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DA's Book Journal (Opinions, Discussion...nerd nerd nerd).

darkangel76

darkangel76

.:The Vampiric Fae:.
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Jan 26, 2010
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Why do you care?
So, this is my 'book' journal--a place where I plan to keep track of the books I've read and plan to read and...yes, discuss. Discussions are open to anyone who cares to partake, however I do ask that they remain civil and friendly. I'll definitely throw out my 2 cents for those I read and recommend and any that others wish to perhaps get my opinion about should they care to know and I maybe haven't taken the time to give out for one reason or another (AND it has to be on my list of books I've read, lol). Thing is, I'm pretty passionate about books and really love to read. After all, it's my love of reading that got me truly into writing in the first place. : )

BOOKS
(All lists are incomplete and will be filled in over time. When updates are made to these lists, a post will be made indicating as much.)

CURRENTLY READING: Estes, David - Dwellers/Country saga (Moon Dwellers)​

2015 Lists~
Read:
† Armentrout, Jennifer - Lux series (Obsidian, Onyx, Opal, Origin, Opposition, Shadows, Obsession)
† Armstrong, Kelley - Darkest Powers trilogy (The Summoning, The Awakening, The Reckoning...also, Bonus Packs 1 and 2, Kat, Hunting Kat)
† Armstrong, Kelley - Darkest Rising trilogy (The Gathering, The Calling, The Rising...also, Atoning)
† Aveyard, Victoria - Red Queen trilogy (The Red Queen...)
† Aveyard, Victoria - Red Queen novellae (Queensong...)
† Black, Holly - The Coldest Girl In Coldtown
† Draven, Grace - Master Of Crows
† Draven, Grace - The Wraith King series (Radiance...)
† Draven, Grace - Sunday's Child
† Draven, Grace - Gaslight Hades
† Hunter, Elizabeth - Elemental Mysteries (A Hidden Fire, This Same Earth, A Force Of Wind, A Fall Of Water)
† Hunter, Elizabeth - Elemental World series (Building From Ashes, Waterlocked, Blood And Sand, The Bronze Blade, Lost Letters And Christmas Lights, The Scarlet Deep, A Very Proper Monster...)
† Hunter, Elizabeth - Elemental Legacy series (Shadows And Gold...)
† Meyer, Melissa - Lunar Cycle (Cinder, Scarlett, Cress, Winter...also, Glitches, Queens Army, Fairest)
UNFINISHED: Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern; Moon Dwellers by David Estes

2016 Lists~
Read:
† Aveyard, Victoria - Red Queen novellae (Steel Scars)
† Black, Holly - The Darkest Part Of The Forest


To Read:
† Black, Holly - Doll Bones
† Dela Cruz, Melissa - Blue Bloods series (Blue Bloods, Masquerade, Revelations, The Van Alen Legacy, Misguided Angel, Lost In Time, Gates Of Paradise, Bloody Valentine...also, Keys To The Repository)
† Draven, Grace - Master Of Crows series (The Brush Of Black Wings)
† Draven, Grace - Entreat Me
† Estes, David - Dweller/Country Saga (Moon Dwellers, Star Dwellers, Sun Dwellers, Fire Country, Ice Country, Water And Storm Country, Earth Dwellers)
† Hunter, Elizabeth - Elemental Legacy series (Imitation And Alchemy)
† Hunter, Elizabeth - Irin Chronicles series (The Scribe, The Singer, The Secret...On A Clear Winter Night)
† Koontz, Dean - Odd Thomas series (Odd Thomas...)
† Meyer, Melissa - Lunar Cycle (Stars Above)
† Morgenstern, Erin - Night Circus **STARTED...NEED TO FINISH
† Ness, Patrick - Chaos Walking trilogy (The Knife Of Never Letting Go, The Ask And The Answer, Monster Of Men...also, The New World)
† Priest, Cherie - The Clockwork Century series (Boneshaker, Dreadnaught, Ganymede...also, Clementine, Tanglefoot)

∞∞∞​

PAST List~
Read:
† Adrian, Lara - Midnight Breed series (Kiss Of Midnight, Kiss Of Crimson, Midnight Awakening, Midnight Rising, Veil Of Midnight, Ashes Of Midnight...)
† Baker Trisha - The Crimson Vampire trilogy (Crimson Kiss, Crimson Night, Crimson Shadows)
† Colfer, Eoin - Artemis Fowl series (Artemis Fowl, The Arctic Incident, The Eternity Code, The Opal Deception, The Lost Colony...)
† Collins, Suzanne - The Hunger Games trilogy (The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mocking Jay)
† Clare, Cassandra - The Mortal Instrument series (City Of Bones...)
† Croft, Sydney - ACRO series (Riding The Storm, Unleashing The Storm, Seduced By The Storm...)
† Ende, Michael - The Neverending Story
† Herbert, Frank - Dune series (Dune...)
† Jordan, Robert - Wheel Of Time series (Eye Of The World, The Great Hunt, The Dragon Reborn, Shadow Rising, Fires Of Heaven...)
† King, Stephen - Dark Tower series (The Gunslinger...)
† King, Stephen - Eye Of The Dragon
† Nix, Garth - The Abhorsen trilogy (Sabriel, Lirael, Abhorsen)
† Pullman, Philip - His Dark Materials trilogy (The Golden Compass, The Subtle Knife, The Amber Spyglass)
† Rice, Anne - The Vampire Chronicles (Interview With The Vampire, The Vampire LeStat...)
† Roth, Veronica - Divergent trilogy (Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant)
† Rowling, JK - Harry Potter series (The Sorcerer's Stone, The Chamber Of Secrets, The Prisoner Of Azkaban, The Goblet Of Fire, The Order Of The Phoenix, The Half-Blood Prince, The Deathly Hallows)
† Shan, Darren - Cirque Du Freak series (A Living Nightmare, The Vampire's Assistant, Tunnels Of Blood, Vampire Mountain, Trials Of Death, The Vampire Prince, Hunters Of The Dusk, Allies Of The Night, Killers Of The Dawn, The Lake Of Souls, Lord Of Shadows, Sons Of Destiny)
† Tolkien, JRR - Lord Of The Rings trilogy (Fellowship Of The Ring, The Two Towers, Return Of The King)
† Tolkien, JRR - The Hobbit
† Tolkien, JRR - The Simarillion
† Ward, JR - Black Dagger Brotherhood series (Dark Lover, Lover, Eternal, Lover Awakened, Lover Revealed, Lover Unbound, Lover Enshrined, Lover Avenged...)

OTHER List~
To Read:
† Adrian, Lara - Midnight Breed series (Shades Of Midnight, Taken By Midnight, Deeper Than Midnight, Darker After Midnight, Edge Of Dawn, Crave The Night...also, A Touch Of Midnight, A Taste Of Midnight, Marked By Midnight, Stroke Of Midnight, Tempted By Midnight)
† Colfer, Eoin - Artemis Fowl series (The Time Paradox, The Atlantis Complex, The Last Guardian)
† Herbert, Frank - Dune series (Dune Messiah, Children Of Dune, God Emperor Of Dune, Heretics Of Dune, Chapterhouse Dune)
† Jordan, Robert - Wheel Of Time series (Lord Of Chaos, A Crown Of Swords, A Path Of Daggers, Winter's Heart, Crossroads Of Twilight, Knife Of Dreams...also with Brandon Sanderson The Gathering Storm, Towers Of Midnight, A Memory Of Light)
† King, Stephen - Dark Tower series (The Drawing Of Three, The Waste Lands, Wizard And Glass, Wolves Of The Calla, Song Of Susannah, The Dark Tower, A Wind Through The Keyhole)
† Martin, George RR - A Song Of Ice And Fire series (A Game Of Thrones, A Clash Of Kings, A Storm Of Swords, A Feast Of Crows, A Dance With Dragons)
† Rice, Anne - The Vampire Chronicles (Queen Of The Damned, Tale Of The Body Thief, Memnoch The Devil, The Vampire Armand, Merrick, Blood And Gold, Blackwell Farm, Blood Canticle)
† Ward, JR - Black Dagger Brotherhood series (Lover Mine, Lover Unleashed, Lover Reborn, Lover At Last, The King, The Shadows)
† Ward, JR - Fallen Angels series (Covet, Crave, Envy, Rapture, Possession, Immortal)
† Weis & Hickman - Death Gate Cycle (Dragon Wing, Elven Star, Fire Sea, Serpent Mage, The Hand Of Chaos, Into The Labyrinth, The Seventh Gate)​
 
Ok. So. Since I read a lot, I figured it made sense to make a book journal where I could just kind of compile up what I wanted to about the books I've read and felt like discussing/reviewing/whatever. Presently, my lists above are 'under construction', but such is. Goodness knows, they'll probably never be fully complete, but that's ok. I figure the 'going forward' is more important anyway. Though the past books I've read are pretty damned awesome too and more than worthy of note. However, since I'm starting this NOW and it's pretty much the start of 2015, I'm just going to start this off with books I've been reading since the beginning of the New Year and on...but if anyone is curious about a book I've read in the past and wants to discuss it with me or is curious about my review and/or opinion on it, feel free to ask me about it. I'm more than game to do so.

So. Moving on. I'm just going to slowly start talking about all the books I've been reading. And WOW have I been busy this year and it's only mid-February! lol! I've been on a bit of a YA kick as of late, which really isn't much of a surprise, to be honest. I love YAs because 1) the writing tends to be fast paced and vivid and 2) a lot of the stories are pretty damned awesome. So, what have I read to date? Welllllll........if you just count actual books and not short stories or novellas and the like:

Jennifer Armentrout - Lux series (Obsidian, Onyx...)
Kelley Armstrong - Darkest Power trilogy (The Summoning, The Awakening, The Reckoning); Darkest Rising trilogy (The Gathering, The Calling, The Rising)
Holly Black - The Coldest Girl In Coldtown
Grace Draven - Master Of Crows
Melissa Meyer - The Lunar Cycle (Cinder, Scarlett, Cress...)

And.......I had started Erin Morgentern's Night Circus, but it felt a bit slow paced, so I after I got about a third through it, I decided to give it a tiny break. However, I plan to go back and finish it later at some point. Currently, I'm reading the 3rd book in the Lux series by Jennifer Armentrout, titled Opal.

Not too bad, if I don't say so myself. XD

Perhaps once I finish up Opal, I start to give reviews of these books. I'll probably just group them together if they are a series since the series really aren't stand alones and tell a major story that builds upon its predecessor. However, I'll save my discussion of Lux once I finish up all the books I have for them. Just seems to make sense to do it that way. At least to me. : )
 
Updated my reading lists a little bit. Why? Well, because I've read a bit more in Jennifer L Armentrout's Lux series. I have to say, it's been a fabulous read so far. I'm rather enjoying it. Though I'll save my review of the books until AFTER I've finished them all seeing as the entire series is completed. XD
 
So, given things, I'm only going to review things starting with what I've read in 2015 and forward. If anyone is curious for my review/discussion of a book I've read BEFORE then, just ask and I'll be happy to provide and/or discuss. But unless I seriously get the urge to do so (or just have a lapse in finding something I feel like reading at any particular time), I'm going to just be systematic about things and consider 2015 my starting point. XD That said, I'll just do my reviews (and if anyone who's read/interested in the book I review wishes to discuss these books with me...can be to inquire about it, discuss, whatever...feel free to just comment or whatever) in order as I've read them.

So that has me starting things off with Kelley Armstrong and her Darkest Powers/Darkness Rising books. To start, I'll inform anyone who is interested that these are TWO trilogy sets that work together as a whole and then there are a bunch of short stories that sort of fill in the gaps and add further depth to everything. The best order to read everything, in my own opinion, is as follows:

The Darkest Powers trilogy (The Summoning, The Awakening, The Reckoning)
short stories -- Bonus Pack 1 (Dangerous, Divided, Disenchanted), Bonus Pack 2 (Belonging, Facing Facts)
The Darkness Rising trilogy (The Gathering, The Calling, The Rising)
short stories -- Atoning
other short stories -- Kat*, Hunting Kat*

*These two short stories work together and are in the same universe as everything else, however the characters have nothing to do with the ones in any of the other books...so they are total off shoots and can stand alone entirely.

Now, for the meat of everything...

The entire world created by Armstrong is absolutely wonderful and I adore the characters she's created to absolute pieces! I will say, however, that I found myself a bit more drawn to her characters in the Darkest Powers set vs the Darkness Rising set. As to the why of it? Not sure. Perhaps it had to do with the dynamics of the characters themselves and their personalities. All in all, they were all relateable and likeable and the stories themselves were fantastic. But, I found myself wanting more from the first bit as opposed to the second and was ecstatic when things came full circle in the final book of the Darkness Rising trilogy and all the characters were finally all together.

The world itself was definitely an interesting one. It was classic paranormal--you have supernatural beings who live among humans, their identities of who and what they are a mystery as their world is wrapped up in chaos and their own set of politics. However, the way Armstrong goes about this is rather unique. Firstly, I rather liked the supernaturals she decided to focus on and I was intrigued with the politics she set up with everything. It ran pretty deep and made for a story that was certainly worthy of the 6 books it ended up becoming (not counting any of the short stories).

The other thing I loved was her character development. Armstrong really fleshed out her characters--even those who didn't get a lot of face time. You really felt like you had a handle on the who in this series...from the mains to the sides to the everything. So when twists came up--even for a YA series--you got a bit of a flutter, which was nice. And oh the relationships! Yeah, I can be a sucker for some of that. What can I say? I'm a girlie girl at times, lol! But the development of those were nice and slow and so very natural. I honestly loved that and found it refreshing. None of that insta-this or insta-that. It made it that much more believable.

Another thing I'd really like to credit Armstrong on is her writing of first person. All of her stories were written in first person. And WOW did she do a phenomenal job of it! Never have I read such unique voices that really came off true to character! I mean, seriously...when I read from Chloe's POV...it WAS Chloe. If it was Maya's...it WAS Maya...if it was Derek's...it WAS Derek...etc. Honestly, it truly astounded me and it really went to show just how 'in the mind' this author is when it comes to her characters. It's not every day you can pick up a book and start to read and pretty much know which character you're reading the POV of just by reading over the words and not even getting a hint of their name...you just knew!! Now that is something special, if you ask me.

As for the Kat/Hunting Kat stories? They were both fairly decent, but they paled in comparison to the other books/stories Armstrong wrote for this universe (known as Otherworld...she has a whole slew of regular paranormal books that are NOT YA known as The Women Of Otherworld). What they did do, however, was give some great insight about Armstrong's Vampires seeing as they were one of the supernatural creatures she did not really target in the rest of her books/short stories. So, it was nice to get a true feel for what they were all about. Oh, and since I'm sure people might be curious.....what supernaturals were the focus of these books? Well, in the first trilogy, the main focus was necromancers, with a nice dash of werewolf and even a touch of sorcery/witchery. The second trilogy focused on shapeshifting--primarily into cougars. However, there were a few other interesting supernaturals that were touched upon, one of which was a demon hunter. ; )

Overall, I loved these books/short stories. They were fun to read and I'd recommend them to anyone into the paranormal genre when it comes to reading anything.
 
Next on my list of books.......... Holly Black's The Coldest Girl In Coldtown (and, just because I'm impatient and writing up reviews and thoughts on the books I've read thus far in 2015 doesn't mean stuff isn't still fair game for discussion--whether I've written about it for 2015 or it's a past deal...it just means I'm being me and writing stuff up as I feel like it, lol). So, moving forward...

This book was just amazing. Honestly, when I was first recommended this book way back when, I was all kinds of excited for it because, well, it's a vampire book! And, me being an individual who is utterly infatuated with vampires, I was all kinds of bouncy at the idea of potentially reading something worthwhile. After all, I'd had the bitter taste left in my mouth after having read the unfortunate train wreck known as the Twilight Saga. YES, I read them. Why? Well, I was told they were vampire books and I love vampires. Then, I was given them as a gift because of my love for vampires. And, because I didn't know any better, I gave them a go and the rest was history. I rubber necked, got wrecked, had to pull myself from the scattered debris, get myself hospitalized and hoped I came out alive in the end. LOL! XD Basically, Twilight just disheartened me. I know that there's an interesting battle between those who love it and those who hate it. And that the reasons for this are wide and varied. My own reasons for hate are multi-layered.

Ohhhh...here we go. Let's get all kinds of deep on the subject of vampires! >///<

Ok...you've been warned. Under the spoiler, get ready for a whole slew of TWHYlight. <.<
Basically, my hate for the Twilight books starts off with the simple fact that the writing kind of sucked. As in, I felt like I was reading something a child wrote as opposed to an adult. Now, I'm not saying I could write something better. Far from. But, man. I've read way better and sadly it's gotten far less recognition...Trisha Baker's Crimson Vampire trilogy comes to mind here. Although, that trilogy is hardly YA. <.< *coughs* Then, there's portrayal of the vampire. I'm all for unique takes on vampires. In fact, I welcome them completely. Same goes for a lot of the supernatural creatures out there. But holy fuck...a vampire that glitters like diamonds? I don't know. It just sort of made me quirk a brow and think...goddamn, this is hokey as fuck! Then, there's the love triangle. I think they did it to death in the Twilight books. Like, to the point that I was so over it I wanted to bleed from my eyes. And the main female character was more annoying than likeable because she was just a damn tease who couldn't make up her mind and pretty much had to have the guys make up her mind for her. Meh...I don't know. I just didn't find that overly appealing. Shit, if you like someone, you like them. None of this bullshit wishy-washy nonsense. Now, some people get pissy over the possessive streaks shown by the main vamp and werewolf and how the main girl was ok with it and even liked it and was even obsessed to the point where she got herself a bit ill... Her obsession seemed overly dramatic to me and while I get that people can find that a reason to 'hate', I hate more the fact that it just wasn't believable. I found the whole thing to be kind of forced in a lot of ways and couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness. But, really, this is just me. I love my supernatural stories and I love my tragically romantic vampires...I like them vicious and dark and I like my characters to have some ounce of spine and depth and for their interactions to make sense and be, well, believable. I guess that's what it's about for me...the rest...I honestly don't care. So that is why I disliked the books. That and the writing itself just lacked. A lot.


And now that I've derailed my own review/discussion, I'll get back on topic--Holly Black's book. Let's just say that I was excited to read a book that could take away the bitter taste and this book did not disappoint. In fact, I truly hope that Holly Black writes another book in this universe merely so that I can learn more about the world and the types of people in it--vampires and humans alike! Her take on the whole vampire thing was extremely different and a breath of fresh air! I enjoyed it immensely and loved getting lost in her beautiful world development. Yes, she's brilliant at developing the world you read about. WOW! You can see the Coldtowns...envision everything going on around the characters. It was absolutely stunning. And the slow build as she developed her characters and fleshed out the relationships between them...truly, this is storytelling at its finest! If you love vampires, post-apocalyptic/dystopian-ish type books, this one is a MUST read. It takes the best of those sorts and brings them together in a beautifully crafted piece that you won't be able to put down.
 
So, updated my reading list a little bit and, since I have reviews up for some things, there's going to be a running list of that as well. And yes, that's been added to the once 'Reserved' section. XD

Soon to be coming....a review for Master of Crows followed by reviews for the Lunar Cycle (thus far).
 
Ok. So, next up is Master Of Crows by Grace Draven. Now, Draven is a newer author--both for me and in general. And, I have to say she is absolutely wonderful! Truly, she's a remarkable writer and a pleasure to read. Her characters have fantastic depth and her world building is phenomenal--I say this as someone who is very visual and desires descriptions in the stuff she reads. Well, Draven is miraculous at that and she does it in a way where it just blends in the with story she's telling you on the pages she's written. So, not only are you getting a technically well written book, but something with a lot of vivid images that allows you to really picture everything in your mind...from sights, to smells, to tastes...just everything! Now, this book is fantasy. There is magic, lots of sorcery and demons. It's also a romance. However, the romance is a slow build and Draven is a master at dragging out the tension and building it up so that once the romance sparks it is quite explosive. The other thing Draven is quite good at is that her romance wasn't gratuitous. So, it was hardly overdone and the way in which it was executed was rather believable. So, all in all, you almost didn't feel like you were reading a typical romance. More like a fantasy book with romance thrown in there because it was necessary for the relationships of the characters to grow and develop. To be honest, this is my favorite kind of romance--the natural sort.

This brings me to the story itself. The story here was very unique even if it had your standard tragic hero and then the heroine that only the hero can love because only he can truly see all the beauty residing within her, etc etc. Now, this isn't a new theme or anything, however I adored Draven's use of it. The story she weaved was wonderful. Both the hero and the heroine were terribly flawed, making them both relatable and even more likeable. What was also absolutely glorious was that both the hero and the heroine were working against one another--behind each others' backs of course--thus having their own agenda all while being totally drawn to each other. What's more, each one's agenda was totally sound, something you as the reader understood and felt for. You wondered how the other would ever come to understand their antagonist, if ever. Yet, at the same time, you knew they had to, had to find a way out of the mess, thwart the true culprit(s)! It was quite an emotional dilemma to read through. All in all, you as a reader, really get drawn into the characters and their situations and want them to find the happiness you know they deserve.

Overall, this book was just fantastic. I adored it to pieces and I look forward to reading more books by Draven. She's an author to look out for. : )
 
Let's see...next up on my reviews would be Marissa Meyer's Lunar Cycle. This series is not yet complete, but almost so. And I've read almost everything that's out and published--I'm waiting for the novella 'Fairest' to reduce in price for the Kindle before I snag it and read it and the final book 'Winter' will be released in November of this year. That all said, what I've read:

Cinder - Lunar Cycle book #1
Scarlet - Lunar Cycle book #2
Cress - Lunar Cycle book #3
Glitches - Lunar Cycle novella #0.5
The Queen's Army - Lunar Cycle novella #1.5
(though...best to really read those two novellas AFTER you've read the 3 larger books even though, chronologically, Glitches is first and The Kings Army is third in the total line up of what is out for this 'verse.).

And now for my thoughts and such. XD

Basically, Meyer's (and this is NOT Stephenie Meyer or any relation thereof, lol) Lunar Cycle is a YA/scifi version of fairytales. Cinder is based on Cinderella, Scarlet is based on Little Red Riding Hood and Cress is based on Rapunzel. So far, this entire series has been a surprise to me. I'll be honest, when the first book came out way back when and I saw the cover......I was less than impressed and had absolutely ZERO desire to read this series. The cover just looked tacky to me and made me not have any interest whatsoever. In fact, I didn't even bother to read the synopsis of the book. Sure, I got enough that it was based on Cinderella, but it ended there. At that time. Then, later on, that book along with the others started to pop up on my Amazon Suggestions list. So, finally, I decided to actually read the synopsis....ok. Well, color me intrigued. I'd no idea that it was actually scifi. I suppose the metal inside the leg should've been a tip off, but....me being me didn't pay close enough attention to the picture to really notice the finer details. I just saw leg with red shoe and was like....blargh. >.< So, I read the synopsis, then some of the reviews. I noticed that the other books had equally stellar reviews. This had my brain turning, so I finally decided to give the books a try.

And OHHH...was I so happy that I did!!!

The books were nothing like I anticipated. For starters, the characters were phenomenal. They were hardly two-dimensional and were developed quite nicely--as individuals and when it came to their relationships with the others in the books. The world itself is quite lush and vivid, Meyer sparing no detail when it comes to her portrayal of pretty much everything. You really get a feel for the clothing, the architecture, the technology...just everything. You can get a total sense of the scifi world around you...what a cyborg vs an android, etc all look like. It's really rather wonderful. And then there are the Lunars--the aliens of the books. Ohh...but I don't want to spoil too much, so I'll leave it at that!!!

The story itself is magnificent! It arcs over all the books as a single story, though each book does feature its own highlighted story that focuses on a few characters more than others. Though, I'd say all the characters get a pretty fair amount of page-time in all the books once they are introduced to the overall plot. The main gist, however, is that you have the Lunars living on the Moon and there's a verrrry shaky peace between them and the humans on Earth. It's the future, so Earth is divided up a bit differently and has different ruling parties as a result. You have cyborgs, androids, spaceships, satellites... The whole thing is fun, loosely based on the fairytales we all know and love, however Meyer has oh so totally made this her OWN. Oh yes, don't be fooled. Though some things will be predictable, I assure you that there are enough twists that you'll say WOW quite a few times over! Basically, this series is wonderful and a must read for anyone who loves YA and especially scifi. Hell, if you love fairytales, give it a whirl and try something new. I dare say you will not be disappointed.
 
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