#Grey Serrado

[alychelms]

I've been threatening to do a Rook & Rose version of that one Twelfth Night production photo for a while now... so guess what I stayed up waaaaay too late last night, finishing!

[airyfrasc]

The Mask of Mirrors, The Liar’s Knot (by M. A. Carrick)

A friend bought me the book The Mask of Mirrors for Christmas and I swear I didn’t emerge from it for three days straight. This is a SUMPTUOUS non-traditional European fantasy with some of the richest world building I’ve read in a while. The magic, the cultures, the history, the fashion, it all felt so tangible that I could mentally pop myself into Nadezhra pretty much from page one. It had the twisty-turny, political intrigue-y plot that really appeals to me - without the intense violence you might find in other series that often get recommended for their politically-driven plots. Secret identities, characters that make you feel things, a queer-norm society, truly detestable villains… I loved this book. So I had to draw the three main characters obv.

I was so shocked that I couldn’t find the sequel in stores anywhere! Had to order online, and gotta say, it was equally good or better than the first… The character moments in The Liar’s Knot felt like releasing a breath you’ve been holding for hours. You’ll know what I mean if you read it ☺️

Anyway, this series deserves way more hype than it has. I read a LOT of SFF and this one stood out to me as truly fantastic. If you love secret identities, slow (SLOW) burn romance, a puzzle-like plot, tarot, and general luxuriousness for your brain…. I beg you to pick up The Mask of Mirrors.

[opalmxthyst]

Chapters: 1/? Fandom: Rook & Rose - M. A. Carrick Rating: Not Rated Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Relationships: Ren/Grey Serrado (Rook & Rose), Ren/Grey Serrado/Derossi Vargo (Rook & Rose) Characters: Ren (Rook & Rose), Grey Serrado (Rook & Rose), Derossi Vargo Summary:

The primordials are gone from the world, and they are rebuilding a Nadežra that reflects all the people who live there. Vargo's no longer a nobleman, but he has a seat on the Setterat, and he can help change the city from more than the bottom up. He should be happy. But mostly, he's lonelier than he's been in more than a decade. Luckily, those closest to him have noticed, and Ren and Grey have some ideas about how to reconnect with him.

[anarchypumpkincowboy]

“If I’d known you were so keen to meet, I’d have thrown a ball in your honor and spared you having to deal with Tserdev.” “Making me compete with all the others who want a piece of you?” The Rook’s blade whispered free of its sheath. “I preferred a more intimate setting for our first dance.” “Lucky me,” Vargo said, keeping his voice falsely light. “But as flattered as I am by the attention, I fear I must decline.”

Y’all can see why I say they need to fuck right? They’d make for a great enemies to to lovers ship but also an enemies to reluctant allies who’re in a relationship with the same woman who wants them all to fuck ship

[checkoutmybookshelf]

Who's is That Face in the Mask?

So, it's rare when I pick up a book on the strength of a YouTube video, and honestly even rarer that I enjoy books selected based on that criteria. However, since Marie Brennan is one half of MA Carrick and the book is often described via *that* quote from The Princess Bride (and no, I'm not specifying even though Princess Bride is all *that* quote depending on context), I had hope. After all, I loved the Lady Trent memoirs and The Princess Bride. And folks, this book did not disappoint. Let's talk The Mask of Mirrors.

What do you get when hundreds of years of colonization mixes with a rogue vigilante for the oppressed population and a con woman who sets out for money but comes up with found family? Youu get some stunningly well written characters, intrigue that I frankly preferred to A Song of Ice and Fire, and just beautifully nuanced worldbuilding.

Ren--or Renata Viraudax or Arenza, depending on the day and location--grew up as a dirt-poor half-Vrazenian kid who was completely disconnected from her mother's people in a city colonized by the Liganti. She was a gang member under the objectively abusive Ondrakja until she watched Ondrakja beat her brother to death. Next thing we know, Ren has poisoned her Fagin and made off for another country with her sister, Tess. They end up serving in the household of Letilia--a disgraced member of House Traemantis.

Fast forward a few years, and Letilia being an absolutely irredeemable human gives Ren the idea to con the remaining members of House Traemantis in Nadezera. Mother and daughter are sufficiently estranged that Letilia won't out Ren, but other actors in the city might.

Those actors include Grey Serrado, captain of the Vigil (read police force) and Vrazenian slip-knot (read traitor to his people because he assimilated into Liganti society. He is running himself ragged trying to sort out why street kids keep dying of insomnia, track down the mysterious Rook, and running petty errands for the Liganti nobility. He does not get help from the rampant vanity and nepotism in the Vigil ranks, nor the racism of most Liganti hawks. Add to that his deep grief for his brother's recent murder and Grey needs a hug and a paid vacation.

Then there is Vargo Derossi, crime lord extraordinaire with an eye toward becoming too powerful to be ignored and choosing to pretend to go legitimate to achieve the dream. He is charming and deadly all at once, has someone else in his head, has a pet spider named Peabody, and some serious germophobia. Whether he is caught in Ren's con or she is caught in his web is an open question for most of this book. Vargo is 100% unanswered questions, and every single one is dangerous to ask and even more dangerous not to know the answer to. Especially since he is also SUSPICIOUSLY competent at numinatria...

We of course cannot neglect Donaia, Leato, and Giuna Tremantis. This remnant of a once proud family are an unusual bunch, but they're also different enough that watching their personalities mesh and clas ended up being one of my favorite things about this book.

Beyond the character work, the worldbuilding in this book is first-class. The Vrazenians and Liganti are culturally and visually distinct at a glance, and then for those who care to stay and look harder, there is depth and nuance. Both cultures feel real and vibrant, which makes the all-too-clear harms of oppression and colonization, as well as the messiness of navigating mixed-heritage identities, all the sharper.

It also highlights the different magic systems, religions, and ways of knowing and relating to your community based on those cultural differences. Patterning and numinatria are both valid, but neither quite likes the other and thy don't cross cultural lines. The Rook is a folk hero to the Vrazenians and a half-mythical, pain-in-the-ass vigilante to the Liganti. Even fashion is sharply divided.

Overall, the Princess Bride comparison is apt, but perhaps also mixed with some Leverage and some Batman. I loved this book, and I cannot wait to get my hands on the next two.

[qqueenofhades]

Winter prompt, dealer's choice: Snuggled up in a warm bed, unwilling to leave for the cold outside

Ren wakes first, early. She doesn't exactly mean to; they were out late last night, it was not uneventful, and she still feels the ache in her bones, the lingering chill and darkness, the scramble through stone passages and the murk and marsh of Lacewater, out to the Old Island, and finally back here to Vargo's house. Indeed, there's nothing more she wants than to roll over, pull the covers up, and go back to sleep until third sun at least, but she did promise Giuna that she would be over at the Traementis villa for breakfast, Tess and Pavlin are also coming later, and as ever, she has to be adept at switching the Rose for Alta Renata, even if the lines between her identities have blurred and vanished and there is nothing more or less than the simple truth: her, Ren, Arenza, Grey Serrado's wife and Derossi Vargo's knot-mate, and the men are lying to each side of her, dead to the world. Grey still smells faintly of the sewers. Vargo smells worse.

A smile twists up Ren's lip, despite herself, and she contemplates sending word to Giuna that breakfast can wait. She lets herself lie down again, stretching luxuriantly in the great bed; the three of them have started sleeping in it together quite often, and it's more and more of a threadbare secret, but she well knows the value and the currency of those, and a lifetime spent holding and hoarding them close is not easily cast aside. For one thing, they're still vainly trying to keep it from Arkady, not that it's going to last much longer, but Ren would prefer that it not be the knots' favorite bit of gossip. She doesn't know why. It's not like she's ashamed of it, of them. It's just... new, that's all. Tentative. She has trouble trusting it won't be taken.

"Ren?" Grey's voice comes hoarse and sleepy from her side, and he reaches up one hand for her. "Are you -- ?"

"Yes. Fine." After a pause, Ren lets herself relax again. The winter chill lies thick on the great bedchamber, she's not keen on starting the fire herself, and the diamonded-glass windows are laced with fine traceries of ice, elegant as the applique on a festival mask. She turns halfway to Grey and lets him hold her, rests her nose in the hollow of his collarbone, as Vargo continues to breathe deeply and slowly on her other side. At last, as the light continues to turn pale grey and she can hear movement elsewhere in the house and bells outside the window, Ren groans and tries to sit up. "I really should -- "

Both Grey and Vargo make beseeching noises and reach up for her, grabbing her by either arm even though Vargo still hasn't opened his eyes or given any other indication of being awake, and Ren bites another grin. She can't help it; she lets herself be pulled back down into the warmth of the bed and the devoted embrace of her boys, and in that moment, there is, indeed, nothing else she wants in the world.

[ash-and-books]

Rating: 4/5

Book Blurb: “Lush, engrossing and full of mystery and dark magic" (BookPage), Labyrinth's Heart is the thrilling conclusion to M. A. Carrick's Rook & Rose trilogy, in which a con artist, a vigilante, and a crime lord become reluctant allies in the quest to save their city from a dangerous ancient magic.

May you see the face and not the mask.

Ren came to Nadežra with a plan. She would pose as the long-lost daughter of the noble house Traementis. She would secure a fortune for herself and her sister. And she would vanish without a backward glance. She ought to have known that in the city of dreams, nothing is ever so simple.

Now, she is Ren, con-artist and thief. But she is also Renata, the celebrated Traementis heir. She is Arenza, the mysterious pattern-reader and political rebel. And she is the Black Rose, a vigilante who fights alongside the legendary Rook. 

Even with the help of Grey Serrado and Derossi Vargo, it is too many masks for one person to wear. And as the dark magic the three of them helped unleash builds to storm that could tear the very fabric of the city apart, it's only a matter of time before one of the masks slips—and everything comes crashing down around them.

Review:

The finale to a fantastic fantasy series filled with romance, mystery, magic and so much more! A con artist, a vigilante, and a crime lord all come together to not only save their city from dangerous ancient magic but to find an unlikely bond between friendship, romance, and family. Ren is now posed as the long lost daughter of a noble house, she's secured money for her sister and herself... and she had planned on vanishing without a backward glance until she became a con-artist and thief while juggling her other identity as a political rebel... and her other identity as the black Rose, a vigilante who fights alongside the city's own legendary Rook... who just happens to be the man she's fallen in love with. Grey, the once captain of the Vigil city guard and secret vigilante hero Rook, has now lost his Rook abilities and has left his job in the Vigil, yet he still will do anything to protect the city and the woman he loves as well as his new unlikely friendship with the crime lord Vargo. Vargo use to be a crime lord but now he, Grey, and Ren all hold magical coins that could destroy them all, they have to find a way to save the city from the dangerous magic that is threatening to tear it apart as well as the threats to their own lives as their own villains and secrets are coming out to destroy them. Ren has to find a way to finally confess the truth to the family she conned but now loves as her own and the fact that a person from her past has finally come to town and she demands Ren do what she wants or else.. while Grey has to find a way to continue as the Rook without the magical ghost in him and Vargo has to deal with his position in the city as well as the aftermath of the magical injuries he received and his partnership with his spider friend. This was such a fun and complex series to read. I loved the characters and their journey and getting to see them grow. Seriously this is a great series for fans of fantasy books with high politics and world building, filled with schemes, cons, magic and more!

*Thanks Netgalley and Orbit Books, Orbit for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

[keytoyourhearts]

Review of The Mask of Mirrors by M. A. Carrick (2021), 1st book of the Rook & Rose series

SYNOPSIS:

Ren goes by many names: Alta Renata Viraudax, Arenza Lenskaya, Renyi.  Though she wears many masks, the face of Ren below them all is the same: a con artist.  Her latest con is to infiltrate the noble House Traementis, posing as a long-lost cousin, to steal a cut of their fortune.  Fate has other plans for her, as she is swiftly swept up in the political intrigue of Nadezra, a city colonized and lorded over by the Laganti while the founding Vraszenians are left to fight over their scraps.  Along the way, she meets Derossi Vargo, a “reformed” crime lord; Grey Serrado, a Vraszenian Captain in the city Vigil; and the Rook, a masked vigilante fighting against the corruption that runs rampant among the city’s elite.  All is not what it seems, however, as an unknown force threatens it all, harnessing the power of dreams and nightmares.

See my full review and rating below the cut!

RATING: 5/5 STARS

MY THOUGHTS:

The Mask of Mirrors is an impressively and intricately woven tale of intrigue with many mysteries to be had.  The author team, made up of Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms, had such a strong hold of my attention, I could barely put it down.  After I was able to tear myself away, I was so enraptured that I found myself puzzling through this novel even when I was not reading it!  I cannot wait to get my hands on the second one.

TAGS: fantasy, political/court intrigue, magic & alchemy

CW: graphic depiction of injury & death, violence, drug-use, drugging, colonialism, discrimination, rioting & police brutality, sexual content, pseudo-incest (fake cousins), mentions of SA, infantilization of someone with a disability

RECOMMENDATION: I would recommend this book to any reader with an interest in fantasy and intrigue who would like a solid introduction into something with more mystery.  This novel has it all; there’s even a little sprinkle of romance!

THE GOOD:

The mysteries strewn throughout the pages are numerous and interwoven in such a way that, while I had no issue keeping them straight, I found that I had the desire to stop and write out my thoughts and predictions regarding their solutions.  And I was pleasantly surprised to be incorrect with each one!  Looking back on them having finished reading, I distinctly remember small details that foreshadow revelations being sprinkled throughout.

The character of the Rook was just plain fun, and I loved every second of every scene they were a part of.  I found myself falling for each trick the authors used to lead me into guessing the identity of the Rook, and I knew that I was.  The reveal was a shock to me, but it made complete sense; the hints were all there.

The ending was so satisfying, everything was wrapped up in a neat bow…until the true source of conflict was revealed, effectively setting up the overarching plot for the remaining books in the series.

I also loved how the cadence of dialogue changed between accents and languages.  I found it to be a clever way to show the language had changed, without the actual text needing to (italicized, etc.).

THE BAD:

First, a small nitpick.  What day is it?  What time is it??  There was no explanation I could find for the calendar system until the glossary…at the end of the book.  Even then, I’m still not sure I completely understand it without it being in context.

Here’s another common critique: Ren is a Mary-Sue.  She has a tragic backstory, she is always being described as pretty and charismatic, she never seems to fail at anything, she is incredibly clever, and everyone seems to forgive her for everything so easily.  In all honesty, I did not mind it that much, but it was pretty blatant.

My biggest gripe with this book is the “cousins” romance plot.  Sure, Ren is not actually related to Leato and is only pretending, but everyone believes them to be cousins and even plays matchmaker between them.  It’s even stated that if two characters who swore a familial bond were to sleep together, it would be considered incestuous but not cousins?  What?

Lastly, a character dubbed as a “dawn child” was introduced briefly near the end.  From the context and physical description, I believe she is meant to be a girl with Down syndrome.  Unfortunately, she is immediately infantilized for it, and I believe it carries on into the next book, if not further.  In a book with such incredible diversity and representation throughout, I was disappointed to read this.

[winter2468]

The Rook and Rose Trilogy is really a case of knowing what women want:

Shawl full of knives

Loving found family

Secret superhero identity

Hot vigilante boyfriend

Kitten (given to you by the hot vigilante boyfriend)

[shokuheshi]

ren: what do u want to eat?

the rook: THE SOULS OF THE MEDALLION HOLDERS

grey serrado: a bagel

the rook: NO!!!

grey serrado, ripping his hood off: two bagels

[kyndaris]

Let’s Talk About Books, Baby!

From the ashes of obscurity, books have seen a resurgence. My mother always wondered why I would ever want to be employed at a bookstore when the printed word seemed to be going the way of the dodo. But what was once considered a dying medium has seen new life bestowed upon it through the valiant efforts of BookTubers and even Booktok. 

Yes, you read that right. Booktok! Forget about all the dancing teenagers trying to create the next new floss dance move. There are people on TikTok that actually provide book recommendations. Or riff on certain tropes. Heck, there’s even relatable WriterToks!

Yet, this all comes with a caveat. Most of the books that are seeing a huge boost from influencers are Young Adult fiction. There’s also some very questionable romance stories that are also seeing an endless amount of attention being showered on them. Not once, in all the time that I’ve watched compilations of BookTok videos, have there been any videos on series that are lesser-known. 

Instead, Sarah J Maas dominates with her wing kink Fae universe. Leigh Bardugo has also reached peak prominence with many on the site, but some of that may be due to the Shadow and Bone adaption on Netflix (and after reading the books, I definitely prefer the Six of Crows duology). Then, of course, there are a litany of romance stories with half-naked men on the covers. 

Unfortunately, Fifty Shades of Grey was not an anomaly.

Rather, smut is in. Scratch that. Smut has never left. Whether that be fanfiction on Wattpad (apparently people just love Mafia alternate universes or being kidnapped by boybands. Where have I seen this trope before? Ah yes, the manga Haou Airen by Mayu Shinjo. Actually, just any work from Mayu Shinjo in general. It’s as if the collective gutter mind has picked up on her works and started to remodel it somehow into what now populates sites such as Archive of Our Own and other places where fanfiction exists.

And when it comes to Sarah J Maas and the disaster that was A Court of Silver Flames (I really agree with many BookTubers that have negatively reviewed this work such as withcindy), it seems authors can also get away with having about nearly three fourths of an 800-page book just be about having angry sex in every corner of a fantasy realm.

But that is NOT why I decided to write this post.

While I believe I could pump out decent videos and become a regular of the Booktok community, I just want to shine some light on a burgeoning series in the fantasy section that deserves more love than it’s been getting. And that is the Rook and the Rose trilogy. From its gorgeous cover to the excellent world-building to the lovable characters! 

Somehow, it’s still so niche that my local Dymocks didn’t even stock it! I had to go online just to get it in hand. Honestly, that’s on me and I probably should have just gone to Kinokuniya or Abbey’s with its hefty science fiction and fantasy section.

Written by Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms under the name M.A. Carrick, the Rook and the Rose series tells the story of Ren, a con artist, who has come to the city of Nadezra to trick her way into a noble house and secure a fortune for both herself and her fellow ex-street urchin: Tess. The way the authors craft the world and the lore behind it is immaculate, the focus on the characters and the slow plotting also make it a delicious read that had me become incredibly invested into its world.

Nadezra, though the setting for the story that is being meticulously plotted out, feels like a character in its own right. The history of the city is rich with promise and the Venetian-esque vibe that emanates from it (along with the masquerade masks that adorn the covers) makes the place feel alive even though it’s only something crafted from words and I’ve merely just pictured the actual buildings in my mind. 

But although Ren is front and centre, there’s also Vargo, everyone’s favourite criminal mastermind with a heart of gold, and Grey Serrado, a stiff Captain of the Guard that has a huge chip on his shoulder. While there are plenty of other characters to wrap one’s head around, these three are the heart, soul and mind of the series as it currently is and I cannot wait to see what happens in the third and final book of the series that should be releasing sometime in early 2023.

Honestly, it’s a shame that this series hasn’t received the attention it deserves. For anyone that has fallen in love with the Locke Lamora series or who likes tropes of found family and dashing rogues trying to fight against a corrupt aristocracy, the Rook and the Rose series has it all.

Heck, even if you want to have a creature mascot, there is one in Alsius! Someone, draw a spider with socks on each of its legs! Please! If Doomslug from the Cytonic series can have merch, then so can an aristocrat trapped in the body of a spider! 

And the way he bemoaned his lack of gloves had to be one of the funniest sentences I’d read in a long time.

Then of course there’s the things that BookTok could be capitalising on. Like the tarot card readings and the drawing of numinatria (which is basically geometric shapes)!

Oh, can’t forget the FASHION!

Alyc Helms might not be Tess in real life but she’s definitely an eye for describing clothing and I wish I had that talent when it comes to describing what my characters are wearing. Given my current ineptitude (I can’t even tell the difference between a cross stitch and other forms of embroidery), it’s a wonder how I manage to clothe my various fictional characters at all. One of these days I ought to sit down and just research the different types of doublets, jerkins, cuirass and other such attire. 

The world is also ripe for an adaption, as was requested in an interview with the authors with Kia Carrington-Russel, an Australian author.

It is a shame that many influencers have yet to read or signal boost this criminally underrated series. How is it that books such as House of Sky and Breath have become so popular that they now feature in the local Big W and not a fantastic fantasy series that tells such a bewitching tale in a fully realised world?

I can’t say for sure if I have any reach when it comes to my blog posts, but I hope that someone out there will draw a spider with gloves/ socks and it suddenly becomes viral. Because that is what the Rook and the Rose deserves! 

That or a streaming deal. Just think of how beautiful the world would look with just the right vision behind it? Certainly, we’ve seen Bridgerton bring back Regency and Shadow and Bone dabble with an actually intriguing young adult fantasy series. Now let’s see that Netflix budget (or Amazon/ Binge/ Stan/ whatever other big streaming services there are) try to put it on a burgeoning IP that has so much promise! And don’t cancel it until the second season! 

[rockislandadultreads]

Book Recommendations: More New Sci-Fi Picks

Atomic Anna by Rachel Barenbaum

In Barenbaum's second novel, three generations of women work together and travel through time to prevent the Chernobyl disaster and right the wrongs of their past. In 1986, a renowned nuclear scientist is transported through time at the exact moment Chernobyl’s reactor melts down, landing in 1992 to find her estranged daughter shot in the chest. In ‘60s Philadelphia, Molly is coming of age as an adopted refusenik and coping with her family's secrets by creating her own comic series. Lastly, Raisa, a lonely teen and math prodigy in the '80s, finds issues of Molly's comic series, Atomic Anna, which spur her to start solving equations revolving around time travel.

The Liar’s Knot by M.A. Carrick

In this sequel to The Mask of Mirrors, peace in Nadezra is as tenuous as a single thread. The ruthless House Indestor has been destroyed, but darkness still weaves through the city’s filthy back alleys and jewel-bright gardens, seen by those who know where to look. Like Derossi Vargo, who has sacrificed more than anyone imagines to carve himself a position of power among the nobility. Like Grey Serrado, bent under the yoke of too many burdens, who fights to protect the city’s most vulnerable. And Ren, daughter of no clan, who is caught in a knot of lies and relies on her gift for reading pattern to survive. But all three have yet to discover just how much it will take to cut themselves free.

Cold As Hell by Rhett C. Bruno & Jaime Castle

In the West, there are worse things to fear than bandits and outlaws. Demons. Monsters. Witches. James Crowley's sacred duty as a Black Badge is to hunt them down and send them packing, banish them from the mortal realm for good. He didn't choose this life, though. Shot dead in a gunfight many years ago, he's now stuck in purgatory, serving the whims of the White Throne to avoid falling to hell. In this first volume of the "Black Badge" series, the White Throne sends Crowley to investigate a strange bank robbery in Lonely Hill. Throughout this quest, he finds himself face-to-face with hellish beasts, shapeshifters, and, worse... temptation. But the truth behind the attacks is worse than he ever imagined.

The Thousand Eyes by A.K. Larkwood

In this sequel to The Unspoken Name, two years have passed since Csorwe and Shuthmili defied the wizard Belthandros Sethennai and stole his gauntlets. The gauntlets have made Shuthmili extraordinarily powerful, but they're beginning to take a sinister toll on her. She and Csorwe travel to a distant world to discover how to use the gauntlets safely, but when an old enemy arrives on the scene, Shuthmili finds herself torn between clinging to her humanity and embracing eldritch power. Meanwhile, Tal Charossa returns to Tlaanthothe to find that Sethennai has gone missing. When a magical catastrophe befalls the city, Tal tries to run rather than face his past, but soon learns that something even worse may lurk in the future.

[rhetoricandlogic]

A Glittering Caper: The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick

A Glittering Caper: The Mask of Mirrors by M.A. Carrick

Liz Bourke Tue Jan 19, 2021 1:00pm 2 Favorites [+]

M.A. Carrick is an open pseudonym for writing team Marie Brennan and Alyc Helms. Brennan’s track record needs scant introduction, with twelve books to her name—including, mostly recently, the acclaimed Memoirs of Lady Trent series and its spin-off sequel Turning Darkness into Light. Helms is perhaps less well known, though they have previously published two solo novels, 2015’s The Dragons of Heaven and 2016’s The Conclave of Shadows.

The Mask of Mirrors is the first novel to come jointly from their pens, and it reminds me strikingly of the Astreiant novels of Melissa Scott and the late Lisa A. Barnett’s Astreiant novels, albeit more in worldbuilding and tone than in characters and concerns.

Nadežra is a divided city. Once the sacred capital of the Vraszenian people, it’s now ruled by the descendents of Liganti conquerors in the form of the great houses and the delta gentry: a mercantile nobility that operates by contract and charter, and that charges the Vraszenians for access to the site of their sacred mystery. Ethnic and cultural Vraszenians form an underclass in the city, one with very restricted social mobility.

Ren is a con artist. She grew up in Nadežra, a street thief raised by a brutally manipulative con artist, and escaped with her sworn-sister Tess after believing her gang boss had killed their sworn-brother. Calling herself Renata Viraudax, she and Tess have returned to the city after years of absence, because Ren has a scheme to get herself enrolled as Nadežran nobility, with access to all the wealth and safety that class presumably has to offer: pass herself off as the daughter of House Traemontis’s long-lost and deeply unlikeable sister, seeking a reconciliation. Ren is an expert at getting people to like and believe her, and she has details of that long-lost sister at her fingertips, so she believes she has a good shot. Buy it Now

But what Ren doesn’t know is that House Traemontis’s fortunes are on the wane. There are only three members of the family left alive: matriarch Donaia, who’s holding things together by sheer force of will and effort, golden boy Leato, with a good heart and a remarkable friendship with a Vraszenian who’s reached the rank of captain in the Vigil (the city police), and Giuna, Leato’s socially-isolated younger sister. Traemontis has no allies, and powerful enemies, including Mettore Indestor—wealthy, militarily powerful, in charge of the Vigil, and holding one of the seats on the five-person council that governs the city. Ren’s attempts to con her way to safety, with Tess as her loyal maid, catapult her into the middle of intrigue, especially when she comes to feel real affection and sympathy for the Traemontis family.

As Ren is framing herself as another player on the city’s social stage, she finds herself of in the orbits of both wealthy crime-boss-turning-legitimate-businessman Derossi Vargo, who has a hidden agenda of his own—and speaks with a being that might only exist in his head, unless it’s actually a spirit in the form of his pet spider—and of Grey Serrado, the only Vraszenian captain in the Vigil, and a man who’s desperate to discover why children are dying, unable to sleep, in the poorest sections of the city. Intrigue, manoeuvring, lies, drugs, riots, and magical disasters combine in an explosive mix that may change the balance of power in Nadežra for good—and destroy Ren and Tess without a second thought.

The Mask of Mirrors gives us a rich world—a compellingly-drawn city—with a depth of history and layers of competing agendas. It has multiple different kinds of magic, from the more upper-class science of numinat and the more artisanal imbuing, to the influence of astrology and of patterning—card-reading that can reveal a person’s future, or fate. And it gives us layered, compelling characters, who’re sympathetic and understandable, and a plot that mounts with carefully-measured tension and nested capers and revelations to an explosive climax.

Spoilers ahead.

It also has a number of unanswered questions, a handful of unexplained coincidences, and some secrets and mysteries that aren’t resolved—or are not resolved satisfactorily within its pages. What’s Vargo’s real agenda? Why is he talking in his head to an invisible spirit, and how? What’s behind the Rook? Did Mettore Indestor really have a complicated, expensive, magic-based plot to carry out a form of genocide? How is it that Ren’s old gang boss is at the heart of things? How does the curse on House Traemontis also come to involve Ren herself? Though the main plot of The Mask of Mirrors reaches a resolution—this is a self-contained volume, ending with a point of equilibrium and stability, rather than with a cliffhanger—these questions linger. There’s more than enough meat for a sequel in these alone. And I hope to see one.

The Mask of Mirrors is engaging and entertaining. It’s the first novel in what feels like months (and might be mere weeks, or even days: what is time, in this age of our pandemic?) that I’ve read with an increasingly sense of delight and looked forward to being able to talk about. It’s great. I loved it. You should give it a try.

[ricardonapoleao]

Conversa com Bruno Barreto

Bruno Villela Barreto Borges , mais conhecido como Bruno Barreto, dirigiu inúmeros filmes de sucesso. Vamos começar pelo filme que lhe rendeu a maior bilheteria do cinema brasileiro, durante 35 anos: Dona Flor e seus dois maridos. O recorde só foi superado por Tropa de elite II. 

Bruno nasceu 16 de março de 1955. Seus pais são os produtores Lucy e Luiz Carlos Barreto, donos da Produtora ‘LCD Barreto Filmes do Equador’, responsável por importantes filmes brasileiros como “Assalto ao Trem Pagador”, de Roberto Farias (1961), “Vidas Secas”, de Nelson Pereira dos Santos (1963) e “Terra em Transe” (1967), de Glauber Rocha, sem contar a maioria dos filmes de Bruno e seu irmão, Fábio Barreto, diretor do também indicado ao Oscar de melhor filme estrangeiro por “O Quatrilho” (1995). Crescendo neste meio cinematográfico, o jovem Bruno decidiu entrar para a carreira de cineasta, filmando desde novo alguns curtas dentre eles “Bahia, à vista”(1967).

Cinco anos depois, com apenas 17 anos, filmou seu primeiro longa, “Tati, A Garota” (1972), onde dirigiu atores experientes como Dina Sfat, Hugo Carvana e Wilson Grey. Dois anos depois veio o segundo filme, o drama “A estrela sobe”. O próximo trabalho foi “Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos” (1976), filme que dirigiu com apenas 21 anos, tendo como protagonistas, Sonia Braga, José Wilker e Mauro Mendonça.

Outra incursão de Bruno na vasta obra de Jorge Amado foi em 1983 com o filme “Gabriela, cravo e canela”, onde imortalizou Sonia Braga, no papel de Gabriela e ainda contou com o ator italiano Marcelo Mastroianni. Ainda no campo das adaptações, outro clássico que Bruno levou aos cinemas foi “O beijo no asfalto” (1981), peça de Nelson Rodrigues.

Depois de mais duas produções ainda nos anos 1980, “Além da paixão” (de 1985, com Regina Duarte) e “Romance da empregada” (de 1987, com Betty Faria), Bruno Barreto teve nos anos 1990 uma ampla carreira internacional. A começar pela vida pessoal, quando se casou com a atriz americana Amy Irving, indicada pelo filme “Yentl” (1983) ao Oscar de melhor atriz coadjuvante. Em Hollywood foram: “Assassinato sob Duas Bandeiras” (“A Show Of Force”, 1990), com sua mulher Amy Irving e Andy Garcia; “O coração da justiça” (de “The Heart Of Justice”, 1992), “Atos de amor” (“Carried Away”, 1995) e “Entre o Dever e a Amizade” (“One Tough Cop”, de 1998). Em 2003, filmou “Voando Alto”, protagonizado por Gwyneth Paltrow.

Também filmou “O que é isso companheiro”, filme indicação ao Oscar de melhor filme estrangeiro, “Bossa Nova” (2000), a comédia “O casamento de Romeu e Julieta” (2003) e adaptação da peça teatral de Juca de Oliveira, “Caixa Dois” (2007).

Em 2013 dirigiu o drama de época “Floes Raras” que recria o relacionamento amoroso entre a arquiteta e paisagista brasileira Lota de Macedo Soares ( Gloria Pires)  e a poeta americana Elizabeth Bischop , no Rio de Janeiro dos anos 1950 e “Crô o filme” protagonizado por Marcelo Serrado e baseado no mesmo personagem da novela Fina Estampa de Aguinaldo Silva.

A conversa pode também ser vista com algumas imagens dos filmes comentados, no nosso canal do Youtube sobre cinema com o link aqui: Canal do Ricardo Napoleão no Youtube

Maiores informações sobre cursos, palestras e produções de Ricardo Napoleão aqui: site do Ricardo Napoleão.

Episódio novo no Napocast!

[anarchypumpkincowboy]

Grey Serrado, Derossi Vargo, and Ren should all fuck in the third book I’ve not read it yet but I’ve been rereading the series so I can read it and they all need to get together and have freaky charged starts off as hate sex between grey and vargo before turning into something else sex

[niconickniih-blog]

Capitulo 1

As vezes não sabemos muito bem o que está acontecendo, até que sejamos tirados da nossa zona de conforto de uma maneira cruel, e foi exatamente desse modo que Lunnna percebeu que dessa vez não teria como fugir, a escolha não era dela, teria que cumprir o que a tinham feito prometer.

-Srta. Lunna, estão todos a sua espera.

-Sim Mary, estou descendo, deixe me apenas olhar para meu rosto nesta penteadeira pela última vez.

-Srta. Lunna, não fale assim, já estou com o coração doendo de a ver partir, desta maneira só faz com que ele doa ainda mais. -disse Mary enquanto seus olhos aos poucos iam enchendo-se de lágrimas.

Lunna então se levantou e foi ao encontro da governanta. Segurou suas mãos com as dela, tão quentes mãos, sempre que estava com medo, desde pequena Mary a acalentava com cafunes.

-Sentirei tanta falta de você Mary, só queria que pudesse vir comigo, mas sabemos que meu pai nunca permitiria.

-Srta. Lunna, alegre-se por favor é seu casamento, as meninas crescem, saem da casa de seus pais e se tornam esposas, tem sorte de se casar com Robhert e um homem muito corajoso e dedicado.

-Sim Mary, tenho sorte. Lunna soltou a mão de Mary e voltou a se sentar na penteadeira. -Como costuma ir muito para batalhas provavelmente ficarei sozinha naquela casa horrível por longos períodos, que sorte! -disse Lunna forçando sarcasmo.

-Srta. Lunna, duvido que ele a deixe sozinha, ele e um conde, provavelmente haverá criados.

-Mas estou me casando, não me mudando, deveria criar laços com o meu companheiro, memorias. Como farei isso se não está em casa, como ficara o amor nisso tudo Mary? Como o iremos construir?

-Sei que não era com isso que sonhava Srta., mas é assim que as coisas são. Sempre serão.

Lunna então se levantou e se dirigiu a sala de estar, não havia muitas pessoas, só as necessárias, seu pai, o advogado da família, Rob e a velha governanta Janne.

Após fazerem seus votos, jurando o começo de um amor eterno, Rob lhe contou que iria precisar fazer uma viagem daqui a cinco dias, mas que Jane tomaria conta dela.

-Sei que serão ótimas amigas, o outono está chegando e com ele viram as chuvas, terão uma a outra para conversar, não e magnifico? -disse Rob  olhando-as carinhosamente a sua frente.

-Claro que será. Com toda a certeza. -Janne mal podia esperar o verão chegar para poder sair da casa que iria viver na companhia de um marido fantasma e uma senhora mal encarada.

~~~~~~~

Os dias eram tão longos, só chovia e fazia calor. Lunna já não aguentava mais a monotonia, a leitura parecia mais uma penitência, acompanhada das reclamações da Sra. Jane sobre como a coluna doía tanto.

-Céus, se for possível morrer de tedio que a morte seja rápida, não serei capaz de esperar ela chegar.

-Condessa Beigh, não diga isso.

-Quem está ai? Não reconheço essa voz. -disse ela enquanto tirava seus óculos de leitura e levantava cuidadosamente do divã.

-Liss, me chamo Liss Grey.

-Sem querer ofende-la, mas o que faz aqui? Não me lembro da Sra. Jane ter me contado que contratou uma nova ajudante ou algo do tipo.

Liss era uma pequena criatura que tinha no máximo seus 1.60de altura, seus cabelos loiros quase brancos desciam delicadamente em ondas até a curva da cintura, seus olhos eram pequenos, mas agora se encontravam ainda menor, serrados, como se pudessem cortar Lunna ao meio, não estavam nem um pouco em harmonia com a fragilidade do restante do seu corpo.

-Não sou uma criada. -disse ela enquanto andava de forma ameaçadora em  direção a Lunna. -Sou Liss Grey, Filha de Paul Grey e neta de Adam Joshfh Grey, comandante do batalhão em que seu marido está, Condesa Lunna deveria se informar melhor sobre seu marido, ele merece toda a honra e respeito pelos seus atos em batalha.

-Mil perdoes Srta. Liss. Nunca em minha vida imaginei que nos faria uma visita, estou no mínimo espantada com isso e tenho sim, muito respeito pelos atos do meu marido em batalha, só não poderia dizer o mesmo de sua responsabilidade com a esposa. Entretanto, vamos ao ponto inicial da conversa, a que devo a honra de sua presença? -disse Lunna tocando suavemente a bochecha direita de Liss.

-Meu pai me mandou para cá, disse que seria bom eu estar em companhia de alguém que sofre da mesma saudade que eu, talvez pudéssemos nos ajudar a superar. -disse Liss abaixando a cabeça.

-Entendo pequena. Vou cuidar de você.

-Não que eu concorde com isso é claro, acho que ele só se sente mal por meu deixar sozinha após a morte do meu pai.

Lunna então se voltou para o divã, fazendo menção para que Liss se sentasse.

-Acomode-se por favor. -Meus pesames, mal posso imaginar a dor.

-Não, não pode.

-Mas então Liss, pretende passar o fim de semana conosco?

-Ainda não entendeu condessa-disse Liss se aproximando ainda mais de Lunna, ela estava começando a se irritar com Liss. - Fui enviada para ficar, mande que me preparem um quarto, sou sua nova hospede por tempo indeterminado, provavelmente até que os homens voltem da guerra.

Para Lunna, pior do que ser consumida pela monotonia, era a presença de um hospede não convidado e ainda mais sem data de partida. Ela então pediu para que Jane cuidasse de estalar Liss, os dias que já eram longos, provavelmente só se estenderiam ainda mais.

Lunna deu seu melhor sorriso a Liss, apesar da presença da pequena a incomodar, ela podia ver em seus olhos a tristeza escondida.