#book of koli

[lingthusiasm]

In this episode, your hosts Lauren and Gretchen get enthusiastic about four science fiction books/series we're read recently that project interesting future versions of English. In the Terra Ignota series, set 500 years in the future, the characters use singular they for each other but the narrator uses "she" and "he" along with "thou" for deliberately archaic/subversive effect. In Woman on the Edge of Time, set in both the 1970s when it was written and 150 years later, the future timeline uses a gender-neutral "person" (short form "per") and has abolished gender roles in a way that's even starker in comparison to the 70s timeline. In the Expanse books, set around 2350 in space, humans living on the asteroid belt have created a contact language named Belter Creole with influence from English and many other languages, which was expanded on further for the tv show. In the Book of Koli and sequels, set centuries into a post-apocalyptic future, the narrator has many features that are rooted in present-day English but associated with less literacy (such as "could of" or "count and seal" for "council").

We also talk about reading books set in the future but written in the past, and how several of these books now exist in a future that's in some ways more similar to their imagined futures than the time when they were being written. Note that we're not spoilery for major plot events in any of these books, so you can feel free to listen without having read them! Though we can't guarantee you won't come away with a few additions to your reading list.... Listen to this episode about speculative future English in fiction and get access to many more bonus episodes by supporting Lingthusiasm on Patreon.

[asexualbookbird]

October Goals! Book of Koli is for book club, but otherwise I'm still going through the Yearly Goal Stack. Only three this month because Liar's Knot is a little chunky lol

[haveyoureadthisbook-poll]

[haveyoureadthisscifibook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

[captaincrusher]

I finished reading a post apocalyptic fantasy book today and it included a trans background character. I always like that, since it suggest that yes, LGBTQ people do actually exist even after The Bomb or The Undeadening or whatever.

The character is lovingly described and never misgendered by the narrator, although the world around him might not always be so kind. I thought this was neat but what I DIDN'T expect was that later on in the book, what we learn about this character allows us to realize another character is also trans. Someone that will presumably be a much bigger character.

It turned out to be a really nice bit of storytelling that I didn't expect.

Our protagonist has a trans friend which establishes 1. How trans people are viewed and treated in this environment 2. That it's completely in character for the protagonist to be supportive and helpful 3. That the protagonist knows enough about the lore surrounding this (I'm trying to be vague to avoid further spoilers but this is spoilery in itself) to see that someone is experiencing the same things as their friend.

I read mostly modern sci-fi and fantasy which nowadays includes a lot of LGBTQ characters, so i'm not generally surprised when I encounter these characters. But it's still always nice to read it, particularly when it's well written like this.

[caribeandthebooks]

Caribe's YA Fantasy & Science Fiction TBR - Part 3

[koniortos-court]

sometimes a family is just you and your sentient ai media player who used to be a pop star

[bookcoversonly]

Title: The Fall of Koli | Author: M.R. Carey | Publisher: Orbit (2021)

[marvelat-words]

Book Review: The Trials of Koli

Seeing more of this world as well as what’s left behind of the old one was fascinating. More tech and threats posed by people from other places, streets of bones and decayed buildings. I couldn’t get enough.

The characters are what truly drive Koli’s story. Koli himself is so naive in many ways yet so unintentionally wise in others. He is the perfect narrator for this story.

Full review.

[itz-arandano-artz]

finally finished it

🛠️🐨Kolie🐨🛠️

I hope you like it <3✨

[treeroutes]

what's up ! non-exhaustive list of stories featuring weird plants :

The Day of the Triffids, John Wyndham

The Night of the Triffids, Simon Clark

In the Tall Grass, Stephen King and Joe Hill

The Boats of the 'Glen Carrig', William Hope Hodgson

The Man Whom the Trees Loved, Algernon Blackwood

The Red Tree, Caitlín R. Kiernan

Annihilation, Jeff VanderMeer

The Willows, Algernon Blackwood

The Nature of Balance, Tim Lebbon

'Bloom', John Langan

The Ruins, Scott Smith

The Wise Friend, Ramsey Campbell

'The Green Man of Freetown', The Envious Nothing : A Collection of Literary Ruins, Curtis M. Lawson

The Beauty, Aliya Whiteley

The Ash-Tree, M.R. James

Canavan's Backyard, J.P. Brennan

Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Jack Finney

The Hollow Places, T. Kingfisher

'Reaching for Ruins', Crow Shine, Alan Baxter

'Vortex of Horror', Gaylord Sabatini

Hothouse, Brian W. Aldiss

Vaster than Empires and More Slow, Ursula K. Le Guin

Odd Attachment, Ian M. Banks

Deathworld #1, Harry Harrison

The Bridge, John Skipp and Craig Spector

'The Garden of Paris', Eric Williams

Apartment Building E, Malachi King

The Seed from the Sepulchre, Clark Ashton Smith

Rappaccini's Daughter, Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Nursery, Lewis Mallory

The Other Side of the Mountain, Michel Bernanos

The Vegetarian, Han Kang

Sisyphean, Dempow Torishima

The Root Witch, Debra Castaneda

Semiosis, Sue Burke

The Wolf in Winter, Charlie Parker #12, John Connolly

Perennials, Bryce Gibson

Relic, Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child

Gwen, in Green, Hugh Zachary

The Voice in the Night, William Hope Hodgson

Ordinary Horror, David Searcy

The Family Tree, Sheri S. Tepper

The Book of Koli, Rampart Trilogy #1, M.R. Carey

Seeders, A.J. Colucci

Concrete Jungle, Brett McBean

The Plant, Stephen King

Anthologies/collections :

The Roots of Evil: Weird Stories of Supernatural Plants, edited by Michel Parry

Chlorophobia: An Eco-Horror Anthology, edited by A.R. Ward

Roots of Evil: Beyond the Secret Life of Plants, edited by Carlos Cassaba

The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest, edited by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling

Sylvan Dread: Tales of Pastoral Darkness, Richard Gavin

Evil Roots: Killer Tales of the Botanical Gothic, edited by Daisy Butcher

Weird Woods: Tales From the Haunted Forests of Britain, edited by John Miller

'But fungi aren't plants' :

The Fungus, Harry Adam Knight

Growing Things and Other Stories, Paul Tremblay

The Girl with All the Gifts, M.R. Carey

Mexican Gothic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Fruiting Bodies, and Other Fungi, Brian Lumley

'The Black Mould', The Age of Decayed Futurity, Mark Samuels

What Moves the Dead, T. Kingfisher

The House Without a Summer, DeAnna Knippling

Mungwort, James Noll

Fungi, edited by Orrin Grey and Silvia Moreno-Garcia

Trouble with Lichen, John Wyndham

Notes :

all links lead to the goodreads page of the book, mostly because i like to look at book cover art ;

list features authors/books that i love (T. Kingfisher, Silvia Moreno-Garcia, Ursula K. Le Guin, the collections from the British Library Tales of the Weird, etc.), but also a few that i don't like and some that i have not yet read ;

if upon seeing that list the first novel you check out is by Stephen King's you have not understood the assignment ;

not all of those are strictly horror stories, some are 100% science fiction (Brian W. Aldiss' Hothouse for instance).

[katrinegrey]

A Fire in the Flesh final thoughts

Major Spoilers (and rambling) ahead y'all. You've been warned.

[This was typed on mobile. I apologize in advance for the terrible formatting and spelling in addition to my post-book excited nonsensical ramblings.]

Excuse me while I scream and cry and bemoan the next 6 months we'll have to wait to see Sera and Nyktos and everyone again even though we literally just got the new book yesterday.

I'm so happy with where this book cutoff too. Like, there's still plenty that has to happen but there's no awful cliffhanger. The first like two thirds were a little bit of a struggle, not gonna lie, but in true JLA fashion that last third was *chef's kiss*.

I thought Nyktos was going to be my favorite character to come out of this book, as he had with the previous two, but he wasn't. It's fully Sera and by an absolute fucking mile. She's perfect.

The parallels in this book between Flesh and Fire and the Blood and Ash series were exactly what I've been hoping for. All the little pieces are starting to come together in a big way with the plot (pretty poppy, sotoria's whole storyline, why Kolis was never killed outright, etc.) but also all of the tiny little tidbits thrown in. Sera slamming her hands over her face, the cavern, how she keeps talking about how she would want to treat her kids...it was all so beautiful.

Getting to know some of the other characters better was great too. That was one of my biggest complaints, how so many of the side characters weren't fleshed out as far as they feel like they could have been. That changed quite a bit with Attes and Rhain, but even the villainous characters like Callum, Kyn, Veses, and Calliphe. The depth they're given without giving a pass to the awful things they've committed was masterfully executed.

I will say, on a very personal and petty side note, there was a severe lack of young draken in this one, and I will pout until May about the lack of Jadis and Reaver. However, that part where Sera is mostly unaware in her dreamlike state, while but she feels Jadis on her legs was just too cute for words.

Speaking of words, my GODS did Nyktos have some. I was a little worried with as little page time that boy had in the first two thirds that they weren't going to be able to flesh him out enough to satisfy, but ho mama was so wrong. Chapter 39 to finish was perfection of every kind. Heartbreaking and hot and sweet.

And if anyone has a petition going for an ASOAAB type book of Sera in stasis from Nyktos' perspective, I will totally sign it.

Seeing Sera go full Primal in the next book will be so worth the wait. I desperately need to see her talk to Ezra again too.

Rating: 5 stars

[asexualbookbird]

i think maybe im not enjoying the book of koli very much :/

[playcaroplay]

I just finished A Fire in the Flesh and have spoily thoughts

I really wanted to like this book. I want to like this series so badly, but the last four books in this universe have felt so rushed and poorly edited. It has felt like Sera’s story exists solely to retcon plot points to buttress Poppy’s plot inconsistencies. And Sera’s mirror image personality is explained away because of Sotorias soul, and family lineage. They’re the same personality type with different hair.

1) Dialogue - I find the same dialogue being recycled has fallen flat for me. Sera and Poppy’s “tempers” and “stubbornness” feel like an easy way to introduce conflict or tension but it doesn’t often advance the plot or character arc. There are so many stagnant beats where Sera/Poppy and any character have this type of conversation:

Character A: slightly controversial but logical opinion

Sera: NO that is Wrong.

Character A: Rationalizes point

Sera: Do you want me to stab you?

Character A: oh shit

Sera: I’m known for my temper

Character A: I’m impressed/insulted.

(And if it’s Nyktos then you follow up with)

Nyktos: Your anger makes me horny

Sera: Ew, but also same.

Nektas: you two are so funny with your arguing/mean girls mom beat - you guys ok? Want condoms?

Sera: *walks away feeling empowered because she spoke her mind*

I would hope an editor would catch on to these repetitive beats and try to either pare them back or vary them enough that there’s purpose behind it.

2) Secondary characters are just there to watch the scene. You’ll notice in many instances, Sera and Ash have a blow up, and the side characters are there purely to comment on what’s happening and narrate Sera’s character arc. If you took them all away the scene would remain the same.

Ex. Sera fighting Ash in the courtyard in book 2. The secondary characters provide nothing but audience commentary.

Or in FTIF when Rhain is speaking to Sera about her deal and freeing him, and then Ash wanders up and they have another “you don’t know the meaning of the word argue” argument and the side characters literally step away from them and they repeat the age old conversation beat I listed above.

What’s the point in introducing a huge cast of secondary characters if their only purpose is to bear witness alongside the reader. Instead you could have them take an active role in the plot, and have impactful relationships, opinions and action that drive the plot home. They’re just padding.

This entire series could take place in Ash’s bed and you wouldn’t notice the difference.

3) Weak conflict- Using Kolis as the example. We understand from book 2 that he’s a monster. But the stakes are significantly lowered when his and Sera’s opinions stay the same the whole way through FITF.

Consider what the story would have been like if he and Sera found moments of genuine empathy and understanding. What if they shared moments of humour or appreciation for each other? Think of how conflicted Sera would be about destroying him.

Is his kindness just manipulation? Or is there a deeper reason behind his actions that she doesn’t know yet? The fact that Sera is always aware of his tactics makes it hard to invest in her goal of becoming his weakness.

I care less about Kolis seducing Sera or vice versa because I know it won’t actually happen. We already know Sera is devoted to Ash and she’s revolted by Kolis. So her conflict about “becoming nothing” and fulfilling her duty is a nonissue.

4) Show, don’t tell. Seras discoveries while in captivity are quite passive. Either Kolis or Callum just straight up tell her the secrets. She’s in a cage so she has to rely on characters telling her what’s happened. It feels like the plot of the book happened outside the room, and we are just getting reports about it.

Consider Sera manipulating Kolis into giving her time out of the cage where she has opportunity to wheel and deal with other gods and discover secrets in more active ways. (Ex hunting down a revenant and having them talk through their transformation. Or talking to an Ascended about their blood lust and their fight for humanity.)

Even in the final chapters. Ash confesses to Sera that he had visions of her and removed his Kardia after he met her. He tells her that removing the Kardia was irrelevant in the end. Yet again another plot point that’s rendered useless and discussed in a passive manner. Such a let down after all that conflict in book 2. It almost felt like these scenes were drafts of the dream walking beats and JLA added in at the end because she liked them.

Consider those revelations happening at the lake as she’s trying to say goodbye to Ash. The anguish and betrayal she would feel about his decisions, but still clinging to their last moments together.

All in all, I feel like JLA was done dirty in the sense that pumping out these books every year hasn’t given her the time to dig into her own universe.

[goddess-aelin]

Ok here we go: THEORY TIME!

There are so many thoughts swirling around about ALITF so I'm going to try to get these out as coherently as possible.

I honestly have no clue what is going to happen in the next book. Obviously we know that Nyktos and Sera survive, have twins, etc. But we don't know the manner of how Sera survives, especially when it seems pretty hopeless right about now. So most of these focus on how Sera can survive.

There were a lot of things that stood out to me throughout the book, mostly about prophecies and literally in the first 20 pages.

"You haven't heard why he cannot save you as he is now."

This is Holland talking to Sera and Nyktos when they are discussing that she can only be saved by the blood of someone who loves her, right before we find out that Nyktos can't love.

I thought this was a really weird choice of words the first time I read it and I think it's a really weird choice now, too. Why would JLA put that in there like that if it didn't have some significance. She absolutely could've stopped the sentence with "you haven't heard why he cannot save you." Period. End. Done.

As he is now implies that a change can be made in some way.

-Change could be like him changing into his wolf form. Can he maybe love in this form? Could he save her if he takes her blood in this form and gives his own back?

-Or could he change in some other way? His heart can change? Could he get his kardia back via Maia or via growth? Throughout the book, it was talked about the Primals "falling." Aka falling in love. Before this, they didn't love either. So would it be possible for Nyktos to gain back his kardia or find some other way to love? I say yes. I think this is the most likely theory that I have. I truly think in the end, he's going to be able to love in some way. (TBH, I think he already does love her but just doesn't understand how and what he feels. You don't do the stuff he does for just anyone. And I think him wanting to love is indicative of that.)

-It also said somewhere in the book that even the fates can't tell what happens with love. So the fact that they don't know for sure that he will never be able to love her solidifies my point.

2. "It allows them to love another not of their blood, irrevocably, selflessly." This was Penellaphe talking about what a Kardia is. My initial thought with this too was so he can love someone of his blood? Hmm...

-If Sera would have his blood, could he love her then? Thereby saving her with the blood of someone who loves her?

-Could he love his sons if she was already pregnant and therefore be able to save them? I know mortals can't carry primal babies but it's been said time and time again that Sera isn't exactly fully mortal and can do things that a normal mortal can't. I think this is a stretch but it's a fun theory. And a really, really sad one.

3. I think they're heartmates.

Obviously this probably isn't a super uncommon theory BUT I do think this will factor into saving her.

-Maybe not being able to love will be negated if they're acknowledged heartmates.

- I'm not convinced that Nyktos is actually present in his wolf form at the end of the ALITF. We know from FBAA that heartmates can enter each other's dreams. Sera isn't exactly in the best state with blood loss and such at this moment so could she be hallucinating him? The thing that makes me think this is that I don't think she's ever seen or discussed Nyktos having a wolf form. So how would she immediately know that's him? Especially when she was super out of it and didn't even see Attes arrive. And also, no one else senses his presence? There's only one way and that's because she just knows. She can feel him in her heart.

4. This last part brings me to the last part of the prophecy which talks about a wolf in moonlight. Perhaps a key to saving her? She didn't acknowledge that Nyktos could be that wolf in the moonlight prior "seeing" him in the woods while Kolis was feeding on her so...I just really don't think he's actually there. I think we're going to get some angst for a while, a'la the poppycas separation.

5. The Prophecy itself isn't directly linked to Sera/Nyktos but rather to the series as a whole.

I mean, I'm sure someone has pointed this out before and maybe it's been confirmed. But "A first daughter, with a blood full of fire, fated for the once-promised king. And the second daughter with blood full of ash and ice, the other half of the future king. Together they will remake the realms as they usher in the end."

I'm not great with reading prophecies lol but I feel like the first daughter (Milicent) fated for the once-promised king (Malik, obviously he's not promised the throne anymore) and the second daughter (Poppy) who is the other half (literal heartmate) of the future king (Casteel, who is the king.) Just too much of a coincidence. Kolis explained this away as him and Eythos and Nyktos vs Sera and Mycella. But I just don't see it. I think he's stretching. And though Sera and Nyktos will be involved of course as the grandparents of Poppy, I think the prophecy is ultimately about Poppy.

Ok y'all. That's all I got for now. Lmao. It was a lot so thanks if you took the time to read it and of course, come into my messages and scream with me about this.

[open-at-the-close]

I just finished A Light in the Flame and I just...

Spoilers ahead, you've been warned.

First of all they HAVE to find Jadis in the next FBAA book, right? I refuse to believe that they gave us this perfect baby draken just to have her dead in the next series. I hate thinking that she's held captive somewhere, but I need her to be alive.

Second, my poor baby Ector. I'm so sorry I doubted you. I spent the first half of the book refusing to get attached again because I thought he was going to be a traitor, but then he was so loyal to Sera that I was like okay, I was wrong. He's a good one, and then they just literally ripped him away from me 😭😭

Third, I was under the impression (I don't know why) that this was going to be a two book prequel. I really thought this would wrap things up in a pretty bow and we'd move on to the next FBAA book and boy was I WRONG. I realized halfway through that there was just no way that this would be the last one and then I fully expected Sera to "die" at the end of this book. I had this entire scene in my head where Nyktos takes her to the lake, drains her and then immediately brings her back to life because, duh. Idk why he was freaking out. Once he has the embers he can just bring her back, right? Am I missing something? But then NOPE buttlicker Kolis has to show up and no literally everything and poor Ash suffered for nothing

In conclusion

😭😭😭😭😭😭