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dvasva · 11 months

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Tbh? I think the radiant emperor duology deserves more critique than it gets in its tag, so after stewing it over for a couple weeks and also discussing it with my friend, I have decided to do it myself.

So. Spoilers for She Who Became the Sun and He Who Drowned The World ahead.

First off, so nobody accuses me of hating the series, I liked the series. I'd say I'd give the first book a 4.5/5, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I like both books. I truthfully skipped the fisting scene, it triggered some dysphoria that I wasn't comfortable with personally but I don't have problem with it existing in the book, it's good where it is, no changes.

No, my critiques come mostly from the second book, hwdts. Which sucks because I absolutely loved Baoxiang in it, it's a well known fact that my ideal type is pretty, really mean, characters. ('What about Madam Zhang?!!!???!? Shes mean and pretty!!' I hear you ask. Give it a second cause i will get to my beloved madam zhang) So, my critiques are mostly organized as 'The first part I didn't like in Hwdtw that signals the thing that became my biggest issue, the bits in the middle that i did like along with the bits that I felt didn't really work well, and Act 3 which is where my issues really were exacerbated.'

By the end of book one, I had a general annoyance but acceptance that Ma Xiuying was a bit of a weak character, and not weak as in 'dang shes a woman and cant fight' or any other sexist way you may interpret that, but weak as in structurally, she didn't really have as much depth as other characters. I thought she didn't have as much time put into her character as others. And yeah you could have a million character analysis essays over Ma and her place in the story and etc, but for me, her setup for the next book as potentially having conflict with Zhu or her own morals was the most interesting part of Ma. In general I think a lot of people tend to overlook this flaw partly because Ma is a cis lesbian character and the main 'love interest' in a book that is usually marketed to people as sapphic, which yeah there is certainly a sapphic relationship in the book but I think saying it's a major part of the book is really giving the relationship a load bearing wall ot isn't strong enough to carry. The Radiant Emperor Duology is not a romance, first and foremost. To describe it as a wlw romance is gonna leave people who read ot specifically for that reason kinda dissappointed by the end of book 2.

My big critiques didn't start until book two, and a particular scene, though. Ma, at the start of book two, was generally filling the niche of 'nagging wife' to zhu, which yknow, is a fine place to start from. I was a little disappointed there was no further discussion of Ma's disapproval of the morality of Zhu's actions, and in fact the dead child was pretty much entirely forgotten by Ma in favor of being Zhu's wife. Which, yknow, sure.

The Scene I had issue with happened (Spoilers once again) after Zhu finally captures Ouyang and imprisons him at her base of operations. Ma, dressed in her empressly regalia enters his room with the intention of being the bigger person. She walks in, looks at the stripped down and humiliated general who killed her father and famously is also really a women hater, and tells him she forgives him for killing her father. And then she gets upset and cries when the prideful general who hates women gives her a dressing down and taunts her and is like 'I'm glad I killed your father'? She nearly cries because Ouyang was mean to her (notably only cause he was mean to her and didn't gracefully accept her forgiveness, not because he killed ehr father) and runs off to Zhu. And Zhu responds with 'Wow, he's just a weirdo, everyone likes you and everyone in existance immediately knows you're a good person and you change people.' Which, my friend suggested before she finished the book, was a case of Zhu placating Ma and dismissing her feelings which would be an interesting dynamic.

Really my hangups with this scene come from multiple parts.

1. Ma' few character traits including being observant and reading people really well (a thing she's praised for in book 1) and having good social intuition are completely thrown out by her thinking being alone with ouyang and forgiving him would be a good idea and then her being shocked and upset when he spat on her forgiveness. And

2. Zhu's response is never once treated by the text as her dismissing Ma and placating her, and Zhu's statement despite never being shown to be true before and that moment being the first time it's ever mentioned, ends up becoming Chekov's moral purity by the end of the book, where the plot hinges on Ma being able to magically heal a damaged character's mind enough for Zhu to win in the end. Which I will get back to. There's a lot of other stuff happening between here and the end.

So, before I get back to Ma and her role in the story, I'll address some other bits from after this scene. Both problems and things I enjoyed generally.

Madam Zhang and her parallels to Baoxiang and her being the absolute queen of dissociating really was interesting (before act 3). She was a very compelling character who I completely understood and felt positively about. She had a way more interesting relationship with gender imo than Ma did, especially in book 2. I didn't really like that she was overwhelmingly shown having sexual villence done to her, that felt weirdly like a punishment. But, I did like her a whole bunch, and I liked the look we got into her head. She was probably my second, maybe third, favorite character in the whole book until Act 3.

I really, really liked Ouyangs dynamic and relationship with Zhu. The weird sexual tension between them, their weird kinda nonsexual but also kinda very sexual S&M relationship. It was somehow the most sensual, sexual part of a book that featured Madam Zhang having sex with multiple people, and Zhu going down on Ma, and a lot of other mentions of sex or scenes involving sex. Tbh I feel like, in a way, Ma was left to the sidelines for most of the book because Ouyang became the primary 'love' interest for a hot second there and the only reason Ma could get her spot back was Ouyang and Zbu's separation. Also, from what I've seen when people talk about this book, they always kinda try to express Zhu and Ouyang's dynamic as very nonsexual and nonromantic, as platonic mostly. And there is no inherent superiority of romantic over platonic, but I think to insist that it is only platonic, and not a strange swirl of romantic, platonic, sexual, frustration and relief, and a swirl of familiarity and vulnerability all wrapped into one, is doing the dynamic a bit of a disservice. And ther is, imo, very clearly a subtle hint of romantic intent and interest on Ouyang's part before he realizes Zhu has a body he hates.

Which is also another point I didn't like. Ouyang and Zhu's relationship end felt off. The entire bit with the pirates felt off, but especially how Ouyang found out about Zbu's body, and how Zhu reacted. I think Ouyang finding out second hand, from a combination of being suspicious and from Jiang saying it, was a poor way for that to be revealed. I think there was a better way for that to happen that woyld have felt more like a betrayl to zhu than this did. The fact that Zhu and Ouyang were so in tune and could see each other perfectly, but this one thing was a blind spot for both of them because of how unaffected by gender Zhu was compared to how overaffected by gender Ouyang was is a really interesting thing to explore, an interesting disconnect between two character's whose entire basis for their relationship is 'like recognizes like'. I think Zhu seeing it as a betrayl would have been more impactful if she had presented this informatuon to Ouyang herself and been rejected than how it went down. And, I think her not realizing Ouyang would be disgusted that he felt connected and felt a sameness to someone with a body he found grotesque and that he feared would have been more interesting for zhu, who views herself outside of womanhood and didnt really think that other people would not see her outside of womanhood, if she was the one who told ouyang herself.

Also, less importantly, think going into Ouyangs annoyance that zhu kept moving his target further away was a good move but it wasn't expanded on as much for my taste. I also really liked it when (spoiler) Xu Da dies, and that entire part despite some minir bits, was extremely good in that Zhu finally has tasted loss. She had, up until that point, been riding a wave of positivity, she was the underdog who won over and over again despite all the odds and despite her own reckless choices. So I did appreciate that everything went wrong for her at least once. that would have been, imo if other things were changed, a good place to end a book two in a three book series. Which will make sense as to why I mention it im a bit.

I also didn't like how Ma was nonexistant unless the plot was like 'ok we need to remind people that Ma exists.'

And there's of course other stuff but those are the main points of acts 1 and 2 that i wasn't fond of or that i liked.

Act 3 is a wholely different behemoth which can be encapsulated with 'I wish it was longer but also different' (courtesy of the convo my friend and I had).

My friend and I both agreed that we liked this kind of courtly drama game it was playing. My friend doesn't tend to like the structure or writing style of a lot of the chinese wuxia, danmei, or courtly drama translated books i read, so it was nice to know that the genre content isn't the issue for her there.

The biggest problems I had with the ending though was 1. I think Baoxiang and Ma had an interesting dynamic despite it being really rushed and how distasteful I found the entire concept of Ma being such a good wholesome goody good good person that she could change Baoxiang, quiet his demons and fix him in some way. That was annoying in an otherwise interesting dynamic. And 2. I think Madam Zhang's character traits and cleverness and all that were wiped away to make her inexplicably jealous of Ma in a way that I don't think fit her character and just served to fit a trope of jealous empress who hates the favored concubine.

So, here's my major proposed changes.

1. Ma gets sent to Khanbaliq extremely early on. Like, act one maybe after ouyang is captured early. This serves three purposes. A. Ma has something to do and is more present in the story. this could be a good xhance to let her actually feel frustrated or upset at Zhu in some tangible way that needs to be resolved or talked thru eventually. B. she gets more time to build a relationship with Baoxiang, whose entire defeat hinges on him having a strong connection with her. and C. Her absence in the other parts of the book feel less like she's being ignored or forgotten. It makes Zhu's lack of haste more than just a way to annoy Ouyang, and turns it into an interesting moral choice. Should she rush to Khanbaliq to save Ma or trust that Ma will be ok in favor of gaining power? Her lack of haste means Ouyang leaves, depressed, and she loses Xu Da, all while she doesn't even have the assurance that Ma is ok, she is truly at her lowest point with nobody with her. If Ma is in Khanbaliq and that's explored, then Zhu and Ouyang can also explore their dynamic without Ma feeling a bit like she is battling for Zhu's attention.

2. Madam Zhang is suspicious of Ma, or feels actually tangibly threatened by Ma. In act 3, Madam Zhang's anger towards Ma feels really out of place. She got exactly what she wants, she is empress, her emperor isn't interested in removing her from her position and her position isn't threatened by anyone. Baoxiang won't get rid of her, he won't demote her, he has shown zero sign of ever even considering it. So, why is Madam Zhang jealous of Ma? Imo, especially since she very clearly has dissociated into oblivion and has no love or affection for anyone anymore, and no real desire or motivation to secure her position further aside from maybe producing an heir to make sure shes taken care of after Baoxiang dies, there's no reason for her to be inextricably jealous of Ma. It kinda just erases all of Madam Zhang's political savvy and cunning into jealous, petty woman, and that sucks. If she was suspicious of Ma's intention, or Baoxiang genuinely expressed spmething that actively threatened her position, her hatred of Ma would make sense, but instead she hates Ma cause Ma is ugly and spends every night with Baoxiang. She hated rice buckets concubine cause that concubine used a lot of funds and competition genuinely made her position less stable. She needs better motivation for hating Ma.

3. As I mentioned earlier, Zhu needs to be the one to tell Ouyang that she does not have a dick. That's just all around better, it feels more like a betrayl to bare your secrets and be rejected, etc etc.

4. The duology should have been a trilogy, with book 3 starting when Zhu is at her lowest, ouyang is dead, ma is in khanbaliq, Xu Da is dead, a new guy is the emperor. This is where a book three should have started. in a series that has so many important characters, i feel like it needs more space. she's in a 10 gallon tank when really she needs a 30 gallon tank. Lots of it, especially towards the end of book 2, felt rushed and the extra book will absolutely push that back a bit and make it less rushed.

Anyways that's my critique of The Radiant emperor duology. Once Again, I liked the series, its one of my favorites i've read all year. I don't dislike it, and having a critique or opinion about something doesnt mean I didn't like the book or understand the book (because obviously if i understood it i would understand why its flawless). I liked it, there are things I wish were different, that's it.

#radiant emperor #he who drowned the world #she who became the sun #radiant emperor spoilers #spoiler #i wrote this in like 2 hours at 4 am and i got lazy halfway thru editing it so if theres typos rip #i just needed to get it out of my brain #organized in text somewhere other than jamies discord dms #thank you jamie also #i have a lot of opinions on this duology #some i didnt even mention cause its 6:30 and i forgot #i think shelley parker chan wants to write nblm or mlm books tbh #i dont think they really wanna write sapphic books #and tbh im ok with that i think there should be more books about transmascs #the tiktok/tumblr habit of describing a book with tags really also doesnt help this book also #i think to say 'sapphic enemies to lovers' for this kind of book gives people the wrong impression #especially since once again i wouldnt really describe it as sapphic in the genre way #anyhow again so nobody kills me #i did like the books #i enjoyed them i loved them i did not hate them at all

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catilinas · 2 years

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I just finished reading the Masters of Rome series and all of Mary Renault's books set in ancient Greece, the Alexander trilogy, and the Theseus duology, and a few by Valerio Massimo Manfredi. Do you have any recommendations for similar books or series that you've enjoyed?

i think i've answered something similar about historical fiction somewhere in /tagged/book list so i will tag this post w that so you can maybe find a more detailed answer. but. yeah here is some!

the cicero trilogy (imperium, lustrum, dictator) by robert harris <- cicero is there. if you got Really into masters of rome you might get pissed off at some of the oversimplification of politics but the cicero characterisation is Really good and also they are Fun

roma sub rosa series by steven saylor <- roman republic detective novels that turned me into The catilina apologist i am today + there are a LOT of them + yes the major historical ficgures are cool but you Will get invested in this fictional detective's wild family drama

rome trilogy?? (the key, the lock, the door in the wall) by benita kane jaro <- do it for him (caelius the world's most unreliable narrator)

augustus by john williams <- epistolary novel about Him composed of made up sources. fun.

the ides of march by thornton wilder <- also in epistolary format but with wild timeline shenanigans? i enjoyed it

dancing with the lion series by jeanne reames <- about the early life of alexander the great + they are just so detailed + i read the first book in one (1) day

the golden mean by annabel lyon <- i have not actually read this but it's been on my tbr for like one million years. about aristotle and alexander the great and maybe i will get round to it this year :/

lavinia by ursula k. le guin <- i think this is the most similar to the theseus duology in occupying a fictional space between myth and history. if that makes sense. i also read it in one (1) day

mutuals if you have any other historical fiction recommendations hi hello eye emoji ?

#book list #beeps

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dustteller · 5 months

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Yknow, I think this passage really captures how Ouyang views Esen, especially in contrast with how Baoxiang views Esen. Ouyang geuinely believes the best of Esen, he genuinely belives that Esen is good and pure and kind and that it's himslef that is taining him into being otherwise. And while Ouyang is right in that he's technically responsible for Esen’s current emotional state (he did very much kill Esen’s dad and frame his brother for it, that is very much a thing he just did), for once it isn't his fault for the everything else going on with Esen?

I do think Esen is generally good-natured, and tries to be kind and generous to those he loves, but it's very clear that Ouyang has reduced him to JUST that in his head. He only sees Esen’s best qualities as inherent to him, and all the bad ones are Ouyang's fault somehow. He blames himself for Esen not understanding him (because there's something wrong with him, and even when he's mad at Esen for not caring enough to notice certain things he justifies it in his head by making it about his own unmanliness or whatever and Esen is just to perfect for that), for any failure in battle (yeah you're the general but Esen also approved this hes your boss dude), and generally for any moment where Esen exhibits less than stellar behaviour/capacity/etc. When in reality, we have a lot of moments where Esen is just sort of a dick, many of which are pre-ouyang (courtesy of HWDtW wbx flashbacks, which, granted, are also biased but my point still stands). We see Esen's constant and usually unjustified frustration with wbx and sometimes Ouyang, we see him be dismissive of the things they tell him, in the pre-order reward its pretty much stated that he makes a habit of dumping Ouyang outside brothels for hours while he goes inside to get laid, in one of his first scenes we see how much he enjoys it when Ouyang spends the whole morning tormenting Altan (altho tbf he kinda deserved it, altan suuuccckkss), and in general Esen just kinda treats people like crap sometimes. He's snapish and short-tempered and stubborn and imperious, loves whining about stuff, and is a shitty brother and best friend. He's got a lot of good qualities too, like how he's one of the few people that treats Ouyang with respect and tries to treat him as an equal, how his first reaction when wbx is insulted is to come to his defense (even if wbx usually foils his attempts by immediately clapping back and storming off), how we see him recognize he gets frustrated witj wbx too easily and tries to hold his temper back, how he immediately self-sacrifices to save Ouyang from his dad, how even after thinking wbx killed their dad he does really want to forgive him.

My point is, Esen is trying, but he's a very flawed human being, and Ouyang just can't seem to grasp that. He looks at him with rose-colored glasses. And it's so interesting that amongst all the shitty things Ouyang has done (and this duology really just is Ouyang and WBX fuck up yuan dynasty china to truly Epic proportions), the one he feels worst about is the one that isn't actually his fault (sorta). He may have killed Chaghan and been the catalyst for Esen's emotional blow up, but he isn't responsible for Esen having the capacity to burn WBX's books. That was Esen's decision. He hasn't somehow manipulated Esen into an eviler, crueler version of himself by virtue of existing evil-y and eunuch-y and revengefully im his vicinity. Esen was always capable of this, even if we take out Ouyang's actual manipulations, and I think this whole I-tainted-hin mentality really encapsulates how fucked up their relationship and Ouyang's mental state are in general. After all, Ouyang doesn't feel bad about the murder, or the framing, and he feels guilt about causing Esen pain, but most of all, he feels absolutely terrible that he's shattered what he sees as Esen’s purity, which in reality is mostly just the pedestal he himslef put him on. Man, what a fucked up little guy.

#she who became the sun #man i need to stop being like heyy ill just post smt quick just a few sentences and then I'll sleep #it always ends up as a shitty 3am essay #also i need to re-emphazise how much he did not feel bad about the murder portion of this.#and how he felt even less bad about having wbx take the blame.#in his mind they deserved it! chaghan for killing his fam and also being a dick #and wbx for being annoying and understanding him too much.#which btw is another great example of how ouyang views himself bc somebody else being like him at all is an execulate offense in his mind.#he wants both wbx and zhu dead the moment he realizes they're like him in some manner bc that's what he would want for himself.#even the crime of understanding him is sacrilege and means the person is irredeemably tainted in some manner.#which is why paradoxically he can be angry at esen for not understanding him but also have it be his fault.#bc Esen cannot understand him bc if he did then that would mean Esen is also tainted #and as we have established Esen is NOT tainted. he is immaculate. practically the virgin mary (but with more wives)#and if he IS tainted its Ouyang's fault too bc clearly he did not come that way these are ouyang-cooties #so its a GOOD thing esen can't understand him actually you guys #man. what a guy. someone should put him in a cetrifuge and distill some extra virgin self hate oil or whatevef #(only in main canon tho in the preorder reward it'd be eau de self hate or something i suppose)#also if u wanna laugh imagine a crossfaded ouyang explaining this train of thought to an equally xfaded (and very confused/worried) xu da #general ouyang #esen temur

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starplusfourletters · 10 months

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I read specter of the past (hand of thrawn book 1)

This turned into a liveblog srry

Me, reading the Thrawn trilogy: Okay obvi Mara/Luke is a slow burn

Me, skipping to the duology set 10 years later: GUYS YOU’RE LOSING DAYLIGHT

Oh no they have a passive aggressive “may the Force be with you” / “good luck” thing oh no I might ship it

Also the small existential crisis that ensues every time I remember Luke is (checks Wookieepedia) THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS OLD. I cannot picture Luke Skywalker a day over 22 I think my brain would explode [actively represses the sequel trilogy]

This book is absolutely crawling with badass female smugglers and I’m living for it

Oooh proto-convor! [two pages later] OH NO PROTO-CONVOR DEATH ☹

Mara Jade, Force sensitive specializing in precognition, former Emperor’s Hand, second-in-command of the most powerful information dealing organization in the galaxy: Runs into a wall and spends the rest of the book knocked out

Lando “Could I Please Get Back to My Day Job It Has Been Two Decades” Calrissian. Just let the man mine in unlikely places it’s all he’s ever wanted

I got way too happy about the implication that the Imperial whose name I've forgotten figured out the tractor beam thing. He solved Science! Good for he!

Loving how everyone’s opinion on Karrde is basically “nice guy; sus that he insists on getting paid, though.” Like yes this is still a capitalist economy and he runs a business with a large number of employees

We interrupt your space fantasy to bring you a “Chicken Fried” music video with clone sleeper agents

Okay everybody place your bets is Car’das a secret brother, secret father, or ex-boyfriend (hype for some Karrde backstory and realizing the extent to which my brain has decided he and Kaz Brekker are the same person is Extensive)

Legit starting to feel sorry for Gilead “Sad Fascist Grandpa” Pellaeon. Somebody give this guy a peace treaty and a hug. Also more and more irked about No Prisoners why did that need a retcon

Really enjoyed the book’s interrogation of the premise “how do we actually make a galactic organization that includes cultures with mutually exclusive legal and ethical codes WITHOUT being fascist.” Felt very Trek. Actually went further toward radical inclusivity than Trek usually does; the Federation does have an element of “you must be this close to 20th-21st century American values to ride” which is its own kind of cultural imperialism and in this essay I will -

I simply cannot get enough of these books’ “protagonist stumbles, Kramer-like, into the Site of Maximal Galactic Importance Du Jour.” I will let you know when it stops being funny to me. Also really like how the villains are starting to learn to use it to their advantage; like yeah it DOES look like a conspiracy when you think about it

#star wars legends #timothy zahn #specter of the past #hand of thrawn #mara jade #talon karrde #gilad pellaeon #lando calrissian #long post

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noxious-fennec · 2 months

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HI. HELLO. WHO ARE THE GAY PEOPLE COMMITTING CANNIBALISM ON MY DASH. i’m so obsessed with that pose and the way you draw them is so so so so. yeah. they look very very cool and also i’m NORMAL i would love to hear about them :)

YES HI HELLO thank you FINALLY

Those are Sebastien Carollo (left) and André Madiot (right); the protagonists of a historical literary duology im working on; set in the late 60s, exploring themes of personhood, unhealthy relationships, & queer identity ! It's really hard to talk about cause so much happens, but for you friend, I will try;

Sebastian grew up neglected, becoming a pathological deceiver, detached from the world around him and only recognising people in relation to himself; believing that real love is making others a part of him.

That's with the exception of his abusive older brother Teodore who makes up the other end of the duality according to which he asses people; and who he ate out of what he deludes himself into thinking is love, but is clear envy for the kind of person he could've never become. He hid this fact for many years and suppressed all further urges, never allowing himself to love again.

Then, summer ‘67, Sicily; he meets André—might as well be a reincarnation of Teo—and his girlfriend Juliette dubois, while they happen to be on family vacation. Sebastian is immediately obsessed with André but, in poor judgement, tries to get to him through his girlfriend resulting in him being stuck in a loveless relationship with Juliette and alienating André.

The first book starts 2 years later, 1969, Paris; Sebastian, a working dentist, trying to get out of the relationship and only falling deeper, simultaneously working through building a relationship with André through his younger sister Liliane, in whom he sees himself...

And i must stop there or we'll be here all day! I do say all that psychological stuff in the begining is very implicit; the man does not do a shred of self reflection, and relays the story where he abuses the people he's in love with as if it's hallmark romcom. That's why this synopsis is short on nuance, he does not give a shit about the inner lives of others, he doesnt even perceive them!

There's homoerotic fights, there's cannibalism, there's leaving your wedding to cover up a crime for a man youre in love with who does not love you back! I hope you enjoyed hearing about them!! Ive been working on this story for well over a year now and I'm very very insane about them :)

#i am desperate for a critique partner rn to look over the outline and give me feedback on the ideas i am on my hands and knees i am begging #would appreciate anyone who'd like to help #ANYWAY THANK YOU!!! thank you sm im so glad you like my art and i appreciate your interest to no end :D #they're so important to mee i could talk all day about the decisions i made and why i made them ughhhh i love this story #and we havent even talked about the others books!!#oh man i havent touched on the power dynamics. or how the cannibalism is aro horror. so much stuff ugh #anyway. hope you enjoyed this frenzied rant #fennec.origin #fennec.txt #fennec.ask

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goblins-riddles-or-frocks · 9 months

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Do you think the books could have had a Nikolina endgame ?

I don’t think it was possible in the sense that it was ever actually in the cards as a canon endgame. I feel pretty strongly that LB was decided on Malina from book one. And she’s said before that Nikolai was initially supposed to die in S&S, so he was only conceived of as a side character. Which makes it unlikely, in my opinion, that she ever sincerely considered him being elevated to an endgame love interest.

That being said, I think narratively, with all the existing scenes in the books, that it would have been really easy to have them be endgame. I say this obviously with some bias because while I heavily multiship, Nikolina is my favorite Alina ship. It is endgame in my heart and uh… in the show right now I guess! And while, of course, it is an entirely different ship and dynamic, the KoS duology, centering a Zoyalai endgame, with Zoya kind of awkwardly jammed into an Alina-esque role of grumpy rags to riches protagonist with suddenly discovered unique powers that have her lauded as a saint, does point to that being a solid conceptual trajectory?

Anyway yeah while I ship a lot of things, I don’t necessarily think they’re all narratively suited to being an endgame ship without major reworking of what canon is about. But I honestly think Nikolina would’ve been an improvement. Because on the one hand, the biggest issue with the R&R ending is Alina ending up exactly where she started, feeling like she’s being punished for attempting any growth at all. On the other, if the two major love interests represent “rule monstrously, give into power” vs “don’t rule at all, abandon everything and regress to the safe cage of your childhood” then Nikolai represents a good middle ground of “rule, but try your best; see what happens”

I like the way it would answer the question of the inherent corruptive quality of power, and the Darkling’s insistence that Alina will turn out just like him, almost with a question? Like Alina and Nikolai both have morally ambiguous sides, in the trilogy they’re both a little frightened by what they might be capable of in the name of the greater good.

The canon ending solves this by basically… removing the opportunity for corruption. This is true of Alina losing her powers and retreating to her childhood home, and honestly kind of true in KoS for Nikolai too where, firstly he seems to have completely lost any moral ambiguity whatsoever, but then he also abdicates the throne. And I don’t know I find that somewhat simplistic and boring! I enjoy the idealistic and hopeful but somewhat uneasy resolution of them both remaining in power, having decided to change things in Ravka for the better, and to maintain their morality basically through deliberate effort and compassion— with no firm guarantee that they will be successful on any of those counts.

I also just really enjoyed how they connected over shared trauma, and how they always got along and were fairly kind to each other? So an ending that focuses on them picking up the pieces together and being fairly uncertain about the future but willing to try their best, would’ve been very poignant and sweet to me!

#shadow and bone #grishaverse #nikolina #i ramble sometimes #all the bendy punctuations #a mysterious stranger has appeared #meta #*writer’s cap*

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murasaki-cha · 10 months

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So I just finished reading The Prisoners Throne Excerpt

*sharp inhale* *screams into the void*

AND I HAVE THOUGHTS PEOPLE!!!

First of all WHAT DID CARDAN DO!?!?!?!??! SERIOUSLY WHAT HAPPENED THAT WAS SO BAD THAT OAK THINKS THAT CARDAN WOULD ACTIVELY TRY TO KILL HIM!?!?! They were cool the last time we saw the so WTF!?!

Seriously this part got me so curious I won't be able to stop thinking about it for the next 3 months! Oak has so much hot family drama to spill!!

But moving on from that.

I love how we're finally exploring Oak's charming ability and how he starts doubting it himself if he really did subconsciously use them with Wren

And we got so many moments of Oak recalling his training with the court of shadows. He considers them all his friends and recalls those memories so fondly it was so sweet (he sounded more comfortable with them than when he recalled anything about Jude let alone Cardan apparently). That whole convo with the Ghost was especially adorable:

The Ghost/Garrett: How are your skills with the blade?

Oak: I'm eleven???

Also can we please talk about jealous Oak please! Like my boy, out of all the times and occasions! He's so desperate it's hilarious

Still in the OakWren train, this boy is so down bad it's pathetic. The way he waits for her even if it's just to command or scorn him, simply because he wishes to see her. Regretting every single thing he hid from and feeling like shit because he can't even apologise since she doesn't come see him. BRUTALLY ANNIHILATING that mechanical snake since it could have been going to poison Wren. Pleading to postpone his rescue just so he could talk to her.

Favorite part was when he recalled Wren's betrayed face after she found out the truth and going "Damn yeah I really do deserve to be in here locked up, still need to escape tho, but I deserve this."

Oh Greenbriar men, you and your love for evil women who you accidentally betrayed and kept you imprisoned. Alexa play Loverboy.

Loved that this entire paragraph (besides Cardan's vendetta against Oak WHICH IS KILLING ME) was just Oak going

Oak: Angry vengeful Jude? Yikes. Angry vengeful Wren? Yikes. Angry vengeful Jude and Wren against each other? We're doomed

And finally we at least now know where the ring from the cover came from!

Holly Black did say that an important element in the cover is how the ring is frozen in the brances, unmoving. I wonder if it's some kind of symbolism about Oak's inability to leave Weren, how he is trapped by her not only physically by the briddle, but emotionally too? That would be so cool

Tho this first chapter sneek peak gave me more questions than answers, I really enjoyed getting a feel of what the book would be like from Oak's pov (regretting, simping, scheeming and a whole lot of Keeping Up with the Greenbriar/Duartes). God I can't wait 3 more months I need this book in my hands now!!!

#the prisoner's throne #the prisoners throne #the stolen heir #oak greenbriar #queen suren #suren #wren #oakwren #cardan greenbriar #jude duarte #tfota #the folk of the air #the cruel prince #tcp #holly black #bookblr

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waldensblog · 1 year

Text

Reading Ruin and Rising

So I have finished The Grisha Trilogy! Overall, I quite enjoyed the book series after watching the show, and I will continue on to the Six of Crows Duology and then the King of Scars Duology. Below the cut are my thoughts on the final book in the trilogy.

TL;DR: -I liked how Alina grew more ruthless, really was full fledged. Her ending is tragic. -The Darkling basically won, and was taken down by his weakness: love. Still a Darklina stan, what a tragic romance they had. -I like Nikolai overall, and his ending is likewise sad, as he now is possessed. Kind of Darkolai ending for him. I like Nikolina too. -Mal isn’t the literal worst the entire time, but I’m not a fan of him still. I think he was not a true amplifier but a curse to whatever Grisha killed him. His happy ending comes at the expense of literally everyone else’s and the good of Ravka. -Story is overall a tragedy. A good tragedy, but a tragedy nonetheless.

Alina: Although she once again starts in a position of weakness, underground, recovering from the Chapel fight, I found myself loving the start. Alina’s developed into a morally grey and ruthless character, and I love this. She’s stuck with the apparat, but biding her time.

Her tether scene with the Darkling shows how far she’s come. She reached out to him, which surprised him, and stroke his face, taunted him with their love story - hell yeah, it was a very strong start for me.

When escaping the apparat, she almost kills (again), but only ends up branding someone. Again, loving this gray and ruthlessness, and all the inner thoughts about how very much like the Darkling she is becoming.

Alina eventually meets back up with Nikolai and they’re at the Spinning Wheel, where she trains more with Baghra, and gets stronger and stronger. During the escape from the Spinning Wheel, she uses the cut to kill someone, for the first time. She is disgusted with herself in part because yeah splitting someone in 2 would be pretty gorey, but also because of how... easy it was, how good it felt. She knows she’s going down a dark path, and I personally love to see it - because it breaks the hero archetype, giving her more an anti-hero arc.

I’ll discuss the ending itself further below, because I have a lot of thoughts on that, but to keep it brief here: the end of Alina’s story is, to me, tragic. She’s a tragic hero to me. I overall like her character, though I definitely have gripes about her at times, mostly, the Mal addiction.

The Darkling: My favourite still. The Darkling is to me an anti-villain - he does bad things for the right reasons. In another story, he may have been the anti-hero, not the one Ravka deserves perhaps, but the one Ravka needs (*Batman theme plays*).

The Darkling has basically won by the start of the story. He’s ruling Ravka, he can expand the Fold any way he wants, the King is on the run. He can ensure Grisha safety, stop the wars... he’s won. His weakness is what he always said: wanting, or more specifically: love.

When his mother jumps off a cliff, it’s because she knows this. She knows he would go after her - try to stop her from dying. Alina feels him try to pull her into the tether afterwards, and can feel his overwhelming grief. She refuses the call, but she knows. And in the Fold, when Alina loses her power - she doesn’t need the tether to feel his grief. Her metaphorical death there was too much for him. It wasn’t only about loneliness, but love. He wanted to rule with her - he wanted to his soulmate by his side. He wanted a partner. He goes about it poorly - having learned cruelty and abuse from his mother, and never breaking the cycle.

It was clear to me that they loved each other deeply as much as they hated the fact. In the tether, when he kisses her neck as she’s against him, the attraction, the pull, is very strong. At the end, she’s crying as he dies, and he just looks at her and is happy to know at least someone will mourn him - that he was loved.

I absolutely lose my mind about the fact that his body was burned alongside Ruby’s-disguised-to-look-like-Alina’s, because that was absolutely not for Ruby - who probably would not like that - it was not for him - because he probably wouldn’t like that either (though would be happy she respected his wish to burn the body) - it was certainly not for Ravka, who complained about it - this was for Alina. Alina asked for a Grisha effigy of herself to burn next to him. Her metaphorical funeral. Side by side. The immortal rulers of Ravka that could have been. As she watches this, she whispers his name in a sob. Dear.God. what a tragic lovers-to-enemies romance this is. I do wish there were more tether scenes, but I loved the ones we did get.

Nikolai: Nikolai starts on the run, and without tether scenes, we don’t get to see him for quite a while. When he finally does show up, I cheer. Yey! Our pirate prince is back! I loved all the scenes with Alina, and found their chemistry intriguing. I do feel that they could have been happy together, King and Queen of Ravka - a Grisha Queen which may have helped bridge the gap between Grisha and otkazat'sya, even leading to a Grisha king if they had a son. Certainly, that’s what both Siege and Storm and Ruin and Rising were saying was supposed to happen. I would have accepted this end, even if it wouldn’t have been my favourite, because it would be a bit status quo-y. As good a King as Nikolai may be - a great one with Alina at his side, he is still ultimately a monarch, and a mortal man. His descendants may not been as good - we could hope, if they’re Grisha, that they would be. He would have died as Alina remained ageless, so this would still have a tragic end for her. I like Nikolina, but it’s still a second choice to me after Darklina. I did have a pretty big gripe about Nikolai at the Spinning Wheel though: when it came to Genya. Sure, it’s great that he took her side, but his punishment to his father is so... what a slap on the wrist. Oh you abused this woman, well off to a warm retirement you go, I’m the King now, dad! To me, the fact that he didn’t stand trial kind of tells me the nobility will always get away with more under his rule than peasants would. He may not be the Worst, he may be a good and great king - but at the end of the day... a monarchy is still a monarchy.

The Darkolai vibes here were great - fucked, but great. The Darkling saw Nikolai at the spinning wheel, Mal too - and could have a) killed one or both, b) infect them with nichevo’ya. He specifically targeted Nikolai for option b - instead of killing the King, instead of killing Mal or infecting him. Why? Jealousy because Alina showed interest in him? Because he never saw him during tether scenes and therefore knows Alina does have genuine feelings for him? Or because... secret option C? I mean the tendrils down the throat is bit... not-hetero. They both ultimately want the same things, and in another story, another life, they may have been allies. At the end, Nikolai is still ultimately scarred, and the shadow demon-ness is not gone. A part of the Darkling lives on inside Nikolai’s body, so we... sort of have a Darkolai ending, don’t we?

The Darknikolina-ness of no tether scenes when she’s with Nikolai, the shadow demon and emerald ring, trying to cure via her light, the tendrils down the throat. My god. I am still on about this, yes. Imagine the possibilities...

Mal: Mal was not the literal worst in this book like he was in Siege and Storm. He’s finally gotten past being a drunk, angry, asshole, and now sees himself as a tool in a war. I’m glad he’s had some development, and that he’s accepted a position as not-Alina’s-lover. I find his tracker abilities absurd at times - what the hell do you mean he can target a beetle and shoot it to make a bomb explode?! WHAT? What in the world does that have to do with his being the firebird anyway? On that note, I posted this elsewhere, but I have a theory that Morozova’s third amplifier - the firebird - Morozova’s daughter and her bloodline, so Mal - is actually not a true amplifier, but a curse. Any grisha that dared kill the firebird would lose their powers, and a bunch of nearby otkazat'sya would get them. Kind of a monkey’s paw situation (you want power? wish granted - they get the amplified power, not you). Not that Mal would know that. I also think that this curse is partially why Alina was so drawn to him. It’s a bit tragic really - they think it’s a sincere affection, but it’s really the amplifier, a trap, pulling her in, luring her. It’s unfortunately dismissed immediately by Mal when Alina brings it up - what if everything between them was just the amplifier? I personally think it was. I also maintain that he was very much a drug for her. He wanted to carve out her power, and in the end, he basically did. She goes back to being “useless” Alina, and unhappily staring out a window, longing for her powers. Once again, Alina tries to tell us she is happy - despite the evidence suggesting otherwise.

The ending: I’ve already touched on the ending above a fair bit, but to summarize, I interpret the ending as a tragedy. Alina is a tragic hero - she tries to make things better, but she didn’t fix Ravka, there are still wars, and people still hate grisha. She loses her powers in the process, dying a metaphorical death and burning herself alongside her soulmate who she killed - our anti-villain, the Darkling. Nikolai is scarred, possessed, and left to rule alone, as Alina removes herself from society, sadly looking out the windows at the sunlight and wishing she had her powers, as Mal - the only happy one at the end has succeeded in keeping her weak. I know many hate the ending - I don’t, but it’s because I view it as a tragedy.

#Grishaverse #ruin and rising #grisha trilogy #darklina #nikolina #darkolai #darknikolina #anti malina

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mermaidsirennikita · 7 months

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I am absolutely obsessed with Through My Window. Binged all three in a day. Any recs for books that give the same vibes?

The Through My Window trilogy is... so good. Whenever people are like "I hate Wattpad" I'm like sure sure, I watch many Wattpad movies, most are bad, but THROUGH MY WINDOW. It gives us full soap opera swings, it has great sex scenes (and a surprising emphasis on safe sex? lmao the Through My Window population are always using condoms... except for Artemis and Claudia, the thirty-year-olds), and it really fucks with what I think is *so wrong* with so many similar movies. In that the guy is a tool, he never actually seems into the girl and thus never changes, and the girl is just DESPERATE and doesn't understand how aaaaanyone could loooove her.

Ares *DOES* change and is obviously fundamentally a good dude who's just been raised in a toxically masculine environment. He's like, not perfect, but he loves Raquel and he wants to do the right thing and emotionally he's basically her bitch from fairly early on in the first movie. And Raquel? IS MESS. She's mess, and she goes "I could bag that motherfucker" and she COULD. She gives him so much shit. Shit he often doesn't deserve, frankly. It's great.

So I don't read a lot of books focusing on characters their age, and this will mostly be character vibes as such.

The Worst Guy by Kate Canterbary. This is about two doctors in their thirties/forties, but I recommend this because they have a very antagonistic relationship at first, before beginning this "no strings" secret sexual relationship that reminds me of the Sekret Sex in the first TMW.

Kennedy Ryan's All the King's Men Duology, OOH YES. So this one does begin when the heroine is 17, but that's not why I'm recommending that because it's brief and as soon as the hero knows she's 17 he stops talking to her, as he should (nothing happens, they literally just talk, he's like 24 and thinks she's older and does not in any way intend to sniff around a 17 year old sssh). But they do meet up again when she's a senior in college, they do hook up, and there is a lot fraught interclass stuff--he has a horrible dad and comes from a billionaire family, she calls him on his shit (she's not crazy like Raquel but you do get that back and forth) and it's HOT.

The Roommate by Rosie Danan. This one has a more upper class heroine and a hero who is in fact an adult film star, but I would recommend this one due to the proximity (and they were roommates) and the way they kind of begin hooking up on the low. There's also an initial prickliness on her part.

The Hook Up by Kristen Callihan. This could definitely work--it's one fo the rare college romances I've enjoyed! The hero is a star quarterback and comes from a more privileged background than the heroine. She kinda hates his ass, he's obsessed with her, and they basically fuck at a party and start hooking up secretly. CAN I SAY. This moment when they first fuck? He literally drops to his knees in someone else's bathroom before railing her on a couch. I was. ABOUT IT.

So yeah, no one to one comparisons as far as contemporaries go, but this is what I would TRY.

#romance novel blogging #romance novels #book recs

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crow-caller · 2 years

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Hey! I saw that you published some books (looking forward to checking them out, actually), but I was wondering how you did that? I'm not out of high school yet, but I've already finished my first draft of book one of my series, and have been working on editing and fixing up the second draft. I do have an editor, which is nice. I was wondering how you published? Any advice/ info would be greatly appreciated!

Hey, cool! My first book legit came out when I was still in high school.

I'm an indie author, so I'll talk about indie stuff... and traditional... and oh dear that's a lot.

Let's go over some pros and cons and what to expect.

Crow's (oops not) Quick Guide to Publishin'

Self Publishing:

This is what I did for Good Angel, Bad End, my duology!

Self pubbing:

+Total control of end product +No deadlines +Full control of changing it at any time -You do all the work (or pay) -It costs you money for jobs you can't (or shouldn't) do yourself like editing -Extremely limited reach of audience, very hard to sell

I queried GA/BE around a bit but ultimately decided to self publish it. It's just too niche for mainstream, being a weird genre mix up with way too queer characters. Multiple neopronouns used by funky angels in magic school slice of life that turns apocalyptic? yeah, I felt it'd be best I just put it out.

You'll need to

Edit the text (I'd recc multiple friends, a paid editor)

Proofread the text (I'd recc paying a pro)

Assemble the text files formatting (for digital, print)

Get a cover

Make pages for it on GoodReads etc and promote it

Self-publishing can be a lot of work. I did GA/BE's interiors myself using first Microsoft word, then adobe indesign for the recent revamp. Using Word/other text programs can give you a fully workable interior file, but abusing the free trial system of adobe will allow more advanced inclusions. Getting ebook files to work is a nightmare, and print can also be a pain- it's a lot of following online tutorials and trial and error I found. Calibre then is the program you use to finish digital files for release.

Costs for editing can be very high. Editing is a high skill, high time job- I got my books done on discount from a friend for next to nothing, but expect definitely a few hundred bucks. Research though fair prices. You don't need to hire someone to proofread or edit, but it is a good idea. That or outsource to many friends, ideally ones who give honest feedback. A proofreader is much cheaper as they only look for errors, I again got it cheap for 65£ per book. Art wise, I bought mine on commission- talk to an artist and make it clear it is for a commercial project and that you have the right to sell the end result. My cover for each book was about 100£

You might notice this is adding up to a few hundred quid, and yes: it cost me like, 350£ or so per book to publish, even with myself doing a lot of the work. This is a lot! Does it pay back? Usually no. I have at this point now "made a profit", but it took years. You can't typically go into self publishing looking for profit.

I really enjoy self publishing GA. It meant I could put a project out that I kinda only made for me, and have full rights to do whatever I want with it. I got to design the cover and choose what to do at every step... but it was a crazy amount of intensive work too. Marketing wise I've found is about impossible- your best bet 100% is to send the book to as many people as possible (digitally) for review and just try to get enough people reading it. Then you hope they like it and talk about it. I've found no other method of marketing particularly useful: word of mouth is still king.

Indie Publishing:

Indie pubbin:

+Don't have to spend any money (get paid) +Professional editing/cover/formatting +Backing of publishing house's marketing team -Deadlines -Less creative control -Contracted -Must query and be accepted

My first book was Angel Radio, which actually I sold when I was 17. came out when I was 18. The timescale for traditional publishing, even indie, is typically at least a year.

There's a lot of indie publishers out there, and we should read them more often. However, being published by an indie publisher (aka, a small, non-mainstream one- unlikely to ever be 'on shelves') takes extra, different work.

Do your research!!! There's a LOT of scam publishers out there. A publisher will never, ever, not even slightly ever, charge you money or pressure you to spend money (like buying your own copies of the book). A great way to check is to just look up 'publisher name + scam'.

Prepare a query letter. This is a pitch for your book, basic book info, and a bit about you. Every publishing house will have a 'submissions' page which explains specific wants (such as several pages of your book or a synopsis), so every application is slightly custom.

Query and wait. It takes many weeks to hear back with queries. Usually you should do them in small batches of like five. It's very rare to get a deal- it may not be your book, it might just be market trends or they already got a book about dragons on order.

DOUBLE CHECK YOUR CONTRACT. Contracts can be hard, so seek help if you want, though I've found my one contract to be not that long and readable. Still, you should always read a contract, especially as a scam publisher might try to trick you there.

Indie publishing is good because... it's more accessible and diverse than mainstream, but still offers the same benefits to authors. Just on a way smaller scale. I don't think my publisher, Harmony Ink Press, did much jack or shit for me marketing wise, and that's pretty typical. Marketing is very hit or miss and very expensive, so the onus is still on you to market (spoilers, these days marketing is on you no matter what). You also have more leeway in edits and covers- I designed AR's rough cover and worked with the artist directly! That's uncommon.

Most indie publishers also have a common royalty scheme where you pay it back. This isn't a hallmark of a scam, it's pretty normal: You get advance cash upfront, but then do not earn royalties until your book has paid itself off. Which it may not. Angel Radio sold for 500$, not a huge amount but not exactly tiny, especially for a teen. But I haven't earned a penny on royalties because it never sold well enough! I think I'm a little over halfway there.

Traditional Publishing

(I don't have a book of this type. yet...?)

Y'know, like, books?

+Large advance +Big support team +Marketing +Books on shelves +Most lucrative and recognizable -Sharper deadlines -Least control and rights -Must query (hardcore mode) -Still marketing yourself

Traditional publishing is the longest timescale and hardest method. Obvs. You again are looking to write a good query, but now you need to go through a literary agent. You query an agent with your book (again, should only ever be free), the agent then essentially queries publishers on your behalf ("out on submission"). An agent is your liaison to the business of publishing, taking a portion of your earnings for the service. You just can't make it into publishing without an agent.

A query letter ideally is... roughly, quickly, this is my format guide.

Hi there [actual agent name]

I'm here proposing my cool book, XYZ of ABC, a GENRE book of ??k words that IS SOMETHING UNIQUE SELLING POINT. MAIN CHARACTER is LIKE THIS but faced CONFLICT when PLOT HAPPENS, in SOME KINDA WORLD OR WHATEVER. THIS IS THE PART WHERE YOU WRITE A 2-3 SENTENCE PLOT BLURB. But when TWIST happens, will MC have SOME EYECATCHING IDEA? This book will appeal to fans of THIS KINDA THING and is extra good because RELEVENT DETAIL LIKE OWNVOICES. I believe JUST KEEP SELLING KID. I myself SOME SORT OF ACCOMPLISHMENT LIKE UNI, PAIRED WITH A RELEVANT HOBBY. thank you for your time

Hot and dirty, something like that. You gotta recall at all times this is a market. It is economic. Your passion... matters, but uh. It doesn't matter. Gosh that sounds rough. But make your passion clear but your sound business proposal clearer: You need to show why your book is worth picking over thousands of other queries.

Querying is a horrible torturous process that does help you slowly build up exposure therapy to rejection and failure. Anyways, that will take a bit typically (I've been querying on and off for ten years for an agent, but a lot has been 'off' time). Then you wait and eventually, bam! Probably post some edits, your book is sold.

You still wait a long time though, and have a lot of work to do. So much work. Your book will come out on shelves at the end, sure, but that's still not a promise of success. The author these days is especially the product, and while you start on a higher stage (maybe even the marketing team will f---ing do something), you still gotta claw. There's a high level of scrutiny too on debut authors on any tier, but especially the traditional publishing tier. So your success is very dependent on each book you do, with it being harder and harder to sell books if you aren't doing fantastic.

Still, it's hard to deny the appeal of that mainstream success. Man, I'm chasing it myself! But it's not just easy book out there you go. I'm pals with traditionally published authors and you'll still be very busy, if you can get your foot on the ladder with an agent to begin with. Being on submission generally takes months, and even when your book is with a publisher it may be a lot of time and work before it ever comes out. Even then, hitting the shelves still doesn't mean you're set for life.

Still. Good luck. Go try!

(BTW look at my books, I guess, as a sticker on what I hope is good advice, and good luck! I first decided to try publishing Angel Radio with HIP because of a post by someone else published by them on tumblr... like 10 years ago now....)

Gum ebook

Amaz print

Goodreads)

#writing #writing advice #publishing #publishing advice #sometimes theres asks

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elizabeth-dicewielder · 6 months

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Which adaptation of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland do you consider to be the best and which is the worst?

Okay well first this really depends on what you want out of an adaptation. Are you looking for a faithful retelling of the book? Are you looking for a story centered on a different character? Are you looking for a different story set in the same world? Are you looking to completely alter the story?

In my opinion, the most faithful adaptation is easily the 1951 animated Disney movie “Alice in Wonderland.” There are definitely some differences between the book and the movie: they left out some scenes, there are a couple scenes they threw in from Through the Looking Glass, and I feel like Alice was somewhat less obviously intelligent, but most of those I feel are just going to happen when you transition mediums. The book is not a cohesive story in any way, which doesn’t work as well in a movie format, so it makes sense why they moved stuff around. I think they also chose to focus on the most iconic characters from the book duology, which I can respect. And then in terms of Alice’s intelligence, so much of that in the book comes from Alice’s thought processes and the narrator’s commentary, which are difficult to translate into film. And these also don’t bother me so much especially because the movie does not claim to be the original book. It is not “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,” it is “Alice in Wonderland,” a summary of the two.

It also has little aspects of the books that it left out thrown into the scenery here and there, blink and you miss it if you aren’t familiar with the books types of things. But fundamentally the movie maintains the right vibes and story of the book. Wonderland is, at its core, whimsical. Confusing and fucked up and dangerous, sure, but whimsical and colorful. Alice is the only one making any sense and she knows it. She’s young and self-assured, and even when she’s crying and freaked out she picks herself up and moves on. And the way that she talks to herself is very consistent with the book. Overall dialogue, setting, characters, and spirit are an incredibly faithful and entertaining adaptation of the book. So yeah, 1950s Disney Alice in Wonderland is easily the best.

And then. And then there’s the Tim Burton movies.

Okay if you like the Tim Burton movies, go off. I know many people enjoy them. But they are an absolutely wretched adaptation.

I haven’t seen them in a while (thank god) but this is just the shit off the top of my head:

Why is the lighting and coloring so dark??? They removed all the whimsy!! This world is not Wonderland. It is completely unrecognizable.

The Mad Hatter is too sane and the Cheshire Cat is too creepy.

WHY are the RED QUEEN and the QUEEN OF HEARTS the SAME PERSON??? Does Tim Burton not know the difference between CARDS and CHESS????? This particular point actually infuriates me so much, particularly because it is a complete character assassination of the Red Queen. Wtf is this weird war bullshit. The Red Queen and the White Queen are FRIENDS. And they make Alice a queen with them! They invite her to tea and the three queens have tea together. This is just… so egregious. No other character is so horribly misrepresented.

I personally think the concept of Jabberwocky being a prophecy is a little weird and unnecessary, it’s just a silly little poem that takes up like two pages of Through the Looking Glass, but the fact that they called the monster “the Jabberwocky” rather than “the Jabberwock” is actually unforgivable. It’s “Beware the Jabberwock, my son,” not “Beware the Jabberwocky, my son,” that completely ruins the rhythm of the poem. It’s like calling Odysseus “Odyssey” the entire book. That’s just such a stupid, obvious, and easily avoidable mistake. Like. There’s no way they even read the fucking book.

I’m generally all for feminist retellings of stories, but firstly, that was awful execution, and secondly, it completely distracts from the actual theme of Wonderland. Wonderland is supposed to be a child’s interpretation of the adult world. Everything is weird and fucked up and overwhelming with completely arbitrary rules that no one will explain, and you have to fight to make your voice heard. People tell you that you don’t know the shit you actually do know, and the stuff you learned in school isn’t actually helping you. And abandoning that theme does the world and original story an incredible disservice. Alice is not mistreated in Wonderland because she is a girl, Alice is mistreated in Wonderland because she is a child. And that message is important. There are a lot of stories about acknowledging women’s intelligence and capabilities. There aren’t a lot of stories about acknowledging children’s intelligence and capabilities. I personally think it’s fucked up that they shifted the focus like that.

Overall the movies feel like the writer and director just grabbed all of the most recognizable elements of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass and threw it all together in half-hearted story that they knew would get them popularity and money without once thinking critically or even bothering to read the books.

Including a lot of elements from Through the Looking Glass and leaving out the White Knight’s song is criminal.

So those are my thoughts one those adaptations lol. Thank you for the ask!! Read the books if you haven’t, they’re really really fun

#asks #tysm!!!!#alice in wonderland #alice’s adventures in wonderland #through the looking glass #i also really like once upon a time and once upon a time in wonderland’s interpretation of wonderland #it’s not super faithful but that’s the entire point of the franchise so i’m cool with it #they also made alice’s characterization consistent with the book #which i don’t feel the movies did

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artemisiamezzanotte · 2 months

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I finished the Six of Crows duology last night. Really enjoyed it, but not sure I’m going to be delving further into the Grishaverse at least for the time being.

Last week though I kept having A Little Life references pop up in different places in my life, repeatedly. It had been on my radar but wasn’t on my tbr, but the synchronicities made me buy it.

So yes, today is the day. This week is the week.

How do I feel? Scared.

Do I still want to read it? Hell yeah.

Wish me luck.

#a little life #hanya yanagihara #bookcore #booklr #bookblr #books and reading #emotional damage

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beautiful-songbird · 9 months

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Hello! Hi! I see that you are an avid book reader and I am here to kindly ask for book reccomendation reccommendation recommendations. I at long last have some time to return to the wonderful world of reading and I very much long to hold a book in my hands and get lost, but alas I cannot find one that piques my interest. You look to have good taste and I would love to hear your thoughts on this.

Yours sincerely,

Snurt

P.S. <3333333

P.P.S. Why is "recommendation" so hard to spell?

Hello friend! You don’t know how happy seeing this made me! 😆

Be warned this is going to be a long post because I read a lot of books last year that I loved…so…yeah…

I feel like I need more to work with than just “give me a book rec” butttt 🤔 I suppose we can make this work

I mostly read fantasy but I assume you knew that since you follow me 🤨👀

(Unless mentioned otherwise these are all trilogies or duologies)

If you like puzzle games I’d definitely recommend The Inheritance Games 😌 I thoroughly enjoyed that trilogy and it made my puzzle mind go brrrr

As for fantasy, I have quite a few to recommend

If you’re into classic fae (as in…darker stories I suppose) I’d recommend The Cruel Prince and These Hollow Vows. They both have deeply romantic undertones but they’re more heavily focused on the politics that the stories revolve around.

*The Cruel Prince also has two novellas that go with it and a sister duology about the main girl’s younger brother, so if you’re looking for a world to get immersed in and keep reading, I’d seriously recommend reading that entire world.

If you’re looking for more whimsical fantasy I’d recommend Caraval and Once Upon a Broken Heart. They’re sister series that are semi-connected and they both have very immersive fairytale vibes. These two are heavy on the romance aspect but they also have great plots that carry them!

If you’re into low fantasy where there’s a bit of magical element in the plot but it’s not overwhelming, I’d recommend Six of Crows and Defy the Night. Both of these books have amazing plots but they focus more heavily on the relationships between the characters and how they trauma they’ve experienced has shaped their personalities. Six of Crows is a lot heavier of a read, so if you’re looking for something lighter, start with Defy the Night.

If you’re looking for fantasy that’s just a bit fun, I’d go with Assistant to the Villain. This book was very silly and fun while also dealing with serious topics. It was, however, to my dismay, a trilogy with only one book out…so…be warned.

If you’re into dragons and war colleges I’d recommend Fourth Wing, but keep in mind that this one has smut and lots of swearing. Despite the fact that this is one of my favorite books, I give this recommendation very loosely because of the content in it.

As for standalones, I have a few great recs:

- The Forgetting

A sci-fi (?) mystery about a city where everyone loses their memory every 12 years. Lovely characters and great plot.

- The Half-Life of Love

Absolute tragedy of a story that you know will end awfully from the start but you read it anyways and then sob your eyes out.

- Greymist Fair

A paranormal Brothers Grimm-esque collection of related stories. The town of Greymist Fair is very enchanting, and the way the stories all tie together is so much fun.

- The Stars We Steal

This was sci-fi and I read it in 2020 so honestly who knows what happened in it but I remember really enjoying it 🤷🏻‍♀️

If you want to see everything I read last year and my reviews of it all, you can go to my 2023 reading recap

I also have a short list of sappy modern romance novels if you’d like, so send me another ask if you want those too! This post is too long already 😆

P.S. I think recommendation is so hard to spell because it sounds like it should have multiple double letters…hence why I say “recs”.

P.P.S I love the way you type. Very eloquent and lovely use of words.

#softbobamilktae txt #answered asks #snurt <3

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