#Then again she has invested lot of time in those audiobooks!

[theflyindutchwoman]

With all due respect, sir, you're a pain in my ass.

| Lucy Chen + being the proudest girlfriend in front of everyone, including the watch commander every time Tim reaches a milestone in his career : a collection (Tim's version)

[animezinglife]

Sending this here because I didn't want to clutter that post.

I won't get mad at you for having an opinion different than mine 😂 don't worry.

I guess your opinion of Hazelwood is like mine with Colleen Hoover. She's just not for me.

Also my main issue with SJM is that she seems to have no idea where Acotar is going anymore. She takes too long between books and then forgets the original thought she'd had. She keeps changing her mind and retconning things.

Also if you have any romance book recs , I'd love to take a look.

I'm glad, and likewise! I've gotten a lot better over time in terms of pickiness towards books, and I fully acknowledge that there are two different types of "good" books: books that someone loves and enjoys, and books that are genuinely well-written. Ideally, those overlap, but not always.

I think my issue is more with the idea that seems to be prevalent that SJM somehow "is" fantasy, or that her books are at all an accurate representation of the genre when that simply isn't true. There's room in the genre for different types, but I personally can't look at someone who's only ever read SJM and call them a fantasy reader--they aren't. They're a Sarah J. Maas reader.

I had to switch to audiobooks to overlook her grammar and punctuation errors. Again, that's something an editor should be helping with, and I can't understand why better quality work isn't being done. All writers make errors--none are perfect. Yet there isn't an excuse for the volume of them in her books given the resources at her disposal and investment publishing companies have made in them.

The lack of consistency also frustrates me. I don't understand why she "undoes" so much without providing appropriate context or reason, and for me, that even comes down to the fundamentals of the story. This could be helped somewhat with adequate worldbuilding, yet when it comes down to it, even the Night Court could at best be described as, "Whatever Feyre and Rhys want it to be." Or, it's culturally/politically whatever the plot needs it to be at that specific moment.

ACOWAR felt like the end of the series to me, so I think you bring up a good point with her not knowing where to take the story anymore. Maybe she does, and maybe she doesn't. There's always been a lot of aimless writing throughout the series, and each book could easily be cut down about two hundred pages without losing any substance or necessary detail.

There's a lot of room for complexity and intrigue she simply never digs into.

What are the consequences for the bargains being made (besides the short-sighted death pact)?

What do the people of Night truly think about a twenty-one-year-old human girl who became High Fae yesterday being made their High Lady?

What is the depth of the impact of Feyre's and Tamlin's actions to the survivors in Spring? Their lives were uprooted because their High Lord made stupid decisions and their lives were worsened because of a messy breakup.

SJM does deliver on the romance between Feyre and Rhys. I wasn't as sold on Nesta and Cassian (even if I love Cass). I'm curious to see what she will do with either Elain and Lucien or Elain and Azriel (or Azriel and Gwyn).

Aside from the first book (which, let be real, was completely unnecessary given the direction things took), the romances aren't at all my issue with her writing. The worldbuilding has always been an issue: there's no grounding, technology makes no sense, and fashion seems completely random in Night.

The retconning is inexcusable. It's very clear to me that regardless of what she says, she had very different plans for Tamlin at the start of the series. I always thought he and Feyre had no chemistry and that the whole thing felt forced, but she gave no such indication of awareness in the book. Feyre, in my opinion, immediately had more chemistry with Rhys, and while I think it was obvious something was inevitably going to happen between them, SJM took the easiest routes possible for herself (story be damned) and made Tamlin a mindless villain.

Did I ever like Tamlin? No.

Did I think he and Feyre needed to be together at any point? Definitely not.

Do I think he deserved to be written better and for his character to be given more nuance after spending an entire book with him? Absolutely.

I'm worried about what she'll do with Lucien, Elain, and the Autumn Court. Lucien has been my favorite from the beginning--I joked early on about him being exhausted from carrying all of Prythian and the entire first book on his back. Elain has tremendous potential in her own right, and so does the Autumn Court.

I would actually rather see SJM slow down in her writing. I think the speed shows when the story and characterization becomes messy and careless.

Recommendations

It depends on the type of romance you'd want. Carissa Broadbent is the complete opposite and not only digs into multifaceted characters, complex political systems, and intricate psychology, but she pretty much never comes up for breath. Each book in every series she writes gets better as it goes along. My favorite is her Crowns of Nyaxia series, but The War of Lost Hearts (an earlier series of hers) certainly checks the high fantasy worldbuilding boxes on a entirely different level. Every point that I feel SJM misses, Carissa nails.

Be warned: she will gleefully make you question quite a bit about your own morality.

It's not strictly fantasy romance, but Katherine Arden is also excellent in both prose, character complexity, nuance, and worldbuilding (the same strengths Carissa shares). I recommend The Winternight Trilogy.

If you're looking for something quirkier with a wildly twisted sense of humor, T. Kingfisher's Paladin's Grace is a great option. Her characters are also in their thirties/early forties in The Saint of Steel series. There are a few typos I recall seeing and the (obviously) intentional use of run-ons during humorous action scenes. The first two books are great. I did want more out of the third one, personally.

I recently read The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst and can say I will gladly pick up more of her books in the future. She has a lovely, gentle command of language, and this book in particular is the definition of cozy. The romance is light, but it's very sweet. This is a whimsical read perfect for a cottagecore crowd. I will say while I felt the last act wasn't as strong as the rest, it was still more than worth the read.

I haven't yet read Hoover, but I've heard quite a few similar opinions. At the end of the day, something not being for us doesn't mean we're against the author's success or bashing anyone else's opinions. It often means we either value different things in books or our opinions have been formed through different experiences.

[threebea]

Please go off on Master and Apprentice. Share please.

Okay I won't tag because I'm sure lots of people liked it and that's fair. YMMV. This is gonna be an uncharitable rant because I gotta complain and you have given me an excuse to.

To start I was listening to the audiobook and I didn't like the narrator's reading. It wasn't a bad reading it was very professional and he did different voices. He did a good job. I just didn't enjoy his voice. I recommend it if you like audiobooks and want to check out the book yourself because I think this is for sure a just me thing, but it might have added to why I feel so strongly about this.

Salt under the cut.

The main things that I didn't enjoy about the book were Qui-Gon's relationship with prophecy, the way Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon's rift was handled, Rael and Fanry being an obvious student falling to the Darkside metaphor but not really adding anything new to it, and the awkward way the book was trying to be in conversation with the prequels. Also I liked Rahara well enough, but I was never really invested in what was happening with her and Pax.

1. Qui-Gon and the Prophecy. I liked all of it up until Qui-Gon has his own prophecy and that being where his certainty comes from. I'd find it more interesting if he found his connection to the metaphysical through faith or in deliberate thought and consideration. Or even someone else having a vision and him coming to believe it. It just felt like a cop out to explain why Qui-Gon who is so grounded in the living force and here and now would believe in the prophecy of the chosen one when even members of the council are doubtful in TPM. Qui-Gon having it makes him look arrogant like he only believes in his own experiences. I don't know just rubbed me the wrong way.

2. Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon having a rift is fine, but the way it's set up means that it's been going on for four years with both aware of it. Qui-Gon throughout the book is seen as someone who takes everyone's point of view and even without aid of the Force is good at reading people. Several times in his pov he thinks how he knows exactly what Obi-Wan is thinking or feeling. He also seems completely aware why his teaching methods aren't getting through, but he doesn't change or try to communicate with Obi-Wan. He keeps waiting for Obi-Wan to change.

That's not a bad set up by itself, but the book contradicts itself. It keeps trying to convince you how great Qui-Gon is at teaching and communicating and then going on about how he thinks he's bad at it.

The book also passively mentions how Qui-Gon is a rebel and Obi-Wan is by the book. I think that's supposed to be their main clash, but it's murky. It kind of just shows itself by Obi-Wan bringing something up and at times being naive or callous in his interpretion and Qui-Gon being all: but think of the moral implications. Both of them are insufferable in those moments.

The conflict isn't resolved very well either. In the end Qui-Gon decides not to be a member of the Council and you think, oh it's in part because he wants to finish Obi-Wan's training, but it doesn't even get mentioned in his thought process. The actual thing that fixed the problem was Qui-Gon finally using his words and then it seemed like he immediately stopped using them again. So much for growth. I honestly think if Obi-Wan was fourteen or fifteen, the age Qui-Gon is in the flashbacks it would have made it work better and more comparisons between Dooku, Rael, and Qui-Gon's ways of teaching could have happened.

3. I saw the twist coming from the moment Qui-Gon and Obi-Wan conclude Fanry's guard is super loyal, so almost the beginning. Ah she actually doesn't want a constitutional monarchy I thought. She's gonna be the main antagonist. So maybe waiting for the shoe to drop made me annoyed when it came. Look yet another member of Disaster lineage whose pupil 'turns to the Darkside.' yes Fanry's not a Jedi but the comparison is obvious.

It just felt done to death honestly? I could see where the book was going about attachment. It wasn't even a bad example, but I just didn't care. Rael felt like a weird Anakin knockoff. Like why did he have to be an unconventional Jedi? Wouldn't it have been more interesting if a by the book Jedi had been going through these things? The outsider thing just felt like cream on a nothing cake recycling stuff from the prequels and not even really giving it a satisfying ending. Rael chooses to continue to be a Jedi even if he has to face the council. He chooses the light. So what? What happened with Fanry who tried to murder a bunch of people? Oh she's under house arrest for four years and we never hear from her after she gets couped? Cool. Didn't really care about her anyway book so glad to see you're not wasting my time with it. Like she's so obviously a plot device to be Betrayal Student and once that's done the book does not care about her anymore. It was like. Oh an opportunity for her character to be interesting but all she did was spew Dark Side Character lines and was conveniently put on a bus when she wasn't needed anymore.

4. Rahara and Pax. I liked Rahara, but I found the plot about the slavery once again trying too hard to have a conversation with the prequels without actually saying much of anything. It felt heavy handed. Pax's character growth wasn't terrible. The book was making him annoying on purpose, but it honestly felt like a dunk on neurodivergent people if I'm being honest and love 'fixes' him. The glove bit was actually very cute. There were good moments between them, I wanted to care about them more, but I didn't. I wanted to be back in Qui-Gon's or Obi-Wan's pov or any of the people from the palace including Rael. They were just kind of boring. Once again they were there because the plot needed someone to start a slave rebellion and it didn't make them particularly fun to read about.

5. Also the book tried to explain why it was dangerous for Jedi to go against their mandate in the most unconvincing way possible. Like Jedi shouldn't do this. Also there's slavery and someone should do something about that. The republic or someone who never will. Jedi cannot amass power. Although the Jedi are right there ... but they can't be soley responsible for change ... Unless...

I mean at least the book tried to explain why Jedi don't solve all the galaxy's problems, but it just makes you think they should drop their mandate and try to solve the galaxy's problems.

It felt like the book was saying at the end: Qui-Gon is morally superior to all Jedi especially the Council. I don't think that was the book's intention but that's how it came across to me and it sucked. Especially after Qui-Gon and his prophecy stuff left such a bad taste in my mouth and his training of Obi-Wan never gets an emotional conclusion except as an epilogue with Qui-Gon dead and Obi-Wan reflecting. (The phantom menace epilogue also felt like a cheap way to try to get an emotional pay off btw)

6. Oh Obi-Wan in the ship inside a ship felt like a rip-off of TPM when Anakin destroys the droid control ship and it being the origin of him not liking the fly did nothing for me. Like it was the pay off to something the book continued to set up. Oh he loves flying so much let's mention how much he enjoys it and how good he is at it. It's all to set up that moment and that moment wasn't a good punchline. It was a lazy sequence and added nothing for his character.

So yeah those are my main points of dislike.

Snippets I liked:

Obi-Wan befriending a varadactyl. Should have had more of that. Him riding in on his loyal mount should have been his big action moment honestly not the ship inside a ship bullshit.

Qui-Gon and Dooku flashbacks. I liked those. I thought there was good stuff in there. The detail of Dooku never helping with homework but letting Qui-Gon in his rooms to snack while he does it was a good character detail.

At first I thought the fake Kyber crystal thing would annoy me but I did actually like the switcharoo with Obi-Wan's crystal being switched and letting him get through the shield. The explanation felt a little sloppy. Like it is set up but I thought Obi-Wan figuring it out and switching it himself would have been better. Like a: I am so glad that worked! moment after. It could have linked in with the Obi-Wan and Qui-Gon rift showing that Obi-Wan was taking Qui-Gon's fears seriously and showing Qui-Gon the faith his Padawan has in him despite their disagreements and show him Obi-Wan can improvise. I digress.

The: you would have cut him in half line WAS pretty funny. Oh Obi-Wan always gotta cut someone to bits.

Qui-Gon being told to drop his weapon twice by someone with no experience in holding someone up and each time explaining exactly why he wasn't going to do that and the person being like: .... Yeah okay.

I had heard about the contrarian Obi-Wan thing before reading this and him being paired with Qui-Gon because his ultimate rebellion against Qui-Gon would be being a stickler for the rules which I liked before reading this book but now I'm kind of meh about it. Oh well.

So yeah, end rant. If you actually read this and you liked the book that's great. Everyone's taste is different. This one was not for me.

[whimsicaldragonette]

ARC Review: My Rogue to Ruin by Erica Ridley (The Wild Wynchesters #4)

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Publication Date: September 12, 2023

Synopsis:

The riotous Wynchester family has taken on a new case to expose a forger, but the prime suspect isn't at all what he seems in this captivating Regency romp from a New York Times bestselling author. Lord Adrian Webb is a no-good, roguish, rakish scoundrel of the first order, which is why his father sends him to the Continent and cuts him off without a farthing. When (penniless) in Rome, what's a disgraced gentleman to do, but dabble in some light forgery? After all, better to leave the original works of art where they belong instead of some English snob's drawing room. But soon his scheme snowballs out of control, and a blackmailer is out to ruin him. The Wynchester family is known for their daring capers to help those in need. Until now, Marjorie has always let her siblings take the lead when it comes to planning undercover work. But someone in London is trying to pass off counterfeits and this time she's the only one with the skill needed to find the culprit. Her investigations lead her straight to Lord Adrian Webb. But every time Marjorie thinks she's figured Adrian out, she learns something new that turns all her assumptions on their head. He's a sinner. A saint. A heartless scoundrel. A loyal brother. A liar. A good kisser. Er…wait… She can't afford to lose herself in the passionate embrace of a man she'll have to turn over to the magistrate as soon as the case is closed.

My Rating: ★★★★★

*My Review and Favorite Quotes below the cut.

My Review:

I always love Erica Ridley's books, and I love the Wild Wynchesters the most. A charming, witty family of orphans with unusual talents who dedicate their less-than-legal efforts to the protection of those in need. What's not to love?

This is Marjorie's book, and it was so nice to get more of an understanding of her character. She has hung back in previous books (for reasons nicely explained here) and so was the Wynchester I was least familiar with. She is not only an incredible artist and forger, she has synesthesia and has a stubborn, independent streak that has previously been well-hidden.

Adrian is a cheerful, charming forger who gets in trouble with a slimy crime boss and requires Marjorie and her family to rescue him. The banter and flirting between them was such fun, and I loved seeing two artists and creative minds working together and sparking ideas off each other. It was inspiring.

I read the entire book with a smile on my face and hated to see the story end. I don't think I could ever get tired of the Wynchesters' heists and capers and sheer chaos. This is definitely one of my favorite romance series. The story is fun and light and flows easily and the characters are well-rounded and feel like real people.

I can't wait for Elizabeth's book. I realize I've been saying that from the beginning, but it's still true. She always manages to steal the show for a bit from the sidelines for me. I'm terribly curious about Jacob's story as well. His trained animals also always steal the show a bit and inject a lot of humor into the story. How could adorable homing kittens and hedgehogs fail to charm?

I have preordered the audiobook so I can listen to the story again when I need to be cheered up. I highly recommend this series for fans of lighthearted Regency romps (one of my favorite genres).

*Thanks to NetGalley and Forever for providing an early copy for review.

Favorite Quotes:

Any book a reader chose to invest time in was by definition a worthy book.

---

“Finally,” Elizabeth said with feeling. “I thought I’d never get to use my sword.”

---

“Any excuse to create art is a good reason.”

---

Marjorie hooked her arm through Adrian’s. “We each have our talents.” Elizabeth brightened. “Is my talent murder?”

[uwuwriting]

Road trip w/ Kaminari, Shinsou and Bakugou

Request: Shinso, Kami, and Bakugou on a long trip/plane ride with their S/o? Happy holidays bb! - 🥐

I wish I could go on a trip. I need Christmas break to last longer, I’m not ready to go back to school and study for uni, I’m not emotionally capable. I hate it here.💖💖💖

masterlist II rules

warnings: fluff

Kaminari Denki

-You have a mini fight about who gets to drive at first. 

-You don’t trust him because he is dumb and bisexual and he believes that you’ll fall asleep ont he wheel cuz you stayed up until like 2 am the previous day downloading music and making playlists for the journey. 

-He gets to drive the first shift and it goes relatively well.

-You get some extra sleep, he enjoys his time behind the wheel and boom you’re now at a gas station having brunch before hitting the road again.

-Karaoke driving. 

-I think that’s all I have to say about your road trip with this guy. 

-HE will ignore the playlists with the soft songs because he needs to vibe at first. 

-Kills it with the Shakira impressions like you start wondering what would happen if he suddenly decides to follow a music career like Jiro. 

-So many bathroom stops. 

-Does this man have a prostate problem because damn.

-He can’t go for more than an hour without stopping to pee. 

-The one time you ask to stop at a gas station for a bathroom break he suggests just stopping at the side of the road and you could pee there. 

- “I do it so you can too.” 

-Denki honey I don’t have a dick to wip out…...I need essentials. 

-May or may not have taken the wrong exit at some point and you took a thirty minute detour. 

-At least you got some nice photos out of it. 

-Speaking of photos. 

-Your camera roll will be filled with selfies, stupid videos of Kami hyping himself up at a red light. 

-Races with other cars at said red lights. 

-You fear for your life most of the time, grasping the door handle like your life depended on  it because in reality it kinda did. 

-You beg him to take over and drive for a little bit but he brushes you off. 

- “You seem tired baby, let me drive for a bit.” 

- “Nope I’m perfectly fine Y/N. Gonna get us to the hotel so fucking fast.” 

- “Denki no-”

-He calms down after a while, and he lets you put on your soft playlist so you could both just vibe. 

-His hand is resting on your thigh, giving it a few firm squeezes every now and then. 

-He likes drumming the beat of the song on your skin.

-You start random conversations about anything and everything and if you’re being honest you love these types of moments. 

-There are no villains to fight, no danger in the horizon *apart from his driving* and you get to enjoy the tranquility while enjoying the ride.

-Denki starts telling you about adopting a dog and you joke that he would be a horrible dog dad. 

- “Maybe cats are better for you babe.” 

-You are no longer heroes. 

-You are just a couple going on a road trip, away from all your troubles and worries just you and him. 

-You reach the hotel later than you expected though…..it was those damn bathroom breaks!!!

Shinsou Hitoshi

-The trip is spontaneous. 

-You were both chillin in your apartment when he popped the question. 

- “Wanna go on a trip? I’m bored.” 

-You never expected him to pick a place this far away, you weren’t complaining though. 

-Road trips with him are immaculate. 

-He helps you pack your bags in no time, picking your favorite outfits out and placing them in your travel bags along with a bunch of snacks and a fluffy blanket. 

-You hit the road in less than an hour.

-It’s still dark out when you start your trip and Hitoshi insists you take a nap, get your beauty sleep while he drives. 

- “Don’t worry we won’t crash, I hope.”

-You do take a nap eventually but not for long and you wake up just in time to watch the sunrise with your boyfriend. 

-He will pull over and take pictures with the sunrise as your background. 

-He says he needs a new wallpaper on his phone and there’s an empty picture frame at his desk back at work. 

-He needs to fill them somehow. 

-Around noon he brings the fluffy blanket in the front seat, wrapping it around you so you can snuggle and possibly fall asleep again. 

-In reality he wants to take more pictures of  you with drool dripping down your chin for blackmail purposes but you will not yield !!!

-The trip is mainly filled with music and low humming coming from the both of you. 

-Though when a love song that reminds him of you comes on he will lean over and grip your thigh, giving it a soft squeeze, a blush blooming on his cheeks. 

-Makes many stops in spots that look great for photos or having an amazing view. 

-Definitely has prepared a picnic basket and before you know it you are munching down on some sandwiches he made while your feet are dangling over a small cliff you happened to come across. 

-Shares random facts about nature and animals with you. 

-Shinsou strikes me as a guy who watches a lot of documentaries and animal planet shows, so he has obtained random information and now he is explaining the mating cycle of penguins. 

-Would definitely prefer to sleep in the car and not rent a room. 

-He wants to stay outside looking at the stars for as long as possible and then snuggle up with you in the driver's seat, your head against his chest and his hand buried in your hair. 

-If you want to go to a hotel because you feel more comfortable, he won’t complain. 

-As long as he gets to cuddle you anything is fine in his book. 

-He puts on YOUR song while you are looking at the sky and invites you to dance with him. 

-Wraps his arms around your waist and slowly sways you back and forth, following the rhythm of the song as he looks into your eyes. 

-He loves capturing the moment so expect many photos to be taken and a bunch of videos of you two dancing. 

-He has his crackhead moments though so you can expect to be shoved into the water if you’re near a lake or at the beach. 

-He might draw a mustache on you while you sleep but don’t worry you get payback when he is asleep. 

Bakugou Katsuki 

-Whines while you back everything. 

-And when I say whines I mean he grumbles under his breath about this stupid shirt that he can’t seem to fold correctly.

-Anyways once you hit the road he is more relaxed than usual. 

-He keeps this tight, aggressive persona out in public you sometimes forget that this man, this amazing partner is also a pro hero who is known for his rough edges. 

-Sure, his explosive behavior doesn’t disappear when he is with you but he is a lot tamer and calm around you.

-During the car ride he makes small talk with you, sharing random events from his patrols and stupid shit his “squad” have done while out in public. 

-When he comes home every night he is just so tired that many details slip his mind as he recounts his day to you, seeing him right now a genuine smile gracing his lips as his only focus is the road in front of him really warms your heart. 

-He becomes more affectionate. 

-Hand gripping yours while he drives or his palm on your thigh, rubbing your soft skin as he hums along with the music. 

-Even if he needs to switch gears he won’t let go.

-Surprisingly he is the type to put on an audio book after a while. 

-Usually it's after your wedding song is over or soon after that. 

-Your song is like a trigger and suddenly sophisticated Bakugou emerges asking you to pick an audiobook from his collection and put it on. 

-Gets really invested in the story and pauses it every five minutes so you can discuss it. 

- “She could have escaped through the window why the fuck did she let herself get caught?” 

- “No Katsu!!! She needs to make sure the prince is alive!!” 

- “That’s fucking dumb!” 

-Let’s you take candid pictures of him and won’t complain when you coo over how pretty he looks with the sun behind him. 

-Don’t worry he is plotting to fill his gallery of pics of you sleeping. 

-When you actually fall asleep he will turn the radio down and hum softly under his breath. 

-If it starts raining heavily he will pull over and wait for it to calm down a bit. 

-My personal headcanon is that Katsuki has a car with a skylight *if that’s what its called* so he brings the seats down and you lay there admiring the rain falling onto the glass. 

-He likes talking about more serious matters when you are like this. 

-From your future to what pet your future kids could have. 

-If you get cold while waiting for the rain to calm down, he has a blanket on the ready. 

-He places you on his chest and drapes the blanket over you, enjoying your warmth and the filling of your pulse under his fingertips. 

-Might get a little emotional if a slow song is playing. 

-He is just too overwhelmed by his emotions at times like these, when he can hold you and feel the pure love and adoration flow between the two of you like water. 

-I love you’s are exchanged and many kisses. 

-When he starts driving again he is so refreshed, it’s like a completely different person. 

-Gas station stops and bathroom breaks are a nightmare cuz he keeps hyping himself up in order to go into Bakugou public mode. 

-You just want your Katsuki, the cuddly Katsuki. 

TAG TEAM AY: 

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[bluesky-thewebcomic]

Final thoughts from Elvenwhovian

So here we are at the end. The last panel. There were a lot of times that I thought I wouldn’t make it to this point. It’s been an incredible and long journey, and finishing a project like this is satisfying beyond words. I know that many of you were not here from the start, so I just wanted to share the story of how this 930 panel monster of a project came to be and thank a few people who helped along the way.

Really it all started in March of 2014. My roommate had taken a trip to New Zealand to visit family and I was having a pity party at home alone (It’s always been a dream of mine to go to New Zealand). I was window shopping online on Thinkgeek (RIP Thinkgeek) and I was seeing all this merch for a game called Portal. This led me to Steam, which led to finishing the first Portal in about a day, then Portal2 in about 2 weeks. 

Of course this led me to begin looking up fan art which led me to discover the fanfiction “Blue Sky”. I read the whole thing in about 4 days. I was so engrossed in the story, I ate, slept, went to work, and read Blue Sky and nothing else. I vividly remember sitting at my kitchen table, ipad in hand, as I read the last lines of the story. I sat back, let out a long breath and said, “Wow. That was one of the best stories I’ve ever read.” 

The fan art came next. Being relatively new to tumblr, I was used to getting 3-6 notes on a post. Suddenly, people were coming out of the woodwork liking and reblogging. My mind was blown and it made me want to make more fan art. Then I met @starry-nightengale who became one of my best friends on this site. We fangirled over “Blue Sky” and Portal over the next year which led to us co-writing “The Trial of the Bow” trilogy, a medieval/fairytale retelling of Portal, Portal 2, Blue Sky, and Portal Stories: Mel. 

It was on Labor day weekend of 2015 when my internet went down inexplicably. My roommate who had the internet in her name was out of town yet again and I conceded that I would have to wait until she got back to get the issue resolved. The Trial of the Bow Trilogy was finished and I had just co-written with @the-royal-sketchbook a Half-life Medival/fairytale fanfic “The Legend of the Freeman.” However, my passion for Half-life was not as strong as it was for Blue Sky and I longed to do something else involving Wheatley, Chell, and the citizens of Eaden. 

Most of the people that I encouraged to read Blue Sky did not have the time to invest into a novel length book. I longed to create something more accessible. A comic book/graphic novel of the story had been in the back of my mind for a long time, but when the desire rose up in me, the thought of “but you would have to do backgrounds and you suck at backgrounds” reared its ugly head. 

But on that Labor day weekend, a thought occurred to me. “What if I did it as a comic? Very loose and simple. Something that I could do for fun without any heavy commitment.” So that weekend, I did a quick pencil drawing of the scene when Wheatley and Chell argue from Chapter 5. I threw some color on it and put it on tumblr and it got a great response. Then I did the scene when Chell transfers Wheatley into the hardlight avatar from Chapter 3. Another great response. It was simple and loose but people seemed to like it. I asked Starry what she thought about doing the whole story in such a way. If memory serves, she was for it but warned me not to get too far ahead of myself. If I did this, it would be a huge project and would take a lot of planning and forethought. BTW, good advice Starry ;)

After completing all of Chapter 1, I made the announcement, created the page, and the Blue Sky Web comic was born.

One of the things that helps me to recharge each week is drawing/working on art on Sunday afternoons. In the past, I had struggled to find things to work on, but no more. Sunday was now Blue Sky Comic day. I would post 2 panels and create 4 more. If I had extra time on holidays or days off I would get extra done. This system allowed me to consistently add to the project without feeling rushed or overwhelmed. I was able to get ahead so that I could take breaks for holidays, trips, computer problems, and eventually planning my wedding and getting married. The Blue Sky Web Comic became a constant in my life. Whenever I needed to decompress and just draw or color in panels, it was there. 

In late summer of 2019, my Father was diagnosed with cancer. If any of you have walked through cancer with someone, you know how difficult and painful it can be. My husband and I took a trip to see my parents about once a month for the next 8 months. The drive was fairly long and was the perfect opportunity to work on what I called “pencil work” for the comic (sketching out the layout of each panel, a process that took the most concentration and time). Working on the comic helped to keep my mind off of things. Each time we visited my Dad his condition declined and being able to focus on something like the “pencil work” helped to make the trips better.

In spring of 2020, right before the COVID-19 lockdown, my Father passed away. It was right before that final trip that I finished the “Pencil work”. By then I had also made a lot of headway on the comic itself, with only a few chapters left to ink and color. I remember reading stories and blogs about how people made it through difficult times by focusing on a hobby, tv show, book, or music; not living in denial of the bad things, but just having something to help them take a break from it all. That was what the Blue Sky Comic was for me in those final days and I will always cherish how it was one of the things that helped me to make it through that difficult period in my life.

With the COVID-19 lockdown, I had some extra time to work on the comic and by late spring of 2020, I finished the last panel. It still kind of blows my mind. From 2015 to 2020 was how long it took to complete.

____________

To the 2000+ followers and those who replied, liked, reblogged, and sent messages, your words helped me to keep going when I wondered if it was worth it. Your kind thoughts helped me to know that this story is still enjoyed by people and Portal fans alike.

To @starry-nightengale, thank you for your advice at the beginning and your support and friendship along the way. Here’s to many more ^w^

And to @wafflebloggies, thank you for writing Blue Sky. It may seem overdramatic, but when I found this fic back in 2014, I was in a dark place and your story helped me hold onto the light. Even years later when faced with new trials, it helped me to focus on what was ahead. I truly believe that this story resonates with so many people because it taps into the most simple and profound truth: the most powerful love is selfless. And selfless love can conquer any difficulty. Also your support of the comic over the years made me smile with delight. I’m so glad you liked it :)

So that’s the story. I plan to do more audiobooks of the rest of the Trial of the Bow trilogy, but after that I’m going to be taking a nice long break from Blue Sky and Portal.  I have a personal passion project that I am in the initial stages on. It's another web comic that I actually couldn’t have even considered doing if not for the experience I gained over the past 5 years. I’ll have updates on my personal tumblr for that project and the audiobooks, but for this page, The Blue Sky Web comic, this will be one of my final posts (aside from responding to any messages from you guys). Thank you all again for following. What an incredible journey this has been! This fandom is so amazing and I love you all. Take care and God bless. - Elvy

[ladyherenya]

This was more-books-than-sometimes month, because rather than take the time to write about the books I'd finished, I just read more books! Also, I read a lot over the Easter break, including some shorter books and a very binge-able series.

Also read: Two-Step and Someone Like Me by Stephanie Fournet, Hooked by Cathy Yardley, “Cloudy with a Chance of Dropbears” and “All the Different Shades of Blue” by W.R. Gingell, and “Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory” by Martha Wells.

Reread: A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer.

Total: nineteen novels (including two audiobooks and one reread), one novella collection, two novellas, two novelettes and one short story.

Cover thoughts: Bellewether’s blue cover is (unsurprisingly) my favourite. I also really like The Ghosts of Sherwood. 

Still reading: A Portrait of Loyalty by Roseanna M. White and Playing Hearts by W.R. Gingell.

Next up: Torch by R.J. Anderson.

My full reviews are on Dreamwidth and LibraryThing.

*

The Rose Code by Kate Quinn (narrated by Saskia Maarleveld): Historical mystery about three young women who worked at Bletchley Park during WWII.

My favourite out of the books I’ve read so far this year. Most of the narrative is set during the war, but interspersed with sections set in 1947 -- when Beth, in a sanitarium after a breakdown, has sent her two estranged friends a coded message begging for help. I loved this, but at times found it stressful and heartbreaking! The writing is so lively and effective and emotional. 4½ ★

 *

Castle Charming by Tansy Raynor Roberts: Fairytale retellings, collection of novellas.

A very entertaining and a somewhat different take on fairytales, focusing on the reporters, Royal Hounds and royalty at Castle Charming. Some of the character dynamics felt similar to those in Roberts’ Unreal Alchemy although I didn’t feel quite as attached to these characters. I’ll read the sequel. 3 ★ 

*

Bellewether by Susanna Kearsley: Historical and contemporary fiction, set in Long Island during the so-called Seven Years War in 1759 and the present day.

Alternates between a curator overseeing turning a house in a museum and some of the house’s previous occupants, including a French-Canadian Lieutenant awaiting hostage exchange. Despite the various tensions the characters face, there’s something slow and ultimately gentle about this story. Which is lovely --  I enjoyed the picturesque sense of place and astute observations of people -- but it is less dramatic than I was expecting. 3½ ★

*

Happy Trail by Daisy Prescott: Contemporary romance, set on the Appalachian Trail.

A park ranger and a hiker shelter together during a storm. I was fascinated by the insight into hiking the Appalachian Trail and enjoyed some of the characters’ interactions, although I thought the way the romance unfolded was somewhat anticlimactic. Not always what I wanted, but I don't regret reading it.

*

Legacy by Stephanie Fournet: Contemporary enemies-to-roommates-to-lovers.

Wes offers to move in with his late-best friend’s girlfriend to help her out financially. This sort of hurt/comfort appeals to me. I liked how seriously this story takes Corinne’s messy, consuming grief. I don’t really want to spend any more time with the characters, but I was very invested in seeing them reach a better place in their lives.

Two-Step by Stephanie Fournet: Contemporary romance between an actress and a dance instructor. I enjoyed reading this. I particularly enjoyed how Beau helps Iris with her anxiety about dancing and with her controlling mother/manager. He’s very supportive and understanding! But I finished this with a niggling feeling of dissatisfaction -- Iris needed more opportunity to support Beau in turn.

Someone Like Me by Stephanie Fournet: Contemporary romance between a yoga instructor and her new neighbour, who has just got out of prison.

This one didn’t particularly appeal to me. Although interesting to see the experiences of someone recently released from prison, the romance developed too quickly.

(No, I didn’t read all three of these back-to-back!)

*

Hooked by Cathy Yardley: Contemporary fandom-y romance novella, set near Seattle. Takes place during Level Up and is about two of Tessa’s colleagues.

I enjoyed the characters' interactions and would have liked this more if it hadn't felt rushed. 

*

The Ghosts of Sherwood by Carrie Vaughn: Historical Robin Hood retelling, novella.

Exactly what I wanted! It alternates between Robin and Marian’s eldest daughter, Mary, and Marian herself. I liked seeing Robin and Marian as a long-married couple, who still love each other and still have disagreements. And the dynamic between their children gave me a zing of recognition, reminding me of my siblings. 3½ ★

*

The City Between by W.R. Gingell: Australian YA urban fantasy (murder) mysteries. Set in Hobart.

I ended up enjoying this series so much more than I’d expected to!

Between Jobs: After a neighbour is murdered, our seventeen-year-old orphaned narrator acquires some unexpected housemates -- two fae, one vampire. Once I got past the opening, with its tales of murder, the worldbuilding intrigued me. I still wasn’t sure what I thought about her housemates or the fact that they call her “Pet”, but was willing to reserve judgement until I’d read more. 3 ★

Between Shifts: About supermarket shifts and shapeshifters. Pet and JinYeong go undercover at the local grocery store. This is a reasonable murder mystery. I was initially disappointed with how something played out (but in retrospect can see how that was actually a positive development for Pet). It ended on a cliffhanger, so I was extra motivated to start the next book. 2½ ★

Between Floors: This is where the series took off, because things suddenly get personal! One of her fae housemates has been captured and the closest any of them get to finding Athelas is Pet contacting him in her dreams.This raises a lot of interesting questions, not just about Pet’s abilities, but about her relationship with her housemates. How much does she trust them and how much do they value Pet’s personhood? 3½ ★

Between Frames: Pet’s housemates are hired to investigate a series of fae deaths around Hobart, which involves scrutinising some baffling security footage.  Another solid murder mystery.  The final pages felt like one step forward, two steps back, but yet again, in retrospect, this was a positive development. I’m glad I could dive immediately into the next book. 3 ★

Between Homes: Pet has moved in with some friends. Hurray for Pet having friends! I think this was the point where I started to feel comfortable with Pet calling herself Pet -- when it's the name used by people she likes and trusts and who don’t view her as a pet at all. 3½ ★

“Cloudy with a Chance of Dropbears” (novelette): An awesome title and an entertaining opportunity to see Pet from someone else’s perspective -- moreover, someone who doesn’t know her or what she’s capable of. 3 ★

Between Walls: Pet’s friend Morgana is worried about an online friends and asks Pet and co to investigate his disappearance. Along the way, they discover that there are human groups who actually know a lot about Behindkind. I am also becoming increasingly entertained by the Korean vampire. 3 ★

“All the Different Shades of Blue” (novelette): A great cover and it explains who that guy at the cafe is, but otherwise didn’t really do anything Cloudy with a Chance of Dropbears hadn’t already done -- ie., show us Pet from someone else’s perspective. Most of the time, I have enjoyed this series all the more for binging it, but I suspect this particular story would have worked better if I had read it after a period of absence. 2½ ★

Between Cases:  My favourite of these have been the ones where things get personal, and this involves a lot of revelations about who Pet is -- from a fae perspective -- and why her parents were murdered. I enjoyed this one a lot. 3½ ★

*

The Duke of Olympia Meets His Match by Juliana Gray: Historical espionage romance novella, set in 1893 onboard an ocean liner travelling to England. Apparently not the Duke’s first appearance in Gray’s fiction.

I liked the idea here much better than the execution. I liked Penelope, a fifty-year-old widow dependent upon her position as a governess, and I enjoyed her interactions with the older Duke of Olympia. But parts of the spy plot were rushed or confusing, and the resolution was almost-but-not-entirely satisfying. 2½ ★

*

A Vow So Bold and Deadly by Brigid Kemmerer: Fantasy. Follows on from the fairytale-retelling A Curse So Dark and Lonely and its sequel, A Heart So Fierce and Broken.

If this is meant as a conclusion to a trilogy, then the ending was a bit too anticlimactic, with a few too many loose ends, to be really satisfying. But I reached the end feeling positive about the story, because I really enjoyed the characters’ interactions. All of the protagonists have to deal with conflict in relationships. I loved the times when they each navigate these conflicts by acting fairly and communicating honestly, when doing so is often difficult and complicated. That’s realistic and satisfying. 3½ ★

*

“Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory” by Martha Wells:  Science-fiction short story. Part of The Murderbot Diaries series, set after Exit Strategy.

Very, very short but I really liked seeing things from Dr Ayda Mensah’s (third person) perspective. 3½ ★

*

Emily of Deep Valley by Maud Hart Lovelace: Historical coming-of-age fiction, set in Minnesota in 1912-3.

I am very glad to finally have read this! It’s delightful, a fascinating insight into community life in a Minnesotan town, and it effectively captures the emotional experience of navigating a period of transition. After high school, Emily’s friends  leave for college, but Emily has to find her own path to purposefully fill her time, build connections and further her education. 4 ★

*

On Wings of Devotion by Roseanna M. White (narrated by Susan Lyons): Romantic historical mystery, set in London during 1918. Christian fiction. Features characters from The Number of Love.

Arabelle Denler is a nurse working in a London hospital; Phillip Camden is an airman now working for British Intelligence. I enjoyed their interactions, especially once they start to get to know each other. I didn’t like the antagonist’s contribution to this narrative -- between the dangers of wartime and the protagonists’ respective issues, there’s enough tension without her. But what I enjoyed about this story outweighed what I didn’t. 3½ ★

*

Our Darkest Night by Jennifer Robson: Historical fiction set during the Nazi occupation of Italy in WWII.

Nina, a young Jewish woman from Venice, goes into hiding by pretending she’s married to Nico, a Catholic farmer. Robson’s strength lies in pairing details of daily life with likeable characters, realistic dialogue and a sweet romance. I read this quickly and eagerly. But if the characters had been more nuanced, more complex, or if their emotions had been conveyed more vividly, I likely would have found reading this a more emotional experience. 3½ ★

[xserpx]

Battle Ground Thoughts

Major spoilers below.

The Good

I really enjoyed the last part of the fight with Ethniu. Hendrick's sacrifice was well done, and the Marcone reveal was fantastic. The action was really great, although it did get too much at times, especially the beginning of the fight with Ethniu where it’s more like reading a shonen manga, lots of huge ‘final’ attacks and mist clearing as they wait for the blood spray before someone pulls a trap card. Still pretty likeable.

Marcone as a Knight of the Blackened Denarius is intriguing. My one caveat is that I think it diminishes his post-Small Favor achievements quite a bit, knowing he had access to all that power. It makes sense, especially considering just how much Marcone was able to get done, but yeah, I liked this little twist. Marcone is probably the main reason I would keep reading the books, as things stand.

I like the fact Harry's finally been kicked off the White Council, as he should be. I'm not sure why this is controversial, though. He’s clearly broken several laws, and tbh I was kind of surprised they kept him on after becoming the Winter Knight, like... conflicted interests, much?

Drakul and the Blampires were cool. Wouldn't mind seeing them again.

The Bad

Justine's reveal, while interesting bc omg Outsiders infesting the characters we love, it also absolutely terrifies me in terms of what it actually means for Thomas/Justine both in the future and in the past. A future that might not even happen, now. And considering how long it's been since she was infected, it's entirely possible a lot of Justine's feelings have been manufactured as well. One of the things at the top of my Do Not Want list was Justine or the baby getting hurt, and now we’re here.

I'm severely disinterested in Harry/Lara. I have no idea where it's going, but it's boring at best. Maybe Jim Butcher has an idea for it that doesn’t result in me rolling my eyes, but I’m not feeling charitable today.

Ivy and Harry never got a proper conversation. Also why tf was Ivy dressed in a school uniform for that fight? Unless she's a sailor senshi or something, it just doesn't make sense. Plus she should be in her mid-late teens by now, ffs, not her early teens.

We're still drawing out the Starborn mystery? Ugh, ok.

Michael's cursing out the White Council for kicking Harry off the team... Completely OOC, sorry, I hated it. Michael is a great character because he doesn't swear as a matter of principle. If he had to start swearing, that was a bad hill to choose.

The way the morality of the White Council flip flops depending on Dresden's mood is getting annoying. At the meeting at the end, he says the Council is the biggest defender of humanity, and that he's clearly sitting at the monsters' table, but they're also supposed to be the enemy for treating him as such? Ebenezar and some of the Seniors are douchebags, for sure - especially Eb as it's personal - but Carlos and the rest are solid good guys trying to do their best. After everything that's happened, Harry shouldn't be so freaking bitter. He’s a monster now. Either own it, or make different choices. Also Carlos should’ve told him what Molly did to him. I hate that this hasn’t been addressed and that Carlos just looks like a suspicious bastard when he’s actually sustained life-changing injuries and trauma. Communication generally between Harry and the White Council needs to start happening like yesterday.

Butters needs to just go away, please. Give me a break from this shithead. He's had a few months of training and can keep up with literally everyone. He gets all these Crowning Moments of Awesome, but he never suffers for it, and at this point I'm genuinely wondering whether he'll ever suffer any consequences whatsoever. Also he constantly outshines Sanya, who is ostensibly better qualified, and the Sword of Hope should have been the stronger of the two in that last fight. I’m sick of hearing how great Butters is, and being expected to laugh at all his dumb, nerdy references.

Harry barely thinks about Thomas when he considers his recent losses. Sure Thomas is still alive, but barely, with no guarantees he'll survive or that he'll come back the same person. Harry should be grieving for him as much as he's grieving for Karrin at this point. I also wanted there to be more reason behind Thomas's actions, some sort of conspiracy within the White Court, but there wasn't. It's bad enough being anxious for Thomas, but being anxious for his whole goddamn family is just way too much, ffs.

The Ugly

I mean, I've told people: if I'd tried to imagine a worst case scenario for Karrin Murphy's death, it would have been better than the ending we got. It's worse than James Norrington dying at the hands of Bootstrap Bill. It's worse than Superman's dad dying while trying to save the dog. She shouldn't have died at all, period, but if she absolutely had to go, there is no fucking way in HELL that that was the best way for it to happen. Whether she comes back or not, there is no way to justify that scene. Gard saying she saved everyone by defending Dresden might be a satisfying Watsonian explanation for some, but of all the times, of all the places, of all the ways, and of all the people... JB picked the absolute worst possible combination. Absolute. Garbage. It's not that he can't write decent sacrifices. Hendrick's death was superb! So why the FUCK couldn't Murph get the same treatment? Why the FUCK was she killed off so FUCKING pointlessly? This isn't a real life story. This isn't some hyperrealistic, anyone can die, Game of Thrones type bullshit, where you can just kill off the second main character as shock value and have it be valuable to a bigger theme. This is the Dresden Files, a fucking series where all the women are Playboy models, and there's a middle-aged dweeby guy in sports goggles riding a skateboard and wielding a lightsaber and facing off with a Titan after just a few months of training, and having threesomes with bisexual women half his age, one of whom wears a fucking Avengers t-shirt to bed. It's a fanservice show. So it is not too much to ask for the main female character to be given the kind of death she actually deserves, let alone that she be allowed to live long enough to enjoy a relationship that's been so fantastically built up over 15+ books. (Query: was any of her family at her funeral? Audiobooks make searching hard, and I can’t find out if that was mentioned.) It's not unfair to hate the FUCK out of JB for pulling such a horrible, awful, LAZY move. I didn’t cry when it happened. I actually laughed quite a bit, maniacally, because it was that much of a train wreck. I'm not crying now, either. I'm just so, so tired. RIP Murph.

Granted, I haven't had to wait for a Dresden Files book like this before. Skin Game had a very neat ending, whereas this asks way, way, way more questions than it answers, which is probably more par for the course in this series? But now my two favourite characters are out of the field and may never come back, and I'm just so fucking tired and disappointed, and tired of being disappointed. I don't know whether it's worth staying invested in the vague hope Jim Butcher will start giving a shit about anyone other than Butters, but I can't see the next book being much good when Thomas and Karrin won't be there. When Karrin may never be there again. When I don't even know if the next book will show up, or if there'll be another hiatus resulting in a mediocre story.

I'm predicting that there'll be a Murph-centric short story in the near future that'll probably be a "gotcha!" to all the fans like me who fucking hate how BG turned out. Either it'll finish her off entirely or hint at a resurrection, which may or may not come. Either way, it won't justify her death. It won't make this better.

If I wasn’t as invested in Karrin, I’d like this book more. I can understand if people like it, and there are definitely some good things about it, but it’s hard to appreciate those bits when there’s such a massive pile of stinking shit sitting smack bang in the middle.

[joliepixie]

I’ve been reading almost everyday since April 16th thanks to the stay at home order. Not that I’m complaining but I feeling like it’s time to return to work if only for my activity level! its become a struggle to remove myself enough to go for a walk or run. Anyways onto the books.

Left to right:

1) I ordered this book when I was in the middle of the Throne of Glass series as a nice book to break up the series (can’t read series books back to back I get bored that way) but also to fulfill the Sarah J. Maas craving I was having without having to invest in a series. I don’t know was expecting with this book but for me it made me realize I’m not that into superhero books... don’t get me wrong it was a good book and I think I gave it 3 stars?? It just didn’t resonate with me. I didn’t much enjoy the characters and I had a hard time believing catwoman was this super badass didn’t lose one fight to anyone type of character that had assassin training. I preferred the early chapters when she was just a kid trying to make a living by fighting I think following that would have been a bit more interesting. Ok Just checked rated it 4 stars... This is why I do these “reviews” cause sometimes I don’t know how I feel about a book till I sit down and start blabbing about it. So yes a 3 star book for me.

2) Ok I have a serious addiction apparently. After reading the Throne of Glass books I wasn’t done with Sarah J. Maas’ writing style yet so with me having a week of uninterrupted home time left and having a serious book hangover I decided to re-read the ACOTAR series again.. probably just the first two because I like the build up to Rhys and Feyra’s relationship. Needless to say other then having to spend the majority of this book with Tamlin I love this book or more specifically the under the mountain trails. Going into the book for the first time last year I wasn’t expecting the trails and being a huge fan of competitions, trails, etc. I was enthralled. Love this book and love the second book even more. Oh and I promise I will be branching out from Sarah J. Maas soon considering I’ve had all her books read and just waiting for breath and sky now.

3) Another re-read/slowly trying to read every book on my bookshelf after a reading slump of 3 years. As I’ve been saying to my friends. I’m weeding out the weak deciding what to keep and what to give away. Anyways, absolutely love this book. Say what you will about Nicholas Sparks but he knows how to tug at the heart strings. When I first read this book I was in highschool and getting through those last 100 pages is tough is a terribly sad type of way. I remember I had to give my dad a hug when he got home after sobbing on the couch for hours. This book broke and I went in knowing this and I spent my entire night crying, let my dad know I loved him, and woke up with sore and puffy eyes so bad that I couldn’t read at all the next day. Regardless of how much I love this book I’m keeping it for the sake of the memories I have with it and as a reminder to let my parents know I love them unconditionally and never stay mad.

4) If you remember I picked this book up on one of my thrifting trips with my friend. Funny story I accidentally bought two copies thinking they were different stories. I have a obsession with Paris (even though I haven’t gone.. just waiting for covid to end so I can get out there) which was the main reason for this purchase and I’m glad I got it. I read this immediately after Kingdom of Ash because I needed something quick and what better then a book of short stories some involving Paris? I loved the majority of the stories in this book and will definitely be re reading a few someday. I tried reading this author other book me Before You when I was really young but being so young I don’t think I appreciated it as much as I should have. After picking up this book and being reacquainted with this authors writing style I think I’ll be trying some of her other books and probably dusting off my old copy of Me Before You.

5) I’ve been having an tough time with thrillers recently where I’ve read a lot that just didn’t sit well with me. This one reminded me why I like thrillers so much. I found this one fast paced and didn’t have to sit through chapter after chapter of the characters drinking while she took her medication. Sometimes I find with thrillers we are always given these characters that are so dependent on there vices which are used against them to make them seem crazy rather then something actually happening which drags on and sometimes used as a crutch in writing do you get what I’m saying? Even though this book did have a bit of this happening it wasn’t used nearly as much as other books and like I said very fast pace. It was neat how there wasn’t a grand reveal but the main character just worked it out on her own. I was happy with the ending as well and thought it ended the book well. All and all I liked this book a lot.

6) Was hoping I could write about book 6, 7, and 8 altogether like last time but I have very different feelings about each book so here we go. I love this book probably just as much as Heir of Fire and Queen of Shadows. I really loved getting to see all the characters interact like Manon joining up with the crew. The skull bay fight with Lysandra was definitely one of my all time favourite scenes and having Dorian slowly master his powers was fun to read as well. My favourite part of this book was definitely Lorcan and Elide parts. Elide was a character that I could give or take when I first met her but she’s slowly become my favourite character and I loved everyone of her chapters as well as the slow building romance with Lorcan. And if you know me you know I have a great hatred for Chaol so this book got a added bonus for not having a single chapter from his perspective!

7) This was a struggle. I looked up if I could just skip this book but unfortunately it had major plot points you couldn’t miss. I was dreading this book. I read a lot of reviews about how people hated Chaol but still really found this book likeable so I went in hoping that would be my experience too. It wasn’t. I actually ended up buying the audiobook because I really couldn’t picture myself sitting and reading this book... it’s not that I hated it I just don’t like chaol and besides Yrene and Borte didn’t really care for any of the characters in this book. I’m glad I listened to it because I definitely needed this story to continue and I really did try not to hate Chaol so much but I just can’t stand him.

8) Ok. The final Throne of Glass book. I gave it 4 stars. The middle three books are my favourite and I will re read over and over this one I don’t see myself going back to it. I have it four starts because I’ve followed these characters through a eight book series and a month of my time. I’ve fallen in love with these characters and there stories, I will always love these character, and of course Elide and Lorcan! Now here’s why I didn’t like this book as much nor think I’ll read it again (other then Lorcan and Elide story.) throughout this book I felt like Rowan became a background character like I’m all for a strong female lead and her doing shit her own way but Rowan was suppose to be her equal and I just felt like he did nothing. Like the final fight he spent the majority of it chasing Aelin? I get it she didn’t have her full powers but she was handling her own couldn’t you do the same? It just didn’t sit right with me that this character that was introduced to us in Heir of Fire that trained Aelin and is her equal was just kind of brushed aside and became this clingy male that spent the majority of the book following Aelin around not doing anything other the pleading her not to leave him. Like what happened to the badass Rowan that I grew to love...? Also was really angered me Aelin losing her powers? What’s up with that?! It just felt so cheap to me.. after again reading about how strong she is and then forging the lock which did nothing by the way what was the point of that anyways, and then she just loses all her power only having a ember left??? I hate when authors do this.. I also felt the scene with Erawan, Maeve, and Aelin was just dull. I was still upset that Aelin wouldn’t get to use her powers against them and in the end it was more of a match of words then a battle just felt a little cheap to me. I was just disappointing , Aelin a character we have come to love and watch grow and get stronger hardly hold her own against Maeve... This book has a all around different feel to it compared to the other books and maybe it’s because it was the final battle and and the final book to the series I was a bit disappointed with it but I did enjoy it and felt a huge accomplishment when I finished the series. Reading that finally few chapters really put me into a hangover knowing it was over and like Aelin felt when everyone was heading home I felt that too. It’s goodbye for now.

[highfunctioningflailgirl]

My notes on Lethal White episode 3

As usual, my poorly sorted and not-really-filtered thoughts on “Lethal White”, episode 3. Continued under the cut because ALL THE SPOILERS!

We’re back with Robin and cling-wrapped Chiswell. Holliday plays Robin’s tenuously controlled panic very well. The subtle trembling, the tears she forces back. She’s so good. 👏🏼

A two-week jump. These always jar me. Did that happen in the book?🤨

Another mention of Strike talking with Wardle, and again we don’t get to see him. Dang. I really miss his leather-jacketed wry humour. 😔

Of course they’re meeting at “The White Horse”. Where else? *Rosmersholm vibes*

The reveal about the bones was a bit anti-climactic, wasn’t it? It had a better effect with the skull, in the book. And how do you “accidentally” shoot a horse, even when it’s a small one? How much more are we supposed to hate Freddie? (This episode is just full of terribly behaving men)

Who are the kids playing with the dog? Pringle and Pong? Were those their ridiculous nicknames?

And here comes the “Knives Out” scene. 🔪The Chiswell family is such a loving bunch. *coughs*

Did you see the playful tension between Raff and Robin? And that little disconcerted look Cormoran casts them? Bit jealous, Corm? 😏

Raff’s sarcastic little throw-in remarks are really making this scene more fun. Gotta give him that: he adds a bit of “black sheep” dash to the family!

“KEYS!” 😁 Cormoran is like the adult stepping between a bunch of fist-throwing kids.

Cormoran and Robin are staring at the Chiswell’s bickering as if waiting for one of them to actually start spitting and biting.

Raff: “I’m sure our charming hostess means to offer you tea at some point.” 🤣

Cormoran: “I’m thinking it might be suicide after all. He couldn’t face another family gathering.” 😂

*grunts* We’ve all been there, haven’t we? (And I don’t even want to start thinking about Cormoran’s family gatherings…)

Hah! 🙋🏻‍♀️ I guessed right from the leaked stills: it is the hospital Billy’s in! (Cookie points for me!)

That staff woman gives off very sensible and caring vibes. They picked the actress well.

And, god, Billy carved the horse into his own chest? 😟 Good god…

Vanessa! And she looks good! And - unlike in the first series - she smiles! And is really NICE! (Wow, what a beautiful woman.) 😍

That little lounge corner in Cormoran’s office is new, isn’t it? Very cozy. ☕️🍪

Goth Robin! She looks awesome! 😍 (Excuse me, but have we traveled back into the 80s? She looks like half the people in my school back then.) And look at Holliday playing her: she even moves differently! This season must have been a lot of fun for her as an actress.

I love the Wiccan shop. I had one of those salt lamps (and a lava lamp too), but don’t tell anybody… ☺️

Cormoran’s FACE when he sees goth Robin! 🥰The double take, the pleased surprise, that touch of awe… He is so proud of her! (What a contrast to Matt the Twat’s derogatory reactions to her disguises).

Cormoran: “You liking Raff then?” Are we a teensy bit jealous again, Corm? ☺️

When he asked Robin what she was doing this evening, I held my breath. WAS HE GOING TO ASK HER OUT? 🤗 He wasn’t. 😔 Everybody calm down. It’s not happening yet. Unfortunately. And probably never will. *very long sigh*

It’s so cute how he can’t stop looking at her! 🥰I love her confidence. And his twinkle-eyed, soft grin that doesn’t seem to want to fade. He truly admires her, for her competence AND for her looks. ASK HER OUT YOU FOOL! *headdesk*

Lorelei. With coffee. Apologizing for saying “I love you”. Ack. And then Corm says “I was gonna call you.” (You weren’t, admit it!). I didn’t know what to feel when seeing this scene for the first time: shocked that they were still together? Sympathy for Lorelei? Mad at Cormoran’s lackluster ‘yeah, alright, whatever’ attitude? Very mixed emotions.

Cormoran following Aamir along the South Bank. Watch me pointing excitedly at the screen because I’ve strolled down that same boardwalk way back when traveling was still a thing. *flails* *misses London*

Aamir’s place. Why is Cormoran talking about food again? Robin hasn’t fed him biscuits today yet, has she?

Cormoran’s always a bit unnerving when interrogating someone. He uses friendly words, but there is that tiny bit of menace about him, an intensity and pressure… SIB Corm. Tom does that so well. 😎

“You gonna butter me?” Smooth moves, ex-Sergeant Strike! 🥋 Oh, I love seeing him in action! 🤗

Robin hides the phone, and I am a nervous wreck worrying someone’s going to call and her phone isn’t in silent mode! (enneagram type 6 here, hello…) 😬

I was waiting for Matt to be an absolute prick when he sees goth Robin, but he’s actually not. And he’s had the Green Dress mended. I like how the show gives him a few shades and doesn’t paint him as outrageously hateful as the book does. (jftr, we all still hate you, Matt!)

But then, the way he rushes at her with his “That’s not true” - why does it somehow feel like a physical threat? And wow, Robin is COLD. Dude, your marriage is over. You just haven’t been notified yet.

So we’re ignoring Lorelei’s calls again, Cormoran? *eyebrow lift* Is that what we do as a gentleman? And then he calls off dinner and has no more than a lame “Sounds good, I’ll call you” when she mentions breakfast? If he’s not invested at the mention of food, something is clearly wrong…

Della Winn, and they picked a blind actress for the role. Good for them! ✔️

So, help me out here, native speakers: Della says she can hear the West Country in Cormoran’s vowels, but to me he doesn’t sound Cornish. Am I wrong? To my ears, Tom is speaking in some sort of self-made accent that I can’t place, but it doesn’t sound anything like the Cornish burr Robert Glenister gives him in the audiobooks. Opinions? 🤔

Rhiannon’s story touched me in the book, and it touches me deeply here. A revenge murder would’ve made perfect sense to me.

The party. We’ve apparently time-traveled again.

“What’s ‘Becca’ short for?” 🙄

Ah! The note was hidden in the maxipads box! I seem to recall that, in the book, Robin hid the Houses of Parliament bugging device in a tampon box. Cool parallel.

VANESSA! HURRY UP! 😨

The chase. Good thing this goth girl wears sensible shoes! Nice trick with the crouching and tripping. Take THAT, Jimmy! Robin’s learned from past experience, and I love the addition of the chase that wasn’t in the book. Robin’s no longer a helpless victim. She is a FIGHTER! And - BAM! Perfect timing, patrol car! 🚔

Cormoran: “How did you guess where she hid it?” (Because that’s where girls hide stuff, darling. ONE good thing all the menstruating is good for at least.)

Quick shout-out to Tom Burke’s freckles. They really should be credited as supporting actors. 🥰

Btw, the navy jumper is not a jumper but a cardigan! I bet Tom was pleased. (And my shippy brain can imagine him wrapping a freezing Robin in it 💙)

Enter Lorelei. Here be dragons.

“You know, if you want a hot meal and a shag with no human emotions involved, there are restaurants. And brothels.”

Oooohhhh... 😳

Need ointment for that burn, Corm?

And she’s entitled! Cormoran’s old school gallantry seems to have gone MIA when it comes to treating Lorelei with the respect she deserved. Especially since he had his chance at ending it decently and respectfully at their earlier little talk over coffee. I still don’t think he meant to hurt her. It was thoughtlessness. Which is no redeeming factor at all. He deserved this, even in front of Robin. #TeamLorelei

Well, at least he didn’t get smacked with an ashtray this time.

I LOLed when Robin simply went straight back to business without commenting. A real pro. 😎

Cormoran: “That was a bit awkward.” Was it, Corm? We barely noticed. *snorts*

And although Robin defends him a little bit, her suppressed smirk and her work-life balance remark tell us she’s enjoyed this a bit. And not just because Cormoran is single again.

Matthew calls: “Sorry, it’s a work thing.” (NO IT ISN’T AND YOU’RE A LYING, CHEATING [REDACTED] !!!) 🤬

Robin steps on Sarah Shaglock’s earring, and now starts a scene that makes me want to shower Holliday in BAFTAs. 🏆🏆🏆 Heart wrenching, painful, powerful. And Matthew finally shows his true colours. (And Kerr Logan deserves a nod for his acting too).

On a completely irrelevant side note: Matt stole that coat from Darius Tanz, only that Santi looked hot as hell in it whereas Matt just looks like an accountant who pretends to look hot. (Go and watch “Salvation” if you have no clue what I’m talking about)

Robin is so bravely holding it together, and - wow - her coldness towards Matt is pretty impressive, and at the same time she’s forcing herself not to cry and fights down a panic attack. It’s amazing how she puts every emotion and train of thought from the books onto the table and we can read it in her face and in her voice and body language. 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼Best scene of the season, if you ask me. (Not that anyone ever asks me, but here it is.)

“I’m not gonna let you fail again!” 😡 Aaaand Matt tries to put her down again. To make her feel weak and in need of help. BUT IT’S NO LONGER WORKING. She’s got this. Oh, she’s got this!

They left out Robin saying that he “doesn’t even have a knife”, and I’m actually glad they did. This didn’t need to be about physical assault again. Matt wouldn’t go that far, and it wasn’t necessary to go there. They clearly showed how manipulative he is and how strong Robin has to be to walk away from him, and that is enough.

The minicab driver. I remember the actress as Mrs. Fitz from “Outlander”, and she’s the perfect motherly tough love type to crack that marriage joke. And to get our girl out of there with no further fuss.

Whoa. I had high expectations. And they were met 10/10.

What did you guys think?

[handcat]

NOPE. Book Tag

Source: here

thank you @sunel0 <3

Questions:

1. NOPE. Ending: A book ending that made you go NOPE either in denial, rage, or simply because the ending was crappy.

everything, everything, it has been years since i read that but that twist/ending was bullshit, i have never felt more rage in my life, fuck that book, fuck, i dont remember all of the details of it but in general it felt like shit, it just brushed away all of the stakes and demonized people with mental illnesses and generally felt like garbage, god i am pissed

2. NOPE. Protagonist: A main character you dislike and drives you crazy.

main guy of giovannis room i forget his name because im dumb, first of all, i love that book, i really do, im not saying i dont like it i just want to make that clear dfasafds, but i would kick main guys ass any day of the week <3

3. NOPE. Series: A series that turned out to be one huge pile of NOPE. after you’ve invested all of that time and energy on it, or a series you gave up on because it wasn’t worth it anymore.

this was awhile ago lol but the maze runner books, i loved the first one and then i got part way into the second and realized i hated where the story was going and stopped reading, that was in like middle school and i do not remember what i didnt like but i was pissed

4. NOPE. Popular pairing: A “ship” you don’t support.

idk, i cant really think of a specific one offhand, aside from like obviously gross ones but yeah idk, best i can think of is in trc when ppl ship kavinsky with people, or really like any dream pack stuff, but to each their own, i just dont vibe with all that lol

5. NOPE. Plot twist: A plot twist you didn’t see coming or didn’t like.

can i say everything, everything again? it really pissed me off, i still remember the pure rage i felt reading that 

6. NOPE. Protagonist action/decision: A character decision that made you shake your head NOPE.

every decision made by zebulon in the death and life of zebulon finch, i love those books but he is stupid as fuck <3

7. NOPE. Genre: A genre you will never read.

okay i have read high fantasy before but generally i just don't vibe with it, idk its hard to get invested for me :/

8. NOPE. Book format: Book formatting you hate and avoid buying until it comes out in a different edition.

not super applicable but i CAN’T read ebooks, my brain just does not comprehend, similar thing with audiobooks, i only listen to audiobooks of things ive already read bc i space out a lot and miss chunks lol

9. NOPE. Trope: A trope that makes you go NOPE.

stories that are like super futuristic technology stuff with like tech genius characters??? is that a trope??? does that make sense??? anyway i hate that, i dont think ive read many books like that so ill use the mcu as an example :) it just feels like theres no stakes because everything can be solved by just inventing a new machine! also most uses of time travel, i forgot that one (exceptions would be like bill and ted or paper girls but they are rare)

10. NOPE. Recommendation: A book recommendation that is constantly hyped and pushed at you that you simply refuse to read.

i haven't seen it much recently, but captive prince, just the whole premise and shit that ive heard about it makes me very uncomfortable

11. NOPE. Cliche/pet peeve: A cliche or writing pet peeve that always makes you roll your eyes.

too many pop culture references and shit like that, i feel like i dont see it a lot in stuff i read, but like an example is more recent rr stuff, like it just rarely works and takes me out of the story and i just do not like it

12. NOPE. Love interest: The love interest that’s not worthy of being one. A character you don’t think should have been a viable love interest.

i couldnt think of one soooooo colin greenmantle! he’s a weak bitch who didn’t deserve piper and im glad she killed him!

13. NOPE. Book: A book that shouldn’t have existed that made you say NOPE.

all for the game... its bad

14. NOPE. Villain: A scary villain/antagonist you would hate to cross and would make you run in the opposite direction.

dr leather from zebulon finch!!!!!! why was he like that???? hweee.... fweee..... bitch ill kill you!!!! he was my first thought, idk if hes the scariest but he was fucked up!!! meat etiquette???? people garden????

15. NOPE. Death: A character death that still haunts you.

noah czerny, i do not see it <3

16. NOPE. Author: An author you had a bad experience reading for and have decided to quit.

cassandra claire, i started the mortal instruments in middle school but tbh with just everything ive heard about her and the content of her books... no

okay! now tagging people! i said i wouldnt tag more people but im actually curious so im going to! as usual no pressure! @audikatia @darkadam @pynches @gaynanlynch @adamparrishthot @czernydefencesquad uhhhh and anyone else who wants to! yeehaw!

[gffa]

Hii I'm new to the Fandom and I'm obsessed with your blog! I ADORE your point of view really its making me love star wars more and more, my question is do you have any recommendations on which books to read to understand more about the lore and where cannon is right now??

Hi!  I’m glad if I can help you like SW lore more and thank you for such kind words, I deeply appreciate them.  And, oh, what a tricky question that is, without meaning to be!A lot depends on which part of the SW lore you’re looking for–are you looking for technical terms or character backstory tidbits?  Lore on Force woo?  The stories that help better inform the structure of Star Wars?  Because I feel like my answers would be different for each of those!So, I’m going to do a “here’s what I think is the best places to start when getting into SW supplementary material” list:1.  THE TV SERIESIf you haven’t watched The Clone Wars and Rebels yet, those should be first on your list!  TCW is there to help give you the bigger picture of just how awful the Clone Wars were, how politics dragged everything down into the mud, and will give you a ton of feelings on established characters.  I’m currently in the middle of a rewatch and its kicking up all these feelings I had and you can really tell that this is what George Lucas’ world looks like when they have the time to explore it.  (Though, hell, even with this show, it only covers things in broad strokes, especially because it is still aimed at younger audiences, too.)And Rebels is just a really great series by itself, but it also does a fantastic job of showing you just how complicated the war against the Empire was, how hard it was to wind together these various minor factions into one bigger Rebellion, as well as it does a lot to show what it’s like for Jedi after the genocide of their people.  It also has some killer cameos and resolution to things started in TCW and moments of confrontation for all the characters.Both of those really only have minor moments of exploring the Force Woo Lore (but there’s really not one singular place that explains it, imo, it’s something you have to piece together to see the bigger picture), but they’re fantastic for echoing the narrative structure of Star Wars and its themes.2.  THE COMICSThey’re the next best stop, they are also really great stories in terms of the character arcs, as well as the next best place to get more on the themes of Star Wars.  There have been so many moments, more than anywhere else, that I have wanted to just absolutely (virtually) SCREAM, because HOLY SHIT THAT WAS A HELL OF A MOMENT or HOLY SHIT THAT UNDERSTOOD STAR WARS SO WELL or just had really amazing moments.  I would recommend starting with:- The Star Wars 2015 comic (by Jason Aaron) and read it concurrently with Darth Vader vol. 1 (by Kieron Gillen), as they’re meant to go together.- Then read Darth Vader: Dark Lord of the Sith (by Charles Soule)- After that, in any order:  Age of the Republic comics (by Jody Houser), Obi-Wan & Anakin (by Charles Soule), Jedi of the Republic - Mace Windu (by Matt Owens), and Kanan: The Last Padawan (by Greg Wiseman).- I also really enjoy the Star Wars Adventures comics from IDW, the Poe Dameron comics (by Charles Soul) are incredible and give a lot of context to the sequel trilogy and Shattered Empire does a lot in the same vein.3.  THE NOVELSNovels are trickier, because some are good for lore but aren’t necessarily stories I would recommend to new fans, others are amazing stories but don’t necessarily have a lot of lore.  So, I’m going to focus on the books that I think do the most bridge work and help you understand the bigger picture of Star Wars:- The Star Wars Battlefront II video game (okay, not a book, bear with me) does an amazing job of giving more context to how the Empire ended and how it connected to the First Order.  You can do a search on YouTube for “Battlefront 2 game movie” or similar search parameters and watch it like a movie, it’s about two hours and it’s wonderful.  Fall in love with the characters with me, understand why Jakku was important, and get some amazing cameos (and stunning planets) for the OT trio!- The Aftermath trilogy by Chuck Wendig also does a ton of showing how the Empire’s fall wasn’t instantaneous after Endor’s moon, as well as the faltering early steps of the New Republic, and a ragtag bunch who hunt down Imperial war criminals and all come to love each other AND I LOVE THEM, sobs.  I would add in the caveat that I think these work massively better as audiobooks, so check if your library has them and maybe you can check them out on-line and be prepared to give the books a little time to grow on you.- Bloodline by Claudia Gray shows Leia six years before TFA and the New Republic still faltering and how she discovers the early origins of the First Order and loses her position in the Senate and starts up the Resistance.  It’s at its best when it’s a Leia book, but it also does do a lot of groundwork for the connections between the OT and the ST!- From a Certain Point of View by various authors, is a collection of short stories, many of which are hits and many of which are misses, but the hits are amazing.  If nothing else, “Master & Apprentice” (by Claudia Gray–not to be confused with the full novel of the same title), “Time of Death” (by Cavan Scott), “There Is Another” (by Gary D. Shmidt), and “An Incident Report” (by Daniel Mallory Ortberg) are all MUST READS.  I read all of them and I’m glad I did, but if a story isn’t gripping you, feel free to skim over it for the next, they’re only connected by theme, not events.- I loved both Spark of the Resistance (by Justina Ireland) and Resistance Reborn (by Rebecca Roanhorse) as books set between TLJ and TROS, where I grew even more fond of the characters getting to have adventures together.  I also thought the Dooku: Jedi Lost audiodrama was probably the best PT era canon book to recommend, too.4.  THE GUIDEBOOKSGuidebooks are more fun when you’re already invested and just want to look up a thing or two, but there’s at least one that I think is a must-read from cover to cover:  Star Wars Propaganda: A History of Persuasive Art in the Galaxy by Pablo Hidalgo.  It doesn’t sound like it would be that interesting–a history told through art?  But it’s an absolutely stellar bird’s eye view and explanation of how things happened in the GFFA, how the Clone Wars happened, how the Republic fell, how the Empire rose, how the Rebellion fought back, how the New Republic rose, how the First Order knocked it all down again.5.  ANYTHING ELSE?I love the game Jedi: Fallen Order and I think it does an amazing job of staying true to the Jedi Order, their culture, and the themes of Star Wars.  You can do the same thing of looking for a movie-version on YouTube, it should be about four hours long to cover the majority of the game, and I absolutely fell in love with the characters and the world, it was clear they really cared about the story and the lore and making this feel like a game where you got to experience becoming a Jedi.This isn’t a list of “stories I thought were good” but ones aimed at establishing the best understanding of the bigger galaxy, as well as stories that I thought were really good for new fans!  While I put them generally in the order I would suggest them, if something’s not working for you, feel free to drop it and move on to another thing, either coming back later to the dropped one or not, because this should be fun and not boring work.HOPEFULLY THAT’S A GOOD PLACE TO GET YOU STARTED and if someone else would suggest a good Starting Place For A New Fan, feel free to chime in!

[mercerislandbooks]

October Grab Bag

We’re in the last three months of the year. I’ve noticed the light changing and the leaves falling and all I want to do is read books that make me happy. Here’s a collection of books that have been a pleasure to read! 

Happiness for Beginners by Katherine Center

This is a reissue of an earlier Katherine Center title after the success of her last three books, How to Walk Away, Things You Save In a Fire, and What You Wish For. Sometimes in earlier books you can tell that an author hasn’t quite hit their stride yet, but I found Happiness for Beginners a totally satisfying reading experience. And her protagonist, Helen, though recovering from a divorce, wasn’t paralyzed in the hospital or suffering from seizures, so she is already starting ahead. Helen signs up for a wilderness survival course in the backcountry of Wyoming in an attempt to find herself again a year after divorcing her husband. Never mind that the course she’s chosen to do is regularly reviewed as being dangerous and the participants prone to injury. Or that her brother’s friend, Jake, has also enrolled in the same course. Or that when Helen actually gets there she realizes she’s the oldest person on the program. Helen is determined to make the most of her experience and no matter how much she struggles to find her footing, sometimes literally, she keeps going. Even though there’s a delicious thread of romance throughout, what I enjoyed just as much was how Helen is brave enough to keep uncovering and admitting to herself who she is and what she wants. For anyone who wants a truly happy read, the clue is in the title.

The Switch by Beth O’Leary

I listened to the audiobook of this from Libro.fm in the middle of our two weeks of smoke, staying inside with the windows closed, knitting and glued to the speaker. It was a very good distraction. I’m sure reading the paper book would be just as good, but I loved that there were separate narrators for the two main characters, Eileen and Leena. Eileen is an eighty year old woman, newly single, living in a Yorkshire village and longing for a new beginning. Leena is her granddaughter, living in London and struggling after a grief-filled year. They decide to switch living situations for 6 weeks, giving Eileen a chance to try dating in London and living with Leena’s flat mates, while Leena moves to her grandmother’s cottage and looks after Eileen’s “little projects”, like walking a neighbor’s large and energetic puppy and participating in the Neighborhood Watch meetings. Neither Eileen nor Leena are comfortable sitting still, so they both throw themselves into their new situations. I loved how both Eileen and Leena were able to find people to help and be helped by, proving that it’s important to have a variety of ages in any circle of friends. From Eileen playing matchmaker to Leena’s best friend, to Leena befriending Eileen’s crotchety next door neighbor, to antics at the village May Day festival, this was a delight from beginning to end.

The Faithless Hawk by Margaret Owens

This was another audiobook “read” and one I was very excited to get to, because it’s the sequel to The Merciful Crow, a YA fantasy I had read and loved last year. What I didn’t know going in is that The Faithless Hawk is book two of a duology, which means, for those of you who have been burned by long fantasy series before, this is an entirely manageable, and now complete, series. I read a lot of fantasy because I like it, but I do recognize that much of it falls into similar lines. It’s a lovely surprise to be put in a world that feels so fresh and well designed that I’m reminded of what the best of fantasy can be. This world has a highly divided caste system, where the dregs of the society are the Crows, the ones who have been designated to deal with the victims of plague, and forced to wander the roads. Fie is the young chief in waiting of her band of Crows, and at the start of The Merciful Crow, they are called to the palace to deal with a prince supposedly dying of the plague. But things are not what they seem (are they ever?) and before she knows it, Fie and her band are on the run, dragging a royal runaway with them. Listening to the second half of Fie’s journey, I constantly thought how is she going to survive this impossible situation? Local author Margaret Owens crafted an action-packed and extremely clever plot and I listened in my car and on my lunch breaks to find out what happened next. Fair warning, it could be gruesome at times, which I find an audiobook heightens. Her commentary on social divisions and the investment of those in power to keep their power by any means necessary was spot on. By the end all I could do was stand back and smile at the way she pulled it all together. I highly recommend it for any fantasy lovers.

Hench by Natalie Zina Walschots

My most recent read of the bunch, I finished this the other morning. Kelleen, and then Nancy Shawn, recommended it to me, with Kelleen warning me that there were some parts that might be a little much. There were parts I had to skim read, the end especially, but overall it was so compelling I couldn’t put it down. Featured in this month’s Indie Next, Hench is about Anna, a temp worker, a “Hench”, for villains. Though generally, and happily, hired to do data entry, her most recent placement ends up resulting in a disastrous encounter with a so-called hero. Anna is dismissed as being collateral damage and left to a slow recovery and a simmering rage. As she digs into the true cost heroes cause the world, her work catches the attention of a shadowy super villain. Anna’s voice is dry and pragmatic, but also engaging and authentic. Several plot twists kept me guessing at the story’s ultimate direction and the last line is absolutely perfect. This is for anyone interested in a dark take on a world with heroes and villains, with a side of office politics.

Bonus Pick: Tuesday Mooney Talks to Ghosts by Kate Racculia

Now in paperback! Kelleen and I both loved this. When an eccentric and Edgar Allan Poe obsessed billionaire dies, his will is published in the paper, promising an inheritance to anyone who can untangled his clues. The writing is fantastic and the characters are beautifully layered. This would be a perfect October read.

I hope one (or more) of these fantastic books finds their way into your hands. Happy October reading!

-- Lori

[stereogeekspodcast]

[Transcript] Season 1, Episode 4. We’ve Been Busy With… Julie and the Phantoms, Star Trek: Discovery, and More

What are we enjoying when we aren't working? Mon's been busy with a few DC Comics, listening to the audiobook of One to Watch, catching up with Holiday Baking shows, and recapping Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 for Show Snob. Ron has been listening to a 12 Monkeys podcast and EK Johnston's Queen's Peril. She's also been watching Julie and the Phantoms as well as recapping The Mandalorian Season 2 for Show Snob.

Listen to the episode on Anchor. Read Mon's recaps of Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 here. Read Ron's recaps of The Mandalorian Season 2 here.

[Continuum by Audionautix plays]

Ron: Hello and welcome to Episode Four of Stereo Geeks. I'm Ron.

Mon: And I’m Mon.

Aside from our day jobs as marketers, and night jobs writing the occasional feature or story about pop culture, what have we been busy with?

So I've been catching up with my usual comic book titles. I follow Batman, Red Hood: Outlaw and Nightwing. I haven't really kept up with any other titles per se. I read comics in small doses; they get frustrating after a while or predictable. And I would say that that's also the case with just these three titles.

With Batman, we just had a huge change in his arc. There was the ‘Joker War’, which has brought about a huge change in his circumstances. Batman now no longer has access to his immense wealth. And he has to hide from the Wayne Manor;  the Batcave. Let's just say that he's downsizing. So let's see how he goes.

He's living in a world that's post-Joker. But is the Joker gone? It’s a huge question. Have you been reading any Batman titles?

Ron: I've been catching up with the Batman title. And I think the last one that I read was #102. Last I saw, the Joker War was over and Batman was in dire straits financially.

I'm actually enjoying this direction for the character. I haven't really taken to Batman's characterization in the Rebirth comics. I thought he was staid. He was boring. He was very one-dimensional. We discussed a lot of this in our opening episode about Batman's worst enemy. Please check that out when you have time.

I like where this is going. I think it's changing the way we see Batman.

Mon: Well, I hope there's more character development because the action is definitely boring.

And the other title on my pull list is Nightwing. Nightwing is back to being Dick Grayson. Yes, after 20 issues of being Ric Grayson, he now has his memory back and his family back and he’s snatched the Nightwing mantle away from Detective Alphonse Sapienza. He's abandoned the rest of the Nightwings.

Honestly that was wrapped up in one page, which is a bit disappointing. I really like those characters. I'm glad Dick Grayson is back to being himself because as much as the Ric storyline had potential, they never really went anywhere with it. I'm happy that Bea is sticking around because she seems to be a good influence on him. Nice down to earth character. Will she be more than a love interest? Probably not.

But I am really looking forward to reading these stories again. What are your thoughts on Dick being back?

Ron: Definitely, definitely relieved at the return of Dick Grayson. The Ric Grayson idea worked for maybe two issues. And after that it fell off the wagon. I liked the other Nightwings. I liked how Ric worked with them. I'm really disappointed that they've been discarded so quickly. And I'm really hoping that they actually do come back some way and work with Nightwing, because those are really good characters. We got a lot of backstory from them. And they were working to save the city of Blüdhaven. So I don't feel like they should be left behind like this.

Aside from that, I do really like Bea. There were a few too many moments in the last few issues where they tried to pit Bea against Barbara. I mean, really? Really, in 2020?

What I would really like to see now is how does Bea fit into the Bat-family. She knows everything about Dick Grayson. I want to see her interact with the rest of the family.

Mon: And the last comic book title on my list is Red Hood: Outlaw. I'm actually speechless when it comes to Red Hood. Ron here is the one who introduced me to Jason Todd/ Red Hood. I knew about the character; read about the character. I wasn't interested in reading him that much. But then, you know, somebody here is a fan. But the last few issues have been awful. This final volume before the changing of the guard have been honestly atrocious.

I have wanted to hit Jason in the face… tear up my comic book. Because the art is awful. The characterizations are awful. I'm just not going to go into what happened. It's definitely gone off the deep end. I'm really hoping he gets back to being a readable, relatable character. From issue #51 there's a new team taking it over, so here's hoping.

Ron: I have to agree about Red Hood. I love this character. I have no idea why? Because his solo runs, his team books, they're not good. There are moments of characterization that made me want to read more about Jason and his problems. But overall, his story is so repetitive and so bland.

This last arc has been unmemorable. I don't know what they're doing with it. I don't know where they're going with it. And Jason has not changed in any way.

Mon: I feel like with Jason, he's always stuck in place. And I'm hoping that the new creative team can actually flesh him out more.

Ron: Yeah, it's about time.

So, moving on to what I've been busy with. I have been listening to the 12 Monkeys podcast called, Word of the Witnesses. It's a podcast hosted by two ladies; huge fans of the show. And their very many friends who have all been brought in to the wonderful world of 12 Monkeys. Now, we are talking about the TV show created by Terry Matalas and Travis Fickett. We are not talking about the movie.

However, the show was based on the film. The first season follows the storyline of the film fairly closely. But from the second season onwards, it moves away from that. And it grows.

Mon, you and I started watching the show when it first came out in 2015. We were hooked. We love time travel, so this was definitely up our alley. But the second season was amazing. And then there was a huge break because our lives completely changed. So, we couldn't get to seasons three and four till this year. I managed to watch those two seasons just before the pandemic hit. And then once the pandemic did happen, it was a bit difficult to watch a show about a pandemic. But I’ve been trying to get back into the show again, and I just re-watched the whole thing.

And I still wanted more of the show, so I found this podcast. It's been really enjoyable listening to it. I went through all 53 episodes within a month; no regrets.

I really enjoyed how the hosts went into the mythos of the show. They made so many connections between the various time travel concepts in the show. They found all these Easter eggs that I probably would have missed had I not been re-watching it. And they made connections that I really hadn't even seen before.

But what I also enjoyed was all the theorizing about what certain elements in the show meant. They managed to bring on Terry Matalas and a couple of the writers on the show for interviews. And at one point they did mention that the hosts had found connections that even they hadn't thought of.

It was an enjoyable podcast listen to; it was very engaging. I found that, during the pandemic, I really need to hear conversations. So, for me listening to a podcast where it's a whole bunch of people just talking to each other has been really, really calming. And it's a show that I love, and a bunch of people talking about it with as much love for it as I have, so I've really enjoyed listening to it.

Mon: Well, I haven't heard the podcast myself, but we re-watched the final season of 12 Monkeys together and I felt that you were able to make a lot more connections, A) because you re-watched the entire show just prior to me watching the final season. But also because you'd been listening to the Word of the Witnesses, who gave you all the tidbits and Easter Eggs which would then enhance our watching experience.

I really like how nowadays fans can create content about properties that they really, really love. And it really augments the viewers’ experience.

Ron: Yes, the way that they the way that they spoke about the show. And there were times when during the episodes, they would actually get super emotional because they were so invested in the characters and invested in their journeys. And you could see how much thought had gone into making every part of this show meaningful. And then when they brought on the creators who were also talking about it, you could feel that palpable sense of love for this product, which was often very difficult to create because of budgetary issues. You could just feel it, and it makes you love this show even more.

Mon: Yes, 12 Monkeys was definitely a show that went under the radar for a lot of people. So I'm glad that there's a podcast which is getting the word out there.

So as we talk about things we’ve been listening to, one of our favorite things is audiobooks. And I recently got my hands on a slightly weird one, for me anyway. This is an audiobook of One to Watch by Kate Stayman-London. I heard about this book on NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour. It's another podcast. So I finally requested it from our library.

The story is about plus-size fashion blogger, Bea, and she joins this show which is the equivalent of The Bachelorette, it's called Main Squeeze. She's basically the main squeeze and there are all these 20-odd gentlemen are vying for her affections.

Now, because she's a plus-size person, especially a plus-size woman, she faces situations and comments which the regular Main Squeeze participants won't have faced. And I found that very interesting. We are not used to seeing that many plus-size characters, especially plus-size women, leading romantic or genre properties. And while romance novels and romance stories are really not something that I enjoy, I found that some of the themes—the fatphobic themes—that she faces, they were very relevant and echoed reality. It's actually a tough book to sometimes get through. It's not always happy.

I mean, it's a romance novel, so we can assume that there is going to be a happy ending, we don't know. Because it doesn't seem like it for the longest time. And I'm still in two minds about the ending. Some people may like it, some people may have wanted something different for her. But yeah, give it a shot. If you are looking for something with a different kind of character as a protagonist.

Ron: I’m intrigued. What made you want to read this book? Because a romance story is not up your alley, even if it does have a plus-size character as the lead.

Mon: I think I was just looking for something which may echo a reality which doesn't get represented enough in pop culture. And especially when it comes to plus-size characters, they're usually, you know, sidekicks or completely invisible. So, I really want to see how they approached this topic. I wouldn't say they got everything right. But, the best thing about NPR Pop Culture Happy Hour is that when they recommend something in their ‘What’s Making Me Happy This Week’ section, you are taken in by the enthusiasm of the person pitching this particular product. So that's why I thought, ‘okay, let me give this a shot’. I do think that this is a refreshingly new approach. And it touched on the fact that reality TV at the end of the day is still curated reality. And it's something that you and I have talked about.

Ron: Speaking of audiobooks, I have just been listening to Queen’s Peril by EK Johnston. This is a follow up to Johnston's first book about Padmé Naberrie—aka Queen Amidala, later on, Senator Amidala—Queen’s Shadow.

I love this book so much. I enjoyed Queen’s Shadow a lot. Spending time with Padmé is always amazing. As much as we love the prequels, and yes, we do love the prequels—fight us—Padmé didn’t really get a great ending. So, any stories that give us more of Padmé’s political life, we are definitely up for it.

This book follows Padmé in her early days of becoming Queen of Naboo. She's very young. She's got all these new ideas of how she wants to run the world. And we also get to know a lot about her handmaidens. What I love is that there is some queer content which always makes me happy. I did not expect that, especially in a Star Wars book. But it was so good.

Padmé is a girl. She's a teenager. She's also a queen. She is so smart. She is so witty, she is just amazing. And what I also love about this book is that it ties into The Phantom Menace. But it gives us a whole new perspective. Because you know what's happening and you've got that context, so that enriches the entire experience. I just loved every single moment of this book.

Mon: Yeah, I remember haranguing you to get this book because I loved it so, so much. With Queen’s Shadow, I felt like the author EK Johnston was perhaps a little bit more restrained; it was her first foray into the huge Star Wars universe. I can imagine that there were quite a few studio hands involved. But here in Queen’s Peril, my goodness, it's fluid writing. She knows these characters and she really wants to build up the world that they live in. Every character that we meet has their own arc, they’re fleshed out; you understand their motivations. It's just brilliant to read. And reading about how Padmé and Captain Panaka create her band of bodyguards was so much fun. Each one has their own talents, their abilities, they know their weaknesses, but more than anything, the emphasis put on the sacrifice that they make, I really loved reading about that.

Because these side characters, you know, you can’t just forget about them. ‘Ah, she died because she was a decoy for Queen Amidala’. No, it means a lot to Amidala who these people are. I had so much fun being back in this world from this perspective.

And what I also found funny is that they're still a gaggle of teen girls. They're going to get up to stuff; they're going to be naughty. There’s so much personality given to Padmé and the rest. I really hope that EK Johnston is able to write some more. Let's get back in there with Padmé and the girls.

Ron: Absolutely. She so brilliantly captures this connection that Padmé has with her handmaidens. And you know what I really loved about this, which is also one of the reasons why I loved Queen’s Shadow—I love the politics.

I know a lot of people found the politics in the prequels very difficult to understand. It wasn't very difficult. You just need to have a brain.

Mon: I will never understand people's argument against the politics in the prequels. He was literally echoing what was happening in the news.

Ron: Exactly. So I loved Queen’s Shadow because of that. We get so much insight into how the Senate works, why there’s so much infighting and why certain things just don't get done. And we get to see more of that here. We also get a few hints about how Palpatine gets to rise. And you understand how Padmé has to think on her feet. Because there are so many things that are out of her control, but she needs to keep the peace. So yes, this was such an enjoyable read. I cannot wait for the third part of this trilogy.

Mon: And now on to one of my guilty pleasures. I absolutely and utterly love watching baking shows, cake shows. Anything to do with food, and usually desserts. So, on the Food Network channels, every season, they pretty much have a whole host of themed cooking shows. Since it's the winter and there's so many holidays coming up, we have the Holiday Baking Championship and we have Holiday Wars, which are both different kinds of baking shows.

This year, the formats have changed quite a bit from the previous ones, especially for Holiday Wars. I find it a little less compelling. I feel like it's a little all over the place. I don't know why.

Holiday Baking Championship have a giant table where everybody has to sit at an awkward angle to talk to the contestant. I just keep watching them with their sprained necks and worry about that instead of enjoying the food. But I did notice that the cast of participants looks a lot more diverse than usual. So that's been a long time coming and I hope it is a mainstay.

Aside from that I've caught one episode of Buddy vs. Christmas. Buddy is the Cake Boss in America. And he used to have this competition with fellow cake competitor Duff. But this year, it seems like he is competing on a weekly basis against different cake makers.

The format seems to be that every week they have a theme related to Christmas and they make competing giant displays. I mean, the displays are huge and works of art; works of architectural brilliance and technological brilliance. I do hope that they eat it, but I doubt it. But I have enjoyed seeing what comes out of it.

And ,I hear that we’re in for a new season of Sugar Rush on Netflix, which is so much fun. We really enjoyed the previous season and it seems like they've been trying to get more celebrity guests so let's see who they have this year.

Ron: Yes, nothing like sitting back on a weekend and just watching a baking show. And then we feel like we’re experts on why somebody’s got soggy cake and why somebody else's cake collapsed. Yeah, that's definitely fun.

Speaking of watching things, I have just marathon-watched Julie and the Phantoms. Okay, I thought I was gonna watch a movie. And I decided on Julie and the Phantoms because I've been hearing so much about it. But it turns out that this is actually a TV show. And in 10 episodes the first season wrapped. I really enjoyed this show. It was so much fun.

Mon: Okay, you have to tell me what this show is about. I’ve not heard of it.

Ron: Julie and the Phantoms is about this young girl Julie, played by Madison Reyes, in her very first role. Wow. And she's lost her mother. It's been a year and she's still struggling. One of the things that brought her and her mother together was their love of music. She used to play the piano and she used to sing and now she can't do that because it just reminds her of her mom. So at a crucial moment when she is losing her spot in her music class, three ghosts turn up.

Mon: What?

Ron: These three ghosts died in 1995. And they used to be a band. It actually opens with them. So I'm looking at the screen, looking at 1995 and thinking, ‘oh, that's five years ago’. No, no, it was 25 years ago! It was 25 years ago… Feel old yet?

So, 25 years later, these three members of this band land up in Julie's mother's studio. And they rekindle her love for music and bring her closer to her mom's memory.

At the same time, the three ghosts need to figure out what their unfinished business is because why else are they here? There's a lot of music, there's a lot of singing, there's a lot of dancing; there are so many sweet moments. There are some really, really heartbreaking moments as well. Because the three boys, they died when they were 17. So they've left family behind. And they need to come to terms with that as well.

Of course, Julie and her loss is palpable in every moment that she plays a song. But for the most part, it's quite light, it's quite jovial. There are some laugh out loud moments that I really enjoyed. It's a really, really sweet TV show.

And I really am hoping that there's going to be a second season, because it ends on a cliff-hanger. There's plenty of room for them to grow.

I also love the fact that there are some queer characters in this show. It's not overstated, it's there, it's quite obvious. But it's really sweet. Because two of the band members, they realize that their fellow band member has fallen for a ghost. And they're just like, ‘oh, you have a crush on this ghost friend, that's why you're late for practice’. That's it, even though they're from 1995. So, I was like, oh, that's a relief. So yeah, it was really sweet.

One of the things that I found quite interesting, which I have been noticing in content for young people, is that, when we were growing up, content that was made for us which featured straight couples, generally the boy would not dance. It was this weird thing that would always bother me. You'd have the girl who was always, you know, happily dancing. But the boys? Oh, no, no, they don't do that. But you don't see that now that much. Especially not in this show. Everybody was dancing quite happily. Gay, straight, whatever. So that was really fun!

I love that Julie is a young girl of color, which is still a rarity in pop culture nowadays. Madison Reyes is a really good singer. She has an amazing voice. She dances very well. I'm looking forward to seeing more of this child.

Mon: Well, you’ve always been a fan of musicals. I'm so happy that they keep making these good ones nowadays.

Ron: It was so much fun. And the second season could possibly expand on the mythos that you've already learned in this season. But it was great. It was light. We need something light right now. And that's exactly what we needed.

Mon: Okay, so now on to our weekly favorites. I've been recapping Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 at Show Snob. This has got to be my favorite season, so far. It is so exciting; so fun. It starts off with Michael Burnham, played by Sonequa Martin-Green, she lands in the future and she's all alone. The rest of the crew haven't arrived. When she's reunited with her crew, how does everyone deal with being in the new future? What does the future look like? What's their new mission? Is there a mission? It's been incredible.

I think the creators feel like they’ve finally been able to shed the constraints of being a prequel to the original Star Trek show. Now they can just do whatever they want, create as many different worlds and characters that they want. It's been fun. It's really been exciting. I love the Easter eggs and throwbacks, there are so many of them! We've watched seven episodes so far, which is kind of partway through, and I think they've found their feet.

One thing I'd say about this season is that it's been a little bit more chaotic. I feel like they have a lot of loose threads which are only now trying to get streamlined. There’s also been a lot of characters introduced, we see them for an episode or a few scenes, then they disappear. So it's a little bit bittersweet. I'm hoping for it to get better and better.

Ron: Yes, the cast of Discovery has increased a great deal in this season. And I do like the additions of Adira, Gray, and Book. They're great. They're fun.

But the crew of Discovery itself, we get to see a bit more of them from time to time, which is also quite nice because we've seen them in the background. Especially the Bridge crew; they're always there, a lot of them are Canadians, so, we’ve got our eye on them. But, now we're actually getting to know a little bit more about their personalities and how they work.

Of course, it's all against the background of them being completely displaced from everything that they know and love. So that does change the dynamic between the characters, and also how they feel about their new existence.

I love Sonequa Martin-Green’s Michael Burnham, I've loved her since the first episode. She is so great. I feel like I meet a friend every week when I see her. I'm so fascinated by her direction. She's somebody who was introduced to us in the very first episode as a logical Vulcan who believed so strongly in the Starfleet way of life. And then it all changed because she may have been brought up as a Vulcan, but she was still human. And the moment she got an opportunity to make a difference and get revenge, basically, for the death of her parents, she took that chance, and it changed the way the Federation worked.

Every season, she’s been a fish out to water, trying to fit in. By the end of the second season, she found her home with Discovery, and once again she's been displaced from them. She's still looking for another way to connect with these people whom she does love, but there's a rift between them. And it's not her fault and it's not their fault. But it's just the circumstances that Michael always finds herself in. She's just a great compelling character. I think, after B'Elanna Torres, Michael Burnham would probably be my second favorite; she's just amazing.

Mon: One of the bolder moves by the creators in this season has been changing up the Federation. We're not going to go too much into that—no spoilers here. But I have to say that it makes for a compelling story.

We are so used to Star Trek properties really coasting on the idea of utopia. But there's more to it. There's more to the world and I think that, in 2020, when we are faced with the realities of what people are really like. I'm not entirely sure a beatific view of the future is practical. But let's hope that Discovery finds some kind of utopia eventually.

Ron: Yes, because Star Trek has always been about hope, and Discovery has often struggled with that kind of hope. The first season was all about war. The second season was a little bit more hopeful. This season, it's there but they’re struggling to find it.

They're in a position now to actually bring in some kind of hope. We're seeing that from time to time in the episodes that we've seen so far. But, it's a very different kind of Star Trek from previous iterations. I would say that it's quite dark from time to time.

Mon: It's dark but it's not melancholic, and there is an underlying theme of hope and positivity and optimism, which I assume, by the end of the season, will come to fruition.

Ron: Absolutely. And another show that we've been watching on the regs is The Mandalorian Season 2.

The first season had its ups and downs. There were some really good episodes; there were some poor episodes. We found the first episode to be a little bit turgid. The second season has been far more accomplished.

From the first episode of the second season onwards the editing has been much tighter, the storylines have been more engaging. Even for the episodes that were a bit slower in terms of plot there was still enough there to keep you interested in what was happening.

I think one of the things that people will definitely love about this season is how it's connected to the rest of the Star Wars universe, not just the films, but also the animated shows, as well as the books, maybe even the video games, we don't know yet. There has been some speculation but nothing has been nothing has yet been confirmed. So stay tuned on that.

We've been enjoying it. Baby Yoda has had some moments. He does seem to be doing things that aren't always very good. I don't know how I feel about him; he's adorable. He's adorable. But some of the things that he does… his actions are a bit questionable at times, even though he is Baby Yoda.

Mando himself hasn't really seen much growth this season. I felt like in the first season, you know, he started off as a bounty hunter. He found Baby Yoda and then it changed how he felt about his job and his mission. He no longer just wanted Beskar for the heck of it. He had a person to protect, and it changed his way of life.

This season, as fun as it is to watch him and Baby Yoda go from planet to planet, and from more ridiculous circumstances to others. Mando himself really hasn't changed much from the start of this season. So, I feel like the last few episodes will have some work wrapping that up.

Mon: I know that Mando has really stagnated in his characterization, but it's been such an adventure. Each episode has been an adventure on a new planet. And it's shown how Mando and the Child have connected more. It’s expanded the universe of the live-action show, and I’ve enjoyed that much more than if we were forced to watch Mando grow in some contrived or inauthentic fashion.

Honestly, this feels like a Star Wars show mainly because you never know what you’ll spot or who you’ll spot from other properties. So I'm probably in the minority here, but I really don't mind that he's like, ‘I'm on a quest; I’m on a quest, I'm on a quest’. Literally his only refrain for the first three episodes—he's moved on from saying that, at least.

Because as a character, he's so cool. Like, even when you watched Jango Fett and Boba Fett. These helmeted creatures, you don't really care about who they are as people. They just looked so cool. And a lot of the characterization, their arcs, their motivations, they come through despite that, it comes through in their actions. I really liked how they've brought in different aspects of the universe.

I kind of wish they wouldn't tell us in advance. Like, stop promoting and sending us news. Let us be surprised from time to time. And that was what used to be the mainstay of any Star Wars property. I don't know why, ever since Disney's taken over, they just tell us everything. No, we need to be surprised as fans. Ah, anyway. But the show, the cinematography is outstanding. It really feels like Star Wars and some of the direction… it's like, nothing has changed in the best way possible.

Ron: Shut out to Bryce Dallas Howard, and Carl Weathers; their episodes were just so good. So good.

Those were Star Wars episodes. It felt like we'd never left this universe from 1977. It was just such an enjoyable experience. You could see that these directors had grown up with these properties, they love these properties so much that their vision was what a fan would make. It was so much fun.

But for me, Mando’s lack of growth wasn't really bothering me that much until ‘Chapter 13’, where I was like, ‘what's he gonna do after this?’. Like, there needs to be more to this character. I think he's working as an audience stand-in a bit too much this season. Whereas in season one, you couldn't help but question some of his motives and everything that he did you were always on tenterhooks about what his next action was.

I like that he’s firmly a good guy now. But he's dangerously close to becoming a boring, good guy.

Mon: Well, I hope that's not the case and that Mando does get some growth. I'd like to see where his relationship with the Child eventually goes. There's only so much you can do with a little green puppet.

Ron: Baby Yoda is so cute that literally everybody is just gonna watch the show because it's the Baby Yoda show. He's really adorable as I said. But there are some moments where I feel like Mando now needs to start parenting. You can't just have Baby Yoda around, you need to do something about it because there have been moments where you're like, ‘Mando, watch your son!’

I guess that's the kind of growth that I do want to see. And I feel like that may happen in the next few episodes because all this while, he was on a very specific quest, and all the episodes that we’ve seen so far… Him having to planet hop was basically because he needed to finish this quest and there was something always waylaying him.

But, it's been great watching these characters from the Expanded Universe turn up, they fit in beautifully. I have to say a special shout out to Timothy Olyphant’s Cobb Vanth. I have no idea why, but this guy was amazing. I have seen Timothy Olyphant in other stuff but, oh my god, he was really good. I really enjoyed watching him.

And all the special guests who've been turning up have been doing a great job.

Despite our enjoyment of the show, there have been some controversies around the actors in the show. So, do be aware of that when you're watching it. It does tend to suck out some of the joy in watching this season because it has been really good. These characters are amazing. But pop culture doesn't exist in a vacuum, and we need to recognize that.

Having said that, as fans of the franchise, The Mandalorian Season 2 is doing the work to not only engage with us, but to entice new fans who may just be watching this show or may have just come in through the sequel trilogy to watch and read more of this Expanded Universe.

I've really enjoyed the episodic nature of this season, probably more than the previous season. One of the difficulties that sequels have is that they want to be bigger and better. This season seems to have gone in the other direction, and it works.

Mon: Yeah, despite introducing more characters. They have limited arcs, relevant arcs, and they drive the plot forward, and that's what's important. At the end of the day it's a great fan experience and what more could we ask for?

Ron: Tell us what you've been watching and share any recommendations that you may have.

Ron: You can find us on Twitter @Stereo_Geeks. Or send us an email stereogeekspodcast@gmail.com

Ron: We hope you enjoyed this episode. And see you next week!

Mon: The Stereo Geeks logo was created using Canva. The music for our podcast comes courtesy Audionautix.

[Continuum by Audionautix plays]

Transcription by Otter.ai and Mon.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Pluralistic: 17 Mar 2020 (Punch Brothers and Masque of the Red Death, 2020 Census (ACT NOW!), Disaster Socialism, Scalzi's canceled tour, my Twitter account was (briefly) nuked, writing advice, Our Plague Year, Inception-level patent troll covid fuckery, tips for parenting kids stuck at home, Brave files GDPR complaint against Google)

Today's links

The Masque of the Red Death and Punch Brothers Punch: My latest podcast is Poe/Twain bathos crossover.

Fill in your census online: Otherwise you and people you care about literally won't count.

Naomi Klein: this disaster has no room for disaster capitalism: It's our moment to seize.

Scalzi's canceled bookstore: Support your local indie bookseller, especially now.

My Twitter account was suspended: I got in trouble for putting trolls on a list called "Colossal Assholes."

Talking digital writing careers with the Writing Excuses podcast: Covering a lot of ground in 15 minutes.

A new anxiety podcast from Nightvale's Joseph Fink: Proud to be in the debut episode.

Patent trolls try to shut down covid testing: Monkey-selfies, Theranos, Softbank – it's a garbage matrioshke!

How to live with your kids: "Working and Learning from Home with Young Children."

Brave files GDPR complaint against Google: Sharing data between Google services is a no-no.

This day in history: 2005, 2015, 2019

Colophon: Recent publications, current writing projects, upcoming appearances, current reading

The Masque of the Red Death and Punch Brothers Punch (permalink)

My last podcast featured the Macmillan audiobook of my novella "The Masque of the Red Death."

https://craphound.com/podcast/2020/03/13/the-masque-of-the-red-death/

For this week's podcast, I decided to read Poe's original 1842 story, "The Masque of the Red Death. It's some next-level gothic stuff. Neil Gaiman is right: Poe must be read aloud!

https://www.poemuseum.org/the-masque-of-the-red-death

As a chaser, I close this week's podcast with a reading of Twain's classic, gothic, comedic "Literary Nightmare," better known as "Punch, Brothers, Punch," easily the best story ever written about an earworm.

Warning: earworms.

https://americanliterature.com/author/mark-twain/short-story/punch-brothers-punch

The two pieces work incredibly well together, making a bathetic cocktail!

Here's where to get the podcast:

https://craphound.com/podcast/2020/03/16/the-masque-of-the-red-death-and-punch-brothers-punch/

Direct MP3 link:

https://archive.org/download/Cory_Doctorow_Podcast_333/Cory_Doctorow_Podcast_333_-_The_Masque_of_the_Red_Death_Punch_Brothers_Punch.mp3

Here's the RSS for my podcasts:

http://feeds.feedburner.com/doctorow_podcast

Fill in your census online (permalink)

Guess what's happening on April 1, whether or not the nation is on virus lockdown? The 2020 edition of the decennial census, arguably the most consequential administrative task in the US government.

https://my2020census.gov/

You don't have to wait until April 1. Here's that URL again. Whether or not you've gotten a census card with a code, you can and should fill it in.

https://my2020census.gov/

From danah boyd: "Everyone who lives in the US (regardless of nationality or visa status) is required to fill this out. Children under 5 are often forgotten. Same with long-term house guests. Immigrants, black men, and indigenous communities are often undercounted too. If you want to make sure that your community gets its fair share of funding and political power, make sure to get everyone in your community to fill this out. The more people missing, the more you lose out."

If digital isn't your thing, call:

English 844-330-2020 Español 844-468-2020 普通话 844-391-2020 粤语 844-398-2020 tiếng Việt 844-461-2020 한국어 844-392-2020 pусский 844-417-2020 العربية:844-416-2020 Tagalog 844-478-2020 Polish 844-479-2020 Français 844-494-2020 Kreyòl Ayisyen 844-477-2020 Português 844-474-2020 日本語 844-460-2020

If you're reading this, you're on a device that can be used to fill it out.

Naomi Klein: this disaster has no room for disaster capitalism (permalink)

In The Shock Doctrine, Naomi Klein coined "disaster capitalism" to describe how, during a crisis, "ideas lying around" about how to enrich the few and take away our rights come to the fore.

In this short doc, she applies the theory to coronavirus.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=niwNTI9Nqd8

The shock doctrine is well underway: privatizing social security, closing borders, maybe canceling elections.

But as Klein points out, disasters don't always precipitate oligarchy. The Great Depression catalyzed the New Deal and transformative change.

This is moment to seize. We have "ideas lying around" that are better than exploitation and oligarchy: ideas like a $15 minimum wage, an inclusive government, evidence-based policy free from corporate influence, Medicare for All, and, most of all, the Green New Deal.

Scalzi's canceled bookstore (permalink)

John Scalzi has had to cancel his tour for for The Last Emperox, a book in The Collapsing Empire series. It was the right call for him (and Tor Books to make).

https://whatever.scalzi.com/2020/03/16/important-news-about-the-last-emperox-tour/

Even though it was the right call, it comes at a cost – to John, to Tor, and, especially, to the indie bookstores that rely on author events to keep the lights on. That's why John has urged his readers to "Keep your pre-order at your local bookstore, or make that pre-order at your local bookstore. Your local bookstore needs you right now."

He also suggests that you consider ordering a signed limited edition hardcover from Subterranean:

https://subterraneanpress.com/last-emperox

And John will be going into his local indie to sign books for mail order for so long as it's permitted:

http://www.jayandmarysbooks.com/

Indie booksellers aren't the most endangered or hardest-hit among those who will be devastated by the virus, by official incompetence and indifference, and by monopolism and corruption, but they will still be VERY endangered and VERY hard-hit. They need your support.

My Twitter account was suspended (permalink)

My Twitter account is back!

Here's what happened:

I woke up yesterday morning and discovered that my account was locked. There was no explanation, either in the app, the site or my email for this. I contacted everyone I knew at Twitter, and everyone who knew anyone at Twitter. At 830AM Pacific – about 5h after the suspension – I got an email from support – saying I'd been suspended for having a list to which I add trolls called "colossal assholes."

I'm not sure that this qualifies as a ToS violation (I gave up reporting trolls who called me much worse, because Twitter inevitably replied that these epithets were not prohibited), but it's super-weird that they suspended me without warning or explanation. Also weird: I could not rename the list while suspended, only delete it (I tried to rename it "thoroughly unpleasant individuals").

Weirder: "Colossal assholes" got me suspended, but not its companion list, "Toe-faced shitweasels"

Thanks to everyone who contacted Twitter on my behalf, and for the Twitter folks who lit a fire to get that suspension explanation email sent my way.

All of my followers were deleted. Twitter tells me they'll reappear over 24h or so, but more than 100k are still missing. If you're interested in seeing my future tweets, please double-check that you're subscribed.

Also, in response to Twitter's sensitivity about "colossal assholes" as a listname, I've renamed and expanded my lists.

Potent emetics

Tissue-thin bad faith

Foolish timewasters

Beneath contempt

Odious nonsense-spewers

Confederate gravy-eaters

Toe-faced stenchweasels

Hilariously inept lackwits

Probably bots

Thick as two short planks

Raving conspiracists

Sociopath climate deniers

Dim bulb centrists

Inept MAGA trolls

Red scare bedwetters

Talking digital writing careers with the Writing Excuses podcast (permalink)

Back when cruise ships were a thing, I went out on the Writing Excuses Cruise as an instructor with Mary Robinette Kowal and friends. While there, we recorded an episode of the Writing Excuses podcast.

https://podplayer.net/?id=99014840

In a mere 25 minutes, we pack in a lot of material: how to break into the field, what a publisher's job is, how "digital is different," self-promotion, not being an unlikable weirdo when you're self-promoting, technology's role in shaping artistic success, and more.

Here's an MP3:

https://writingexcuses.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/WX15_11_digital_is_different.mp3

And here's the RSS to subscribe to the podcast:

https://writingexcuses.com/feed/podcast/

A new anxiety podcast from Nightvale's Joseph Fink (permalink)

Our Plague Year is a new podcast from Joseph Fink of Welcome to Nightvale fame. It features short spoken-word essays about this extraordinary, scary, uncertain time.

https://ourplagueyear.libsyn.com/

The debut installment just went live and I was proud to contribute a piece to it, "Don't Look for the Helpers," which PM Press will be publishing in text form shortly.

https://ourplagueyear.libsyn.com/the-lesson-of-a-plague

Also in this episode: "Social Distances" by Nisi Shawl.

MP3 here:

https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/ourplagueyear/The_Lesson_of_a_Plague.mp3

Patent trolls try to shut down covid testing (permalink)

It's nearly impossible to sum up all the terrible in this story about a patent troll who is attacking America's ability to make and distribute coronovirus test-kits.

Labrador Diagnostics LLC is a patent troll (💩) that bought two of Theranos's patents (💩💩). They're a shell company spun up by Fortress Investment Group, Softbank's (💩💩💩) giant patent troll (💩💩💩💩). They're suing Biofire, a company that actually makes things (as opposed to Labrador, which only makes lawsuits). Which things are Biofire making? Covid-19 tests (💩💩💩💩💩).

They're represented by Irell & Manella, a lawfirm that previously claimed to represent a monkey. No, really. (💩💩💩💩💩💩)

It's inception-level terrible, a grifty shit burrito encased in a shit-flour tortilla, wrapped in a layer of shit-foil, and served in a go-bag of shitty, shitty, shit.

This is the kind of shit-matrioshke that could wipe out our species.

How to live with your kids (permalink)

I'm really impressed with Erin Kissane's "Working and Learning from Home with Young Children" – an important sanity check for anyone ramping up a new way of relating to our kids.

http://incisive.nu/2020/working-and-learning-from-home/

"Don't be Captain Homeschool on day one" is definitely a lesson we've already learned the hard way, and I'm excited to try out its antidote, "Rhythms > schedules":

"A simple rhythm is resilient, so when something goes sideways, recovery is much simpler."

Also impressed by the accompanying "rhythm chart" (something something "rhythm method" something something "parenting").

"Hold a morning household meeting" is something we're definitely doing, albeit awkwardly because we're taking advantage of the school break to let our kid do the sleeping in she never gets to do otherwise, so we're already up and about by the time she's ready for this.

Also impressed by the recco for the Raising Free People podcast, for unschoolers, free schoolers, Adlerians and democratic parents.

https://www.raisingfreepeople.com/podcast/

Brave files GDPR complaint against Google (permalink)

It's long been obvious that US Big Tech companies are unserious about their GDPR compliance, taking cosmetic, pro-forma measures that don't really engage with the substance of the rules (those rules demand nothing less than a top-to-bottom industry restructure).

EU regulators have been slow to punish them for this, but the GDRP affords standing to many private actors to demand action for noncompliance, which is how it is that Brave has filed GDPR action against Google.

https://cointelegraph.com/news/brave-browser-delivers-on-promise-files-gdpr-complaint-against-google

The complaint's substance is that Google is collecting data through its many products, divisions and services and merging that data on the back-end, which the GDPR expressly prohibits without meaningful, opt-in consent (and you can't deny service those who don't consent).

Brave published a study that analyzed Google's communications with users, partners, regulators and customers and showed that these are effectively an admission of the kind of "data-tying" that the GDPR bans.

https://brave.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Inside-the-Black-Box.pdf

I continue to use Brave and Firefox as my daily-driver browsers; I'm impressed with the quality of both, and how much better they make the web.

This action by Brave might trigger the kind of reckoning that the GDPR was meant to provoke — at long last.

This day in history (permalink)

#15yrsago ETECH Notes: Life Hacks Live! (Danny O'Brien and Merlin Mann) https://craphound.com/etech2005-lifehacks.txt

#15yrago Sterling and Steffen's SXSW keynote https://web.archive.org/web/20050318074350/http://www.worldchanging.com/archives/002353.html

#5yrsago The Glorkian Warrior Eats Adventure Pie https://boingboing.net/2015/03/17/the-glorkian-warrior-eats-adve.html

#1yrago China's "pawn shops" have loaned $43B, mostly secured by real-estate https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-12/china-is-said-to-scrutinize-43-billion-pawn-shop-lending-boom

#1yrago Chinese enthusiasts are serving global Thinkpad fans by making modern motherboards that fit in classic chassis from the Golden Age of the Thinkpad https://geoff.greer.fm/2019/03/04/thinkpad-x210/

#1yrago Majority of London's newly built luxury flats are unsold, raising the spectre of "posh ghost towers" https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/jan/26/ghost-towers-half-of-new-build-luxury-london-flats-fail-to-sell

#1yrago Myspace lost all the music its users uploaded between 2003 and 2015 https://www.reddit.com/r/techsupport/comments/7uiv8b/myspace_player_wont_play_songs_and_i_want_to/

Colophon (permalink)

Today's top sources: Kottke (https://kottke.org), Slashdot (https://slashdot.org).

Currently writing: I've just finished rewrites on a short story, "The Canadian Miracle," for MIT Tech Review. It's a story set in the world of my next novel, "The Lost Cause," a post-GND novel about truth and reconciliation. I've also just completed "Baby Twitter," a piece of design fiction also set in The Lost Cause's prehistory, for a British think-tank. I'm getting geared up to start work on the novel next.

Currently reading: Just started Lauren Beukes's forthcoming Afterland: it's Y the Last Man plus plus, and two chapters in, it's amazeballs. Last month, I finished Andrea Bernstein's "American Oligarchs"; it's a magnificent history of the Kushner and Trump families, showing how they cheated, stole and lied their way into power. I'm getting really into Anna Weiner's memoir about tech, "Uncanny Valley." I just loaded Matt Stoller's "Goliath" onto my underwater MP3 player and I'm listening to it as I swim laps.

Latest podcast: The Masque of the Red Death and Punch Brothers Punch https://craphound.com/podcast/2020/03/16/the-masque-of-the-red-death-and-punch-brothers-punch/

Upcoming books: "Poesy the Monster Slayer" (Jul 2020), a picture book about monsters, bedtime, gender, and kicking ass. Pre-order here: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781626723627?utm_source=socialmedia&utm_medium=socialpost&utm_term=na-poesycorypreorder&utm_content=na-preorder-buynow&utm_campaign=9781626723627

(we're having a launch for it in Burbank on July 11 at Dark Delicacies and you can get me AND Poesy to sign it and Dark Del will ship it to the monster kids in your life in time for the release date).

"Attack Surface": The third Little Brother book, Oct 20, 2020. https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250757531

"Little Brother/Homeland": A reissue omnibus edition with a new introduction by Edward Snowden: https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250774583

[onwardintolight]

Canon Catchup

With TROS coming out soon, I’ve been doing a lot of catchup on canon material that I’ve missed, particularly that which I think will be most relevant either for the movie or for Resistance Reborn (which I finished yesterday and will talk more about below). I will avoid major spoilers, as excited as I may be about some of them, haha, but I wanted to write out a few of my thoughts here while they’re fairly fresh.

A Crash of Fate by Zoraida Córdova and Galaxy’s Edge by Delilah Dawson—these don’t seem quite as relevant to TROS, but I read these two Galaxy’s Edge tie-in novels a few months ago and I thought I’d say a few words. I REALLY enjoyed the A Crash of Fate; it was such a lovely, heartwrenchingly beautiful story that reminded me a little of Lost Stars in the way that it focused in on a friendship/romance between two people who wouldn’t ever be main characters in the movies. The story was told primarily over the span of a single day, and wow did I not expect my heart to be pulled in so many different directions. Definitely one I will read again and again. 

I’m not sure I’ll do the same with Galaxy’s Edge. It was a super fun read, with some great, Indiana Jones-like action sequences, and I’d recommend giving it a go especially if you’re planning on ever going to Galaxy’s Edge—but it also had a few seriously problematic elements that I just couldn’t overlook. For one, NO WAY is Leia going to force Vi to work closely with someone who tortured her, and speaking of torture, many black people have already commented on the problematic nature of the excessive violence Vi undergoes in this book.

TFA and TLJ Junior Novelizations by Michael Kogge—I wanted to get a refresher on these stories, and since I’d never read the junior versions, I decided to give them a try. Overall I enjoyed these quite a bit. The TFA one was way better imho than the adult novelization by Alan Dean Foster, and both had some really meaningful character moments. There was one Leia scene at the end of the TFA one that brought me to tears.

Aftermath: Life Debt and Aftermath: Empire’s End by Chuck Wendig—I’d originally read the Aftermath trilogy as each book was released, but with everything I was hearing about Resistance Reborn, AND with the return of Palpatine in TROS and the promise of finally figuring out what’s been going on in the Unknown Regions, I thought it was a perfect time to revisit it. I skipped the first one (my least favorite of the three, and also my copy is in a box somewhere from when we moved last and the library’s audiobook copies were checked out) and read a synopsis instead to refresh my memory, then dived straight into Life Debt. Both of these books were as good or better than I remember them. I enjoyed them the first time, but I enjoyed them even better this time around. I feel like they’ve gained even more significance now. My HanLeia shippy heart is happy with some of their scenes, and also I rediscovered that I absolutely adore and would probably die for Norra, Wedge, Jas, Sinjir, Temmin, and crew.

Spark of the Resistance by Justina Ireland—this was a super cute but ultimately rather forgettable junior novel. The best part about it was seeing Rey, Poe, and Rose interacting. I may revisit it sometime after TROS and see if my unexpectedly skyrocketing feels for these characters (see below) makes it better.

The Poe Dameron comic run—I’d previously read the first trade (Black Squadron), the third (Legend Lost), and maybe a tiny bit of the second (The Gathering Storm), and aside from a really poignant bit in Legend Lost I just didn’t find myself very invested. This time around, however, flipped that on its head. Trades 4 and 5 (Legend Found and The Spark and the Fire) completely did me in, and without warning, I found myself 100% invested in Black Squadron. Poe, Jess, Snap, Karé, Suralinda, and L’ulo have officially joined the Aftermath crew in my list of characters I would die for. I just want all my babies to be okay! There were numerous moments in those last two trades (including the AMAZING Annual #2, a must-read for HanLeia new canon fans) which made me cry. I’m not even joking. So good. Well done, Charles Soule.

Resistance Reborn by Rebecca Roanhorse—Buckle up because I have a lot to say! I HIGHLY recommend reading the Aftermath trilogy, Bloodline, the Poe Dameron comics, and watching the Battlefront II campaign (which I talked about in another post) before reading this because HOLY MOLY. You won’t be lost if you don’t, but it will mean so much more to you if you do. Speaking of crying, I literally lost count of the moments that brought me to tears, and so many were significant because of how all the stories I mentioned and more have been so beautifully interconnected in this one. Wedge and Norra, Zay and Shriv, and so many others—each was given their due and it was amazing. One character’s surprise appearance had me practically on my knees with joy and heartbreak all at once, and I would say more but I’m really trying to keep that promise not spoil you, haha. 

If the Poe Dameron comic weren’t enough to win me over, this book has officially cemented Poe as one of my favorite sequel trilogy characters. Tbh, I’ve had trouble feeling much of a deep connection with any of the sequel trilogy leads—I love them, sure, but not like Leia, Han and Luke, the trio I grew up with. I’ve wanted to love them more, I’ve wanted to be more invested in them, but it just hasn’t happened. I’m really glad I read this book before TROS, because I think this has changed that. I was definitely getting a few OT golden trio vibes with Rey, Finn, and of course, my Boi™ Poe—except they’re completely their own characters, and I’m really starting to love them for who they are.

Overall, I absolutely loved this book, it felt really meaningful, and I can’t wait to read it again. 

That being said, when I finished it yesterday I felt a little bit disappointed, like it tasted a little bit bittersweet. I’m still trying to figure out why that is, but I think it may be down to three things: 

1) Though there were a number of fantastic character reveals, there were some obvious people absent and I can’t help but wonder where they are. I hope they’re not dead. I hope TROS includes some of these characters, too. I hope we get the rest of their stories either way.

2) The book is way too short. Especially on the heels of the Aftermath trilogy, this feels like only the first act of at least three. The ending comes way too soon, just after it really seems to get going. This I don’t blame the author or the publishers for at all; they are very limited, after all, in what they can portray leading up to TROS. But it really left me longing for more. This book had such a wonderful focus on character, but in the end, I wanted to see the character arcs get even more resolved than they do here... but I guess they really couldn’t be, and that’s what TROS is for. I just hope the movie does it well! I need all these people to be okay <3

3) It doesn’t shy away from grief, struggle, and the mental cost of war. Honestly, that’s part of why I love it so much, but I think that’s also part of why it left me feeling a little melancholy. The Resistance is in such a seemingly hopeless place, and while things do get better over the course of the book, there’s still such a terribly long way to go.The First Order rains merciless terror on anyone or any planet who gives even the slightest hint of opposing them or of aiding the Resistance. The whole galaxy is afraid. Poe struggles deeply with guilt and with how to make up for the horrible mistakes he made in TLJ (this is not brushed off in the slightest, not by the book or by the characters in it, and I appreciate that). Rey is confused and still unsure of her place in things. Characters are faced with the fact that they will almost certainly die because of their choice to join the Resistance, and it’s heavy. And Leia. Oh, Leia. I am deeply grateful to Roanhorse for her very realistic portrayal of Leia as someone who has lost so incredibly much (most recently her husband and brother), most definitely has PTSD, and probably is dealing with a bit of depression. Leia is weary. Leia struggles to keep stepping forward, struggles to figure out the next step for those she leads. Leia struggles to keep hoping. The battle between hope and despair in the face of terrible loss and terrible odds is very much felt in this book. But as ever with Leia, hope always wins in the end. By the end of the book, you can still feel the struggle, but hope wins. 

I think that because I personally relate so much to Leia, reading some of that was hard. Not because I feel like it’s contrary to who Leia is, but because I resonate with it so much and because it reminds me in a particularly strong way of some of the struggles I’ve dealt with that I’d like to forget. It’s no wonder that my heart felt heavy after I closed the book. But along with that, I also see how Leia perseveres, how she’s finally gotten to a place where she lets herself rely on and be comforted by others, and how she accomplishes the seemingly impossible just because she damned well refuses to give in to despair, no matter how tempting it may be. It reminds me that I, too, can accomplish incredible things despite all my struggles, despite the odds stacked against me.

Anyway, I highly recommend this book. Resistance Reborn hasn’t quite come up to the level of Bloodline or LPOA in my personal ranking, but with future rereads, it very well might someday. 

This book—along with all of this reading—has put me even more on the edge of my seat for TROS than I was before, if that’s possible. I desperately want it to be the best ending possible for the Skywalker Saga and for all these characters who’ve become so beloved to me. I’m trying to temper my expectation—TFA still isn’t especially my jam, after all, and while overall I’m a fan of the ST (the TROS trailers made me cry, for goodness sakes), I have a somewhat complicated relationship with it in general—but goddammit, I’m hoping anyway. There’s so much beautiful setup in the new canon EU, such a deliberate focus on character, and so many hints that this might reach through the whole saga and bring together something bigger than we can imagine. 

I’m hoping anyway.