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aesa · 6 months ago

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writeblr intro

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hello, everyone! I'm njsa (she/her), a 22 year old university student from australia, currently studying a bachelor's degree in space science. I'm returning to writeblr with more inspiration and dedication to sharing my writing projects. A bit more about me can be found here. On this blog, I'll be posting anything to do with writing, including worldbuilding and inspo boards, as well as other writeblrs and writing projects! I won't be participating in tag games, so please don't tag me in them. Feel free to ask me questions, I'll try to respond as soon as I can. I would prefer it if only those who are 18+ follow my blog, as some of my works may contain mature themes. None of my posts will contain explicit content. All of my novels will be labelled as adult fiction.

about my writing

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All of my writing projects (at this point in time) are contained within a single fictional universe, VESSEL. Majority of my works are high fantasy, with a dash of science fiction, (space) western and southern (australian) gothic. My goal is to publish my novels as serials. Eventually, I'd like to turn these into physical books once completed, though I'll aim to always have the serials available on my website (to be released) for free ✧

my writing projects

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Vessel is the story that started it all - my magnum opus. This is a high fantasy series that expands across the galaxy. It is a progression fantasy with extensive worldbuilding, political intrigue, magic, other-world species and so much more. It is the origin and main focus of my writing; all of my other novels surround it. This epic follows Brynas, a girl born on Earth, and her path to becoming a legend known throughout the galaxy as she discovers her true calling. Inspirations and similar stories: game of thrones, cosmere, dune, star wars and heavy inspiration from retro-futuristic, space-surrealist aesthetics.

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Snake Oil is a prequel story to the Vessel series, and the first novel I intend on publishing. It is set on Earth in the late 19th century and is an Australian gothic, mystery novel. At the moment, it contains three POVs. An elite academy in the Irish countryside discovers, once closure procedures commence, that three of their students have been missing for over a decade. Reinforcements are called to investigate. ~ A constable stationed in the Australian high country is tasked with transcribing police reports. People grow restless over the lack of action taken by law enforcement on the mysterious disappearances of fellow townsfolk. When a group of locals decide to take matters into their own hands, he volunteers. ~ Deep within the Australian mountain ranges is a village unknown to the outside world. A girl with peculiar abilities begins to question her faith when strange visions plague her mind, and the comforting security she felt as a child begins to unravel as she enters adulthood. Inspirations and similar stories: picnic at hanging rock, ethel cain (music), immaculate (movie), sour switchblade - elita (song).

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Rogue Frontier is a story that runs alongside Vessel. It is a space western that is, at the moment, only an idea with a few scenes, though the main cast is well established. Genuinely only came up with this idea because I crave found family stories. A comedic space western that follows the adventures of a bounty crew that are begrudgingly forced to work together under an anonymous boss. Over time, they learn that the promise of riches isn't the only thing keeping the crew from falling apart. Inspirations and similar stories: guardians of the galaxy, cowboy bebop, wayfarers series, rogue one, oingo boingo's music (the entire dead man's party album) and 80's music in general.

If you'd like to be added to the tag list of any of these stories, let me know!

other blogs

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I have a side blog dedicated to my writing projects, @vesselserial Here, you can read more information about VESSEL and keep up with my progress. I also have a general blog / studyblr @dunedreamr, where I'll be posting my progress in completing my bachelor's degree (and future career pathways) as well as other interests that I have, like books, movies e.t.c.

star divider made by saradika on tumblr (linked)

last updated: July 16, 2024

#writeblr #writing community #writers of tumblr #writeblr introduction #writeblr intro #writing #wip introduction #wip intro #blog intro #own #my.writing #vessel #p.snakeoil #p.vessel #p.roguefrontier

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abalidoth · 1 month ago

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Do you have a fun cosmere fandom memory from this year? Could be art you saw or fic you read, a funny interaction on tumblr or reddit, something that happened at Dragonsteel Nexus if you happened to be able to go... Whatever comes to you!

Personally I think my favorite memory was listening to Yumi in the car with my wife (they're not a heavy Cosmere reader but they've read some, and Yumi is my absolute favorite Cosmere book, so) and biting my tongue at all the foreshadowing.

But the fandom going insane with every WaT update (and then the final book) was absolutely lovely to watch.

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turnipshepard · 2 months ago

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Wind and Truth thoughts and spoilers

About 40% of the way through Wind and Truth and mixed feelings so far though mostly positive. My heart was racing when I thought Shallan was going to catch sight of Chanarach and have The Revelation we think is coming. I like Adolin’s story. I wasn’t super excited going in about Szeth’s flashbacks but I’ve enjoyed them more than I thought, mostly because Shinover itself is really interesting. But man Kaladin… I don’t know where this is going, but the “Roshar’s first therapist” stuff is pretty heavy handed and if he ends up having romantic feelings for Syl I’m gonna be disappointed. Kaladin is my favorite character so that is bringing the book down a bit for me. I like Rlain/ Renarin… some interesting stuff happening with Odium and Wit and I’m all for the cosmere stuff… at least mostly. Sigzil is fine to good. Just hoping for something more epic for Kaladin I guess. DO NOT SAY ANYTHING IF YOU’RE FARTHER THAN ME… no cryptic comments (heh heh)

#wind and truth #wind and truth spoilers #shattered posts

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thedarkspiresofkredikshaw · 2 years ago

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pinned post / get to know my blog & me .

hello ! i am jay - 20 - they / them .

welcome to my cosmere blog ! !

i hope you enjoy your stay here, if you do decide to look around! if you do decide to send me an ask, please be kind! ill try to return the favor :) anyway, if youre reading this, tell me a cool fact or sumn. that'd be cool. ----TAGS---- so, i'll be posting about stormlight/cosmere a lot. i will use the tags: > 'cosmere' - things revolving around the cosmere or characters from it. > 'stormlight' - things tagged with this will pretty much be super stormlight heavy, or even just little jokes abt stormlight. we will get there :3 > 'not stormlight' - things that aren't revolving around stormlight or whatever part im at in the books. > 'stormlight spoilers' - posts tagged with this are entirely stormlight spoilers. please be wary. i will not be to blame if you get spoiled even though i've marked it and put a tag as such. > 'mistborn' - tags that include mistborn specifically, generally just about mistborn and things revolving around it. > 'mistborn spoilers' - things tagged with this are 100% spoilers. please avoid if you're not at the same point as me in the books! > 'not mistborn' - my non-mistborn related things. also - i love to make friends. please send me an ask or even just shoot me a dm if you're bored!!! i love to listen to rants & rambles, so if you wanna infodump on me thats 100% okay with me :> well. i hope you have a good day!!! thanks for reading this if you did :>> - jay, salas’ favorite cremling. 💜

#pinned post !#cosmere #stormlight #mistborn #brandon sanderson #intro post #introductory post #get to know me :)#dark academia #v3.0 #the stormlight archive #the way of kings #live react #live react blog #live read

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theinquisitxor · 1 year ago

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July Reading Wrap Up

July was a good reading month quality wise, but I wish I got through a couple more books than I did. I read 7 books in July-- six fantasy and one nonfiction. I completed one duology, and I overall enjoyed everything I read in July.

1.Six Crimson Cranes by Elizabeth Lim 4/5 stars. This is a delightful young adult fairy tale. It was exactly the type of fantasy I was looking for after reading the Poppy War in June. This is a retelling of the fairy tale of the Wild Swans, and I thought it was very well done. However, I thought this should have just been a standalone, not stretched into a second book. I'm not planning on reading the second book, and I'm just going to treat this like a standalone. YA east asian fairy tale retelling.

2.A Declaration of the Rights of Magicians (The Shadow Histories 1) by H.G. Parry. 4.5/5 stars. This is the first in an adult historical fantasy duology. This takes place from ~1780-90s and follows four perspectives across the world (characters in England, France, and Haiti). This book is very much a political fantasy, and one of the most political heavy books I've ever read. The story follows characters as they navigate and cause the geopolitical turmoil of this time period. My favorite book of July. Adult historical fantasy.

3.A Radical Act of Free Magic (The Shadow Histories 2) by H. G. Parry 4/5 stars. The conclusion to this duology was just as good as book 1, and follows many of our same characters through the Napoleonic wars. Slightly less politics and a little more action in this one, but still very good. The way magic fits into the historical narrative of this story is just so clever. Adult historical fantasy.

4.The Isles of the Gods (The Isles of the Gods 1) by Amie Kaufman 3/5 stars. This is a new young adult fantasy book that I've been looking forward to for a while. It was a fun, seafaring fantasy story, but I found it lacking in the characters and some aspects of the world-building. I did really enjoy the early 1900s industrial revolution setting-- I thought that was unique. While I found aspects of this book weak, I'll still probably read the next book (whenever it comes out). YA high fantasy.

5.The Beautiful Ones by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 4/5 stars. Whenever I pick up a new Silvia Moreno-Garcia I know that it's going to be quite different from the previous SGM book, but I know I'm most likely going to enjoy it. That was exactly the case with The Beautiful Ones. The beginning of this book took me a little while to get into, but once I was invested, I didn't want to put it down. The second half of this book was by far the strongest, and I really enjoyed the romance. Adult Historical Fantasy.

6.The Sea Around Us by Rachel Carson. This was my nonfiction, for the month and I wanted a literal beach read while at the beach. This is a foundational piece of nature literature by the prolific writer and conservationist Rachel Carson. This was published in 1950, so I'm not sure how much of the scientific detail is actually still accurate but I read this for the writing and the legacy of the work (there are so many good quotes and passages from this book too). Nonfiction.

7.Elantris by Brandon Sanderson 4/5 stars. In my slow attempt to read the Cosmere, I picked up this. I read this half on audio, half physical book. I ended up enjoying this much more than I thought I would. This may be one of my favorite Sanderson works that I've read. There were a lot of tropes and characters that I enjoyed. Adult high fantasy.

That's all for July! I'm looking forward to the books I'm planning on reading in August, included under the cut!

August books?

Fourth Wing by Rebecca Yarros

Skyhunter duology by Marie Lu

The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow

11/22/63 by Stephen King

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

The Fifth Season by NK Jemison

#reading wrap up #july reading wrap up #books #fantasy books #brandon sanderson #elantris #six crimson cranes #elizabeth lim #a declaration of the rights of magicians #hg parry #the beautiful ones #silvia moreno garcia #books read #my post

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dawn-the-rithmatist · 2 years ago

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*pokes you* narrative structure book rant?

Hi Lou, thank you for the poke, ily!!

Okay this can all be roughly summed up by saying that when you've got a book series, the end of a novel should really give you the feeling of, this story has ended, but the saga continues. And I read a few books recently that really left me with the feeling of, haha, gotcha! you thought you were getting a conclusion, didn't you, you dumbass! And I gotta be honest, that,, makes me very frustrated.

(To be clear, this isn't a "I hate cliffhangers" rant, because those can be really fun and effective... when they're used to continue a bigger story in tandem with the resolution of a smaller story. Hopefully that makes sense with the rest of the rant.)

I'm putting the rest of this under a read more so people can scroll past if they want to. There's what will probably become a very long rant below the cut :)

Okay, so with a book series, generally you either have an overarching story that stretches between novels, or you have many different stories that are somewhat unrelated, but based around a common theme/setting/cast/etc. In the second case, it should be pretty self explanatory that you want your individual novels to have resolution- you're not continuing those plot threads into another novel, so obviously you want them tied up.

But the other case... that's the one where I get frustrated.

Suppose you've got a story with an arc that looks something like this:

(I know this isn't how most plot diagrams look but i'm keeping it simply because this is me making powerpoint diagrams at one in the morning, please be patient with me)

Suppose you're writing a three book series that covers that bigger story arc. In that case, I would expect your books to structure out something like this:

Each book has its own exposition, conflict, and resolution, while simultaneously contributing to the bigger arc around it- the overarching plot of the series. The first book might be a bit expositon heavy, and the last might have some heavy lifting to do when it comes to resolving things, but overall, every book is telling a story within a story. Substories, if you will.

What I've been seeing instead that frustrated me so much is something like this:

In this one, I made each book a line segment, although it's not usually that extreme. Usually.

This is where you read book one, and they keep introducing things, and you can see the threads of a really interesting conflict, and then right at the end of the book, you get a whole torrent of events that leaves you feeling a bit overwhelmed and a bit lied to. The first book has no resolution- just a lot of exposition and a lot of introducing conflict.

Book two, by comparison, has a lot of the action of the series. It's where characters start solving the problems, confronting things, having their big "aha" moments. It probably leads up to some major confrontation, or a big cliffhanger- you're right on the verge of a resolution, and most of the heavy lifting has been done, but you're not. quite. there. Despite a lot happening in this book, it might feel a bit flat overall (see diagram), or it might not. It's probably the best book in the series.

Book three gets all of the resolution. I'm not putting a lot here about book three, because tbh I'm surprised if I make it through book two once I've been angry enough about book one.

Some GOOD examples of series structure:

Pretty much every cosmere series. Each one clearly has its own structure to it, even as it plays a bigger role in the plot of the series. Look at the Stormlight Archive! The Way of Kings is exposition heavy, but NO ONE can say that there isn't payoff for all that work by the end of book one. And The Well of Ascension could definitely be considered a cliffhanger with the things that go down at the end, but it's nonetheless a story that resolves, even if the series is clearly amping up.

The Scholomance! Every book has its own story going on, and the main conflict of the novel is resolved by the time the novel ends. There are still problems to solve, and they'll definitely be addressed- but the immediate problem has been dealt with.

Some BAD examples of series structure:

Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: End Game. I'm putting this here even though it isn't a book series because it just captures the point so. perfectly. You think you're walking into a superhero movie. They spend a lot of time building up this conflict, and more time building up fanservice and massive action sequences, and have this big moment of emotional payoff where you think they were able to stop Thanos, then- GOTCHA! They lose! Everyone dies! The end! Oh but don't worry, there's another movie coming out :)) NO. If you were going to do this, call it "Infinity War Part 1". Don't give us an incomplete narrative and call it a complete movie. AGH.

The Atlas Six. Gotta be honest, I didn't enjoy this one for a couple of reasons, but a BIG one was the way that it all felt like a setup when you got to the end. Without spoiling anything for folks who haven't read it, I felt like I had just read a prequel for a book that hadn't been released. A lot of exposition, a lot of time spent building up these characters and their interactions sometimes not very well, but that's a different rant only for it to be one big GOTCHA! at the end. It was like reading a comic expecting a superhero story, only for it to be the hero's tragic backstory, up to and no further than the point that they decide to do something with the cards they've been dealt.

Unless you're labeling something with "Part 1," people are going to expect a story to resolve, and when you don't deliver on that, they're going to be disappointed. It's the same way that you would be upset if you turned on a romcom, and got to the end without the two main characters ever meeting- although at the very end, you see them both walking towards the same coffee shop, so maybe something will happen. Eventually.

Whenever I see something like this, I often end up thinking to myself, "This isn't meant to be a first novel in a series. This is meant to be the first part in a several-part epic. This is a prologue that got turned into a novel so that people wouldn't be intimidated by the size of the book, or because trilogies are selling well right now, or whatever explanation you want to pick."

Let it resolve. Leave a few threads to connect to the next novel in the series, but let it resolve. The characters win the battle, but perhaps they're losing the war. The characters lost the battle, but they've discovered something that promises to turn the tide. The characters have solved the mystery, but there are a few things that don't add up and they're sure there's more beneath the surface. All great resolutions! All lead into the next story! But there's a whole lot of stories that will go for shock value and lack of resolution so they can get you to buy the next volume. And nothing makes me angrier at a book than when an author tries to pull one over on the reader instead of actually doing the work to structure a story.

#sorry this took me so long to get to! I'm on low social battery these days so asks and tags have been a bit neglected #thank you for the poke hopefully this made sense #please excuse my shitty powerpoint diagrams #TLDR:#if you have to dangle the end of your novel on a string to get your readers to buy the next book #maybe you should rethink if you actually have written more than one book #or if you chopped one book into smaller more marketable pieces #dawn speaks #book babble

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auliasbookcorner · 2 years ago

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Review: I Am Not A Serial Killer by Dan Wells

Book 2 of 2023

Start Reading Time: 27 January 2023

Finish reading Time: 3 February 2023

Page Count: 272 Pages

TRIGGER WARNINGS: MURDER, DEATH, GORE, BODY HORROR, VIOLENCE, STALKING

This is the spoiler-free part of the review. I will put up a spoiler alert before going into the review that contains spoilers.

I gotta be honest and say that I was interested in reading this book because of one of my favorite authors of all time, Brandon Sanderson. How? Well, I've been a faithful listener to Brando Sando's podcast, Intentionally Blank, which he co-hosts with his author friend, Dan Wells, the author of this book. However, while I did come for Brando Sando, I fell in love with and stayed for Dan's personality, sense humor, food heist stories, and excellent taste in music (he's a Kpop girlie like myself). AND! It has been revealed that Dan's going to co-author Cosmere books with Brando Sando, which got my excitement levels go 📈📈📈. So, of course I need to get acquainted with Dan's writing and books, starting with his first book and book series.

It is with a heavy heart that I report I cannot give this book a 5 stars rating, but I did enjoy the story and the writing. I did get that famous Dan Wells humor, and while the plot twist threw me off, I think for a first book, that was pretty solid. Also, I have not yet read Brando Sando's first released book, Elantris yet, although I'm sure I'll like it, since he's THE Brandon Sanderson. I just think it's interesting to read famous authors' first books to know how they have evolved with their writing skills over the years, and so, while I can't say that I'm crazy about this book of Dan's, I'm excited to read more of this book, maybe even read the sequels of this book series. I also plan to read Elantris and more Cosmere books this year. And I also plan to read the whole of The Wheel of Time books and more non-fiction books, so safe to say, I am more ambitious with my reading this year. Let's see if I can accomplish all of my reading goals this year. I'm pumped.

Back to the book, while I was entertained and was invested in the story, I do think that the story could have been explored more and not reveal who the monster is, and make the cat-and-dog chase between John and the Monster much more exciting. I do have to admit, I was flabbergasted when I found out who the monster was, but also exciting because it's something new and fresh to me, the book could have been just another fictional thriller book about everyday people, but adding a supernatural element to it feels refreshing, and I was excited to read how John will capture the monster. Maybe I had too high of an expectation for the climax of the book, because I was disappointed by how the main conflict played out and the conclusion to the story felt rushed too, with almost everything seems to be getting better for John.

That being said, I'm excited to read the rest of the book series. Oh, I found out there's already a movie based on this book released many years ago, I just watched the trailer and it looks pretty promising, so I will be watching it for sure!

BOOK SUMMARY:

John Wayne Cleaver is not your everyday ordinary 15 years old boy, and he knows it. He's afraid of becoming one of the serial killers that he had been so fascinated with, and he genuinely thinks that he's doomed to be one someday. What made him think that, you asked? Well, his name of course, and his father's name too. John Wayne Gacy is the famous Killer Clown; his dad's name is Sam, so that would make him The Son of Sam, which is the name of another serial killer; AND his last name is Cleaver, AKA a murder weapon. So, understandably, John came to a conclusion that he's doomed to be a serial killer, since he was named after not one, but TWO serial killers, AND a murder weapon. John was like:

Yeah, 15 years olds are that dramatic.

Another thing about John is that his Mom and Aunt are running a funeral home, which means that John has been helping his Mom and Aunt with embalming the corpses. John's finding that to be fascinating, and it helps him suppress his desires to kill people.

Anyway, John, being the self-aware king that he is, set up a list of rules for himself, so he wouldn't actually become a serial killer. Those rules have been pretty effective in keeping John in check, and he's also in therapy, which his Mom paid for. So John shared a lot about himself and his rules to his therapist, Dr. Neblin, during their therapy sessions. He's been diagnosed by Dr. Neblin with antisocial personality disorder, which means he's a sociopath. John thinks that's pretty cool.

All is well for John, until the news broke about a series of peculiar killings of some of the people living in his neighborhood. It was becoming harder for John to keep the dark side of himself in check, as he found himself to be too invested in the serial killer and was determined to catch them. John slowly but surely broke his rules one by one, until one day, he decided to break all of them.

Will John actually become the serial killer like he'd always thought he'd be? Or will he be the most unlikeliest hero for his community? One thing for sure, you'll never see that plot twist coming.

🚨SPOILER ALERT🚨

From this point forward in the review, I will mention spoilers, plot twist and the ending. So, if you don’t wish to be spoiled, you can skip the rest of the review and come back to this review once you’ve finished reading this book.

Let's talk about it…

This book got me questioning my sense of humour a few times because I found myself giggling a few times at a few dark jokes.

Also, why did I relate to John a few times? Surely I'm not a sociopath (no shade to my sociopathic girlies out there)??? I'm just an introvert homebody who prefers to have as minimal human interaction as possible. But then I found this Dan quote:

"The best and most interesting part of [John] as a character is the delicate balance between scariness and relatability. He's a sociopath. He cannot, by definition feel any kind of empathy for you, but in order for the book to work you have to feel empathy for him."

To that I say, well done, Dan! One of the most interesting antihero characters I've read in a while.

The best things about this book for me are...

John's relationship with his mother. It is easily the best thing about this book, for me. Reading about how their relationship started out very rocky, but then they each try to be and do better for the other, and it is just the sweetest thing to read about. And in that scene where John finally broke down and cried in his Mom's arms after she told him that they are in it together, that she won't leave him, that they're a family and she'll always be there for him, and John's realized that he had been waiting to hear those words, that he's not a psycho or a bad guy, he's just a sad and lonely boy.

And then later when John realized he actually barely knew his mother at all, so he actively trying to get to know her better. And you know me, you read my Beartown trilogy review, I'm a sucker for good stories about familial love, and this one almost got me sobbing because of how sweet it is. I never expected to be this emotional after reading about a sweet family relationship in a horror/thriller/supernatural book, but here we are.

I can't even decide if I actually love it or hate it that the main villain dies so easily because of LOVE. While I do think that it's so freaking sweet and cute and whatnot, I also wanted and expected a more epic cat-and-mouse chase between John and the monster, I wanted the monster to be more unhinged and dangerous than he is in this book. But, at the same time, I can't deny how cute it is that they are two old people still being so in love and crazy about each other. Anyway, for now I decided that I love that love helped bring this monster down, so no more people should be killed. And I'm happy that Mrs. Crowley is okay too, and that she is blissfully oblivious to the truth about her husband and John, she deserves the world.

I feel so bad for Dr. Neblin. He's such a good person, he actually went out to help John that night and that got him killed?! What message are we sending here, Dan? That you shouldn't go out of your way to help people? No, but his death was instrumental to John realizing he really should put an end to the killings that night, so Neblin's death wouldn't have been for nothing. BUT MY MAN STILL DESERVES BETTER.

I actually predicted early in the book that John will kill Neblin, at least it didn't happen.

This book made me have new appreciation towards, as well as empathize more with people diagnosed with APD, because they have been so negatively stigmatized in our society.

As much as I love this book, I do have some criticisms…

The plot twist was a pleasant surprise for me, and I actually don't mind it at all. What I do mind is how the monster is actually not a bad person, and only kills out of necessity, in order to stay alive and be with the love of his life.

The identity of the monster is being revealed way too early for me, and I feel like John had so much advantage over him, being younger, more tech savvy and more stalking-savvy than the monster. That makes the "hunt" not that exciting. I wanted drama, gore, and chases, but we didn't get any of that. I'd say the earlier parts of the book, where we don't know who the serial killer is, and just finding things out about John are more entertaining than the later parts of the book. I just wish that the later parts of the book had been just as good as the earlier parts.

Oh I hope John will never get together with Brooke in the rest of the series. It's so creepy how he stalked her like that. If she knew about it I'm sure she'd be so creeped out too.

My favourite moments from the book:

When John cried for the first time in his Mom's arms that night.

When Max stood up for himself when John revealed that he's only friends with him to seem normal to other people. Good for Max, and I may not always agree with him or like him, but I love when people stand up for themselves when they've been wronged.

When Mr. Crowley asked John to take a picture of himself to send a kiss to his wife with his phone. So friggin' cute I can burst.

And finally, here are my favorite quotes from the book:

""Listen, John," said Neblin, leaning forward. "You have a lot of predictors for serial-killer behavior, I know—in fact, I think you have more predictors than I've ever seen in one person. But you have to remember that predictors are just that— they predict what might happen, they don't prophesy what will happen. Ninety-five percent of serial killers wet their beds and light fires and hurt animals, but that doesn't mean that ninety-five percent of kids who do those things will become serial killers. You are always in control of your own destiny, and you are always the one who makes your own choices—no one else. The fact that you have those rules, and that you follow them so carefully, says a lot about you and your character. You're a good person, John." "I'm a good person," I said, "because I know what good people are supposed to act like, and I copy them." "If you're as thorough as you say you are," said Neblin, "nobody will ever know the difference." "But if I'm not thorough enough," I said, looking out the window, "who knows what could happen?""

"I didn't know how to explain what I meant; sociopathy wasn't just being emotionally deaf, it was being emotionally mute, too. I felt like the characters on our muted TV, waving their hands and screaming and never saying a word out loud. It was like Mom and I spoke completely different languages, and communication was impossible."

"How long before Mom's prediction came true, and people in town started blaming each other? People feared what was different, and whoever was the most different would win the witch-hunt lottery. Would it be one of the freaks who escaped to the lake? What would they do to him? Everyone knew I was a freak. Would they blame me?"

"The monster behind the wall stirred. I'd come to think of it as a monster, but it.was just me. Or the darker part of me, at least. You probably think it would be creepy to have a real monster hiding inside of you, but trust me—it's far, far worse when the monster is really just your own mind. Calling it a monster seemed to distance it a little, which made me feel better about it. Not much better, but I take what I can get."

""The poet is asking the tiger who made him, and how," said Crowley, his chin buried deep under his collar. " 'What the hammer? What the chain? In what furnace was thy brain?'" Only his eyes were visible, black pits reflecting the dancing fire. "He wrote two poems like that, you know—'The Lamb' and The Tiger.' One was made of sweetness and love, and one was forged from terror and death." Crowley looked at me, his eyes dark and heavy. "'When the stars threw down their spears and watered heaven with their tears—did he smile, his work to see? Did he who made the lamb make thee?'" The fire rustled and cracked. Our shadows danced on the wall of the house behind us. Mr. Crowley turned back to the fire. "I'd like to think the same one made them both," he said, "I'd like to think it.""

""This is your puzzle," said Neblin, "and as we have often discussed, you have strong sociopathic tendencies. I want to know if I should be answering from a standard emotional state, or from the lack of one." "What's the difference?" Dr. Neblin smiled. "There's your answer. You said that the second option, leaving and starting a string of brand new lives, had freedom—it had no 'baggage.' Where a sociopath sees baggage, a typical personality would see emotional connections. Friends, family, loved ones—not all of us can give those up so easily. They define us, and they make us who we are. Sometimes the personalities around us are what make us complete.""

"I'd found his weakness. Love."

"Mom looked like she wanted to hug me—to reassure me, or herself, that everything was going to be okay. I suppose that's what mothers are supposed to do, and I felt guilty that mine couldn't do it. I could tell by the way she watched me that she wanted to comfort me, and that she knew I didn't need to be comforted. I wasn't sad, I was thoughtful. I didn't feel bad that he was dead, I felt guilty that I hadn't been able to stop his killer. I wondered, then, if I was doing all of this because I wanted to save the good guys, or if I just wanted to kill the bad guy. And I wondered if that made a difference."

"I thought of the drifter at the bottom of Freak Lake. Did he care that some stupid girl put a flower in the street? He was still at the bottom of the lake, and the man who put him there was still killing, and that flower wasn't going to help either situation. I turned to walk away, but someone walked past and placed another flower on Brooke's new pile. I stopped short, staring down at the two flowers crossed on the asphalt. A moment later a third one joined them. Everyone seemed to know what was going on. It was like watching a flock of birds wheeling in the sky, turning and dropping and soaring without any command—they just knew what to do, like a shared mind. What happened to the other birds—the ones who couldn't read the signals, and kept going straight when the flock took a wide, communal turn?"

"I heard a familiar voice and looked up—Mr. Crowley had arrived, with Kay alongside, and they were talking to someone just ten feet away. He was crying, just like Brooke—just like everybody but me. Heroes in stories got to fight hideous demons with eyes red as burning coals; my demon's eyes were only red from tears. I cursed him then, not because his tears were fake, but because they were real. I cursed him for showing me, with every tear and every smile and every sincere emotion he had, that I was the real freak. He was a demon who killed on a whim, who left my only friend's dad lying in pieces on a frozen road, and he still fit in better than I did. He was unnatural and horrible, but he belonged here, and I did not. I was so far away from the rest of the world that there was a demon between us when I tried to look back."

"My wall was gone, the monster's cage destroyed, but the rubble was still there, and somehow in that instant I found that wall again. I was standing in the rubble of a life I had built meticulously for years—a life I never enjoyed, for I had cut myself off from joy, but a life that I valued, joyful or not. I valued the ideas behind it. The principles. You are evil, said myself. You are Mr. Monster. You are nothing. You are me. I closed my eyes. The monster had named itself now— stolen its name from the Son of Sam, who'd called himself Mr. Monster in a letter to the paper. He'd begged the police to shoot him on sight, so he wouldn't kill again. He couldn't stop himself. But I could. I am not a serial killer. I put down the knife."

"I stared at the body, thinking of all the others who'd gone before—Jeb Jolley and Dave Bird; the two cops I'd led to their deaths; the drifter by the lake that I didn't speak up to save; Ted Rask and Greg Olson and Emmett Openshaw and however many others I didn't even know about. They were a parade of cadavers, resting inert in my memory, as if they had never been alive at all—a row of eternal corpses stretching back through history, perfectly preserved. How long had this been happening? How much longer would it go on? I felt that I was doomed to follow that row forever, washing and embalming each new corpse like a demonic servant— hunchbacked, leering and mute. Crowley was the killer, and I was his slave. I wouldn't do it. That row of corpses ended tonight."

"The feeling was peculiar, like a visceral thrill building rapidly to transcendence—this was not just a body, it was my body, my own dead body, lying perfectly still. It was like a piece of art, something that I had done with my own hands. I was filled with a powerful sense of pride, and I understood why so many serial killers left their bodies to be discovered: when you created something so beautiful, you wanted everyone to see it. It was finally dead."

"She stared at my face, my blood-soaked coat, my clothes drenched in melted snow and freezing sweat. I watched as her gaze left me to travel around the room, taking in my bloody handprints on walls and counters, and the steaming, muddy ash on the floor. I could almost watch her thoughts as they played across her face—I knew this woman better than I knew anyone in the world, and I could read her almost more easily than I could read myself. She was thinking about my sociopathy and my obsession with serial killers. She was thinking about the time I threatened her with a knife, and about the way I looked at corpses, and about all the things she'd read and heard and feared ever since she'd first discovered, years ago, that I was not like other children. Perhaps she was thinking about my father, with violent tendencies of his own, and wondered how far I was going—or how far I'd already gone— down the same path. She ran through it all in her mind, over and over, sorting through the scenarios, and trying to figure out what to believe. And then she did something that proved, without question, that I didn't really understand her at all. She hugged me. She spread her arms wide and pulled me close, holding my back with one hand and my head with another and crying— not in sadness, but in acceptance. She cried in relief, turning softly back and forth, back and forth, covering herself in the blood from my coat and gloves and not caring at all. I put my arms around her as well, knowing she would like it."

""She let go of her coat and stepped back toward me, grabbing my arms tightly and stooping down just slightly to bring our faces mere inches apart. "But the most important thing is that we're in this together. I will not let them take you anywhere, and I will not leave you, ever. We are a family. I will always be here for you." Something clicked into place, deep inside of me, and I realized that I had been waiting to hear those words for my entire life. They crushed me and freed me at the same time, fitting into my soul like a long-lost puzzle piece. The tension of the night, of the whole day, of the last five months, flowed out of me like blood from an opened vein, and I saw myself for the first time as my mother saw me—not a psycho, not a stalker, not a killer, but as a sad, lonely boy. I fell against her and realized, for the first time in years, that I was capable of crying."

"I expected the demon's death to bother me more—to haunt my dreams, or something—but instead I found myself focusing over and over on the demon's last words: "Remember me." I wasn't sure that I wanted to—he was a vicious, evil killer, and I never wanted to think about some of those things again. The thing was, there were a lot of things that I didn't want to think about—things that I'd spent years not thinking about—and ignoring them had never really gotten me anywhere. I think it was time to follow Crowley's advice, and remember."

""I'm so sorry." "Don't be sorry, dear," she said, pulling me into the house. "You didn't do anything but help." I stared at her closely, studying her face, her eyes, everything. This was the angel that tamed a demon; the soul that trapped him and held him with a power he'd never felt before. Love."

""Did you forget the whole sociopath thing?" I asked. Mom frowned at me. "I have no empathy—how am I supposed to form a relationship with anybody?" It was the great paradox of my rule system: if I forced myself not to think about the people I most tended to think about, I'd avoid any bad relationships, but I'd avoid any good ones just as strongly."

"People wanted the explanation to be as big and flashy as the killings themselves, but the truth was far more terrifying: true terror doesn't come from giant monsters but from small, innocent-looking people. People like Mr. Crowley. People like me. You'll never see us coming."

The first book in this series is pretty good, even though not a 5 stars for me, but I'm sure as hell excited for the rest of the book. I am also excited for the Cosmere books by both Brandon and Dan. It's definitely a great time to be a Cosmere books fan!

PLOT - ⭐⭐⭐

WRITING STYLE - ⭐⭐⭐

ENTERTAINMENT LEVEL - 💔💔💔💔

BOOK COVER DESIGN - ⭐⭐⭐

OVERALL BOOK RATING - ⭐⭐⭐

#book review #i am not a serial killer

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thethingwiththefeathers · 16 days ago

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About this blog!

A more complete list of my fandoms, in roughly the order of how much I think I post about them:

DCU (mostly Batman/Gotham)

Cosmere

Hermitcraft/Life series

Fallen London

Stardew Valley

Some British reality TV (GBB(O/S), The Traitors, Taskmaster, probably others that I’ve forgotten)

Dr Who (I’m still on Eccleston though lol)

No Rolls Barred

My spoiler policy:

I think the only big thing that I’d post about here that you could be spoiled on is Wind and Truth. As of now (7th January) I have no major spoilers and only one or two tiny spoilers for it if you know where to look so it is probably safe although I can’t 100% guarantee because my brain has the capacity of a goldfish. However, by the 10th of January I probably will start posting quite heavy spoilers so if you are still reading it and you don’t want to be spoiled don’t look at this blog! I’ve read all the books in the Cosmere so there will be full spoilers for everything else. I post a bit of traitors and taskmaster stuff occasionally. However except for who’s been banished off traitors there aren’t really spoilers about that lol

I’d like to avoid major Dr Who plot spoilers please. (If such a thing even exists)

Feel free to send me asks about whatever! However, I don’t have the money for donation asks and since I’m worried about some of them not being legit I won’t have any fundraisers on here. In a similar vein, politics can get so depressing sometimes so I’ll only post about the funnier stuff. Ik only about three people will see this but I thought it would be fun to make a post like this :)

Sorry if I mess up on tumblr etiquette- I’m new and don’t get social interaction very well so please gently correct me

#Pinned post

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wolfreader · 2 months ago

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november 2024 wrap-up - adult fiction

this month i read three (3) adult novels and one (1) adult novella.

the frugal wizard's handbook for surviving medieval engalnd by brandon sanderson 📖 🌟🌟🌟🌟

brandon sanderson has got to stop writing protagonists who are sad pathetic little losers with no friends. i end up relating to them way too heavily and i'm starting to feel personally called out.

i think this is a contender for "best first brandon sanderson book", because it's not connected to the cosmere but it still carries all of the hallmarks of sanderson's writing and worldbuilding style. especially his penchant for blending scifi and fantasy - that's something that will show up in most of his works, so if you want to get into sanderson this might be a great place to start to see if you vibe with it.

mistress of lies by k. m. enright 📖 🌟🌟🌟🌟

i don't know what i expected from this book. i first heard about it from the cait corrain scandal, and put it on my "24 books to read in 2024" list because the description interested me. then as it got close to release i started seeing it described as a romantasy (rather than a fantasy), which is a genre i really don't enjoy, and seeing it compared to books i hate or blurbed by authors i dislike. so that kind of put me off. but it was on my list and it was on sale at my b&n, so i picked it up.

and i quite liked it!! i think it was maybe a little too long - it started to drag a bit at the end - but i found all three main characters really compelling. usually with multi-pov book i end up liking one character way, way more, and while i definitely still have a favorite the gap between them and the second favorite isn't nearly as wide as it normally is for me. really excited to see where this series goes.

i will say, the back of the book says that this is a book about vampires. the goodreads page lists it as a book about vampires. my initial interest was because it was advertized as a book about vampires. there are no vampires in this book. i don't even think they use the term "vampire" once. so don't pick this up if you're wanting a vampire book, regardless of what the marketing says.

the last of dragon the east by katrina kwan 📚 🌟🌟🌟

i have never read a book that felt more like fanfiction in my life. even books that i know were literally once fanfiction, or books that draw obvious heavy inspiration from things i have watched / read, have felt less like fanfiction.

unlike those books, it's not that it feels like it can be tied to a specific other piece of media. like, i couldn't tell you for certain what this is fanfiction of (though i have a guess, based off the author's previous work and the other authors that appear to be in her circle), but it reads like fanfiction even more than those other books.

the short pagecount, the length of the chapters, the oddly juvenile writing style and light tone that clash with the scale of the story, the odd pacing that swaps between breakneck in some areas but painfully slow in others, the soulmates, the insta love, the circular plot, the flat villain. this reads like dozens of completed multi-chapter fics i read on ao3 when i was 15. if you had put this in a shitty self-published-esque cover, handed it to me, and told me it was printed and bound fanfiction of show or book series i'd never heard of, i'd believe you.

a fine read i guess, but completely forgettable.

the way home: two novellas from the world of the last unicorn by peter s. beagle 📚 🌟🌟🌟

another item knocked off of my "24 books to read in 2024" list!

less vague than the last unicorn was, to be sure. it's more clear exactly what's happening (at least in the first novella). there was a weird and, in my opinion, tasteless sexual assault plot point that added nothing adn didn't seem to have any reason for being there... but other than that it was fine.

#november 2024 #bookblr #reading wrap up #adult fiction

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lunaticbookblog · 9 months ago

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Mistborn: The Final Empire by Brandon Sanderson

This is just turning into a year of Sanderson while I try to catch up on the entire Cosmere before Stormlight 5 is released.

Mistborn book 1 is basically Oceans Eleven meets My Fair Lady but with magic via heavy metal poisoning.

Generally I don’t like to compare books to each other outside of a series, but I’m sort of making a slight exception in this case because the Stormlight Archive is set in the same general universe/Cosmere.

Overall, it was a struggle to get into this book. I likely wouldn’t have continued the series after reading this one, except I’m curious about the magic systems, and it dropped enough hints that the rest of the series has greater-Cosmere lore information. The pacing of this book felt odd. And I had gotten used to the character building style of Stormlight Archive - where I was invested in each character as a person very early, so much so that even during the slow portions, the characters themselves were dragging me through because I need to know what happens to them. Here, while I liked the characters well enough, I never felt hugely invested in either Kelsier or Vin’s stories as individuals. The characters I was most curious about or who I enjoyed the most were characters that felt somewhat under utilized (such as Ham & Breeze). However, Sazed did feel like he was getting a decent set up for more development in the series.

On positive notes, the mystery built up around the Lord Ruler was well done, the character Reen was very effectively utilized, and the general plot was engaging enough. Always here for a heist.

“Plots behind plots, plans beyond plans. There was always another secret.”

#book blog #bookblr #book review #read 2024 #mistborn #mistborn the final empire #the final empire #published 2006

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alexgasun · 1 year ago

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Reading Wrap Up 2023

In 2023 I got back into reading. I loved reading as a child but as I grew older I had less and less time to read. Also I didn't know what to read. When I was in school, classics were most popular but I didn't enjoy reading classic literature. This year, I quit my job and I had a lot of free time. I borrowed my boyfriend's kindle and started reading again. I mostly read fantasy and romance, fantasy romance too. I try reading mostly adult books in these genres because I do enjoy reading some smut.

I've read 102 books in total, DNF-ed 52. So, here is my list of the best, most mediocre and the worst books I've read.

Best books 2023 : 1. The Jasad Heir by Sara Hashem (adult fantasy romance)- this is book 1 in The Scorched Throne duology. Second book release date has not been announced yet. In this story we follow Sylvia, lost and presumed dead heir to Jasad. Sylvia's main goal is to survive. She has no plans to reclaim the throne or help her people who are murdered for their magic.

2. Silver in the Bone by Alexandra Bracken (young adult fantasy, romance) - book 1 in Silver in the Bone series. I'm not sure how many books there will be in the series. There is no release date for book 2. In this story we follow siblings who are searching for Arthurian ring. The world is very well constructed. It's magical, dark.

3. Children of Fallen Gods by Carissa Broadbent (adult fantasy romance) - book 2 in The War of Lost Hearts trilogy (complete). I don't want to write much about premise of this book because I'm afraid to spoil anything for anyone. You definitely need to read book 1 Daughter of No Worlds before you read book 2. Book 2 is told in 3 POVs, 2 of them are connected and one of them is kind of independent. All I will say is that this book is heartbreaking, beautiful, tense and emotional. The ending is my Roman Empire. And it's the best book in the series, in my opinion.

4. Tress of Emerald Sea by Brandon Sanderson (young adult fantasy romance) - part of the Cosmere series (ongoing) which consists of mostly independent stories. I decided to read this because TikTok won't shut up about Brandon Sanderson. I've seen how thick his books are and I want to avoid them, no matter how great they may be. But Tress of Emerald Sea is about 500 pages and it was a very light read. And, most importantly, so much fun. In this story we follow Tress, who leaves her island to search for her beloved. Such a magical work. It takes you back to good parts of your childhood, I don't know how to explain it.

5. A Sky Beyond the Storm by Sabaa Tahir (young adult fantasy romance) - book 4 of An Ember in the Ashes series (complete). It's a final book in the series. You definitely need to read previous books to appreciate this work. Again, I don't want to spoil anything so all I will say that this is a perfect ending to the series. It wraps everything up, there are no questions left. So devastatingly beautiful, sad, hopeful. I'm tearing up as I'm writing this. I do want to mention that I would not qualify this as a young adult book. There are some pretty heavy topics involved, there is gore and torture (which is described in detail too). Definitely check out warnings.

6. At The End There Was You by Wendy Heiss (fantasy romance). Pretty short novella, not part of any series. The God of Death has announced that he will destroy the world in 7 days. We follow Winter, our main character, as she assists Azriel - a mage in trying to find a way to avoid the end of the world. Beautifully written. Some heavy topics discussed/mentioned.

7. Assistant to the Villain by Hannah Nicole Maehrer (young adult/adult fantasy romance). Book 1 in Assistant to the Villain trilogy (ongoing). The author recently announced book 2 release date (August 2024). This book is a very light read even though some heavy topics are discussed. If you want something "serious", deep. intricate and complicated you should probably skip this one. The main reason why I have it in the list of Best books is because of the romance. I'm a sucker for a slowburn, especially in fantasy genre and romance storyline in Assistant to the Villain is exactly what I want to see. In this book we follow Evie - the main provider of her family - as she works as an assistant to The Villain. The main plotline revolves around the Villain and Evie trying to find out who is the spy in their castle.

8. The Right Move by Liz Tomforde (contemporary sports romance, adult) - book 2 in Windy City series (ongoing). There are 3 books in the series so far, mostly independent from each other with reoccurring characters. In this story we follow Indy, who has recently ended a relationship and needs a play to crash and Ryan, who is captain in a basketball team. Just read it.

9. Yours Truly by Abby Jimenez (contemporary adult romance) - book 2 in Part of Your World series (I'm not sure whether there will be more books in this series). You don't have to read book 1 but I do recommend it. The main female character is Briana - recently divorced, overworked. Her brother is sick so she takes care of him too. She's hoping to get promoted in the hospital but suddenly, a new doctor appears! Understandably, initially tensions are high. I must say, this might be my favorite romance of all time. Jacob is the best book boyfriend ever. There is no one like him. His universe revolves around Briana. Sorry, I'm a sucker for simps.

This list was supposed to include one more book but it's published under St. Martin's Press against which there is ongoing creator's boycott. While I'm not a creator and have 0 followers, I still want to support the boycott so I will not be mentioning the book title or the author. Also somehow this list took me almost an hour to write and the post is already huge. Will to mediocre books list in another post

#reading #books #reading wrap up

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