#Mick Oberon

[iainwrites]

Has there been any rumors or rumblings about another Mick Oberon book coming out, or has Ari Marmell turned focus onto other things?

[energievie]

GALLADRABBLES #157 - SHAKESPEARE

Thank you for the very intriguing prompt, dear Cameron @flamingbluepanda - may I interest you in a little college AU? ❤️ Paging @galladrabbles 😎

---

He needs to pick an elective. ASAP.

See, when you lose track of time – and deadlines in general – choices narrow exponentially. In other words, he's left with Victorian Literature, Linguistics and Drama.

He picks the latter – he's always been skilled at pretending he's something else, how hard can it be?

It's not. But he's surrounded by pompous assholes who can barely do basic additions looking down on him because he doesn't know who Ibsen is. Screw them, do they know who Kotler is?

Except for the redhead. The Oberon to his Puck.

‘It's gonna be so much fun, Mick!’

Clearly.

---

[taraljc]

Along the lines of my recent recommendation of Heather Schaefer's kickass Daniel Faust novels, I just read Ari Marmell's Mick Oberon series about an ancient aes sidhe prince slumming it as a PI in 1930s Chicago and they were delightful. while they may not work as a truly accurate pastiche of hard boiled noir authors such as Hammett, Chandler, and Cain they are pulpey penny dreadful fun. and they predominantly feature parts of Chicago that do not get written about, like Pilsen!

[nyxnakamarriepk]

PERFORMANCE CATALOG

2024

JUNE - GAY BASH'D PRIDE @ ROADRUNNER w/ Poppy, Aliyahsinterlude & Rebecca Black

2022

May 

DJ Set // Boudoir // In Heat @ Union Tavern

June 

 DJ Set //  Euphoria @ Union Tavern 

Live set // Gay Bash’d Boston @ Roadrunner; headliners: Cupcakke and Slayyyter) 

Backup Dancer for TBT @ Trans Resistance MA; headliners: House of Mugler, ILYMAKONNEN

July

Eden w/ Chelita @ Union Tavern

Virgincore @ Union Tavern

Judas @ Union Tavern 

2021

June 

Themed Porch Party Series  ‘Y2K’ 

July 

 Themed Porch Party Series ‘Love & Angels’ / b2b TNA 

 Themed Porch Party Series  ‘Devil’s Night’ 

 ‘Delirium’ DJ Set @ Lilypad in Cambridge

2020

January 

Backup Dancer for Static Kween @ Gay Bash’d Oberon Theatre

January Live Set  @ Assteroid 001, H0l0 in Brooklyn

February 

Valentines Day @ Outpost 186 Cambridge

 Hosting AFTERWIFE rave by House of Kimora @ Secret Location

Crowns @ Foundation Room Boston

3rdwavve @ Milky Way 

ALL IN PERSON BOOKINGS CANCELED DUE TO COVID-19

April 

‘Digital Drag With Violencia Exclamation Point’ 

‘Gay Bash’d Two Year Anniversary Twitch Stream’ DJ set 

2019 

January 30th First Headlining Gig @ Middle East Upstairs

March 1st Opening Act WLFPK @ Sonia

March 7th Benefit Show for Indian Law Resource Center @ Dorchester Art Project\

March 16th Gender Bending Fashion Show Mainstage @ Museum of Fine Arts

March 22nd Friday @ Machine

March 26th Opening Act @ Middle East Upstairs

March 29th Revolt @ MassArt

April 4th Performed Tia Tamera with Rico Nasty

April 27th Host @ Reprieve for Demo Radio

May 2nd Mick Death Vol.3: Villains @ 2Twenty2

May 9th Saskia’s Utopia @ Oberon Theatre

May 16th Luke Martinez Dance for You Music Video 

May 20th Big Melee Choose Your Fighter @ Middle East Upstairs

June 6th Conn(is) Show @ Sonia

June 26th Boston Free Radio Interview in the Canopy Room

June 28th Mick Death Vol.4: Dungeon @ Black Lodge

June 29th Queer Qarnival @ Makeshift Boston

June 29th 3rdwavve (Secret Location Rave)

June 30th Queer Maker’s Market @ Windy Films Productions Studio

July 7th FEMS Feature @ Good Vibrations

July 14th DEBUT EP ‘I’m Baby’ Drops

July 14th Golden Deer Productions Interview @ Phoenix Down Studios

July 27th RARELIFESTYLE in Roxbury

August 1st Radio Interview with LofiHipHopThot

August 2nd Gay Bash’d One Year Anniversary w/ St. Lucia @ Oberon Theatre

August 3rd Face Value Opening Reception @ Dorchester Art Project

August 5th Versailles @ Zuzu

August 17th Summer Slam @ The Mad Music Mill Dorchester

August 31st HER MUSE @ Casa Cana 

October 5th Tufts University Performance 

October 11th Boston University Performance 

October 20th Opening Act for Domo Wilson @ Middle East Upstairs

October 24th Gay Bash’d Halloween w/ Maddelyn Hatter

October 26th Opener for Quelle Chris @ VietAid Center

October 28th Headliner @ Sonia

2018 

May 19th Girls Night @ White House w/ Dj Saskia & Isabella Amarga

June 24th Local Artist Feature @ Dudley Cafe

September 26th Gay Bash’d @ 2Twenty2

September 29th RareFootage @ The Lower Level

October 6th  Open Mic Feature Weird Folk Fest @ MIT

October 24th Gay Bash’d @ 2Twenty2

October 27th Host Saskia’s: HOWL @ The Lower Level

November 3rd Performed @ SIM Gala

November 30th  Mick Death Vol. 2 @ Garty

December 6th Emerson Zine Feature @ Dorchester Art Project

RELEASES

 2018 

Released in February,  ‘Peach’ a 4 track lo-fi EP released on Soundcloud. A combination of vocals and spoken word poetry touching on teenage angst, leaving the place you grew up, and facing your inner turmoil head on. Released under the name Mick Beth.

Track1  ‘cool girl’ sitting atis a 5 minute track about self-reinvention

Track2 ‘lonely babe’ a song about not wanting to be alone 

Track3 ‘peach’ a song about transitioning out of your idealized youth

Track4 ‘dead girl’ a song about battling your demons

August 2018 ‘Tulips’ a single written about hookup culture & unrequited feelings

August 2018 ‘Big Mick Energy’ a single written for leo season, a black queer anthem about forever being unapologetically yourself 

October 2018 ‘the internet (demo)’ a track about love in the digital age

2019 

March 

‘Virgo Vixen’ a lofi demo track about reclaiming your time - released under the name Mick Beth

June

 ‘Control Freak’ a track made from a string of text messages

‘Talk Yo Shit’ first single debuted on all streaming platforms, added to Boston Local Hip Hop playlists - released under the name Mick Beth

July 

Debut EP ‘I’m Baby’ released on all streaming platforms under the name Mick Beth. This 5 track EP tells the story of refusing to accept being disrespected, and reclaiming the “crazy” projected onto you

Track1 Ghost or Roast

Track2 Control Freak

Track3 770

Track4 Talk Yo Shit

Track5 I’m Baby

‘Selenite’ demo of first house track released on all streaming platforms

‘MEGAGOTH’ entry in Nicki Minaj’s #MegatronChallenge released on Soundcloud

August 

‘Neverbeenenough’ single released on all streaming platforms, vocal track about romantic inadequacy

September 

‘Spectre’ single released on all streaming platforms, about being haunted by an ex

‘Virgo Vixen 2019’ trap rework of original track, released on all streaming platforms

November 

‘Change your mind’ r&b single released on all streaming platforms 

2020

June 

‘Thoochiana’ digital release on bandcamp 

August

Oh you like techno huh? mix released on soundcloud

I’m a libra rising<;3 mix released on soundcloud

October

EVERY BLACK GIRL IS JUST ZUKO mix on soundcloud

December

1221 Solstice mix on soundcloud

UNRELEASED DISCOGRAPHY

PRIMUS / BBB / BIG / dont miss u / beautiful / se7en / chest / lo juro / GOLD / prayers for the water / joseph / lonely bitch anthem / mustard coat / maracuya / blood orange / cranberry peach / honeydew / PRIMUS / ULTRALORD / LOKITA / PUSSYMONEYMARIJUANA / what's it like / talk to the moon / sadsexysummer / mars in scorpio / arms / orange satin / everything i learned / m.y.f.f. / keep it down low / LSP / WHY DOES I LOVE YOU MEAN GOODBYE

UPCOMING FOR NYX: TBA

[books-tea-and-magic]

100 Days of Booklr Day Forty Two -

Thoughts on Mick Oberon Series by Ari Marmell (3 Books so far)

This series was one I saw in someone’s blog / shelf tour and I liked the sound of it so much I picked it up pretty instantly on my kindle.

Mick Oberon is a snarky Fae Private Investigator in 30s Chicago dealing with both the human gangster and supernatural sides of the city. I loved so many things about these books; Mick’s narration, Pete and how Mick’s magic works to mention a few and the only thing I wasn’t so sure on was the 30s slang but most could be worked out from context.

They were so much fun and I need the next one right now.

- 4.7/5 🌟

[thenotebookwizard]

That Moment When...

You open your kindle and there’s a book you’ve been waiting for (and pre-ordered) that, for whatever reason, you thought was coming out a week from today, not today.

It’s a good moment.

@seananmcguire hath given unto me Magic for Nothing, the latest book in her InCryptid series - one of my three favorite urban fantasy series, and the only one I know is still being written. (For the record, the other two are @arimarmell‘s Mick Oberon Jobs, which are the best noir urban fantasy out there and Simon R Green’s Nightside series.)

This week might be awful and last week was a circle of chaos, but - new book!

[semper-legens]

21. The Accursed Vampire, by Madeline McGrane

Owned: Yes Page count: 169 My summary: Dragoslava is a vampire kid in a modern world, trying to hang out with their friends and have fun. Unfortunately, they were cursed years ago by a witch, who has them at her beck and call. Now she wants a spellbook...and Drago wants out, but they can’t see a way without being turned into worms. Will they escape the witch’s clutches? Or are they doomed to be in her thrall for ever? My rating: 4/5

Another...hmm, is this technically a webcomic? Not in the traditional sense, but the author has posted comics about vampires on her website, and here on tumblr, for a while. Anyway, I happened to see her ad for this book floating around on my dash and thought, you know what, I’ve enjoyed this world and these characters before. Why not get this book and see if I enjoy them again? The answer is yes, very much. The artstyle is cute, the characters walking the line of being adorable and spooky excellently, and the story touched me while still being simple and quirky. I’d very much recommend!

The main character is Drago, the vampire kid in black from the cover. Drago is indebted to a witch who has threatened their life should they not obey her. They just want to be a regular vampire kid, hang out with their friends, and drink tasty, tasty blood. They’re also implied to have some trauma issues both from their mortal life and their early vampiric life, and have huge self-worth issues that lead to them viewing themself as not worthy of unlife. But they love their friends, and they would do anything for them. It’s a little found family of vampire kids, and I love them very much. Honestly, I relate to Drago a little more than is probably healthy, so seeing them recognise and overcome their issues with the controlling witch and finding a happy home with their friends is incredible.

Meanwhile, the other kids are great too! Quintus is a vampiric Roman who belonged to an underground vampire society, while Eztli is the chicken-legged vampire kid who Drago and Quintus turned. They’re the most important people in Drago’s life, and while sometimes they can feel less distinct from each other than Drago feels from them, they’re still engaging enough secondary protagonists. As well as being, to risk repeating myself again, damn adorable. Look at those lil faces. How can you say no to those lil faces? You can’t is how.

There are also adults in this story, the vampire Sara and the human witch Ayesha, who is a former student of Drago’s witch. They’re understandably reluctant to deal with the kids at first, but soon warm to them and end up living with them. The story walks the line of their responsibilities towards the kids - the kids are a lot older than them chronologically but not mentally or emotionally, and they still need to take the caretaker role despite the kids having lived for hundreds of years without help. Still, Ayesha’s paralleling of Drago’s story is interesting, especially with her providing a dark mirror of what Drago could have become if he let the witch control him further. It’s a surprisingly complex story, for all of its bright colours and simplistic dialogue. (Said dialogue is more stylised-simple than anything else, allowing for a lot of nuance in few words.)

Overall, I really liked it, I’d encourage you to check out the link above for the author’s work! Next up, more Mick Oberon, as he tracks down the Spear of Lugh.

[scifimagpie]

Upsetting People is Not Revolutionary

Well, The Joker just hit theatres, and honestly, I’m not sure whether I’m going to see it.

Art by Michelle Browne.

Quite a few cultural critics I admire and respect have panned it, still others have said it was boring and unambitious — and frankly, it’s no secret that I’m not the biggest fan of comics, for a variety of reasons. I’m curious, sure, but based on what I’ve heard from various podcasts and Youtube shows, as well as friends’ chatter and Twitter, it’s basically a dumbed-down Taxi Driver or Fight Club, without realising that those movies were critical of the main character’s perception of the world.

Of course, there’s also the problem that the director, Todd Phillips, talked about “triggering people” dismissively in some interviews, and both he and Warner Brothers seem to want to have it both ways — to upset people, to flirt with inciting violence, and to insist that it’s just art, which cannot be censored (and that criticism is the same as censorship…which it isn’t, by the way.) Phillips also complains about “woke culture” with the sort of embittered smugness that generally demarcates other failing comedians — such as Dave Chappelle, Louis C.K, Jerry Seinfeld, and other men who have mistaken their own prestige for talent.

Joaquin Phoenix, the twee, breathy method acting star, also seems to have made the same mistake. “I wasn’t comfortable while making the film,” he insisted. But while I really loved his acting and the movie Her in general, I can’t help rolling my eyes at this take.

Upsetting people is not art

There’s this idea in art and cultural commentary, and particularly in the zeitgeist, that because art is supposed to evoke emotion, evoking emotion constitutes art in and of itself. Quite frankly, stepping in a dog turd and breaking one’s ankle also elicits emotion, but it generally isn’t considered an artistic performance. Now, if said event is filmed and uploaded to Youtube, is it art then? Academics and Smart Internet People are ready and waiting to explain both how it is, and isn’t art.

The thing is, the Joker movie isn’t an unfortunate or hilarious accident. Great effort went into it, as well as a hefty budget and substantial promotional energy. This isn’t some accidental, daring indie darling coming out of nowhere. It is very much commerce in the trappings of art. Now, can that still be art? Sure. But let’s call a card a card, shall we?

Art qua art? Try Art qua money.

This movie has an agenda…and above else, that’s making money. The controversy over it — which, as much as I hate it, I am writing about and therefore contributing to — basically functions as a marketing push. 

Rather, we should express how terribly bored we are about the whole thing, and we shouldn’t fund the damned enterprise. Go see it in the cheap seats, or undertake alternative measures to see it, if you absolutely must. Or, do what I sometimes do when I want to hear about content but not suffer through it, and read, watch, or listen to a bunch of different thinkpieces about it.

But honestly, there’s nothing more to say about this virulent, nasty, boring movie. What I’d rather talk about is the central premise — that upsetting people is somehow artistically virtuous.

Good art makes people think too

There’s sort of a corollary to the whole “If people are upset, they’ll think!” argument, and that is that happiness is an opiod, something that dulls the senses. That’s as absurd as it is untrue. First of all, happiness and contentment are not the enemy, and in a world such as ours, rife with inequality, we ought not treat them as such cheap currency. They’re rare, and they ought to be treasured. That’s not to say that we should lull ourselves into thinking everything is all right — but that’s not what happiness is about.

Rather, happiness comes from change, achievement, new experiences, and appreciating what we have. And good art — say, the book series beginning with A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle — will certainly do this. Yes, those books make me happy, but they also fill me with wonder and admiration. Art that makes us happy also makes us connected to others, and might even encourage us to make art ourselves, try to be good at something, or try something new.

A friend of mine is really into Lois Bujold’s Vorkosagian series, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Robin Hobb’s Assassin’s Apprentice trilogy. Some of those books are hard on the heart, sure, but nobody who’s advocating for happy art is saying it needs to be, say, forced positivity art or pablum. And, sure, all these writers are ladies — but that doesn’t mean men can’t (or don’t!) write nurturing, empathetic books with characters who are more than angry, lost boys. Not to mention that the most recent Hugo and other fantasy and writing awards are really showing a wonderful sea change — Mary Robinette Kowal, for instance, or The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet or Space Opera being fine examples. As far as empathetic male writers, I must always recommend Zig Zag Claybourne’s The Brothers Jetstream, Ari Marmell’s Mick Oberon series, or Chuck Wendig’s writing.

And yeah, we do need to give empathy and kindness to these lost boys who relate to these movies — but the way to do that isn’t to enable their bad habits. It’s to give them a better world, access to therapy and medication if needed, and fight toxic mental habits. That’s what the rest of us have to do — but the good news is? It works.

***

Michelle Browne is a sci fi/fantasy writer and editor. She lives in Lethbridge, AB with her partner-in-crime and Max the cat. Her days revolve around freelance editing, knitting, jewelry, and learning too much. She is currently working on other people’s manuscripts, the next books in her series, and drinking as much tea as humanly possible.

Find her all over the internet: * OG Blog * Mailing list * Magpie Editing * Amazon * Medium * Twitter * Instagram * Facebook * Tumblr * Ko-fi

[iainwrites]

Here is a (short and biased) list of entries in various urban fantasy series you can pre-order:

-Dresden Files: Dog Men – February 13, 2018 (The latest trade collection for the latest Dresden Files comic series)

-Iron Druid Chronicles: Scourged – April 3, 2018 (The last Iron Druid Chronicles novel in the series)

-Alex Verus: Marked – June 5, 2018 (The latest novel in the Alex Verus series)

-Dresden Files: Brief Cases – June 5, 2018 (A long awaited collection of stories, with one brand new entry to the universe)

-Mick Oberon: In Truth and Claw – August 8, 2018 (The fourth entry to the series, after a 2-ish year break)

-Sandman Slim: Hollywood Dead – August 28, 2018 (The latest addition to one of the greatest B-movie book series I’ve ever read)

[glimmerkeith]

so sometimes i think about how mick was also (supposedly) up for the part of jareth the goblin king in “labyrinth”, a role that rightfully went to david bowie instead, but what i’m envisioning here is the character being split into two–there are two goblin kings instead of one, fighting over the baby toby results in some oberon/titania-like shit from “a midsummer night’s dream,” one of them is even more conniving against sarah because of the other’s fascination with her, lots and lots of married squabbling. shit like that. 💫🔮

[books-tea-and-magic]

I don't know how popular they are but I love:

Nightrunner series by lynn flewelling

Riyria series by michael j sullivan

Baker thief by claudie arseneault

And for lower fantasy:

Mick oberon series by ari marmell

Temeraire series by naomi novak

I want to really fall in love with a book again (probably why I've been rereading old faves) *sigh*

Any fantasy recs? (Please assume I've read all the popular ones like Six of crows, Game of Thrones, Sanderson, etc)

[books-tea-and-magic]

100 Days of Booklr Day Forty One - 

I passed my Goodreads goal a few days ago, and a month earlier than last year! (Also the Mick Oberon books are so fun and I definitely recommend them.)

[punkpuppydragon]

Rules:  Answer the questions in a new post and then tag ten blogs you would like to get to know better. Or don’t. It’s up to you.

Oh heck looks like I got tagged by @mrssweettitsroyale and @coryschneiderisahugenerd

Nickname: Rory

Sign: Taurus

Favorite Music Artist: Imagine Dragons and The Killers

Last TV Show You Watched: Clone Wars, I heard they’re taking it off Netflix :(

Last Movie You Saw in the Movie Theater Rogue One (in 2017, me and my friend were literally the only people there lmao)

What Are You Wearing Right Now my fuckin work shirt and khakis 

What Do You Post: survey says “gamer trash, puppies, dresses, and social justice” 

Do You Have Any Other Blogs: I have an nsfw blog with nothing on it, an rp blog I used like once, and an empty blog to reserve the name hermaeus-mora-deez-nuts

Why Did You Choose Your URL: It made me laugh when I thought of it

Do You Get Asks Regularly: LMAno

Hogwarts House: it’s literally a 50/50 split on Gryfindor and Hufflepuff every time I take any of those quizzes

Patronus: oh i don’t even remember

Pokémon Team: Instinct

Favorite Color: Blue

Favorite Characters: almost everyone in Undertale and Bastion tbh, Merrill, Obi Juan Kenobi, Ron Weasley, Percy Jackson, Furiosa, Handsome Jack, Ulysses (fallout new vegas), Cicero, Sokka, Bolin, Frodo, Skulduggery Pleasant and Mick Oberon most recently, there’s a lot lmao

Hobbies/crafts? uhhhh idk

Collect anything? genders

Current challenges you face? Sounds silly but it’s mostly scheduling.  I don’t really know what I’m going to be doing when I go back to school in the fall and I’m not sure how I’ll be handling it.

Things you’re looking forward to? Hopefully I can get my dnd campaign restarted in a couple days

Anything you want to promote? uhhh ok. you can hit up 5calls.org for a list of current issues to talk to your representatives about; the problem is that if it’s telling you to call your senator, it’ll only give you one of them and their DC office (which will always be completely busy and with a full mailbox)  You can find out who your senators and representative are by going to callmycongress.com, but then it’s the same problem, it gives you their DC offices (202 area codes).  You want to find their local offices, which should be easy once you have their names and can just google them.  And then go ahead and use the scripts that 5calls has cuz they’re p good.  Also hit up moveon.org, indivisibleguide.com, or the ACLU website if you want to get more involved in making America not dead.

Anything else you’d like to share? nah m8

And then tag some ppl I guess ummmmm

@tsykr @majorsarcasm19  @hopecassady @catherinethegrey @moonfrost84 @fangoriousfae @allthingsawkwardaboutme @fatedstorm @makutaleone @stupidhatclubghost

[bluestockingbaby]

I don’t know if it’s exactly what you’re looking for, but the Mick Oberon series is an Urban Fantasy series set in 1930s Chicago. It’s basically straight up noir with primarily Celtic/European fairy folklore.

*Disclaimer* I’ve only read the first book, and it’s been a while.

Do you know mistery novels based on fairytales?

Here’s what I could think of:

The Big Over Easy by Jasper Fforde is a mystery set among the characters of nursery rhymes and childrens’ stories, from Jack Spratt to the Three Little Pigs.  It’s the first of a series, in fact, called Nursery Crime!

Idylls of the Queen by Phyllis Ann Carr is a mystery set in Camelot based on an episode in Mort D’Arthur.  Guinevere has been framed for murder, and it’s up to the surly but devoted Sir Kay to find out who really did it- and who killed Arthur’s sister Morgause, too.

[semper-legens]

25. In Truth and Claw, by Ari Marmell

Owned: Yes Page count: 254 My summary: Mick Oberon, aes sidhe and private eye, is on his most dangerous case yet. Death has come to Chicago, and it’s coming for him. His allies are dying around him, his bad luck continues, and he’s slowly learning that a powerful witch he thought dead might actually be alive. But more is to come. There’s whispers on the wind - whispers of vampires. My rating: 4/5

The last Mick Oberon story, although probably not forever. This one ends on a hell of a cliffhanger bringing all of the metaplot into the forefront - it feels climactic, like the next book is going to be the end for Mick. Which is fine, that’s a good length of a series like this. This is also the first of these books that I haven’t read previously. I got the first three out of the library a couple of years ago and devoured them instantly, but this time round I bought it for myself. Anyway, I like this, of course, let’s go!

Vampires. A monster which has been written about a thousand times, so any attempts at making them...not quite new, but at least fresh, are welcome. Mick starts out by finding vampire watermelons, a myth so obscure that he, a Prince of the aes sidhe, did not believe they were real. The actual vampires, when they show up, are definitely more monster than man, on the scale from Twilight to Nosferatu, they’re the Nosferatu from World of Darkness. Ugly, untrustworthy, out for blood, and able to fly. Still, it was a fresh enough take on vampires, and I definitely enjoyed the worldbuilding here.

This book is less standalone than the others - it feels like a penultimate episode, which I wouldn’t be surprised if it actually is. Characters from all over the series show up, and a few of them are horribly imperilled. Pete, Mick’s werewolf BFF, is horribly traumatised in a way that broke my heart into pieces by Mick; it’s a betrayal, but you understand why Mick did it, but also you totally understand why Pete is upset. Poor Pete. Poor Mick. Everything’s going wrong for him, but I never felt that it was too bleak. Mick’s sarcastic humour and tongue-in-cheek narrative style kept things from being overwhelmingly grim, but the events were serious enough to convey the actual stakes at play.

Next up, we go back for some kid lit, and a love story!