#nantucket trilogy

[captainsvscaptains]

Round 1 Part 7 Poll 5

Propaganda

James Flint's gay. He waged war on all of civilization in the name of his gay lover and expanded to racial equality and he almost fucking won. They (civilization) took everything from him. And then they call HIM the MONSTER? The moment he signs that pardon, the moment he ASKS for one, he proclaims to the world they were right. This ends when he grants them HIS forgiveness, not the other way around.

Marian's the black lesbian captain of the USCGC Eagle, we don't get much of her backstory other than that her shitty husband took her kids, but in the first book she gets a nice pre-celtic girlfriend she rescued from the evil proto-celts, and by the second book she's in charge of the world's biggest and most powerful navy as the "commodore of the Republic of Nantucket Coast Guard". Really cool character, I think

[someonelookingpraediti]

Currently Reading...

The Tarot Sequence - K.D. Edwards

The Last Sun

These have been cropping up on my radar for a while, and they looked like a quick, easy read, which is what I wanted. Well, they're weren't that quick, but they were easy.

When I first started this book, it seemed like exactly the kind of "teen dross" my friend always accuses me of reading. The main character is the most specialist boy who ever did live, he lives in the magical city of Atlantis, and he has glowing orange eyes, and super duper magic powers, and his bodyguard is his bestest friend ever. Almost immediately, I was like... this is not for me.

But then! Then the plot kicked in! It got good, and fast.

I'm pretty sure I guessed who the big bad of the trilogy is like, a couple of chapters in, but I'm super hoping I'm totally wrong, because I'd like to be completely surprised by the ending! I'm also guessing (hoping, praying,) that Max and Quinn get together, because they'd be the cutest couple ever!

The Hanged Man

I think this is going to be one of those series I need to buy physical copies of! I've already ordered a special edition of the first in the spin-off series, but the only editions I can find of the original trilogy are paperback. The covers look cool, though, so I might just get the paperbacks.

This one was absolutely as good as the first - it's incredible how the big climactic finale starts like, halfway through the book, and somehow doesn't lose pace, it just continues to build and build, despite being so long! This is an author who can keep you gripped!

I'm absolutely smitten with Max; and I am now just waiting for the revelation that Brand was involved (unwittingly, unknowingly) in the attack on the Sun Court/Rune, which is definitely coming.

The Hourglass Throne

I start the third book in my trash fantasy trilogy... and they're dealing with Covid. Seriously? I read fantasy specifically to escape the real world! It's supposed to be totally believable that the humans discovered Atlantis sixty years ago and fought a massive world-changing war against them, and now Atlantis is in Nantucket. But it would just be too unrealistic if they just didn't mention the pandemic in this unspecified timeline? His boyfriend has burgundy eyes and a metal prosthetic hand with magic powers, but sure, two metres apart. I just want his problems to be like, fantasy problems, not my problems.

Anyway.

So, it did not end the way I thought it would. In fact... it didn't really end at all. It felt like the book had finished, but not the series. He's still got to get the Tower back. He's still got to fulfil his HUGE new prophecy we've just found out about. He still has six of his nine attackers to discover, hunt down, and brutally murder. Is this... not a trilogy? Maybe there are going to be more books?

I was totally wrong about the person who organised the attack on him/his court. From the very first time he was mentioned, I was convinced that Lord Tower had actually orchestrated it all, and was playing the biggest double cross of all time. And then it turns out to be... well... no, I'm not sure? Was it meant to be Lady Time? Or do we still not know? There has got to be more books, because this really didn't explain anything.

My other guess from the first book was that Max and Quinn would get together. It hasn't happened, but the spin-off series is based around them, I believe, so there's time. I'm also so heartbroken that Quinn lost his powers, and I'm hoping he gets them back in the spin-off. Quinn is, easily, hands down, no question, the best character of the series, I absolutely adore him. I cannot, cannot wait to read his book!

Postscript.

Holy shit, I just looked it up and this isn't even nearly a trilogy! There are NINE books planned for the series, what the actual fuck. I thought I was going into a completed series! I can't believe I'm going to have to wait, what? six? ten? years for the series to be finished?! This will not do, I'm obsessed!

[jadejedi]

Fantasy Book Review: The Tarot Sequence (Books 1-3) by K.D. Edwards

JJ’s rating: 4.5/5

How feral did it make me: 5/5 

My book reviews

Okay, I read these kind of randomly, not really sure what I was getting into, and oh my god. Oh my god!! Okay, so most of the sci-fi/fantasy books I have read other than these were written by AFAB authors in their 20s and 30s. Which is great, and fine, but that’s a fairly limited perspective. These novels were written by an asexual man in his forties (sorry Keith, just sort of guessing on your age here lmao) and is it weird to say that it’s kind of refreshing to read a mlm romance actually written by a queer man? No, I don’t think so. These books, despite the dark topics they sometimes cover, feel like warm coziness to me. Reading these books feels like following along with a group of your beloved friends. God. I love them. 

Summary time! In a world in which Atlantis was a secret society of demigods called the Arcana (all named after tarot cards) before being destroyed in a civil war with humanity, the remaining Atlantean society has relocated to the island formerly called Nantucket. Rune St. John is the last son of the Sun Court, the rest of the Sun Court destroyed in a mysterious attack that left Rune with emotional, mental, and physical scars. Rune and his Companion (think platonic soulmate meets bodyguard), Brand, hire out their work essentially as mercenaries to scrape by. When a son of Lady Justice goes missing, Rune and Brand are hired to find him. Also, they acquire an orphaned teenager? Are they fathers now? They might be fathers now. 

These characters guys. Holy shit. They are perfect to me. K.D. Edwards was really out here like, what if I just… smash every toxically masculine stereotype out there? What if I make a snarky bodyguard character who unabashedly loves his best friend? What if these two men who have known each other all their lives are not afraid to be open about how important they are to each other and how much they genuinely LOVE each other? What if I make a romantic interest who is patient and kind and loving and not at all threatened by the relationship between his boyfriend and his boyfriend’s oldest and most important relationship? What if I create a relationship between these three men that blurs the lines between romantic and platonic?? What if I create an urban fantasy society in which queerness is normal and accepted, and where polyamory is normal and accepted? What if I make a group of characters who need a family and then FIND ONE WITH EACH OTHER???? WHAT. THEN????? (then we all cry, that’s what)

FUCK! 

These books are fun, witty, full of monsters and villains, but also some of the most heartwarming characters and relationships I’ve ever read??? Like, god. These are some of the few books that I have bought both audio book and e-book copies because I could not put them down. I *had* to be reading them, if I were at home, or at work, or in the car. And as soon as I finished them, I picked up the first one and reread them. 

This series is planned to be a trilogy of trilogies, with books 1-3 currently finished, and book 4 being written right now. I am so excited for more of this series, I can’t even tell you. Dear god. 

There is some dark content covered in these books, specifically based around what happened to the Rune on the night when his father’s court was destroyed, so if you have any questions about trigger warnings, don’t hesitate to ask. 

These books are an absolute DELIGHT. They are the queer fantasy I’ve always wanted to read, because Edwards understands that what makes the queer community special is the COMMUNITY. It’s about finding and CHOOSING your family, bitch!

Here’s a meme I made a while back to convince people to read these books (yes I spelled dinosaur wrong. oops):

READ THEM!!!

[fiabex]

Dreamwidth Roundup

Nominations are now closed, and our closing posts are up! We have final clarification posts, and we have the post about tag set clean up!

Mods will be going through the tagset, but we also welcome your input! If you see an issue with tags already in the tagset, please comment on the tagset cleanup post, but if you think that a tag you nominated didn't make it into the tag set, please send that comment to clarification post 4!

More details about the fandoms that are parts of the clarification posts below the cut:

Nominations Clarification Post 3

Nominations Clarification Post 4

Tagset Cleanup

Nominations Clarification post 3:

Fandoms with Queries

+Anima (Manga)

Crossover Fandom

DCU (Comics)

Dimension 20 (Web Series)

Dredge (Video Game)

Dungeons and Dragons (Cartoon)

Elden Ring (Video Game)

Fairy Tail

Gary and His Demons (Cartoon)

Gundam 00

Imperial Radch Series - Ann Leckie

Magic Kaito

Nantucket Trilogy - S.M. Stirling

Original Work

Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)

QSMP | Quackity SMP

Red Dwarf (UK TV)

Ride Kamens (Video Game)

Shadow and Bone (TV)

Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types

Transformers Generation One

Westworld (TV)

Xenoblade Chronicles (Video Game)

Xenoblade Chronicles 3 (Video Game)

少年白马醉春风 | Dashing Youth (Live Action TV)

Fandoms with Rejections

A Date With Death (Visual Novel)

Crossover Fandom

Disco Elysium (Video Game)

Dungeons and Dragons (Cartoon)

Earth Girls are Easy (1988)

Exordia - Seth Dickinson

Gothic (1986)

Hazbin Hotel (Cartoon)

Persona 4

Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon

Warframe

방탄소년단 | Bangtan Boys | BTS

人渣反派自救系统 - 墨香铜臭 | The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System - Mòxiāng Tóngxiù

少年白马醉春风 | Dashing Youth (Live Action TV)

Additionally, we have some updates about In-Universe tags and the umbrella tags that reference them (example: "Medium Opt-In: Any - Any Nominated In-Universe Medium")!

Nominations Clarification post 4:

Fandoms with Queries

Barely Lethal (2015)

Batman Beyond

Benjamin January Mysteries - Barbara Hambly

Books of the Raksura - Martha Wells

Chicago Fire

Crossover Fandom

Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02

Doctor Strange (Movies)

Fallen London | Echo Bazaar

Fire & Blood - George R. R. Martin

Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling

In Nomine

Mapp & Lucia Series - E. F. Benson

Monster Prom (Video Games)

Murdoch Mysteries

Original Work

QSMP | Quackity SMP

Sanders Sides (Web Series)

Schmigadoon! (TV)

Stellar Firma (Podcast)

Stellaris (Video Game)

The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes - Suzanne Collins

Thor (Movies)

What If...? (Cartoon 2021)

僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia (Manga)

英雄伝説 閃の軌跡 | Sen no Kiseki | The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel Series (Video Games)

龍が如く | Ryuu ga Gotoku | Yakuza (Video Games)

Fandoms with Rejections

A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin

Biggles Series - W. E. Johns

Chicago Fire

Chicago Med

Children of Time Series - Adrian Tchaikovsky

Compilation of Final Fantasy VII

Crossover Fandom

Digimon Adventure Zero Two | Digimon Adventure 02

Fallen London | Echo Bazaar

Friends at the Table (Podcast)

John Wick (Movies)

Ladyhawke (1985)

Original Work

Stranger Things (TV 2016)

The Expanse Series - James S. A. Corey

The Fall of the House of Usher (TV 2023)

The Long Earth Series - Terry Pratchett & Stephen Baxter

The Saint of Steel - T. Kingfisher

Voltron: Legendary Defender

Welcome to Night Vale

[chimine-reads]

Göttlich Verdammt von Josephine Angelini (gelesen vom 29.12.23-07.01.2024)

Dieses Buch ist der 1. Teil der Göttlich Trilogie!

Zitat:

"Wieder einmal fragte sie sich, ob sie wirklich tagelang gelaufen war, so, wie sie es geträumt hatte, oder ob sie vielleicht doch langsam verrückt wurde. Noels Worte, dass auch die Liebe einen verrückt machen konnte, gingen ihr nicht mehr aus dem Kopf. Aber so, wie die Dinge zurzeit lagen, wäre es vielleicht sogar ein Trost, den Verstand zu verlieren."

Genre:

Fantasy

Seitenzahl:

494

Inhalt (spoilers):

Die 16-jährige Helen lebt mit ihrem Vater auf Nantucket, ihre Mutter verließ die Familie, als Helen noch ein Baby war. Helen hat eine beste Freundin, die Claire Aoki heißt.

Der 1. Teil der Trilogie beginnt damit, dass die reiche Delos Familie in ein Strandhaus zieht, ein paar Kinder von ihnen werden in Helen's Klasse gehen. Helen als Person ist größer, stärker und schneller als die Durchschnittsfrau.

Eines Nachts hat sie einen Albtraum über 3 gruselige Frauen. Als sie aus dem Traum erwacht, hat sie wie in ihrem Traum Schnittwunden an den Beinen.

Am nächsten Tag in der Schule greift Helen Lucas Delos an, weil sie muss, er aber kann sie einfach überwältigen und sie wird von Claire und Matt (Freunde von ihr) ins Krankenzimmer gebracht, wo sie von Lucas' Vater besucht wird, auch er ist ihr gegenüber feindlich eingestellt. In dem Raum ist eine blutige Schwester (Furie), die flüstert und ihren Kopf gegen die Wand knallt.

Helen arbeitet bei Kate im Laden. Dort wird Helen überfallen. Lucas rettet sie, dieser verschwindet aber kurz danach. Helen fährt Kate in die Notaufnahme, weil auch sie attackiert wurde. Dann fährt sie mit Kate's Wagen zum Delos Anwesen, dort hat sie wieder diesen Drang, Lucas zu attackieren, worauf sie wieder nach Hause flüchtet als sie den Kampf verloren hat.

An einem Tag geht Helen einkaufen, dort trifft sie auf Hector (Lucas' cousin) und Lucas, die sie heimschicken, da sie verfolgt wird. Die Mutter von Lucas (Noel) schickt Lebensmittel zu ihr nach Hause.

Auf dem Weg nach Hause wird sie von den Delos angegriffen, sie wollen sie zum Delos Anwesen bringen, Helen kann fliehen und rennt schnell zum Ozean und kann kurzzeitig fliegen. Allerdings hat sie diese Fähigkeit nicht unter Kontrolle und stürzt hinab. Lucas rettet ihr das Leben und bremst den Aufprall ab. Die Delos Familie findet Lucas und Helen schwer verletzt. Helen erfährt, dass auch sie ein Halbgott ist. Bei den Delos wird sie und Lucas geheilt. Nachts humpelt Helen zum verletzten Lucas und schläft mit in seinem Bett.

Am nächsten Morgen erfährt Helen, dass Halbgötter und Götter existieren und die 4 Häuser sich durch die Furien gegenseitig töten müssen.

Lucas fährt Helen nach dem Frühstück nachhause und lernt kurz ihren Vater kennen. In der Schule wird Helen gemieden und über sie wird gelästert.

Hector bringt ihr Kämpfen bei, damit sie sich in ernsten Situationen gegen Angreifer wehren kann.

Hector und dessen Familie wacht nachts über Helens Haus.

Helen versucht sich selbst fliegen beizubringen, scheitert aber. Sie bemerkt, dass sie beobachtet wird, also folgt sie ihrem Beobachter, der sich als Kreon entpuppt. Ein Cousin der Delos Familie. Kreon kann das Licht und die Dunkelheit manipulieren.

Danach kann sie sich bei den Delos waschen und übt dann mit Lucas das Fliegen. Am Abend lädt Noel Jerry zum Abendessen ein. Sie verstehen sich gut.

An einem Tag finden Helen und die Delos Familie heraus, dass Helen nicht mit Waffen verletzt werden kann und sie Blitze erzeugen kann, wenn sie Angst hat. Dann folgt ein sehr unnötiger Streit zwischen Helen und Lucas, weil Helen einfach eine Drama queen ist. Hector hingegen möchte Helen Respekt beibringen und ertränkt Helen fast im Ozean. Helen fliegt danach zu Claire und klärt sie über alles auf. Am Abend fliegt sie alleine zu ihrem Haus zurück, wo Kreon auf sie wartet, um sie umzubringen. Er bricht fast ihr Genick und sticht sie fast ab, sie kann ihn aber mit einem Blitz neutralisieren, sodass Lucas ihn fortjagen kann. Helen geht dann duschen und kuschelt sich bei Lucas ein.

Am nächsten Morgen haben Lucas und Helen eine erneute Flugstunde und sie erfahren, dass Kreon die Insel verlassen hat. Danach hat sie wieder Kampfstunde bei Hector und abschließend gibt es Abendessen. Lucas wacht nachts über sie und schläft draußen auf der Matratze.

Langsam lernt Helen mit ihren Blitzen umzugehen und sie finden heraus, dass ihre Halskette Helen unverwundbar und unwiderstehlich macht und von Aphrodite stammt - ein anderes Haus.

Noel (Lucas’ Mutter) bittet Helen, dass Lucas und Helen sich nicht mehr sehen sollen, denn wenn sie miteinander schlafen, vereinigen sich die Häuser und es gibt Krieg.

Cassandra währenddessen gehört den Parzen und wird immer Kind bleiben. Außerdem hat sie Visionen von der Zukunft.

Helen geht Lucas 9 ½ Tage aus dem Weg und Ariadne übernachtet bei ihr. Sie bindet ihr Glöckchen um die Füße, damit sie aufwacht, wenn Helen das Zimmer verlässt, da sie immer seltsame Träume hat und sie erschöpft und dreckig aufwacht.

Helen fliegt zum Leuchtturm, Lucas ist dort und sie küssen sich und überlegen, wie sie trotzdem zusammen sein können. Lucas bringt Helen nachhause und als er bei sich ankommt warten Jerry, Claire und Kate auf Helen und ihm, um Helens Geburtstag zu feiern. Helen wird bei sich zuhause mithilfe einer Spritze entführt.

Lucas sucht Helen die ganze Nacht während es draußen stürmt und er hört auf Cassandras Visionen, die Helen in einem Hotelzimmer zeigen.

Helen wacht in einem Hotelzimmer auf und der Entführer ist ihre leibliche Mutter Daphne Atreus, die mit Helen die Insel verlassen möchte. Lucas kann Helens Verwandlung durchblicken und sieht die wahre Helen. Als sie aus dem Hotel gehen, werden sie von Kreon angegriffen. Während des Kampfes werden Kreon und Lucas von Matt und Claire mit dem Auto angefahren und alle ergreifen die Flucht mit der verletzten Claire und Matt in Hector's Wagen. Sie kommen bei dem Delos Anwesen an und Jason heilt Claire. Lucas und Helen erfahren, dass sie Cousins sind (vermeintlich, was später nur der Leser erfährt)

Pandora, die Tante von Lucas, entführt Daphne und da erfährt man, dass Helen doch nicht von Ajax (Onkel von Lucas) abstammt. Daphne verwandelt sich zu Pandora und Kreon, der auch am Strand ist, schneidet der echten Pandora die Kehle durch, weil Daphne wie Pandora ausgesehen hat und ihn manipuliert hat, sie hat aber nicht damit gerechnet, dass er ihr gleich die Kehle durchschneidet.

Kreon rennt zum Athenäum und Hector kämpft dort gegen ihn. Helen kommt dazu und vertreibt die Dunkelheit mit ihren Blitzen. Hector bricht Kreon das Genick und Lucas, besessen von den Furien, muss Hector töten. Helen macht Lucas und Hector mit ihren Blitzen kampfunfähig und rettet Hector mit den Blitzen vor seiner Familie.

Am nächsten Morgen taucht Daphne bei den Delos auf und bittet um ein Gespräch. Dort erklärt sie, dass Helen der Deszendent ist, der den Teufelskreis der Rachsucht beenden wird und deshalb jede Nacht in der Unterwelt ist (komische Träume). Daphne schlägt vor, dass Helen von der Delos Familie aufgenommen wird und Hector von Daphne, da Hector jetzt ein Ausgestoßener ist.

Helen wird von Lucas nachhause gebracht. Daphne hebt den Fluch auf und Jerry kann sich wieder verlieben (in Kate). Helen entschuldigt sich bei ihrem Vater, kann ihn aber noch nicht einweihen.

Am Ende des Buches geht Helen schlafen, während Lucas den Sonnenaufgang beobachtet.

Meinung+Bewertung:

7,5/10

Da ich das Buch früher schon gelesen habe, hat dieses Buch einen speziellen Platz in meinem Herzen. Auch wenn ich mich nur an eine Szene erinnern konnte. Das Buch ist mehr für junge teenager geschrieben worden und das merkt man auch. Allerdings habe ich das Buch mit meinen 22 Jahren trotzdem genießen können, es war einfach zu lesen und sehr verständlich.

Trotzdem hat mich Helen als Protagonistin sehr oft aufgeregt, deswegen 2,5 Punkte Abzug. Lucas ist so ein sweetheart und sie checkt einfach nichts haha.

Aber die letzten 100 Seiten waren sooo spannend, loved it!! Ich freue mich sehr auf die anderen 2 Bände.

Ein frohes Neues noch, danke fürs Lesen und bis zum nächsten Mal! <3

[is-solarpunk]

Solarpunk Writing Prompts #2

Here you can listen to original podcast

Here is the source of the podcast's transcript you can read below

Solarpunk Prompts - The Refugee Camp

Hello world. I'm Tomasino.

This is Solarpunk Prompts, a series for writers where we discuss Solarpunk as a literary, artistic, and activist movement.

Or, as RoAnna Sylva describes it: Solarpunk is a genre of ecologically-oriented speculative fiction characterized both by its aesthetic and its underlying socio-political vision.

In each episode we look at one story prompt using that genre lens, offering commentary on the prompt, some inspirations from the world today, and some considerations for writers.

Most importantly, we consider how that story might help us to better envision a sustainable civilization.

If this is your first time here, I'd recommend checking out our introduction episode first, where we talk about what Solarpunk is, why you should care, and why this series came into being.

This episode's prompt is titled: "The Refugee Camp".

There is a full-fledged town built from a refugee camp which was set up there two decades ago. The inhabitants speak their own creole, a mix of more than five languages, and have very shaky relationships with their neighboring communities or states, each of which considers it a lawless territory and might be plotting to take over.

I think the refugee camp is a fitting place to start our prompts. They are the standard setting in our world for communities just coming through tragedy. When there is war, famine, flooding, or any number of challenges to a people they often find shelters in foreign lands, sometimes thrown together with other groups fleeing their own hardships.

Refugee stories are also plentiful in science-fiction: Superman is a refugee from Krypton, The Doctor is a refugee from Gallifrey, or Arthur Dent, a refugee from Cottington in the West Country. These are all individual stories, though, and not the camp and community we are striving for. Instead we might look to Battlestar Gallactica, or Babylon 5, or the Nantucket trilogy for examples of entire communities of refugees. And, indeed, those are vibrant and capture a bit of the colorful characters and internal conflicts that arise in such places. But Solarpunk can depart from this view of refugee camps as places of despair.

In our prompt the camp has grown into a full-fledged town. That suggests a thriving regrowth emerging from this mixed culture and reflected in their creole dialect.

Is that a realistic vision to take, though? Is this just Solarpunk being naïve and blindly optimistic?

Let's take a look to real refugee camps in South Sudan and Uganda, where the r0g_agency, a Berlin-based nonprofit, has been working with communities to help them develop innovation hubs. Five of these communities have linked together to form #ASKnet, a program that offers training in open-source hardware and software, entrepreneurship, media production, gender equality, and financial literacy. They also run repair cafes, giving hands-on experience and learning, and reducing waste and preserving natural resources.

This is just one program that is built and run by small community organizations.

How about Communitere? It was founded by individuals who saw the amazing rebuilding efforts after natural disasters like the 2004 earthquake in the Indian Ocean which caused the deadliest tsunami in history. The world responded with one of the greatest relief efforts in record time, all at once. But then medicines spoiled before they could reach the sick. Food rotted before it could find the hungry. This failure of local logistics is what inspired the organization.

What do they do? Well, they don' “intervene”. Instead, they provide spaces where communities can implement their own plans and choose from a variety of tools and models that Communitere makes available. They provide training, processes, toolkits, and space. They empower the communities to build their own futures. And now they're up and running in Haiti, Nepal, Greece, and the Philippines.

These are both stories of information sharing and empowering local communities. They succeed by building together both local talent and infrastructure and focus on sustainability.

And they mean sustainability in many forms:

environmental sustainability - processes that work with the unique local environment

economic sustainability - processes that can continue without ongoing external funding

and cultural sustainability - respecting and empowering local cultures

When you start thinking of these refugee camps as places where people are building new things, new homes, new lives, new opportunities, then the writing opportunities open up for you as well. Gone are the two dimensional sketches of a dirty camp full of broken people. These people are alive and empowered!

In a different genre setting we might lean into the shantytown aesthetic, or the lawlessness of the area might become an easy setting for crime stories. I challenge you, with this prompt, to steer clear of those well trodden paths, and focus on the community as a vibrant, living thing.

Speaking of shantytowns, I'm reminded of Cory Doctorow's setting in the book, Makers, with it's unique community of hackers, and the unique way they used language… Which brings us to the next aspect of this writing prompt: Creole.

According to Collins English Dictionary: A Creole is a language that has developed from a mixture of different languages and has become the main language in a particular place.

These are fascinating growths of blending cultures and can powerfully illustrate the fundamental aspects of a community:

who they are

what they believe in

and how they respond to a changing world

Think of the unique flavor of the Belter language in the Expanse. Every odd word choice, or word borrowed from Chinese or Indic or Slavic, is a reminder of what these people are. In some cases this unique language use even extends to meaningful gestures.

The way these languages develop is so interesting in its own right that there is an indy card game where you collaboratively create one with friends. It's called Dialect, and it won IGDN's Game of the Year in 2019 along with a host of other awards. In that game you 2-4 of your friends will create what's called an Isolation, basically a community set apart from others for some interesting reason, and then play out their history across three different ages. The game then ends with the Isolation no longer being isolated, whether for good or for bad.

As the game descriptions says: "Dialect is a game about an isolated community, their language, and what it means for that language to be lost."

It's a fascinating way to spend 3-4 hours with friends, and incredibly insightful into this exact process.

Now, before we go let's take a look at that prompt one more time:

"The Refugee Camp"

There is a full-fledged town built from a refugee camp which was set up there two decades ago. The inhabitants speak their own creole, a mix of more than five languages, and have very shaky relationships with their neighboring communities or states, each of which considers it a lawless territory and might be plotting to take over.

Okay.

It's time to wrap up, but before we go, lets review our guidelines for Solarpunk writing one more time:

Community as Protagonist (No "Chosen One")

Infrastructure is Sexy (No simple solution)

Human/Environmental Context (Not Man vs Nature)

Thanks for staying with me today. I hope you'll join me for the next Solarpunk Prompt.

Links mentioned:

r0g_agency

Communitere

Dialect

Music from:

ExMemory - Solar Grid

[libraryogre]

This is much like SM Stirling's Nantucket trilogy, where the island of Nantucket and some of the surrounding ocean are transported back to the 1200s BCE.

Not saying that it shouldn't happen... "it has a similar premise to X" should never stop you.

isekai about a nyc apartment block getting teleported into a fantasy realm, and how this group of people who previously have only had incidental contact with one another come together to build a vibrant community in their new circumstances. there's a season-long arc about introducing bagels and pizza to the fantasy world that gets into the details of sourcing ingredients, developing new technologies, and learning how to work with supernatural substitutions.

[manitat]

MOJO’s Top 100 Epic Rock Tracks:

01 Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody

02 Led Zeppelin – Stairway To Heaven

03 The Rolling Stones – Sympathy For The Devil

04 Pink Floyd – Shine On You Crazy Diamond

05 The Doors – The End

06 Kate Bush – Wuthering Heights

07 The Beatles – A Day In The Life

08 Elvis Presley – An American Trilogy

09 Meat Loaf – Bat Out Of Hell

10 Richard Harris – MacArthur Park

11 The Beach Boys – Heroes And Villains

12 Don McClean – American Pie

13 Ike & Tina Turner – River Deep, Mountain High

14 Derek & The Dominos – Layla

15 Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath

16 David Bowie – Space Oddity

17 U2 – Bullet The Blue Sky

18 ELP – Fanfare For The Common Man

19 John Leyton – Johnny Remember Me

20 Kraftwerk – Autobahn

21 Procul Harum – A Whiter Shade Of Pale

22 Mike Oldfield – Tubular Bells

23 King Crimson – The Court Of The Crimson King

24 Radiohead – Paranoid Android

25 Bruce Springsteen – Jungleland

26 The Shangri-Las – Past, Present And Future

27 The Walker Bros. – The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore

28 Yes – The Gates Of Delirium

29 Jethro Tull – Thick As A Brick

30 Prince – Purple Rain

31 Wings – Live And Let Die

32 Lynyrd Skynyrd – Freebird

33 Manic Street Preachers – A Design For Life

34 The Velvet Underground – Sister Ray

35 Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Welcome To The P...

36 Can – Mother Sky

37 Oasis – Champagne Supernova

38 Thin Lizzy – Roisin Dubh (Black Rose) Rock Legend

39 The Darkness – Christmas Time

40 Joy Division – Decades

41 Rush – Xanadu

42 Genesis – Supper’s Ready

43 The Who – Baba O’Reilly

44 Eric Carmen – All By Myself

45 Klaatu – Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft

46 Deep Purple – Child In Time

47 Bauhaus – Bela Lugosi’s Dead

48 Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballe – Barcelona

49 Alice Cooper – Halo Of Files

50 Blue Oyster Cult – Don’t Fear The Reaper

51 Guns & Roses – November Rain

52 The Verve – Bitter Sweet Symphony

53 Lou Reed – Street Hassle

54 Ultravox – Vienna

55 The Nice – The Cry Of Eugene

56 Pulp – Common People

57 The Electric Prunes – Holy Are You

58 Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds – The Carny

59 Primal Scream – Higher Than The Sun

60 Scott Walker – Such A Small Love

61 Mountain – Nantucket Sleighride

62 Fairport Convention – Tam Lin

63 The Eagles – Journey Of The Sorcerer

64 Gordon Lightfoot – The Wreck Of Edmund Fitzgerald

65 Rainbow – Stargazer

66 Leonard Cohen – Memories

67 The LA’s – The Looking Glass

68 Supertramp – Fool’s Overture

69 The Monkees – Randy Scouse Git

70 Sonic Youth – Tunic (Song For Karen)

71 The Stone Roses – Breaking Into Heaven

72 Roy Harper – The Lord’s Prayer

74 McAlmont & Butler – Yes

75 The Grateful Dead – Dark Star

76 Klaus Schulze – Friedrich Nietzsche

77 David McWilliams – The Days Of Pearly Spencer

78 Julian Cope – Safesurfer

79 Buffalo Springfield – Broken Arrow

80 Iron Butterfly – In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida

81 Alex Harvey – Isobel Goudie

82 Flowered Up – Weekender

83 David Gates – Suite: Clouds, Rain

84 Fleetwood Mac – The Chain

85 The Bevis Frond – Tangerine Infringement Break

86 Spiritualized – Don’t Just Do Something

87 ELO – Eldorado Overture

88 Spock’s Beard – The Healing Colors Of Sound

89 Iron Maiden – Rime Of The Ancient Mariner

90 Patti Smith – Land

91 Kiss – Odyssey

92 Aphrodite’s Child – The Four Horsemen

93 Metallica – One

94 Dexy’s Midnight Runners – This Is What She’s Like

95 John Miles – Music

96 British Sea Power – Lately

97 Bob Dylan – Hurricane

98 Billy Joel – Scenes From An Italian Restaurant

99 Diamond Head – Am I Evil

100 Damien Rice – Eskimo

[spiteful-in-a-million-ways]

Y'all while I was searching for some ANB content I found this REALLY good analysis of the musical, this guy makes some really good points that I either wasn't able to form into words and some things I didn't even realize!

You can read the whole thing here, but here are a few of my favourite points he made :)

(NOTE: This analysis is about the original play, not the 2015 version so some things might not line up if you haven't listened to or watched the original musical)

"It’s interesting to note that the score takes off, pretty much from the start, at a manic pace, and it doesn’t really stop to breathe until Roger shows up to sing “Sailing,” the first relaxed song in the show after a succession of frantic, neurotic, relentlessly driving, dissonant numbers. The music tells us that Gordon’s life is crazy (presumably even when he’s not being rushed to the hospital) and only Roger can bring a calmness to that craziness. We see that influence throughout the entire show – Roger’s patience, his humor, his deep understanding love , and his calm."

"The joke of Roger naming his boat Cutty Hunk is obviously a gay man’s parody of the famous clipper ship Cutty Sark (and its namesake whiskey), and it carries with it all the hyper-masculine, gay-appropriated imagery of an all-male crew of sailors on long sea voyages. The famous Cutty Sark was so named because of the ship’s figurehead, a woman wearing a short chemise or nightshirt (called a cutty sark in Scottish). Also, Cuttyhunk is an island off of Massachusetts, where Roger likes to sail (notice the other place names in the song – Nantucket, Cape Cod, Newport). But the joke goes even further. Other definitions of cutty include irritable, short-tempered, and impatient (its literal meaning in Scottish is short), which makes it that much funnier that Gordon, Roger’s irritable (hunky?) lover, is aboard the Cutty Hunk and is complaining endlessly. "

"it’s both funny and disturbing how condescending the doctor and the nurse Nancy are to Gordon, how much they treat him like a child (or is that just his perception because he knows he’s acting like a child?). In one of the funnier fantasy moments, Nancy begins explaining his arterial venous malformation and segues into a weird children’s song about veins in brains bursting. Has Gordon melded together all the authority figures in his life into some collective Super Bungee, all singing to him in condescending children’s songs?"

"We have to ask, since Gordon lost his own father, is Bungee a (creepy, twisted) replacement? Gordon keeps looking for Bungee’s approval, but also constantly fighting with him, challenging him, rebelling against him, just like a real, adolescent son. Is this one more clue that Gordon has a lot of growing up to do (like Finn’s other famous character, Marvin, in the Falsettos trilogy)? It’s funny (and typical) that Gordon says he hates Bungee but is then distressed to hear from Rhoda that Bungee hates him too. And what does it mean when Bungee threatens to replace Gordon with his own son?"

"It’s interesting to notice how Gordon sees – or, more accurately, how he hears – each of the people in his life. In Gordon’s head, in his ears, the doctor, and Nancy the nurse get that driving, relentless, dissonant, staccato sound (as in “911 Emergency”) ... Gordon’s mother and Rhoda both get frantic, disjointed, dissonant music (“Throw It Out,” for example). Mr. Bungee gets music with playful but bizarre rhythms, unusual intervals in the melody line, and an almost circus-like sound, a kind of music that is somewhat child-like but also “wrong” in subtle ways. In contrast, Richard, the other nurse, and Lisa the homeless woman, get a warmer, funkier, jazz sound and Roger gets the mellowest sound of all, a full, rich, romantic sound that no one else in the show shares – until the end of the show, when Gordon finds his real musical voice."

[klaineccfanficlibrary]

I'm looking for fics where they, or one of them, live on an island or in a small village near the sea or in the lighthouse etc. but not on a deserted island, and without pirates, fantasy, knowing each other since they were kids, and tropics. I'm thinking about a colder climate - UK, Canada, north US, Scandinavia, preferably slow built, mystery, but really anything. I already bookmarked Rose Island Romance, Between the Moon and New York City.

The ones you have bookmarked are really good (I’m listing them below for our other followers). The first fic rec is an excellent mystery series set in Seattle (which is located near a bay). The other rec are fics where they are at the coast, mainly on holiday. It seems that everyone likes to write them in warmer climates when they are at the coast. - HKVoyage

The Boy With The Unicorn Tattoo by inkystars

Murder mystery novelist Blaine Anderson finds himself becoming increasingly obsessed with introverted high school drop-out Kurt, as a murderous psychopath stalks the rainy streets of Seattle.

Note: Part 1 of The Boy From Oz Trilogy

~~~~~

The Proposal by drunkonwriting

Based on The Proposal. Kurt is a super uptight music producer from Canada whose work visa has been revoked. Cue Blaine, all-American poster boy from Alaska, who has been Kurt's assistant (or indentured servant, depending on who you ask) for three years and counting. They pretend to get married so that Kurt doesn't have to leave the country, and end up falling in love instead.

~~~~~

The Beach House by Cleverboots

Kurt is rushing home in a thunderstorm and finds a small boy cowering in fear from the storm. Blaine goes to pick up his son from daycare only to find they have left him behind when the storm hit. Can one little boy reunite two estranged lovers who have lost their way in the world? A trip to an isolated beach house on the coast of Maine might be the answer they're looking for.

~~~~~

Domus Civita by @jayhawk-writes

While on vacation to a city he's never been to, Kurt Hummel finds himself in a place that he recognized from his dreams. The person he always sees in those dreams is there, too, and they spot him and ask, “Is it really you?”

~~~~~

High Tide by twitchysquirrel [PDF] [EPUB]

Ryan Murphy is quoted in Entertainment Weekly as saying that Blaine was never meant to be Kurt’s love interest. Drawing on that possibility, in this story, Blaine and Kurt meet at Dalton during Kurt’s junior year of high school but never become boyfriends. Now in the summer before his last semester of college, Kurt sees Blaine while vacationing on Nantucket. Can he get up the nerve to approach the man he’s been fantasizing about all these years?

~~~~~

Three Weeks of Summer by AntarcticBird

Kurt just wants to get some work done, Rachel just wants him to relax, and Blaine shows up and makes everything even more complicated than it is already.

Note: You must be logged into an AO3 account to access this fic.

~~~~~

Between the Moon and New York City by jackabelle73

Kurt arrives in a small coastal town in North Carolina to join his dad and Carole for a few days of their vacation, but under duress. He can't imagine that this sleepy southern town has anything to offer him...till a very attractive local goes jogging by on the beach.

~~~~~

Rose Island Romance (or, "Cute Boys Don't Grow On Trees But They Do Like to Sail") by @flowerfan2

AU. Exhausted from city life, and frustrated at his inability to get a good part in summer stock, NYADA student Kurt Hummel decides to spend the summer on a small New England island helping his uncle at Hummel Marine. When a cute boy in a tight polo shirt brings in his outboard engine for repairs, Kurt begins to think that summer on the sleepy island might hold some excitement after all.

[sophiescarlet]

Most of these have happened in the books!

Rave - none afaik, but see ND #157: The Music Festival Mystery

Camp counselor - ND #172: The Riding Club Crime, Diaries #12: The Sign in the Smoke; see also ND #3: The Bungalow Mystery, ND #151: The Chocolate-Covered Contest

Zoo - Files #44: Scent of Danger, ND #141: The Wild Cat Crime; see also SM #36: Process of Elimination, GD #18: Pit of Vipers

Space - none in space, but see ND #58: The Flying Saucer Mystery, ND #156: The Secret in the Stars

Circus - ND #31: The Ringmaster's Secret, Files #82: Dangerous Relations; see also ND #13: The Mystery of the Ivory Charm

Historical reenactment - ND #146: The Ghost of the Lantern Lady, GD #10: Uncivil Acts, SM #32: Exhibition of Evil

Medieval dinner theatre - none, but see the ren faire in ND #112: Crime in the Queen's Court

Cruise - ND #173: Danger on the Great Lakes, SM #1: Double Crossing; see also SM #35: Operation Titanic

Beauty pageant - Files #51: A Model Crime, GD #30-32: Perfect Mystery Trilogy; see also ND #63: The Twin Dilemma, ND #125: The Teen Model Mystery, GD #36-38: Model Mystery Trilogy

Office job - I'm sure there are at least a few of these, but I can't recall any, and the only one I'm finding on the wiki r/n is ND #30: The Clue of the Velvet Mask (original text only, partial)

From the notes:

Vampire lounge/castle - no books, but see the 70s TV episode The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew Meet Dracula, and ND #66: Race Against Time

Masquerade ball - ND #30: The Clue of the Velvet Mask (partial), ND #78: The Phantom of Venice (partial); see also GD #28: Mardi Gras Masquerade

Cat café - none, but for cats in other places, see ND #16: The Clue of the Tapping Heels, ND #158: The Curse of the Black Cat

Aquarium - Files #68: Crosscurrents

Alternate time period - assuming this means in the style of the Secret of the Old Clock game, all the original text NDs

Rainy city at night - these may not have rain, but they definitely have cities at night, and they're coming to my mind - ND #83: The Case of the Vanishing Veil, ND #144: The E-Mail Mystery, Files #124: Crime at the Ch@t Café, SM #2: A Crime for Christmas, SM #5: The Paris Connection, SM #34: Royal Revenge

Art museum - no art museums per se, but for other museums see ND #105: The Clue in the Antique Trunk, ND #108: The Secret of the Tibetan Treasure, ND #113: The Secret Lost at Sea, ND #124: The Secret of the Scarlet Hand, ND #170: No Strings Attached, SM #19: Passport to Danger, Diaries #7: The Phantom of Nantucket

I wanna play a Nancy Drew game that takes place at a rave

[thebenevolentbibliophile]

starcrossed by josephine angelini 28.03.22

For this book review, I wanted to discuss my favorite comfort read, Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini. I first discovered this trilogy in highschool, as I am a big fan of anything Greek mythology. The books are a retelling of Helen of Troy and her lover, Paris. 

The main character of the books is Helen Hamilton, a seemingly ordinary girl from Nantucket, Massachusetts. As Helen is about to start her junior year of highschool, her world is turned upside down by the Delos family who have recently moved onto the island. The Delos family, unbeknownst to Helen, are a family of demi-gods who come from the rival house of Poseidon. They expose Helen’s true heritage to her as a descendant of Aphrodite and help teach her how to control her powers. While Helen is trying to figure out her new life as a Scion, she also has to figure out her feelings for Lucas. Helen must decide whether or not it is worth it to enact another Trojan War in order for her to be with her one true love.

This is a short read that is perfect for romance and Greek mythology lovers. The trilogy is perfect for weekend beach reads or lazy day plans. 

-⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[elrhiarhodan]

Chapters: 2/2 Fandom: Star Wars Original Trilogy, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV) Rating: Mature Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Din Djarin/Luke Skywalker, Qui-Gon Jinn/Obi-Wan Kenobi, Leia Organa/Han Solo, Luke Skywalker/Han Solo, Leia Organa & Luke Skywalker Characters: Qui-Gon Jinn, Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, Din Djarin, Han Solo, Leia Organa Additional Tags: Timestamp, Backstory, Modern AU, Luke is an Air Force Academy Cadet, Han's a Lawyer, Meet-Cute, Summer Romance, Leia Uses Both Her Words and Her Fists, Mention of Ben Solo, Mention of Grogu Djarin, Mention of Dog Artoo, Qui-Gon wants to know what's going on, Spoilers for WIP in this series (but nothing that's not obvious), See notes for better explanation, Kissing, Fluff, Drinking, discussion of sexuality, Discussion of anal sex in an educational way, Strong sibling bond between the Skywalker twins, Good foster dad Ben Kenobi, Mention of Bail and Breha Organa, Story Mostly Set in 2005, Too many double entendres, background Din/Luke, Background Qui/Obi, skysolo, Han/Leia is endgame, Bisexual Han Solo Series: Part 3 of Finding a Star Summary:

Qui-Gon can see that his husband's foster son, Luke, has a very interesting relationship with his own brother-in-law, Han, and he's frankly curious about what's going on.

Luke has no issues about telling him.

A timestamp for The Stars Across the Sky Like the Scars Across Your Skin, delving into the Skywalker/Organa/Solo family legend (or more accurately, family bullshit) and what really took place that one summer on Nantucket Island.

 Notes:    

I'd like to say this story is strong enough to stand alone and you don't have be reading either The Stars Across the Sky Like the Scars Across Your Skin, or This Is the Time of the Lost and Found, but I'm thinking it would probably help, at least in understanding why certain characters appear in the prologue.  If you aren't reading those two stories, but you're here for the Skysolo and the Han/Leia, then you can skip the prologue without losing any of the actual plot of the story.

[paulinedorchester]

Recommended reading: The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (1962), Black Hearts in Battersea (1964), and Nightbirds on Nantucket (1966), by Joan Aiken

I was ten years old when I read this trilogy; I don’t recall going back to the books as a child, but my mother kept my copies. Two of them are first U.S. printings and the third is clearly an early printing; I was going to put them up for sale and reread them recently as preparation for doing so. I had forgotten how good they are, and now I’m not sure that I want to sell them after all.

These books can best be described as alternative historical fiction. They take place in an England (the first two, that is) in which King James II was never deposed, and where his now elderly son now reigns as James III. At least, I think it’s his son: it’s a bit difficult to tell when the books take place. The illustrations — by Pat Marriott in the first book and Robin Jacques in the others — show most characters in 18th-century dress, but people travel by train from London to Yorkshire and cook over a gas jet. Meanwhile, pro-Hanoverian plotters scheme to place the German Prince George on the throne, periodically causing serious trouble. (The religious tensions that led to James II’s deposition in the first place go entirely unmentioned, which my adult self finds just a tad irritating. On the other hand, in Nightbirds on Nantucket there are some suggestions that it’s downright sinister to want to see England ruled by a German, which is interesting in a post-World War II context.)

In addition, the England of these books has been overrun by wolves, “savage and reckless from hunger.” (I know, I know: wolves are aggressive only when threatened. Farley Mowat and all that. For pity’s sake, people, these are novels. According to Aiken’s Wikipedia page, the wolves “have invaded the country from Europe via the newly built Channel Tunnel,” but I found no mention of this in the books themselves.) It’s also an England in which it snows heavily all winter long, even in London: the Thames freezes every year.

The Wolves of Willoughby Chase follows the adventures of two cousins — Bonnie Green, daughter of the wealthy, beneficent landowner Sir Willoughby Green, and the orphaned Sylvia Green, who has been sent from London because the secretly impoverished aunt who has brought her up no longer feels up to the task — and their slightly older friend Simon, and orphan who escaped from a poor farm and now lives in a cave on Sir Willoughby’s property, where he raises geese. Bonnie’s mother is ill and needs a sea cure in a warm climate, and Bonnie and Sylvia are left in the care of an evil governess (and distant relation). They soon find themselves imprisoned at a charity school; then they take it on the lam and with Simon’s help travel to London, where they plan to seek out Sir Willoughby’s solicitor and report the situation to him. Things don’t go entirely smoothly, of course.

During the course of Wolves, Simon discovers that he has a talent for drawing and painting. In Black Hearts in Battersea he has accepted an invitation from his mentor, Dr. Gabriel Field, to join him in London where he can study at the Art Academy. When Simon arrives at the address that Dr. Field has given him, however, not only is Dr. Field not there, but Mr. and Mrs. Twite, who own the rooming house, have never heard of him. While trying to unravel this mystery Simon befriends the Twites’ daughter Dido, is reunited with Sophie, a friend from the poor farm who is now serving as companion to the Duchess of Battersea, and discovers both that he isn’t even remotely who he thought he was and that the Twites are up to absolutely no damn good. Will he and Sophie be able to stop them?

Nightbirds on Nantucket moves the action to the United States (which is an independent country whose people have little use for “foreign English” on their shores). Dido Twite has been rescued from a shipwreck by the Sarah Casket, a whaler operating out of New Bedford, Massachusetts. Dido wants nothing more than to go back to London, but promises the ship’s captain, a recent widower, that she will try to help his daughter, who’s on board and has become severely withdrawn since her mother’s death. Her father has arranged for her (and Dido) to stay with his sister on Nantucket once the Sarah Casket returns to America; but when the woman turns out to be a child-hating harridan who receives mysterious visitors at night, the girls (the niece hasn’t seen her aunt since early childhood) begin to suspect that she’s an impostor.

Joan Aiken (1924-2004) was a daughter of the American writer Conrad Aiken, but she lived her whole life in Rye and Petworth, Sussex, and her view of American culture, or at least New England culture, is a bit salty: there are characters whose given names are Dutiful Penitence and Tribulation and the ship’s captain is a Quaker who addresses everyone as “thee.” (There’s no reason for this in the story, other than to label him as an eccentric.) Wolves and Nightbirds partake of a strong girl/weak girl trope about which I have previously expressed my annoyance. Readers may also be put off by the fact that the gentry in these books are all virtuous (if slightly dotty, in Bleak Hearts); all of the villains have to earn their own livings in one way or another.

Even so, these are fine adventure tales, the products of a first-rate imagination. Aiken never talks down to her readers in these novels, which must have expanded the vocabulary of many a child. I referred to them above as a trilogy, but in fact Aiken wrote several more books about Dido, along with many, many others.

(And no, your eyes aren’t deceiving you — the Wolves dust jacket is by Edward Gorey!)  

[terramythos]

TerraMythos’ 2020 Reading Challenge In Review - 9/10s!

See Master Post

Here's the 9/10 books of this year -- books I really liked but not to the point of perfection. 

1. This Is How You Lose The Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone (Full Review Here)

This is a beautifully-written novella about two women from enemy time travel societies. They start as rivals who pass taunting letters to one another and gradually fall in love with each other through their writing. There’s some really beautiful and interesting locations, and I love the longing and emotion in the letter sequences. I think using a science fiction setting for a love story is super cool; especially with time travel, there’s a sense of predestination not found in other genres. I also like the idea of each author writing one of the two leads, so the style is slightly different between them. 

2. The City We Became (Great Cities #1) by N. K. Jemisin (Full Review Here)

Jemisin is a fantastic author and created my favorite series ever (The Broken Earth), so I was stoked to read book one of a new series by her. The concept here is that cities become sentient beings over time given enough people and cultural influence. New York City is about to be born into a human avatar, but something goes wrong. An eldritch foe known simply as The Enemy seeks to sabotage the nascent city and almost succeeds. Proto-avatars of the city’s boroughs have to find their inner power and band together to rescue him and save the city. 

I really dig the ensemble cast, especially Manny (Manhattan), Bronca (The Bronx), and New York City himself. The book is also a great middle finger to Lovecraft, as the cosmic horror element is steeped in structural racism and oppression, with the Eldritch Aesthetic being a creepy pale white. Super excited for the next book. 

3. Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries #2) by Martha Wells (Full Review Here) 

I’ve already said plenty about the Murderbot books on my 10/10 list. I really like this one in particular because it introduces ART, one of the best supporting characters in the series. It’s super interesting to see how Murderbot interacts with a non-human person (or... spaceship. But ART is also a person for sure) similar to itself and I really like the banter and friendship between the two. Like the rest of the novellas, it’s short, but it packs in a lot of story and heart. 

4. Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries #3) by Martha Wells (Full Review Here) 

My other 9/10 selection for this series! There is a heavy focus on Murderbot’s past and how far it’s come ever since it freed itself from the company’s mental slavery. This probably has the strongest character development in the series outside of Network Effect, with a genuinely sad and sobering ending. 

5. Finch (Ambergris #3) by Jeff VanderMeer (Full Review Here) 

I think this book is where I really “got” the Ambergris series; it’s a pseudo-trilogy with a lot of postmodern elements, but this one is the most straightforward. Finch is a fascinating mix of noir, dystopia, and cosmic horror. I even called this “nontraditional cyberpunk”; there’s elements of a surveillance state, underground resistance/revolution, artificial implants/bodily enhancements-- but all related to fungi and eldritch horror. 

Anyway, this book stars Finch, a detective working in the city of Ambergris, who is tasked with solving an impossible double-murder case. In his investigations, he soon stumbles upon a web of conspiracy related to the downfall and takeover of the city by the gray caps, the humanoid mushrooms who enslave and oppress the human population. It’s just as weird as it sounds, but if you made it to book three, you'll be plenty familiar with how bizarre the series is. Technically, this book is a standalone, but I recommend reading the other two first as they are integral to understanding the plot. 

6. The Last Sun (The Tarot Sequence #1) by K. D. Edwards (Full Review Here)

This is a really impressive debut novel with an interesting world concept and great characters. The idea is that Atlantis was a real thing and got destroyed. The surviving inhabitants decided to build a new city by magically stealing a bunch of buildings throughout the world and transporting them to Nantucket. The result is a cool patchwork urban fantasy setting. There’s a huge tarot motif, hence the series name. It’s also gay! 

I fell in love with the excellent character banter, especially between Rune and his soul-bonded bodyguard Brand. While I had some criticisms on the plot structure and a reliance on same-y action scenes, everything else was so good I gave Edwards the benefit of the doubt. And it really paid off in the sequel, which improves on basically everything. 

7. The Princess Bride by William Goldman (Full Review Here) 

I mean, the movie’s a beloved classic. If you haven’t seen it... go do so? It’s a great adventure story with lots of memorable characters, lines, and moments. Honestly I’m more surprised I hadn’t read the book before, and I’m glad I did. It often felt like an extended cut of the movie, with a few key differences in the frame story and some locations. While I think I like the film just a little more, I appreciate the novel for giving me a broader perspective on the story and characters. 

8. A Choir of Lies (A Conspiracy of Truths #2) by Alexandra Rowland (Full Review Here) 

A Choir of Lies is a standalone sequel to the book A Conspiracy of Truths and can be read on its own if desired. It stars Ylfing, a fan-favorite character in the previous book. He’s processing grief and depression in the wake of his mentor (the last book’s protag) suddenly abandoning him. A (sort of--it’s complicated) professional storyteller called a Chant, Ylfing tries to make it in the Netherlands-inspired fantasy city Heyrland, and writes a diary about his experiences. However, another Chant has found his manuscript and writes scathing commentary on his decisions in the footnotes. 

I had a difficult time getting into this one, as Ylfing is both relatable and infuriating, and a depressed protagonist can be hard to get behind. However, it's well worth sticking through, as the sheer catharsis of Ylfing realizing his horrible mistakes and doing everything he can to fix them is... well, pretty inspiring. Multiple characters own up to their failures, often at great personal cost, for the wellbeing of others. I think it’s a great message, especially reading it in 2020 when the future feels hopeless. A Choir of Lies also has two of the things I liked most about A Conspiracy of Truths-- lots of meta commentary on storytelling, and surprisingly interesting economics. 

9. The Harbors of the Sun (The Books of the Raksura #5) by Martha Wells (Full Review Here)

I thought this was a nice finale to the series. It has some satisfying thematic bookends regarding the Fell and Moon’s character development. It’s also probably the most “epic” fantasy of the series, with super high stakes and a broad cast of perspective characters. I have to wonder if there are plans for further books or a different series in this universe, since the setting has a lot of depth and potential. Either way, I really enjoyed it! 

10. A Killing Frost (October Daye #14) by Seanan McGuire (Full Review Here)

Another year, another October Daye book! Obviously I like this series if I’m fourteen books in and still reading it. A Killing Frost has some slow-ish pacing, but ramps up a lot in the second half of the story. It’s the conclusion to my favorite storyline in the series -- the redemption arc of Simon Torquill. He’s a really interesting morally gray character, and I think serves as the poster child on how the series plays with the idea of heroes and villains. Also, this book casually drops probably one of the craziest twists in the series at the end, and I am super interested to see the fallout of that. 

11. The Edge of Worlds (The Books of the Raksura #4) by Martha Wells (Full Review Here)

This is basically part one of Harbors of the Sun and involves the main cast going on a long journey to an ancient ruin. The first half of the book is pretty slow and probably could have been pared down -- lots of travel sequences. However the second half is super tense and action packed. I found the ancient ruin itself really interesting and creepy, and the book sets up a lot of things that pay off in The Harbors of the Sun. 

[sublimegentlemanalpaca]

A thought.

Have had a realization of the number of stuff I've read in part due to them being referenced or alluded to in the Chronicles of the Imaginarium Geographica (which I think is now collected In some omnibuses under different names? Age of Dragons or something? I just know that the illustrations are gone for some reason).

Firsr and foremost there's discovering the existence of Charles Williams. Strangely, I've read all of Charles William' seven novels (with only two I really didn't care for. Rest ranged from alright to good. three being good that I'd say I really like). It's weird...I've read more of Charles Williams than I've read J.R.R. Tolkien(only read the Hobbit, and Children of Hurin of all things. have more to read on my shelf mind you, but I'm digressing and there's only so many character) which a friend found to be quite hilarious. Oddly, I've read more of Lewis than Williams...although...I'm getting off topic!

For Lewis...I've been told I read the CoN a lot and it might be the reason for my accent, but that's neither here nor there. Besides re reading CoN, to return to the topic, because of CotIG I read the first two books of The Space Trilogy. Mainly because of Alvin Ransom's appearance in CotIG I thought to read the books featuring Elwin Ransom.

Another book I read in part to CotIG being Twain's a Conneticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, again because it's protagonist Hank Morgan made a memorable appearance in CotIG. Basically all the Messengers. Though I still need to read The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket, and I suppose the Epic of Gilgamesh for Enkidu (assuming the Enkidu in CotIG was meant to be the same Enkidu...which confuses things a bit?)

Others include, Reading Ludd in the Mist partly due to liking Fairy related stuff, and partly due to Hope Mireless being name dropped as a Mystorian

Hell's Bells! I got two volumes of the work of William Hope Hodgeso because I was curious about his writing based on his appearance in CotI. will say I've enjoyed what I've read (got the Nautical and Ghost stuff. And a Carnacki story. Need to read more Carnacki)

Even more so! I got some books of E.R. Edison solely because he was mentioned as replacing Jack as a Caretaker in an alternate timeline and I wanted to read his stuff to see how he compared to John, Jack, and Charles. Four books of his. Haven't read any yet, but will and got them again due to CotIG.

And a number of others. Mind you, not all my reading history is inspired by CotIG. Was a fan of Poe, Wells, Mary Shelley, had a familiaritty with Verne that has grown recently and will probably grow more, and countless other authors both classic and contemporary and contemporarilly classic...but it is just interesting the things I've read that I probably wouldn't have read otherwise. I mean, I'd probably have read Twain' book. Or Poe's one novel being a huge Poe Fan. And others no doubt to the influence of their work (Hodgeson with Horror and stuff). But my chances of reading the Space Trilogy would have only been to see something that Id have thought to be written prior to Lewis' conversion only to see how terribly undeniably wrong that assumption was upon reading it. And no doubt, but for the CotIG I still would have no idea who the hell Charles Williams is.

Make of this what you will.

Al, the Chronographing Cottager and Prince of Naming