#ROWL

[noisecatcher]

Rowland S. Howard and his sister Angela Howard. Photo by Polly Borland.

[blinding-metaphysics]

MCSR Gift Exchange :3

Written as a gift for @im-bored-so-i-draw. I LOVE FLATMATE AU AKJFFJSD

@mcsr-mini-gift-exchange

[knightofthenewrepublic]

Bridget and Rowl

[bartleby-the-scribbler]

well, looks like I better learn how to draw cats, cuz BY GOD I’m going to give the Cinder Spires the fandom it DESERVES!! Here’s Bridget Tagwynn and Rowl!!

[lynmars79]

No Spoilers Review - The Olympian Affair

Just finished Book 2 of The Cinder Spires, The Olympian Affair. It picks up during/right after the recent novella Warriorborn, though that's not necessary to understand the novel's plot. Does show how and why Benedict gets a Cat name, though.

Picking up 2 years after The Aeronaut's Windlass, Spire Aurora seems to have come up with a terrifying new weapon as Spire Albion prepares for war. Spire Olympia hosts a diplomatic summit, also including some of the other Spires, such as Atlantea--which seems poised to ally with Aurora. Albion's representatives must navigate treacherous schemes politically, socially, martially, and magically in a race against time to secure the information and alliances needed to win the day, let alone the oncoming war.

More of Grimm's POV, more of Espira's, more of Bridget's. Duchess Abigail Hinton joins the POV cast; she's lover of Commodore Alex Bayard, Grimm's best friend since their Fleet Academy days--and one of the few people who was present and knows the truth about how and why Grimm was drummed out, which gets explained in this novel. Abigail and Alex are both duelists which forms a cornerstone of the plot and some of the stresses inherent between them and other characters.

Gwen is now XO of Predator, learning from Grimm. We learn how and why he initially received the ship from Bayard. Benedict and Bridget are courting, Ferus and Folly still aid Predator. Espira, his warriorborn sergeant Ciriaco, and (Grimm's estranged wife) Captain Calliope Ransom, find themselves wrestling with the dangers of Madame Cavendish and her warriorborn attendant Sark, versus their own consciences. I like Espira a lot; he's a man of loyalty, faith, honor, and principle, and it's all tested here. He was an antagonist in the first book, and while still part of the Auroran military, his role is different in this novel.

We don't get Gwen's POV (except for at the end), nor do we get into Folly's head this time. A number of new characters--many of them women--appear, including a much less treacherous love interest for Grimm (Piker Admiral and warriorborn Captain Ravenna), another dangerous etherialist who has rank in another Spire, the sister of Olympia's leader--and Abigail and her assistants. I liked Abigail right off; she's extremely socially and politically aware and rather badass in many ways. She makes difficult choices for the right reasons, even when it might cost her everything she cares about.

The Olympian captain from the first novel makes a cameo appearance to talk up Gwen in front of her father (one of the diplomats) but then vanishes again. You'd think we would see more of him given his home Spire is the central location of most of the action.

We also get a trip to the surface and some of the inherent dangers present in this mutated world. It's mostly follow up to the novella and tying up loose ends, creates some random complications for a character, and in the end...is really there to give certain characters something to do and an excuse to be at the climactic scenes while not actually contributing much narratively beyond a ground view of horror and a relationship shift that could have come in other ways.

And more hints that this is a far future alternate Earth, where some sort of disaster hit--and there may have been outside influence to that. Some story elements of Dresden bleeding through? We'll see I guess. There's a map of the various Spires and some colonies that looks awfully suspiciously North America-like, if heavily altered.

We're left on a cliffhanger and several other unresolved situations that make me think the next story is picking up right off the end of this story; characters in a precarious situation might get rescued in another novella, or at the start of the next full novel. And I really need to know what happens with one of the romantic pairings, as they're going through some roughness due to certain choices. Some characters are going to deal with some permanent physical changes, and one familiar character does die (can't say it was entirely unexpected, though I still cried).

But there's some happiness too, and bonds of friendship and various kinds of love. A lot of hope. Some wins, even amid losses and setbacks.

And the Cats, of course. Still infuriatingly delightful, as they should be.

EDIT: Oh, there's a bit more racial diversity at least mentioned as a thing in the novels; Atlanteans are also noted to be typically dark-skinned, and a few other characters in their descriptions. It's vague but there, or at least left to imagination. More than I can say for anyone who isn't straight, as the characters reactions and assumptions are all pretty stereotypically straight, as is usual for Butcher, I've so far found.

[nakaradauki]

just Rowle

[mostly-funnytwittertweets]

[jerrycummblr]

It's really simple. If you're born with a vagina and you naturally have elevated testosterone levels, you're a man. If you have a vagina and you take testosterone, you're a woman. But also if you have a vagina, you'll never be a man. But also if you have higher testosterone then you were never a woman. Woman never yes man a vagina testosterone no was an elevated. Vagina man.

[animentality]

[ayeforscotland]

*Stares directly into the camera*

[burntlikethesun]

if you're just joining us, george takei is having to educate jk rowling on holocaust denial

[noisecatcher]

The Birthday Party, 1981. Photographed by Peter Milne.

[senoraconstelacionesdeinvierno]

I haven't purchased a HP item in close to a decade - I use the books I already had as doorstops or to prop a laptop up for meetings nowadays.

There is NO "death of the author" with JK Rowling - she controls and continues to profit from her IP, and uses that money to fund hate groups.

[thetimelordbatgirl]

Welp, if JK Rowling being executive producer and therefore being fully involved in the show wasn't enough for people to boycott, then here's HBO basically saying they don't care JK Rowling is a bigot from hell who literally helped lead a harassment campaign of lies against Imane Khalif in her transphobia and obsession with women being terf's standards of women alongside posting harassment against trans people on twitter at times, they gonna stand by her, while using the excuse, "personal views". Hmm, yes, personal views- that's one way to uh, call what the fuck JK Rowling comes out with a-lot- last I checked personal views do come with consquiences if said out loud....a thousand times in JK's case and still counting....especially if they hurt people, but hey, if it means making another Harry Potter project to milk, just let it fucking be I guess.

[creulsummer]

it really took a whole ass lawsuit for her to shut her fucking mouth

[existennialmemes]

Apparently Rowling hasn't tweeted since her cyber bullying meltdown, and I'm thinking that might be related to Imane Khelif's lawsuit, and now I'm wondering if we can give her an additional gold medal for being the first person to ever get JK to finally shut the fuck up.