#no but diana wynn jones was so smart for this

[pardonmyfrenchbutwhattheheck]

"Howl Pendragon gender envy this, Howl gender envy that"

that's all fine and dandy, but grandma Sophie Hatter? LOOK AT HER

gotta be one of my favorite genders of all time

[griseldagimpel]

Media Recommendations for Harry Potter Fans

Alright. So you’re a Harry Potter fan. You’re a Harry Potter fan because you love Harry Potter and you love the community you’ve built with your fellow fans, but J. K. Rowling is using her vast fortune to harm people and she says asinine shit about how anyone who likes Harry Potter agrees with her transphobia, and you know that’s not true, but maybe you’re wondering if there’s a different fandom you and your friends could go to, where if nothing else the creator isn’t using a massive platform and massive amounts of money to harm transgender people. This is a guide for you.

You really wish you could have a Harry Potter that’s just not Harry Potter. You want a magical school and aerial sports games and fighting a tyrant and the equivalent of Hogwarts Houses.

Check out The Owl House. It’s about a girl named Luz who wanders into another world and attends a magic school.

You can watch it on YouTube: Link.

You like the idea of a modern-ish fantasy book series (British, pre-Smart Phone technology age) with a big, rambling world to play around in.

Check out The Chronicles of Chestomanci by Diana Wynne Jones. It’s set across a multiverse and follows the lives and trials of young magicians.

Start with Charmed Life, which can be purchased on Amazon: Link.

You want a fantasy series with chosen ones, suffering, and sacrifice where anyone can die. Also, you like magical animal companions.

Check out The Last Herald Mage Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey, which is part of the broader Valdemar series. It’s about the life of Valdemar’s greatest – and last – Herald-mage.

You can find it on Amazon: Link.

You love Harry Potter for the mysteries. You’d be fine with something for a bit of an older demographic, and you love supernatural horror and angst. You want to see the protagonist go through it. But you’d also love it if there was something akin to the Hogwarts Houses that you could define yourself by.

Check out The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir or The Magnus Archives. The Locked Tomb series is science-fantasy set in the far-flung future and has necromancy. The Magnus Archives is a podcast about an institute in London that takes down statements from people who have had encounters with the paranormal.

The Locked Tomb series begins with Gideon the Ninth: Link.

The Magnus Archives can be listened to on YouTube: Link.

Your favorite part of the Harry Potter series is the wizarding war, and your favorite house is Slytherin.

Check out The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu. It’s about a necromancer who’s been resurrected. The necromancer in question is like 95% brat-turned-cool-uncle and 5% evil-necromancer.

The volumes are numbered and can be found on Amazon: Link.

There is also an adaptation entitled The Untamed that I have not watched yet, but it can be found on Netflix.

You really enjoy the social satire aspect of Harry Potter and think Hermione was right about House Elf liberation. Also, you’re okay with science fiction instead of fantasy.

Check out The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. It’s about an enslaved cyborg finding freedom, making friends, and healing from trauma.

The first book is All Systems Red: Link.

You like Harry Potter because it’s comfort media. Life is rough, and you want a piece of media that’s engaging but gentle.

Check out the podcast Welcome to Night Vale. It’s presented as the community radio broadcast out of a small, deeply weird town in the American southwest.

You can listen to it on YouTube: Link.

If you want something in print form, there’s The Lord of the Rings: Link.

If you like movies, there’s Jupiter Ascending: Link.

Don’t hesitate to ask if you want more information (such as content warnings) for any of the above.

[book--brackets]

The Chronicles of Faerie by O. R. Melling (1993-2003)

American Gwen and her Irish cousin, Findabhair, have long planned a summer of backpacking around Ireland, visiting sites out of the old legends of fairy folk. Little do they know that it is the summer of the Hunter's Moon, a dangerous time for mortals who meddle with the kingdom of Faerie. One night, camping out on old ruins, Finn is kidnapped by the Faerie king, who wants her for a bride and possible sacrifice. It is up to Gwen, the more indecisive of the two, to rescue her cousin.

The Farsala Trilogy by Hilari Bell (2003-2006)

Stories are told of a hero who will come to Farsala's aid when the need is greatest. But for thousands of years the prosperous land of Farsala has felt no such need, as it has enjoyed the peace that comes from being both feared and respected.

Now a new enemy approaches Farsala's borders, one that neither fears nor respects its name and legend. But the rulers of Farsala still believe that they can beat any opponent.

Three young people are less sure of Farsala's invincibility. Jiaan, Soraya, and Kavi see Time's Wheel turning, with Farsala headed toward the Flames of Destruction. What they cannot see is how inextricably their lives are linked to Farsala's fate -- until it's too late.

Everworld by K. A. Applegate (1999-2001)

David’s life was pretty normal. School. Friends. Girlfriend. Actually, Senna was probably the oddest aspect of his life. She was beautiful. Smart. But there was something very different about her. Something strange.

And on the day it began, everything happened so quickly. One moment, Senna was with him. The next, she was swallowed up by the earth, her screams echoing from far, far away. David couldn’t just let her go. Neither could the others. His friends—and hers. So, they followed. And found themselves in a world they could have never imagined. 

Now they have to find Senna and get home without losing their lives. Or their minds. Or both…

The Wizard Knight by Gene Wolfe (2004)

A young man in his teens is transported from our world to a magical realm that contains seven levels of reality. Very quickly transformed by magic into a grown man of heroic proportions, he takes the name Able and sets out on a quest to find the sword that has been promised to him, a sword he will get from a dragon, the one very special blade that will help him fulfill his life ambition to become a knight and a true hero.

Inside, however, Able remains a boy, and he must grow in every sense to survive the dangers and delights that lie ahead in encounters with giants, elves, wizards, and dragons.

Star Wars: Jedi Apprentice by Dave Wolverton and Jude Watson (1999-2002)

Twelve-year-old Obi-Wan Kenobi desperately wants to be a Jedi Knight. After years at the Jedi Temple, he knows the power of the lightsaber and the Force. But he cannot control his own anger and fear. Because of this, the Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn will not take him on as a Padawan apprentice.

Now Obi-Wan is about to have his first encounter with true evil. He must face off against unexpected enemies--and face up to his own dark wishes.

Only then can his education as a Jedi truly begin.

Skylark by Meagan Spooner (2012-2014)

For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley waited for the day when her Resource would be harvested and she would finally be an adult. After the harvest she expected a small role in the regular, orderly operation of the City within the Wall. She expected to do her part to maintain the refuge for the last survivors of the Wars. She expected to be a tiny cog in the larger clockwork of the city.     Lark did not expect to become the City's power supply.     For fifteen years, Lark Ainsley believed in a lie. Now she must escape the only world she's ever known...or face a fate more unimaginable than death.

Westmark by Lloyd Alexander (1981-1984)

When Theo agrees to print a traveling showman's pamphlet, he only thinks of the money it will bring in. Instead, it sets off a chain reaction that results in the smashing of the press and the murder of his master. Caught on the wrong side of the law, Theo must flee the city. Soon, he has teamed up with the traveling showman Count Las Bombas (who is actually a con artist) and his servant. The trio is soon joined by Mickle, a clever, strong-willed girl with a mysterious past. Performing feats that astound and amaze, the motley crew falls into a trap set by Chief Minister Cabbarus, who is determined to wrest power from the grief-stricken king. Now they must not only save themselves-they must save the kingdom...

The Goblin Wood by Hilari Bell (2003-2011)

One terrible day, Makenna, a young hedgewitch, witnesses her mother's murder at the hands of their own neighbors. Stricken with grief and rage, Makenna flees the village that has been her home. In the wilds of the forest, she forms an unexpected alliance. Leading an army of clever goblins, Makenna skillfully attacks the humans, now their shared enemy.

What she doesn't realize is that the ruling Hierarchy is determined to rid the land of all magical creatures, and they believe Makenna is their ultimate threat - so they have sent a young knight named Tobin into the Goblin Wood to entrap her.

In this captivating fantasy adventure, the difference between Bright and Dark magic is as deceptive as our memories, hopes, and fears -- and the light of loyalty and friendship has a magic all of its own.

A young hedgewitch, an idealistic knight, and an army of clever goblins fight against the ruling hierarchy that is trying to rid the land of all magical creatures.

Hexwood by Diana Wynne Jones (1993)

When Controller Borasus receives a strange letter from Earth he is both curious and alarmed. Someone has activated an ancient machine and is using it for most trivial purposes. Surely no one would dare to tamper with Reigner seals in this way? Yet the effects of such interference resonate throughout the universe, so he decides to go to Hexwood Farm to investigate…

On Hexwood Estate, Ann watches the mysterious comings and goings with interest. She knows something deadly is going on – or is Hexwood simply altering her too?

Guides for Dating Vampires by D. N. Bryn (2022-present)

Vincent Barnes has suffered four years as a vampire, and they’ve been the most miserable years of his pathetic life. Too poor for black market blood, he feeds from sleeping humans to survive. He tries to never intrude on the same prey twice, but after a single delicious taste of a long-lost childhood neighbor, he can’t help returning for seconds.

Wesley Garcia has been waking up with fang marks. Lucky for him, he needs a vampire—to use as bait. He’s certain Vitalis-Barron Pharmaceutical killed his mother, but to gain access to their covert research labs, he has to bring them a bloodsucker for their experiments. 

Step one, a dramatic offer: Stay, and you can bite me. 

Vincent leaps at the chance to gobble Wesley up.

Wes’s plan is perfect. He’ll befriend the vampire, then trick him into coming to the lab. No fighting, no fuss. But Vincent is more than Wesley has bargained for: sweet and shy, with intoxicating fangs that awaken new desires in Wes. As the two bond, Vincent believes he might have finally found someone worth putting his trust in... and Wes fears neither of them will survive the betrayal he has planned.

[the-forest-library]

23 in 2023

And, we're done! My favorite of this list was, by far, The Thief. Absolutely loved tearing through that series earlier this year. If you haven't tried it yet, please give it a chance. So smart and nuanced.

The Thief by Megan Whelan Turner

Wildwood Dancing by Juliet Marillier

Never Ever Getting Back Together by Sophie Gonzales

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baldree

Persuasion by Jane Austen 

Men at Arms by Terry Pratchett

Feet of Clay by Terry Pratchett

Charmed Life (Chrestomanci 1) by Diana Wynne Jones

The Golem and the Jinni by Helene Wecker

Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel

Nine Liars by Maureen Johnson

The Study of Poisons - Maria V. Snyder

Highly Suspicious and Unfairly Cute by Talia Hibbert 

Illuminations by T. Kingfisher

She Hulk: Jen, Again by Rainbow Rowell

Hawkeye, Volume 1: My Life as a Weapon by Matt Fraction

Knit One, Girl Two by Shira Glassman

Tears Waiting to be Diamonds by Sarah Rees Brennan

The Mysteries of Thorn Manner by Margaret Rogerson

The Secret Lives of Country Gentlemen by KJ Charles

Happy Place by Emily Henry

Quietly Hostile by Samantha Irby

Mortal Follies by Alexis Hall (DNF - this one just wasn't for me)

[carrotcouple]

Book Thoughts: Cart and Cwidder by Diana Wynne Jones

*knock knock* I got it into my head that I wanted to talk about the books I read and how I felt about them and try not to spoil them so that if anyone reads this post they can pick up the book without knowing everything that happens in it.

So 'Cart and Cwidder' is from "The Dalemark Quartet". Publication wise it is the first book to have been published. Chronologically however, it is the third book in the series. I decided to read the series in publication order. For those of you who recognize the name, yes! It is the same author who wrote Howl's Moving Castle! I actually read the fourth book (chronologically and publication wise) randomly when I was a child cause I found it in a library and none of it's friends were around.

From my understanding each book in the Dalemark Quartet is about a different character's story and all these characters end up significant characters in the fourth and last book. With heavy Welsh Mythology and Celtic Mythology roots, the Dalemark Quartet is a fun vibe for those who liked Arthurian Mythology too!

Cart and Cwidder is about a family of Singers (consider them traveling bards). Moril, the youngest son of the family, is the main character. He's dreamy but level headed and rather detached from the world. He tends to go where the wind takes him. His family travels between the North and South of Dalemark often, singing songs and talking to people. The North and South have a horrible relationship and tensions are rising. War seems to be looming on the horizon.

Now that my brief summary is over, lemme talk about how I enjoyed the book, my overall impression of the characters and the themes that I gleaned from the story.

Moril was an incredibly fun character to read. His dreaminess and detachedness led to a very broad view of the story. The story was, of course, written in third person but it was through his point of view. He was fairly content to remain stagnant in that dreamy state at the beginning of the story, but when the ball starts rolling and the plot catches him, he has to learn to grow into his own person, realize that the stagnant dreaminess was his calling to pave his own path as a Singer and eventually lead him to play the blessed Cwidder. He grows in leaps and bounds in this story, hearing the music in the wind and letting it carry him.

Brid was fun! As the only daughter in the family, she was naturally closer to her mom, but she didn't quite have the same steadiness. In fact, it's mentioned on more than one occasion that she needed to be in performance mode in order to do anything in public. Yet despite being in performance mode, she had no qualms with integrating her personal emotions and her real personality into the story. It was incredibly endearing how halfway through the story, her siblings and Kialan let her take the reigns in familial stuff. She was cute and young and wore her heart on her sleeve, but she too grew by the end of the story.

Kialan, who is a boy the family takes in to travel with them briefly is prickly and annoying (to Moril and Brid) at first. He's a smart and no nonsense kind of person who is always looking over his shoulder and trying to keep himself safe. He has one goal and has been trying to achieve that goal for a long time, sometimes no matter what cost it comes at. However, by the end of the story he grows incredibly attached to Moril and Brid. Ready to trade in those self survival instincts and smarts, just for them.

There are other characters, but these three were the central ones, so I really will not talk about the others.

'Cart and Cwidder' is a children's adventure story, not unlike "The Dark Is Rising Sequence" and "The Chronicles of Narnia". So you can expect going into the story that the characters will behave like children, but will often have that beautiful view of the world that adults do not have. 'Cart and Cwidder' is actually fairly dark though, so keep that in mind going into the story.

Music was a central theme, since Moril plays a Cwidder and sings and Brid sings too. Music reaching people, telling people stories, news, about their loved ones, is something explored heavily. But music having power is explored too. How music can move mountains, stop wars, make the most alert soldier sleep, make the hardest heart melt.

It is somewhat of a coming of age or a self discovery story on Moril's end. Throughout the story he struggles with what kind of music he wants to make and what music means to him. The fact that his Cwidder holds power that deeply unsettles him adds flavor to his struggle. He learns to find himself, what he wants, acknowledges the power he holds as a person, a musician and a storyteller and also realizes what he wants to do with that.

Truth is an incredibly large part of the story that was not as obvious. But Moril has to learn to be truthful. True to himself, true to his Cwidder. He has to face the consequences of twisting the truth, the consequences of lying. With a constant opposite being shown in how his father only performs and his sister also does too and how his brother tries to share his truths, Moril has to understand what is actually truth.

And lastly, my favorite bit was a minor but nonetheless, the role of women in the story. Given the time period in the story, it is better for a woman to get married in order to be protected and safe. And we see the decisions that Moril and Brid's mother makes and how they're somewhat resentful of her at first but then they understand and realize she was just a person. And then we end up seeing it reflected in Brid as she learns and grows.

Cart and Cwidder was a super fun read with secretive bards, ancient legends, magic, songs that can move mountains, wars, conspiracy, discovery and freedom.

[lokiinmediasideblog]

What Norse myth books have you read already? I need new recs x

I don't think any of these are particularly new. Trying to make a list of all I've read. And granted, my attention span has gotten worse over the years.

The first book featuring the norse pantheon in any form I read was Neil Gaiman's "American Gods".

There's Diana Wynne Jones' "Eight Days of Luke" which served as inspiration for "American Gods", according to Neil Gaiman. Children's book.

There's also "Odd and the Frost Giants" by Neil Gaiman and his "Norse Mythology" retelling. Children's book.

I LOVED Louie Stowell's Loki: A Bad God's Guide to Being Good, if you have children or trouble getting through books, get this! It's hilarious and smart. I enjoyed it as an adult. Diary of a Wimpy Kid meets Norse mythology.

I enjoyed the first two books by Joanne Harris as a teen, "Runemarks" and "Runelight." The first two (esp. the first) are fun and I love the Bart Simpson-esque portrayal of Loki. Unfortunately, the quality of later books focusing on Loki is terrible.

I unfortunately read Joanne Harris' "The Testament of Loki", first chapter is interesting, but he's unwillingly sharing a body with an annoying teen girl, and the way Harris deals with eating disorders is really bad. It's awful. Don't recommend.

I think Lyra Wolf's The Nine Worlds rising series are an easy read. I think she has a great comedic voice and the books are worth reading just for that, and I like the toxic Odin/Loki relationship. I do have complaints about them, such as the anachronistic language (e.g. Loki knowing what a Chihuahua is), and that Sigyn doesn't have flaws other than caring too much for her no-good brother. She also has the women are either saints or evil witches dichotomy going on in terms of portrayals of goddesses. I think the stakes are good in these books so that you keep reading them.

I enjoyed Cat Rector's "The Goddess of Nothing at All" A LOT. While it doesn't have my ideal morally gray portrayal of Sigyn yet, it did make Sigyn more complex than others have. I also like this book mainly because I am a sadist and I love whump and there's a lot of suffering on it. It's so sad you won't be laughing at the myth!Loki memes. I would avoid this book if you don't like whump. I do have criticisms about it, such as her Loki was a bit too nice for my taste and could have been worse (making him justified for cutting Sif's hair feels forced; he can still be a loveable and tragic asshole, you know?). But my tragedy-loving self loves this!

I was looking forward to Genevieve Gornichec's "The Witch's Heart", it has a cute start of Loki giving Angrboda her burnt heart, but she criminally made Angrboda and Loki boring as fuck. Angrboda conveniently doesn't remember anything and just fumbles her way inside a cave for a large portion of the book. And she is the POV we're following. WE ARE STUCK IN A CAVE SHE WON'T LEAVE. Loki's portrayal in this is one of the most cisheteronormative I've seen yet, and it's surprising the author managed this in a story where Loki's myth hijinks ensue and wears a dress (he impatiently yanks off because he felt emasculated). The author thinks having a lean build and no beard=queer. Loki only shows interest in women and feels emasculated while wearing a dress. I also happen to hate Skadi and her weird castration fetish in this book. Bitch wouldn't shut up about it. The good thing about this book is that there's no anachronisms, and I liked Hel's portrayal.

So confession, I had Kindle Unlimited trial briefly, and I read a bunch of Loki books, such as Lyra Wolf's.

I think(?) I read A.B. Frost's "Father of Monsters". It was quite short, but has nice illustrations, and Loki's endearing, even if a little shit. That both takes one for the team and also endangers the team.

I read (partially) some book about Loki escaping his punishment early and rejoining the Aesir, but it was criminally boring (it never described how Loki got out of situations and the prose was incredibly VAGUE) and seemed geared towards Norse pagans(Which I AM NOT). Had a spiritual conflict-avoiding vibe. It was called "Loki" but forgot the author's name and I accessed for free by Kindle Unlimited. I also didn't like that it referred to cops as "Tyr's warriors". FUCK COPS.

I have not finished reading Mike Vasich's "Loki". I think the man thinks MCU Loki is accurate to Norse mythology, because that's the only Loki I could picture (and he was adopted by Odin). And man spent way too long describing sensing "power levels" that I ended up getting bored and stopped reading. I've also seen some amusing excerpt from another of his books I have not read. But, if you're an author, don't spend a lot of time describing power levels, FFS! You'll bore the fuck out of your readers.

[fandomn00blr]

Get to Know the Blogger

(that's me!)

I got tagged by @serial-chillr and @paraparadigm in this one! Tagging @funkypoacher, @pinkfadespirit, @normal-goatboy, @bengalaas, @cleverblackcat, @musetta3, @ruiniel , @nirikeehan , @blarrghe, @moss--and--bones, @genginger, @sarsaparillia, and anyone else who wants in...some of you may have already done this, and if so, I do apologize!

Share your wallpaper:

(Say hello to Zebra, one of the very happy nerite snails that shares a tank with Spawn's betta...did you know snails have little scraper teeth thingies? Because I sure didn't until we added them to the tank!)

Last song you listened to: "Devil Got My Woman" by Gregg Allman

Currently reading: Listening to/reading (whatever my brain will allow) House of Many Ways by Diana Wynne Jones

Last movie: We just watched Le Ballon Rouge with Spawn bc it was only 34 minutes long and we had promised her a movie before bed

Last TV show: I...started watching Black Sails...*ducks*

Craving: Lemon bars!

What are you wearing right now: A big beige sweater with random suede elbow patches and grey 'lounge pants'...lol

How tall are you: 5'9, 5'10 if I stand up straight

Piercings: Do scarred over nose stud holes count? If so, I got three total (one in each earlobe, too)

Tattoos: I'm too indecisive to ever pick something I want permanently depicted on my body

Glasses or contacts: Glasses!

Last drink: Fountain Diet Coke (channeling my inner Deborah Vance)

Last thing you ate: Pizza! (It's Friday in the Midwest, of course we got pizza!)

Favorite color: Teal

Current obsession: Lowcountry swamp ecosystems

Any pets: In addition to the snails (4) and the betta, I cater to the needs of a geriatric mastiff mix with a chronic case of dietary indiscretion

Favorite fictional character: I love too many to pick just one, but let's just say my favorite type of fictional character is smart but also an idiot

The last place you traveled: Detroit! (Headed to sunny Milwaukee next week for Spring Break to round out our Midwest tour)

[evenaturtleduck]

I had hoped to read 50 books this year. Instead I've read 180. That is to say, in May I finished only one book and in September I read forty-two (I must have been some particularly awful combination of bored and stressed that month), and every other month was somewhere in between. So rather than list everything I read this year (note to self: next year maybe do something like a monthly summary? that would probably be a smart idea) I'll just list the books/series/authors this year that most thoroughly got in my head/captured my imagination/fucked me up.

With the one obvious exception, you can also imagine all of these comments followed by me waving my hands and shrieking 'I just loved this book so much oh my god.'

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows--like one of those chocolate bars where the chocolate's not too sweet or too bitter and it's got just the right amount of crunchy salty bits in it and it's just the most perfectly craveable thing I've ever eaten.

The Binding by Bridget Collins--it took me several days to read because I wasn't sure how I felt about it for the first half or so and I kept setting the book in my lap to just stare at the wall because the world of the book was so completely immersive, and when I went to bed I kept dreaming about it (I did end up deciding I loved it).

The Daevabad trilogy + River of Silver by S.A. Chakraborty--the whole universe of these books is A+ worldbuilding goals--history, culture, religion, language--it's amazing. Also I love all the characters so much. Even the villains--they're all so interesting and complex (villains don't have to be sympathetic to be good villains of course but sometimes you want to cheer for the doomed girlboss who's actually so right except for the genocide).

Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones--a reread of a middle school favorite (I assume I was in middle school when I first read it because I remember thinking Nick was practically an adult and then I reread it and realized he's only 14). This was one of the first books I ever checked out from the adult side of the library and to this day I compare all fictional multiverses to Diana Wynne Jones's (and they never live up to it). Most of it takes place at a fantasy con where, among other things, there is a centaur, a UFO, an orgy, and a scene based on DWJ's real life con experience with Neil Gaiman. Basically everything about this book is amazing and permanently defined good speculative fiction for me.

The Devourers by Indra Das--this one made it onto the list even though I didn't actually enjoy it. It was just very effective at whateverthefuck it was. It's like if Kristeva's Powers of Horror wrote a fucked up novel with Cohen's Monster Theory. It was like that time when I was a little kid that my grandpa was watching a thing on TV about David Koresh and I kept creeping into the room to watch even though I was terrified of whatever was happening and was baffled and haunted for months afterwards every time I went to bed. I hated it and I couldn't stop reading it and if that sounds appealing to you then you should absolutely read it.

Busman's Honeymoon and Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers--rereads of grad school-era favorites, but they're just so perfect in every way. They're billed as mystery novels but they're also about a couple who're deeply in love while trying to parse out the potentially toxic power dynamics in their relationship, figure out the best way to support each other when they're both super stressed out and kind of traumatized, AND also being extremely nerdy together about literature and history and politics. It's just. I love Peter and Harriet, and I love their friends and family (except Helen. Helen can fuck right off). Usually if I want a love story with characters discussing how gender is going to affect their sexual and romantic relationships and overall agency and identity I have to go to, say, Alexis Hall or Cat Sebastian, but back in the 1930s Dorothy Sayers was already on it (and not even just with the two protagonists--there's a whole college of female academics hotly--and potentially murderously--debating the issue over dinner)

For Real by Alexis Hall--the most emotions per sex scene I think I've ever experienced.

The Half Life of Valery K, The Lost Future of Pepperharrow, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley--everything by Pulley, but these three in particular, just goes right to my heart and aches very gently. Like, when it's sad it's hopeful, and when it's happy it's wistful.

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik (and the other Temeraire books I read)--yes it would have been improved by more scenes involving Laurence being trapped in a room full of assertive woman in pants while he politely panics, but the whole concept and the worldbuilding of this dragon-filled alternate history and TEMERAIRE MY BELOVED and Laurence you sweet honorable angry himbo <3 I get annoyed by alternate histories in which everything ends up panning out the same way, just with different flavoring, so I really love how Novik put so much thought into how her dragons would change the state of the world in so many different aspects.

The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher--I didn't realize I liked horror until I read this one.

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall--the best take on a Regency romance.

Loki: Agent of Asgard--Spouse commented that I spent more time per page on this graphic novel than I did on the traditional kind, because I loved getting lost in the art. It was just really funny and beautiful and thoughtful.

A Marvelous Light by Freya Marske--Edwin cradling the snowflake to show Robin is such a perfect moment <3

Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher--I am fascinated by how these characters are so clear about how they are definitely not in a fairy tale, but they are 100% down to borrow fairy tale logic and tools when they're useful, and then discard them as soon as they're not (like the dustwife and her three impossible tasks).

Noor by Nnedi Okorafor--I don't think I can adequately describe how fascinating this solarpunk world is (people complain about solarpunk being an oxymoron because like the solar implies a clean and environmentally healthy context while the punk is a rebellion against a toxic status quo but that's because they apparently haven't read this book yet). Also I love AO and DNA <3

Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher--I cannot overstate how much it means to me that his god literally died and he's still over here doing his best.

Paris Daillencourt Is About To Crumble by Alexis Hall--looks fluffy, but is actually really painful in a good way.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke--extremely weird in all the best ways. It's this slow unfolding of the character and the space into a gorgeous and contemplative piece of art.

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark--fucking badass and extremely satisfying. If you've ever wanted to see a black woman with a magic sword and her heavily-armed besties obliterate a bunch of Klan members then I have the book for you.

The Sandman vol 1 by Neil Gaiman--I don't even know where to start with this one.

The Scholomance Trilogy by Naomi Novik--I had to stop twice to read different, super fluffy, books because I couldn't think about it after dark. You know how everything seems more stressful after the sun sets and 'it's after 9pm I cannot trust the horrors'? These books are full of horrors and during the day it's like 'oh very cool statement on capitalism' and at night it's 'oh god these poor children'.

The Serpent Gates books by A.K. Lakewood--flying whales! There is so much that's so gorgeous about these books but the whales soaring above the uncanny and terrifyingly deep forest ocean thing will live in my imagination forever.

This is how you lose the time war by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone--So many gorgeous little moments and images--more like a poetry collection than a novel. And I got to the end and I was like 'Ooohhhhh! I recognize this imagery!!!' I love borrowing from fairy tales to make them new.

To be taught, if fortunate by Becky Chambers--I am still not over this.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik--another staring-at-the-wall kind of story. Spinning Silver was also excellent and did some really cool things with interlocking fairy tales, but Uprooted was just so much of a seamless piece that it completely absorbed me.

Waiting for the Flood by Alexis Hall--a perfect little jewel of a story.

The Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers--the galaxy-building!!! All of these books made me cry--sometimes in a 'oh god this hurts so much' way, but by the end of every book I always felt joyful about the whole existence of sentient life in the universe.

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell--another of those books that scratched a very particular itch in my brain in a very satisfying way--like yes, it had all the favorite tropes AND it had the really excellent character development and fascinating plottiness and interesting world building and all that good stuff. (Ocean's Echo was also fantastic! I'm a sucker for super-lawful-and-honorable military guys who discover they can't actually change the system from within and have to Do A Treason in order to live up to their own moral and ethical code--see also: Captain William Laurence)

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill--another one where I cried. So much rage and longing in the first half, so much joy at the end.

THIS IS NOT ALL THE BOOKS I LOVED OR THAT AFFECTED ME THIS YEAR. These are just the books that made the most obvious impressions on my brain.

[teachingmycattoread]

Things We’ve Yelled About This Episode #3.1

The Inimitable Jeeves, P. G. Wodehouse

The great vowel shift (wiki)

“ “Bertie, we were at school together.”

“It wasn’t my fault.”

“We’ve been pals for fifteen years.”

“I know. It’s going to take me the rest of my life to live it down.” “- The Inimitable Jeeves, Chapter 17: Bingo and the Little Woman; P.G. Wodehouse

This post

“ “Jeeves,” I said, “those spats.”

“Yes, sir?”

“You really dislike them?”

“Intensely, sir.”

“You don’t think time might induce you to change your view?”

“No, sir.”

“All right, then. Very well. Say no more. You may burn them.”

“Thank you very much, sir. I have already done so. Before breakfast this morning. A quiet grey is far more suitable, sir. Thank you, sir.” “ - The Inimitable Jeeves, Chapter 16: The Delayed Exit of Claude and Eustace; P. G. Wodehouse

Downton Abbey (2010-2015)

Jane Austen

The Hobbit, J.R.R. Tolkien

Wei Wuxian and Lan Wangji, The Untamed (2019) 

Jeeves and Wooster (1990-1993)

Stephen Fry (imdb)

Hugh Laurie (imdb)

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1984-1985)

Jeremy Brett (imdb)

Fairies Aren’t Gentlemen, amarguerite (ao3)

K. J. Charles

Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell, Susanna Clarke

The Great Gatsby, F Scott Fitzgerald

“ “You will find Mr Wooster,” he was saying to the new chappie, “an exceedingly pleasant and amiable young gentleman, but not intelligent. By no means intelligent. Mentally he is negligible - quite negligible.” - The Inimitable Jeeves, Chapter 5: The Pride of the Woosters is Wounded; PG. Wodehouse

“Just what occurred then I couldn’t exactly say, but the next few minutes were a bit exciting. I take it that Cyril must have made a dive for the infant. Anyway, the air seemed pretty well congested with arms and legs and things. Something bumped into the Wooster waistcoat just around the third button, and I collapsed on to the settee and rather lost interest in things for the moment. When I had unscrambled myself…” The Inimitable Jeeves, Chapter 10: Startling Dressiness of a Lift Attendant; P.G. Wodehouse

Lord Peter Wimsey, Bunter; characters from the Lord Peter Wimsey mystery series, Dorothy L. Sayers

As My Wimsey Takes Me (podcast)

Dublin Murder Squad series, Tana French

The Once and Future King, T. H. White

The Sword in the Stone, T. H. White

Spats (wiki)

The trial of Oscar Wilde (wiki)

Street smarts! From John Mulaney’s Kid Gorgeous at Radio City (2018)

Leverage (2008-2012)

The meat pumpkin (article)

Coco Chanel (wiki) and her collaboration with the Nazis (wiki)

“Take one accessory off” - fashion advice attributed to Coco Chanel (quote)

Temeraire series, Naomi Novik

A Wook:

A Goth:

The Cat Rating

9/10

What Else Are We Reading

Discworld, Terry Pratchett

Nigel Planer (imdb)

Nigel Planer Discworld audiobooks (audible)

Dublin Murder Squad, Tana French

In the Woods, Tana French

Britain After Rome, Robin Fleming

The Silmarillion, J. R. R. Tolkien

Beowulf

Next Time On Teaching My Cat To Read

Howl’s Moving Castle, Diana Wynne Jones

The audiobook

[theflyingdesk]

Hawkeye’s Mobile Army Surgical Hospital

[randomshenaniganery]

TODAY I AM HAPPY BECAUSE I WAS ABLE TO RECOVER MY DWJ AUDIOBOOKS AND NOW I CAN LISTEN TO CHRESTOMANCI’S SASS

[utilitycaster]

Hey if you ever feel like it I’d be rly interested in seeing your ranking of all the dimension 20 seasons? Which have been your most to least favorite?

So a couple of notes:

- I ended up grouping things as follows: Intrepid Heroes Seasons and 10 episode sidequests (Mice & Murder, The Seven) as Seasons; 4 and 6 episode shows as Sidequests.

- I still haven't gotten around to the Misfits and Magic holiday special so this is on the original series.

- This is less a note on quality although I've made a few notes where it was; it's much more about my opinion and preferences.

Seasons

A Crown of Candy. I think having a much more consequence-heavy and intricately political world was great. I'm looking forward to Starstruck and I'm hoping to get more creative genre explorations from D20 in the future, especially in terms of fantasy/sci fi subgenres. Would also not say no to horror, actually.

The Unsleeping City Season 2. I preferred it to season 1 in part because I liked Cody and Iga a lot, and because the plot seemed a little bit tighter.

Fantasy High Season 2/Live. I hope they can one day do the live format or perhaps live to tape because this really allowed the improv to shine, and I loved seeing more of the world of Spire. I also liked revisiting the characters and seeing how they grew.

The Seven, which had a great premise and a wonderful cast and again expanded Spire.

Fantasy High Season 1. The pacing was a little messy but the story was fantastic and this was a smart flagship; it's instantly relatable and the characters are very well realized.

The Unsleeping City Season 1. I still liked it but this was back when they were strictly adhering to rp/combat/rp/combat format AND it took a while for the plot to really get going (vs Fantasy High Season 1 which got a little fuzzy towards the end but started strong).

Mice & Murder. I liked the setting and characters, but in practice D&D centered around a mystery with low-level characters in a world with little to no magic, all in one night, tends to make me less interested. I still enjoyed it very much but I don't think I'll ever rewatch it.

Sidequests

Escape from the Bloodkeep. Yes there are hiccups in the early format but "you play as the bad guys from LOTR" is specifically designed to appeal to me. Also: more high-level sidequests please!

Pirates of Leviathan. Absolutely STELLAR cast (which was my introduction to Aabria, actually!) - it made sense to try out their first remote season with a cast who was extremely comfortable with D&D, and a fun revisiting of a favorite Fantasy High Live setting.

Shriek Week. Neither dating sims nor monsterfucking are really my thing, but I think Gabe's GM-ing was great, the cast was strong, the mechanics were very suited for the story being told (this sounds very clinical but this is like. my highest praise.) and it was just really fun.

Misfits and Magic. A good system, another great cast (I hope Danielle comes back for another sidequest and Brennan gets to be a player again somewhere), and Aabria did a wonderful job. Its position here is purely because like...I absolutely grew up with Harry Potter and enjoyed the books but it was never an obsession (this is a Diana Wynne Jones household, thanks very much) and I was an adult who had long since moved on from the series well before Rowling started openly being a transphobic asshole. So like...even parodies/commentary thereof aren't something I tend to seek out anymore.

Tiny Heist. Yet again: not remotely a commentary on the cast as I love the McElroys' stuff, loved Lily in Shriek Week, and have enjoyed Jessica's work on other College Humor shows and it's just like...I don't feel the premise worked super well with D&D. I think it needed a different game system.

[smalltownfae]

Top five fantasy subgenres?

I am not even sure if I know all of the fantasy subgenres that exist! *googles* There are too many that exist and some don't perfectly encapsulate what I like about the fantasy books I like... but I will do my best to make a top. Apparently low fantasy means set in our world or one like our own instead of just having less magic like I thought.

1. Coming of Age Fantasy

"Though few tales are classified exclusively as coming-of-age, many have such elements about them. The main character typically starts out young, naïve, and yearning for adventure — which he or she gets. By the end of that adventure (or series of adventures), our protagonist has matured into an adult and become much wiser through their experiences."

I love to see a character change and grow from a child into old age. There is a lot of potential for complex character work here, but most books in this subgenre seem to be aimed at a younger audience and I wish more adult books would do this too. I would consider the Farseer trilogy in this subgenre since it's pretty much a coming of age story about Fitz.

2. Medieval Fantasy

"A particularly popular brand of historical fantasy, medieval fantasy means castles, knights, and damsels in distress — though with the caveat that those damsels are often guarded by dragons, and sorcerers are present to help out the heroes. As one of the most prominent and accessible niches in fantasy, it’s a great starter subgenre for readers new to the genre. In fact, you’ve likely consumed some form of medieval fantasy without even knowing it; if you’ve ever seen Monty Python or Shrek, you’re already well-acquainted with it."

I KNOW! I know that this setting is tiresome in fantasy and there is so much of it. I know! But I can't help loving the castles and the forests and horse back riding. I really like this setting and I am sorry. I know it's overused. I don't particularly like the tropes though, especially not the damsel in distress. I love the setting but I want something new to be done with it. The wizards can stay though.

3. Political Fantasy

"Alas, this one doesn’t involve your favorite politician in a compromising position. What it does involve, however, is some serious political intrigue, often with schisms between different sides. The worldbuilding in this subgenre tends to be particularly strong, since you need a fully fleshed-out political system for the political clashes to seem real. These stories also often include allusions and commentary on real-life issues — so chances are, if you’re politically active yourself, you’ll very much enjoy political fantasy."

I do love me some political intrigue and for this to do well the characters need to be complex and smart. Sadly, a lot of people fail at it though because a lot of cases are simplified or the information isn't all disclosed to the reader in order to appear smart without having to show it.

4. Fable/Fairy Tale Fantasy:

"This subgenre is the stuff of picture books and Disney movies: fables and fairytales that many of us already know, but presented in a fresh new way. Nevertheless, they usually contain similar morals and lessons to the original tales, especially if they’re targeted toward a younger audience."

Once again, usually targeted to a younger audience and I wish more adult books would pick this subgenre up. "Daughter of the Forest" by Juliet Marillier actually did it and I appreciate it for that. Another one of my complains is that these have too much focus on romance. People know that there are fairy tales with zero romance in it, right? At least I hope they do. When I say I like these kind of books honestly what I mostly mean is I like Patricia A. McKillip, Diana Wynne Jones, Juliet Marillier and T. Kingfisher because I haven't seen anyone else do it well for my tastes so far. I am also tired of Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella retellings too. So many fables and fairy tales in the world and people keep using the same 10 or so.

5. Grimdark Fantasy:

"While dark fantasy incorporates elements of horror in order to inspire fear or dread in the reader, grimdark paints a picture of supernatural places or people that are morally grey. They often take place in the “underbelly” of a magical world, and contain themes of violence, cynicism, or bleakness. They are — ahem — grim and dark."

*sigh* I hesitated to put this one here because this subgenre can get so over the top that I find it ridiculous instead of poignant and meaningful (see "Prince of Thorns" by Mark Lawrence). However, I love First Law and Poppy War for the most part so I couldn't exactly leave it out of my top. On paper I love the morally gray characters. The problem is that people confuse gray with black quite often. I have a tendency for darker stories that is true, but I don't like when it becomes too unrealistic in terms of character work. I need the characters to feel real in order to believe them.

Others considered: Historical Fantasy, Magical Realism, Fantasy of Manners, Quest Fantasy.

I will leave the rest of the questions for later because I need time to think about them. Sorry.

[tamorapierce]

Tammy's Spring 2020 Reading Recommendations For the Bored

Sooner or later the bookhounds among us are going to start joining my relentless song, from age five on up, of “I don’t have anything to read!!!!”

 I am here to help.  In this space, as I get to it (knowing, as my readers do, that I have no sense of deadline), I will be posting a constant set of collections of book titles by authors my team and I have read and will recommend in a wild variety of genres and for a wild variety of ages.  (And I’ll give a short hint as to the subject of the first book/series—if I did them all I’d never finish this.)  This last is for the many of you who are reading teen and adult books in grade and middle school, and those adult readers who are reading teen and kidlit. These people are for those who love books and don’t care who is supposed to be reading them.  

 Also, you may have to look far and wee, since we will be drawing upon not only recently published books but older ones that we have either read recently or that we read long ago and have re-read or have never forgotten.  Don’t say I didn’t warn you when the writing is archaic.  If you’re a true nutsy reader like the rest of us, you won’t care.

 -Tammy Pierce

                                                        *     *     *

Assume the book came out within the last 2 years unless I put LO next to the title, which means you have to check libraries and bookstores online and paper for copies.

 *     *     *

 Diana Wynne Jones  LO

A generation or two of fantasy writers, particularly those who love humor, bow to this woman as our goddess.  Not only was she out of her mind in a very British and manic way, but with her TOUGH GUIDE TO FANTASYLAND she taught a number of us to ditch some ill-considered tropes of our genre.  If you write historic fantasy in particular, move heaven and earth to track this book down.  There’s a bonus: some of the entries will make you laugh till you cry.

           She is best known for her books for middle grade and teens, but they are enjoyable for all readers.  I cannot list them all here because my fingers will break (curse you, arthritis!), but these titles will give you a jumping-off point.  And remember, authors change with each book, so you won’t encounter the same author with each title as the author you read in the previous one!

           The Chrestomanci books, all in the same universe, in order of story,

                       not publication

Charmed Life  (1977) An innocent lad follows his plotting egotistical sister to live with England’s chief wizard

The Lives of Christopher Chant (1988)

Conrad’s Fate (2005)

Witch Week (1982)

The Magicians of Caprona (1980)

Short stories

 The Dalemark Quartet begins with

The Spellcoats (1979)

3 sequels

 The Derkholm books are

Dark Lord of  (1998)

Year of the Griffin (2000)

  The Tough Guide to Fantasyland is standalone, but is a kind of offshoot of the Derkholm books.  You don’t have to have read the Derkholm books to get Tough Guide!

 There are other books and stories by Jones—I’ll let you find them on your own.

  Philip Pullman

To this day I am unable to call him anything but Mr. Pullman—that’s how much in awe of the man I am.  We’ve had dinner together, talked on the phone, talked at an event or two, done a conversation on audio with Christopher Paolini—it’s still Mr. Pullman to me.  (I was an assistant in a literary agency when I discovered his work, and I never recovered.) He is, in a word, brilliant, and his interests range through all kinds of areas, particularly history and religion.  I could have talked with him forever that night we had dinner, but the poor man had jet lag and I let him go to collapse.  It was one of the best exchanges of ideals, values, and books I’ve ever had.  

Read his work carefully, because what he discusses is never just the story on top.  No matter what he writes, he is making strong points about social justice, human nature, religion, and history without preaching.  He is one of the few male writers out there who can write female characters as people, not Something Different.  And you never know, with his work, where he will go next.

 The Ruby in the Smoke,

book 1,  the Sally Lockheart mysteries

Victorian mysteries with a female hero and male assistants,

           The Book of Dust and sequel,

first 2 books of The Secret Commonwealth

           His Dark Materials trilogy

                       The Golden Compass

                       2 other titles                

           THE COLLECTORS

           LYRA’S OXFORD

           THE WHITE MERCEDES

           FAIRY TALES FROM THE BROTHERS GRIMM

           I WAS A RAT!

           TWO CRAFTY CRIMINALS

           COUNT KARLSTEIN

           (I will stop here and let you find the rest. Most are available as Nook books.)

  Sharon Shinn

I discovered Sharon Shinn with JOVAH’S ANGEL, but a shortage of funds left me unable to pursue my interest (I am an economic disaster with libraries, so I buy rather than borrow) until, with a job and money to spend, I spotted THE SAFE-KEEPER’S SECRET.  It is the story of a medieval-ish world and a small village where a baby was left with a childless couple.  She is raised as their daughter and discovers, as she grows, that her mother is an important, a Safekeeper, the person to whom a secret can be told, relieving the person who told it of the weight of guilt from it, to be carried by the Safekeeper until the owner either decides to tell or dies.  (And if they die without giving permission, the Safekeeper never reveal the secret.)  The baby who is adopted by this town’s safekeeper becomes the safekeeper in her turn.

           The next book is THE TRUTHTELLER’S TALE, about a girl who acquires the gift (??) of telling the truth, whether the person she tells it to wants to hear it or not. The third book is The Dream-maker’s Magic.  The three main characters now learn why they have been brought together over the course of the two earlier books, in what I thought was a satisfying, if unusual, conclusion.

           And there’s more!  I just did the two I love best!

             THE SAFEKEEPER’S SECRET (book 1, two sequels)

           ARCHANGEL (4 books)

           TWELVE HOUSES (5 books)

           ELEMENTAL BLESSINGS (4 books)        

SHIFTING CIRCLE (2 books)

           UNCOMMON ECHOES

           GENERAL WINSTON’S DAUGHTER

           GATEWAY

 Daniel Jose Older

 I was a Daniel Jose Older fan before I was sent DACTYL HILL SQUAD for a blurb (preodactyls in flight!  Of all sizes!  Confederate spies!  Thuggish bigot northerners!  The backlash of Gettysburg and the forced recruitment of blacks for the war effort! And strong, smart, fierce kids of various ages, sizes, colors, national heritage, and skills doing their best to help the war against the slaves, keep escaped slaves safe, duck the cruel managers of the homes and jails where they are being kept, find a half-decent meal, free other kids in trouble, learn who’s killing their friends, and help the dactyls!  That’s part of it, anyway!

Yeah, I loved it.  And there’s at least one new book, and once I’ve mowed though that, there are his older teen books, and his grownup mysteries, with their half-dead taxi driver who doubles as a part-time troubleshooter for the undead powers in his Bone Street Rhumba series.  {happy sigh}

  Edgar Allen Poe

Yes, some of these are reminders of why we ended up to be the readers we are and to nudge us to corrupt—I mean, “introduce”—­new readers to the glories that are our legacies.

­

THE COMPLETE TALES AND POEMS OF EDGAR ALLEN POE

           Here are the greats:

poems like “The Raven,” and “Annabelle Lee”

stories like “The Fall of the House of Usher,” “The Telltale Heart,” and  ::shudder:: “The Pit and the Pendulum” (yes, a deep pit and a swinging pendulum topped with a razor-edged blade will be featured in this story).  

My dad would read these to us on dark and stormy nights when we lived near the Pacific ocean, when the fog came rolling in, softening every sound, when there were no cars driving by and no other sounds in our house but his deep voice and the crackle of the fire in the fireplace.  We would listen, soundless, as he wove the stories and poems around us and the foghorn sounded offshore.

           That’s the power of Poe.

  N. K. Jemisin

I think I began with Jemisin’s THE HUNDRED THOUSAND KINGDOMS, soon followed by its sequel THE BROKEN KINGDOMS.  The series ended with a third book, THE KINGDOM OF THE GODS.  She presented a rich and varied world from the aspects of people of different classes, showing the growth of societies and their formation.  I have a secret passion for society-building and social interaction, and whether or not a book is difficult to read (as Jemisin’s books are in spots because she refuses to insult a reader by talking down to them) is immaterial.  I want the world and I want the characters, and with her far-reaching mind and her respect for her characters she delivers each and every time.  I have read almost everything she’s written since that first trilogy: if I’ve missed something, it’s because I was in the middle of a deadline and on the road and somehow didn’t see it.  I’ll catch up!  This is just a sample:

           For readers of all sexes and adult reading skills

 The City They Became (pub’d April 2020)

 The Inheritance Trilogy:

           The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, 2010

           2 book sequels

Novella: The Awakened Kingdom, 2014

                       Triptych: Shades in Shadow, 2015 (3 short stories) 

             The Dreamblood Duology:

           For readers of all sexes and adult reading skills

           The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, 2010

                       Two sequels

 The Broken Earth series:

         The Fifth Season (August 2015)

                       Two book sequels

And there are plenty of short stories out there.  I may even have missed a book or twelve!

For those who prefer to hear my ramble in person, a video!

[mikkeneko]

10 favorite female characters from 10 different fandoms

Tagged by @drowningbydegrees  :) Like her, going with "first ten that came to mind" over any other, like, universal all-encompassing criteria.

I could swear I've done a list like this before, but when I checked to make sure I wasn’t repeating characters it looked like I’d done 10 favorite overall characters, not female specifically. Always nice to have a more specific search term!

1. Cordelia Naismith from the Vorkosigan series

Cordelia has been a favorite character from a favorite series for years, but having her return in Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen to show us how she’s grown and changed in the thirty-five years since we last had her as a POV character really deepened my appreciation for her. Cordelia mostly held the role of the Progressive Expat in the feudal, militaristic and overwhelmingly male-dominated society of Barrayar that she married into, and she spend her entire life fighting to bring more egalitarian and humanitarian perspectives to her adopted culture. Gentleman Jole showed us some of the changes Barrayar worked on her in return; she’s a lot harder, a lot more bloodthirsty, and a lot more tired  at the end of her career than the beginning, although she never lost hold of her core principles. Above all I really have to admire Gentleman Jole  for saying “You know what? Fuck it. Cordelia gets everything she wanted. She no longer has to put her dreams and wishes on hold to try to help her husband or son’s career along. She gets to retire to the planet she discovered and she gets six baby girls and a hot younger boyfriend and a seat on a scientific research committee. No more sacrifices. Cordelia gets everything she ever wanted.” and I for one think that’s extremely good.

2. Eowyn from the Lord of the Rings

Was just having the discussion with my fiance yesterday about how despite the fact that Tolkein is on record as saying he doesn’t know how to write female characters, he did a pretty great job with Eowyn, giving her a full multifaceted personhood with a lovely character arc of her own (which is not, despite first appearances, centered on being in love with a man) dealing with themes and issues that are still  relevant, and  doing so in a way that was specific to the female experience of the society she was written in. So either he underestimated his capacity to write female characters or he was smart enough to listen to the input of a female editor, either way, good job. It would be nice to have more  characters like Eowyn in LOTR, but no complaints about this one.

3. Vin from the Mistborn trilogy

Sanderson generally writes pretty good female characters, although they don’t always overshadow the male characters in the same books. Going to pick just one from Sanderson’s stuff it was either going to be Vin or Vivenna, and I came down on the side of Vin because she’s just pretty great. I think my favorite thing about Vin is that she became a legend in the world that came after Mistborn,  and that as much as she is admired for her achievements Marasi still points out, correctly, that not all  women should have  to be the Ascended Warrior, there are other valid ways of being a woman (and a hero.)

4. Gideon Nav from the Locked Tomb trilogy

There’s something extremely, extremely refreshing about how pure of a himbo Gideon Nav manages to be, and I adore her for it. Gideon Nav saw a giant skeleton juggernaut with swords for hands and her immediate reaction was “I want to fight that.” Icon.

5. Sophie Hatter from Howl's Moving Castle

There are a lot of really great female characters in Diana Wynne Jones so it’s hard to pick just one, but Sophie is one very dear to my heart. Suddenly finding oneself to be ninety years old and taking that as an excuse to fling off all the ridiculous social restrictions of your age and gender? Mood. Feeling like a failure despite your repeated and provable talents as an organizer and your newly discovered talents as a witch? Big  mood.

6. Kiri from Madness Season

I am always at a loss about what happened  in C.S. Friedman’s other books because she can  write female characters well! Kiri and Hesseth prove she can! She just... doesn’t. Anyway Kiri was the best part of The Madness Season,  being an unimaginably old alien from a race of energy-based shapeshifters who mostly regard the antics of the ‘embodied’ species with tolerant fondness. Her species and society rely very heavily on having symbiote partners of an embodied species and she spends most of the book slapping the protagonist character upside the head and yelling “You! I choose you! Get your head out of your ass, get your immortal shit together, because you’ve got to be my partner now!” And he does, and in the process saves the galaxy, it’s rad.

7. Agatha Heterodyne from Girl Genius

Agatha Heterodyne is an absolute Mary Sue of a character, a busty blonde knockout who one day discovers herself to be the secret genius heir of a continent-spanning mad science empire, and people come from all over to swear either loyalty or lifelong enmity with her. And you know what? She’s valid.

8. Miriam from Spinning Silver

Spinning Silver contains a very excellent trio of great female leads, but Miriam is IMHO the best for the sheer spite-fueled power of “fuck the world that’s done this to my family, fuck the Winter King who thinks he can ride in here and walk all over me, and especially fuck you demon-infested tsar who is at least partially culpable for BOTH of these things!” 

9. Parker from Leverage

I didn’t want to leave one of my favorite TV shows off here, but mostly I admire Parker for how much she learned and grew; she starts off the series with an extremely specific set of skills and very narrow set of priorities and over the seasons that follow, she grows to encompass more wants and obligations and dreams and she grows so much  in skills that by the end of the series she’s the Mastermind, and she deserves it.

10. Wen Qing from The Untamed

Wen Qing deserved better than she got, she was placed in an impossible situation and she did everything she could to protect her family, both immediate and extended, from callous warmongers who wanted to use her. She never lost her pride or her principles even when the world was busy grinding her into the dust, she tried so hard, she got chewed up and spit out by a cruel society and unlike the main character, she never was given a second chance. I cry for Wen Qing.

Tagging in turn @faux-fires, @ushauz, @fairandfatalasfair, @curiosity-killed, @cersee?

[accidentalspaceexplorer]

At the Door: Book Recs for Portal Fantasies

I’ve enjoyed a lot of portal fantasies over the years, and today I thought I would recommend a few that I particularly enjoyed. Some of these are more traditional portal fantasies with an actual door or portal, and some of them take the boundary a little more loosely than that, but they all feature characters crossing from a more familiar world to a world we don’t recognize.

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire

Every Heart a Doorway is the first novella in the ongoing Wayward Children series. The series follows various people who’ve traveled through a doorway to a different world and are attempting to figure out how to live in our world again. I really appreciate the way the series format allows McGuire to approach the relationship between the portal world and traveler from many different perspectives - some of the characters desperately want to go back through their doors, some of them have chosen to leave, and others are no longer welcome.

The Ten Thousand Doors of January by Alix E. Harrow

I read this one really recently, and I quite enjoyed it! The Ten Thousand Doors of January is a traditional portal fantasy in some senses, like the fact that the boundaries between our world and the others are actual doors, but it’s much more about the titular January’s coming of age than it is about the journey through the portals. In fact, the portal worlds are mostly described in in-world stories rather than in the narration. However, I found January’s journey to be very compelling, and I loved the side characters.

In Other Lands by Sarah Rees Brennan

This is a fairly standard portal fantasy set-up: Elliott crosses a literal wall to get to a fantasy world with elves and mermaids and unicorns and all sorts of other magical creatures, where he ends up joining a peacekeeping group and learning about friendship, diplomacy, and love. So I absolutely love this book. It’s funny, it’s smart, and it has a genre-savvy protagonist so it can really pay attention to the tropes of portal fantasies and play with them! It was a delight to read, and definitely a surprise, and I ended up laughing out loud and reading parts of it to whoever was sitting nearby. One of my favorites.

Dark Lord of Derkholm by Diana Wynne Jones

Dark Lord of Derkholm, unlike the rest of these, is about the inhabitants of the portal world, rather than the travelers. Derk just wanted to be left in peace to make fantastical creatures, but when he gets roped in to playing the Dark Lord for this year’s Tour, he decides enough is enough, and sets about trying to stop the Tours and get these interlopers to leave them all alone. This is very similar to In Other Lands as far as its dialogue with existing fantasy tropes - Diana Wynne Jones is well-versed in fantasy tropes, and she plays with them to hilarious effect. But the novel isn’t just hilarity - the characters are all well-developed, the plot has a great ride, and by the end you’re so invested in what’s going on that you forget you first picked it up as a satire.

Sabriel by Garth Nix

Sabriel and its sequels are some of my favorite books of all time - the magic in them is the perfect blend of understandable and alien, plus the necromancy portion is unique and super interesting. I’ve based one costume and one D&D character on them for a reason! The portal portion of Sabriel comes in the distinction between Ancelstierre, the real world stand-in, and the Old Kingdom - there’s just a border, with an actual border crossing, in between them, made physical by The Wall. The Wall actually does something though - magic doesn’t work in Ancelstierre, machines and anything made by them fall apart in the Old Kingdom, and the seasons and even the weather is different on different sides of the Wall. It’s a cool way to do a portal fantasy, where the “portal” isn’t just for one person, but is marked out and used by lots of different people.

The City of Brass by S. A. Chakraborty

The City of Brass is the first of a trilogy (which I haven’t finished yet) about Nahri, who starts the book living in Cairo, where she is approached by a djinn and then spirited away to Daevabad, where she learns that her heritage is much more complicated than she expected. In this book, the “portal” isn’t a physical place, but rather a magical barrier sort of thing, that the djinn Dara takes her across. The other thing that makes this not a very typical portal fantasy (and arguably not a portal fantasy at all) is that while Nahri does cross into a separate world, there’s really very little discussion of her existence in the human world, and she doesn’t really cross back and forth. However you end up falling on its portal fantasy status though, I think it’s an excellent book, and I’m really looking forward to finishing the trilogy!