#illthdar guardians of las

[illthdar]

For a fun Valentine’s Day special, I’ll be joining my older brother on Twitch. Be there for siblings shenanigans, feral banter and a walk through a dumpster fire post-apocalyptic world of its own design: Vintage Story. In between that, I will happily answer spoiler free questions about the Illthdar series.

[guardians-of-las-vyxen]

@illthdar

[silver-wields-a-pen]

OMG lookit the surprise I got in the post ❤️❤️❤️❤️

It looks so good beside the first one ❤️❤️❤️

@illthdar thank you so much! Much excite!! So happy!!

My niece just called the rathe a Pegasus and my inner Date corrected her 🤣🤣🤣

[ettawritesnstudies]

Illthdar: Guardians of Las Review

[Image ID: A photo of Illthdar: Guardians of Las next to my sketchbook with a fanart drawing of the main five characters (to be described below), laying on a quilted bedspread. End Image ID]

Review for Illthdar: Guardians of Las by Rachel E Garcia

(more info for the book can be found on the blog @illthdar! FeedaRead link.

Rating: 4.5/5

Background: I’ve been following Rachel’s blog for a while now and really wanted to read Illthdar, but kept getting horribly distracted from reading anything by school and covid and stuff. As soon as I finished final exams, I ordered it, and I’m sorry I didn’t earlier because it’s SO GOOD

Things I liked:

The characters! They’re such a wonderfully diverse and somewhat eccentric bunch, and I had a lot of fun reading all of their arcs/developments over the course of the story! I think I related most to Vyxen and her desire to go home and be with her family the most: I have a big family myself and grew up in a rural area (though nothing as extreme as Alaska), so I really felt for her and how desperate and homesick she was to find a portal back. They’re all wonderful though, and I really enjoyed learning all the backstories over the course of the story, meeting the other members of the order and the guys they become friends with, and I was really rooting for their friendships by the end of the story. If I talk about it all this will take all day but I WILL talk about them all if you give me the opportunity. 

The worldbuilding was also really interesting! My absolute favorite part was the new year festival that takes a large focus in the end of the book - all the lore and history and how that transfers into customs and traditions and day-to-day societal quirks was absolutely fascinating. I would personally not enjoy being dragged to a party because I am an Introvert (tm), but it was a TON of fun to read about, and I loved reading all the descriptions of the scenery and outfits

In terms of writing style, Rachel’s descriptions are all really wonderful and vivid and put me straight into the world of Illthdar. The dialogue and banter between the friends can be fun too - the guys have a brotherly dynamic between them with the standing up for each other and swearing at each other in the same breath and I love that.

And I have to mention the representation - there’s a wonderful diversity of people, but I really appreciated the disability representation especially, with Abaddon’s blindness and how the characters accommodate them without a second thought. Illthdar might be a hellscape but the friends make it more like home, and ableism Shall Not Stand!

What I didn’t like:

Not much. The first few chapters were really hard to get into because I was really confused about how Illthdar worked and I kept trying to fit it into logical boxes and it felt rushed, but to quote the characters “that’s Illthdar,” and once I got used to how the Order worked, the rest of the book picked up and I really enjoyed it. I also have a suspicion that was an intentional choice on Rachel’s part so you’re just as confused as, and therefore relate more to, Zercey who’s just been thrown headfirst into the chaotic world and so well done there. The only reason I don’t like it is because then it slowed me down on reading the rest of the great book. If you’re picking it up for the first time, just be patient, because it gets really good!

This point comes with the huge disclaimer that I am aroace so I don’t understand romance that well, and have absolutely 0 clue about sexual innuendo, and those bits between the characters (Scy looking at you), was a little weird because it took me a few rereads to figure out what was going on and then rolled my eyes at it, but that’s what I do in real life anyhow, and Nymia’s similar reactions were Much appreciated so honestly I can’t complain about that, and I enjoyed the endgame romances in the end so...? that’s on me, Rachel wrote it well, and anyone else who has a basic comprehension of social cues would probably really enjoy this!

Final thoughts: Definitely check out Illthdar! You won’t regret it, I really enjoyed this story and I’m REALLY looking forward to reading the rest of the series when it comes out! I like the characters so much, I asked Rachel if I could do fanart of them, so that’s below along with an image description (Abaddon would use a screen reader). Thank you for letting me practice my doodles on your ocs! I hope I did them justice :)

[Image ID: The fanart I drew of the main 5 characters in Illthdar: Guardians of Las. From left to right, we have Abaddon, Nyima, Zercey, Scyantha, and Vyxen. Abaddon is tall and muscular. They have red skin, and red horns, silver-pink short hair, and is wearing a grey tang top and khaki cargo shorts. They are smiling softly and holding an axe over one shoulder. Their other hand his held in front of them in a fist.

Nymia has blue skin and blue hair twisted into a braid that’s covered in jewlery, and she’s wearing a wrap dress with long slits in the skirt with a brown belt at the waist. she’s smirking and holding a hand in front of her suspending ice sparks in the air. her other hand is behind Zercey

Zercey is shorter, has tan skin and green hair. She’s wearing a plain green shirt and jeans, and is smiling out the page. She’s holding a book, as if she’s been studying and you just interrupted her.

Scyantha stands with her one hand on Zercey’s shoulder. She’s taller, has pale skin, bright red hair and eyes. She’s wearing a white ruffled top, red corset, black pants, and knee high boots. She’s got a knowing smile, and her other arm is extended behind her with mana gathering around her hand.

Last is Vyxen, the shortest, facing towards Scy, and leaning on a bow. She’s got white hair and silver eyes, light brown skin, she’s wearing a purple crop top, blue mini skirt, and sandals. She also has a quiver strapped around her shoulder, and she’s got a mischievous grin. End image ID.]

[guardians-of-las-vyxen]

@illthdar

(guy experiencing the consequences of his actions) yeah i don’t know why these things keep happening to me i must be cursed or something

[guardians-of-las-vyxen]

A Rainbow of OCs  

Abaddon and some of my favorite ladies from the book series Illthdar - Guardians of Las!! If you’re new to the book, it’ll be awhile before you meet some of these gals but rest assured, the wait is worth it. They are FAB-U-LOUS!

Keep updated on the book’s release date here @illthdar ! <3

[incorrect-illthdar]

Lerki: Everything happens for a reason.

Tundra: Yep. Sometimes the reason is you make bad choices.

Seth: *laughing in the corner*

Date: And you're stupid.

[illthdar]

Illthdar: Into The North

It's on its way to online bookstores! Are you ready for the second installment to the Illthdar series?

[guardians-of-las-vyxen]

@illthdar this is Vyxen and Tundra

[incorrect-illthdar]

I am a perfect gentleman. Who says fuck... A lot. Fuck.

- Date Toshiiro

[illthdar]

Illthdar: Into The North is out on Amazon!

Illthdar: Into the North https://amzn.eu/d/alNaDc9

[guardians-of-las-vyxen]

@illthdar This feels like Date and Vyxen

[rgarciawrit-advocate]

As part of the launch of the Most Keeper's Apprentice by E S Barrison, there is a contest for one free copy of my book, Illthdar: Guardians of Las!

[illthdar]

If any American was waiting for a sign to get up and vote: This is your sign.

[rgarciawrit-advocate]

Happy Meet & Greet Monday! (Pick any character you want for this question!) What gets you angry? Is there anything that would make you fly into a rage instantly? Why? // tag @the-ravens-requiem //

Thanks for the ask! Let's go with Abaddon from the @illthdar series:

"What makes me angry?" Abaddon echoed, bashfully rolling the toe of their boot on the floor. "Um, uh, I get mad at myself when I trip or bump into things. I can't always help it, I feel silly for feeling that way, because I share a room with a lot of people and things are always being moved and I can't see, so I don't know until it's too late." Their arms fell limp at their sides, sighing out the tension. "I don't think I like it when people put me in the middle of their arguments, either. I really hate it when they want me to just stand there, or worse, pick sides. It's childish."

@the-ravens-requiem

[illthdar]

Yeah, uh, it was a mild mismanagement issue. We’re working on it.

Can't stop thinking about muntjac deer. See the thing with muntjacs is that they have these large scent glands below the eyes and on the forehead, and they use them to mark territory. Many types of deer have the glands in front of the eyes (pre-orbital) but muntjac are unique in having forehead glands (frontal). Here's the video I saw. There's something really unsettling about the idea of an animal being able to like. Open it's face. Idk I think it's madly creepy but it's like a perfectly natural thing for the animal to do. It just looks scary.