#AJ Hartley

[take-a-dip-in-the-deadpool]

Currently reading Trinity by Blink 182s Tom Delonge and AJ Hartley. Not an ideal place to get stuck but the last movie I watched was Alien Romulus sooooo..... heading back to the 50's for nuclear tests and alien crash landings I guess

Would you rather...

[nwodwols]

Super excited about A.J. Hartley’s newest book that will be dropping to my kindle on Friday:

[forest-of-fiends]

2025 Reading List

To Read

The Lola Quartet - Emily St. John Mandel

Last Night In Montreal - Emily St. John Mandel

The Overstory - Richard Powers

Trinity - AJ Hartley

Severance - Ling Ma

House of Leaves - Mark Z. Danielewski

The Secret History - Donna Tartt

The Penelopiad - Margaret Atwood (I read this in high school and enjoyed it but want to give it a re-read)

The God of the Woods - Liz Moore

The Ladies of Grace Adieu - Susanna Clarke

The Hidden Life of Trees - Peter Wohlleben

The Girl in the Spiders Web - book 4 - David Langercrantz

The Girl Who Lived Twice - book 6 - David Langercrantz (picked up the 5th book at Goodwill and didn't realize I jumped ahead after book 3. I just love these characters)

Us Fools - Nora Lange

[sacredarts]

Alice in Wonderland-Alice Kingsleigh: Elizabeth Harnois

Asper Creek-Emily Sommerset {OC}: Sofia Carson

The Baby-sitters Club-Dawn Schaffer: Undecided

Stacey McGill: Undecided

Camp Rock-Caitlyn Gellar: Alyson Stoner

Mitchie Torres: Demi Lovato

Charmed-Warren Trudeau {OC}: Blake Lively

Criminal Minds-Kaylia Strauss {OC}: Sophia Bush

DC-Barry Allen: Grant Gustin

Dick Grayson: Undecided

Hallie "Hal" Jordan {Fem!Hal}: Jessica Alba

Kara Kent: Laura Vandervoort

Oliver Queen: Justin Hartley

Diana Prince: Gal Gadot

Bruce Wayne: Undecided

Wally West: Undecided

Descendants-Alana {OC}: Undecided

Mal Dragonheart: Dove Cameron

Alyssa Florian {OC}: Sabrina Carpenter

Eliza Fitzhurburt: Undecided

Rebecca Fitzhurburt: Undecided

Evie Grimhilde: Sofia Carson

Princess Red: Kylie Cantrell

Whitney {OC}: Undecided

Fandomless-Whitney Castellan: Sofia Carson

Jack Frost: Undecided

Lana Hall: Victoria Justice

Lucifer: Dylan O'Brien

Emerson McCall {OC}: Undecided

Merlin: Katie McGrath

Cupid/Valentina Valois: Madelaine Petsch

Frozen-Elsa: Undecided

Glee-Hunter Clarington {Fem!Hunter}: Phoebe Tonkin

Clary Smythe {OC}: Lily Collins

Evan Smythe {NPC OC}: Victoria Justice

Lincoln Smythe {NPC OC}: Ian Harding

Riley Smythe {NPC OC}: Nina Dobrev

Sebastian Smythe: Grant Gustin

Solistice Smythe {NPC OC}: Demi Lovato

Jasmine "Jassi" Sterling. {NPC OC}: Undecided

Gossip Girl-Raelynn van der Woodsen: Madelaine Petsch

Serena van der Woodsen: Blake Lively

Halloweentown-Marni Piper: Sara Paxton

Harry Potter-Julietta Black {NPC OC}: Ashley Tisdale

Sirius Black: Undecided

Daphne Greengrass: Dianna Agron

Armani Malfoy {OC}: Lily Collins

Diana Malfoy {Fem!Draco}: Dove Cameron

Kristiana Malfoy {OC}: Lily Collins

Violet Grace Potter {Fem!Harry}: Kylie Cantrell

Alixzandria "Alixz" Riddle {OC}: Sofia Carson

Lady and the Tramp-Lady: Leighton Meester

Marvel-Jamie "Bucky" Buchanan Barnes {Fem! Bucky}: Olivia Wilde

Peter Parker: Andrew Garfield

Pepper Potts: Undecided

Johnny Storm: Chris Evans

Mythology: Apollo {Fem!Apollo}: Blake Lively

Artemis: Madelaine Petsch

Athena: Undecided

Chaos: Lana P

Hecate: Katie McGrath

Hestia: Undecided

Iris: Kristen Bell

Lethe: Alexis Bledel

Nike: Sarah Michelle Gellar

Styx: Chad Michael Murray

Nancy Drew-Nancy Drew: Kristen Bell

Once Upon a Time-The Poisoned Apple: Sofia Carson

One Tree Hill-Mikaela Scott {OC}: Sofia Carson

Paw Patrol-Skye: Undecided

Percy Jackson-Silena Beauregard: Lily Collins

Luke Castellan: Jake Abel

May Castellan: Undecided

Annabeth Chase: Alexandra Daddario

Monet Celestia Jackson-Blofis: Selena Gomez

Perci Jackson {Fem!Percy}: Lucy Hale

Sally Jackson: Undecided

Everly Riddle {NPC OC}: Blake Lively

Julietta Riddle {NPC OC}: Blake Lively

Pokemon-Eevee/Evline {OC}: Lily Collins

Pretty Little Liars-Imogen Adams: Bailee Madison

Aria Montgomery: Lucy Hale

Ava Jalali: Sofia Carson

Serenity Sakura Samuels {OC NPC}: Madelaine Petsch

Rise of the Guardians-Sapphyre Black {OC}: Shelley Hennig

Baby Tooth/Chelsey White: Dianna Agron

Sailor Moon-Marina Storms/Sailor Galaxy {OC}: Undecided

Scream-Sidney Prescott: Neve Campbell

Sonny With a Chance-Sonny Munroe: Demi Lovato

Supernatural-Brenna Braeden {Fem!Ben}: Crystal Reed

Gabriel: Demi Lovato

Addison Milligan {Fem!Adam}: Hayden Panettiere

Tangled: Pascal: AJ Cook

Rapunzel: Blake Lively

Teen Wolf-Stiles Stilinski {Fem!Stiles}: Troian Bellasario

The Vampire Diaries-Davina Claire: Danielle Campbell

Jeremy Gilbert {Fem!Jeremy}: Victoria Justice

Hope Mikaelson: Danielle Rose Russell

Kol Mikaelson: Undecided

Nicola Mikaelson {OC}: Undecided

Wizards of Waverly Place-Alex Russo: Selena Gomez

[tinseltown-rp]

who is your most wanted currently?

this is a tough one! i'd say more athletes, jacob elordi, camilla morrone, sophia bush, zendaya, kelsea ballerini, austin butler, jeremy allen white, rosalia, blake lively, robert pattinson, maya hawke, ross butler, juno temple, nina dobrev, ashley benson, zac efron, halsey, jonathan daviss, aj michalka, sam claflin, megan thee stallion, justin hartley, selena gomez and charlie hunnam all come to mind. members, who else?

[operaportugues]

documentário "Instruments of a Beating Heart" (2024)

Documentário completo com legenda em português: vídeo; legenda. Indicado ao Oscar 2025 de Melhor Documentário de Curta-Metragem.

O que torna o povo japonês distintamente japonês? A chave está no que é ensinado durante a escola primária. Crianças de 6 anos de idade têm a responsabilidade de limpar suas salas de aula e servir o almoço umas às outras. As escolas são estruturadas como mini-sociedades, onde todos têm uma função e devem contribuir para a comunidade. Há um grande foco na educação não acadêmica, com o objetivo de ensinar trabalho em equipe, ética de trabalho e senso de realização.

Os trens funcionam pontualmente porque são ensinados a priorizar a harmonia e a consideração pelos outros; por outro lado, vivem sob uma pressão coletiva para se conformarem e não envergonharem a comunidade.

"Instruments of a Beating Heart" é um documentário de curta-metragem de 2024, dirigido por Ema Ryan Yamazaki, que acompanha Ayame, uma estudante do primeiro ano do ensino fundamental em uma escola pública de Tóquio em 2022. No último semestre, Ayame e seus colegas enfrentam o desafio de tocar "Ode à Alegria" de Beethoven na cerimônia de recepção dos novos alunos. Determinada a desempenhar um papel de destaque, Ayame busca tocar o grande tambor, enfrentando desafios pessoais e coletivos ao longo do processo.

Apesar de suas dificuldades em acompanhar o grupo, Ayame está determinada a tocar o grande tambor, enfrentando os desafios do sistema educacional japonês, que enfatiza o sacrifício pessoal em prol do coletivo.

Enquanto as crianças são ensinadas a “fazer seus corações como um só” e ensaiar rigorosamente, vemos tanto as pressões quanto as maravilhas de ser responsável por um grupo. As tradições de formação de caráter da educação japonesa são vivenciadas por Ayame, que, diante dos novos desafios, aprende a ser resiliente. Acredito que a experiência de superar obstáculos, como Ayame faz, é crucial para a educação. Mas onde deve estar o equilíbrio entre disciplina e liberdade?

"Eu era aquela garotinha, crescendo no Japão através do sistema público de ensino fundamental, experimentando intensos preparativos para atividades escolares, como apresentações musicais. O que percebo agora é que essas experiências de aprender a ser resiliente, a trabalhar duro, a ser responsável pelo grupo e saber o quão grande pode ser a sensação de realização em uma idade jovem, é o que me fez ser quem sou hoje. O que está acontecendo em nossas escolas moldará como será nossa sociedade futura. Embora o sistema japonês tenha seus pontos fortes e fracos, espero que este filme ofereça a oportunidade para outras sociedades ao redor do mundo se espelharem em seus sistemas educacionais e refletirem sobre como queremos criar a próxima geração." - diretora Ema Ryan Yamazaki

Trailer

MUBI

The New York Times

Review/reaction by AJ Hartley

IMDb

[purgatoryxgifs]

Hello! AJ here! So I'm coming up with a game plan on getting back into giffing. Right here is a list that I'm going to be working on, even if it is a slow process. This will be updated as gif packs get done! If you guys have any suggestions feel free to drop suggestions!

Screencapping:

Katherine Barrell - Good Witch, Everything Christmas, Making Scents of Love, A Tale of Two Christimases, Cabin Connection, A Godwink Christmas: Miracle of Love, Wynonna Earp: Vengeance

Tim Rozon - Surreal Estate, Christmas in Wolf Creek, Spread, Calamity Jane, Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, Wynonna Earp: Vengeance

Melanie Scrofano - Clickbait: Unfollowed, Letterkenny, The End of S*x, Welcome to Mama's, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Wynonna Earp: Vengeance

Dom Provost-Chalkley - Wynonna Earp: Vengeance

Jennifer Morrison - House MD, This is Us

Justin Hartley - This is Us, Tracker

Chad Michael Murray - Mother of the Bride, The Merry Gentlemen, Sullivan's Crossing, Christmas on Windmill Way, Toying with the Holidays, Love in Winterland, Road to Christmas, The Beach House

Damien Lewis - Billions

Malin Akerman - Billions

Tom Ellis - Lucifer

David Boreanaz - Bones, Seal Team

AJ Cook - Criminal Minds

Paget Brewster - Criminal Minds

Daniel Gillies - Saving Hope, Seal Team, Sight Unseen

Upcoming Gifs:

Katherine Barrell - Good Witch, Everything Christmas, Making Scents of Love, A Tale of Two Christimases, Cabin Connection, A Godwink Christmas: Miracle of Love, Wynonna Earp: Vengeance, Wynonna Earp (All Seasons)

Tim Rozon - Surreal Estate, Christmas in Wolf Creek, Spread, Calamity Jane, Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent, Wynonna Earp: Vengeance, Wynonna Earp (All Seasons)

Melanie Scrofano - Clickbait: Unfollowed, Letterkenny, The End of S*x, Welcome to Mama's, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Wynonna Earp: Vengeance, Wynonna Earp (All Seasons)

Dom Provost-Chalkley - Wynonna Earp: Vengeance, Wynonna Earp (All Seasons)

Jennifer Morrison - House MD, This is Us, Tracker, Once Upon a Time (All Seasons)

Justin Hartley - This is Us, Tracker

Josh Dallas - Manifest (All Seasons), Once Upon a Time (All Seasons)

Chad Michael Murray - Mother of the Bride, The Merry Gentlemen, Sullivan's Crossing, Christmas on Windmill Way, Toying with the Holidays, Love in Winterland, Road to Christmas, The Beach House, Camp Cold Brook, Write Before Christmas

Damien Lewis - Billions (All Seasons)

Lana Parrilla - The Lincoln Lawyer, Tax Collector, Once Upon a Time (All Seasons), Miami Medical

Malin Akerman - Billions (All Seasons)

Varun Saranga - Wynonna Earp (All Seasons)

Tom Ellis - Lucifer (All Seasons)

David Boreanaz - Bones, Seal Team

AJ Cook - Criminal Minds

Paget Brewster - Criminal Minds

Daniel Gillies - Saving Hope, Seal Team, Sight Unseen

[chorusfm]

Tom DeLonge Talks With AJ Hartley

Tom DeLonge of Blink-182 talked with author AJ Hartley for a new video interview. Tom mentions Blink-182 will be playing shows up until the summer of next year, and then taking a break. --- Please consider becoming a member so we can keep bringing you stories like this one. ◎ https://chorus.fm/news/tom-delonge-talks-with-aj-hartley/

[purpleplaid17]

Jess Watches // Wed 24 Apr // Day 210 Synopses & Favourite Scenes & Poll

Palm Royale (with B) 1x08 Maxine Saves the Whale

A beached whale appears on the Beach Ball site, throwing the event in doubt with days to spare. Linda and Evelyn adjust to their new normals.

Evelyn (Allison Janney): *wants to fuck a whale* Maxine (Kristin Wiig): (whale noises)

The Resident (with mum) 3x05 Choice Words

After a plane crashes in Atlanta, Devon is overcome by guilt at the thought that he could have prevented the tragedy. Bell, who was a passenger on the plane, makes it his personal mission to save the life of the man seated next to him. Meanwhile, Adaku returns to ask Mina a big favor, the Raptor struggles with telling his adoptive parents about meeting his biological father and Conrad and Nic consider risking it all to investigate a drug that might be linked to Jessie's death.

In principle I agree with Devon about not sharing medical information with employers. But this man was a commercial pilot and literally has peoples lives in his hands. He should not be flying when drunk. Meanwhile, I loved meeting AJ's parents. They are so loving, kind, and supportive. I wonder what their impressions of Mina will be when they are inevitably introduced.

The Artful Dodger (with L) 1x01 The Yankee Dodge

With a huge gambling debt, coinciding with the return of Fagin, Dodger agrees to a final sting.

Wasn't sure what to expect but we rather enjoyed it. Thomas and Maia are very engaging leads. His sleeves and her skirts are ridiculously oversized. They're perfect for each other. Recognized most of the baddies too which was fun. I always forget Dewey Crowe is Australian!

Heartbreak High 2x03 The Feelings Pit

While some newfound feelings continue to haunt Malakai, Hartley High's school captain candidates get competitive at a fundraising event.

Malakai saying outloud that he is bi/queer was everything! I think the final push was the hotdog and taco stand lol. Why choose when you can have both. And it seemed he didn't write "Forget Amerie" so who did? Spider is clearly over her. And I thought Quinni picked up most of the confessions so exactly how many c**mlords are there? Ant seems a chill guy so the only other one we know is Chad Michael Murray, right? Unless it's somehow one of the girls?? Also:

📣"That whole family are all a bunch of inbred, imperialist [...] tax vampire pricks, and the fact they haven't been abolished yet is a war crime."📣

[moniquill]

Hi hello, Steampunk here: the 19th century was punk as fuck actually, and the active steampunk scene in 2005-2010 was very much aware of and into it. You're citing the Spirit Halloween version.

Way back in November 2013 I made a post about the aestheticization of the subculture that STILL stands:

Steampunk: VICTORIAN LONDON VICTORIAN LONDON TOP HATS CORSETS ARISTOCRACY GLORIOUS BRITISH EMPIRE AIRSHIP PIRATES RAY GUNS APOCALYPSE APOCALYPSE ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE!

Me: …Industrialization, colonialism, imperialism, exploitation of the working class and oppression of POC culminating in violent socialist revolution because fuck yeah the working class and don’t you dare forget it?

Steampunk: ::crickets::

[Steampunk]:  THE GREAT GAME COGS GEARS VAMPIRES BUSTLES EXOSKELETON GOGGLES ANGLOPHILIA SUPER CREEPY OBSESSION WITH ORIENTALISM INCLUDING CLOCKWORK GEISHAS MANOR HOUSES TEA!

Me: ::sigh::

^ you are doing exactly this.

The punk ethos is primarily made up of beliefs such as non-conformity, anti-authoritarianism, anti-corporatism, a do-it-yourself ethic, anti-consumerist, anti-corporate greed, direct action, and not "selling out". That is what 'punk' means, in terms of subculture.

When steampunk arose as a subculture, out of Goth mind you, it was entirely a DIY and small business scene.

What steampunk music, fiction, craft groups, or meetups have you been to? Steampunk is, like cyberpunk, about the stories it told/is telling. Often stories of revolution (often violent), the overthrowing of governments and toppling of monarchies, civil rights movements (emancipation from chattel slavery! Indian wars! Rising against colonial powers!), the dawn of first wave feminism and women's suffrage, the original source of communist and socialist thought, workers' rights movements, the fucking enlightenment...

What is more punk than The Communist Manifesto(1848)

What is more punk than The Battle of Greasy Grass(1876)

Who's a more OG Punk than John Brown?

Steampunk literally music and fiction set in and about the Age of Revolution.

Judging Steampunk as a subculture by the part that was heavily commercialized is like judging all of Goth and a subculture by Hot Topic (which is not punk rock).

Go read China Mieville's Bas Lag cycle.

Go read Mortal Engines by Philip Reeve

Go read Boneshaker by Cherie Priest

Go read Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (crossover with dieselpunk and biopunk!)

Go read Steeplejack by AJ Hartley

Go listen to some The Cog is Dead and some Abney Park and some Rasputina and some Steam Powered Giraffe and, hey, let me link Painless Parker one more time. You will note that that recording is from Occupy Wallstreet.

Also keep in mind that labor/union songs are wildly popular steampunk standards; you will hear Solidarity Forever and other songs from The Little Red Songbook at steampunk song circles. You will hear marching band and orchestral covers of The Sex Pistols' God Save The Queen and The Clash's London Calling. You'll hear songs from Chumbawumba's album English Rebel Songs 1381-1984.

I'm gonna linkspam a bunch of my older writings on this:

Other steampunks of my followers, please reblog with more recommendations about Steampunk stuff that's actually PUNK.

@sapphoandvanzetti , would love to hear you chime in.

i never understood what made steampunk punk. romanticizing georgian era england and industrial revolutions are some of the least punk things ever. youre putting gears on a top hat

[ravenxx-blog]

BABYMETAL「メタり！！ (feat. Tom Morello)」

AJ Hartley氏によるBABYMETAL「メタり！！ (feat. Tom Morello)」解説

[forest-of-fiends]

2024 Book Journal

1. Sekret Machines: Chasing Shadows (AJ Hartley, Tom DeLonge)

Rating: Easy 5 ⭐

2. Station Eleven (Emily St. John Mandel)

Rating: 5 ⭐

3. The Radleys (Matt Haig)

Rating: 4.5 ⭐

4. Circe (Madeline Miller)

Rating: 10/5 ⭐ magic on paper

5. The Humans (Matt Haig)

Rating: 4.5 ⭐ all Matt Haig books are great

6. Song of Achilles (Madeline Miller)

Rating: 5 ⭐

7. A Walk in the Woods (Bill Bryson) + 2015 film adaptation

Rating: 3.8 ⭐ not bad, writing felt rough in places.

8. The Soul of an Octopus (Sy Montgomery)

Rating: 3 ⭐ would benefit from quicker pacing

9. The Singers Gun (Emily St. John Mandel)

Rating: 5 ⭐

10. The Glass Hotel (Emily St. John Mandel)

Rating: 5 ⭐

11. Piranesi (Susanna Clarke)

Rating: 4.8 ⭐

12. Time Cat (Lloyd Alexander)

Rating: 3.8 ⭐ a classic ya book first published in 1963. I've had a copy from over a decade ago, it was a quick but enjoyable read.

13. The Life Impossible (Matt Haig)

Rating: 5 ⭐ inspiring book with its message being: to live life to the fullest.

14. Braiding Sweetgrass (Robin Wall Kimmerer)

Rating: 5 ⭐ A must read for anyone who breathes air.

[hsavinien]

The Steeplejack series by AJ Hartley - adventure series starring a lower-class girl in pseudo-British Raj society who starts looking into the murders of the people that don’t “matter” to society; deals with racism, classism, and imperialism.

The Wild Wynchester series by Erica Ridley - Regency romance series with more awareness of racism/classism than usual. Queer characters, characters of color.

Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson - fantasy starring a (probably aroace) religious teen currently in training to be a caretaker for the dead (and prevention of zombies). Involves demons, religious politics, and the realities of being a Joan of Arc figure.

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots - superhero story from the POV of a henchperson for hire who’s injured/traumatized by the heroes and starts running the numbers to see who actually does the most damage to the world.

A Wizard’s Guide to Defensive Baking by T Kingfisher - magic-user whose area of focus is baking has to find out why small-time magicians keep disappearing. (Funny and dark, like all Kingfisher’s stuff is.)

Jenny Lawson’s autobiographies, all of them - hilarious and moving look at life with mental illness and chronic pain. Involves taxidermy and costumes.

With ao3 currently offline fighting the good fight, what are your go-to reads from published folks? (totally not fishing for book recs)

Anyways, I'll start:

Legends and Lattes by Travis Baltree (reading this now btw), and Hunger Pangs by Joy Demorra (I have the flirting with fangs edition but there's a fluff and fangs edition for the smut-disinclined)

Legends and Lattes is about an orc adventurer who decides she's sick of that life and wants to open a cafe instead. Very much a feel-good fic watching someone build a comfortable life. Many shenanigans and entertaining characters <3

Hunger Pangs is about a depressed but intelligent anticapitalist vampire lord's unappreciated son helps a disabled war veteran werewolf adapt to his new reality and they also help a hot powerful [redacted] fix probably the last seal holding back the Big Baddie with his super smart sexy brain. :3

[butterbeerandlemoncakes]

10 Books of 2021

Empire of Gold, SA Chakraborty-- The third and final in a series. Not as many twists as the previous books, but still very good. The ending seemed to drag on a bit, in my opinion, but otherwise would still recommend.

Dragon Teeth, Michael Crichton--Suuuuper good, would highly recommend. Posted a longer recommendation in February.

Mythology of the Babylonian People, Donald A. Mackenzie--Would recommend skimming through it for a general overview of Babylonian/Sumerian mythology, but if reading for historical purposes, I’d go elsewhere--book was published in 1915 so new discoveries have been made since then that changed history (see; discovery of Tutankamun, etc.). In addition, the author appears to buy into a lot of racist and eugenic theories.

The Mask of Atreus, A.J. Hartley--A very Clive Cussler-esqe adventure/mystery novel. It’s good for light reading, but the plot is very over the top. 

Ramses the Damned: The Passion of Cleopatra, Anne & Christopher Rice--Actually one of the best books I’ve read in awhile. The plot kept you interested, and although there was a fair amount of smut, it was a very enjoyable read. It explored what I thought was a really interesting concept: Basically, in Egyptian mythology, it is believed that after death, the soul leaves the body and continues on its journey (whether this is into the afterlife or reincarnation is debatable). The book then explores what happens when this soul goes into a new body, but then the old body is brought back to life. Does this old body not have a soul? Do they share one? It was a very intriguing concept and I wish they had delved more into it.

Regeneration, Pat Barker--really interesting book, would recommend it. Posted longer recommendation in June.

The Book of the Dead, Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child--Another action/adventure/mystery novel. A quick, engaging read. There are other books in the series but this one can be read alone.

Trail of Lighting, Rebecca Roanhorse--This was a really fun and interesting read. It kept you hooked and interested in the drama, with plot twists around every corner. I’m very excited to read the rest in the series.

Evil Under the Sun, Agatha Christie--Fairly certain I’ve actually read this one before, it seemed familiar. But overall another good Agatha Christie murder mystery.

The Heretic Queen, Michelle Moran--This was a pretty decent book, it followed the life of Nefertari, the niece of Nefertiti. Wasn’t the most exciting read, but was still interesting.

[tinseltown-rp]

MWM + F?

Drew Starkey, Carlacia Grant, Jonathan Daviss, Adam Brody, Liam Hemsworth, Scarlett Johansson, Grant Gustin, Brandon Routh, Stephen Amell, Tom Holland, Avan Jogia, Sophia Bush, Ben Barnes, Evan Rachel Wood, Krysten Ritter, Jaz Sinclaire, Aj Michalka, Maya Hawke, Natalia Dyer, Olivia Holt, Zoey Deutch, Scott Porter, Matt Barr, Colton Haynes, Zachary Quinto, Emily Bett Rickards, Mandy Moore, Justin Hartley, Justin Chatwin, Shanola Hampton, Italia Ricci, Ashley Tisdale, Vanessa Hudgens, Zac Efron, Jeremy Allen White, and Adria Arjona all come to mind. Members, who else?

[cromulentbookreview]

Please Don’t Be The End

“What did he mean?” I asked. “Building a brighter future. How?”

“A jab at your expense, I fear,” said Ansveld, closing the door but still scowling after his rival. “They say brighter, but they mean whiter.”

-From the uncorrected egalley of Guardian

So the Steeplejack/Alternative Detective series is, perhaps, one of my favorite series out there. Where else can you find a steampunk alt-19th century South Africa set mystery series with a badass female protagonist of color? If there are more of these books, please let me know where I might find them because apparently, with Guardian, A.J. Hartley is ending the series.

I'm not crying. 

 Anyway. I didn't realize at first that Guardian was meant to end the series - I went through it laboring under the delusion that it would be one of those series that would go on forever until Hartley got bored with it or died, whichever came first. So I devoured Guardian with uncharacteristic speed (hey, I'm avoiding graduate school work and actual paying work-work here) then took to Twitter to ask Hartley if we'd be getting any more.

Damn.

(Also, yeah, I read this book last month and am just now getting around to reviewing it. I wasn’t kidding when I said I was avoiding doing stuff. That includes any Tumblring outside of reblogging gifs from my favorite The Terror blog).

If you haven't read any of the Steeplejack books, you should. It's shelved in YA, but if you ask me (I'm sure you didn't, no one has, or ever will) adults can/should read this series, too. It's definitely one of the smarter YA series I've read out there, relying more on worldbuilding and character than just angst and romance. In fact, the angst and romance of this series is kept to a bare minimum, and it’s fantastic and extremely refreshing. So many YA series rely entirely on angst, romance and angsty romance, and there is more to life than just fighting a dystopian regime and daydreaming about your hot boyfriend, people!

Uhm. I mean:

The city of Bar-Selehm may be fiction, but it actually feels as though this were an actual place – the racial tension, political in-fighting, and class struggles are all too familiar. Especially the “make Bar-Selehm great again” crowd. Those guys are super familiar in a way I can’t quite put my finger on…hmm…

Seriously, the Steeplejack series is only a few word changes away from just being straight-up historical fiction, but then where would we put all the steampunk? You gotta have more steampunk.

It’s like the cowbell, but with more Victorian elements.

Though it still depresses me to think that Guardian is the last book in the Steeplejack series, looking back, it is a damn satisfying way to end the series – basically all the underlying plots from the previous two books get together and explode in a horrifying manner: Anglet’s patron, Josiah Willinghouse, is found standing over the body of the Prime Minister, knife in hand. He can say he’s innocent all he wants, but being caught literally red-handed is not great for his defense. Any hope of a moderate, coalition government in Bar-Selehm disappears after the death of the Prime Minister and the ultra-racist and eerily familiar Heritage party seizes power.  They immediately start enacting all sorts of awful laws on the non-white majority population of Bar-Selehm. Meanwhile, the Grappoli look an awful lot like they’re preparing to invade, journalists are turning up dead in the bush, the enlightened population of Bar-Selehm rallies behind the charismatic activist Aaron Muhapi, a troupe of murderous circus folk has come into town, and there’s a weird plague going around that only seems to hit poor Black and Lani neighborhoods. All of this is happening while Anglet is doing her best to prove Willinghouse’s innocence.

It’s kind of an uphill battle. And it doesn’t help that Willinghouse’s sister, Dahria, normally snark-tastic and incorrigible, seems to have given up in the face of her family’s ruin.

Essentially, Guardian is the culmination of two books worth of careful worldbuilding and it pays off so, so well. If you haven’t read the series, you need to. Here, I’ll help you out, the first book is Steeplejack, then Firebrand and then Guardian which will be out on the 12th, so, you know, you’ve got a whole week to enjoy the first two before book three comes out. So…yeah, you should get on that. Go ahead, I’ll wait.

Just don’t get your hopes up for a fourth book. Though I desperately want one. Or like, a novella told from Willinghouse’s POV …oooh, or an Origin Story novel for Madam Nahreem. Or just a whole book focusing on Aaron Muhapi. Or something like a “ten years later” story focusing entirely on the Suffregette’s trying to get votes for women in Bar-Selehm…Come on, Hartley, don’t leave me hanging like this. At least do like, a collection of short stories or a novella or something. Please? 

Please?

Please?

RECOMMENDED FOR: Anyone in the mood for an South African-inspired Steampunk novel featuring a badass protagonist of color.

NOT RECOMMENDED FOR: People who don’t read books, people who dislike steampunk, people who wear red MAGA hats. 

RATING: 5/5

TOTALLY UNBIASED FANGIRL RATING: 5,000,000,000,000/5

RELEASE DATE: June 12, 2018

ANTICIPATION LEVEL FOR SEQUEL / CONTINUATION IN SOME FORM: Mauna Kea.