#international intrigue

[lotus-pear]

2/2

[cathygeha]

REVIEW

The Last Guardian by Simon Gervais

Clayton White #3

Fast-paced action-packed beginning that grabbed my attention and introduced the fentanyl issue that would lead to a global story filled with villains and good guys pitting themselves against one another.

What I liked: * Clayton White: lethal, loyal, bright, advisor-observer for US president, loves his pregnant fiancé Veronica, seems to find himself in the midst of trouble more often than not

* Veronica Hammond: Clayton’s pregnant and loving fiancé, owner of tech company, good friend, ambitious, intelligent

* The plot, pacing, settings, and writing

* The look at international and political intrigue

* The multi-level complex threads woven together to create the story

* Not always knowing who was good and who was evil, the evil characters could be male or female and were not all from the same country

* That the darker aspects of the story were not entirely glossed over and that both good and evil could be targeted and lose their lives

* Thinking about political intrigue and being glad I am not involved in it

* Knowing that this was fiction though parts of it could actually happen in real life

* Wondering what will happen in book four

What I didn’t like:

* Who and what I was meant not to like

* Thinking about the way those in power abuse it and the impact on those who suffer at their hands

Did I like this book? Yes

Would I read more in this series? Yes

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC – This is my honest review.

4-5 Stars

BLURB

In this thrilling installment of the Clayton White series, the former Secret Service agent must sift through layers of deception to uncover the truth behind the FBI director’s assassination and avert a global catastrophe. Fighting the fentanyl epidemic in the United States is a top priority for President Alexander Hammond, and there’s only one man he trusts—however begrudgingly—to lead the task former Secret Service agent and soon-to-be son-in-law Clayton White. Once reckless in his line of work, White is now determined to keep his future in mind. He and his fiancée, Veronica, are expecting their first child, and there are some risks White is no longer willing to take. But when his investigation into the Red Dragon Triad drug cartel appears to lead to the assassination of the FBI director, White is forced to put his life on the line to find out who is behind the attack and what they’re planning next. Amid a series of secret identities, betrayals, and terrorist plots, Clayton White must join forces with allies he’s not sure he can trust to save the country he’s sworn to protect and the family he’s vowed to love.

[esqapevelocity]

OC for Cold-War era international intrigue story background

[hsmagazine254]

Unveiling Ancient Secrets: A Thrilling Journey Through "The Eight" By Katherine Neville

H&S Magazine’s Recommended Book Of The Week Katherine Neville Genre: Adventure, Historical Fiction The Eight, Kindle Edition Prepare to be captivated by a tale of ancient mysteries, hidden treasures, and a race against time. In “The Eight” by Katherine Neville, readers embark on an exhilarating adventure that spans centuries and continents. Blending historical fiction with thrilling suspense,…

[nanihirunkits]

WILLIAM JAKRAPATR as THAME and EST SUPHA as PO in Thame - Po ・HEART THAT SKIPS A BEAT (2024ISH)

[starry-bi-sky]

pouring one out for luo binghe in my disciple SQQ fic, poor guy has taken a backseat here. we're nearly 30k words deep and he hasn't even shown his face once. it'll be much longer before he even actually talks to Shen Qingqiu.

(i say im pouring one out but in reality im sitting in my director's chair chewing on a cigar and wearing a beret as he tearily and unsuccessfully pleads with me for more scenes with Shen Qingqiu)

[wyervan]

Have you heard of the AU called For The Children? It’s kind of similar to your slasher one in the sense that Sun and Moon kill abusive parents and such

@formdrop

I have seen @/ayyy-imma-ninja’s serial killer boys around the block! Tho I haven’t yet had the pleasure of reading the few chapters they have out currently.

But I imagine the four of them would get on quite well together, human/robot differences aside. They share more in common even beyond their passions for retributive justice. Both our Suns have an interest in books and creating positive spaces for children. And both our Moons seem to like uhhh slicin’ and a dicin’ :3c.

[sampoenjoyer]

Everytime people erase a characters flaws I die a little inside. LET THEM HAVE ISSUES. LET THEM BE WEIRD. LET THEM BE IMPERFECT PLEASE.

[lemonhemlock]

look. not to be too mean on main. the rightful heir thing. if you don't care about the intricacies of property law or legal writs and just want to focus on characterization and other aspects of storytelling, fine.

but it truly does look very goofy when you start "debating" this while lacking historical context and methodological tools. sometimes a constitutional crisis (that was already resolved in the 12th century and whose results you can always look up) can't just be settled by appealing to one's anachronistic opinion and accusing those who disagree of misogyny.

there's a difference between suggesting how things should be (i.e. prescriptive, i.e. women should never inherit the throne) and analysing how things were for a myriad of socio-political reasons.

also, trust me, the Dance being fictional is not the gotcha people think it is. it's plenty obvious. i'm sorry to say but the premise is so flimsy it would never have happened like that irl.

final idea: likewise, perhaps being condescending about people who do take the time to criticise the premise is veering a little bit towards anti-intellectualism. 'idc about succession laws ergo i'm more enlightened bc i've unlocked an edgelord-y way to enjoy fiction'. a medievalesque fantasy setting is going to attract commentators who are interested in medieval history or at least aspects of it. they may find copy-paste scenarios from real history and think it interesting to compare and contrast. it's not immediately equivalent to treating aegon and rhaenyra like your ballot choices next election, and, equally, they're not discussions without merit.

comparative analysis is a transferable skill! if someone doesn't want to partake, fine, but i think this attitude of turning one's nose at it is a tad coarse. there are many fans who take the time to write informative posts and contextualise this fictionalised universe and it's a shame to automatically write-off what is ultimately a rich tradition in internet asoiaf spaces

[fieriframes]

[Attachment, Buddha had said, is the cause of grief.]

[stupidnicknamehere]

On Senna and the grooming allegations.

Half Brazilian here too! Although I have never been to Brazil, I am from another Latin American country. I find that many foreigners don't understand the Latin American context, especially in the 70s/80s.

It took a lot of courage to touch on this controversial topic. Please read at your own risk.

Our countries, to this day, are considered emerging zones. Poverty, violence, crisis and political instability are something we have had to learn to live with.

Sadly, age was not taken into account as much as convenience and economic security. Families, especially wealthy ones, sought to ensure economic well-being rather than healthy and happy relationships. Marriage is an agreement to protect the spouses, ignoring whether they were mentally or physically prepared for what it meant. These are practices that still continue to this day in some parts, therefore, the perception of moral standards was extremely different; this is told to you by someone whose grandmother married a man in his twenties at 14.

Was that wrong? Of course it was, many things were wrong at that time.

When Ayrton Senna mentioned in that interview for Playboy that he lost his virginity at 13 when his cousin took him to an adult prostitute (and as this was already considered late for his culture) it doesn't seem to have raised many outraged voices, not even to this day, which honestly worries me. Adriane Yamin was already 18 (legal age of consent in many countries) when she had intimacy with Senna, as told by herself. Senna was only 13, THIRTEEN, not even the age of consent in Brazil, which is 14. I don't think you understand how much this shit marks you, how much it traumatizes and affects your life.

The truth is, Senna's family was extremely controlling, and they needed to approve (choose) their girlfriends. Ayrton's marriage to Lilian was basically an arranged marriage. The same happened with Adriane Yamin, whose relationship was cultivated and strictly controlled by both families. An engagement was arranged for 1989, but Senna broke it off. He did not want to get married.

Perhaps this is, at least in part, the reason why this man was so keen to have control in his life as a public figure and as a driver, he wanted everything to go his way. It does not seem that many things in his early life were his decision, but it seems that deciding to return to England after announcing his retirement as a racing driver in 1981 was the incentive he needed. Well, here I am already falling into the territory of speculation, but I think I have made my point.

Say whatever about Ayton Senna, hate him or love him, the man is no longer with us to defend himself or speak for himself. However, I believe that judging him under current social values, ignoring the cultural and historical context in which he lived is unfair. It is unfair to all the people of Brazil and to the rest of Latin America. We're striving to change for the better.

[mythalism]

Another insane Solas take that you've probably already seen but I'm gonna share anyway cause I have no DA friends to talk about it with is that people who romance Solas have some form of internalized misogyny/comphet. My eyes nearly rolled out of my fucking head from that take but I couldn't say anything because of how hard the anti Solas peeps were circle jerking in the comments + I didn't want that hateful hag to put a curse on me

interesting......... i need to know more about their reasoning for this before i can properly obliterate it

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2024: WOODWORM by Layla Martinez.

Up next! Still in my Haunted House Era™: Translated Lit Fic Edition!

The great thing about being on several indie bookstore mailing lists is that you then have Several Indie Booksellers recommending you new releases published by independent presses, which almost assuredly I would not have stumbled across on my own. This one's just a little guy (149 pages), but I've been looking forward to it all year. Will report back on how it goes!

[staticrevelations]

fascinated by the way fhjy is setting up all this academic pressure and focusing on internal conflict and the minutiae of high school life and especially how that is reflected in the world like with Gorgug not being able to multiclass cuz of how he rages and Kristen's god seemingly being a reflection of her follower's primary emotional state and the prospect of a rival adventuring group

[autoneurotic]

life tip: you can listen to the twin peaks soundtrack any time to add a degree of je ne sais quoi to your day

[unopenablebox]

please ao3 i was relying on you to keep me from unwillingly haunting wedding reddit. i was going to read boromir slash fiction