lucilliant - coldest, darkest, but most balanced and can be used to preserve something

Candesia - weakest, sluggish, but safest and best for slight changes

Phosforen - most vibrant, full of life and energy, used by the Black Swan for DNA tests

The stars are tied to what Lady Gisela does to Keefe in Loamnore and to stellarlune and Elysian.

Also, on page 343 Mr. Forkle finds it odd that him telling Sophie about the five types of quintessance doesn't trigger the details that he implanted into her mind years before.  Mr. Forkle decides that it's because the details were hidden so well that that they aren't being triggered.  What if something else is at play?

On page 151, Emery tells Team Valiant that the Council has set up a meeting with King Enki and that this is "a meeting the Black Swan would never be able to properly arrange, regardless of what they might claim."  King Enki is annoyed when Bronte and Team Valiant meet with Enki a day after Granite meets with Enki.

On page 477, Mr. Forkle tells the Council that "holding secret meetings is childish."  Bronte then notes that the Council's secret meeting is to discuss the fallout from the Black Swan's secret meeting with Enki on the previous day."  After some discussion, Mr. Forkle realizes that he should have told the Council once the Black Swan had worked out a meeting with Enki.

Emery then says that the Council has been forthright, but Mr. Forkle reminds them that they didn't inform the Black Swan ahead of time when they decided to appoint several of the kids as Regents.  Sophie is surprised to learn that the Black Swan didn't know.

Mr. Forkle and Emery realize that both sides have failed to communicate.  Emery promises to update the Black Swan, and Mr. Forkle apologizes for the secret meeting with Enki.  This is a pivotal point where the Black Swan and Councillors truly turn a corner in their relations.

[This next part was written before I read Book 9.5 Unraveled.  I have left it as I wrote it, but I have struck through the parts that I believe are false.] 

I am currently confused about Ethan Benedict Wright and his daughter.  My belief is that Ethan is one of Forkle's identities.  Mr. Forkle shows up with an obituary for Ethan and his daughter, which he could have faked.  But then, Mr. Forkle also has a photo of Gisela from the surveillance cameras, and this leads the kids to believe that Gisela killed Ethan and his daughter.  I find it hard to believe that Forkle would be that cruel to Keefe.

[Exactly.  Forkle wouldn't be that cruel.]

I thought it odd that Mr. Forkle would create a fake obituary, because I don't think Ethan is/was a real person and it would be cruel for Forkle to make Keefe think his mom killed Ethan.  Rather, I think Gisela faked Ethan's death.

[I believe Ethan's death was faked, but it was done to trick Gisela.]

It could be that Gisela faked the obituary and the deaths.  Forkle is just showing what he found.  It's interesting that the deaths occurred in a gap in the Black Swan's surveillance.  Mr. Forkle agrees that it's odd.  But did he pick that time on purpose, or did Gisela?  As I stated, I am confused at present.  I think we'll learn something in Book 9.5.

[I've now read Book 9.5, and I'm even more confused.  As I will mention in a future post, Shannon is a master of misdirection.  She actually has already revealed some of the big secrets but has simultaneously misdirected and to a degree that has kept the secrets hidden in plain sight. 

More has been revealed about Ethan and his daughter, and it appears that I am wrong about Forkle and Ethan.  Perhaps I am, but perhaps what Keefe is told in Book 9.5 isn't exactly the truth.  Even if what Keefe is told is true, it is obvious that he is being given only a small portion of the truth.  And there's something else I realized that could mean anything is still possible.  I will get more into this when I write about Book 9.5.]

All of my past Keeper posts are linked from this page:

Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories

Using an Ozone Generator to Remove Musty Odor

Getting rid of musty odor is usually a losing proposition.  Some people will insist that they've gotten rid of musty odor with dryer sheets, carpet freshener, or cat litter.  But did they really?  Or did they just substitute one odor with another?  

Other people swear that wrapping books in newspaper works.  Or placing in a container with charcoal.  Or using essential oils.  Or using baking soda and placing the books in the freezer.  Or microwaving the books.

I've tried most of these methods, and they don't work. 

Carpet freshener

I used carpet freshener on books that had a strong mothball odor.  The books then smelled like mothballs and carpet freshener.  Yuck.  I couldn't keep the books.  This method is a very bad idea.

Baking soda with or without the freezer

This does fade the odor, but it doesn't go away.  It also tends to return.  This method doesn't work.

Wrapping in newspaper

One time I did get rid of cigarette odor this way and failed another time.  I've never tried with musty odor, but if this method failed with cigarettes, then it won't get rid of musty odor.

Microwaving the books

I have microwaved books.  This method temporarily reduces the odor, but it comes back.  The books can also scorch if you're not careful.  Ask me how I know.  Don't microwave your books.

I have never tried charcoal or essential oils.  Charcoal is too messy, and using essential oils is odor replacement.

There is one more method: using an ozone generator.  I purchased an ozone generator in 2021.

Ozone generators are dangerous.  If you ever use one, you must be very careful to use it away from pets, animals, and people.  Ozone is toxic to the lungs.

This bears repeating: 

Ozone is toxic to the lungs.

Now that I've made that statement, I used the ozone generator on some musty books in 2021 with partial success.  I don't think I exposed the books for long enough.

On May 25, 2023, I posted this on Facebook:

This poor book smells strongly of varnish.  It's an okay odor which is far preferable to a musty or cigarette odor; I'd just like it to be a bit less strong.  I can smell the book from four feet away now that I have it propped open with zip ties.  This book is an exciting Kay Tracey purchase which is an upgrade to an earlier printing than what I've owned for years.  I'd turn the book around and photograph the front, but the zip ties would fall out.

This is the book.

I treated the book with ozone for an indefinite amount of time.  I don't know how long, because I don't remember.  I got rid of the fragrance, but it was replaced with an ozone odor.  I still didn't like it, but it was an improvement.  What I thought was varnish was gone.  

Sometime later, the seller asked me if I'd "smelled the roses."  It turned out that what I perceived as strong varnish was from a rose-scented box that the seller reused to ship the book.  She was proud of herself and thought it was great.  

If you ever sell books, never use any kind of fragrance in or on the packaging.  Buyers like me will hate you.  While I wouldn't leave negative feedback over a fragrance, many book buyers would.  

The ozone smell was not permanent, which I knew.  I shelved the book and hadn't checked it until working on this post.  The book now has no odor other than the smell of paper.  It smells great!  The ozone worked.

Fast forward to November.

I purchased a rather cheap bulk lot of Nancy Drew books, most of which have dust jackets.  When I opened the package, I discovered that the books had a very strong musty odor—a very pungent, dreadful musty odor.  Imagine the worst musty odor you have ever smelled, and that was how these books smelled. 

Many of the books were solid blue and tweed Nancy Drew books from the early 1950s with good quality paper and in dust jacket.  These were books that I hoped to sell.  The musty odor was so awful that I could not possibly sell the books for much of anything.  Despite the hassle involved, I had to get out the ozone generator.

I do this outside away from the house.  I have an outbuilding with a porch that has a roof.  The building does have electricity and is about 100 feet behind the house.  I found a large cardboard box and placed on the porch.  I used zip ties to prop the books open.  The books and the ozone generator went into the box.  Here are pictures.

The ozone generator has a three-hour timer.  This is because it's not safe to approach the ozone generator while it's running.  It must shut itself off.  I kept the ozone generator unplugged while I prepped the books.  When I was ready, I turned the dial to three hours and shut the box.  I plugged in the ozone generator, then I walked away quickly while holding my breath.  I took no chances.

I waited until I felt certain that the time had expired, and then I waited a bit longer, maybe 20 minutes.  Ozone has a short half-life and dissipates quickly.  When I checked on the books, I made sure that the ozone generator was off.  I held my breath, opened the box, and moved away.  The wind was blowing on this day, so any ozone left would have disappeared fast.  

I then repeated the process, over and over.  Each time I cycled the books, I checked one.  At first, the books still smelled musty.  It was at about 12 hours that I thought the musty odor might have been removed.  I wasn't about to go to this much trouble again, so I continued cycling the books.  All told, the books were treated to ozone for 21 hours.  By that point, the books had a strong ozone odor.

In case you're wondering what ozone smells like, I'd describe it as smelling like the vinyl lining of an above ground swimming pool.  Other people say that it smells similar to chlorine.  It's a clean smelling odor.

Once I was finished, I got the books in the house and up on shelves to air out the ozone.

I'm not sure how long I left the books on the shelves.  At first I thought it was for a day or so, but now I think it was probably for one week.  The ozone odor did not decrease, and I needed to speed it up.

I moved the books to the garage.  Outside air enters the garage, and any books placed in the garage air out quite well.  I have a hygrometer in the garage, and the humidity stays between 45% and 55%.  The humidity level is fine for books.  

Here are some of the books in the garage.

The other books were scattered between other items on the shelves.

I finally checked on the books at either 2 1/2 weeks or 3 1/2 weeks since they were moved to the garage.  I detected a very light ozone odor and removed the books from the garage.

I stacked the books and waited a day.  I wanted them to be fully room temperature before I checked again.  The books smelled lightly of ozone, light enough that the paper smelled like a new book.  It was pleasant.  

These are the books.

These books are also from the bulk lot, and they have significant water damage.

The rest of the books are fine with no water damage.  Old Clock has a damaged dust jacket.  Some of the other jackets have water stains that are visible only from the reverse side.  Altogether, this is a nice group of books.  They will be sold.  I have written "ozone" on a sticky note placed inside each book.  The books get mixed in with other books that will be sold, and it's important that I keep track of these.  I will disclose that the books were musty and now aren't, just in case some allergens remain.

Conclusion

The horrific musty odor is gone.  The remnant ozone odor is pleasant and may fade completely given enough time.  Even if the ozone odor remains, most people would just smell paper.  

Some people use ozone generators inside their homes when they deodorize books.  They seal off a room where they run the ozone generator.  I cannot do that since my home has central heat and air.  There is no possible way to seal off a room.  Air will be pulled into the central unit no matter what.  My only solution is to do it outside or in an outbuilding.  I prefer outside so that I know that the ozone has dissipated.  Ozone is the best way to remove odors from books, but make sure that you know what you are doing before you proceed.

Purchasing a Bulk Lot of Dana Girls Books

Awhile back, I decided to downsize my Dana Girls set.  I kept all beige spine picture covers.  I sold all of the white spine picture covers except for #14 through 17.  I reduced my tweed set to where in most cases I have one copy of each book.  I did the same for the lavender/green and blue/red dust jackets. 

In the case of the blue/red jackets, I kept the earliest copy of each, especially if it had good quality paper.  This meant that sometimes I kept the lesser condition book and jacket since I went with the earlier copy.  It was tough, but I did it.

I recently saw a bulk lot of Dana Girls books with blue/red dust jackets.  After some thought, I purchased the lot.  The main reason was because I figured that some of the books would have good quality paper and that some of them might be upgrades to the copies that I have.  It was a crap shoot as to what would happen, but I figured in the worst case scenario, I'd at least be able to sell the books and break even.  I knew that most of them would not be upgrades, but I hoped that at least some would be.  

The books arrived, and this was what I saw when I opened the package.  (Click on each photo in order to see it in higher resolution.)

I marvel that sellers can just stick 80+ year old books with dust jackets in a box unwrapped and that most of the time, the books and jackets arrive undamaged.  It's amazing.

It's such a joy to open up a package like this one.  I immediately compared the books to what I had on the shelf.  Some were earlier copies.  Some were better in some ways and not in others.  Initially, I decided to keep four books from the bulk lot.

In the above photo, each book from my shelf is shown first followed by the corresponding book from the bulk lot that will replace it.  Going by spines only, you can see that these are not clear upgrades and look to be downgrades, but I have reasons for keeping the new copies over the old ones.  Here is the rundown.

While the spine isn't an upgrade for Lone Tree Cottage, the new dust jacket is much brighter.  

The new Lone Tree jacket is earlier, listing to Cobweb.

The new Locked Room jacket is also much brighter.

The new Locked Room jacket is earlier, listing to Gatehouse.

The new Locked Room book is in much better condition.

It was at this point while writing this post that I realized that I needed to once again compare the rest of the books in the bulk lot to what was on my shelf.  I needed to make sure that I had considered all details including book condition.  I'll get to that shortly.

The new Portrait in the Sand book and jacket is a clear upgrade in all ways other than the spine.  My old copy is water damaged and faded.

The new Old Well dust jacket spine has a hole in it, but it is otherwise in better condition, much more so that I have to keep the new one in spite of the hole in the spine.

The Old Well book situation is interesting.  The old copy, seen on the left, is in better shape.  The new jacket is the jacket that is in better shape.  Here's what is interesting.  Seen below is my old book, which is the book in better condition.  Look at the top sticky note that I have inside the book.  Remember that you can click on the photo in order to see it better.

The book is nice enough that I've already kept it and swapped jackets with later acquisitions.  I have owned the book since May 12, 2000.  The jacket currently paired with it is from a book I acquired on January 29, 2019.  I'm going to keep the book again and swap it with the jacket on the book I just received.  It's okay to do this when both books and jackets are from the same printing.  Some people might frown on it, but it's how I cobbled together my complete set of first printing copies of Nancy Drew #1-38 in dust jacket.

I then went back to my shelf and made certain that I had made the right decision not to keep the rest of the books from the bulk lot.  In most cases, the new books had poor quality paper, and my books had good quality paper.  I would never downgrade to a later printing with poor quality paper, even if the dust jacket is better.

I did decide to keep two more books from the bulk lot.  

In both cases, both books are the same printing, and the condition is very close.  When that is the case, I usually keep the old book just so I don't have to mess with changing my records.  

The Gatehouse jackets are very close in condition.  The old jacket has a large water stain on the reverse side, but the front side looks better than the new jacket.

Unfortunately, both books have issues, but the new book is not as bad.  Also, the paper is not soiled on the outside vertical edge of the new book, so the new book is just cleaner and nicer as long as I keep the jacket on the book so that I don't see the cover.

I will swap jackets on the Gatehouse books, keeping the new book but pairing it with the old jacket.  The books and jackets are all from the same print run.

The new Rusty Key jacket is brighter. 

The new book is a little better as well.

All told, I'm keeping four of the books and jackets from the bulk lot and two other books provided me the means to swap jackets to create an upgrade.  Almost half of the books from the bulk lot helped me with upgrades, so this was a good purchase.

Books Read in 2024

I finished 2024 with a reading total of 66 books.

Here is my list of how many books I've read each year going back to 2014 when I began keeping track.

2014:  262 books
2015:  231 books
2016:  355 books
2017:  403 books
2018:  315 books
2019:  185 books
2020:  106 books
2021:    60 books
2022:    47 books
2023:    51 books
2024:    66 books

As I wrote in September, my reading pattern is sporadic.  I can read steadily through whatever set interests me, then I end up going weeks withing reading anything.  That is, I go weeks without reading books.  

How many of you are like me, always reading everything?  Product boxes, signs, articles, anything and everything placed in front of me.  I am always reading.  Even when I'm not reading actual books, I can spend hours each day reading something.

It's compulsive.  Put words in front of me, and I'll start to read them, even if they don't interest me.  When I'm online on social media, I end up beginning to read stuff that's of little interest when it's in my feed, simply because I can see it.  I want to learn, to know, to think.  

I always have a short list of topics that are on my mind, and I seek out information about them.  One of those topics is pandemics.  Naturally, I'm keeping an eye on the bird flu situation.

I love to read.

Here is my list of books I read in 2024.  As I have done in previous years, books I had already read prior to 2024 have been marked in blue.

January:  3 books

Percy Jackson #1 The Lightning Thief
Percy Jackson #2 The Sea of Monsters
Nancy Drew Diaries #25 What Disappears in Vegas...

I watched the new Percy Jackson television series, and then I decided to reread all the Percy Jackson books.  I got bored during the third book and quit.  I get sidetracked so easily these days.

In February, I decided to read young adult books.  I found praise online for the imprint, Sourcebooks Fire.  Following that lead brought me to quite a few books that I enjoyed.

February:  11 books

That's Not My Name by Megan Lally
They're Watching You by Chelsea Ichaso
The Warning by Kristy Acevedo
The Fallout by Kristy Acevedo
Plague Land by Alex Scarrow
Plague Land: Reborn by Alex Scarrow
Plague Land: No Escape by Alex Scarrow
What Happened on Hicks Road by Hannah Jayne
Swarm by Jennifer D. Lyle
Don't Let In the Cold by Keely Parrack
The Last to Die by Kelly Garrett

March:  12 books

The Girl Who Knew Too Much by Tiffany Brooks
The Chaperone by M Hendrix
All That's Left in the World by Erik J. Brown
The Compound by S. A. Bodeen
The Fallout by S. A. Bodeen
The Rule of Three by Eric Walters
The Rule of Three: Fight for Power by Eric Walters
The Rule of Three: Will to Survive by Eric Walters
Wilders: A Dystopian Half-Pocalyse Series by Cass Kim
Wilders: The Change by Cass Kim
Consequences: A Wilders Finale by Cass Kim
Michael Vey #1 The Prisoner of Cell 25 by Richard Paul Evans

April:  9 books

Michael Vey #2 Rise of the Elgen by Richard Paul Evans
Michael Vey #3 Battle of the Ampere by Richard Paul Evans
Michael Vey #4 Hunt for Jade Dragon by Richard Paul Evans
Michael Vey #5 Storm of Lightning by Richard Paul Evans
Michael Vey #6 Fall of Hades by Richard Paul Evans
Michael Vey #7 The Final Spark by Richard Paul Evans
Only She Came Back by Margot Harrison
Campus Murder Club by Kristi Rose
They All Had a Reason #1 A Rumor. A Secret. A Lie. A Murder by Michele Leathers

I ran out of books that interested me, and I couldn't find anything else.  Also, May and June were months of extreme stress, so reading books was the last thing on my mind.

May:  none

June:  3 books

The Defiant Heart by Florence B. Michelson
Keeper of the Lost Cities #1
Keeper of the Lost Cities #2 Exile

I tried to start my rereading of the Keeper books, then I lost interest.

July:  6 books

The Riddle of Raven Gulch by Mary Francis Shura
Mystery of the Lobster Thieves by Elaine Macmann Willoughby
The Secret of Hallam House by Nina Brown Baker
The Gray Ghosts of Taylor Ridge by Mary Francis Shura
The Season of Silence by Mary Francis Shura
Six-Dinner Sid by Inga Moore

August:  4 books

Let the Sky Fall by Shannon Messenger
Let the Storm Break by Shannon Messenger
The Last Witness by Claire McFall
The Murder Game by Carrie Doyle

September:  3 books

A Good Girl's Guide to Murder by Holly Jackson
Good Girl, Bad Blood by Holly Jackson
As Good as Dead by Holly Jackson

I reread Keeper of the Lost Cities #1 and #2 for the second time this year before continuing with the set.  I don't know if that rereading happened in September and/or October.  I was not keeping good track of my reading at around this time.  I have accounted for all of my reading, but I don't know where I was in the Keeper set at the beginning of October.  Also, I am only counting the June reading of Keeper #1 and #2 towards my total, so when I read them the second time doesn't matter.

October:  3 books

Keeper of the Lost Cities #3 Everblaze
Keeper of the Lost Cities #4 Neverseen
Keeper of the Lost Cities #5 Lodestar

November:  5 books

Keeper of the Lost Cities #6 Nightfall
Keeper of the Lost Cities #7 Flashback
Keeper of the Lost Cities #8 Legacy
Keeper of the Lost Cities #8.5 Unlocked
Keeper of the Lost Cities #9 Stellarlune

December:  7 books

Keeper of the Lost Cities #9.5 Unraveled
Keeper of the Lost Cities #9.5 Unraveled
If I Tell: A Murder Mystery Thriller about a Girl and a Serial Killer by J. W. Lynne
End of Times #1 Impact by Nate Johnson
End of Times #2 Escape by Nate Johnson
End of Times #3 Endure by Nate Johnson
End of Times #4 Quest by Nate Johnson
The End of Everything #1 by Nate Johnson

I read Keeper of the Lost Cities #9.5 Unraveled twice through when it was released.  I am only counting the first reading towards my total.

Currently, I am mainly interested in reading modern books.  59 of the 66 books I read in 2024 have been published since 2000.

The Best Books of 2024

These books are the most outstanding books out of all of the books I read in 2024.  I am so fortunate that I read them.

That's Not My Name by Megan Lally
Campus Murder Club by Kristi Rose
The Season of Silence by Mary Francis Shura

The Worst Books of 2024

These books bored me.

Michael Vey #7 The Final Spark by Richard Paul Evans
Let the Sky Fall trilogy by Shannon Messenger
Mystery of the Lobster Thieves by Elaine Macmann Willoughby

I enjoyed this next group of books to varying degrees, but they were quite disappointing.  When I finished reading each one, I felt depressed, disgusted, or angry.  

If I Tell: A Murder Mystery Thriller about a Girl and a Serial Killer by J. W. Lynne
The Last Witness by Claire McFall
They All Had a Reason #1 A Rumor. A Secret. A Lie. A Murder by Michele Leathers

The one that really angered me was The Last Witness by Claire McFall, because it was a total waste of time.  I don't appreciate being manipulated and lied to by the author.  It is enraging. 

At present, I am still on winter break and am thoroughly enjoying Nate Johnson's books.  The books are self-published and have quite a few errors with homonyms and punctuation, but Nate Johnson writes engaging stories that have interesting characters.  I'm good to go for around the next week, and then I'll see if I can find something else that I like.

Keeper of the Lost Cities #7 Flashback - Thoughts from 4th Reading

This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS from late in the set.  Do not read this post unless you've read ALL of the books that have been published.  You've been warned.

On page 37, Fallon Vacker knows that Alvar can't be trusted and believes the Neverseen want Alvar to be sent to Everglen.  Fallon is rather aware of the elves' current political environment for someone who disdains modern existence and claims that it fatigues him.  We learn later in this story that Fallon is completely correct about the Neverseen and Alvar.

On page 74, we learn that the Celestial Festival is in "a little less than three months."  This means that Book 7 spans a time frame of around three months.  

On page 211, Magnate Leto transmits this to Sophie:  Most elves manifest before they turn fifteen, so you're outside of that window.

Page 446  "Fake caches," Mr. Forkle corrected.  "Or so we've been told.  I'd like to verify that information, since it could be a misdirection."

Mr. Forkle says that he needs to verify if the caches are really Fintan's and Kenric's.  This gave me pause, since I believe that Kenric is Forkle.  Wouldn't he be able to tell if the cache were his?  I then realized that Kenric's cache requires Oralie's eyelash to open it.  Unless Mr. Forkle has one of Oralie's eyelashes on hand, then he wouldn't be able to verify if the cache is indeed Kenric's.  He has no idea.

Page 450  "He's right," Mr. Forkle added softly.  "The Neverseen have all but declared war.  And war is a messy, horrible thing.  It requires crossing lines that probably shouldn't be crossed but must be in order to survive."

This is more evidence that Forkle understands that they are already in a war.  I mention this because of how everyone other than Forkle reacts to Sophie setting the Neverseen's storehouse on fire.

Page 619  Sophie also didn't love knowing that the whole time Tarina had been helping search Everglen, she'd had her own secret agenda—or that she hid that agenda so perfectly.  Tarina was smooth.  Maybe a little too smooth.

Indeed.

On page 757, Gethen acknowledges that Fintan was trying to ruin the Neverseen's plans for the Celestial Festival.

This is a collection of quotes concerning Keefe's damaged memories.  These passages are clues to events depicted in the later books.

Page 351  This was the first memory I got back, Keefe explained.  Why is it all crackly and distorted?  Fitz asked.  Keefe shrugged.  I guess it got a little damaged by the Washer.

Page 364  "No, they were washed.  Tiergan corrected.  "And washing is mostly about knocking memories loose and burying them out of reach—usually under the person's deepest fears, since they instinctively avoid that section of their mind."

Page 367  Keefe sank onto the nearest cot as a memory flashed to the front of his mind—a scene so distorted that Sophie couldn't tell what she was supposed to be seeing.  Some parts were too dim and others were too bright, and there were strange flickering gaps, like trying to watch a really old, scratched-up piece of film with some of the frames missing.  Even the soundtrack was warped, with voices fading in and out.

Page 368  Not yet.  I can't figure out where the memory's supposed to fit.  I guess that's what Tiergan meant when he was rambling about "mental ripples."

Page 368  I keep trying to see what books are on my shelves, since that'll tell me when this was.  But the background's too blurry...  This one's way more damaged than the other memory.

Page 372  His reply was lost to a crackle of static.  Then the scene blurred again, jumping to when Lady Gisela removed his cape and examined the rest of his outfit.

Page 373  "Some parts were missing or distorted," Sophie explained.  "Can I take a look?" Tiergan asked, reaching for Keefe's temples.  Keefe nodded and Tiergan closed his eyes, and the creases on his forehead grew deeper and deeper until he murmured, "A recovered memory shouldn't look like that.  Once a memory triggers, it should be every bit as clear as it was before it was washed."

Page 374  "Okay, Keefe agreed.  "So why are two damaged and one's fine?"  "Because the damaged memories weren't washed," Tiergan said quietly.  "They were shattered."

Page 377  "Think of it like smashing a piece of glass.  Gethen would've aimed his blow at the most critical spot, and that section would shatter far more than the outlying area."

It was fortunate that I read through Book 7 this time without skimming like I did the second and third times that I read it.  From my November 25 post, Keeper of the Lost Cities Reading and Book Release Update:

Right after I finished reading Book 7 again, I was mulling over the Fintan memory as I drove to work one morning.  I believe it was on the morning of November 12.  Yes, it's weird that I know this, but it was a watershed moment.  I thought about that Forgotten Secret and some of the oddness of it.  It reminded me of a scene in Book 7, which led me to a significant revelation.

The descriptions of Keefe's damaged memories caused me to realize that Forkle purposely damages one of Sophie's memories before he returns it to her in Book 8.  He does this so that Sophie doesn't know what Amy's insults were in that memory.  Additionally, Kenric damages the memory of him entering Fintan's mind before he places it in his cache.  This is yet another example of Kenric and Forkle behaving in exactly the same fashion.

All of my past Keeper posts are linked from this page:

Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories

The eBay Feed Situation and Other Grievances

Yesterday, someone at eBay flipped a switch, and the eBay feed became this new eBay saved searches feed page on the desktop version of eBay.  What I saw yesterday was completely unusable, and I was rather upset.

As far as I can tell, the saved searches feed has not yet been added to the eBay app, so this change does not impact mobile users at this time.  

Now that I've had time to think, I have some additional thoughts on the situation.    

The first question is whether this is a glitch or whether this is a permanent change.  The saved searches feed is a new section of My eBay that is now present in the dropdown menu.  The page has been added by design.  The timing is very odd, so much so that its appearance yesterday might have been a mistake.  It's bizarre for a website to launch a buggy new feature on the day after Christmas.  Why would they do that?  Maybe they hope we are so distracted by other stuff that we'll let it fly without saying anything.

Significant changes to a site's interface are normally done with a lot of beta testing to just some users.  I don't think this is a beta test.  eBay foisted it on us yesterday without warning.

If it was a mistake for it to go live yesterday, then they could roll it back.  However, the timing is in between major holidays, and eBay's corporate headquarters is probably short on staff until after New Year's Day.  Even if this is rolled back, it probably won't be done for a week or so.

If the buggy page going live is permanent, then it will likely take at least several months for eBay to fix the problems.  eBay is notoriously slow about fixing glitches.

Yesterday, my saved searches feed was a mess.  I had a few saved sellers, and their listings were most of the page.  It was completely awful.  I solved the problem by removing all of my saved sellers.  Now I just see the saved searches feed on the saved searches feed page.  That's how it should work:  The saved searches feed page shouldn't be a saved sellers feed page.  

I also went through my list of saved searches and removed the ones no longer of any interest.  That cleaned up the terrible saved searches page some more.  My page is now decent, although I still don't like it.

I dislike all the white space where unnecessary information is provided.  Click on images in order to see them better.

eBay does have a place in the upper right whether users can toggle to see less information.  It does improve the appearance some, although it doesn't make it like the old page.

The trouble is that the selection to see less information doesn't stick.  When I reload the page, it reverts to the version that shows the names of the searches.  Ugh.

This next image shows where the saved feed is now listed in the menu in My eBay.

And don't get me started on Thriftbooks.  Thriftbooks is degrading the eBay search experience.  Thriftbooks is dumping their entire inventory on eBay, single-handedly ruining searches with their millions of listings that contain no photo.  And yet the little people like me are required to have pictures of our items in our listings.

While I'm at it, I might as well air every eBay grievance.

eBay has rendered my store categories to be pointless.  Who is ever going to click on them?

I see where it says "categories," but it's not that noticeable.  When I click on it, I only get some of my categories.  I have to scroll down and click again to see the rest of them.  Buyers don't want to do that! 

I hate that Etsy only gives me 20 categories, but at least Etsy shows my categories all the time.  I'd rather have just 20 categories than have my categories hidden.  

Let's see... what else is eBay doing wrong?  Oh, yeah!  eBay keeps changing its stupid feedback page.  That's why I seldom do feedback anymore.  I can't stand it!  Each change makes feedback take longer.  I see they changed it yet again.  Now the page creates a pop-up each time I want to leave feedback, then it asks me if I want to save the seller.  Why?  I do one-off purchases most of the time.  I see something in my feed, then I buy it.  I don't need to save the seller!  Besides, I just removed all my saved sellers yesterday due to the clunky new feed.

Please give eBay feedback on the new saved searches page.  Let them know how they can fix it so that it will function like the old feed page.

https://www.ebay.com/srv/survey/a/myebay.watchlist.desktop

eBay Removed a Perfectly Good Feature This Afternoon

This apparently happened previously to other users in the last two weeks.  It has now happened to me.  eBay has removed the feed page.  The URL www.eBay.com/feed now redirects to the My eBay saved searches page, which is not the same.  This is a dealbreaker for me. 

I'm not being dramatic.  If eBay doesn't give me my feed page back, then I will be buying less from eBay.  This is just a fact.  I've already submitted a complaint, and I'm posting this here in hopes that this will help bring attention to what they've done.

It probably won't do any good, but there's always a chance that eBay will figure out that there was no need to remove a perfectly good working feature.  If you use eBay's feed, please submit a complaint via the saved searches page that eBay now lands you on.  There should be a place to give your opinion somewhere on that page.  It shows in the upper right on the web version of eBay.

The eBay saved searches page doesn't place all newly listed items up on top as the feed page did.  The saved searches page mixes up the recent listings with ones from up to at least two weeks ago.  That's not what I want to see!  I can't use the saved searches page.  It's awful!

To make this easy, if you need the feed page back, please fill this form out.  It's the link from the saved searches page, which is now the landing page for the removed eBay feed.  Thanks!

https://www.ebay.com/srv/survey/a/myebay.watchlist.desktop

It's pretty clear that they're making us use a new feature that we don't want.  I want my eBay feed back!

Keeper of the Lost Cities #6 Nightfall - Thoughts from 4th Reading

This post contains MAJOR SPOILERS from late in the set.  Do not read this post unless you've read ALL of the books that have been published.  You've been warned.

Lady Gisela explains that the Everblaze fires that Fintan sparked in Book 1 were used to hatch her gorgodons.  After Sophie was abducted near the end of Book 1, Lady Gisela drugged Keefe and took his blood.  She used Keefe's blood to get into Nightfall to put her gorgodons in place.

Page 443  "They cut Alvar with a shamkniv," [Sophie] said, explaining what she knew about the weapon.  "So they must've kicked him out of their order," Tam noted.  "Or that's what they want us to think," Biana warned.  "They had to know we'd come here—so maybe they left him like this to trick us into taking him.  They could be setting the same trap they used with Gethen."

Biana has nailed it.  Alvar is at Nightfall to be found, so that he can later help the Neverseen breach the Vackers' property.

Bronte believes that dwarves loyal to the Neverseen dosed Prentice with Soporodine.  Are we sure it wasn't Alvar?  He's a Vanisher.  Could he have found a way to get to Prentice?

Page 491  "Apparently the Neverseen stole something rather important of hers when they cleaned out her facility—something she called the Archetype."

So that's how the Archetype ends up in the Neverseen's storehouse.

Page 507  Sophie had no idea how he'd pieced so many details together, but clearly she'd been underestimating the strict Councillor.

Bronte is depicted as shrewdly observant.  I believe he's going to figure out that Oralie is Sophie's mother based on how she reacts to Sophie thinking that Bronte is her father.

On page 623, we learn about the missing humans from Vespera's experiments.  It's suggested that Vespera either killed them or kept them captive until they died.  We don't know, and this intrigues me.

I had forgotten that Gisela was helping Sophie so that she could get to Vespera.

Page 764  "All Gethen did was ask Wylie a few questions about Prentice."  Sophie frowned.  "Not about Cyrah?"  "No.  Somehow he knew that Prentice had been healed, and wanted to know how much Prentice remembered."  

How did Gethen know that Prentice had been healed?  The only people present were the kids, the Collective, Alden, Della, Quinlan, and Livvy.  Could one of them be a spy?  Did one of them unwittingly tell someone that they thought was trusted who is instead with the Neverseen?  In later books, Mr. Forkle says that there's a leak in the Black Swan.  Is it one of these elves?

But wait... I remember how the Neverseen knew that Sophie was in San Diego.  It is assumed that Alvar was the leak, and that's probably it.  But what if someone like Quinlan were working for the Neverseen?

 All of my past Keeper posts are linked from this page:

Keeper of the Lost Cities Summaries, Reviews, and Theories