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“We shall never learn to feel and respect our real calling and destiny, unless we have taught ourselves to consider every thing as moonshine, compared with the education of the heart.”

Sir Walter Scott

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“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art.... It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.”

C. S. Lewis

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Endless improvements turn out to be merely endless transformations...

Charles Brockden Brown

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Some mood boards for my characters because I showed up to work when I didn't have a shift and now I have Time.

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New place to write...

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Finally being useful...

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Writing prompts maybe? Let me know/reblog with your ideas...

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Take 2...

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article 2 is goooo

i flipping love the transcendentals, they make so much sense. the essence of humanity. any thoughts (from anyone, but particularly interested from atheists maybe?)

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Writing assistant strikes again...

Outline updated!

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Outline updated!

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Happy new year to everyone 🥳🎈🍾🥂

Writing update: finally finished my outline last night, so I can move on to blocking and drafting. God willing I'll have a first draft by mid-February, maybe earlier, we'll see!

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Unraveller

A Novel Ideas Book Review

Author: Frances Hardinge

Quick stats: Genre - Fantasy / Rating - 4/5 / Political leaning - Left / Pacing - 3/5 / Characterisation - 4/5 / Worldbuilding - 5/5 / Readability - 5/5 / Prose beauty - 3.5/5

Summary: Hardinge once again delivers a masterpiece of fantasy worldbuilding. The story starts of with Kellen and Nettle - a boy with the gift of unravelling curses and a girl who he saved from heron-related hurdles. From your standard door-to-door curse breaking, they find themselves in a maze of intrigue, danger and bureaucratic incompetency as people work with... other beings to achieve their own ends. Things can only get more complicated as the Unraveller becomes entangled in the loose ends of threads he thought were tucked away.

Initial thoughts: I picked it up in the charity shop for £3 and it was worth every penny and more. The story hooked me in instantly and kept me going. I had been in a bit of a reading rut and this was exactly what I needed to pull out of it. The main characters were well fleshed out and likable, and the villain was delightfully awful. An ideal read for this time of year when you just want to be Out of the Real World for a while.

Likes: As mentioned before, the worldbuilding is stellar and beautifully woven into the story. At no point does she info dump, but instead liberally throws out seeds and nuggets of culture and folklore to paint Raddith in full colour to all who see her. Some say the book dragged on in the middle, but I honestly didn't find it so. I like books that take their time to tell their story, and Unraveller does so without being dull or dry. She also manages to create a story with very little romance but still interesting relationships.

The Nitty Gritty: Most of the side characters are not very well fleshed out. The only one that I actually cared about was Gall (and I will say I feel he was done dirty in some ways), the rest all just passed by without a second thought. I also think (though this is probably just a personal thing) that there was a bit too much dialogue where prose might have substituted, but then I am an avid dialogue hater. The ending was also a little rushed, but otherwise, excellent!