#alex easton this is about you

[marbleheavy]

this is out of left field but a book rec list!! specifically, books that have to deal with consumption of women/cannibalism/ecofeminist themes (basically, feminist, food-centric horror)

1. The Vegetarian by Han Kang

This book is SO good but definitely check the trigger warnings. Told from three different perspectives, it follows a woman after she has a life-altering dream that makes her go vegetarian, much to the dismay of her family. The thing that stuck with me most about this book is how it portrays the normalized but profound betrayals by men that women experience. It’s a mix of “The Yellow Wallpaper” and My Year of Meats

2. My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki

Another meat-centric book! This one switches between two women, one in America and one in Japan, as they navigate the world of meat consumption and how patriarchy and misogyny are reflected in it. There’s a very mixed-media feel to this as every section starts with a poetry excerpt by Sei Shonogan and one of the main characters, Jane Takagi-Little, is directing a series on American meat consumption to promote eating meat in Japan. All of Ruth Ozeki’s books are wonderful so if you like this, you should read them all.

3. Tender is the Flesh by Agustina Bazterriva

This one is straight up cannibalism. It’s about a man, Marcos, who works at a meat processing plant that makes “special meat” (human) and is gifted a “specimen” for him to eventually slaughter himself. The specimen is a woman, Jasmine, who Marcos eventually forms a relationship with. This one is overtly dystopian and although certainly very dark, a little more palatable because it allows the reader to feel more distant from the reality of the book. Of course, though, there is till some very striking commentary on the abuse and exploitation of animals, women, and people as a whole.

4. What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher

This one is different from the others in that the consumption comes from fungus and not literal people, but there’s still a deep-seated sense of rot. The main character, Alex Easton, returns to the ancestral home of their childhood friend as they learn she’s dying. There is a distinct supernatural element to this, but still very heavy with animal and body horror.

5. A Certain Hunger by Chelsea Summers

Dorothy Daniels, the main characters, is a food critic, sex lover, and psychopath. This one, again, explores the relationship between the treatment of women as sexual beings and commercialized consumption. Also, again, cannibalism. However, this one is very White Feminism, so take that into mind.

all of these books are very good but all have very heavy trigger warnings, so please please look them up before reading. happy reading, my pals <3

[asexualbookbird]

Immediately forgets everything that happened in June. Uh. I threw a tea party! Finished a knit hat! Did one (1) queer corvid piece! Started playing baldurs gate! Read some good books! SAW SOME SANDHILL CRANES!!!! Found new enrichment in the form of a new walking route! A busy busy month! Didn't read as much as I intended, but I did get to check off five more books on my Reading Books I Own chart so I call that a win.

The Adventures of Amina Al-Sirafi by Shannon Chakranorty ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐- WHAT A FUN BOOK! "Adventure" is the perfect word for this. Yes, it's a trilogy with only one book out, but this also works so well on its own, as individual books SHOULD! It's its own little thing. Wrapped up neat and tidy with little threads to pick up in the future. I had so much fun and the audiobook was a DELIGHT, I want to read it again immediately.

The Novice by Taran Matharu ⭐- This has been sitting on my shelf since its release. It moved homes with me. It will not be doing so again. Bland, generic, poorly written. Proof just because you were an internet success, doesn't mean you don't need an editor. Also proof that publishing is about Luck and Connections. I know goodreads ratings mean Nothing, but come on. Why is this one so high. Did people really enjoy it that much? HOW??

Translation State by Ann Leckie ⭐⭐⭐⭐- Okay. Look. This was not my favorite Leckie novel. In fact it very well could by me least favorite Leckie novel. HOWEVER. Even then, it was still fun and enjoyable. I wish it ended differently, but I still loved all the characters and how they interact. I do want to reread this as well, because I remember enjoying Ancillary Justice more the second time around and I wonder if the same will happen here.

What Moves The Dead by T Kingfisher ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - A reread! To get ready for What Feasts At Night! Even knowing all the secrets, it's still a perfectly bite sized creepy read. My favorite thing about Kingfishers writing is how even with the darkest subjects she still manages to add humor. And it never seems out of place! It's a great breather for the reader but doesn't detract from the tension. Do not recommend reading this while walking through a field of bunnies.

What Feasts At Night by T Kingfisher ⭐⭐⭐⭐ - I gave What Moves The Dead four stars at my initial read through, so I wonder if this will ALSO change to five stars upon rereading. I had to read the first few chapters twice for them to stick, and ended up switching to the audiobook which was very well done. I really didn't expect another book about Alex Easton, but I'm hooked now to be honest. I mean, stop putting this soldier in Situations, but also. I want to know what other Situations ka gets into. Angus and Miss Potter are adorable.

The library has a few summer reading games with prizes so my reading in the upcoming months will be influenced by those. Someone said there might even be a local bookstore gift package in the mix and I Want That. I do still want to do the Bone Season updated read, if for no other reason than to get rid of those books so I don't have to pack and move them. Other than that, no reading plans. I've read nearly every book that's on the shelf in my bedroom, which, wow, so it's getting harder to choose what to read. I guess that's a good thing! Leaves more room to reread old favorites.

[libraryofbaxobab]

April 5, 2024:

I... hesitate to call this horror. It's more like tense historical fiction that suddenly veers into fantasy territory. This certainly does not merit the title or cover art, which imply this should be about 17th-century witches, instead of a 1920s nurse fighting for the right to wear pants. I don't know. I liked it for sure, I just wouldn't say it evokes the feelings I associate with horror. Maybe that means I'm desensitized.

The conflict is mostly transphobes vs healthcare, and while that's horrifying in real life, it's also pretty mundane. This is for fans of Upright Women Wanted (Sarah Gailey) with an added power fantasy attached, and a main character who occupies the same gender-space as Alex Easton in the Sworn Soldier series (T. Kingfisher).

You could absolutely market this as a dark paranormal T4T romance. I liked seeing sexual tension between two trans men! I don't usually get that, and they switch who is bottom so that's cool. And the rumors are true: Monsterfucking.

7/10 #WhatsKenyaReading

[itsthenovelteafactor]

ten characters tag game

➺ 𝒓𝓾𝓵𝓮𝓼: list your ten favorite characters from ten separate fandoms, then tag ten people!

tagged by the lovely @batterycityghoul - thank you so much, friend! 💛

monty (dead boy detectives)

alex easton (what moves the dead/sworn soldier series)

diego hargreeves (the umbrella academy)

marcus whitmore (a discovery of witches)

lucy carlyle (lockwood and co)

theo dimas (only murders in the building)

jack “the artful dodger” dawkins (multiple media types)

mina harker (dracula)

sasha james (the magnus archives)

violet baudelaire (a series of unfortunate events)

i’m obnoxious about my faves on here so i tried to add at least a couple i haven’t talked about excessively as of late lol

tagging: @postmodernabsurdist, @steveharrington, @thegreatobsesso, @lesbianrobin, @jettreno, and anyone else who may be interested!

[ninja-muse]

February was a pretty good month! I read some books I really loved (and a couple that were simply meh), I got in a father-daughter visit and had really good luck at Scrabble, the weather was mostly not awful, and even if inventory at work took longer than expected, I survived it without brain mush, which has happened before. I am still the fastest scanner! My title holds.

Regular readers will be unsurprised to learn that Eve by Cat Bohannon and Mirrored Heavens by Rebecca Roanhorse were my top reads of the month, or that What Feasts At Night by T. Kingfisher ranks third. My T. Kingfisher problem is at least a year old, after all. (Also I read a couple delightful picture books, so be sure to click through to find them!)

I'm personally more surprised by my lowest picks, because they both sounded so up my alley but fell flat for nearly completely different reasons. The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store ended up feeling disjointed and like it was trying for a theme it couldn't quite grasp, and A Market of Dreams and Desires hit all kinds of tropes I love, right down to random Dickens references and weird steampunk machines, but tied everything together a little too neatly for me. Ah well.

And right in the middle of my list is my sole physical TBR read of the month: The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz. This managed to tick off "Canadian author" and "classic" at the same time, so I get triple points. (This might have had a hand in me picking it.) Duddy has aged surprisingly well, in that it's still pretty fast-paced and amusing and also in that Richler wrote it with the understanding that scam artistry, hypermaterialism, and misogyny were bad and y'know what? They still are. I would recommend if you're looking for a Canadian teen anti-hero, more than anything. Duddy is a trainwreck and you can't look away.

I managed to get through the month with only three books hauled. (We won't talk about ARCs but the book fairies were kind.) The Unfortunate Traveller and Under a Pendulum Sun were bought during the habitual father-daughter bookstore date, and both because I never thought I'd see them and figured I might never see them again. The Unfortunate Traveller is essays and travel writing by a guy who co-wrote with Shakespeare and I didn't know it even existed. Under the Pendulum Sun was recced to me somewhere (here? bookish website algorithms?) and since it's essentially a gothic novel with properly weird fairies, it's been on my list.

The third book was a total surprise. Apparently I helped crowdfund it in 2019 and they've only just managed to get it printed and also I said I wanted a physical copy? The things we learn. Anyway, it's essays on aromanticism, agender identity, and asexuality so that tracks.

And I know I said I wasn't going to talk about ARCs but I got some good ones this last month and also in January, and there's a lot of them that are out or soon to be out and I'm having that problem where I want to be reading all of them at once. March is going to be interesting and probably a little panic-inducing.

Click through to see everything I read this month, in the rough order of how glad I was to have read them.

Eve - Cat Bohannon

A history of human evolution, through the lens of the female body.

8.5/10

warning: touches on sexism, mental illness, suicide, miscarriage, and rape

reading copy

Mirrored Heavens - Rebecca Roanhorse

The fractures following the eclipse have deepened and no one can see a way back to peace that doesn’t involve bloodshed. Out in June

8/10

Indigenous cast, 🏳️‍🌈 POV characters (bisexual, third gender), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (third gender, sapphic), Black-Pueblo author

warning: war, torture, mentions of child abuse

reading copy

What Feasts At Night - T. Kingfisher

Alex Easton has returned to kar hunting lodge to relax. Unfortunately, the locals claim there's a monster on a property.

8/10

🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (third gender), protagonist with PTSD

Library ebook

The Twilight Queen - Jeri Westerson

Will Somers, jester to Henry VIII, is caught up in another mystery, this time of a corpse in Queen Anne’s bedchamber.

7/10

🏳️‍🌈 main character (bi), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary character (gay)

digital reading copy

The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz - Mordechai Richler

A delinquent teen grows into a hustler, against the backdrop of mid-century Jewish Montreal.

7/10

largely Jewish cast, Jewish author, 🇨🇦

warning: racial slurs, misogyny

Off my TBR shelves

The Woman With No Name - Audrey Blake

Lonely and craving war work, Yvonne signs up to be the first female spy for the Allies in occupied France. Out in March

7/10

half a 🇨🇦 author

reading copy

The Frame-Up - Gwenda Bond

Ten years ago, Dani turned her art thief mom in to the Feds. Now her mom’s mentor has given Dani an offer she can’t refuse: use her magic to pull an impossible heist, get her life back.

6.5/10

Black secondary characters, 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (sapphic)

reading copy

The Heaven and Earth Grocery Store - James McBride

The Black and Jewish residents of a Pennsylvania neighbourhood are (mostly) in it together, not least of when the government decides to take a local Deaf kid to an asylum.

7/10

Jewish and Black cast, major character with chronic illness and a limp, secondary Deaf character, Black author

warning: ableist characters and institutions, racist and anti-Semitic characters, sexual assault and molestation, (largely) reclaimed slurs

library book

The Market of Dreams and Destiny - Trip Galey

Deri may have a chance to buy out his indenture early when he meets a princess looking to sell her destiny. But in the goblin’s Untermarkt, nothing’s ever easy.

6.5/10

🏳️‍🌈 main character (mlm), 🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters (mlm, genderfluid), British Indian secondary character, 🏳️‍🌈 author

warning: child abuse, enslavement

borrowed from work

Picture Books

No Cats in the Library - Lauren Emmons

Cats aren’t allowed in the library but that’s where all the books are!

🏳️‍🌈 author

Read at work

Family is Family - Melissa Marr

Chick gets a note before kindergarten, telling him to have his mom or dad walk him to school. Except that Chick has two moms.

🏳️‍🌈 secondary characters and themes

Read at work

Currently reading

Knife Skills for Beginners - Orlando Murrin

Paul Delamare is filling in at a cooking school when the resident celebrity chef has a, erm, "accident."

🏳️‍🌈 protagonist (gay), Black British secondary character

Reading copy

True North - Andrew J. Graff

The Brechts move to Wisconsin to restart a rafting business. They hope it’ll save their young family, but it might do the opposite.

library book

Music from the Earliest Notations to the Sixteenth Century - Richard Taruskin

A history of early written European music, in its social and political contexts.

The Penguin Complete Sherlock Holmes - Arthur Conan Doyle

Victorian detective stories

disabled POV character, occasional secondary Indian secondary characters

warning: racism, colonialism

Monthly total: 9 +2 Yearly total: 20 Queer books: 4 + 2 Authors of colour: 2 Books by women: 6 Authors outside the binary: 0 Canadian authors: 1.5 Classics: 1 Off the TBR shelves: 1 Books hauled: 3 ARCs acquired: 6 ARCs unhauled: 4 DNFs: 0

January

[ansbobcar]

EP 15. Remember your brother

WORD COUNT. 1256

Link to overview

_ _ _

Swivelling in his chair, the recent graduate spun to face him. “Why don’t you just beat the crap out of him? People tend to listen with enough force. Oh! Or even court!?” She held her pointer up with a cheeky smile. Her knack for deducing details was uncanny as he put down a report on the desk. 

“The amount of connections and leverage my father has against others is what made us reputable,” he began. “Even with our powerful position, destroying my father would mean destroying half of our people as well. It’s inefficient and incurs too much loss.”

“What a partypooper.” He readjusted his glassed as she took off her shoes and put her feet on the seat.

“Plus isn’t court a bit too extreme?” 

“How young is your brother then?” She twirled a lock of her ashy brown hair. “Wait-wait! Lemme guess! He’s… 5 years younger than you so that means… he’s 17! Easton too?” 

He only nodded, to which she squealed. “He’s still a minor like you. I can’t grab a hold of custody over him if he goes to jail. Plus my mother’s just as bad,” reorganising the paperwork.  “And I can’t take over their duties if I’m working here, Alex.”

“AND FINALLY, FROM THE LANG HOUSE WE HAVE… WIRTH MADL!!” Cheers roared at the sight of the Magia Lupus’ 3rd Fang as he watched from behind the headmaster’s seat. Since he decided to take the extremely difficult honours roll exam, he wondered how he had the energy to do the Candidate Exam. Let alone start arguing with that girl of all people.

“And the first elimination round is… the 5-legged riddle race!” 

‘This one,’ he remembered it being played a few years back. When Rinka was a 2nd year at Easton.

“In your groups of 3, we’ll magically bind your legs together and you must acquire the given object written in this card!” the MC of the Candidate Exam began to explain how the race worked. “Reach the finish line with your object and team intact and you pass onto the next round!” 

Typically, the first object to get broken will result in other teams surviving (after passing the finish line). But nearly 7 years ago, it was the first showcase of the Blood Cane’s versatility in spells. Her team had their object broken near the finish line by an opposing team but she had managed to restore her team's object in order to pass. ‘It wasn't against the rules after all.' It's just that the passing condition is to finish the race with an unbroken object.

Thus, the sight of what seemed to be an extremely competitive yet incompetently cooperative trio seemed to reduce his hope in their passing. It’s less about your speed and more about destroying objects after all. It’s more common for this game to be used as the only elimination round since nobody other than Rinka Onoji was able able to utilise a restoration spell.

“There will be a time limit of 30 minutes! All the best candidates!”

‘I guess… all the best,’ he looked towards the rafflesian mirror as the competition began. Each group opened their cards and immediately, Darren Randel, that recent transfer student, declared with absolute certainty.

“It’s a stamp! A stamp!”

The two boys were dumbfounded. And without another moment to lose, they blitzed atop a large golden sword, towards the pile of objects in the middle of the forest and engulfed the large stamp in mud, pulling it towards them. 

Who the hell shouts out their team’s object? It was definitely unplanned. Otherwise, why would there be so much haste in their actions as they sped over to the finish line within mere minutes. Their unappreciative combination was almost a blessing in disguise.

To have Mr. Ames cruise them to the finish line, out of reach from the opposing teams whilst Ms. Randel simply dispelled incoming attacks was strategic. His brother holding onto their object and stabilising all of them on the blade didn’t go unnoticed by him.

“This round seems oddly entertaining,” Wahlberg mused to the two of them.

“I must agree with you,” the Flame Cane replied. “Especially, compared to last year.”

“What do you think, Orter?” the headmaster asked. Yet he only focused on how his brother seemed to move with vigour. Ready to throw his fist towards his teammate for the round.

It’s unusual to see his brother hold a face without fear. Without burden. What has he missed out on since then?

_ _ _

The first round ended up eliminating half of the participants leading to the final duels instead and with what seemed to be the gods cursing them as the clouds slowly darkened, Wirth Madl was up against Rayne Ames.

It’s a losing battle. But with what seemed to be a desperate drive to win against the odds, the Lang student readied himself to drown the his opponent in quagmire and inhibited his eyesight. Restraint. That’s probably all their father has ever instilled into them. He watched as the dulled boy overpowered him with a simple kick to the gut and pulled himself out of the pit before sending a barrage of swords without another moment to spare. And with that, “Wirth Madl has been knocked out! The victor is… Rayne Ames!”

The cheers of the crowd heightened at this sentiment whilst he pooled with bitterness. But bitterness for what? He wasn’t mad or disappointed in his brother. It couldn’t be helped. It was like that time too.

“I couldn’t care less about your perfect score in language,” that man uttered from across the door. The sound of paper smacked against skin cleanly. “You’ve proven yourself to be worthless again. Even if you get into the Bureau of Magic, it will mean nothing if your magic isn’t on par. Your brother’s already becoming a Magic Police Officer, is there really nothing left for you to do?”

It was the summer, one of the only times he could visit the family. But the look filled with hollow envy that plagued his eyes as they briefly looked at each other.

“Don’t bother looking back, Orter.”

As if disobeying his own habit, he took out his wand and cleaned his dirtied clothes even amidst the tears and apprehension the younger Madl had, it felt odd. Unsettling even as he sat. “Please don’t tell him,” he uttered barely above a whisper. Wirth Madl can’t bear it. He can’t go home. Not like this.

"I can take your place during the upcoming winter break if you want. I'll just tell father you'll be busy with internships then." although it seemed to be out of sympathy, it only caused the 2nd year to continue crying and reach out to bury his head into his chest. “M’sorry…”

He should comfort him, slowly patting his back. “You fought well.”

These words only won’t fix anything. But it’s worth a shot to start.

_ _ _

The Blood Cane spat out her drink at the older man’s words. Her eyes held more than mere disgust and doubt. “You’re kidding me.”

“What do you mean I have to interview Darren Randel? You should do it!” She pointed at the honey-freak. “I’m gonna plan a coup on your honey stock with Sophie. You better watch out, you fucking prick.”

“Why the hell am I here again?” Renatus yawned. “You’ll be interviewing the remaining 2 Easton candidates. Only allow one of them to pass.”

“‘Kay. Wake me up in 10 minutes, Inky.”

_ _ _

I'm questioning if I should incorporate a short miscommunication arc... genuinely speaking. But at the same time I feel like it's a bit late to incorporate it? Like it serves no narrative purpose except for fueling the romance drama. And there's already a lot. Especially with the upcoming winter ball arc that I have in the works before ending part 1/act 1. I genuinely want to end this act before ep 30 lol so chapters might get longerrr.

[kithj]

havent posted but i finished the first Murderbot book and loved it. i love Murderbot........... i picked up the next 2 in the series and plan to read the rest once i've finished the other 2 books i'm currently reading. i wasn't sure how i'd feel about it because generally comedy in books tends to be a miss for me (sorry i just don't find most book humor to be funny lol) but i did think Murderbot was very charming and funny, there was a humorous voice throughout but it didn't overdo it. reminded me of Alex Easton from What Moves the Dead.

also just finished These Letters End in Tears by Musih Tedji Xaviere. i have kinda mixed feelings about this book? i don't really know if i liked it? but i didn't hate it, either. i just didn't really connect with the main character, and not in a "relatable" way but i just felt like she was very flat. i think it was more of an issue with the writing style than the story itself... considering it was meant to be very emotional, i just didn't feel it. and it lost the letter format very quickly, but i don't really hold that against it, most books written in letter format are like that. i wonder if that actually hindered it & the writing style.... all that being said, i still felt that the book was a privilege to read, when you consider the reality of the characters and the many lgbt people in similar situations that never get to tell their stories. this was a debut, and i definitely would be interested to read something else from this author in the future. huge trigger warning for violent homophobia/lesbophobia, the title of the book is definitely a warning.

i'm now reading Blessings by Chukwuebuka Ibeh, which was a coincidence (i was supposed to read and finish this book last month lol) but also an interesting read to follow These Letters End in Tears with. that one was about two lesbians in Cameroon, while this one is about a gay man in Nigeria, both places where "same-sex relationships" are criminalized. Blessings alternates between Obiefuna's and his mother's POV, who is very protective of him, and isn't told the real reason why his father sent him away to boarding school. i just started this one today so i'm not too far into it but i've liked what i've read so far.

i'm also still reading The Spear Cuts Through Water. honestly not gonna say much about this because i know i;m going to make a massive gushing post once i finish it because it is probably going to be my favorite read of the year 🙊

[pertinax--loculos]

Books Read in 2024 (so far)

(Looking at my Goodreads, where I've been keeping track of this, I apparently only started keeping track in March? But I guess that's fair, there's a chance I didn't read anything before that. So let's go with that. ^_^)

The Foxhole Court, Nora Sakavic

The Raven King, Nora Sakavic

The King's Men, Nora Sakavic

-> These kicked off my reading binge for the year. Also, how have I never read them before? Because my god. Instant favourites. Don't talk to me.

Like Real People Do, E.L. Massey

-> My attempt to recapture the All for the Game vibes. It failed. The book was okay, though.

John Dies at the End, Jason Pargin

This Book is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don't Touch It, Jason Pargin

What The Hell Did I Just Read, Jason Pargin

If This Book Exists, You're in the Wrong Universe, Jason Pargin

Futuristic Violence and Fancy Suits, Jason Pargin

Zoey Punches the Future in the Dick, Jason Pargin

Zoey is Too Drunk for This Dystopia, Jason Pargin

-> Some of these are technically rereads; JDatE, Spiders, and the first Zoey book. Regardless, Pargin is an insta-buy for me.

Leech, Hiron Ennes

-> Tumblr recommendation off a random post. Very good.

American Psycho, Bret Easton Ellis

-> I enjoyed this. If you can say that about this book. Taking it as what it is, I thought it was very well done.

Dead Girls Don't Say Sorry, Alex Ritany

-> Go check out @aritany if you haven't already! Wonderful human, incredible writer, new book coming out soon!

Tales from the Gas Station: Volume One, Jack Townsend

-> Trying to recapture some of Pargin's bizarre humour. Pretty similar, and I did enjoy it, but I was starting to move away from that vibe, and to be honest this just wasn't as good as Pargin.

Maze-Born Trouble, Ginn Hale

-> My only complaint with this book is it was too fucking short. 😠 Astonishing worldbuilding and a very rich story for what amounts to a novella. Love.

Altered Carbon, Richard K. Morgan

-> Following on from the scifi of Pargin's Zoey series and Maze-Born Trouble. This was good. I doubt I'll read more in the series because from the blurbs they're quite disparate, but holy hell the world that was built was incredible.

Mystic River, Dennis Lehane

-> Complicated reason why I read this that actually has to do with OOC. Also technically a reread, from a while ago. Love Lehane, though, and this as a standalone is very good. Has some examples of omniscient POV that I would almost classify as head-hopping that actually works, and as a thriller, so an interesting read for a writer as well.

Educated, Tara Westover

-> The beginning of my brief nonfiction binge.

I'm Glad My Mom Died, Jenette McCurdy

-> Because, obviously.

Eggshell Skull, Bri Lee

-> Highly HIGHLY recommended. Some heavy stuff regarding sex offences and the legal system, and quite centred in Australia, but a brilliant nonfiction read.

The Sunshine Court, Nora Sakavic

The Foxhole Court, Nora Sakavic

The Raven King, Nora Sakavic

The King's Men, Nora Sakavic

-> Why yes, I did see that The Sunshine Court had been released and immediately read it, then immediately reread All for the Game, because what the fuck else was I gonna do? Not reread it? C'mon.

Icebreaker, A.L. Graziadei

-> Note the author there, cuz I know there's another book by the same title. This one was excellent. Still not the AftG vibes I was seeking, but closest I've found reading something immediately after finishing that series.

The Ministry of Time, Kaliane Bradley

-> I know everyone's talking about it. Read it anyway.

Summer Sons, Lee Mandelo

-> currently reading. Currently loving.

...and that's 27 so far this year -- 23 if you don't count rereading books I read for the first time this year. 0.o Still, not a bad effort!

If you'd like more info or just wanna chat about any of this books, feel free to hit me up. Also if you've got this far without being intimidated by my awful formatting choices, congrats! And thankyou. ^_^

[eva-reviews]

What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher -- A review

Trigger Warnings: Death, murder, gore, mentions of war, mentions of suicide, anxiety, mentions of amputation, misogyny, misgendering, animal dissection, fire. 

My Rating 

9/10 I really liked this book; I have been trying to get back into horror books, and I have to say, this is a really good horror book. I loved how Kingfisher was able to make the grotesque gore sound so beautiful. However, there were a lot of sidenotes which did make things slightly confusing. It was all very interesting, but it did take away from the story every once in a while.

Overview

Alex Easton is a Lieutenant from Gallicia when they get a letter from their childhood friend, Madeline, that she is dying. When they get there they are greeted by hares that don't move correctly, a glowing pond, and a falling-apart manor. There are fungi everywhere, and a strange woman, Ms Potter, a very intelligent mycologist is enamoured by all of it. Madeline sleepwalks and talks in a strange voice and Roddrick is so anxious he jumps at the opening of a door, and the American doctor, Derrick, who is just as clueless as the rest of them. 

My Thoughts 

What Moves the Dead is based on The Fallen House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe, for the most part, it is a reimagining of Poe’s story. Kingfisher expands on Madiline's illness and she really gives us a lot more detail into the story itself. I loved how this book has undertones of feminism, Ms. Potter talks about the mycology institute and how they won't let her in because of her sex, and how she is going to make such a big discovery that they won't be able to disregard her. Alex Easton agrees with her and supports her fight to be recognized. 

What I loved most about this book, was the use and understanding of pronouns and gender. Easton and the Ushers are all from Gallicia, where they do not use the traditional, he/him, she/her, and they/them pronouns. In Gallicia they use, ta, tha, tan, than for he, she, his, and hers. These are used for adults, and there are more that are used for children being va, van and for priests and nuns they use var. If you were to use va on an adult they would take great offence, and ta on a child and people would think you are a pedophile. There is also a set of pronouns for God and rocks. Lastly, there is a new set of pronouns for soldiers, which has no link to the gender binary, ka and kan, it is extremely rude to use ta on them and it might get you punched. This also means, that due to the new pronouns, gender is no longer applicable. Thus, when a woman became a soldier they could not turn her away, because the laws said that she was now ka, therefore, she was allowed in the military. This brought about “Sworn in Soldiers”, which is what Alex Easton is. Ka is not a woman nor a man, Ka is Ka or in English They. 

This book takes place in 1890, so this is much before the acceptance of queer people. For example, if we look into the UK around this time, in 1885 there was a law against queer people and thus against trans poeple. Also, in 1889, a woman named Mary Mudge died in a workhouse (basiclly a homeless shelter today, but they have to work and many people died. It was a horrible place to be) Mudge passed as a woman her whole life, until her bith sex was revealed during her  postmortem examination. Although trans people and the nonbinary have existed for the entirety of the existence of human kind, they were not widely accepted. It is so interesting to see Easton live as a nonbinary person in an alternet reality, and to see kan be accepted and to see how other interact with kan. 

The eding of the book was crazy. It all of a sudden changed, the pace completely changed and it really became a horror book. They do a dissection of a hare and… that was so creepy. I never expected it to change so drastically. I knew there was something inhuman about Madiline, but what it was so something so unlike what I could have thought it would be.  

Conclusion

This book was so good, I finished it in 3 hours and the entire time I was enraptured by the story. I was on the edge of my seat. Ms. Potter was such an amazing character, I loved every time she was present. The entirety of this book I felt as though I was there. Kingfisher is such a good writer, she really knows how to balance the creepy with the beautiful imagery of the mushrooms and the decaying bodies of the hares. If you are new to horror, this is such a good book to start with, and if you are an avid horror reader, this really has some of the most beautiful imagery. Even the cover is gorgeous. I definitely recommend this, although, not to the squeamish or faint of heart. 

[taylorhawkins]

ok gang I took the set list from the tribute concert in LA last night and compiled a list of videos

(full disclosure I have not watched all of these… it’s too painful for me… I kinda just skimmed through them so if you have better footage I will be happy to update the link)

additionally links are missing for videos I couldn’t find so if anyone has a link to anything that you don’t see here please let me know ❤️

VIOLET GROHL:

1. Hallelujah

JOAN JETT + FOO FIGHTERS:

2. Cherry Bomb

3. Bad Reputation (with Travis Barker)

CHEVY METAL:

4. Riff Raff

5. Owner of a Lonely Heart (with Jon Davison)

6. Heroes (with Kesha)

THE COATTAIL RIDERS (with JUSTIN HAWKINS & JOSH FREESE)

7. Range Rover Bitch

8. It’s Over

9. Something About You

10. I Believe in a Thing Called Love (The Darkness cover)

JAMES GANG

11. Walk Away

12. The Bomber: Closet Queen / Bolero / Cast Your Fate to the Wind

13. Funk #49

MARK RONSON/ANDREW WYATT/DAVE GROHL

14. Right Down The Line

THEM CROOKED VULTURES

15. Goodbye Yellow Brick Road

16. Dead End Friends

17. Long Slow Goodbye

WOLFGANG VAN HALEN/JUSTIN HAWKINS/JOSH FREESE/DAVE GROHL

18. Panama

19. Hot for Teacher

DEF LEPPARD/FOO FIGHTERS/PATRICK WILSON

20. Rock of Ages

21. Photograph (with Miley Cyrus)

NIKKI SIXX & TOMMY LEE/DEREK DAY/FOO FIGHTERS

22. Live Wire

23. Home Sweet Home

ELLIOT EASTON/JOSH HOMME/FOO FIGHTERS

24. Shake It Up

25. Just What I Needed

PINK/NANCY WILSON/FOO FIGHTERS

26. Barracuda

STEWART COPELAND/FOO FIGHTERS

27. Next To You

28. Every Little Thing She Does is Magic (with Jon Davison)

ALANIS MORISSETTE/FOO FIGHTERS

29. You Oughta Know (with Chris Chaney & Chad Smith)

SEBASTIAN BACH/GEEZER BUTLER/LARS ULRICH/FOO FIGHTERS

30. Supernaut

31. Paranoid

GEDDY LEE/ALEX LIFESON

Jack Black intro

32. 2112 Part I: Overture (with Dave Grohl)

33. Working Man (with Chad Smith)

34. YYZ (with Danny Carey)

SOUNDGARDEN/TAYLOR MOMSEN/NIRVANA

35. The Day I Tried to Live

36. Black Hole Sun

QUEEN/FOO FIGHTERS

37. We Will Rock You (with Justin Hawkins)

38. I’m in Love with My Car (with Rufus Taylor)

39. Under Pressure (with Justin Hawkins)

40. Somebody to Love (with Pink)

41. Love of my Life (Brian May acoustic) (alt angle)

Somebody to Love tribute video

FOO FIGHTERS

42. All My Life (with Josh Freese)

43. The Pretender (with Jon Theodore & Pink)

44. Walk (with Travis Barker)

45. Low (with Matt Cameron)

46. This is a Call (with Brad Wilk)

47. The Sky is a Neighborhood (with Patrick Wilson)

48. Creep (Radiohead cover) (with Dave Chappelle and Patrick Wilson)

49. Run (with Omar Hakim)

50. Best of You (with Rufus Taylor)

51. My Hero (with Shane Hawkins!!!!!!)

52. I’ll Stick Around (WITH SHANE HAWKINS!!)

53. Everlong (with Chad Smith)

[kitsuneheartreviews]

Horror: "What Feasts at Night" by T. Kingfisher (2024-02-13)

I went basically RABID when I was picked to review an audio ARC of this book. I LOVED "What Moves the Dead," and finding out that there was to be another horrific tale featuring ex-soldier Alex Easton (pronouns ka/kan).

Easton, ka's batman Angus, and their mycologist friend Eugenia Potter have relocated to one of Easton's childhood vacation homes. What they all hoped would be a haven of relaxation is quickly turned eerie by learning of the death of the home's caretaker, and then terrifying as Easton and a new caretaker begin to experience strange dreams.

There's whispers in town about the old Easton place. They say there's something old, there. Something hidden. Something hungry.

And now Easton has to go through all this SUPERNATURAL stuff again! Ugh!

This book goes a bit more in-depth on Easton's past as a soldier, and how what we can now read as PTSD is affecting ka's life. Ka has flashbacks (some of which become quite plot relevant) and a persistent tinnitus. Add to that a newfound fear of mushrooms and a lot of jitters that are COMPETELY understandable for someone who has just gone through what Easton did in book 1, and the soldier isn't doing so hot.

I will say, book 1 is a bit better than its sequel, but only just a bit. Not even a half-star difference, they are both full 5-star experiences! If you loved "What Moves the Dead," or just want a bit of horror and can't find book 1, go right on ahead! Easton's past and the setting of Gallacia is explained again here, with no info-dumping, just a logical covering of facts as they become relevant. If you have considered reading both books, do read book 1 FIRST, as the plot does get spoiled in the sequel (reasonably), so you wouldn't get the full horror of the unknown if you read out of order.

Avi Roque continues their wonderful performance in the second book. I love that a nonbinary actor was chosen for this nonbinary narrative. Their wry reading of Easton fits ka's personality just right, and then Roque switches right into the constant amusement, kindness, and analytics of Eugenia Potter and the gruffness of...well, everyone else in the narrative, with precision and what seems ease. Great job!

Get this one ASAP! This is definitely getting on TONS of award lists next year!

[thechaosmuses]

Below the cut you'll find a list of my TVDU muses along with their face claims (more info about each oc muse will be up soon but if you have any questions in the meantime don't be afraid to pm me, I have info on Google Docs for all of them.)

Total Muses; 111 Newest Member; Matias Garcia Added; 1/29/24

(Quick note: all families are in order of oldest to youngest; and a few of the Mikaelson's (Cyrus, Willow, and Tobias) are all honorary/adopted Mikaelson's, not children of Mikael and Esther.) Freya Celeste Mikaelson... portrayed by Riley Voelkel Elijah Daniel Mikaelson... portrayed by Daniel Gillies Elizabeth Haven Mikaelson... portrayed by Zoey Deutch Roman Ryker Mikaelson... portrayed by Alex Pettyfer Erik Flynn Mikaelson... portrayed by Joseph Morgan Kareena Dawn Mikaleson... portrayed by Melissa Benoist Niklaus Ryder Mikaelson... portrayed by Joseph Morgan Thyra Selene Mikaleson... portrayed by Selena Gomez Kolton Nathaniel Mikaelson... portrayed by Nathaniel Buzolic Karsyn Devyn Mikaelson... portrayed by Vanessa Hudgens Mateo Maxwell Mikaelson... portrayed by Keegan Allen Serenity Faye Mikaelson... portrayed by Dianna Agron Sawyer Finch Mikaelson... portrayed by Kristen Stewart Henrik Alexander Mikaelson... portrayed by Andrew Garfield Aurelia Nova Mikaelson... portrayed by Madelyn Cline Felix Ares Mikaelson... portrayed by Jamie Campbell Bower Willow Luna Mikaelson... portrayed by Maia Mitchell Tobias Floyd Mikaelson... portrayed by Grant Gustin Hope Andrea Mikaelson... portrayed by Danielle Rose Russell

Malachai Silas Parker... portrayed by Chris Wood Zephyr Raven Parker... portrayed by Froy Gutierrez Zariyah Dove Parker... portrayed by Sabrina Carpenter Kennedy Taylor Parker... portrayed by Taylor Swift Myles Zane Parker... portrayed by Ross Lynch Mariana Joy Parker... portrayed by Noah Cyrus Olivia Mae Parker... portrayed by Penelope Mitchell Paisley Juniper Parker... portrayed by Katherine McNamara

Silas Xavier Salvatore... portrayed by Paul Wesley Braeden Talia Salvatore... portrayed by Florence Pugh Holden Atlas Salvatore... portrayed by Colin O'Donoghue Damon Luca Salvatore... portrayed by Ian Somerhalder Ezra Grant Salvatore... portrayed by Hero Fiennes-Tiffin Stefan Lance Salvatore... portrayed by Paul Wesley Liberty Faye Salvatore... portrayed by Brenna D’Amico

Jensen Graham Gilbert... portrayed by Jamie Dornan Easton Reed Gilbert... portrayed by Matthew Gray Gubler Jesse Jonathan Gilbert... portrayed by Julian Morris Elias Rhodes Gilbert... portrayed by Dylan O'Brien Jeremiah Steven Gilbert... portrayed by Steven R. McQueen Jazmyn Sophia Gilbert... portrayed by Jenna Coleman

Atlas Rowan Petrova... portrayed by Dylan O'Brien Titus Izaiah Petrova... portrayed by Dylan O'Brien Katherine Maria Pierce... portrayed by Nina Dobrev Kamen Maverick Pierce... portrayed by Dylan O'Brien Natalie Adrianna Pierce... portrayed by Lily Collins

Qetsiyah Zione Bennett... portrayed by Janina Gavankar Eleanor Marie Bennett... portrayed by Zendaya Coleman Salem Elijah Bennett... portrayed by Jordan Fisher Gabriel Graham Gustin... portrayed by Chuku Modu Bonnie Sheila Bennett... portrayed by Kat Graham Belladonna Sharie Bennett... portrayed by Vanessa Morgan

Marcel Leon Gerard... portrayed by Charles Michael Davis Hayley Jane Marshall... portrayed by Phoebe Tonkin Seraphina Rose Ward... portrayed by Madelaine Petsch Theodore Joseph Brickenden... portrayed by Timothee Chalamet  Kaia Asherah Halloran... portrayed by Odette Annable Elizabeth Anne Forbes... portrayed by Marguerite MacIntyre Carter William Forbes... portrayed by Charlie Hunnam Josette Olivia Saltzman... portrayed by Kaylee Bryant Ryan Nicholas Clarke... portrayed by Nick Fink Landon Maxwell Kirby... portrayed by Aria Shahghasemi Aurora Violet De Martel... portrayed by Rebecca Breeds Cameron Myles Lawrence... portrayed by Lucas Bravo Aiden Matthew Lawrence... portrayed by Colin Woodell Jameson Tyler Rosza... portrayed by Tyler Posey Tatum Jaxson Lockwood... portrayed by Morgan Evans Tyler James Lockwood... portrayed by Michael Trevino Tatiana Jade Lockwood... portrayed by Adelaide Kane Taylor Jacob Lockwood... portrayed by Taylor Launter Axel Madden Hughes... portrayed by Cody Saintgnue Ashton Malik Hughes... portrayed by Cody Christian Alexia Rae Branson... portrayed by Arielle Kebbel Sebastian Sawyer Sharpe... portrayed by Aaron Taylor-Johnson Niall Nash Novak... portrayed by Ryan Kelley Montgomery Felix Langston... portrayed by Jedidiah Goodacre Sebastian Killian Jones... portrayed by Thomas Doherty Milton Gabriel Greasley... portrayed by Quincy Fouse Ophelia Esme Lovell... portrayed by Gage Golightly Sapphire Lee McGuire... portrayed by Jennifer Love Hewitt Rami Calder McGuire... portrayed by Kit Harington Benjamin James Kenson... portrayed by Zane Phillips Warren Jaxon Kingsley... portrayed by Ricky Whittle Jeremiah Michael Kenner... portrayed by Michael Vlamis Cecilia Jaklyn Labonair... portrayed by Camila Mendes Rosemary Belle Whitlock... portrayed by Sophie Turner Hadley Kamryn Fuller... portrayed by Sofia Carson Kamryn Avery Marshall... portrayed by Katherine Langford Lorenzo James St. John... portrayed by Michael Malarkey Lorella Diane St. John... portrayed by Gal Gadot Andrew Kolton Rogers... portrayed by Louis Tomlinson Vincent Keith Griffith... portrayed by Yusuf Gatewood Sean Kieran O'Connell... portrayed by Matt Kabus Lucien Maverick Castle... portrayed by Andrew Lees Blair Lilith Walsh... portrayed by Kristine Froseth Zachariah Cole Norwood... portrayed by Oliver Stark Matthias Lucien Delacour... portrayed by Jonah Hauer-King Matias Camilo Garcia... portrayed by Danny Ramirez

Crossover/Genderbent Muses

Cyrus Boyd Mikaelson... portrayed by Cody Kearsley (spn to tvdu) Harmony Iris Johnson... portrayed by Shay Mitchell (tw to tvdu) Chandler Matthew Rawlins... portrayed by Charlie Gillespie (tw to tvdu) Mckenna Stella Parker... portrayed by Katherine Langford (genderbent kai parker)

Test Muses

Dorian Lee Williams... portrayed by Demetrius Bridges Sophie Danielle Deveraux... portrayed by Daniella Pineda Monique Marie Deveraux... portrayed by Yasmine Al-Bustami Evangeline Amaya Sinclair... portrayed by Maisie Richardson-Sellers Inadu Tayen Labonair... portrayed by Blu Farias Hunt Rafael Alexander Waithe... portrayed by Peyton Alex Smith Finch Taylor Tarrayo... portrayed by Courtney Bandeko Cleo Ada Sowande... portrayed by Omono Okojie Penelope Eden Park... portrayed by Lulu Antariksa Jade Ivy Young... portrayed by Giorgia Whigham

[downthecove]

@realbcys asked: situational gif meme #12 (M/M): Fabian Tamos (Michael Cimino) + Jean Paul Henderson (Lucien Laviscount) & Easton Clark (Alex Fitzalan), or ANY of your muses you feel fit better

MEME: 𝚂𝙸𝚃𝚄𝙰𝚃𝙸𝙾𝙽𝙰𝙻 𝙶𝙸𝙵 𝙿𝚁𝙾𝙼𝙿𝚃𝚂 STATUS: accepting

The three of them had been out and about together for days now, Easton taking them along to campaigns of his father and JP taking them to his photoshoot. They had a long ride ahead of them, 5 hours to be exact, and about halfway through Jean Paul was starting to get restless. He ran his hands all over Fabian's body until he finally got what he wanted, his shaft out for the other to blow. Easton continued to look at them through the mirror every now and then or turning his head, but things got too steamy. Most of their clothes were gone, Fabian was put on his knees, and JP was behind him. "Bet this wasn't on your roadtrip bingo card this morning." The model quipped as he thrusted his hips slowly into Fabian, jamming his shaft into the man's hole. He moved his left hand up, rubbing his nipple softly.

Being in the front seat was actually rare for him. Now he realized that he should've just gotten his driver to drive them so he could join in on the fun. For the most part his eyes were on the road, always a careful driver, but he did slow down whenever they were in the clear to look back at the two of them. Easton managed to fish out his hardened member from his pants too, idly stroking himself every now and then. "Fuck." He ran over one of the bumps to see JP thrust harder into Fabian, smiling softly at the result. "You're lucky I have to focus on the road, I wouldn't be going so soft on you."

[thefaeryscribe]

Phill and I met Ursula Vernon at the World Fantasy convention in New Orleans back in 2022. Neither of us had read her books at that point, but Phill was on a panel with her about incorporating humor in your writing. All I remember is that she was hilarious.

For those who may be wondering, she writes as both Ursula Vernon and T. Kingfisher. I picked up Nettle & Bone and really enjoyed it (you can find my previous post about it here).

Anyway, all of that is a long preface to say that when I first read Nettle & Bone, I was happy to find another author who writes the type of fantasy stories I write.

Now, on to What Moves the Dead!

Book Description:

A gripping and atmospheric reimagining of Edgar Allan Poe's "The Fall of the House of Usher" from Hugo, Locus, & Nebula award-winning author T. Kingfisher

When Alex Easton, a retired soldier, receives word that their childhood friend Madeline Usher is dying, they race to the ancestral home of the Ushers in the remote countryside of Ruritania.

What they find there is a nightmare of fungal growths and possessed wildlife, surrounding a dark, pulsing lake. Madeline sleepwalks and speaks in strange voices at night, and her brother Roderick is consumed with a mysterious malady of the nerves.

Aided by a redoubtable British mycologist and a baffled American doctor, Alex must unravel the secret of the House of Usher before it consumes them all.

My Thoughts:

I've known of "The Fall of the House of Usher" for years, but I don't think I've ever read it. This short novel made me want to change that, though.

I was immediately intrigued by the story, and there were some genuinely creepy parts, but it never felt like it dipped too far into horror. All in all, I enjoyed this book, and am curious about its sequel, What Feasts at Night.

My Affiliate Link: Bookshop.org

[ctbooks]

Boyz to Men: The Rumpus Interviews Alex Kazemi

by Miah Jeffra

Alex Kazemi’s novel New Millennium Boyz (Permuted Press, 2023) is a divisive book. It may piss you off, may offend you, may have you nodding your head to its reality-TV reality, a hazily self-reflexive gesture of the early millennium’s particular brand of pop culture consciousness. Heavily dialogical and uniquely sparse in reflective voice—despite being written from teen Brad Sela’s perspective—the novel reads more like a screenplay stitched together by saturated scenes of suburban banality and angst, largely concerning Brad’s troubling friendship with goth-kid Lusif and emo-stoner Shane. There is so much violent, racist and sexist overtone to the three teens’ interactions that it feels like we’re watching a mashup of The Doom Generation and Beavis and Butthead. Think Brett Easton Ellis. Think Larry Clark. Think deeply unsettling, especially as readers influenced and informed by the last two decades forced to look back. 

Born, raised and currently living in the Vancouver area, Kazemi began working in the fashion and music industry at 15, and emerged as a pop culture journalist, working for Dazed, King Kong and Prim, among others. His early experience inhabiting this—as Kazemi calls—“post-empire world” clearly influences the novel, flooded with sharp critiques and observations of Y2K music, from Blink 182 to Fiona Apple, backdropped by the popularization of the internet and reality-TV. 

New Millennium Boyz serves to indict our recent past as a caustic soup of creative expression, cynicism and techno-reality, a Baudrillard-ian horror film where the characters won’t stop watching themselves, and through gritted teeth simultaneously implore the reader, have we changed all that much? Using our current techno-reality, Kazemi and I chatted over Zoom to explore this question.

* * *

The Rumpus: We obviously see your knowledge of music and culture and fashion all over this book. Why did you decide that you needed to write this story as a novel?

Alex Kazemi: When I was 18, I started writing notes. I uploaded the first 50 pages onto Tumblr and a lot of teenagers really resonated with it. I got a lot of messages and, as viral as things could go in 2013, it did. It wasn't initially concerning style or aesthetic or anything. I was only taking from what I knew back then. As I grew up, however, the meanings of those initial pages changed. I lost a certain innocence.

As the world became crazier, as my 20s became more turbulent, there were more intense emotions that I wanted to explore. I had to grow, practice, change, and evolve. This book is so different from the original Tumblr manuscript, but the reason it was a novel was because that's just what felt right.

Rumpus: In several moments in the novel, the dialogue runs together so much that you don't even know who's speaking. The characters blur. Why?

Kazemi: I remember working with my editor on the locker room scene where the boys are talking about girls and porn. I was like, “I have to include speaker indicators.” They're like, “No, because all the boys are just the same in the scene. They're all amorphous, facets of the extreme teen-boy experience.” I think that in that era—maybe every era—there were so many mixed messages of what it means to be a boy, what masculinity meant, the violence of it, that’s not explored much in art.

Rumpus: Why do you have it set right at the dawn of the millennium?

Kazemi: I was perplexed and fascinated by our culture becoming so obsessed with Y2K. I wanted to unmask the corporate, buzz-feed-type nostalgia for that era and create more of a gritty, voyeuristic version of teen-hood. What if we take the voice from American Pie and explore the darker aspects of that world? I wanted to show that these themes that we're dealing with currently in our culture, of hyper reality and the Internet age, emerged back then. 

Rumpus: You're very interested in the consumerism that is bound in this hypermediated society. Do you feel like we were worse off 20 years ago than we are now?

Kazemi: I often think about this. We look at Gen Z, who are so openly queer, openly celebrating their POC-ness, anything that makes them different. And then we rewind twenty years ago and it looks like we are now better off. How have we been able to make that progress if we didn't have social media, if technology didn't accelerate in the way it did? I don't know the answer to that. But it's often something I think about. I think maybe in certain ways we were more intelligent about our moderation around screen time. You open a magazine, and eventually it ends, right? An Instagram feed doesn't end. A TikTok feed doesn't end.

Rumpus: Do you feel like that is one of the functions of all the sexism, the racism, the homophobia of the characters in your novel, for us to look back twenty years ago and see how far we've come?

Kazemi: I particularly made the characters like that to show what the culture amongst white men was encouraging at the time. It’s definitely not a celebration of it, but more so holding up a mirror to how those issues were presented in that time period. Twenty years later we're supposed to look at it and be like, “Holy fuck, this is how people talked. This was normal. Why was it like that? And why did we allow it to be like that? And why did we associate it with creative freedom?” 

Rumpus: So, you’re suggesting media of the time was packaged in this effort to celebrate creative freedom, when in fact, it seemed to indulge in aspects of our own culture’s hatred?

Kazemi: If kids are listening to Adam Carolla on Love Line and he says something objectionable, they don’t have the clear ability to critique it like we do now. They were inside of it. They were participating in the culture. For us to say that our media doesn't encourage certain impulses in us is just absurd. Of course, we can't control who is consuming the media. I'm not saying violent movies creates school shooters, but I'm saying there are unwell people who are not equipped to handle this content, and it can unfold into madness.

Rumpus: One of those examples would be the protagonist, Brad? 

Kazemi: Brad is in this masochistic male friendship [with Lusif], yet he also fears losing him. A level of trauma bonding.

Rumpus: Do you think that is born of some desperate need for young males to share intimacy, that they would let someone like Lusif abuse them, because at least they were experiencing an intimacy with another male, without reproach, that isn't fostered in our culture?

Kazemi: Absolutely. I think that these young men who, for instance, pledge a frat are really looking for a shared intimacy amongst other men. They're desperate for communication and physical intimacy that feels safe for them and their sexuality. Brad was so intimacy-starved that he would let someone bad like Lusif into his life. I think boys in our culture are in that state of starvation a lot, and that's pretty scary to think of what they're capable of doing in that malnourished state. I was trying to display the way teenage boys have to manage being a good boy to their family while behind the scenes they have all these unresolved feelings around sex and violence and drugs. They're this weird, netherworld creature that's not a boy, not a man, managing this middle-space. They are processing a lot of unresolved sexual energy. It's something that is provoking a very extreme reaction in readers, which is so weird to me because I never predicted that. I definitely have a better understanding of the prose that most people like, and I don't think I went the traditional route.

Rumpus: You averted the traditional route by being so heavily dialogical without much access to Brad’s interiority?

Kazemi: That's interesting because a lot of people say that's a lot of telling. But it's fucked up because in my head, I was like, “Oh, I'm showing their reality. I'm almost creating reality TV, setting it up with minimum imagery, and then getting to watch the conversation.”

Rumpus: Maybe these critics are summoning classic tropes of storytelling when reviewing this book. I think what you said resonates with me. The book mirrors the reality television narrative. Minimal situation and lots of dialogue and reaction.

Kazemi: There are these moments of suburban romanticism in our culture, of hanging out in the 7-Eleven parking lot, smoking—American rites of passages that would resonate with the typical Total Request Live watcher. I definitely did try to create those tiny moments of suburban claustrophobia. The book resembles a three- to four-hour nineties teen movie. It's like an extended cut. I'm shocked that I did it and also that I was so insistent with my publisher to stay true to my vision. Obviously, it's not something I want to do again, this type of style, but it is a bit jarring.

Rumpus: You say you're probably not going to write a novel like this again. Do you have another project on the horizon?

Kazemi: I definitely have ideas, but much like the Madonna school, I'm all about reinvention, thinking of different ways to tell stories. I want to stay in the novel medium and I want to write more books, but I have to figure out what comfort zone I’m going to push against next. ________________________________________ Miah Jeffra is author of four books, most recently The Violence Almanac and the novel American Gospel. Miah is co-founder of Whiting Award-winning queer and trans literary collaborative, Foglifter Press, and teaches creative writing and decolonial studies at Sonoma State University.