#dee piscero
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
“There are moments that cannot be minimized, forgotten or swept aside. And ours is tangible—a cloak I wrap around myself when the night is cold and dark.”
- Dee Piscero, Voyage of the Damned by Frances White
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
I didn't read as much as usual in 2024. My normal amount of 40 - 50 books shrank to a mere 32 as I navigated a particularly obnoxious year of Real Life.
Also, I listened to an insane amount of podcasts (many of them fandom related), significantly chipping away at my audiobook time.
But 32 books is better than no books, so here's my personal top five. Let me know yours! I always love a good book recommendation.
#5 Voyage of the Damned, Frances White
I love myself an unusual hero. Ganymedes Piscero aka 'Dee' is one of those. Together with twelve other heirs of the twelve provinces of Concordia, Dee embarks on a ship journey where each of the twelve is supposed to present their unique magical gift. Problem: Dee doesn't have one. Deeply insecure inside, he hides his 'deficiency' under a whole lot of swagger and cockiness. When one of the heirs is found dead and more bodies start to drop, Dee begins to investigate.
While the plot isn't entirely airtight and certain aspects of the resolution didn't sit quite right with me, this was a fun, entertaining read with a main character who's as original as he is relatable. Have you ever faked your way through a social event where you felt you didn't belong? Felt like an imposter? This is your book!
Extra points for diversity, queerness and for making a character with a chronic illness a love interest and giving them their chance to shine.
#4 The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet
How could I not fall in love with a ragtag, extremely diverse group of space travellers and outcasts who are the epitome of the 'found family' trope?
Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the 'Wayfarer' - a patchwork spacecraft that tunnels wormholes into space to connect remote spots of the galaxy. A particularly lucrative job puts the ship and its entire crew in grave danger. But that's only one of the manifold problems Rosemary and her shipmates will have to navigate on their long journey.
In fact, it's not the plot what's important. In all honesty, it takes forever until anything actually starts to happen in this book, and the plot isn't what's relevant. It's the characters and the beautifully diverse and - for the most part - accomodating universe Becky Chambers has created for her Wayfarer series. Humanoids and all sorts of other species live together in mutual respect on the spaceship and in large parts of the galaxy, finding common ground in spite of vastly different needs, bodies or languages.
If you need a wholesome, hopeful read that's brimming with imagination - Becky Chamber's very unique and very smart kind of cozy sci-fi has you covered!
#3 The Warm Hands of Ghosts, Katherine Arden
Katherine Arden, best known for her folkloristic Winternight Trilogy, delivers a darkly poetic, viscerally grim story set in Europe during the Great War that combines Historical Fiction with Magical Realism.
Laura, a Canadian combat nurse, retired after a serious injury, volunteers to work in a field hospital in Flanders, Belgium, after her brother goes missing in action. Arden splits the narrative into two alternating parts: Laura's search for her brother, and her brother's ordeal while trapped in a blown pillbox together with a German soldier.
This is not a light read nor for the faint of heart. Arden depicts the horrors of war in chilling, gory detail. This story will haunt you, like a ghost. And I'm still not sure if the sinister magical element that comes into play late in the book was even necessary. But I am sure that Arden has a gift for hauntingly beautiful writing that creeps under your skin and into your heart.
Extra kudos for queer representation in a historical context.
#2 Empire of the Damned, Jay Kristoff
Who hurt you, Jay Kristoff? Who hurt you so much that you need to hurt your characters and, by corollary, your readers so, so much? One has to be a bit of a masochist to read his books. This series in particular.
Gabriel de Leon is the last Silversaint, an order of vampire hunters who fight against the blood-thirsty beasts in a realm living in eternal dusk. His mission: to find the Holy Grail and bring back the sunlight. We learn his full story in hindsight - he tells it in prison, caught by the very vampires he hunts, dictating his life story to an undead historian.
Book two adds a new, female POV to the story and reawakens Gabriel's dad vibes. It also continues the heartbreaking love story of two of my favorite supporting characters, Aaron and Baptiste, taking the definition of torture to a whole new level. (Why, Mister Kristoff, why?!) And we learn a lot more about Dior and her powers. It is one of the surprisings strengths of "Empire of the Damned" that, while featuring a male protagonist, it gives the female characters of the story the strongest voices.
Just like book one, "Empire of the Vampire", this second installment is rife with horror, blood, violence, smut and profanity. It But Kristoff also has a gift for creating unforgettable, defiant, passionate characters that will weave their way into your heart - until Kristoff tears it apart. And stomps on it. And burns the shattered pieces to ashes.
#1 Bury Your Gays
The most unique and surprising book I read this year. The summary sounds simple: Misha is a Hollywood script writer with an Oscar nomination. When the studio he works for forces him to kill off the gay couple in the season finale of a long-running streaming series, Misha refuses. Then, something strange happens: a man begins to stalk Misha, and he looks exactly like a fictional character Misha once created for a horror series. Bodies begin to drop, murdered in devastatingly familiar fashion. In a race against time, Misha tries to save the lives of his friends - and his own.
Sounds like a straight-forward Hollywood horror mystery? Well, it isn't. Chuck Tingle combines horror with a gay coming-of-age story, criticism of the film industry and, while he's at it, issues a warning cry when it comes to the use of modern technology.
Here's a rollercoaster featuring memorable, queer characters, hair-raising body horror and an unexpected plot twist, all of it chock-full of easter eggs and pop culture references from Supernatural and The X-Files to Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Lost.
The audio book is emphatically narrated by André Santana, with cameos from horror authors like Stephen Graham Jones, T. Kingfisher and others, including sound effects in the "script" parts of the novel.
If you're interested in the film industry, in the history of the "Bury your gays" trope and/or a fan of horror/fantasy/sci-fi/mystery shows, if you love queer representation and novels with a twist, give this a try! I don't think I've ever read anything like this, and I already have Chuck Tingle's "Camp Damascus" on my TBR for 2025.
Special Award
At the beginning of the year, I read my way through all seventeen of the official Supernatural novels. After finishing the tv series for the first time, I felt at a loss and needed more.
Now, these books are pulp fiction. They're entertaining but shallow, some of them are very poorly written, and the different authors have a varying grasp on the iconic characters featured in the tv show. But for those (like me) who love Sam and Dean Winchester and just can't get enough of them, the book series offers a few more adventures with our two monster-hunting brothers, in true monster-of-the-week fashion, set between seasons one through twelve. (Fair warning, though: Most of the books spend way too much time on original side characters and not enough on Sam and Dean.)
And while a lot of Supernatural fan fiction is much better than these books (I'm serious; the Spn fandom has many amazing writers!), I enjoyed my additional time with the boys - or at least enjoyed correcting the writers loudly and exasperatedly while reading. (Dean's eyes are green, people! Green!)
Best books of the serious, IMHO:
Coyote's Kiss
Fresh Meat
Joyride
Worst books of the series:
Hear of the Dragon (barely any Sam & Dean in it)
One Year Gone (terrible, terrible writing style and OOC characters although written by Eric Kripke's assistant - who should really know her stuff better)
Alright, your turn: Tell me your top 5 reads of the year! I want to know!
#best books of 2024#favorite books of the year#top five reads#my reading#chuck tingle#bury your gays#becky chambers#wayfarers#katherine arden#the warm hands of ghosts#voyage of the damned#frances white#jay kristoff#empire of the damned#supernatural books#spn
5 notes
·
View notes
Text
![Tumblr media](https://64.media.tumblr.com/056cdaf7e1267b666ca991c5c2d441c2/af5f66cb04d38589-c7/s640x960/d511ae8a1874b896e9cf9f26edcf606c6465c0ca.jpg)
Rating: 4/5
Book Blurb:
THE TIKTOK SENSATION FROM THE UK HAS COME TO NORTH AMERICA! PRE-ORDER NOW to get a limited edition with sprayed edges—available only on the first printing! This special first edition hardcover will include a gorgeous, shimmering jacket with effects, beautifully illustrated endpapers and sprayed edges. “Magical, murderous, romantic romp through a fantasy world as colorful as it is captivating.” Thea Guanzon, New York Times bestselling author of THE HURRICANE WARS
A mind-blowing murder mystery on a ship full of magical passengers. If Agatha Christie wrote fantasy, this would be it!
For a thousand years, Concordia has maintained peace between its provinces. To mark this incredible feat, the emperor’s ship embarks upon a twelve-day voyage to the sacred Goddess’s Mountain. Aboard are the twelve heirs of the provinces of Concordia, each graced with a unique and secret magical ability known as a Blessing.
All except one: Ganymedes Piscero—class clown, slacker and all-around disappointment.
When a beloved heir is murdered, everyone is a suspect. Stuck at sea and surrounded by powerful people and without a Blessing to protect him, Ganymedes’s odds of survival are slim.
But as the bodies pile higher, Ganymedes must become the hero he was not born to be. Can he unmask the killer and their secret Blessing before this bloody crusade reaches the shores of Concordia?
Or will the empire as he knows it fall?
Review:
And Then There Were None meets a queer fantasy murder cruise with a splash of romance! In a world where heirs of provinces are gifted with powers known as "blessings" the heirs must embark on a twelve day voyage to the sacred Goddess's Mountains to maintain peace. Yet this year's heirs are different... one of the heirs does not have any ability. Ganymedes Piscero "Dee" to his friends, is the least liked heir and the disappointment amongst them, and he lied to the emperor about his powers. Yet things only get worse for Dee as the moment they get on the ship they were excited to meet their beloved, Ravi, heir to the Crow province only to be given the cold shoulder and to find that he is engaged to someone else. Dee is crushed... and then the heirs begin to be murdered one by one. Dee is determined to solve the mystery and save the heir to the Grasshopper province, a young girl. Dee finds himself being helped by the unlikely Wyatt, the sickly heir to the Bear province... yet is torn between his love for Ravi as well. Can Dee figure out who is the murderer before he is next... and when the truth comes out an he handle the repercussions of it? This was definitely an interesting ride that had a wild ending that just went from 0-100. The story had a slow build and the middle part definitely felt a bit dragged on but the ending picked up. Dee was an interesting character and the romance in this one was a bit twisted but I enjoyed it. It definitely had a "Death on the Nile" vibe (I adore Agatha Christie) and this was an enjoyable read in the end. It wraps up everything perfectly fine and overall, if you like fantasy murder mysteries then I'd absolutely recommend it!
Release Date: August 20,2024
Publication/Blog: Ash and Books (ash-and-books.tumblr.com)
*Thanks Netgalley and Harlequin Trade Publishing | MIRA for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*
3 notes
·
View notes