#The first binding

[checkoutmybookshelf]

I got wildly sick of white European farm boy fantasy a while back. Thank goodnes I didn't have to look hard to find other things, and plenty of them (literally this is not my whole collection, I just couldn't ffit everything in the picture)!

Raybearer by Jordan Ifueko follows Tar as she finds her family in an African-inspired fantasy world. The haunting "made of me, and me is mine" still echoes in my head. That and Dayo literally being the adoptive uncle who gets his nibling an elephant.

These Violent Delights by Chloe Gong explores Chinese and Russian rival crime families in fantasy 1920s Shanghai. For my Shakespeareans in the audience, yes, it's also a retelling of Romeo and Juliet. For those of you with bug phobias, beware.

Tha Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri is often described as having morally gray lesbians, and that's true. But while Priya and Malini are compelling and fascinating to follow, I am HERE for the Hirana. Semi-sentient, possibly evil temple who is soft for its favorite trainee priestess in hiding? YES.

Jade City by Fonda Lee follows the Green Bones in fantasy Asia, as two warring gangs find their places in a rapidly modernizing world. Shae and Hilo's relationship in particular is fascinating.

Full Disclosure: I haven't finished Axie Oh's The Girl Who Fell Beneath the Sea, but the first couple of chapters are a WOW and I can't wait to finish this Korean-inspired fairy tale retelling.

The Daughter of the Moon Goddess by Sue Lynn Tan was sheer joy from start to finish, and I have not yet stopped asking "What the Actual HELL, Wenzhi???" Inspired by the myth of Chang'e, this book is a must-read. (The sequel is out November 2022 and I am so excited!!!)

Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao took me by the throat and literally did not let me go until the book ended--and even then, it less let me go and more threw me against the boards until round 2. The triangle is the strongest shape, and this has phenomenal poly and disability representation.

Another full disclosure: I haven't started Judy Lin's A Magic Steeped in Poison, but I am so excited for it. There is literal and figurative tea promised, and I am here for it.

The Stardust Thief by Chelsea Abdullah scratched a reading itch I didn't even know I had, and I love this book so much. It has cinnaprinces, a Loulie, jinn, forty thieves, and stories within stories.

Last full disclosure of the post: I also haven't read the doorstopper that is RR Virdi's The First Binding, but it is a heckin' chonk of a book that I am super excited to dive into.

[torpublishinggroup]

Which Fantasy Class Are You? (and what you should read next)

having trouble deciding what your next fantasy ttrpg class is? hmm? trouble deciding your next read?

while seemingly disparate, these two fantastical phenomena are inextricably linked, and we're going to prove it with This Quiz.

so click some answers, tell us what you got, read a book or something, and go ruin a hapless town with your table of ttrpg gamers. it's what's best in life

[rrcraft-and-lore]

Photo courtesy of the lovely @EssaHansen of The Graven trilogy (which you should check out). Tis a blessing to be featured for AAPI month on this shelf with such brilliant and wonderful authors.

If you haven't checked out Jade City, The Broken Binding is doing special editions of the whole Green Bone Saga now! For those asking if The Doors of Midnight will have a special edition, yes. I've gotten the question a bunch now and will happily clarify any time. :) I'm excited too!

[gollancz]

COVER REAL: The Doors of Midnight - R.R. Virdi

HELLO COME SEE THE PRETTY

Loooooook at this beautiful, gorgeous beast of a book. It's out in August, and honestly seeing it next to the cover for book one generates incoherent joy.

[literatureandtrees]

currently reading in the spring sunshine

[mynameis-hateem]

Belonging is one of the oldest calls and cries our hearts make. And when they go unheard, pain fills those empty spaces. It makes that part of us go distant - grow cold. Ice forms and it’s even harder to let anyone ever come into those places again.

[bookcoversonly]

Title: The First Binding | Author: R.R. Virdi | Publisher: Tor (2022)

[mapas-fantasticos]

Map of from the Tales of Tremaine series By R.R. Virdi (Map by Priscilla Spencer).

[tintededges]

The First Binding

South Asian-inspired Epic Fantasy Novel I received a copy of this eBook courtesy of the publisher. Image is of “The First Binding” by R. R. Virdi. The eBook cover is of a person with dark skin, long hair and a ragged red cloak facing mountains and a city in the distance. “The First Binding” by R. R. Virdi is an epic fantasy novel about a storyteller called Ari. After arriving at a tavern and…

[dragon-stage-battle]

when the mid 2010's indie game has the fucked up traumatized child in it

[aerequets]

I didn't really think about this before, but in the iconic proposal scene, twilight thinks "until my mission do us part" and yor thinks "until my killing do us part". twilights bit made sense to me bc he planned to eventually end the family, but for Yor I was kinda like "oh endo must have just needed a parallel and yor doesn't have a specific end in mind so he must've just went with 'until my killing do us part' even if it doesn't make as much sense".

but i realized that maybe by "my killing" Yor didn't necessarily mean her job killing people, but rather HERSELF being killed? like was her life prior to the forgers just doing jobs until an inevitable end? cruise arc showed us that she found her new reason (family) to keep going with garden, but before that, was she just like. waiting for the one job that'd end up killing her?

idk maybe this was really obvious but I didn't realize LOL

[rrcraft-and-lore]

Two years: Book one

Less than two weeks from now, book two

13 years before, the story from/in the dedication happened. Life's weird.

[infinite-mirrors]

still thinking about them

[literatureandtrees]

Two words, and for all that, they can be dangerously powerful. In the hands of an idealist, "what if" can lead to the kind of hope that brings a man to triumph over unbelievable odds and opposition. In the hands of someone resigned to despair, they can dig them even deeper into a grave of the mind. Something nearly impossible to escape.

-r. r. virdi

[ipostmysimpingstuffanonymously]

Hello! I love your art. I'm fan of ship SatoSho and I wanted ask you if you can draw the reaction of Satoru about Shoko's death

Maybe Sukuna find her and kill her in front of Satoru ¿?

This is not my fault, it's an ask, don't kill me