#Clera Glass

[ghoststudios-art-page]

Trying to trick myself into doing Archie art stuff for Greendale yearbook, this is what I normally do, just, oodles of doodles.

I'm also forcing myself to draw the gang more, as I feel like I just draw Jug and that's not fair to the other.

(Of course I drew Archie being a perv, but, ya gotta, as he is one.

But it's funny because his actual ma is in the first drawing he got hit in the head with a basketball)

Long list of name in tags, if they didn't have a canon last name I'm added one in (an replacing one because it's so basic)

[kazeharuhime]

Flowertober is here again but I am tired from working and do not have the energy to go as big as I did last year TwT; I wanted to touch the first two up digitally, and color and ink today’s, but just in case none of that happens I thought I’d post these. Consider them WIPs. I don’t typically post WIPs here but since I don’t post on IG anymore, may as well.

Cleria Fula

Also known as Clera Fula.

Often shows up just before the rainy season on the continent of Wing Alayna (the main continent of the JI stories world). As such, it’s appearance is used to mark the beginning of the season. It has glass-like petals that reflect in the sun. Other than its beauty, not many other uses are known for it.

Felia Katia

A simple vine with sweet leaves vaguely resembling cat ears. It can be found in Wing Alayna, both in the plains and in sunny areas within the Great Buddy Forest; the heart-shaped continent Furheart Iiah; and the eternally sunny continent of Warminia Songlianne.

Kulikuli Dara

The Kulikuli Dara is almost completely clear, and grows in Crescent Minoria, the continent of eternal night where many such other glass-like plants grow. This is said to be caused by the lunar energy given off by the Crescent Minoria Moon, a mysterious entity in the sky that never moves and is always in crescent phase. It is not visible from anywhere else other than Crescent Minoria. How clear a plant is is determined by how much they rely on the moon for energy. Green or black colorations usually mean they rely more on the soil than on the moon, hence why plants from Crescent Minoria grown on other continents are usually greener. As such, the Kulikuli Dara relies almost entirely on the energy of the Crescent Minoria moon, the root system being primarily for anchoring rather than nutrient-absorption. A rather ordinary flower by Crescent Minoria standards, it does not have many other uses besides looking pretty.

[thefallencrestfamily]

"The Fallen Crest Family"

Chapter 4: Mela Ami, The Mysterious 14th Misfit Student (2)

As the lunch bell rang, Ameri shows up out of nowhere and drags both Iruma and Alice to a room and lock themselves inside.

Ameri: "Sorry for the sudden rush but this was important and I had to be sure no one else can hear us. Do you remember when you asked for research help about the Crest Family?"

Iruma: "Y-Yeah."

Ameri: "Well, I actually had the liberty to ask my father for the closed case files about it, but I promised him not to tell anyone else and to give it back once we all looked at it, I'm sorry, I couldn't just text classified info."

Iruma: "It's alright Ameri, I appreciate this. Thank you."

All three of them look at the files, as it talks about the crime scene. Pictures of the place burned books and dried blood stains. It seemed like the building itself was still perfectly intact. The case files talked about every name that was counted in as deaths, all except one.

Iruma: "...Melody Crest."

Alice: "It says that she was the only one who wasn't counted as dead, since her body was never found and was reported missing for years until the case file got closed."

Ameri: "It's too bad too, I was told she was a prodigy student of Babylus who was labeled as a Misfit."

Iruma: "...By chance, do you guys know what the Crest Family Bloodline Ability is?"

Alice: "Their Bloodline Ability? Oh, their ability is very rare and was told that the family members barely shows it off unless it was for emergencies. Balam knew Melody Crest during his time with her so he remembers it well, once and only once she has used it in battle. The Bloodline Ability Sacrifice, the ability to sacrifice a piece of themselves in exchange for power be it healing, strength or protection. The more power needed, the more they have to sacrifice themselves."

Iruma: "Sacrifices a piece of themselves..."

Ameri: "We should ask more details with Balam then if he knew about the Family Bloodline and we can go to the Crest Family home afterwards."

Iruma: "Oh yeah, speaking of which. Ameri and Azz, can we have one more person help with the investigation. She too want to learn more about the Crest Family Slaughter, and she knows a lot about the Crest Family through her own solo research before."

Alice: "What's her name?"

Iruma: "Her name is Mela Ami-."

Alice: "Iruma Sir, did you just say Mela was a Ami?! Like part of Kirio Ami's family?!"

Iruma: "Um y-yeah?"

Alice still remembered when Kirio returned to the Battler Room. His eyes that has been taken over by the succumbed by his wicked phase and returned to origins. If Mela is a Ami, then he can't take chances with her being a accomplice to Kirio.

Alice: "Why didn't you say she was a Ami?!"

Ameri: "Alice calm down. Iruma, you are aware of the problems this might turn out if we bring her right? You know the reasons Kirio left the school, so why would you associate yourself with another Ami?"

Iruma: "Because she was a illegitimate child of the Ami Family and was abandoned at a young age, so she resents her family and prefers not to be mentioned as a Ami. I doubt she even knows who Kirio even is."

Ameri and Alice looked to each other. Both had their suspicions, but it was clear she probably hasn't even met Kirio. Suddenly a phone call from Clara in Iruma's phone stops the silence between them.

Clara: "Iruma-kins, where are you? Me and La La already finished our lunches in the Cafeteria and playing what she calls Luffy Pow!"

Alice & Ameri: "Luffy Pow?"

Iruma: "Sorry Clara, something happened but me and Azz are on our way."

Iruma and Alice say their goodbyes to Ameri, as they go off to see Clara and Melody of the aftermath with what was basically a paintball fight but with giant cotton balls.

Melody: "That was so much fun!"

Clara: "Let's play again soon like this, okay La La?"

Melody: "Yeah! I look forward to it! But first... Clera Ricos Disineria!"

Immediately after saying those words, the paint cotton balls surrounding them disappeared. All three were shocked as they never saw a spell like this before.

Alice: "Where did you learn to do a spell like that? I never seen anything like it."

Melody: "Oh that spell? It was self taught. It's a spell I made myself."

Alice: "You made that spell?!"

Melody: "Yeah, it's something I've been passionate about for a long time. It's also how I was able to move up the ranks in my first year. Without my spells, I wouldn't be where I am."

Alice: "Spells? As in plural?! You have more?!"

Melody: "Why yes. After my exams, I can teach you guys a few easy Mela Spells I came up with if it interests you."

Alice, Iruma & Clara: "Yes!"

---------

Time passed by so quickly, that school ended and everyone already left to go home. The teachers had a meeting with Lord Sullivan, who need as many teachers to volunteer to judge the Talent Exam. After a lot of discussions Kalego, Dali, Robin, Suzy & Raim decided to be the judges. Similar to the Musical Festival, she had to perform to pass with a 666 marm. But this would be different. No music specialist judges could come at last minute, so she would have to fight against teacher judges for a 66666 mark.

Dali: "Are you sure this is okay? Sure she finished the Written Exam with ease, but don't you think getting a perfect 66666 for all five teachers is a little too much to ask for the poor girl?"

Kalego: "She can handle it if she is ambitious enough to join the Misfits in Royal One."

Robin: "Well I just look forward to see what she has in store! If she passed Kalego's Written Exam so quickly, I'm dying to know what she'll do next."

Suzy: "Mm hm, same here."

Raim: "Hold on... do you guys hear that?"

Kalego: "Yeah, no one else should be in this school but us."

Kalego and the 4 other teachers decide to investigate the sound and as they got close they realized it was more than one sound. The sound of a orchestra coming from outside.

The peeked over to see multiple clones of Melody playing many different classical instruments with several other Melody clones singing in a chorus. The piece they were playing was Six Trillion Years & Overnight Story, a song they never heard before.

Robin however stepped on a twig from behind and in a panic, Melody stopped her music from loss of focus and turned off her clones, as they disappeared with their instruments.

Melody: "Who's there?!"

Kalego told the four other teachers to stay as Kalego was the only one to decide to reveal himself instead. Melody sighed in relief from his presence as he approached her.

Kalego: "What are you doing in the school grounds this late?"

Melody: "I was just practicing is all. I couldn't do it at home, and since the music rooms tend to close off bookings after 6pm, I had to find open space."

He remembers that he had locked and kicked her off the Royal One room because school ended for the day. And if she stayed in the music room after school, she practiced for another 3 hours. That means she has been practicing all day, how is she not tired? But he looked at her face and saw worry and stress.

Kalego: "You have a gift for musical talent. And to be able to play so many roles with mirror clones of yourself takes a lot of focus. And it looks like you have a performance picked out. So what's bothering you that can make you stay in school grounds this late?"

Melody: "To be honest, I haven't chosen a performance yet. All the stuff you saw, it was just to help me think of ideas to make the performance better."

Kalego: "But your performance was-."

Melody: "Good? I know... but I want a performance that represents me. I wanna tell my story as I sing. I don't just aim for scores, Mr. Naberius, I aim to tell my identity on stage."

For a small moment, Kalego saw "Mela" as Melody, repeating those same words all those years ago. But the moment stopped when he felt a hand touching his face, realizing he started tearing up.

Melody: "Mr. Naberius? Are you okay?"

Kalego: "I'm fine, get your hand off me."

Kalego pushed her hand away as his tears dried off. Why was he remembering now? He pushed his memories of first year away because of the incident with the Crest Family was preventing him from pursuing his ambitions. He had to give up on her and deliberately tried to forget her. And yet, this girl who appeared so suddenly makes him remember the girl he tried so hard to push away. And then finally he asks."

Kalego: "Have we met before all of this?"

Melody: "No, we haven't. I only met Balam in a bookstore beforehand."

Kalego: "...Tell me how you saw him without him detecting you?"

Melody: "I use detection warding glasses."

Kalego: "Why would you need them when going to the bookstore?"

Melody looks down, twiddling her thumbs as her face turns a little red. Was she blushing?

Melody: "O-Oh that... Well um... It was... because I was banned from going to the bookstore after multiple accidental spellcasting incidents from reading the spellbooks. I got too excited and I was always a curious person when it came to spells so I... I wasn't always thinking about the consequences. So when I would go there, I would use the detection warding glasses and for extra measure, I'd use a temporary silence spell I made myself so I don't speak out spells in the store anymore."

So that's what happened. It would make sense that a girl who caused so much trouble at a store because of her ambitions and interests. Sullivan was right, she was a troublemaker when it came to her love for spellcasting. If she passes, chaos would ensue, he would have to ensure limits on the girl.

Kalego: "...Tell me. How many times have you caused trouble with your experiments on spells? Give me a average number."

Melody: "I guess like... 3-7 times a day."

Kalego: "And how many of those are serious?"

Melody: "Like... 1 or 2 a day?"

Kalego facepalmed himself. She's worse than Iruma's attraction to danger. At least with Iruma, he tries to dodge danger and unintentionally puts himself in danger through reactions, with her though she speeds head on. Now worried about this girl's future, he's just thinking how her home life by herself. Probably a mess.

Kalego: "You know what...I kept you here too long. Let me take you home."

Melody: "Are... Are you sure?"

Kalego: "Yes, and I guess I can help you try to decide your song as we go."

That confused Melody for a moment, as Kalego didn't make eye contact with her.

Melody: "Why thought?"

Kalego: "Because I was suppose to kick you out originally but ended up stalling instead, so I take full responsibility for tonight. I don't want you doing this again, you got that brat."

Oh. He was just worried in his own way. Kalego was always stubborn.

Melody: Sure okay I guess-.

Kalego: "Also, I want to see the state of you home. You live alone right? I need to inspect so I can confirm you living situation."

Melody: "...Wait what?!"

[Previous Chapter] [Next Chapter]

[hlvrai-loving]

Tricks, Treats, And a Falling Out

"Spooky scary skeletons~" Josh softly hums, dabbing a bit of white face paint onto his cheeks. He wouldn't be doing his whole face, of course, but what little he did put would serve as a nice nod to the Batter's monochrome appearance.

"... send shivers down your spiiine~" Then again... monochrome is black, white, and gray, right? There's probably another word for just the two opposing shades...

His phone buzzed on the countertop, a message reminding him to bring water and to be ready in five. Well, what luck it was that he was already dressed, wasn't it? As for water... Josh decided to bring his backpack for any refreshments he'd inevitably end up carrying, starting with a few bottles filled to the brim with cold water.

With most of his costume ready in advance, Joshua placed the cap on his head and checked in on his room, just to ensure he hadn't forgotten anything.

And it was then that his eyes fell on the aluminum bat.

Things... Stakes, you could call them, seemed to be mounting these days. Whatever the hell happened with the eyes and... that man... they wouldn't stop just for the sake of a holiday. He'd kept himself from bringing it to school, of course, but... trick or treating would be different. Even with his friends and Tiff around, he wouldn't be safe... Even if he'd hate to admit it, Joshua knew it'd be better safe than sorry.

And so went the bat into the bag, for later protection.

After that little debate with himself, Josh made his way to the device, explaining to CB and his "friends on the other side" that he'd be unavailable for the night and that he wished for them to take care and keep an eye out. And with that, another buzz of his phone let him know the time had come.

Tossing the bag onto his back, the teen hit the lights and left the room.

Upon opening the front door, he was greeted to the sight of Allen, a jumpy tune coming from his person as the visualizer displayed on his jacket danced. "Yo yo yoooo~! Wassup Dorkman? Ready to purify?" He let out, causing Josh to giggle.

"Yeah yeah, just about. What is going on theeere?" He questioned, referring to the animated clothing. Al grinned, glancing down at it.

"Awe, this ol' thing? Just a little something foster Pops helped me out with. It's connected to the music on my phone and lights up to the beat. Hook in a few speakers here and there and you've got the KING OF DUBSTEP, BUDDY! Heh, same thing's going on with the glasses, but, uh, can't really see shit when it's going off so I'm only turning that on when I really don't need to use my eyes anyways."

"Ghdfff!! What!! You're telling me you just invented a new kind of jacket like it was nothing??"

Al shrugged. ""Invented" is too strong a word for something like this. I'd rather call it "pushing the limits of reality". Much more humble."

J laughed softly. "H-humble my ass, you douche! God damn it, Al."

"Mweh mweh, can we getta move on? The girls are waiting for us a little ways down the road."

"Ey, don't you tell me what to do!"

"Oi, you talking back ta me? Ya givin' me liiip?" The pale teen made sure to pop the "p" as best as he could. Josh couldn't help but smile, shutting and locking the door behind him as he made his way out.

"Wouldn't dream of it, Al."

The night air hung cold, Autumn managing to chill even this town it seemed. As far as Joshua knew, this was the first time he could recall actually shivering upon heading outside. Allen seemed to notice this, lightly hitting his arm.

"Cold cuz you haven't been out in months, ey Joshie?"

"Oh shut it, I'm not cold. Just... It's a bit chillier than I remember."

"Yeah yeah, Mr "I wear a blanket while cruising the space-web"!"

"Shut uuuupp! I do nooot!"

"Do toooo! I saw you when I visited!"

The teen lightly punched his friend's arm right back. "Hush it, would you? Now, where're the girls?" He pondered, resulting in Allen taking him by the wrist and leading him forward as a new song started.

"Riiiight over here, Dorkman."

And sure enough, there they were. Clera was gushing over Tiff's modern take on the stitched together monstrosity, while Tiff was doing her damndest to deny that it was really anything to be impressed over. Upon seeing the boys arrive, Clera quickly made her way over, excited as ever. Her black top and adjoining skirt were riddled with hearts and flowery patterns, which shimmered ever so slightly in the light of the street lamps.

"Joshie!! Hiiii! Your costume looks great!" She chirped out, her contagious enthusiasm causing even Joshua's woes to fade onto his mind's abyss for a little bit longer.

He smiled. "Hahah, it's really nothing. Especially not compared to yours! Did you make it yourself, Cler?"

Her eyes lit up at his kind words, fingers trailing the lace hem of the skirt. "Ehehee! You know it! I sketched it out then I coloured it and me and dad had to go out to get the right fabrics for it, then we went ahead and made it proper! I had to buy the shoes though."

"Wow... How long'd that take you?"

"Around a month!" She giggled.

"Jesus, just a month? Where'd you find the time to make it?" Allen butted in, rather surprised.

She shrugged. "Ooh, but mine's nothing compared to Tiff's!! Give it a looook! Doesn't she look great?" She cheered, the other girl bashfully turning away.

"Cler, mine's not that gooood! Stoooop!" She pleaded, looking away. And, true, it wasn't much. Just a leather jacket, an electric blue shirt, some torn black jeans, and the more "monsterful" additions the studs, makeup, and spray dye gave. It was for the most part the bare minimum one would need to say they were in costume, but... it was still a costume nonetheless.

May as well praise the effort.

"Yeah, hah, she looks amazing, Cler." Josh smiled. Allen, on the other hand...

"Well... It's not exactly creative, is it?" He grinned, earning an annoyed glare from Tiff and an unamused pout from Clera.

"Sooo? She still did her best! I think it looks incredible!" The petite witch told, reassuringly holding her girlfriend's arm.

"Yeah, at least I'm not a walking light show. How was that creative?" Tiff retorted.

"Ey ey, excuse my goddamn French, but did you just diss the drip, Tiffy?"

"That is not "drip"! That's a jacket that lights up! You may as well have gone as a lamp!"

"Oh ho ho! Is that whatcha think?? Well, listen here-"

"Guys!" Joshua interjected. Evidently, it seemed something may have happened between the two beforehand to cause such tension... "Let's just... wh-why don't we just get started, huh? We're, uh, h-here to trick or treat, aren't we? S-so, heh..."

At Tiff's side, Clera uncomfortably shifted. The taller teen let out a sigh. "Fine fine. Might as well... My folks want me to be home at 11, so we're better off not wasting time."

"We won't. I promise you, we'll have more than enough time to get all the candy we could ever need before 11." Josh gave a small smile as Tiff coldly stared down at him.

"Yeah yeah..." She muttered, heading to the house nearest to them with Clera. Before he could follow, Josh pulled Allen aside.

"What was that about?" He asked.

"What'dya mean?"

"Al, don't play dumb with me. Did you and Tiff have a fight or something? You looked like you were both on the verge of throwing hands or something!"

Allen shrugged, clearly uninterested in providing an actual response. "Dunno... Didn't you just say a second ago that we have to start? Shouldn't we join 'em before they hit up too many houses?"

Joshua sighed, figuring Al would just keep denying it if he continued. "Fine, but I'm not dropping the subject."

"Oh, you will." The pale boy reassured, patting Joshua's shoulder as he passed him by. He frowned slightly. Later, he would get to the bottom of this, but for now?... For now, he supposed he had no choice but to follow his friend and truly start their night of candy hunting.

With a quick glance at the emptiness behind him, Joshua made his way forward to their first house of the night.

~~~~~~~

"Never thought I'd see the day." Al smirked, tearing open a chocolate bar. "Figured full-sized treats were but a legend these days!"

"Dude, aren't you supposed to, like, look through those?" Tiff regarded, dismissively running her fingers through her hair.

"Pfft, why? Not like anyone would bother tampering with these." He sneered, messily devouring the entire confection as the girl turned away in disgust.

The group had decided to take a short break, hydrating and taking a short sit on a park bench. They'd amassed quite an impressive stash of sugary goodness, as well as more than a few snide remarks surrounding their age, but the latter wasn't important at the moment.

Instead, Joshua's attention was focused solely on the empty playground ahead, the swings swaying softly in the gentle breeze. Seemed like only yesterday, he was still having fun in a set just like this. He and his friends would play for hours, making up silly games with whatever imaginary rules their minds could come up with. Running around, getting scrapes and bruises and thinking it was the end of the world, as if that was the worst they would ever get hurt...

He sat back against the bench, feeling more tired than ever. Things... were practically unrecognizable now than how they were when he was a kid. The idea of play and fun forever being within his reach had withered into nothing years ago, and the fears he had then couldn't hold a candle to whatever monsters kept him up on particularly stressful nights. It was all surreal... Unfamiliar, yet...

Josh shook his head slightly, he'd worry about all of that when the time came. It always did in the end. Might as well deny that bridge when he inevitably came to it, right?

"Joshie, hey..." Clera lightly nudged him, tearing the boy from his thoughts. He gave her a glance, and she happily showed him a chocolate witch someone placed in her bag. "It's a me!"

Joshua couldn't help but laugh. Once again, Cler unknowingly saves the day. "It sure is. Could do with a lot more hearts though, huh?"

"Ehehe! You know it!" She placed it back into her bag, lightly swinging her legs. "... So, Joshie?"

"Yeah?"

"What do you do all day when you're not at school?"

"... Ah, I..." He began playing with his fingers. "... Just... c-coding, mostly. Nothing m-much else, why?"

"Mmm... We don't get to see you much anymore."

"... R-right, I... I'm real sorry about that, I just-"

"I even had good ideas on what we could do together." She continued, her head down. "Better than the mall and a movie, i-if that's why. I can come up with better ones too if you don't like them."

"... Clera, you... I haven't stopped hanging with you guys because I didn't like it, I'm just... I'm going through a lot right now. Things that I... I can't explain to you correctly. I hardly-"

She cut him off, fidgeting slightly. "Because I wouldn't understand, right?"

He fell silent for a few brief moments, "I... C-Clera, it's more than th-that... I'm... It's a f-family matter... You know, p-personal. I haven't told a-anyone."

The girl remained unresponsive for a few moments, staring down at her feet. Then, she only answered with a quiet "Oh."

"... Hey, we... we've still got a few more houses to go before 11. Why don't we get back to it, huh?" He forced a gentle smile. "Maybe someone will give you more chocowitches..."

Clera gazed up at him with sad eyes, but nodded regardless, picking up her candy bag, standing from her seat, and brushing off her skirt. Josh went ahead and informed the other two that they were ready to head off once more.

And unseen from a nearby rooftop, a skeleton sang out a few notes of blue as it watched them leave.

[shinylitwick94]

Finished “Holy Sister” by Mark Lawrence, the third and last entry in the Book of the Ancestor series.

The fact that I’ve finished this one just a few days after the previous pretty much says everything about how I feel about this series. It’s awesome and one of the better fantasy series I’ve read recently.

Holy Sister kept up the fast pace from the previous entry while keeping true to its characters. There was real development and there were real costs and consequences to their actions that felt meaningful.

There’s a few things about the resolution and the structure I didn’t necessarily enjoy, but I was glued to the page the whole time and it’s been a while since I’ve last had that.

So, I really liked it and definitely recommend it!

Significant spoilers from here on out.

Nona continues to be an interesting protagonist, now much more mature, but also, IMHO, significantly overpowered compared to almost everyone else.

She pulls so many ridiculous fantasy hero stunts in this book it’s a little hard to believe sometimes. However, to the book’s credit, even if her feats are ridiculous and often unbelievable, she’s generally put in a situation where she can’t actually fix everything, just salvage what’s left, which makes it more palatable.

I liked her choice concerning which path to choose in the convent, even if it was laid out by someone else, and I also liked her approach to the final resolution, although I wish that whole thing had been explored in more detail. It’s all fairly standard “hero learns the importance of humility and mercy” stuff, but it works well for her character arc.

Among the other characters, Zole stands out, as do Kettle, Abbess Glass, sisters Wheel and Pan, and Jula and Ruli, who get much more attention here than they did in the previous book. Ara, interestingly, feels less realized to me here than she did before. The male characters don’t actually matter, tbh. There’s a small romantic subplot with Regol and something with Markus, but neither of them have enough page time to become relevant.

So the characters were fine and the writing was much the same as before.

The plot and structure are where I actually have some issues.

The book starts off telling two stories simultaneously - that of the escape of Nona and Zole following the last book and the “present” story two or three years later.

The story with Zole gives us some much needed worldbuilding and sets up the final resolution. I don’t have much of a problem with this part at all.

The present time story...doesn’t really accomplish much before the war starts. There’s this whole sidequest about the characters getting a book that turns out to be useless anyway that takes up a good quarter of the book.  Which in a book that at 300 pages is fairly short by fantasy standards is a massive waste of page time. I mean it reintroduces the characters and explores some of them, as well as the changes in the world since the end of the previous book, but in and of itself it’s a completely wasted plot.

Which only really becomes an issue because the ending feels so incredibly rushed and oddly pieced together. There are too many things going on at the same time and none of them is given time to breathe.

This series, brilliant though it is, also kind of has a villain problem.

Sherzal is set up as the big villain for most of the series, with the Tacsis family and Joeli, Yisht and even Clera as minor villains. The problem is that none of them are exactly well explored as characters, especially compared to the pretty good character work that goes into everyone else.

Sherzal wants power, I guess, the Tacsis are just evil and want revenge, Joeli is never really more than a particularly nasty school bully and Yisht all but ceases to be a character and becomes more of a beast. Clera is more interesting, but I’m quite sure on one bought her as a villain for a second.

Then there’s Adoma and the Scithrowl, who only really become important in the second book and have pretty much no lines in this book either, despite driving much of the central conflict.

And then the real villain turns out to be nature and the decay of the moon, I suppose.

And once our focus is on that all the other villains feel sort of insignificant and out of place and there really isn’t much to justify their presence, especially because they’re not compelling on their own at all.

We could have avoided Sherzal’s presence at the Ark altogether. Joeli does nothing in this and I honestly can’t remember what happened to Lano Tacsis. The Scithrowl are as much a force of nature as the moon is.

So, in spite of tying up most loose ends, the ending ended up feeling oddly unsatisfying, since we’re being tugged in each and every direction (quite literally as Nona is pulled into various characters’ heads to confront the different villains) and nothing quite gets the time and attention it needs.

Especially the moon stuff. I wanted more of that! To understand how it works, what they’re doing, what they’re going to do, what is the relationship between the missing and the four tribes, etc.

I’ve been complaining about overly large fantasy books for a while, but this one could easily have used an extra 100 pages!

But really, for all that I’m complaining here it was a profoundly enjoyable read and I fully recommend it.

[itsqueenelise]

So Red Sister. I need to speak on it before I let Grey Sister corrupt too much of my thoughts. I finished the second half in a breeze of time the other day and have been super excited to talk about it. I had not given Lawrence enough credit in the first half. Sister Pan and Apple would be upset at me for my lack of mastery in patience. Like I felt, the first half was mostly build up. We got to see Nona before and at her entrance to the convent and how her relationships are created in the first part. This proves to be super important since the second part expands on everything shown in the first half. The mystery of Nona’s blades, her backstory she keeps lying about, Clera, Raymel Tacsis, and so much more. I’d say the first half of the book is pretty much all exposition and I think that Lawrence did that very well and the setup was worth it.

As you read the first half, you assume that there has to be something more to Nona. She has these weird invisible blades that don’t make any sense and feel out of place, the abbess cares to much for her as well as Sherzal (though in a negative way). It seems so odd that she would just be a hunska especially with the big presence of the prophecy and the four bloods. And sadly Ara doesn’t have as big of a presence or hold on the plot as you think she should as “the chosen one”, so it feels odd as the reader. But then you get the introduction of Zole. Zole is perfect edgy main character material. Uber strong, dark past, high connections and even while reading her introduction you can feel that she’s something more. What I do like though is that Lawrence teases the reader with Nona’s discovery as a quantal and then a marjal soon after.

One of my favorite things to read in this story was Nona’s battle with convent and her faith sort of. She rejected the spiritual parts of her education super hard in the first part and then soon learns that she is a quantal and has the potential to connect with the path and the magics surrounding it. And from there she really gets to explore and appreciate that spritual side. I really enjoy seeing her struggle with patience and serenity and actively trying to achieve it and respecting it, but then also finding her own way. The path of passion and rage she finds is really interesting as it completely fits Nona and who she is and shows her flaws but also acts as her strength. (This is where i want to speak about Grey Sister ahhh) She is figuring out who she is and how she can apply her taught mantras and then her own. The blade path is a perfect metaphor for this, for as she gets better at achieving patience and serenity and tries to apply it to the blade path, she fails quicker and faster. But when she goes fast, without thinking, she is able to fly through and achieve it. This discovery and inner battle was great to see and I am super excited to see that it continues in Grey Sister and even amplified further as a bigger theme.

I think I should take a moment speak on Nona as a marjal and also her potential as a three-blood. I thought it was super fitting at first when her quantal blood is realized since that is sort of the “holy” magic and super contrasts Nona’s character and how she is, though it feels just as amazing when her marjal blood is discovered through her use of her talons. The fact that this blood harboring usually the “darker” magics has always been with her unconsciously fits just as well in a different way. My one fear was that Nona would just turn into a Vin from Mistborn and be super amazing at everything and lose some of her flaw and interest as a character, but Lawrence has shown that her potential is there but her flaws do really hold her back. She is small and weak and has such an impossible time against big foes like Denam (that fight was amazing) and Raymel as wel despite even being able to walk the path. And even though she can walk the path, it is through rage and not controlled. The flashes into the future show that she can use that as an advantage even though it is a flaw, but she will never have the careful touch of the path and threads that Hessa had or the control and power that Ara has. It feels like she has potential for amazing things but also equal potential to fall. Though she’s also a marjal...but Lawrence did good in limiting that from cutting her shadow free and therefore losing her ability to weave shadows. I’m still skeptical because I don’t want another Vin, but I have hope.

Speaking of cutting her shadow free, my absolute favorite part of this book has to be Hessa and Nona’s thread bond. The connection between these two characters literally and figuratively is so beautiful. Nona throughout has a big problem with trust, but Hessa always acts as the person she is able to look to and be close to. Hessa is so important for Nona’s character. She keeps Nona grounded, having something to care for and showing her the beauties of friendship and connections between people. Clera of course was really her first friend at the convent but they do not have a connect at all like what she does with Hessa. And they do have a literal connection, but their roots are connected and the ordeal of the shield pushed that further. I have a difficult time explaining it, but I looking at what they had was really beautiful (forgive me for repetition). And that’s what made Hessa’s death hit so hard. That whole climax sequence was ridiculously well written from Lawrence, we get to jump between Hessa and Nona at the height of desperation and danger. Both of their lives and so much more on the line with each being helpless in what they can do to each other; yet they get to see, feel, and understand what is happening to the other. And as easy as it would be for Hessa to have killed Yisht and succeed probably what Nona would do in a second, Hessa’s compassion held strong while Nona had to watch and do nothing while Hessa fails and dies. And all of that there gave Nona the passion and strength to survive. Hessa gave her life and everything and despite failing sort of acted as path for Nona to follow and win. And it’s easy to see how that will live in and affect Nona (and again more wanting to talk about Grey Sister).

Now I guess I need to talk about Clera. I really liked her as a character. She is a lot like Nona: gifted, smart, rule breaker, brazen. Though she lacks some of the softer things Nona has like her compassion (just look at how they treated the trainees at the Caltess). And I feel like Clera could even be looked at as what Nona could have been if she just succumbed to her rage and passion completely and hadnt learned compassion and care from people like Hessa, Glass, and Ara. Lawrence made it really clear through the book that Clera was going to go bad from the warning Nona got about Clera and friendship from Glass (I think it was), to her fascination with money and wanting to leave the convent, her deal with Partnis, etc etc. But even though it’s clear, you keep wanting to believe in her. Just like Nona. I like to believe Nona had to know way longer than her blatant suspicion near the end but like the reader, never wanted to believe it. And that makes her such a good villain and makes her betrayal hurt a lot.

Now finally I want to mention my thoughts on just a few other things. Darla was a highlight for me despite her small role in the book (Grey Sister ahhhhh). Her and Nona’s growing relationship after their initial fight was nice to see and became on of my favorite small characters by the end. And another big highlight is Ara. She is a character that has a lot to her, but I wish she had more of a spotlight. Her and Nona’s relationship is sweet and I really want to see them grow closer and how their relationship develops, but I assume that is left to Grey Sister and I haven’t gotten there so I can’t complain too much. Though I do feel bad for her since she really lost so much. She isn’t even the Argatha and Nona is still the shield and she is just kind of there. I want to see what becomes of her as the series goes onward. Honestly there’s so much more I could keep going on and on about and maybe I will make another post going deeper into my thoughts on specific things since this was mainly just a general thought dump of my initial reactions after finishing the book. Overall I was amazed. It felt like a rollercoaster just in my thoughts as I traversed this journey Lawrence laid out I want to just read more.

[leeholtwrites]

Book Review: Red Sister (The Book of the Ancestor #1)

5 out of 5 Stars

What’s on the flap:

At the Convent of Sweet Mercy young girls are raised to be killers. In a few the old bloods show, gifting talents rarely seen since the tribes beached their ships on Abeth. Sweet Mercy hones its novices’ skills to deadly effect: it takes ten years to educate a Red Sister in the ways of blade and fist. But even the mistresses of sword and shadow don’t truly understand what they have purchased when Nona Grey is brought to their halls as a bloodstained child of eight, falsely accused of murder: guilty of worse. Stolen from the shadow of the noose, Nona is sought by powerful enemies, and for good reason. Despite the security and isolation of the convent her secret and violent past will find her out. Beneath a dying sun that shines upon a crumbling empire, Nona Grey must come to terms with her demons and learn to become a deadly assassin if she is to survive…

What I think:

(Warning. There are probably going to be some spoilers.)

Yeah I’m giving this book out of 5 stars, partly because I am a Mark Lawrence fan, and partly because this book manages to do what so many shitty YA fantasies try to achieve only to fall flat on their asses. You want a bad ass female character. You get a bad ass female character. In fact, she’s learning to be a murder nun. Yes, murder nuns. Murder nuns of color. Queer murder nuns. Queer murder nuns of color. They’re all here. In fact, this book is ninety percent female characters. And what dudes there are, most of them are pretty terrible people. The book baddie is literally an entitled rich sociopath who likes to hurt little girls.

The main character Nona Grey is a nine year old girl (yes, the blurb is wrong) from a fringe town on a planet being slowly devoured by ice when she’s brought to murder nun school. I like Nona. She’s pretty trusting of the friends she makes, and is worried about how they would see her if they knew how much she likes killing. This is something she struggles with throughout the book, and while it’s typical Lawrence to have a character worry about an aspect they don’t like about themselves, it’s nice that Nona is a far more likable person than his previous main characters. She’s naive, seeing much of her surroundings as they are, but she’s not stupid. She just prefers to not be untrusting or unkind to those she chooses to be her friends. While this ends up being bitter sweet for her, it’s kind of refreshing having a character that grows to want more people in her life. She’s so loyal, and I love it. Her overall demeanor is quiet and observant, taking pleasures in simple things like food and a warm bath. She’s also pretty persistent, and no challenge will keep her down.

Of course she isn’t perfect, prone to anger to a point she is literally powered by rage. (If the Hulk were a 90 pound girl, this is she.) Her naivete almost keeps her from making a friend in Arabella, a rich blonde girl rumored to a be a Chosen One, when her street smart friend Clera does nothing but bitch about how terrible Ara is going to be. By the second half of the book, they’re friends, and it’s even implied that Nona has a crush on Ara. 

I could go on and on about the secondary characters, but there are so many of them, and they’re best experienced through the book. All of them are pretty well rounded out, even if they may only have a few lines. Lawrence really did try make a diverse cast of female characters with varying traits and appearances. 

The world of Abeth is also entirely from scratch with it’s own history and social system. This is still a bit new for Lawrence considering his last two trilogies were set in on Earth 1000 years after nuclear war. He does a good job introducing complex elements without falling into heavy exposition. There is a little bit, but this is mostly when Nona is functioning as an audience stand in character as a nine year old girl from the sticks.

The book is also split between two time periods. Red Class, when Nona is new to the convent, and Grey Class, which takes place two years later when Nona is eleven/twelve years old. At the beginning of the book, in the split between the two parts, and at the end, there are flashes of the present when Nona and Ara are full fledged sisters. This easily could have ruined the some of the tension, but I think adds to it because you want to see how things turned out that way.

This book is good. It’s got a gritty, ultra gory 90s anime feel to it sometimes, especially at the end, and sometimes it feels like Hogwarts. Because Lawrence normally uses disparate elements, he makes this work in a way that something like Throne of Glass fails at. He knows how to make school girl antics work when the main character is an invisible-blade-wielding murder machine on a world slowly doomed to an icy fate.

So, yeah. Read this book. It promises murder nuns, and delivers complex and diverse female characters being bad ass.

[kbrown78]

My Thoughts: Red Sister by Mark Lawrence

I keep trying to look for a more adult Harry Potter, and I keep getting disappointed. While this book was good, it still wasn't what I expected. That may be in part my fault because I hyped it up in my mind so much. I felt that the story was lacking though and everything expect Nona wasn't given nearly enough development. Nona is taken in and trained by assassin nuns at a convent, which sounded so cool, but there isn't really any training and I wasn't invested in any of the conflict in the book, and there weren't that many.

Characters: I liked the protagonist Nona. She comes from a poor background, and is always an outcast. She knows what it's like to not have anyone in your corner, but instead of being bitter about it that propels her to treasure her friends and protect those that can't protect themselves. When in prison, she refuses to escape without her friend, and at the convent she bonds with the other girls because she proves her abilities and devotion. Also she has a lot of anger directed toward those that abuse their character, but she isn't stupid. She's actually kind of clever and inquisitive, which helps her a few times in the story. She does have her cute moments too, particularly with Sister Apple. So while she is a fighter, she has a very human and emotional side to her which makes her likable. Aside from Nona, there weren't that many side characters that stood out. Abbess Glass is a bit mysterious with a shrouded past, but she won't back down to anyone. Also she's in charge of the convent, but she admits that she uses the prophecy as tool rather than actually believing in it. She could be an interesting character but I just didn't feel attached to her. Sister Apple is the one in charge of poison studies, and her personality fits that very well. She can be very sweet but that helps cover her shady side so it's easy for her to blindside someone and render them useless (or dead). Sister Wheel was the only other teacher that stood out, but not in a good way. She seemed to show no other purpose other than be mean to Nona, which didn't help move the narrative in anyway so she was kind of a waste of space. There's also two of Nona's friend that got some depth. First is Clera, who hates the nobility and views the world as a game that needs to be one by any means necessary. This is important for her narrative and her dynamic with Nona, which I will elaborate on in the Relationships section. Second is Arabella. She comes from a noble family but unlike Clera, she embraces the convent and rarely brings up her own family. At first she comes off as a bit cold and above everything, mostly due to everyone being in awe that she's “the chosen one,” but once Arabella warms up to Nona, they appear to be kind of similar, aside from their backgrounds which is complete opposite. While there are villains, they aren't really nuanced or they aren't present for very long, usually a combination. Basically don't like any of the nobility because they all come off as corrupt. Nona was a great character but the rest very much felt like side characters.

Relationships: So as I emphasized in the previous section, friendship is very important to Nona. Clera is the first one to take in Nona at the convent, and Nona always feels that sense of friendship with her, but others start to point out to Nona that Clera might not feel the same sense of devotion. Even as Nona becomes suspicious of Clera, she doesn't stop treating her as a friend. It turns out that Clera betrays Nona not once, but twice. Despite this, and to Clera's surprise, Nona still won't abandon Clera and believes there is good in her. For a violent assassin, Nona is pretty pure. Arabella is a different story. Nona doesn't like her at first, and she's sure that Arabella doesn't like her. After Nona goes through the Shield Trials (which further cements Hessa and Nona's friendship because Hessa is the only one that will stand up for Nona), Arabella makes it clear that Nona has earned her respect and the two even take their names together. They continue to grow closer and to the point they either one will fight to protect the other. Nona also let's it slip that she has a crush on Arabella and Apple and one the boys at the fighting pits. So hints of romance, but nothing further, and another cute moment of Nona's.  

World Building: I get that over doing world building in the first book can really way a book down, but I still like to get a sense of the world, especially in the book that first introduces the world. For the first quarter of the book, I did get a solid sense of the world. There was a guide at the beginning that helped make clear some things, like the four tribes and their “abilities.” There was a certain sense of bleakness in a corrupt world, the main character coming from absolute poverty, and the spreading ice. Then there was the convent and it's different classes and levels, which was explained more in the guide than the actual book. There are also different religions that were briefly discussed, but only enough so that I understood the basic differences between each. After Nona enters the convent though, I don't really have any clear sense of the world, whether it's the history, geography, or politics. It's just kind of there. There are the ship hearts that keep being mentioned, and even once it's explained why they're important, I don't really care because it was just glossed over. For me the world building was way too underdeveloped, to the point where it could be a little confusing at times.

Writing: There's a lot that I want to talk about with the writing. First, there is the shifting time line. There's one in the present and one in the future, but you don't realize it's in the future until Nona and Arabella take the name Cage and Thorn, the names of the two nuns int the future time line. While it was interesting to have that, I don't think it was necessary because I didn't think that there was any big reveal or plot twist, and it didn't really contribute to the story line. I admit I think it's hard to do multiple time lines because they have to connect but each one needs to have an independent narrative with it's own twists and turns, which wasn't the case for this. Second there's the chosen one thing, and I'll admit, I don't really have an issue with the chosen trope. Yes, it's done a lot and I would like some variation, which is weird that I admit that because I didn't like the chosen one narrative in this story. People at first think Nona is the chosen one, and are mad about it, then Arabella shows up and people believe she's the chosen one and are happy because she fits their image of the chosen one. Then Abbess Glass confesses to Nona she doesn't believe there is a chosen one. Then it's revealed that Zole is actually the chosen one. While I didn't think that the chosen one narrative worked for this particular book, maybe overall as a series it will, but there were too many twists with this and for some reason I didn't like the exact words “chosen one” being used. This does work from an analytically stand point because it demonstrates how easy it is to manipulate prophecies and faith, and how fickle people are. I also didn't like that nothing was really done to make use of the chosen one trope, except to make Nona a target for nobles, which was kind of pathetic. I mean she's a child, do you really have nothing better to do. Maybe after Game of Thrones I've lost my taste for grim dark fantasy.

Dislike: I didn't like any of the antagonists because they lacked any depth. I found the world building to be a little lack, and the magic system was really obscure. It was just one of those systems where as long as you have the blood, you can will things into place. Also at the climax, I liked that Clera's betrayal was revealed and it made sense, but during the actual battle with Raymal Tacsis, I didn't feel that the stakes were high at all because I knew how things were going to end, so I wasn't invested in the fight at all. There also points were I felt like Nona wasn't the focus of the story, she was just a blank tool moving the story forward, and I never liked those scenes because Nona was one of my favorite, if not my only favorite, part of the story. I also mentioned at the beginning how this was a disappointment because I thought it would be a more adult Harry Potter. Much like how people use Tolkein's world building, people like the aesthetic of magic school without putting in the actual work and development. In Harry Potter, the classes were important and helped the kids solve numerous problems, and I got a sense of what they were learning. In this the classes were there, and I won't say that they're unimportant, but they don't tie into the narrative as well and I have no idea what they're like. I mean they're a big part of Nona's life right now, but they're just glossed over. Disappointing.

Final Thoughts: This book wasn't bad by any means, but it didn't live up to my expectations. I did love that the majority of characters were female, but most of them I wasn't interested in. I did really like Nona, but as of right now I'm not sure if Nona is enough to carry the story forward so I'm not sure if I'll continue the series. Maybe if I hear that there's more political intrigue and the world and characters get more developed, but for now I have other books that take priority on my TBR pile.

[timjmason]

Mark Lawrence’s The Broken Kingdom

Mark Lawrence is a very good writer. The Broken Empire, was a remarkable feat for a first novel, and this, his third outing, is a very promising successor. The Grey Sister is the second in the series. In the review that follows, there will be spoilers for both this volume and the first, The Red Sister. [ Lawrence's first major character, Jorg, the central force in The Broken Empire, found his initial well-springs in Anthony Burgess's Little Alex, the hero of 'A Clockwork Orange.' In his opening pages, Lawrence adopted some of the tics of language that characterized the narration of Burgess's classic. However, those were quickly pushed to one side by Jorg himself, who took hold of the story and ran with it, perhaps astonishing his author as much as he does the reader. The problem with stories that are reliant on the power of characterization is that if the central character never catches fire, the whole enterprise fails. This is what happens in the second trilogy, where although there are one or two actors who show promise, the narrator is pretty much a limp biscuit, sketched out through a few catch-phrases such as Dickens might use to summon one of his minor characters. Lawrence drags Jorg and one of main female characters from The Broken Kingdom into the action, but very little come of either of them. In the present trilogy so far, however, Lawrence manages to juggle a larger number of actors (juggling is a theme that runs through the book) which takes much of the pressure off his leading lady, a ten-year old girl. Piqued, perhaps, by some of the criticism that had been levelled at his earlier works, in particular by the accusations of sexism articulated in one particularly negative review - he was miffed enough to respond to it directly - he has set this trilogy in the feminine world of a nunnery, and his heros are, for the most part, female - as are most of the villains. The nunnery is imagined as dedicated to worship of a god who is referred to as The Ancestor. How this deity is conceived of is rather murky; the people who owe him their allegiance are something of an enigma. They are sometimes pictured as the descendants of four 'races', each of which is possessed of a characteristic inborn power. But at some moments in the book it seems that there were already people on the world before the 'races' arrived, and that there has been interbreeding such that most of the present population have no exceptional talents at all, while others have inherited them, and may even have several of the powers to varying degrees. It seems that genetics don't work the same way on this planet as they do on earth, as there are some specimens - the heroine herself is one of them - who may be 'full-blooded' exemplars of several of ancestral lines. The world itself is dying. The ice caps at both poles have expanded, until only a thin strip at the equator is left to sustain human life. This kept open by a satellite moon, launched by an earlier civilization, and which is, in fact, a magnifying glass that concentrates light and heat on the central zone. (I don't find this particularly convincing, but I am not looking for realism in a fairy tale, which is what this is). Things are getting worse, and many people cling to the belief in a prophecy that has it that the world will be saved by a messianic bearer of the blood of all four of the 'races'. Nona, the heroine, is understood by some to be an important figure in the prophecy. We follow Nona from her village, from which she is cast out after revealing her immense capacity for destruction and death-dealing, to the nunnery, to which she is brought by the Abbess, who saves her from the gallows after catching a glimpse of her true nature. The rest of the first volume is taken up by a variation on the boarding school novel - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_...- which Lawrence handles with aplomb. The teachers are the usual mixture of sadists and thoughtful guides - sometimes both at once, as with Sister Apple, who cheerfully poisons her pupils in a variation on the pedagogy of violence which tends to underlie the genre. There are whippings, deadly tests, school bullies, false friends and false enemies and even the occasional exclamation mark. Nona passes all the tests, and suffers bloody beatings to rival with a Mickey Spillane detective. Nona is one of a cast of characters several of whom play important roles in the development of the plot. So although she is central, she is never the only focus of attention. In the second novel in the series, she shares her starring role with the Abbess, who is both a kindly mother and a Machiavellian schemer. In this book, after an opening section which continues within the school tradition - more bullying, more tests - both Nona and the Abbess take to the road, heading towards a grand finale in which Nona saves everyone's bacon (with a little help from her friends). The villains that Nona has had to deal with in earlier sections now become sub-villains to the more monstrous players who act upon the world stage, rather than in the confines of the nunnery. I found this second volume rather less powerful than the first. Although Lawrence gives himself room to excel in any number of fight scenes - he is very good at those, and the reader will be swept up in the brutal action as powerfully as if in the front row of a professional wrestling combat. But few of the characters reveal any great depths. Arabella and Zole, the two who may or may not be the Chosen One of the prophecy, are both little more than ciphers, and Nona herself, although inhabited by a devil for much of the book, has nothing like Jorg's depth and inner conflict. The one character that does show some complexity, Nona's false friend and betrayer, Clera, is mainly a plot device. Although the main characters are female, there is a handful of males. Nona has a feud with a family of nobles of whom we see only the men. They are satisfactorily villainous, and one may imagine them twirling their moustaches. A young fellow we met in the first volume shows up again, and we are lead to understand that he may be destined for emotional entanglement with Nona. He has the crooked smile of the romantic hero. The fantastic genre lends itself to an obsession with bloodlines. Witchcraft is an inherited substance, talents are handed down, sometimes in mysterious ways. Kings and Queens are born from the loins of Kings and Queens. One may take this as it comes, as simply a trope that is embedded in the genre. One may struggle against it, as, in these democratic times, many authors do. Lawrence occasionally genuflects to the demos : the Abbess proclaiming that the exceptional individual, however spectacular or miraculous their works, does not make history, but that it is the people in their mass that forge political and social destinies. But his story is, once again, of high inheritance. Nona at one point seeks her mother. She doesn't find her, and assumes her dead. I would not be surprised if both Nona's parents make key appearances of some kind in the third volume. (hide spoiler)]