#<- so there's this haunted historical epic

[catilinas]

pinned post 👍 #beeps -> my posts #five consecutive vowels -> queue tag. count the vowels in 'queueing' #epistulaeposting -> translating cicero's letters and then letting his ghost email them to people. (also on tumblr @e-pistulae!)

44 bce is going to be my year

[michele-apricity]

𝓭𝓪𝓻𝓴 𝓪𝓬𝓪𝓭𝓮𝓶𝓲𝓪 ˙⟡🪶─

𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒔

Dark academia is rooted in a love for philosophy, history and literature... so here are some recommendations for books that fit the dark academia aesthetic and you should definitely read

𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒄𝒔

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

The cornerstone of dark academia literature. A group of elite classics students is drawn into a web of obsession, betrayal, and murder.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

A dark exploration of beauty, morality, and corruption in Victorian England.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

A Gothic classic delving into the pursuit of forbidden knowledge, ambition, and the consequences of creation.

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

A story of love, mystery, and self-discovery, set against the brooding backdrop of Thornfield Hall.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

A Gothic masterpiece full of eerie atmospheres, academic investigation, and the dark allure of the unknown.

𝒎𝒐𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒏 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒔

If We Were Villains by M.L. Rio

A Shakespearean tragedy set in an elite performing arts college, where students’ lives unravel after a murder.

Vita Nostra by Marina & Sergey Dyachenko

A surreal and unsettling novel about a young woman attending a mysterious school where reality bends under the weight of knowledge.

Bunny by Mona Awad

A darkly humorous and sinister look at creativity, academia, and a cult-like clique in a prestigious MFA program.

The Atlas Six trilogy by Olivie Blake

A magical dark academia tale about six exceptionally talented magicians competing for a place in a secret society that guards knowledge.

In The Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado

A memoir with Gothic undertones that explores trauma, storytelling, and academic reflection.

𝒎𝒚𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒚/𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓 𝒏𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒔

The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón

A mysterious and haunting tale of a young boy discovering a forgotten book and its dark history.

The Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo

A supernatural dark academia story set in Yale’s secret societies, where magic and danger collide.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

A chilling Gothic mystery set in a decaying mansion, with a protagonist investigating her cousin's eerie marriage.

The Lying Game by Ruth Ware

A tale of friendship, deceit, and secrets in the shadow of a Gothic boarding school.

Plain Bad Heroines by Emily M. Danforth

A queer, layered story blending Gothic horror and academic intrigue across timelines.

𝒑𝒐𝒆𝒕𝒓𝒚 & 𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒍𝒐𝒔𝒐𝒑𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒌𝒔

The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson

Dickinson’s introspective and haunting poetry complements the aesthetic’s love of literature and existential reflection.

Meditations by Marcus Aurelius

For the intellectual side of dark academia, this stoic philosophical work is a guide to self-reflection and understanding.

Paradise Lost by John Milton

An epic poem exploring rebellion, ambition, and the fall from grace, perfect for the themes of the aesthetic.

Songs of Innocence and Experience by William Blake

Poetry reflecting duality, beauty, and the darker aspects of human nature.

𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂 𝒎𝒂𝒈𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒘𝒊𝒔𝒕

A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

A magical school where survival is key, blending dark academia with fantasy and wit.

Jonathan Strange & Mr. Noell by Susanna Clarke

A dense, Gothic tale of magic, rivalry, and ambition in 19th-century England.

The Magicians by Lev Grossman

A modern, darker take on a magical academy, filled with existential musings and flawed characters.

A Discovery of Witches by Deborah Harkness

A historical and fantastical romance steeped in academia, libraries, and ancient mysteries.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

A haunting, introspective story set in an otherworldly labyrinth that plays with memory, knowledge, and solitude.

𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒅𝒖𝒍𝒕

Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

A suspenseful story of privilege, power, and systemic secrets in an elite private school.

Catherine House by Elisabeth Thomas

A slow-burning, atmospheric novel about an experimental university and the price of knowledge.

We Were Liars by E. Lockhart

A tale of mystery, tragedy, and privilege among a wealthy, secluded family.

The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater

A series rich with mysticism, academic undertones, and a search for ancient knowledge.

An Enchantment of Ravens by Margaret Rogerson

A romantic and artistic dark fantasy set in a world of fae and forbidden craft.

Did you read any of the books mentioned here? And if so what was your favorite/your opinion on them?

I personally read most of the books here and loved every single one.

-michala♡

[msmargaretmurry]

hello tumblr! i read a lot this year and i want to talk about the epic highs and lows of my 2024 reading list!!

i went through all the books i read and divided them into four-ish categories — fiction, nonfiction not for school, nonfiction for school, and rereads, plus two poetry collections that didn't fit in any of those categories, and now i am going to talk a little bit about my favs and least favs, because i like doing a little end-of-year reflection. i was going to do top five in each category but instead i am doing my top however many i think meaningfully represents my favorites in that category. also these are new TO ME, not necessarily new in 2024. i have never in my life been caught up on reading the lastest book releases and i am not going to start now.

top five six fiction reads of 2024

In Memoriam by Alice Winn — a beautiful, achy, tragic, devastating, horrifying, hopeful romance between two english boys who get caught up in wwi and each other. my favorite non-reread book of the read.

The Cold Millions by Jess Walter — a deliciously detailed historical fiction set in the early twentieth century labor movement in the pacific northwest. great characters; i appreciated that the author tried to Do Things with his novel structure even if i didn't that they all 100% worked as well as he wanted them to.

Slippery Creatures by KJ Charles — i loved the entire will darling trilogy but this first installment was definitely my favorite of the three because it has the best of the plot twists and complicated romance.

Minor Detail by Adania Shibli (trans. Elisabeth Jaquette) — this novella was one of the first things i read in 2024 and it stuck with me all year. told in two equally harrowing parts, it tells the story of the murder of a palestinian girl in 1949 and then the story of a modern-day palestinian woman trying to navigate through occupied palestine to investigate the incident.

City of Girls by Elizabeth Gilbert — i have to be honest, i was surprised by how much i enjoyed this book, since all i knew about gilbert going into it was eat pray love memes. but i loved the cast of characters and the historical details and the exploration of female sexuality and autonomy.

Boy Parts by Eliza Clark — i read this book and was immediately like "wow i bet some people REALLY hated this lmao." the narrator is DEEPLY unlikeable and unsympathetic, and most of the people around her aren't much better. but she's like that on purpose, and while it's not for everyone, i relished reading her go on this self-destructive spiral, like a trainwreck that keeps getting worse. equal parts funny and disturbing. the excerpts from her best friend's tumblr had me howling.

top five six nonfiction reads of 2024

There's Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Adburraqib — the thing is, if hanif writes a book it's gonna be in my top reads of the year. that's just the rule. loved what he did with the structure of this book, love how he uses language, love how thoughtfully and poignantly he writes about everything from sports to social justice.

The Wolves of K Street: The Secret History of How Big Money Took Over Big Government by Brody Mullins and Luke Mullins — one of those books that did make be feel even more deeply depressed than usual about the united states and the us government specifically, but deeply researches and very readable, put so much into context for me about various horrible men whose backstories i was not totally aware of.

Doppelganger: A Trip into the Mirror World by Naomi Klein — this book is excellent all the way through, but what really surprised me was that even in sections on topics where i felt like it probably wouldn't have much new to offer me (like, i am already SO aware of how the people who think vaccines cause autism work) it still did give me some new perspective or context.

A Ghost in the Throat by Doireann Ní Ghríofa — a gorgeous and haunting and unique book that is so hard to describe. it is autofiction about womanhood and motherhood but it's also about history and poetry and translation and the silences of the archive.

In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado — i read so much of this in a single sitting because i was like girl i can't put this book down until you get out of there!!!!!!!!!!! oof. OOF.

Number Go Up: Inside Crypto's Wild Rise and Staggering Fall by Zeke Faux — i find crypto so hard to read about because it is deliberately convoluted but this book was not only well-written and readable but VERY funny. faux feels so aware of how so much of the crypto enterprise is built on speculation and wild greed and he treats it accordingly.

Floating Coast: An Environmental History of the Bering Strait by Bathsheba Demuth — obviously this book made me depressed about what capitalism and human industry and greed had done to the land and wildlife in this region but also it's so beautifully written and imo super interesting.

top five nonfiction for school reads of 2024

(i have these in a separate section because i am so aware that academic texts are not written for a popular audience but sometimes they are still really good and i rec them to people anyway.)

Necropolis: Disease, Power, and Capitalism in the Cotton Kingdom by Kathryn Olivarius — reading this book, centered in antebellum new orleans, about the politics and economy of public health and widespread disease in the wake of so much public/policy failure around covid was uhhhhh harrowing. but it's VERY good and imo very readable.

Empire of Cotton: A Global History by Sven Beckert — reading this book added important new dimensions to the way that i understand global capitalism.

Late Victorian Holocausts: El Niño Famines and the Making of the Third World by Mike Davis — reading this book added important new dimensions to the way that i understand imperialism and colonialism.

Fordlandia: The Rise and Fall of Henry Ford's Forgotten Jungle City by Greg Grandin — this is the most ~for a popular audience~ of my favorite school books this year. whomst among us doesn't like reading about a very nasty very rich man barging confidently into a huge new venture and failing miserably. unfortunately you will also leave feeling furious about the environmental and human impacts of said venture.

other stuff!

i read two poetry collections this year and loved them both:

What You Want: Poems by Maureen N. McLane

The World Keeps Ending, and the World Goes On by Franny Choi

my rereads this year were all part of my ongoing goal of revisiting all the fantasy books i loved as a teen/young adult that have been sitting on my bookshelf for years, which has been such a cozy and enriching endeavor for me, especially revisiting robin hobb's books. soon i will get to the point in her realm of the elderlings series where the rereading ends and the new reading begins (i dropped off after the tawny man trilogy in my youth due to reasons) and i am so excited for me.

also, these were not rereads, but i read tamora pierce's alanna quartet for the first time this year and had such a fun time. obviously they're written for a much younger audience than me, but that's fine! i read a few of pierce's books as a kid but was never super into them like some of my friends, so it was really nice to explore these books that are so meaningful and were so formative to people i love. i would love to do more of that next year.

fourth wing — it was so hyped and i truly thought it would at least be bad in a fun way if it wasn't good but instead i found it to be so bad the only reason i finished it is because i read it in my downtime at a work conference when my brain was only half-functioning anyway. bad inconsistent worldbuilding; bad inconsistent characterization; transparent boring plot and relationships. good for the people who inexplicably love it because i'm sure they're having a great time but MAN i hated it.

least favorite reads of 2024

i don't love spending tons of time harping on media that i think sucks in public, but i do love picking apart books that don't work for me in private with my friends, so i am putting these here in case friends want to pick them apart with me 😂

mister hockey by lia riley — i joked that i read this whole book just to see if gordie howe showed up but honestly i was pretty unimpressed that he actually didn't show up even once. your typical bad hockey romance problems (this author doesn't seem to know much about hockey, etc) plus deeply cringey writing plus weird breaches of journalistic ethics that the author does not seem to realize are weird and bad = not a book for beckys.

my next two least favorite books this year were very very small indie books so i am not putting them on blast here, lmao.

accountable: the true story of a racist social media account and the teenagers whose lives it changed by dashka slater — this book was so frustrating and upsetting not only because the subject matter is frustrating and upsetting, but none of the non-victim teens and parents seemed to learn a damn thing and the author did not interrogate that at all. ugh.

reading goals in 2025

my reading goal each year is just a flat 50 books of any kind, so we're doing that again! i want to do a better job reading books i own but haven't read before buying more books but we will see how that goes for me. i might make a spreadsheet about it, which will actually help me 😂 but broadly, i want to read more genre fiction, especially fantasy and sci-fi. i am being very easy on myself on the reading front and not setting any super lofty goals about what or how much to read because grad school brain means i will read what my brain will accept, but i am very much looking forward to another year of reading! and always accepting book recs!

[empty-dream]

Just watched Orb: On the Movements of the Earth

Anime about heliocentrism.

Yes I know that sounds boring and at first I was like, "An anime about heliocentrism? What, are they gonna animate ancient classes discussing it?" then I recalled "Wait, wasn't the church really against heliocentrism so they, like, thrased Galileo and others for supporting it?"

Yeah that's basically the plot.

Story time! My first contact with this show was with a tweet that said "this is the hidden gem of the season!" to which I was ok maybe I'll check it out later. I forgot about the tweet but later, I saw the OP credit MV for the show and watched it (simply because I was looking for a new song to listen to) and iT WAS GOOD, like HAUNTING GOOD.

The OP gave me the impression that it is some epic historical work like Vinland Saga, just mellower with far less action scenes. I remembered that tweet right then and decided to watch the series immediately. This was when there were still 2 episodes.

THANK GOD I didn't decide to read the manga until episode 3 was out because GODDAMN EPISODE 3 SLAPPED ME HARD.

It was right then when I realized what this story is actually about and why the OP credit is like that. Even the OP and ED credit in EP4 are modified slightly to reflect the shift in the story.

Copernicus, the father of heliocentrism, probably was able to avoid inquisition only because he delayed his publication and died soon after. (And apparently it was so technical only advanced astronomers could understand, clever move but also typical academia.) And it was more than 50 years later until Galileo openly supported his idea and got the church hot on his tail. 50+ years. You'd think there are a lot of things happening in that time. A lot, generation after generation, until mankind could accept the truth.

I won't say more on this post so I'll leave it at that.

I love Rafal so much lmao he's such lovable little shit.

By the way, the series' title is probably a homage to Copernicus' heliocentrism work "De revolutionibus orbium coelestium (On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres)." As for "Orb", the Japanese title uses the katakana "チ" (Chi) which in kanji is also how you say "地" (earth/ground), "知" (wisdom/knowledge) and "血" (blood). These are all connected in the story. Incredibly clever and deep word play, I must say.

I am so conflicted like I want to read the manga ASAP but the anime is so profound and well-directed that I just want to keep watching it with full anticipation without knowing what's gonna happen. I'm so gonna suffer and be insufferable again every week.

*frothing at the mouth* Sakanaction, when will you release Kaiju full version????????

I love Yorushika's Aporia chirpy melody at the beginning of the song. It sounds like a child song, but the lyrics is basically a poetic story of curiousity towards the unknown.

*frothing at the mouth even more* OOOH SO THAT AMAZARASHI'S CASSIOPEIA MOORING MV COLLAB WAS WITH THIS SERIES????!!! If Amazarashi got their hands on it then it must have been some philosophical heavy hitter. Source=trust me.

Please tell me there will be a second cour just so Amazarashi can sing on the second cour too

Tl;Dr: Flat earthers have it easy, back in the day you got burned at stake for saying something different about the universe.

[incesthemes]

happy (late) wincest wednesday!! what do you think sam and dean's favourite books are? which books do you think they would have inexplicable (or explicable) beef with?

i'm sure after moving around twice a month for fifteen years and having to read the same books over and over again gave them a few rivalries, lol! -lizzy :)

omg happy wincest wednesday thursday!!!! thank you, this is such an awesome prompt.

ok i think they've both probably read a lot of classic lit and stuff from the literary canon because it's the kind of thing you can find anywhere, right? it's always available in some form or another, at school or in libraries or even just as movie adaptions.

based on vibes i really want to say dean's favorite book would be on the road, both for the metatextual nod to mister eric kripke and because i think dean would relate to it (well, obviously)—and the main character is dean too :) it's cute :) i also think he'd be really into westerns; the one i've read the most of is the titus bass series by terry c. johnston so while it's not quite what i imagine dean's tastes to be (too historically accurate, too little heroism) i'll go with that one. rough, gun-slinging action and lawless heroes are right up dean's alley. the trashier, the better.

on the other end of the spectrum, i see sam being quite into gothic literature. it's relatable to his feelings of exclusion and otherness, and like any child trapped inside a horrific queer narrative i think he would relate heavily to the monsters haunting the protagonists. i can see him really liking frankenstein especially, and i also definitely think he'd have a thing for kafka. it's horrible of me, but i also think he'd be drawn to rosemary's baby, imagining (subconsciously or not) his own mother as rosemary.

importantly, i think they'd both be most drawn to narratives they see themselves in, and i think they'd be rather disinterested in stories they can't directly relate back to their lives. as a result, they probably have a LOT of overlap in the books they enjoy, but the differences are marked and striking to an almost concerning degree. nevertheless i do think they've read through a great deal of the literary canon even if they don't personally love it, simply because it's what they can get their hands on. i can definitely see dean enjoying long, heroic epics like the iliad or beowulf, while sam has certainly read dante's divine comedy cover to cover (and of course, then they switch and read the other's pick, now hundreds of miles away from the library they stole the books from).

i really want them to have some kind of ongoing discourse about east of eden in particular, just because of HOW many similarities there are between cal/dean and aron/sam. i'm trying to figure out how to articulate the nature of that discourse (dean thinks it's just like them fr fr and sam insists it's not? the other way around, perhaps—though i can't see that as clearly. perhaps a simple debate as to whether it applies to them, or which generation they see themselves in most) but i really need to see something like that.

i think sam would definitely have petty beef with supernatural stories when they get the monster lore wrong. "we already KNOW what they do, how can you be THIS wrong about it???? open a book, dumbass," and the like. dean just thinks it's awesome no matter what (as long as the monsters are the bad guys) and they definitely bicker about it incessantly. on the flip side, dean would probably turn up his nose at gothic lit quite a bunch when the monsters are portrayed sympathetically (hello again frankenstein) and would, with his best Big Brother Voice, talk down to sam about the shit propaganda he's reading. sam in turn calls him an idiot in his best Little Brother Voice and doubles down on whatever he's reading. (naturally, the conflict here is that sam sees himself as the monster and therefore sympathizes with it, whereas dean sees "sympathetic monster" and shuts down entirely via john's unquestionable training. i can't imagine dean as a kid being able to comprehend the idea of sam viewing himself as wrong or bad in any way, so the thought of sam relating to the monster simply doesn't compute.)

anyway yeah THANK YOU for this ask, i LOVE well-read and self-educated winchesters so much 🥰🥰🥰🥰

[allwaswell16]

A fic rec of fics that I think should be movies (that are not already movie AUs) as requested in this ask. If you enjoy the fics, please leave the kudos comments and kudos. You can find my other fic recs here. Happy reading!

—Louis/Harry—

✧ Darling, so it goes by @disgruntledkittenface

(E, 195k, royal au) Harry Styles is a world-famous actor at the height of his career but a personal low point when he meets His Serene Highness Prince Louis of Monaco by chance. 

✧ Love After the End of the World by @mercurial-madhouse

(E, 168k, dystopian au) When staying alive is already a constant battle, the deadliest weakness is to be in love. For Harry and Louis, finding each other sits on top of the endless list of What Else Could Go Wrong.

✧ Wild And Unruly by gloria_andrews / @gloriaandrews , @100percentsassy

(E, 123k, farm au) Harry is a cowboy sitting on the biggest oil reservoir in Wyoming, and Louis is the paralegal assigned to pressure him into selling his land.

✧ I'll Fly Away by @juliusschmidt

(E, 122k, small town) Harry and Louis grew up together in Lake County, Harry with his mom and stepdad in a tiny cottage on Edward’s Lake and Louis in his family’s farmhouse a few minutes down the road. But after high school, Louis stuck around and Harry did not

✧ Have Love, Will Travel by @kingsofeverything

(E, 97k, road trip au) Rather than spend the summer working at their desks, Louis and Harry are given the opportunity to crisscross the country together in a tiny camper, filming their adventures for a YouTube series.

✧ Flightless Bird by audreyhheart

(E, 97k, ballet au) AU where Louis Tomlinson is a principal dancer with The Royal Ballet. When his rival from ballet school, moody dance prodigy Harry Styles joins the company, old wounds are reopened and old passions reignited.

✧ Black with Autumn Rain by whimsicule

(T, 93k, magical realism)  Harry is a journalist, Louis has lots of secrets and the moors aren't exactly the ideal place to rekindle a lost romance.

✧ After Dark, After Light by QuickedWeen / @becomeawendybird

(E, 71k, historical) Harry Styles is the laird of Clan Edwards who is just trying to keep his clan afloat when they get word that the Mackenzies have been cutting a swath through the Midlands and beyond, and their sights are set on the northern Highlands next. In an attempt to garner extra protection for his clan, Harry sets out to mend his father's past wrongs and ally with their neighbors to the west, Clan Sutherland.

✧ this charade (was never going to last) by @scrunchyharry

(E, 68k, spy au) As if the whole ‘industrial spy’ business was not stressful enough, Harry found himself in a hatred-at-first-sight relationship with one of his new coworkers, Louis, a man intent on detesting Harry.

✧ Adore You by @isthatyoularry

(M, 66k, historical au) Against his wishes, Harry spends the holidays at his family’s summer estate, and is reluctantly pulled into a courtship he didn’t ask for. 

✧  Unveiled by @phdmama

(M, 60k, a/b/o) There are no robes. And not a single one of them is veiled.

✧  Old Photographs & Times I’ll Remember by @jaerie

(E, 54k, time travel au) A camera, a suitcase, and a relationship forged through time.

✧ Tied Down by HamPalpert / @ham-palpert

(E, 48k, crime au) The most interesting case in Liam and Niall's careers falls directly into their laps, courtesy of an epic fuck-up of one Harry Styles, partner to the almost-infamous drug dealer Louis Tomlinson. 

✧ That’s What I’m Here For by @taggiecb

(E, 46k, farm au) Louis needs help running his business but has no idea where to even start looking. Luckily for him his children know just the man for the job.

✧  Counterbalance by YesIsAWorld / @louandhazaf

(E, 44k, racing au) Harry Styles loves two things: teaching ballet and racing motorcycles. Those two worlds collide when his greatest rival on the track, Louis “Tommo” Tomlinson brings his tiny siblings to Harry’s class.

✧ The Haunting of Louis Tomlinson by @helloamhere

(T, 31k, ghost fic) Louis is a plucky Gothic Heroine, Harry is a Mournful Spirit, and Big Country Houses are full of mystery and suspense, as Big Country Houses ever are!

✧ I Am the Blinking Light by @dearmrsawyer

(G, 19k, ghost fic) There is a legend of a lighthouse far out to sea. It can’t be found on any map, and those who do find it never return. 

✧ No One Like You by myownspark / @myownsparknow

(M, 19k, historical) Where Liam and Niall are art historians discovering the truth about two nineteenth century painters on opposite sides of an artistic divide.

—Rare Pairs—

✧ Untamed Hearts by Layne Faire  / @laynefaire

(E, 68k, Zayn/Liam) In the end, though, it all came down to two meddling friends, a touch of Prince, a bit of Keats, and the moon over the ocean. Its a recipe for disaster. Or love. Probably love.

✧ We Used To Wait by sunsetmog / @magicalrocketships

(E, 56k, Louis/Nick Grimshaw) Louis has an accident, but nobody even knows he and Nick are going out.

[streets-in-paradise]

Why were Achilles and Briseis written the way they were?

The following meta is a contextual analysis of the movie, not necesarily a ship defense post.

In this opportunity i am going to present my personal interpretation on a few factors that I believe can help explain what remains to this day the most controversial point of the film: the romance of Achilles and Briseis. Keeping it short and simple, my arguments here will be mostly linked to the conventionalities of the film genre and the specific time period in which the movie was created.

In this case, not to simply shrug shoulders and confortably claim " those were other times" and dismiss the problematic aspect, but to list a few sensical reasons I find behind the choice regardless of how potentially problematic it was.

The purpose of this analysis is understanding the movie in context, not changing anybody's mind in what comes to the moral sanction in its reception. The reader's approbal or dissaprobal of the film doesn't affect it, because the intention is to merely provide a contextualized explanation.

That being said, let's begin:

-The historical/epic films that served as inspiration for Troy often include a precise formula that the pairing emulates in a synthetical way.

As pointed out before, the list of epic films inspiring Troy (2004) is endless. From subtle references in the scenery and costume design to direct copy in the use of tropes or character archetypes, this movie is like a summary of the whole genre. However, the particular historical context in its release made three particular titles the core influencies of the film.

These are Gladiator, Braveheart and the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Listing every single aspect in which Troy nurtured trying to replicate their success is worthy of an entire different meta, but here I will take one precise element to examinate.

In all cases, there is a warrior lead hero and a woman of nobility that find themselves tangled in political intrigue/war and have (or have had) some form of forbbiden love. Both Lucilla and Isabella find themselves contextually in between the movie's hero and villian, walking the thin lines of negociation while wishing for the insane emperor/asshole king's demise.

In Gladiator it's mostly a political alliance with a mere romantic undertone that comes from the fact that they had a past together, while in Braveheart the meeting through political matters is a gateway for romance. In contrast, Arwen's conflict comes from having to choose between her family and Aragorn in the middle of a war that has her kind leaving Middle Earth.

The Briseis of Troy is like an abreviated and more simplified synthesis for all of these. Outside conflict begins as soon as she is in the middle of Achilles and Agamemnon, the fighter-hero and ruler-villian that she equally challenges through their argument scene. Later, her inner conflict comes from having to choose between her family in Troy and her growing feelings for Achilles.

So subtle, yet so powerfull, the influence is so evident that we can even see a gender reverse of the Evenstar necklace moment.

The seashell necklace is a gift of his mother, who is rumoured to be a goddess. It's purpose on this scene is slightly similar yet very different as in lotr. Achilles is giving to Briseis a gift of possibly godly origins that represents him as he tries to compensate her for the pain that his vengeance has caused her. It's also an act of love, the last one they can share because he is allowing her to choose her family and leave to be with them.

This simple example ilustrates too well how far the similarities went in the strange mashup of formulas.

At the same time, one can point out that the principal deviation Troy took was having Briseis as the only woman arround. In both Gladiator and Braveheart a dead wife haunts the narrative and motivates the hero to seek revenge against the cruel ruler. In the case of lotr, the side love interest is the one that the context encourages in contrast to the one forbidden for the hero. The men of Rohan already respect Aragorn and Theoden shows himself supportive of a possible union between him and the obviously infatuated Eowyn.

Instead of a hero that oscilates between two women, the dead wife and the princess or the adequated love vs the impossible one, Troy presents the enemies to lovers dynamic product of Briseis' war captive status making her conflcted feelings oscilate through the story.

-The Sheik meets Titanic: iconic romances and sex symbols.

The casting of Brad Pitt in the role of Achilles was definitely an influence for the tone the romance adquired. If I had to describe the Achilles x Briseis romance without listing the influences I mentioned before, I would say " it's a bit like The Sheik with a Titanic ending" and I feel this is not entirely casual.

( Most evident paralel that can be made is that the Josh Groban song " Remember" feels pretty much like reverse" My Heart Will Go On". James Horner worked on both films, so maybe that played a part in this particular aspect but I am merely speculating.)

Valentino and Di Caprio were iconic in their romance performances, they made history in their roles, and both shared with Pitt the fame of being actors super popular with female audiences. I can't blame Troy for wanting to evoke a bit of that magic when the man doing the job is Brad Pitt. Back in the day, people used to popularly claim he was the most handsome guy in the world. His name is a synonym of male beauty.

I feel his Achilles does a good job balancing two contradictory goals the movie has for him: being the embodiment of an epic hero and seducing the audience through the romance scenes. In this point I want to add that the basic structure on the dynamic for the abduction romance is very similar to the one in The Sheik: civilized and outspoken lady that represents modern viewpoints gets kidnapped by a seductive man of savage ways. In a good kidnapper/bad kidnapper game with the antagonist, she discovers that she has fallen in love. In Troy it works as a sort of reactualization for this basic premise adquiring a different flavor when mixed with other elements of the film.

And here is when the most iconic moment makes so much sense:

This was the one part of the movie that made history. Not only the quote is beautifull, here is also where you get the distinctive flavor that is also a byproduct of the general themes in the film permeating the romance. Achilles proves himself to her above the mere act of rescuing her from someone worse.

While this is the response of Briseis.

She keeps challenging him because she was made aware that he can do better. Sure, she later sleeps with him anyways because that's almost an ineludible part of the charm in that scenario. In both cases, it is used as a sort of indulgent fantasy for the eyes of a (straight) fem audience expected to go crazy for the actor. Unlike in the 1920's, by the time troy came out spicy scenes are already a standard and I can distinctively point out those tend to be particularly prevalent on media about ancient greece and rome.

For tumblr censorship reasons I won't show a picture for the following claim, but the scene itself doesn't expose her as much as him. It's all focused on the beauty of Brad Pitt, in his seductive ways and how the girl slowly gives in to him. His naked body covers her from the camera, all we see its a glimpse of her legs and stomach as the lense follows the way of his hands undressing her. It's the same dangerous seduction feeling that turns the strong woman defenseless applied in an film age where you can show it on a love making scene.

Despite sticking to the basics, that oldass concept adquires a more unique modern feeling.

-For Plot Reasons: they work as a parallel with Helen x Paris.

From the beggining of the film, forbbiden love is the big topic of the film when it comes to romance. I know I have written in previous analysis that Achilles and Paris, through their selfish and romantic driven choices, become a parallel of each other. Helen, the willing runaway, and Briseis, the captive, are also made a parallel.

However, I want to go back a second on the specific way the behavior of Achilles directly mimics Paris triggering the war: he seduces the girl, sleeps with her, and decides he is ready to abandon his countrymen for her. While Odysseus tries to convince him out the rational way, the recriminations of Patroclus evoke the angry Hector who had just discovered the spartan queen in his ship. Fighting the war due to the reckless choices of their relatives, they die. At the end Achilles and Paris are on their own.

The trojan prince leaves Helen behind to fight and, when he gets the chance, avenge his brother, while the greek warrior is there for only love and remorse. Dreams of glory are behind him, he got inside the trojan horse seeking to rescue the woman of his affections.

It's a fascinating role reversal where, motivation-wise, Paris becomes Achilles and Achilles becomes Paris. This conclussion comes as evolution of the romances written parallelistically as side plots of the big family tragedy.

[jeschalynn]

alongside this picrew, share 5 things about yourself! • how do you spend your free time? • what are your hobbies and how did you get into them? • what book or movie left a lasting impression on you? • what kind of music do you enjoy? • who is your favorite character (atm or all time) and why?

Thank you for the tag @arrowmance! This is so cute omg. (°◡°♡)

• How do you spend your free time?

I love to read! I have over 10k bookmarks on my ao3 account and I like to dive through them when I'm too overwhelmed to be creative myself. I've been writing for a long time but have only been posting fandom works online in the past couple years (most notable in the OM fandom which is what most people probably know me for). I also have a side blog project for my other fandoms. I'm also a gamer at heart! I am constantly resisting the urge to start playing WoW again. I like retro gaming in addition to some mobile titles. And of course, I watch a lot of movies, TV shows, and anime!

Unfortunately I work a lot and it tires me out, so some days I don't get much of anything else done.

• What are your hobbies and how did you get into them?

Reading & Writing - Probably the hobbies I come back to more than anything else! According to my parents, I was very quiet as a toddler and didn't like to talk - but I liked listening to them read stories to me, and I picked up reading quickly too. I wrote my first "story" in grade two (about our family cat that died, became a ghost, and haunted our house) and the teachers had them bound so they were like our own little books. I've been dabbling with writing fanfic and original stories since.

Gaming - My dad raised us mostly by himself, but he was a sci-fi/fantasy nerd and gamer himself, so I grew up with basically every console that released starting with the NES and everything that came after that. I have some retro game consoles for emulating the older systems along with my Switch and PC. I also played WoW for sixteen years.

• What book or movie left a lasting impression on you?

My favourite book is Pillars of the Earth. I spent a lot of time reading (and re-reading) this book as a tweenager and it sparked my interest in history/historical fiction.

I also read She's Come Undone as a teen and I won't say why, but that book resonated with me for a lot of reasons.

• What kind of music do you enjoy?

I like a little bit of everything! I still listen to a lot of music I grew up with. Some of my favourite groups/artists include: Apocalyptica, Oomph!, Muse, Garbage, and The Tea Party. I also listen to a lot of epic orchestral music like soundtracks and trailer music.

• Who is your favorite character (atm or all time) and why?

Some of my current favourite characters are:

— Barbatos / Asmodeus / Solomon from Obey Me — Mahito from JJK — Fyodor and Mori from Bungou Stray Dogs — Kafka from Kaiji no. 8 — Crowley and Skully from Twisted Wonderland — David (the Alien franchise)

I...I can't explain why I like them. It's probably better that I don't. lol

🔖 OPEN TAG! But no-pressure tagging some of my lovelies: @oopsiedaisymae @chosonie @arvandus @silverrings-n-prettythings @meggs-live-now @featheredcrowbones @antique-remains @lonely-north-star @misc-magic @saturnvamp @hauntedhokage

[hungergamesbookclub]

Poll for THG Book Club's First Read!

What book should we read for our first Suzanne Read? Summaries of each book and how it relates to THG under the "read more" after the poll if you need more info to choose.

Summary: In Thomas Hardy's first major literary success, independent and spirited Bathsheba Everdene has come to Weatherbury to take up her position as a farmer on the largest estate in the area. Her bold presence draws three very different suitors: the gentleman-farmer Boldwood, the soldier-seducer Sergeant Troy, and the devoted shepherd Gabriel Oak. Each, in contrasting ways, unsettles her decisions and complicates her life, and tragedy ensues, threatening the stability of the whole community. One of his first works set in the semi-fictional region of Wessex, Hardy's novel of swift passion and slow courtship is imbued with his evocative descriptions of rural life and landscapes, and with unflinching honesty about sexual relationships.

Far From the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy

How it relates to THG: "Katniss Everdeen owes her last name to Bathsheba Everdene, the lead character in Far From the Madding Crowd. The two are very different, but both struggle with knowing their hearts." Suzanne Collins, 2010

Summary: Coriolanus is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1605 and 1608. The play is based on the life of the legendary Roman leader Caius Marcius Coriolanus.

Coriolanus by William Shakespeare

How it relates to THG: The namesake of Coriolanus Snow (ft. Volumnia)

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly

Summary: Mary Shelley's timeless gothic novel presents the epic battle between man and monster at its greatest literary pitch. In trying to create life, the young student Victor Frankenstein unleashes forces beyond his control, setting into motion a long and tragic chain of events that brings Victor to the very brink of madness. How he tries to destroy his creation, as it destroys everything Victor loves, is a powerful story of love, friendship, scientific hubris, and horror.

How it relates to THG: Quoted in the epigraph of TBOSAS

Spartacus by Howard Fast

Summary: The story of a slave uprising in the ancient Roman Empire.

How it relates to THG: "There’s a basis for the war, historically, in the Hunger Games, which would be the third servile war, which was Spartacus’ war, where you have a man who is a slave who is then turned into a gladiator who broke out of the gladiator school and led a rebellion and then became the face of the war. So there is a historical precedent for that arc for a character.  But I think I needed the freedom to create elements that I wasn’t going to neatly find in history." Suzanne Collins, 2013

Summary: A plane crashes on a desert island. The only survivors are a group of schoolboys. By day, they discover fantastic wildlife and dazzling beaches, learning to survive; at night, they are haunted by nightmares of a primitive beast. Orphaned by society, it isn't long before their innocent childhood games devolve into a savage, murderous hunt …

Lord of the Flies by William Golding

How it relates to THG: "One of my favorite books - I read it every couple of years." Suzanne Collins

[instruth]

Hi,

I’m happy to announce today, 02 October 2024, the official launching of my latest book on Kindle Store, Amazon.

CURSE OF THE GREEN DRAGON (A Hakka Story) - by J. P. Lee.

This latest book is a prequel to my earlier publication, Breaking The Curse Of The Green Dragon ( a hakka story).

Enjoy.

Order now.

Please feel free to comment and share.

Cheers and Blessing.

J. P. Lee

http://a.co/d/6BE7YVH

J.P. Lee

CURSE OF THE GREEN DRAGON: (A HAKKA STORY)

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TESTIMONIALS AND FOREWORD

CURSE OF THE GREEN DRAGON (A Hakka Story), by J. P. Lee

CURSE OF THE GREEN DRAGON

"J. P. Lee, a dental surgeon, who has written books about childhood trauma, peppers his story with words and legends from the dialect group. An interesting read for Hakkas and non-Hakkas alike" - Life! The Straits Times.

CURSE OF THE GREEN DRAGON

"This book, Curse Of The Green Dragon, intrigued me to keep wanting to read on; it's the sort of book that would haunt me in my dreams. How I wish that more epic tales were written like this" - Book Review, The Sarawak Tribune.

CURSE OF THE GREEN DRAGON

"This book is an easy read, language and plot-wise; the promised elements of 'legends, superstitions, love and betrayal' are all there plus the constant conflicts between good and evil" - The Star, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

CURSE OF THE GREEN DRAGON

"The history of the Hakkas and the spirit of their people have been captured in this new book by J. P. Lee, who marries historical and cultural facts with a fictional story spanning five generations" - The Write Stuff, MediaCorp Radio Singapore International.

CURSE OF THE GREEN DRAGON

"Where do the Hakkas come from? What do you know about them? Join Dr Johnny Lee at 10.10am to find out about the Hakkas and his book, Curse Of The Green Dragon (A Hakka Story)" - The Living Room, NewsRadio 93.8FM, Singapore.

CURSE OF THE GREEN DRAGON

"An excellent way to actually fuse fiction and facts by telling it through a story" - Passion 99.5FM, National Arts Council Singapore.

HAKKA STORIES

• 1/ Curse Of The Green Dragon (A Hakka Story)

• 2/ Breaking The Curse Of The Green Dragon (A Hakka Story)

- original novel and its sequel, by J. P. Lee.

"Though modestly subtitled as 'hakkas stories' we know that the books go well beyond the narrow confines of a clan, or a specific group or even a specific nation. The larger themes of good and evil which are at the very centre of Lee's preoccupations do not date and they have no specific locale: these are big themes inviting big attention and exploration ... But the focus is never too far from our gaze, for I believe in the end Lee wants us to read these books as fables, as allegories, as stories to not only enrich our lives but aid us in making the humdrum rich and colourful and clean. There is healing in simple cleansing. And as the good doctor of teeth knows so well, fronting and knowing are the first steps towards self-understanding. And these two novels do precisely that."

- Dr Kirpal Singh

Associate Professor

Singapore Management University

March 2004.

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Fantasy Books Bracket: Round 1

Book summaries below (and bonus article by Sascha Stronach):

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. By all rights their paths should never cross, but Achilles takes the shamed prince as his friend, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine their bond blossoms into something deeper - despite the displeasure of Achilles' mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess. But then word comes that Helen of Sparta has been kidnapped. Torn between love and fear for his friend, Patroclus journeys with Achilles to Troy, little knowing that the years that follow will test everything they hold dear. Profoundly moving and breathtakingly original, this rendering of the epic Trojan War is a dazzling feat of the imagination, a devastating love story, and an almighty battle between gods and kings, peace and glory, immortal fame and the human heart. Fantasy, historical fiction, mythology, retelling, romance, adult

The Dawnhounds by Sascha Stronach (The Endsong series)

A police officer is murdered, brought back to life with a mysterious new power, and tasked with protecting her city from an insidious evil threatening to destroy it. The port city of Hainak is alive: its buildings, its fashion, even its weapons. But, after a devastating war and a sweeping biotech revolution, all its inhabitants want is peace, no one more so than Yat Jyn-Hok a reformed-thief-turned-cop who patrols the streets at night. Yat has recently been demoted on the force due to “lifestyle choices” after being caught at a gay club. She’s barely holding it together, haunted by memories of a lover who vanished and voices that float in and out of her head like radio signals. When she stumbles across a dead body on her patrol, two fellow officers gruesomely murder her and dump her into the harbor. Unfortunately for them, she wakes up. Resurrected by an ancient power, she finds herself with the new ability to manipulate life force. Quickly falling in with the pirate crew who has found her, she must race against time to stop a plague from being unleashed by the evil that has taken root in Hainak. Fantasy, science fiction, biopunk, adult, Māori-inspired*

*Additional context: I also want to share this article by Sascha Stronach that was posted earlier this week (literally perfect timing). Especially since I'm including words from the marketing copy like "Māori-inspired" on the polls in the hopes that it helps readers find their new thing, it felt important to add the author's own words on the difficulties of working with US-based publishers and the power they exert over the process

[elliepassmore]

Bringer of Dust review

5/5 stars Recommended if you like: historical fantasy, epic fantasy, multiple POVs, powers, magic, mysteries, morally gray characters

Ordinary Monsters review

Bringer of Dust opens weeks to months after the ending of Ordinary Monsters. The Cairndale group is spread out across Europe working to find a way to bring Marlowe home. It was a little confusing to start in media res after so much time had passed in the book, but luckily the characters did each provide an overview of what had been going on since the conclusion of the last book.

The big cast is back, with most POV characters from Ordinary Monsters getting a POV in this one as well (as long as they're alive). That being said, Alice and Mrs. Davenshaw switched roles in terms of prominence, with the latter getting far more POV chapters than the former. I wasn't really sure what to think of Mrs. Davenshaw in the first book, so I'm glad to have gotten to know her better here. Same with Mrs. Fick, who showed up for only a couple of chapters in book 1 but is a very important character here. I didn't really like her the first time, but reading her here provides a lot of perspective about her and her life and it shows a side to her that we didn't get to see in OM.

There are again a lot of intersecting threads that all feed into the main storyline. Charlie is off in England and joins up with Mrs. Fick to try and see if she'll help decipher old texts. Ribs and Alice are in Paris searching for the other orsine. Komako is in Spain looking for the Spanish Glyphic. Then we have some new characters: Jeta, a bone witch with a bone (haha) to pick with Cairndale and the Talents; and Micah, an exile who reviles Talents. Then there's the Abbess, someone with eyes everywhere who seems to be pulling strings behind the scenes, and Claker Jack, the person who runs the exiles in London and, like Jeta, absolutely loathes Talents. Both the Abbess and Claker Jack have their own agendas that put them at odds with the survivors from Cairndale, and it was interesting to see how everyone's desire for a particular thing (once Marlowe, now something else) can have very different results.

I definitely feel like the world of the Talents has been expanded with this novel. The first one was mainly about Marlowe and Charlie getting to Cairndale and the danger that Jacob Marber posed. It was a fantastic setup to the trilogy, and in this second book we get to see that world and its threats expanded. I enjoyed seeing the different areas Talents gathered and how different leaders created different 'havens.' Dr. Berghast and his predecessors had Cairndale, the Abbess has an abbey of Talent women in Paris, Claker Jack has his exiles under London, and the Agnoscenti, an ancient sect of Talent with esoteric purposes, had their base in Sicily. We also get more background into Talents and their lore, as well as why everyone seems interested in Marlowe, from Dr. Berghast to Jacob Marber to the drughe.

Like with the first book, a lot of the actions the characters take are couched in gray morality. Komako and Charlie in particular struggle with this, as they've both done things in the past that haunt them and are now also dealing with a darker, more dangerous world. I actually feel particularly bad for Komako, she's not in a fantastic place mentally when this book opens and while it seems to get better for her for a time, the ending of this book is so much more devastating than OM's ending, so I feel like she's going to ricochet right back to a bad place. Jeta, one of our new characters, also does a lot of terrible things, some of it for the right reasons but a lot of it...not so much. I actually really enjoyed Jeta's arc and am looking forward to seeing more of her in book 3.

I'm glad Onwukwe came back to narrate this book, and I'm really hoping he does the third as well. He once again brought a lot of character and quality to the characters and it was always easy to tell which character he was narrating for at any given time.

I really enjoyed this sequel to Ordinary Monsters and while it wasn't what I imagined, it fits the characters and the world so well! I listened to the audiobook and normally I only listen when traveling or commuting, but I could not stop thinking of this book and ended up listening to it at home too.

[marthawrites]

It's that time again 😁 Here's what I read during May! Thoughts below the cut!

Lone Women: This book was so refreshingly different! Wow! Set in 1915, the story follows our main character, Adelaide Henry, as she moves to Montana to try to make a fresh start (all by herself) on a homestead. She has a trunk with her the whole time and that's where the horror is. This story has monstrous humans, a haunting past, and a brighter future ahead. Historical fiction, women fiction, horror, this story was super interesting and had me hooked throughout!

1984: This is another "classic" book that I never read during middle or high school. It's been on my TBR list forever!! So glad I finally made the time for it. It was extremely creepy, unsettling, and horrific. The end had me both screaming with rage and laying in the rain crying. AGH. It's so hard to believe this was wrote in 1949! It hits a little too close to home on multiple occasions and... wow. Just, holy shit. Incredibly disturbing

Make A Scene: I keep an eye on the audible daily deals and bought this one for $1. It was a cute and entertaining read! It wasn't anything deep, or crazy, or thought provoking haha, but it was entertaining and sometimes I just love those kinds of stories so much!

The Serpent and the Wings of Night: Book one of the "Crown of Nyaxia" series. A mouthful of a title, I know! But dudes hooooly shit!!! I am OBSESSED with this book! I loved it so so so much and have NO idea why it doesn't get talked about as much as other books. I love the lore. It has brutal vampires, badass women, terrifying Goddess' (Nyaxia? Helloooo she's so scary and awesome!), and an epic story of all of them combined. HIGHLY recommend! Oraya is such a great character with layers of complexity, and Raihn is AHHH, I love him

The Ashes and the Star-Cursed King: This is the second part of the "Crown of Nyaxia". I loved it as much as the first! Book 3 when!?! I can't flippin wait to read more!

Slaying the Vampire Conqueror: This is a standalone book in the Crown of Nyaxia universe. With how much I loved the other two I knew I'd like this one also. I ate it up just as quickly! Again, there's brutal vampires, badass women, and you learn more lore about different parts of the world, Goddess', and characters. I'm invested in this world and will be reading any and everything the author puts out for it!!

-

Overall it was a great month of books and I recommend all of these!!

I've officially read 24 books so far this year and for me that's AWESOME. Loving it!

[angrybubbles]

2025 Reading Wrap-up

Hoo boy, last few days have been busy enough, I didn't get to finish one last book. 59 is not as satisfying as 60, but alas.

I read a few books this year: I already posted about my favorite reads here, so this will just be a commentary of the books I did read that didn't make my top 5.

These are just my book thoughts, not a rec list, or summary. I won't put my thoughts down on non-fiction books or ones read for classes unless asked.

Books I begrudgingly Finished

Starting off with my least favorite books for the sake of never having to think about them again, we have:

The Witch and the Tsar - a spite read that turned into a hate read, Baba Yaga what did this author do to you? Turned her into a YA protagonist with men on the brain in this "feminist" telling of Baba Yaga's story before/during the reign of Ivan the Terrible. I could write a lengthy essay about why this book should be skipped, but unless asked for I just advise a skip.

The Dragons of Nova - The second book to the Alchemists of Loom that I finished a couple years ago, but I found this one significantly less compelling. Perhaps because of the romance, but I don't think it was wholly that. The first book is pretty rad, though, gotta say.

Piranesi - I don't hate this book? But I definitely begrudgingly finished it. It's an experience I can't say I enjoyed but I'm glad to read it?? Confusing, I don't often have such apathy for a book.

The High King's Golden Tongue - it started as a gay political romance, but just ended as a gay romance with a political "flavour." I like politics in books, and I was frankly disappointed, enough to not be moved by the romance. Not bad, but I nearly didn't finish it.

Babel - I can make a long post about why this particular book disappointed me, but that's the best word. I recommend this book to people, actually, but I didn't like it. To be fair, I generally just dislike RF Kuang's writing style.

Books I Keep Thinking About

Of course my Top 5 would be on this list, but others include:

A Dowry of Blood - babes, I'm obsessed. Vampire polycule written in such compelling prose I just forget how to breathe. Dracula's "wives," in dark bitter, impressive romance form.

A Lady for a Duke - the YEARNING

Craven Manor - IDK my dudes, it gave me the spooks even if the latter part fell off a little. So much of this was good, I just can't help but think about it.

The Last Hero - Incredible finale to probably my new favorite Sci-Fi Series (The First Sister), I've never been so stressed by a book in my life.

Stars of Chaos - The Chinese Steampunk Pseudo-incestual series is so compelling I can't put it down. It's crack for my brain.

The Goddess of the River - I mean, I want to read the Mahabharata now, so that is a new thing. It's great having context for some of the references I've seen in other fiction.

The Haunting of Hill House - I had been meaning to get to this because I adore the Netflix series. I loved this book, and I love that they are drastically different. Shirley Jackson, you are a legend.

Books Series I can't wait to Continue

Fireweed - This is a Historical Fiction Fantasy novel specifically including Alaskan Native Tribe mythology, and while I'm not obsessed with it, I'm really excited to read the rest.

Dandelion Dynasty - I mean the first two books are good enough to have made this my favorite epic fantasy series, so I'm desperately excited to see where this story can go. Long live Silkpunk.

Little Thieves - Babes, I have the third book on pre-order, and I'm so excited. Another great mythology book, with the feralist gremlin of a female main character.

The Invisible Library - okay, I actually finished this series (the last book was the first one I read this year) but guys PLEASE. Magic world-hopping Librarian spies helping balance magical dragons and fae interactions. AH.

My Rereads

This was a year of rereads for me, mostly to finish the series, but also because it was easier to reread novels while working/schooling.

The Winternight Trilogy - I reread Bear and the Nightingale for research for a school project, and I simply HAD to read the rest. Highly recommend, especially if you're into mythology.

The Queen's Thief - My favorite series of all time, and a comfort reread for me. I adore them so so much. Also great if you like mythology, but in a much more story-telling way (the characters tell tales to each other in the book).

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue - I annotated this book to count how many similes (not metaphors) there were, and while I don't have the book with me right now, it's at least 400 lmfao.

The Belgariad - Sometimes it's just nice to revist my favorite fantasy book series from being a kid. While it hasn't aged super well (ethnicities have personality traits and some ethnicities are evil. Not a lot of nuance unfortunately) it still is great to visit why I liked it so much.

The Secret Garden - lmfao this book is so racist, haha. One of my favorites as a kid, but I'm glad I took the right lessons from it instead of the wrong ones.

The Queens of Renthia - The Queen of Blood continues to be one of the coolest, fiercest fantasy worlds ever, and super duper fun to reread.

Other books I generally liked

The Companion - Great YA Psych Horror book. Katie Alender is fantastic at tension.

The Barren Grounds - First Nations (Canadian Nativea) Narnia-style story.

Yumi and the Nightmare Painter - I mean, it's Brandon Sanderson. I love his stand-alones much better than his series (I also like his series, mind you) and this was DELIGHTFUL.

The Golem and the Jinni - This is such a slow-paced book it felt significantly longer than it actually was, but it was a nice read. 1800s Immigrant New York from the perspective of a trapped Djinn and a Jewish Golem.

The Empire of Sand - Honestly, I really like this series. I love a story that makes me actually root for the main characters to get together, and I love how serious and tragic these books are.

The Salt Grows Heavy - I love short novels, and this was a whole meal in such a small amount of pages. I definitely plan on rereading and annotating this is a couple years.

The Book of Doors - I loved this concept of this, did not fall in love with it however. It was a very enjoyable read though.

Finders Keepers - Gods, I love Psych- Horror. The fear of someone finding your freaky diary from when you were a teenager, and then finding out they turned it into a book. The second-hand embarrassment of the first half of hard to sit through, but otherwise a great read.

Kaikeyi - I am not familiar with the source material this was adapted from, but I will say the feminist sway of this story was STRONG and a little frustrating. It sort've fit, with the time period, culture, and goals the main character held, but it dragged down the story just a bit.

Haunted Nights - An honestly fantastic Halloween Short story collection. Highly recommend.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle - Another Shirley Jackson novel that I also adored. This is another book I would love to annotate in a couple years.

Remarkably Bright Creatures - I mean, the stand-out characters in this book are the old lady and the octopus. The narration is also shared by the most undiagnosed-ADHD-and-makes-it-everyone-else's-problem man ever. He is a lot harder to love, it it took until near the end of the book for me to get there.

How to Solve Your Own Murder - I love mysteries, and this was a great deconstruction of one.

A Conspiracy of Truths - This is a great slow-paced piecemeal book. Fantastic characters, world-building, and the funniest situation. Old man suffers through legal system which leads to him incidentally destroying the country from a cell.

The City of Ember - I loved this movie as a kid, but not in love with the book? Probably won't read the rest of the series, but I'm still glad I read it.

Books I didn't finish

Good Omens - I don't like it? Maybe I need to read it at another point in my life, but I was just fairly annoyed at it for the first 50 pages.

The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher - I wanted to like this book, so I might pick it up again, but gosh I would stop reading this after a couple pages to read something else so consistently that I knew I needed to drop it. Old Lady is the Chosen One ect ect.

The Lies of Locke Lamora - I checked out the ebook from the library, and was just not in love with the formatting. I'll probably find a used copy somewhere if I decide to pick it back up again.

Best Served Cold - Do I love female revenge stories? Yes. Do I love this book? No. I got about halfway through before I just realized I could care less about this cast.

Sabriel- Fantasy necromancer who has to untangle a web on untold truths of rescue her father? I was sold on the premise. Reading it? I don't often get frustrated at the ways authors write obstacles for the characters to overcome, but I just kept thinking "this early in the book?" Not my pace, unfortunately. I just got annoyed rather than compelled.

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 3.5/5

Book Blurb: Bestselling author Ava Reid makes her YA debut in this dark academic fantasy perfect for fans of Melissa Albert and Elana K. Arnold.

Effy Sayre has always believed in fairy tales. Haunted by visions of the Fairy King since childhood, she’s had no choice. Her tattered copy of Angharad—Emrys Myrddin’s epic about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King, then destroys him—is the only thing keeping her afloat. So when Myrddin’s family announces a contest to redesign the late author’s estate, Effy feels certain it’s her destiny.

But musty, decrepit Hiraeth Manor is an impossible task, and its residents are far from welcoming. Including Preston Héloury, a stodgy young literature scholar determined to expose Myrddin as a fraud. As the two rivals piece together clues about Myrddin’s legacy, dark forces, both mortal and magical, conspire against them—and the truth may bring them both to ruin.

Part historical fantasy, part rivals-to-lovers romance, part Gothic mystery, and all haunting, dreamlike atmosphere, Ava Reid's powerful YA debut will lure in readers who loved The Atlas Six, House of Salt and Sorrows, or Girl, Serpent, Thorn.

Review:

A gothic dark academia mystery featuring two rivals-to-lovers who find themselves hunting down the truth about the author of a famous story... only to find themselves fighting against the Fairy King and other dangers as the truth will come at a price. Effy Sayre lives in a world where women aren't afforded the same opportunities as men, and as the only woman in the architecture college (when she wants to be a literature student but it is forbidden for women to be in the literature college), life is hard enough, especially since she is still reeling from the scandal with her advisor... the one in which people think she slept with him to get ahead when the truth is that she didn't want any of it. Effy's only solace from her haunted visions, her terrible childhood, and the assault she faced is her book Angharad, a book that tells the epic story about a mortal girl who falls in love with the Fairy King and destroys him. Effy idolizes the author, Emrys Myrddin and the author himself is shrouded in mystery. Yet when the Myrddin family is offering to let a architecture student redesign the house, Effy knows its her chance to find out more about her author. What she didnt expect was that she would be going with Preston Héloury, a literature scholar who wants to expose Myrddin as a fraud and not the true author of Angharad. Things to also note about this universe is that Effy's home land is at war with its neighbor and one of Preston's parents is from the neighboring war land and he is also faced with prejudices. Effy immediately dislikes Preston because he rented all the books on Myrddin when she wanted them, she is also jealous that he is able to be a literature student. Though they both get off on the wrong foot they both find that they are hunting down the truth of the Fairy King, yet Effy is plagued by visions of the Fairy King and she doesn't know what's real and what's in her head. Yet the more they try to find answers the more danger closes in on them. Will they be able to find the truth before it's too late or will they die trying?

This is Ava Reid's third book and her first young adult novel, it features her gorgeous writing and its definitely an atmospheric read. The story deals with a lot of triggers: sexism/misogyny, a sexually-exploitative power imbalance, grooming, rape and dubcon, ableism, mental illness, an emotionally abusive parent, alcoholism, PTSD and intrusive memories, mentions of drowning, and child abandonment. Effy isn't really a likable character and comes off very very young and the writing feels a bit juvenile at times when it comes to her. I did like the overall mystery but I wish there was some character work on Effy and Preston, I wanted them to be a bit more fleshed out and kind of wished there was a better flow to their romance. I liked the book overall but it's definitely not my favorite of all her books. This is her first young adult novel and it definitely feels young as the characters read a bit more juvenile despite being in college. Overall, it's a beautiful atmospheric gothic read with a dash of mystery, romance, and fantasy!

*Thanks Netgalley and HarperCollins Children's Books, HarperTeen for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[queer-ragnelle]

I would love your opinion on Black Sails! I was never able to finish it (even though I want to). Seasons 1-3 felt linear and natural in the way the characters were driven and motivated. Season 4 changed so much... undoing character growth, scrapping character beliefs for new motives that were narratively weaker, and using way more shock/gore than there had been used previously. I would love to know your opinions on it, and if I'm talking out of my ass on this. Love the show! Would love to finish it. Would genuinely love to hear you do a character analysis, if you felt up to it. Ty!

Hi Anon! I'm going to put this below a cut since it's not strictly relevant to this blog and yet I have much to say about it lol

It's been over a year since I watched Black Sails in it's entirety, but I'll go on record saying it's the best show I've ever seen. I love the writing, the acting, the costuming, the filmography, the music, the everything. It is [almost] perfectly balanced. Ironically I felt season 1 was the weakest and didn't take the same issues with season 4 as you did. My biggest criticism of season 1 involves the plot regarding Max's captivity on the beach. I think connecting her with Anne could've been achieved some other way (or even a similar plot just overall less sexual violence/quicker resolution). But even so, I still stand by that I recommend it, particularly to those who love a blend of historical and fiction/mythic characters.

I would love to see an Arthurian retelling on that scale and with that tone. Starz had produced their show Camelot in 2011, three years before Black Sails, and while that first season also has some issues, I'll forever be heartbroken it wasn't renewed. I fully believe they would have developed Camelot into an epic tale ala Black Sails, particularly with strong female characters and queer storylines. We could've had it all....

On that note, Black Sails was absolutely vital in my journey as an author adapting Arthurian legend in a historical 6th century. The meta about ambiguous storytelling subject to biased perception or outright misinformation and thus misconceptions about people involved in historical events fascinated me. On one hand you have Jack Rackham's obsession with his legacy, almost uncannily aware he's in a story and his limited time to leave his mark. Then there's Charles Vane's hanging in Nassau, when the history books say he died at Port Royal. It circumvents expectations, not with shock value (looking at you, Game of Thrones finale), but in service to the narrative by calling into question the validity of our accepted reality. Beyond that, it seamlessly blends historical figures, the cast of Treasure Island, and original characters created to incorporate more women and people of color into the narrative. Everyone's developed and fascinating and complex with clear motivations and fleshed out backstories (except for Silver, lol, which itself makes him compelling). Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles does similar things. He utilized Saint Derfel as his point of view character to analyze the Arthurian legend through a [semi-]historical lens. But I think Black Sails does it better. It also seems to transcend genre at times. It's adventure and action, but it's got everything from romance between a network of characters in all different Stiuationships to the horror of Flint's past haunting him (literally). And yet it never feels like too much. It doesn't lose track of what it's doing. Nothing set up is dropped or forgotten about. It's frustrating when the goal post moves yet again, but in a way which draws us in closer to the characters and makes us all the more driven to see it through. When another hiccup arises we must overcome, or even a devastating and insurmountable shock (Miranda....), it feels earned. Of course that was liable to happen. How could we have been so foolish to think things would have worked out?

This show gave me permission, and frankly, the determination, to experiment with my own retelling. The people who made Black Sails knew when to stay true to the past, drawing on facts to develop the story in accurate ways (such as utilizing the colony of escaped slaves to bring Madi and her people into the story (which also ties into Treasure Island in which Silver had a black wife!)) and when to follow the rule of cool (Jack Rackham in his definitely-historically-unviable-but-undeniably-cool shades). Literally life changing.

I don't think I could narrow down the characters enough to do a full analysis of one of them, I love them all for different reasons. But I did name my borzoi Long John Silver, so, I kind of have to talk about him, right? Well I think the character's lack of a backstory, ie his unwillingness to disclose it, acts as a surrogate for the viewer. We ride the wave with Silver, thrust into this predicament with the map and the gold and the very culture of Nassau's pirate trade whilst Silver somehow remains a blank slate mystery as he navigates this dangerous world with a quick mind alone. While Flint could certainly be considered the main character, and we're quite often in his head, his memories, his nightmares even, I don't think the viewer's supposed to identify as him so much as with him. Flint is Flint. But we are Silver. (Scary thought lol)

If you couldn't tell already, I'm long winded. :^) So I'll stop here and the real deep dive character analysis happens in my books. Gawain is just landlocked Flint if you squint<3 Thanks for asking about Black Sails! Everyone go watch it.