#i make an exception for mistmantle

[marsdetective]

hi! dana!! book asks first and foremost how do you feel about children's classic the mistmantle chronicles? second ly, 10, 11, 16, & 25!

aksdjlkskfj well, I have to say that despite never reading the mistmantle chronicles, it cannot be denied that it has contributed to the literary discussion of eugenics and genocide, through the eyes of rodents, and used this medium to examine historical and current systems of oppression. so i have to respect it for that 😌

10. What was your favorite new release of the year?

My absolute favorite was Shubeik Lubeik by Deena Mohamed. If you decide to get into graphic novels, I'd really recommend this one. It was originally published in Egypt and is set in our world, except anyone can buy bottled genie wishes and use them to make what they want a reality. The author is SO clever with this concept and she uses it to explore colonialism, class, gender, religion, mental health, and more. I've thought about it all year.

I also really liked Emily Wilde's Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett. It's a historical fantasy set on a wintery island with a romance that kinda reminded me of Howl's Moving Castle

11. What was your favorite book that has been out for a while, but you just now read?

Oh, it was for sure Doomsday Book by Connie Willis! It was written in the... 80s I think? And is set in the 2030s and also the 1300s, as a time travelling historian goes back to document the time period. something goes wrong, however, and she may be stuck in the past if she and her professor aren't able to work in their different times to figure out how to get her back. it's very slow build (and also unintentionally funny, since none of the 2030s characters have cell phones or the internet), but the ending was SO emotional and impactful

16. What is the most over-hyped book you read this year?

Hmmmm, already mentioned this one but probably The Thursday Murder Club. Just wasn't my thing!

25. What reading goals do you have for next year?

Every year I try to read at least 2 classics, so I'd like to do that again

I also want to like. try to understand money better -_- so imma try to read a few books that don't seem like evil capitalism propaganda. just a basic 'here's how everything works and here's what you should do at certain points in your life.' we'll see how it goes

I want to try and read some old Hugo award winners/nominees! I have a list of all the books nominated for best novel, written by not men and it'd be cool to someday read all of them. but I'll just try to read like 2 or 3 this year

I'd also like to finish a couple series that I've started, that are already completely published - there's a few I'm behind on!

and I want to read at least 1 book I own per month!

[elstreem]

Finally Read The Final Mistmantle Book!

So I finally got the last book of the Mistmantle Chronicles, which is quite a journey in itself - the physical copy of the books have long since stopped appearing on any shelves where I live, and even online Urchin and The Rage Tide was being treated like gold (I think I saw a listing for it above $300 - I mean, the books are well worth that, but that was insane!)

It's only thanks to the very sharp eye of a friend that I got a copy for relatively cheap $40, and it turned out to be a hardbound edition in good condition! That was in April of this year, and since it had to be posted all the way to my side of the Pacific, it took a few months for it to happen.

So anyway. July 7, book is here, I settle down to read it around 8 pm...and proceed to cry my eyes out throughout the whole thing. I talk about media that have made me cry before, but this one made me really cry, physically tear up and keep blowing my nose and I must have been super gross to look at but I didn't care.

Spoilers for Rage Tide from here on out!:

The thing is, I already knew the plot points for this book. I already know the summary that Sepia would be swept away, and that Crisping would sacrifice himself for that. But I don't think I could have been ready for how it happened.

The first thing that made me tear up was Urchin's desperation to save Sepia. That hurt me so much after seeing how they were shown to have grown so closely since the Raven War. But wow was that only the beginning.

Everything to do with Crispin hurt my heart, my soul, and my eyes as they're stinging from all the tears. I knew he was gonna die, and it's not like the narrative goes quickly about it. Heck, his death was foreshadowed all the way back at the ending of the Raven War. But still...even while he was preparing for it, while he made his decision, all the good-byes and his final moments...it really makes one appreciate Crispin. It doesn't seem fair that such a good character has to die, and leave behind a beloved wife, children and friends, but at the same time, it was also the best, possible fitting end, to go out on sea as the stars rain down. Heart keep you, King Crispin, and sail on with the stars.

I'm still tearing up while typing this for my drafts, oh my gosh.

I can't believe that all those years ago, that day I picked up a book at the booksale with squirrels on the cover and the title "Urchin of the Riding Stars" would result in a bright, spectacular journey over seas and under stars, and end in the same vista of sea and stars. I am truly grateful to have read this masterpiece, M.I. McAllister.

[bookshelfpassageway]

The Youtuber Cardinal West has a channel pretty much dedicated to the topic! He's got guides and recommendations and really solid analysis videos.

(Cardinal's channel got me following the Xenofiction tag, which got me into a genre Discord server, which is where I first saw the cover artist for Hunters Unlucky posting its propaganda lmao. It's a fun one with a 4-hour free audiobook sample)

Some more webcomics from my own stash:

Golden Shrike (deer with deer mythology and a big quest and demigods)

What Lurks Beneath (what if Warrior Cats was more game of thrones and had a crab cult. The comic is better than I make it sound whoops, it's one I'm honestly riveted to get new pages for every time)

Runaway to the Stars (about space aliens and accommodations. It's also pretty human heavy, but the worldbuilding Jay's done on the alien cultures is phenomenal and I would call xenofiction. There's even a short comic just set on the Avian planet with exclusively bird alien characters)

I've never played Rainworld but I also get the impression it's a video game with strong xenofiction vibes from everything I've heard.

I'm also trying to think of literally any movies other than Spirit Stallion of the Cimarron but yknow I really can't argue with it.

There's almost certainly more I'm forgetting but eh what can you do (except reblog later)

Of course there's other books I like but you've probably already heard of all of them because they're xenofiction big shots (Ga'Hoole, Wings of Fire, Rats of NIMH, Watership Down, etc), and I haven't read all that broadly outside of the YA genre mainstream (Hunters series being my main exception). If you like Anthro stuff I actually prefer the Mistmantle Chronicles over Redwall, and Cardinal also recently did a video overview on Anthro works I'm excited to go through.

Anyone got any good xenofiction recommendations? Or maybe sources that are good guides for writing xenofiction stories?

Idk... I kind of want to read xenofiction stuff-