#daniel m. ford

[literary-illuminati]

hi I think you might like daniel m ford's the warden. it's about a gay necromancer who's just graduated from university as their specialest little triple major princess-- only to be unexpectedly posted out to The Sticks (yuck, pfaugh). However, it turns out that the sticks have a lot more crimes necromantic than she was expecting...

the worldbuilding and plot is very dnd style pulp romp (animated skeletons, clickety-clack), but I thought you'd enjoy the MC, who is completely insufferable in a way that's very obviously based in being the university's specialest triple major princess and then hitting the real world very hard. Grad student disease... Ford particularly nails this in book 2.

oh that sounds delightful. Adding to the TBR as well, thanks!

[torpublishinggroup]

Who are you but in book form? That’s what this is about. It’s not complicated. You’re a human, but also a book, so get your main character on and let’s figure this out!

[hawkwinglb]

Sword and sorcery fun: Daniel M. Ford's THE WARDEN

Cover art for Daniel M. Ford’s The Warden Daniel M. Ford, The Warden. New York: Tor Books. 2023. Recent trends in SFF publishing have not provided a surfeit of examples of one of my favourite subgenres, sword-and-sorcery. The thing about sword-and-sorcery, the thing that makes me enjoy it so, is that it doesn’t tend to deal in grand world-changing threats, or kingdom-scale intrigue: it’s the…

[quirkycatsfatstacks]

Review: The Warden by Daniel M. Ford

Series: The Warden #1Author: Daniel M. FordPublisher: Tor BooksReleased: April 18, 2023Received: ARC Book Summary: Aelis de Leni worked her butt off to make it through the Magisters’ Lyceum – the prestigious magical school of the area. She could have had an easy life, but Aelis is not the type of person to waste talent, especially not her own. She had this big plan. Graduate from the Lyceum,…

[geeklyinc]

The Warden Review: SFF Standards, Updated

The Warden Review: SFF Standards, Updated

I am a sucker for fantasy adventure stories. I’m a sucker for necromancers as protagonists. Between all that and my considerable experience with the fantasy genre, The Warden by Daniel M. Ford seemed made for me. Though settling in was a little bumpy, once I was in I was hooked. Our protagonist Aelis is an …

[middleofrow]

Sequel Prep: The Warden by Daniel M. Ford

[nfinitefreetime]

Blergh

It was a crazily busy weekend, at least by my current middle-aged standards; one of my oldest friends was in town with two of her kids all weekend because her son had a travel hockey tournament in town, and there was an all-day thing at my son’s school yesterday that both he and my wife got roped into, and all three of us spent the whole weekend peopling and pretending we are social human beings…

[wearepaladin]

The beginning of the very good Paladin trilogy by Daniel M. Ford. Rereading right and enjoying it once again.

Ordination by Kerem Beyit

[allbookedupblogstuff]

Thoughts: The Warden by Daniel M. Ford

Source: NetGalley – Many, many thanks to the publisher!TL;DR: Cozy and fun – A big recommendation from me! Plot: The plot of this has a slow, cozy start then takes us for a fun adventure that never quite looses that cozy feelingCharacters: Fun and endearing, I really loved the two main characters of Tun and Aelis, especially Aelis’ habit of talking to herselfSetting: Pitched as ‘Twin Peaks meets…

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

The Warden by Daniel M. Ford

The Warden #1

 Aelis de Lenti has just arrived at her destination at what seems the end of the civilized world Her wizard’s tower is in disrepair, a goat her wannabe roommate, and nothing as she had expected it would be in Lone Pine. She feels she has been given a job beneath her capabilities but will do her best to fulfill her duties  for the next two years. Aelis’s experience reminded me a bit of graduation from nursing school, putting in my request job in the operating room, but instead being sent to neurosurgical intensive to work nights. Not sure if she or I was best qualified to the jobs we were given…

 What I liked:

* Aelis: strong, intelligent, diligent, capable, wise, willing to do her best and to learn

* The flashbacks to her educational experiences and how they played a part in her decision making

* Meeting the villagers of Lone Pine

* The fantasy elements woven into the story

* The way Aelis seemed able to find the essence of issues and then handle what needed to be done whether dealing with a bear, doubting and fearful villagers, outsiders, glamours, injuries, demon trees or…just about anything

* The action scenes

* Feeling a part of the story and caring about the outcome

* Wondering what parts Tunbridge, Rus, Martin, Phillipa, Emilia, Maurenia, the Dobrusz brothers, Elmo, Otto, and some others may play in the future

* That this is a book I can recommend to young adult readers as well as adults

* Curiosity about what will happen in book two

 What I didn’t like:

* Who and what I was meant not to like

* Having to wait for book two

 Did I like this book? Yes

Would I read more in this series? I think so though it felt aimed at a younger reader than I am

 Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for the ARC – This is my honest review.

 4-5 Stars

     BLURB

 A Most Anticipated Book of the Year for GoodReads and FanfiAddict A Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Editors' Pick for Amazon For fans who have always wanted their Twin Peaks to have some wizards, The Warden is a non-stop action adventure story from author Daniel M. Ford. There was a plan. She had the money, the connections, even the brains. It was become one of the only female necromancers, earn as many degrees as possible, get a post in one of the grand cities, then prove she’s capable of greatness. The funny thing about plans is that they are seldom under your control. Now Aelis de Lenti, a daughter of a noble house and recent graduate of the esteemed Magisters’ Lyceum, finds herself in the far-removed village of Lone Pine. Mending fences, matching wits with goats, and serving people who want nothing to do with her. But, not all is well in Lone Pine, and as the villagers Aelis is reluctantly getting to know start to behave strangely, Aelis begins to suspect that there is far greater need for a Warden of her talents than she previously thought. Old magics are restless, and an insignificant village on the farthest border of the kingdom might hold secrets far beyond what anyone expected. Aelis might be the only person standing between one of the greatest evils ever known and the rest of the world.

[carriagelamp]

Read some delightfully impactful books this month, it was a very satisfying assortment of stories! My biggest recommendation is Lula Dean's Little Library of Banned Books, I'm telling everyone I can to read that book. Funny, meaningful, and sort of lights a fire under your ass, makes you want to make the world better.

Doctor Who: Forever Autumn

My obligatory Halloween-y read. Like many Doctor Who books of this particular calibre it was a fine and entirely forgettable read. It was fun to have an autumn-themed setting and villain, and I always love when Martha’s around. They wind up needing to deal with “no no it’s not magic it’s definitely just science we don’t understand for sure for sure” and some pumpkin-headed terrors. It was a pleasant thing to have playing as an audiobook while driving to work amid autumn leaves.

A Lady for a Duke

This had so much potential but honestly failed to live up to it imo. This story is very deliberately tipping its hat to Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night and the initial set up is really promising. Injured and presumed dead during the Battle of Waterloo, transwoman Viola Carroll seizes her chance to remake her life and live the way she wants. She becomes the lady's companion to her brother’s wife (the only two who know that she’s alive) and with their help begins figuring out how to fit into this new life. However when an old childhood friend, the Duke of Gracewood who had fought alongside her in Waterloo, seems to be in a bad state she finds herself being forcefully drawn out of her quiet, secluded life and put at risk of being recognized by someone who had known her before.

Excellent premise! The characters are fun, Viola is an enjoyable protagonist, Gracewood is a decent romantic lead, and Viola’s sister-in-law is easily my favourite character in the book, she’s a DELIGHT, especially when paired with her husband. The first half of the book is also pretty well done, with lots of mistaken identity and pining, very much in the spirit of Twelfth Night. Unfortunate the second half is where it loses all momentum. The dialogue becomes repetitive and the romance rather dull, the B-Plot is really the only thing dragging the plot along at that point. It also loses any real touch with historical attitudes towards queer issues — it was always a light touch, but it quickly becomes everyone repeating All The Right Things to each other ad nauseum, without any real exploration of queer identities in a Regency period. Which, to be fair, is probably what some people want, very low stakes and chill romance, but for me it took the wind out of the book’s sails, I would have loved more discussion. It would have made the sex more interesting at least.

That being said, if you want a soft, pleasant, historical trans romance, I would honestly give it a shot. If nothing else the first half is REALLY quite good, I couldn’t put it down, and the last half isn’t so bad that it damns the whole thing. It’s worth it if this is what you’re keen on.

Lula Dean’s Little Library of Banned Books

Easily my favourite book from October, this book managed to hit on very topical subjects with both tact and humour. In a small town in Georgia, Lula Dean has spearheaded a book banning crusade, managing to get a number of “problematic” books removed from the library and has made a show of setting up a Little Free Library in her yard full of “appropriate” books instead. When Beverly Underwood visits her mother and hears about this she’s so exasperated with it all that she quickly hatches a plan. The night before she leaves for home, she takes the banned library books from where they’re being stored and swaps out their dust jackets with the ones in Lula Dean’s Little Free Library. The rest of the story is about various people in the town who borrow a book from Lula Dean’s library and how the book they got instead ends up impacting not just themselves but their town. The first story involves a penis cake. Can’t recommend it enough, starts out humour and quickly becomes something you want to rally around. 

My Neighbour Totoro

This was an enjoyable read just because I like Totoro in general, but it was not the best novelization I’ve ever read. Honestly I think it mostly suffers from a less-than-ideal translation… the whole thing comes across as quite stilted and I have a feeling the language was prioritised over the flow and intention. It was fine, cosy to sit and read, gives a couple scenes that aren’t in the movie that were interesting, but overall it won’t deliver anything the movie doesn’t do better.

Ogres

Absolutely fascinating novella, and a very rare example of a story told absolutely perfectly in second-person. If you’re looking for something a bit different and thought-provoking, this was a good read.

Ogres rule this world. They’re bigger than you. Stronger than you. Have magics you could never comprehend. The natural order of the world is for humans to serve ogres. However you, as the son of the village headman, live an idyllic sort of life… until the ogre landlords come to call and everything begins to go wrong and you're facing realities and secrets you never could have imagined.

The One and Only Family

I read this one mostly because I wanted to finish off the series. The One and Only Ivan is a fantastic novel that is a fictionalised account of a real silverback gorilla that was poached and brought back to the United States to live in a small cage in a roadside mall. The first story is about him, his friends Bob and Ruby, and his life in captivity. The second and third book are about Bob the dog and Ruby the elephant respectively, and this last book focuses back on Ivan, his new life in a zoo, and his growing family. Honestly all the other books in this series were fine for kids, had some good ideas behind them, but were otherwise somewhat bland. I’m glad I finished the series but they don’t hold a candle to the first book.

The Pushcart War

Now this was a fun children’s novel, recommended to me by my New York girlfriend who says it’s a staple in New York classrooms — and I can see why, it’s an incredibly fun read. A prime example of a well-done under-dog story, very satisfying! The book is a “historical account” of the “New York City Pushcart War”, in which the city streets are hopelessly congested and everyone is suffering. The worst offenders are the big trucks which just seem to get bigger and bigger, and pushier and pushier. The trucking companies hatch a plan on how to gradually push out all other competition: they’ll start with the little, old-fashion pushcarts, try to villainize them until they’re entirely removed from New York City... and if no one speaks up for them, then how hard will it be to push out the taxis next? Or the automobiles? However, the scrappy little push-cart owners fight back. It’s very much written to be an allegory for actual wars, played on a smaller scale which some delightful wit and an interesting narrative voice.

Series of Unfortunate Events 4-10

I continue to read A Series of Unfortunate Events. As a child I had only ever read up to The Carnivorous Carnival so it’s exciting to strike into new territory with The Slippery Slope. I really enjoy the slippery slope you see the Baudelaires beginning to get caught in as the series progresses, how they have to start making concessions and doing things they wouldn't have considered doing at the beginning, and how their views of the world is beginning to evolve. Austere Academy, Ersatz Elevator, and The Vile Village are my favourite of this set.

The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System v3

I finished the main series of The Scum Villain’s Self-Saving System and I’m not ready for it to be over ;^; I’m in the process of reading the last book of bonus stories and trying to savour it. I was hugely judgemental about this series and was tempted to skip it entirely, but I’m so glad I actually sat down to read it. Out of all of MXTX’s series, this one has, in my opinion, the least palatable main relationship and I say that with deep and profound affection. It's passionate and complicated and slightly horrifying but I don't think you could write it any other way. Every single thing about this story is messy and I think that really works in its favour. 

Shen Qingqiu is an incredibly biased narrator, and it’s really interesting to read a story in which the main character tends to think of those around him more as characters in a book than as genuine people. You get to see how him viewing himself as a passive observer instead of an actual person with agency who can have an impact on others continuously trips him up, and how his actions have far reaching consequences that he fails to recognize. It makes this entire series a very meta exploration of storytelling and the impact people's personal narratives have on themselves and others. It really consistently shows how cruelty begets cruelty... but also how the choice to step away from easy resentment can break endless cycles. That's a common theme across her works, but the way its handled in this book particularly struck me.

Over all, it’s a fun, silly story with way more heart than I anticipated -- this last book really made me cry! I was so unprepared for the series to be over that I had to stare at the ceiling for a while to try to digest it all. If you were feeling debating whether or not to try this series, I’d honestly give it a shot because it brings way more to the table than the surface level plot would suggest.

This Census-Taker

Fucking weird novella. I grabbed this from the library because I quite enjoyed Railsea so I thought I’d try something else by this author. And I really liked it! But also what the fuck. Still don’t know if I absorbed everything that I was meant to absorb, but it’s obviously a book with a lot to say and did it through the most deranged and intriguing world building. China Miéville is great at creating unique worlds that feel alive and vibrant — this is the sort of world real people could live in, no matter how strange.

Goodread’s summary because gun to my head I’m not sure I’d be able to come up with a more functional explanation: “After witnessing a profoundly traumatic event, a boy is left alone in a remote house on a hilltop with his increasingly deranged parent. When a stranger knocks on his door, the boy senses that his days of isolation are over—but by what authority does this man keep the meticulous records he carries? Is he the boy’s friend? His enemy? Or something altogether other?” This doesn’t even scratch the surface but it does give a functional idea of the surface level plot. If you want something to sink your teeth in to and flex your analytical muscles, this one will do it for you.

The War That Saved My Life // The War I Finally Won

Absolutely stunning YA novel series, can’t recommend it enough. This series is centred on Ada, a girl born in the East End of London to an abusive mother who scorns her for her club foot. Ada is forced to stay in the apartment, is severely neglected and mistreated, and does her best to take care of her younger brother during all this. When news of WWII arrives though and people begin sending their children away from London to live in the country, Ada is determined to run away with her brother and get them both onto one of those trains, to find a better life far from the threatened bombs and their mother. The story followers Ada and Jamie finding a new home and contending with the trauma they’ve lived through during the throes of World War 2.

(* in regards to the queer content of this book: it is entirely subtext however it is such obvious subtext that I feel fine labelling it as queer, it's beautifully done -- very much a "haunting the narrative" sort of plotline)

The Warden

A “cosy fantasy” novel that was a fairly decent attempt at the genre. I find some cosy fantasies fail (for me at least) just because… nothing happens. This novel sort of straddles the line between cosy fantasy and standard fantasy in a way that I found quite satisfying and kept things from getting boring.

Aelis de Lenti is a newly graduated necromancer from the Lyceum who has accepted the position of Warden in the remote village of Lone Pines. Admittedly she had been hoping for a posting in an actual city with actual modern amenities but here she is. Surrounded by sheep shit and villagers who don’t trust her, in a crumbling wizard’s tower. Great. The story is about her gradually finding her space in this community, learning how to handle her position, and generally getting to kick ass and take names. It was a fun read.

[torpublishinggroup]

Celebrate the arrival of summer with something that smells much nicer than ovine excrement: a good book!

THE WARDEN by Daniel M. Ford tells the story of an aimless flop of a 20-something necromancer trying to stop Surprise Ancient Evil in the nowhere mountain town she never wanted to wash up in.

[jenyifer]

The Warden by Daniel Ford

We have a 10/10 book here folks been a while. But I truly think this is one of the best witch books ever.

The Sell: MC is a newly graduated magic user who is sworn to protect a village on the edge of the kingdom with exciting action scenes and intriguing villains or obstacles for our MC. MC is extremely lovable but in a sassy funny way. She’s a brat, but she has a drive that makes you want to sell your soul so she could be successful. I adore her personality. The magic system is familiar and yet feels totally new the author does a good job of showing you her education so it feels like you and MC are slowly gaining knowledge. MC’s magic isn’t the your run of the mill system. She’s a Necromancer Charmer and Enchantress. The romance and relationships feel organic not rushed. I really can’t find anything to dislike about this story. I don’t want to spoil anything but the conflicts of the book were great. I thought the story was over but MC’s work continues because she is 10/10 bad ass. I do have a slight issue with the cover of the book because it looks like MC and her love interest are the main part of the story. Love interest half elf is super attractive she’s a dream girl and she has her own life and goals which I really enjoyed her life doesn’t revolve about MC. I’d say… the village MC goes to is the Main Love interest and while I enjoyed her romance with the half elf it’s not the focus and she’s not around all the time. However MC falling in love with the people she is sworn to protect will steal their hearts and yours.

In conclusion: I haven’t had this much fun with a book in forever. I can’t wait to force everyone I know to read it. ALSO MY FIRST SAPPHIC BOOK TO GET 10/10. A true achievement.

Okay I have 1 spoiler I want to write down so that when I read the second book maybe I’ll be able to say I told you so.

If the goat isn’t part of the villains soul I’m going to eat my hat.

[quirkycatsfatstacks]

Review: Necrobane by Daniel M. Ford

Series: The Warden #2Author: Daniel M. FordPublisher: Tor BooksReleased: April 23, 2024Received: OwnFind it on: Goodreads | More Fantasy Book Summary: Once upon a time (not all that long ago, really), Aelis de Lenti thought she was being insulted or shunned when assigned to be the Warden of Lone Pine. Now, she cherishes her role in the village and would do anything to protect them. Even if…

[nzbookwyrm]

April 2024

[ilikereadingactually]

The Warden

The Warden by Daniel M. Ford

i have mixed feelings about this one. i liked it enough to want to review it, i have some positives, but also some of the elements weren't quite for me. i think there's definitely an audience for it who will really like it though, and that feels worth writing about.

so! this has a lot of fun stuff going for it. there's an interesting variety of magic, and we get to see it used in different ways. there's a tantalizing amount of worldbuilding, establishing some of the rules of magic and of law, and a bit of history. that felt really delicately done to me, for the most part, especially the history! just enough to be interesting and keep me reading, not so much that i couldn't follow or remember it. we've also got a queer protagonist, which i always love, and a thread of storyline about her romantic interests, which is not generally my thing but was fun here. and i really liked the community aspect: the protagonist is assigned as a Warden, a kind of magical protector/civil servant, to a remote town and has to build relationships with the people there.

all of that felt like a great base to me, and i liked a lot of the characters; the townspeople, the friendly loner on the outskirts, the cute kid, the traveling adventurers, a great combo of personalities. but i just never really felt that much for the protagonist! we're in her POV, i wanted to like her. i think she made some good choices, she's capable and powerful, she's a rich city kid and it was fun seeing her earnestly try to adjust to small village life. but some of the quirks that i think were meant to humanize her and make her charming fell flat or were actually irritating to me.

particularly, she talks out loud to herself--not in little believable affirmations or exclamations, but in actual full sentences about what she's doing and thinking. but sometimes we get her inner thoughts in italics, as well, and there didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to when she's talking out loud (even at times when she's in a dangerous situation and making noise could give her away) and when we see her thoughts. we also get a TON of tiny flashbacks to her schooling, which frequently do end up being at least topically related to what she's doing at any given moment, but that didn't feel to me like they added anything. she recollects long bits of lectures in detail that i didn't gain extra insight from, and it wasn't until maybe the last quarter of the book where the flashbacks became actually part the ongoing plot via one specific teacher who is causing her problems in the present. then the story just...stops, at the turning point of an adventure, after several nested previous adventures had already wrapped up. it felt, to me, like the last chapter or two of this book should have been the beginning of the next one.

again, these are just things that didn't suit my taste--maybe they will be charming and great to someone else! so as always, ymmv.

the deets

how i read it: an ebook on Libby. and yes, i did pick it up because it involves necromancy and is called The Warden and i'm still deep in my Locked Tomb phase...

try this if you: like watching an academic snob make good in a podunk town, dig some travel through the woods, or have fun putting together a light mystery!

a bit i really liked: i can picture this posture exactly

Aelis's back straightened with the precise caution of the drunk who believes no one else can tell they're drunk. "I apologize, Magister," she began, slowly and formally. "Oh," the gnome signed, waving a hand vaguely in the air. "I remember my own graduation week."