#Cast in Shadow

[haveyoureadthisfantasybook]

vote yes if you have finished the entire book.

vote no if you have not finished the entire book.

(faq · submit a book)

[zytes]

this manatee looks like it’s in a skyrim loading screen

[axziom13]

[sanguinarysanguinity]

Expanding a thought from a conversation this morning:

In general, I think "Is X out-of-character?" is not a terribly useful question for a writer. It shuts down possibility, and interesting directions you could take a character.

A better question, I believe, is "What would it take for Character to do X?" What extremity would she find herself in, where X starts to look like a good idea? What loyalties or fears leave him with X as his only option? THAT'S where a potentially interesting story lies.

In practice, I find that you can often justify much more from a character than you initially dreamed you could: some of my best stories come from "What might drive Character to do [thing he would never do]?" As long as you make it clear to the reader what the hell pushed your character to this point, you've got the seed of a compelling story on your hands.

[precariouswizardry]

[axiliern]

lots of various tim robin drawings from the past few days!!!!

[tbookblurbs]

Cast in Shadow - Michelle Sagara (Chronicles of Elantra #1)

4/5 - Subversion of common fantasy tropes, main character falls into a type i love, minimal weird romance

Spoilers below!

This was a book given to me for Christmas by my aunt, and she usually has good book selections and has given me a number of the lesser known fantasy books that I've read. Her taste is also typically pretty well aligned with what I like to see, so I had high expectations for this.

I really liked that this book subverts the whole magical chosen one must save the world. To be clear, Kaylin, the MC, is chosen and does have magic powers, but the whole bit is that she is the threat to the world. Having sacrifices that are designed to render her a puppet for this world-ending power, meaning the cast of characters isn't (only) trying to save her but the entire world, really liven up people's motivations. Personally, I love when characters do bad things and have to atone for them, or bad things for the right reasons or for selfish reasons. It makes them feel more grounded. All of these characters are subject to this.

Kaylin herself had this tendency to go into a blind berserk rage when in the grips of her power sometimes and I love that type of female main character. She's usually kind and caring and focused on the welfare of others, and in the midst of her power, she's not only arrogant and cruel, but drunk off her own power and rage. I love complicated characters.

Where this book loses a point is Kaylin working for the detective force/cops, though admittedly the structure was so unclear to me that that almost didn't matter. Another is the writing. It was a good book and the characters were well formed but, sentence to sentence, sometimes I was left wanting an editor.

I also think the way they showed her markings on the cover is not only ugly but also wrong.

[keymintt]

they say it wasn't humans who found the lost dutchman's gold

(another set of traffic box illustrations!!)

[o0kawaii0o]

"Anything caught your eye?"

[therealsanssherif]

[harveyguillensource]

We are loving these looks from EW's first look at Season 6! Especially Nadja's 9-to-5 working gal look if I do say so myself.

[freddycartr]

the comfort this cast gives me is unmatched

[lunarthecorvus]

The six of crows spin-off doesn't belong to kings (netflix) it belongs to bastards (us)

[sophiewith7es]

i love that kaz said to nina it ‘had to look real’ and instead of tailoring him she chose to fucking deck him

[precariouswizardry]

[the-gnomish-bastard]

Some of you didn’t seem to understand how magic works in the sense of how you can access it. I’ll explain again.

If you gain magical power from making a deal with a more powerful being, you are a warlock. Sneaky lawyer.

If you gain magical power through teachings and studies, you are a wizard/artificer. (Artificers usually gain power through experimentation.)

If you gain magical power by pledging yourself to a cause, being, or idea, you are a paladin. Pretentious bitch.

If you gain magical power by praising a higher deity (and not making a deal), you are a cleric. Heal someone.

If you have magical power and you didn’t do anything to gain it, you are a sorcerer. Fuck you. Seriously, fuck you. The rest of us had to work for our shit.

If you gain magical power by protecting nature and caring for plants and animals, you are a Druid. Fucking hippie.

If you gain magical power from your desire to entertain and also fuck, you are a bard. Stop trying to seduce my dad.