#and how Piranesi came to be

[bixels]

Portal 2 is still the perfect game to me. I hyperfixated on it like crazy in middle school. Would sing Want You Gone out loud cuz I had ADHD and no social awareness. Would make fan animations and pixel art. Would explain the ending spoilers and fan theories to anyone who'd listen. Would keep up with DeviantArt posts of the cores as humans. Would find and play community-made maps (Gelocity is insanely fun).

I still can't believe this game came out 12 years ago and it looks like THIS.

Like Mirror's Edge, the timeless art style and economic yet atmospheric lighting means this game will never age. The decision not to include any visible humans (ideas of Doug Rattmann showing up or a human co-op partner were cut) is doing so much legroom too. And the idea to use geometric tileset-like level designs is so smart! I sincerely believe that, by design, no game with a "realistic art style" has looked better than Portal 2.

Do you guys remember when Nvidia released Portal with RTX at it looked like dogshit? Just the most airbrushed crap I've ever seen; completely erased the cold, dry, clinical feel of Aperture.

So many breathtakingly pit-in-your-stomach moments I still think about too. And it's such a unique feeling; I'd describe at as... architectural existentialism? Experiencing the sublime under the shadow of manmade structures (Look up Giovanni Battista Piranesi's art if you're curious)? That scene where you're running from GLaDOS with Wheatley on a catwalk over a bottomless pit and––out of rage and desperation––GLaDOS silently begins tearing her facility apart and Wheatley cries 'She's bringing the whole place down!' and ENORMOUS apartment building-sized blocks begin groaning towards you on suspended rails and cement pillars crumble and sparks fly and the metal catwalk strains and bends and snaps under your feet. And when you finally make it to the safety of a work lift, you look back and watch the facility close its jaws behind you as it screams.

Or the horror of knowing you're already miles underground, and then Wheatley smashes you down an elevator shaft and you realize it goes deeper. That there's a hell under hell, and it's much, much older.

Or how about the moment when you finally claw your way out of Old Aperture, reaching the peak of this underground mountain, only to look up and discover an endless stone ceiling built above you. There's a service door connected to some stairs ahead, but surrounding you is this array of giant, building-sized springs that hold the entire facility up. They stretch on into the fog. You keep climbing.

I love that the facility itself is treated like an android zooid too, a colony of nano-machines and service cores and sentient panel arms and security cameras and more. And now, after thousands of years of neglect, the facility is festering with decomposition and microbes; deer, raccoons, birds. There are ghosts too. You're never alone, even when it's quiet. I wonder what you'd hear if you put your ear up against a test chamber's walls and listened. (I say that all contemplatively, but that's literally an easter egg in the game. You hear a voice.)

Also, a reminder that GLaDOS and Chell are not related and their relationship is meant to be psychosexual. There was a cut bit where GLaDOS would role-play as Chell's jealous housewife and accuse her of seeing other cores in between chambers. And their shared struggle for freedom and control? GLaDOS realizing, after remembering her past life, that she's become the abuser and deciding that she has the power to stop? That even if she can't be free, she can let Chell go because she hates her. And she loves her. Most people interpret GLaDOS "deleting Caroline in her brain" as an ominous sign, that she's forgetting her human roots and becoming "fully robot." But to me, it's a sign of hope for GLaDOS. She's relieving herself of the baggage that has defined her very existence, she's letting Caroline finally rest, and she's allowing herself to grow beyond what Cave and Aperture and the scientists defined her to be. The fact that GLaDOS still lets you go after deleting Caroline proves this. She doesn't double-back or change her mind like Wheatley did, she sticks to her word because she knows who she is. No one and nothing can influence her because she's in control. GLaDOS proves she's capable of empathy and mercy and change, human or not.

That's my retrospective, I love this game to bits. I wish I could experience it for the first time again.

[mostlyghostie]

Book Recs Wanted!

I have recently noticed that I'm drawn to the sub-genre of fantasy books that involve a person, or group of people, who secretly discover a huge magical secret that they do not fully understand and will never fully understand. So yes, fantasy books, but mostly 'other world' books and whatever the opposite of books with 'a good magic system' are. I know some people are into that, but I always avoid books where the magic makes sense, I like it to be confusing and oblique and mysterious. Ditto books with a grizzled anti-hero protagonist, not interested.

Examples of this I've enjoyed include:

The Magician's Nephew by CS Lewis - where Uncle Andrew has learned a few shreds of information from an elderly relative about magic. He then experiments and plots for years and finds the doorway to the wood between the worlds without having any real knowledge of what he has found or what to do with his discovery and gains no benefit from it.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke - (spoiler), where a group of academics and hangers-on under the thrall of an outsider anthropologist find the way into a world hinted at in pre-historic texts. I love how the implications of this discovery are so huge, but those that can visit this world are incapable of fully exploring or sharing their discovery because of their competitive and sadistic natures. Even further worlds are hinted at but nobody visits them.

[Limited bits of] The Magicians by Lev Grossman - I haven't been able to re-read these books since they came out because I find many of the characters so unbearable, however, those sections where the students who fail to get into the college try to piece together magic on their own, or where the Chatwin children find their way into Fillory, or particularly where Quentin attempts to create his own world at the very end, are very compelling.

[Bits of] Fairy Tale by Stephen King - I found the fantasy world itself fairly irritating, but the way into it was great, and the discussion of how the fantasy world would likely be exploited if the knowledge was spread further was something I hadn't seen before.

Little, Big by John Crowley - I love how the existence of Faerie is taken as a matter of fact by the Drinkwater family, but there's no rhyme or reason to how it 'works'. It's unclear what exactly is going on half the time and all is enjoyably dream-like.

I also intent to give the Gormenghast books and Mordew a go soon, as they seem up my alley, and I think I've read all the Lovecraft stuff in this vein. I always liked the Lovecraftian bits of the Discworld book Moving Pictures too, which was my favourite as a kid- I like when the magical discovery gets too real and everyone just runs away, realising it's better left alone.

Does anyone else enjoy these tropes and have a book or two to recommend?

[opal-owl-flight]

I'm going to pretend that your 3 and 4 were too busy/not mature enough at the time to be in love/develop those feelings back before 4 left.

They were just coworkers having fun, being more than coworkers (friends!), and making memories.

But when 4 came back, those feelings became so much more complex. And things only got worse and harder to understand as 4 and 3's relationship as coworkers and friends became strained, between 3's desire for 4 to surpass them and 4's self-loathing.

3's attempt at fixing things only made things worse, as those feelings became love for a friend, someone important, but not a romantic kind JUST yet. 4 was someone they couldn't bear losing. In their attempts to protect them, they invalidated 4's own feelings (which I'm pretty sure you covered), which resulted in the fight.

I think it would be safe to say that it was when 3 realized how much of the problem they'd inadvertently contributed to, that they also began to love 4 more than as a friend. But it's a bit hard to notice that when you're getting your face mashed up.

Post hospital stay, 3 finally realized that love and became super gay for 4, as seen by the inner 3 reactions.

As for 4's journey, it was very similar in that it wasn't until they were smashing 3's face in that they realized, in those moments with their hands covered in 3's blood, in the moments that they spent with them in the hospital, that some of their own feelings might be turning to love.

Of course, the main feeling during the fight was anger and then horror, but shit happens.

Sorry for the way too long ask, but I've loved your 4 and 3 comics (8 and 4 were super emotional as well, and I greatly enjoyed those ones) and just had to share! ^^;;

You got a lot of it right! Though, the gay doesnt come til after Project Piranesi/Oceanic Labyrinth -- 3's "I love you" in Break is a platonic one, a feeling they held ever since they met, and a feeling that never went away even when they parted.

The relationship strained bc 4 went off and experienced hell in college. She developed a self loathing, and took a break from there. SHe hoped that 3 would be able to fix the issue bc hey...they always know what to do with her (her thought here is "Make me a perfect agent, continue what youve been doing before")... but that didnt happen.

3, now the Captain, taken off the field and directly responsible for the lives of the agents, has become more battle hardened and strict in their duties. They drill the agents to make sure they dont suffer what they did (falling to Tartar specifically), done out of a place of care and love. Theyre scared, really, they feel all this responsibility, add the fact that they dont like acknowledging that they may not be able to save everyone like they usually do before (due to their disability).

They heard 4s pleas and tried to turn her to what she wants. Maybe more. They knew shed surpass them. Its inevitable.

They only wanted her to be the best self she can be. Protect her -- they finally got her back, theyre not losing her again -- even if their methods only served to strain their friendship further.

A huge misunderstanding of 3s motives leads to bitterness from 4. They were her best friend. Now theyre...just like everyone else in college. Disappointed in her (no theyre not). She strived to be whatever perfection they wanted from her. Maybe if she got there, shed stop hating herself. If she got there, maybe theyd love her again (they always did, if...not expressed properly).

Leads to the duel after 3 forced a Leave on her, yada yada.... they make up for lost time after, hanging out as friends again until 4 is confident/feels supported enough to return to agent duties.

In those further duties, 4 starts growing. Finally growing in the right direction. Her confidence swelling to be almost the same as before she went to college (but not completely). I think tje romantic feelings start here? Not sure yet. But its def after time spent together as pals and supporting each other through several of their internal struggles (4 and her self-image, 3 and their limitations)

The Captain's right hand.

The confession likely happens after 4 saves 3 from some situation in Project Piranesi! Consider it a knight saving her monarch from danger.

Thank you sm for the ask! Im glad I managed to get most of my points across in the comics wehe

[antikate]

The lovely @ashfae asked me what weird arse books I’ve hyper-fixated on that hardly* anyone else has read, so here’s a bit of a list:

Prophet (of course)

The Steerswoman series (forget begging George Reorge Reorge Martin for more game of thrones, the real ones are out here wishing Rosemary Kierstein would finish this series, live long and prosper Rosemary Kierstein. Also if you start reading this book and think huh well this seems pretty conventional, I beg you to keep reading)

Piranesi (I think this is quite popular but oh well it is weird)

Hild (made a bit of a splash when it came out but people I recommend it to always come back to me weeks or months later with a frown, especially about THAT SCENE, if you know you know)

Longbourn (I think this one is also quite popular but anyway it’s the most delightful Pride and prejudice fanfic ever and it occupies my brain quite regularly)

Dreamsnake (very odd little book that has haunted me since I read it as a teen)

The Hyperion Cantos (look I really cannot recommend these books because they have aged incredibly badly and Dan Simmons is a truly awful, awful man; but at the same time they remain my science fictional worldbuilding peak and I think about these books at least once a week and how awesome they’d be without the uh. The Bad Stuff)

Declare and The Stress of Her Regard (these books are bananas in the best way, they’re both weird and twisty alternative histories of our world and people in it)

Idk let me know what book you’ve hyper-fixated on! I love to talk about books!

* hardly is not an accurate measurement

[utilitycaster]

thanks for the book answer! would you share your fiction favorites in general?

Hi anon,

I'll post a few but I think to clarify - this is also kind of just going to be a list. I meant more like...are you looking for book recs? If so are you looking for specific things (eg: queer characters, fantasy and if so which subtype, sci fi and ditto, literary fiction, etc.) Or do you just like, want a list of books I have liked.

Anyway this is a list of a handful of books/series/authors that I'd count as favorites, loosely grouped, but I didn't go into any details about anything.

Fantasy I read a teen and has permanently shaped how I interact with fantasy fiction; some of this is YA

a large swathe of what Diana Wynne Jones has written

The Belgariad and Mallorean by David Eddings

The Old Kingdom series by Garth Nix

Sorcery and Cecelia by Caroline Stevermer and Patricia Wrede (this came up on the comfort reads panel I watched yesterday and it is indeed a comfort read for me) and Mairelon the Magician by Patricia Wrede (set in the same sort of world)

Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien

I read some of the Patternist series by Octavia Butler as a teen but then didn't revisit it until adulthood

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke (Piranesi is very different and also excellent but that came out when I was an adult, but it's still a favorite)

The Hero and the Crown by Robin McKinley (I also read a bunch of her fairy tale-based books which I don't know if I'd call them favorites still but I do think they're an influence)

Sandman by Neil Gaiman

American Gods by Neil Gaiman

Middlegrade/YA fiction I read as a kid that also permanently shaped something

Several Ellen Raskin books but especially The Westing Game

Elizabeth Enright's books but especially the ones about the Melendy family and Gone-Away Lake

Fantasy and SF I read as an adult and would consider exceptional/a favorite

The Broken Earth Trilogy by N. K. Jemisen

The City and the City by China Mievelle

The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir

Phedre's trilogy of the Kushiel's Legacy series by Jacqueline Carey (have not read the others in the series so this isn't saying they're bad, I just can't speak to them)

The Southern Reach Trilogy by Jeff VanderMeer

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Leguin

Arcadia by Iain Pears

The Terra Ignota series by Ada Palmer

The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie

The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold

The Night Watch books from Discworld by Terry Pratchett; I have read like, one other Discworld book and it didn't have Sam Vimes in it so I didn't really care

Stars in My Pocket Like Grains of Sand by Samuel R. Delaney

Literary fiction/not sf I read as a teen or adult

(there's notably a lot less of this because I do lean heavily towards fantasy but)

Catch-22 by Joseph Heller

Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple

Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn

Drive Your Plow Over The Bones Of The Dead by Olga Tokarczuk

[pleas3pretendimnothere]

Six more books this month! If I keep this up, I'll be barely able to meet my 52-books goal. The (short) Narnia books are my backup plan if I run out of time... Anyway, I read a lot of great stuff this month!

Piranesi

By Susanna Clarke - I've been looking forward to this read all year. Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell was my favorite book I read last year, and while Piranesi was not quite so huge and fantastical, it was still another outstanding project from Clarke. I loved this book.

Piranesi's best strength is the constant sense of foreboding. The narrator is childlike, his desires and endeavors so simple, they sometimes seem pathetic. Piranesi is naive but he isn't dumb. He seeks truth, and his naivete transforms a strange, cold, unwelcoming world into something magical, mysterious, and benevolent. This creates a peculiar sense of wrongness throughout the tale's beginning, and when truths slowly come to light, Clarke only further bends the reader's perception of Piranesi's world. Is it the world that is broken, or the men living within it?

The book somehow felt too simple, too quick, but nonetheless, I couldn't put it down. The main character is loveable, and the challenges he faced still haunt me. Even now, I get shudders, remembering the twists! Deeply psychological stuff! Everyone who loves a good mystery, maybe even horror, needs to read this one. BUY IT!

Sabriel

By Garth Nix - I'm a sucker for fantasy romance (very different from romantasy, btw). If the fantasy world is weird, and the romance is built from adventure and adversity, I'm game. This book...this is it...

LOVE Sabriel. Can't sing enough praises. We've got weird necromancy magic based on runes and a series of bells capable of varying archaic horrors. A weird fantasy world split in half. On one side, people are living in a happy and prosperous Ghibli world, on the other, they're fighting monsters and undead ghouls in a Souls game. There's a cat that is also a mind-devouring cosmic god. Cool. Then, children are thrown helplessly to the wilds as bait for bigger predators. It was Berserk, but for the girlies.

The romance was exactly what I like. Natural, built on friendship and trust, and low on the horniness scale (although Nix weirdly informs us that our male character is...cut....okay, I guess...). The adventure was dark and gruesome, as the central magic system is necromancy, so there was an unexpected element of horror in Sabriel. Nix pulls off a sinister sense of danger and risk that sustains itself from beginning to end. Characters die and are killed and brought back, and the ending! Bizarre, frightening, but endearing and clever. Loved it.

Cannot WAIT to pick up the sequels. This is my perfect book, no flaws, no notes. If you like sweeping romance and spooky fantasy, stuff like Howl's Moving Castle, BUY IT!

The Ship of the Dead

By Rick Riordan - I don't know how to review Riordan books. I don't know what to say. They're all carbon copies of each other with little distinct tweaks to an excellent formula. They're all good.

I mean it, I don't know what to say. The Magnus Chase series is good. Period. It's fun, it's weird, and this finale was especially dark. The dragon scenes were excellently scary! Throughout the rest of The Ship, I was laughing, I was gasping, I was having a wonderful ol' time. Period, no notes. Keep it up, Rick.

Don't sleep on these books, that's all. Read them, learn stuff, warm your heart, and repeat. Revolutionary series? No. But joyous and loveable? Absolutely. RENT IT!

Borne

By Jeff Vandermeer - I just ate so good this month. Sabriel was my perfect book, and so too is Borne. I am an insatiable devourer of dark romance. Thank you Jeff, god bless.

Weird is the best way to describe Vandermeer's projects. The Southern Reach trilogy played on evolution, madness, and legacy. It was freaky and exciting, and I knew after finishing it that I had to read more from Vandermeer. His mind is sometimes so impossible to comprehend. Borne came into my lap, and I zipped through it in no time. Why? Of course, because there's romance! I just can't put that shit down, I'm serious!!

This novel is quirky and silly at times, and then it quickly turns upsetting and dark at the drop of a hat. It's graphic and absurd, and the terror is masterfully written. Like Junji Ito, Vandermeer finds horror in the absurd. He takes a bear, a frightening predator, and says, what if it was really big? And it was flying? And it also used to be a normal man, but now its a fucked-up god? Silly, strange, but when written in the cosmic sense, as Vandermeer writes it, petrifying. The mundane becomes the macabre. Chef's kiss.

And a goopy, otherworldly, unfathomable monster? What if it was a child? What if it loved you, and you taught it to be kind, but it was still just a monster? Borne the character is so complex and fun and scary, and I think I won't ever to be able to forget how he made me laugh.

And I didn't even mention the romance, oh, the ROMANCE! Another perfect book. If you're into psychological horror and romance, this is for you. I'm talking fucked-up, NieR: Automata, SCP shit. Loved it so, SO much, BUY IT!

In the Time of the Butterflies

By Julia Alvarez - And now for something completely different! I read A Thousand Splendid Suns and told my friend I was a sucker for stories about the struggles of women in the world. She said, "Oh! I've got just the book for you!"

In the book's Afterword, Alvarez explains her intent to bring the struggles of the Dominican Republic to the English-speaking world. That English-speaking world is a bubble, after all, and it's a difficult one to penetrate. Growing up as an American, I knew almost nothing about the world south of America. I learned about Europe and China and North America, but I essentially thought South America was all one, big, same place. Africa, too. Of the Dominican Republic, even as an adult, I knew very little.

For that, I am most thankful to the book. Alvarez follows a fictionalized version of the Mirabal sisters, four sisters whom three of were martyred during the Era of Trujillo. While many of the events of book are dramatized, many surprising scenes are not. I was constantly fact-checking the events of this book, which lead to lots of time spent researching the history of the Dominican Republic. Before this read, I knew next to nothing about the country, and now, that's totally changed.

The book feels mournful from the start, as the reader knows these women are doomed. Nonetheless, each feels like a fully realized woman with personality and desires, hopes and sorrows. I only became emotional during the epilogue, when Alvarez details the impact of these four women following the murders. I genuinely felt I had watch three women die far, far too young, and I commend Alvarez for that.

Alvarez has accomplished a powerful, insightful novel about women and the Dominican Republic. The day of their death, I learned too, would become the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. That's kind of a big deal! It's a personal, emotional read, and I'd recommend it to any and all readers who want to understand a massive part of history in a quiet corner of the world. RENT IT!

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter

By Brandon Sanderson - I am no stranger to Sanderson's work, but I knew almost nothing about his four "Secret Project" novels. Of them, this one attracted me the most because romance + fantasy = yippee!! Unfortunately...I sort of hated this book.

I love the Mistborn series. Really enjoyed The Way of Kings and Elantris. Adored Warbreaker. Again, I am quite familiar with Sanderson's cosmere and his style of writing. Yumi was akin Sanderson's modern Mistborn books--fun, but lackluster. Where Alloy of Law and its sequels are campy, Yumi is just embarrassing. I was cringing SO MUCH at Sanderson's constant need to explain away all the mystery of this book! Mystery is good, I kept screaming! Ask Nix! I don't need an explanation for every little thing! When he wasn't explicitly saying, "Yes, we are definitely in fantasy anime Japan," he was covering for all the plot-holes that OBVIOUSLY weren't really plot-holes! Plot-holes I hadn't even considered, until his quirky narrator served them up to me out of nowhere! Why? I don't know! I don't know!!!

Don't get me started on the Japanese-cringe. It really felt like a mediocre, forgettable anime. At one point early on, Sanderson attempts to explain what MUST be Keigo, and...oof. So wrong, so misunderstood! And why attempt putting fantasy Korea into the mix when hardly any effort was made to do so? Why not make both Japanese fantasy? WHY?!

I'm getting angry just writing this. The book had a lot of potential to explore cool ideas; a nobody from a technologically-advanced society ends up in a position of import in a foreign land, where everyone thinks he's someone he isn't. The possibility for conflict was ripe. What if Painter thieved Yumi's body? What if he attempted to split their connection and seize control? His own body had been stolen and reshaped! Wouldn't he be disturbed, upset? I wanted some kind of betrayal, I wanted anger and agency, but instead, our two main characters are instantly peas in a pod! Everything's cool, all the time! Painter's secrets are small and unimpactful, and while the twist of Yumi's world WAS more worthwhile, it somehow lacked drama? How? The twist was huge, why didn't it feel huge! It was Broken Age and Your Name, but worse. If there were stakes, I didn't care about them!

To describe this book in one word, I'd say disappointing. Don't read this. Watch Your Name, play Broken Age, but just...just don't read this. Waste of my time! SKIP IT!

[lifeofmysteries]

Mid-Year Book Freak Out

Thank you for the tag @jajalala! It's nice to take a look back at what I've read so far this year, and spend some time thinking about what I enjoyed.

Number of books you've read so far: 36

Best book you’ve read so far in 2024:

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke, hands down. I'd heard a bit about it before in fantasy recommendations but hadn't considered reading it due to its length. I came across it in a second-hand bookstore where it was sold for £2.99 and thought what the hell and got it. I'm so glad I did, this book was incredible! It's a sort of magical historical realism book set in the early 19th century. The book uses the historical conceit to the fullest extent, written like what I feel a book from that time would feel like, complete with extremely long footnotes and period-appropriate misspellings. I loved the worldbuilding and style, and highly recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy and magicians.

Best sequel you’ve read so far in 2024: 

Martha Wells' Artificial Condition. I have been slowly getting through the Murderbot books and this one so far is my favourite. I love the character of Art and Murderbot's relationship to them. Wells exploration of (semi) robotic perspectives on humans is so engaging and very funny, also another big recommendation for the series.

New release you haven’t read yet but want to: 

Dreadful by Caitlin Rozakis. Dreadful is about a boy who wakes up with amnesia in a castle who finds out he's actually the evil Dread Lord who rules over the castle. The concept grabbed me when I saw it, but I'm not sure if I will end up actually liking it as I have a track record of choosing books with concepts that intrigue but the execution doesn't go how I imagined it in my head. The books I ended up most enjoying are the ones where summaries don't seem to do a good job of expressing the book to me, oddly. But who knows! I'm definitely going to try it as it sounds like a fun time.

Most anticipated release for the second half of the year:

Don't Let the Forest In by C.G. Drews. The cover and summary both are very intriguing, and I love the horror vibes I'm getting from it. The fact that the narrator is asexual is also appealing to me.

Biggest surprise favourite new author (debut or new to you): 

Susanna Clarke, as above. The level of her craft is incredible, and it's obvious a great number of years went into JS&MN. I've got Piranesi next on my list to try.

Newest fictional crush:

No one from any of the books I read this year gave off crush vibes for me, so going to have to pass on this one!

Book that made you cry: 

I don't tend to cry from books, and so far none of the books I read this year have made me cry either. Pass again!

Most beautiful book you’ve bought so far this year (or received):

Guardian Vol 2 by Priest - English translation. The art in this book is lovely just look at that cover! I'm a sucker for covers with gay + purple.

Book that made you happy: 

Boku no Hero Academia volume 39. That's the one with Dabi and Toga's resolution to their fights. Toga's especially, that ending is just so gay I can't stop staring at those ending panels.

What books do you need to read by the end of the year?: 

Tagging:

feel free to ignore if you don't want to do this!! and if you aren't tagged but want to do it, go ahead

@thanks-butt-no-thanks @purplemys @antiqueowl

[theroseandthebeast]

Yuletide Recs, Batch Three

16 recs for The Eagle, Earthsea, Emma., The Expanse, The Faculty, The Fall of the House of Usher, Fallen London, The Green Knight, The Handmaiden, Jane Eyre, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword, and The Matrix

Between Two Rivers, Marcus Flavius Aquila & Esca Mac Cunoval

Two rivers. Two near kisses.

The White Ladies of the Ring, Penthe/Tenar

There was a sorcerer imprisoned in the Labyrinth, and Arha had told Kossil that she would kill him—but she did not want to. Perhaps she needed to ask someone for help...

My Queen Bee, George Knightley/Emma Woodhouse

Emma went on, brightly, “I have spoken with Harriet about it.” George blinked. He was fast losing his grip on this conversation. 

We aren't righteous (or: five times Amos did as Naomi asked, and one time he didn't.), Gen, Amos Burton & Naomi Nagata

For EdosianOrchids901 for Yuletide, who asked for Amos and Naomi and suggested something pre-canon, something about that dynamic where he sees her as an external moral compass, and how their friendship developed. This is mostly pre-canon, overlapping with canon in the last two parts. (Also it's been a while since I've seen this so apologies in advance if I've missed something in research and inadvertently contradicted canon on their immediate pre-canon backstories!)

Pyriscence, Gen, Amos Burton & Praxidike Meng

After the war with the Free Navy, Amos comes to see Prax.

What do you do when you survive a shape-shifting mind-controlling alien as a teen?, Stokely Mitchell/Stan Rosado

Twenty years later, Stokely and Stan arrive back in each other's lives.

the miraculous lustre of her eye, Madeline Usher/Verna

"If she wants Madeline fucking Usher, she's going to have to look me straight in the eyes."

a wild weird clime that lieth, sublime, Gen, Verna + Arthur Pym

Arthur Pym's first meeting with Verna.

The Margin, Gen, Verna + Arthur Pym

“We have to go back,” Arthur Pym said, teeth rattling in the wind. He clutched the ragged edges of his coat closer. “Ship can’t break through that ice. We’ll founder.” -- The first time Verna and Arthur met, on the Transglobe Expedition.

by such dreaming high, Gen, The Duchess + The Roseate Queen

It is summer, in a fallen city; and someone, somewhere, is doing something unwise...

The Half-Seen Door, Gen, Piranesi | Matthew Rose Sorensen + Sixteen | Sarah Raphael + Gawain

It’s a hard job, coming home.

leverage and its utility, Fujiwara + Original Female Character(s)

The three he smoked in the carriage ride here was nothing but a gamble. A roll of the die, a flip of a coin, a dealing of cards. Lucky for him, luck is in his favor.

lilacs out of the dead land, Jane Eyre/Edward Rochester

I had, within me, that rich world of imagination that I could always retreat to, and so I transformed myself.

All Earthly Happiness, Jane Eyre/Edward Rochester

Reader, I lied. Or, rather, I omitted. As the mother of daughters, who had openly declared their intentions of reading my autobiography, I was hesitant to paint a full picture of the course of my first engagement to my dear Edward. Although in many ways it did progress much as I described, discretion prevented absolute disclosure

When It's Worth It, Gen, Arthur + The Mage

The chilly air tasted of dust and lightning strikes and the faint iron tang of blood, and there were still all too many questions lingering unanswered.

dissolved girl, Neo/Trinity

What if Trinity came back wrong? A post-Matrix Resurrections fic about what happens if the body was rebuilt again, and again, and again, and in the remaking, became something new.

[lizziestudieshistory]

Books of 2023 - July

Somehow I've read a lot this month but haven't actually finished that many books considering I've been on holiday? I don't really know what happened.

Books read:

Silas Marner by George Eliot - this is by far the biggest surprise of the year. I was convinced I wasn't going to like George Eliot, but after reading Silas Marner I've been enchanted by her. On the surface I should have found this book a bit tedious, I typically don't like novels set in the countryside, however, I was hooked! Eliot's writing style was the big attraction here, she has such a lively style that I swear could make anything interesting after this, alongside her astoundingly convincing portrait of a village community in the 19th century. I came away believing people like those that inhabited Raveloe existed and I was fascinated by them. (It probably helped that I am VERY familiar with villiage communities in Warwickshire thanks to my research, which is where Raveloe is supposed to be.) Honestly this was the best place for me to start with George Eliot and I will be continuing.

The Age of Innocence by Edith Whaton - this was an impromptu read when I wanted an audiobook to listen to while sewing. However, I thoroughly enjoyed listening to this book! I was swept away into 1870s New York society and was captivated by how casually awful everyone turned out to be. I didn't enjoy it as much as The House of Mirth (mainly because I didn't like Archer, May, or Countess Olenska as much as Lily or Seldon) but I had a fabulous time revisiting Wharton.

Much Ado About Nothing by William Shakespeare - I love this play, it brings me so much joy when I read it and this time was no different. I still believe Beatrice is Shakespeare's best heroine and I will accept no arguments to the contrary.

Approximately 25 articles, reviews, essays, and introductions about Jane Austen's Emma by various authors - I don't know what's happened to me, I've become an obsessive... However, I have had a great time and learnt A LOT about regency literature in the process? It's given me a greater appreciation of Emma and I don't regret a moment I spent on this. My only problem is I don't really know what to do with all my notes!

DNF:

Mansfield Park by Jane Austen - I tried okay? However, I finished volume one and couldn't find a single reason to keep reading except completionism. I hated Fanny and the Bertrams, I was bored by the Crawfords, and I missed the style of Emma. Overall, I was left wondering why I was bothering with Mansfield Park as I wasn't enjoying myself. So, I dropped it to read something else that I'd actually enjoy.

Currently reading:

Evelina by Frances Burney - I'm in love with this book, but for some reason I'm not devouring it? I'm taking my time with it and revelling in the experience - I've made my peace with this and will continue to enjoy my leisurely read.

Richard II by William Shakespeare - I'm rereading this and taking it an act a day because I'm making notes. I'll actually finish it tomorrow, but I'm not counting it as read.

The Book of Lost Tales Part Two by J.R.R. Tolkien - another leisurely read because it's so dense and, like Shakespeare, I'm making notes when I feel inclined. I also really struggled to get through the section on The Tale of Tinuviel... (I don't like ANY of the prose versions of Beren and Luthien? It needs to be in verse for me to get into it 🤷‍♀️) But now I've got through that opening section I'm enjoying this a lot more.

Charles I and the People of England by David Cressy - my current non-fiction tome. I'm having a great time with this, but it was going to be a winner considering my unreasonable love for Charles I!

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell by Susanna Clarke - I have no idea how I ended up in the middle of this but I'm enjoying it well enough that I'm going to continue (although I think I prefer Piranesi?)

[8147]

does anyone else ever think about how the beloved child of the house came to accept the name piranesi (which was literally used as a mockery of matthew rose sorensen's imprisonment) and was even called that by the one who doesn't like clothes. its almost like our identites are sometimes shaped by people who we once loved but who have done us wrong & we have to come to accept that parts of us will forever go on being what they shaped us into

[undercrowns]

@loveisworry tagged me eons ago to list nine books that I like/would recommend. I'm finally reading again so here we go, vaguely sorted fiction -> non-fiction:

The Thief, Megan Whalen Turner: I think it's best to go into The Thief knowing as little as possible so I won't say much about the plot, instead I'll say that MWT is truly a master at using structure and form to convey character and narrative ideas! THE heist novel of all time. Also these books make you insane so there's that

Piranesi, Susanna Clarke: Honestly one of the books of the decade. Extremely different from Jonathan Strange if you've only read that one; it drops you in the deep end from the first word which I always admire (try not to know too much about this one going in either. In fact I'd mistaken it for a completely different book at first and kept wondering when the House was going to turn into the magical school I thought the book was about). Features many topics that interest me: the self as an idea and the mutability thereof, buildings that are maybe alive and maybe love you, loving and caring about people even when things suck so bad

Watchmaker of Filigree Street/Lost Future of Pepperharrow: Natasha Pulley I love you. Do you want to learn a lot about clocks while also losing it as everything goes in the wrong direction. You should. I'd recommend all of Pulley's books (still trying to get my hands on an ARC of the new one!), but Pepperharrow is my favorite of the bunch; I felt every available human emotion reading it and potentially a few others. They're all also SO funny to me while also making me cry multiple times. (originally read these after they appeared on many @lotstradamus rec lists, truly thank you)

Lives of the Monster Dogs, Kirsten Bakis: I don't know that I've ever read anything quite like this book and I have a tough time explaining it. I wrote in my rec to a friend that it's about being nostalgic for something that was painful for everyone involved, but at the same time held so much genuine wonder. Also about trying to understand your place in a world that has no place for you. I don't know what else to say; I loved it.

Wolf Hall, Hilary Mantel: I love a SCHEMER I love INTRIGUE I love to feel a creeping sense of inevitable dread spread out over three books! Hilary Mantel was simply a genius

The Multitude, Hannah Faith Notess: I debated what (if any) poetry to put on this list and in the end I went with The Multitude simply because I think many people haven't heard of it and Yoshi: A Pastoral is one of my favorite ever poems. beloved i will wait for you / always in the roadless shade

H is for Hawk, Helen Macdonald: I came to this a few years after it was popular so maybe everyone has read it already, but I think it's a lovely meditation of grief and nature and how sometimes you just have to pick a (very specific and maybe odd) thing and do it to get through life

Fighting at Sea in the Eighteenth Century, Sam Willis: I love an extremely niche book and I LOVE boats, particularly tall ships. This book was basically made specifically for me, in that it's clearly a labor of love by someone very knowledgeable on a topic that I'm already interested in. If anyone has recs in this vein (about ships or not) please send them my way!!

On the Death and Life of Languages, Claude Hagège (Tr. Jody Gladding): Another of the niche topic books, this time about how and why languages die out and the ramifications of their loss. I haven't read the original French so I can't comment on the faithfulness, but the translation is wonderfully done imo. Some turns of phrase I'm still thinking about

Honorary Mentions: The Lymond Chronicles, Dorothy Dunnett (only read if you're willing to be in over your head but if you are!!!! they are a masterpiece) The Locked Tomb series, Tamsyn Muir (very polarizing books, I'm obsessed), the Temeraire series, Naomi Novik (dragons fighting in the Napoleonic wars largely featuring the Navy, tailored exactly to my interests)

tagging if you want @valentinetexass @veryspecificfantasies @unrealcities !

[mostlyghostie]

New book stickers have arrived!

I was thinking of which book opinions I needed represented in sticker form before drawing these, the books that first came to mind for each are as follows (all opinions entirely my own):

Either Adored or Loathed This, Not Sure: The Magicians by Lev Grossman- what a brilliant story filled with such unreadably unlikeable characters!

I Need to Read the Sequel Immediately: I have so far started all of the next Robin Hobb books the minute after finishing the previous one. I can't actually sustain that pace unfortunately because they're all 900 pages long.

Extremely Sad, But in a Good Way: All of my favourite books are this- most particularly the Elizabeth Strout's Olive Kitteridge books and Marilynne Robinson's Gilead books

Loved, Loved, Loved This Book: The last book I immediately decided was my favourite before I even finished it was The Fortnight in September by RC Sheriff, in which nothing happens except an English family goes on holiday in the 30's. Fucking brilliant.

So Good That I Bought a Fancy Special Edition: The only fancy special edition I own is His Dark Materials, it is indeed very good and important and wonderful.

Shouldn't Have Bought This, Never Going to Read it: 90% of the non-fiction books I buy that aren't about the Beatles sit unread and unloved. I have been meaning to read SPQR by Mary Beard for several years..

Didn't Understand a Word of This: I read 200 pages of Darkmans by Nicola Barker when I was at university and tried to reads the whole Booker longlist once. It made me feel like I'd forgotten how to read English

Relevant to All of My Very Specific Interests: I read Piranesi by Suzanna Clarke in one sitting, slack jawed in surprise at how exactly 'for me' it was. Unreliable narrator! No real explanation as to what is going on! A fantasy about characters rather than medieval England-ish settings and magic systems! So so fantastic.

This Has Not Aged Well: I pushed my way through to the end of American Pastoral by Phillip Roth, but my word.

How about you?

Instagram / Shop

[hushed-chorus]

Hi everyone! I hope you are all having a good day! Thank you everyone who has tagged me this past week or so!

These past few weeks, I've been bouncing between WIP ideas and brainstorming a collab. There are some shorter fics in the works, but I also want to work on something longer. Currently it's a toss-up between a hopeful post-apocalyptic AU or Piranesi-inspired fic.

But my main WIP has been What Remains After The Storm. Tomorrow I'll post chapter five, and I'm hella-excited. My thanks and apologies to everyone who has been sat patiently waiting, especially given what happened at the end of chapter four. I hope it's worth it!

Anyway, here's a snippet from the upcoming chapter. Simon is sad 😢

He thinks I blame him for this.

I did blame him. I said it many times. That he courted this fate. But I was just angry at him. For everything he did. For how he mocked and he shamed me before he marched off to join the navy.

But he didn’t deserve this. No one deserves it. He was just a boy. A boy who made a mistake.

And he’s not the same as he was, is he? His tongue may be sharp, but it’s no longer cruel. He may be surly, but why wouldn’t he be?

He came to me. Of all the people who’ve entered the sea, it was me who made him remember. Made him strive for land. For his humanity.

Hello tags below the cut!

@johnwgrey @bookish-bogwitch @artsyunderstudy @erzbethluna @facewithoutheart @captain-aralias @raenestee @aroace-genderfluid-sheep @yeonjunenby @cutestkilla @ivelovedhimthroughworse @larkral @stitchyqueer @you-remind-me-of-the-babe @ileadacharmedlife @confused-bi-queer @aristocratic-otter @tea-brigade @whogaveyoupermission @nightimedreamersworld @fatalfangirl @thewholelemon @onepintobean @chen-chen-chen-again-chen @shrekgogurt @theearlgreymage @martsonmars @blackberrysummerblog @orange-peony @palimpsessed

[docholligay]

Doc with today's educational environment, how long would you last as a college professor?

Ah, you must have been in the Piranesi book club, where I talked about how I was a failed Lit professor and honestly I feel like that was the best thing that ever happened to me.

You know, I am a particular sort of person, and one of those things that I think made me who i am is that for a number of years I, I guess I'll say, "worked without a net." And so, you know, when i left academia I had no fucking clue what I was going to do with the rest of my life. My peers who were continuing on to the graduate level were like, "I mean, I think I'm going to be miserable too, but if I just stop with a bachelor's, I'm not going to be able to get a job, or worse, I'll only be able to get a job that a high school graduate could get and that will make my degree worthless. What are you going to do?" and my response was essentially, "I don't know! Not this! Tend bar for awhile, maybe." But I didn't consider my education a waste (I DO consider the degree a waste. Who the fuck cares? I wish i could have gotten the knowledge cheaper without a degree. My degree has only ever been proof that I had good enough credit to make it through the system. I know a ton of fucking idiots with degrees, and intelligent people without them.)

Anyway, I am very interested in talking about books, and I love helping people get better and looking for what lies beneath the text and engaging with it, and learning about lenses, and stuff like that. I adore the teaching aspect of teaching. But I am not interested in strip mining a classic novel while invoking the dark sainthood of the critical schools of thought, praying for the absolution of a tenure that will never come. I am not interested in the auto-da-fé of student evaluations and peer review, coming year after year while wizened old men weigh the annoyance of me versus my diversity credentials versus how low they can keep my salary. I am not interested in engaging with the thousand tiny cuts of nineteen year olds telling me all the reasons they can't do something. I am not interested having to pan every single essay paper like its a mountain stream in 1849, only to find myself wondering if this is ChatGPT or the student really did turn in the literary equivalent of overcooked chicken breast, because they don't want to be here, they don't want to learn, and they would be happier getting a stamp saying, "My parents have access to forty thousand dollars, you may hire me."

I wouldn't last because you could offer me a position teaching courses *I* came up, and i would not take it. I would not teach Literature of the American West, because I do not want to teach in a formal setting, literally ever. I would not get beyond the offer email. If I wrote the next Great American Novel, and fuckin...Harvard, i guess, was like, "hey do you want to teach a class here?" No. I said, "You can't fire me, i quit," fifteen years ago, and I stand by it.

[chickenstrangers]

Favorite Books of 2024 (so far)

felt like putting together a little list just so I could save it since I've had so many successes this year so far, and I'm feeling self-indulgent. presented roughly in order.

The Last Tale of the Flower Bride by Roshani Chokshi

I remembered the fairy tales. Forms are not to be trusted. Bodies might be inhabited and deserted, slipped on like so much cloth. Some forms are made to please and others to deceive. Here, a wolf pants in bed, the nightgown of an old woman thrown over its fur. There, a being placed marigolds in its mouth and petals in its hair, and through a handful of flowers makes itself a wife. Now a brother is revealed and taken away, and the House of Dreams smiles because it knows I have been ensnared. In some ways, this book has really defined my taste this year, and how it has changed. Stunning writing, lush atmosphere, a haunted house lingering on the edges of the pages. It feels like it was made for me, the way Bluebeard was woven into Eros and Psyche woven into Melusine et cetera et cetera, like a tapestry. It spoke to the heart of why I find fairy tales so fascinating. The central characters were enthralling, the way they mirrored each other in much like the fairy tales. The exploration of liminal spaces, the moments in the hallway before Bluebeard's secrets are uncovered, the haunting presence of that forbidden door. This is a tough one to recommend, slow and meandering, perhaps, with only a hint to the fantastical, but it took my breath away.

The Crane Husband by Kelly Barnhill

The crane came in through the front door like he owned the place. My mother walked slightly behind, her hand buried past her wrist in his feathers. The first book I read this year, and this novella has stuck with me. Another beautiful and haunting retelling; in many ways The Crane Husband and The Last Tale of the Flower Bride circle each other. The haunting story of a girl whose weaver mother brings home a crane who uproots their lives. A quietly devastating exploration of grief and loss.

The Saint of Bright Doors by Vajra Chandrasekera

The moment Fetter is born, Mother-of-Glory pins his shadow to the earth with a large brass nail and tears it from him. Another book that had me holding my breath from the very first page. Set in a vibrant world that upended my expectations throughout. Exploring themes of destiny (a support group of the unchosen ones), colonialism, truth, and perspective. Incredible book.

Monstrilio by Gerardo Sámano Córdova

Her son dies in a child-sized bed, big enough for him but barely enough to hold her and her husband who cling to the edges, folding themselves small so they fit one on each side of him. She savors the constant shifting and squirming needed to keep her in place. [...] In her fantasies--is it too morbid to call them fantasies? She doesn't think so. In her fantasies, her son died in a shopping mall, one of the big ones in Mexico City, because in a mall there is an audience, and she wanted an audience but thought dying in the street was too sordid. At the mall, her son collapsed, and as she held his little body in her lap, mall-goers surrounded her in hushed awe of her sorrow, unimaginable to all, while she became a Pietà, marble and gorgeous. The stories about grief that have pierced through my skin and slid between my ribs have all been horror stories, using the supernatural to explore the unimaginable. Magos's grief in Monstrilio is visceral. She cuts out a piece of her son's lung, feeding it beef broth, clinging so tightly to him and to her grief that a creature grows from it, reborn and hungry. What happens when grief lingers, when it becomes something new entirely?

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

The Beauty of the House is immeasurable; its Kindness infinite. I went into Piranesi knowing nothing about it other than that people loved it, and even still I did not expect this book and the world created within it even in the first few pages. The sense of place was so strong in this book, and the limited perspective so fascinating. I loved going into a world where all expectations and truths and reality were immediately put into question, it reminded me of Descartes.

The Sword of Kaigen by ML Wang

Gathering the boy into her arms, she held him tight, and loved him, loved him as hard as she could, and hoped it would be enough to wash everything else away. A unique book in this genre in many ways. Told from the perspectives of both Misaki and her fourteen-year-old son Mamoru, and these characters came to life on the page. I was also very moved by the structure of the book, unusual in high fantasy from what I have read. The story is told in the moments after, as time stretches past the acts of heroism and valor and the dust settles, when the loss and renewal sets in.

The Lies of the Ajungo by Moses Ose Utomi

Tears are precious, his mama always said. Don't waste them on your enemies. Save them for your friends. It's astonishing how impactful this book was in just 90 pages. The writing entranced me, told like a fable, with an efficiency of language that lent more power to its pivotal moments.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

She was deep in the happiness of such misery, or the misery of such happiness, instantly. The last Austen novel I had yet to read, and I did, of course, love it.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard

Rosencrantz: We might as well be dead. Do you think death could possibly be a boat? Guildenstern: No, no, no... Death is...not. Death isn't. You take my meaning. Death is the ultimate negative. Not-being. You can't not-be on a boat. Rosencrantz: I've frequently not been on boats. Guildenstern: No, no, no--what you've been is not on boats. A reread of a favorite.

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy by Becky Chambers

They fell quiet as their perspective of the surrounding landscape shifted in a way they'd never unsee. A lovely conclusion to the Monk & Robot duology. I loved A Psalm for the Wild-Built so dearly, and returning to Dex and Mosscap was such a comfort.

Honorable Mentions

Natural Beauty by Ling Ling Huan

Spear by Nicola Griffith

The Blue Book of Nebo by Manon Steffan Ros

Mislaid in Parts Half-Known by Seanan McGuire

The Butcher in the Forest by Premee Mohamed

The Raven and the Reindeer by T Kingfisher

Wind Daughter by Joanna Ruth Meyer

The Goose Girl by Shannon Hale

[shark-myths]

hi! so i recently read your fic the house on rosewood lane and it was the one of the BEST horror stories i’ve ever read. seriously i’m still thinking about the walnut coffee and the face in the wallpaper. i was wondering if you could break down the key aspects of writing that to be maximum scary? like how u set up the plot or the characterization and stuff? thank u!

i have been sitting on this ask forever because the truth is i am a garbage writer! i love my writing, my finished product makes me very happy, but i mean when it comes to the process of writing, i am a trashanimal. i am running around with ink-stained paws and paper scraps hanging out of my possum teeth. i am incapable of plotting (@carbonbased000 can vouch as the only brave soul who has tried to co-write with me before we had to accept i am feral and impossible) which is why i usually can't carry off an intricate plot, such as a mystery; i never quite know what's going to happen or how i'm going to get there in a story. for example, it was very lucky for me that walnut pods turned out to be poisonous! i didn't know that until i was writing the last few chapters, it let me bring a lot of stray threads together. pretty reckless of me to write serially without a plan, yes?

i am a character writer; i choose characters and themes i am interested in, and then i put those characters in situations and find out what happens. so i think a lot about who my characters are going to BE and FEEL on the page, and then i discover by writing how they came to be that way. i discard a lot of my scenes, because i am just using them to learn about my characters and stories. i don't know how to edit because, again, possum with a fountain pen. i usually have a question for a story--for rosewood, my question was about salvage: what can be saved and what is the cost?

in terms of creating scariness, i have a few actual tips: 1) read horror! watching horror isn't as good, you must read it, you must work to understand which words made you feel icky and nervous, you must write to create that same vibe. discover what scares you and why, and try to mimic that until you find your own voice. 2) pick a feeling! i can't picture things in my head, so visual writing is hard for me; i have to be very intentional, and because i can't rely on describing an image in my head, i focus overly on how writing feels. (when i read comedy writing, i read and reread and reread the same sentences, trying to understand how and why the humor is created. this is an annoying way to read but an excellent way to work on your craft.) 3) read things that are very different from what you write! the more time you spend reading things that surprise you or differ from what you usually read, the more your craft will advance, because it opens up new pathways for you to create the feeling you are trying to create.

my last secret is just that i wrote rosewood about my own house. it provided me a fantastic sense of place and let me imagine what would scare the shit out of me in my own set of rooms. i think horror works best with a grounded sense of place (see: house of leaves and piranesi; stephen king, for whatever else he is and isn't, is quite good at this) and i think you can tell when the author hasn't done that--sometimes this is done to great effect, shifting sands beneath your feet, other times i find it degrades the story.

hope some of this is usable! i apologize for my lack of discipline to each and every one of you who has ever read one of my fics and noticed the threads that i dropped. for more hands-on writing advice, let me highly recommend the blood ink bone writing course by @alienfuckeronmain, for which i was honored to be a guest speaker.