Category: Book Reviews

Smiths and Stars: Once Upon a Time (Guest Post by BookmarkedOne) — Pages Unbound | Book Reviews & Discussions

April 20th, 2023

Reblogging my ramble from the Tolkien Reading Event! Be sure to check out the other Tolkien posts from Pages Unbound, especially the hilarious “Would You Be Able to Reclaim a Silmaril from Morgoth? (Flow Chart).”

Cheers!

Every year on March 25, the anniversary of the Downfall of Sauron, the Tolkien Society hosts Tolkien Reading Day. This year’s theme selected by the Tolkien Society is Travel and Adventure. The primary goal is to promote the reading of the works of J.R R. Tolkien! To celebrate, Pages Unbound will be hosting two weeks of Tolkien-related […]
Smiths and Stars: Once Upon a Time (Guest Post by BookmarkedOne) — Pages Unbound | Book Reviews & Discussions

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Honor Among Thieves

April 18th, 2023
Double-booking the bard is apparently just becoming A Thing.

The day after I was playing a Shostakovitch concert in a thunderstorm, it was off to the premiere of Honor Among Thieves.

I didn’t really mind this, because I was considering it my little reward for working hard on getting the small stack of music to sound like something–vaguely musical.

Was I still tired?

Yes. Most definitely.

And we’ve crossed a threshold in my orchestral musician career, because on my “day off,” a fun outing when I could relax and wear whatever I wanted–
- My brain fried at the prospect and I wore almost all black anyway
- I kept feeling like I was forgetting something because I didn’t have the familiar weight of the violin case tugging on my spine.
Such is the life of a musician, I guess.

Something you should know about this screening is that it was a special fundraiser showing for my home Renaissance festival.

So whatever you expect from a premiere screening of the new D&D movie with a pack of nerds rising from their hermit crab hideaways en force–

Yes.

I showed up in my black NaNoWriMo T-shirt and found my way to the right place inside by falling into line behind a gent in a kilt and a lady with elf ears.

We’re going to take a moment here to appreciate kilt lad and faerie girlfriend on their date. Bookmarkedone is wishing them every happiness in their relationship.

I haven’t been to a movie theater in…an uncomfortably long time due to Ye Olde Plague, making this night extra special.

It also meant when they said we were meeting in “the backlot” for raffle/pre-movie partying…bookmarkedone did not realize this was a specific room in the building and assumed a bunch of pirate hat and nerd-shirt wearing moviegoers would mass in the parking lot, and if someone got hit by a car, woop, casualties happen sometimes, we’ll miss you buddy–

This probably says more about me than it should.

(we pause for an extra moment of gratitude to Kilt Boyfriend and Faerie Girlfriend for inadvertently rescuing bookmarkedone from wandering lonely as a little cloud and finding an early death on someone’s bumper)

The next thing you should know about this adventure is that it was packed. Not only do We Nerds appreciate the film, but this Renaissance faire has some very attached patrons and crew.

A few snapshots for your imagination:
- The packed Backlot room, bar on one side, glass windows on the other, table laden with raffle prizes down the middle,
- colorful deck chairs outside
- feathered pirate hats peeking above said deck chairs
- minifigs, blown-glass dragon, squishmallow, jewelry, dice, books, and many other raffle-hoard treasures
- little treasure-boxes at every theater seat with a dragon hatchling mini figurine, D20 die, and other goodies
- the disbelieving bookmarked “what?” at actually winning a raffle prize
- the disgustingly delicious smell of movie food everywhere
- Small Friend coming in prepared with a blanket and stuffie (young sir. Young sir, you are my hero).
- bookmarkedone pulling on black hoodie early on in the movie because theater air conditioning is fueled by the Ice From Mount Everest and further disappearing into surroundings
- the jingly-jingling of coin belts
- the slightly frazzled faire organizer
- a faire vendor who leads a double life as a middle-grade teacher heading proudly to his seat because he is a D&D person to the core
- theater staff whisking by with trays of food held high above their heads in one hand, entirely unencumbered by crowds, awing the not usually awed bookmarkedone
- crowds
- bright stars
Full confession? I’m not the most well-versed in the world of D&D. There are probably lots of little references in the movie that went flying past my head. I wasn’t one of those people vibrating with excitement and buying tickets eons in advance. I knew the movie was coming out, watched the trailers. That ws about it.

But a night with the renfaire crew?

That was not to be missed.

Something you should know about Renfaire People is that we like to clap. We like to clap. When raffle winners are announced, we clap. When appropriate, we huzzah. When there is an especially good scene/at end of film, we clap. When announcer says “yes, thank you, please do clap when I hand someone their raffle prize because it does wonders for my ego,” we clap with extra delight. When we become distracted by our environment and announcer says, “What, no applause for this prize?” when it is bookmarkedone’s turn, we clap louder and send bookmarkedone scurrying happily back to her seat.

When movie character smashes sexist man’s face in…well, bookmarkedone is doing tiny happy claps alone, but we applaud a later important scene, so…okay.

It’s one of the things I really like about the experience at faire, the way everyone has to be involved for it to feel right, the way it’s so much more welcoming when you’re the one standing in front of them chatting and clapping instead of facing a cold, silent crowd.

Besides. It keeps the crowd interested if they’re looking for a place to applaud. Entertains them.

The rest of the evening? Amid costumes and familiar faces and quietly going “nooo!” because bookmarkedone may have finally been caught in the festival’s photo montage?

I won’t try to write an actual movie review. Like I said, I don’t think I’m the person for that job. I was already having too much fun to be perfectly critical, and besides, the thing is visually gorgeous.

Like yes, I know that isn’t a sparkly soap bubble tumbling down the street, but it looks magnificent.

The level and scale of the sets, the fabrics of the costumes (I am endlessly delighted that everyone has their own personal style and flair), the illuminated manuscript credits, the reanimated corpses–

…okay, maybe not that last one.

If I had to describe the movie, I’d say it’s found family…if everyone in the found family is the five-year-old in need of a juice box providing noisy commentary from the backseat. Snarky, funny, not the most mature ones on the car ride.

It should not come as a surprise here that bookmarkedone is firmly on Team Dragon, not Team Heroes, and is very concerned whenever Dragon is slightly inconvenienced.

It’s Tragic Backstory, the movie. And if this seems like a snide writerly thing to say, also understand that it makes every character unique, and everyone has a stake in the game.

It might break down on a more critical viewing, but the writer in me was delightfully shocked at how clever some of the threads were woven together.

And it might not.

At any rate, as is usual in any movie that has a musical instrument, let us have a moment of silence for the tragic experiences of the bard’s lute.

(sounds of bookmarkedone confusion because you started so well, made sure it was safe, had a reinforced gig bag/case thing, and then you got it in water I will find you I will shake you I will peel your eyelids back and–)

Um. Yes. Anyway.

A friend and I were chatting afterward about which characters were relatable–in an ensemble cast (one of bookmarkedone’s favorite tropes, if you’re keeping track), you’ll love them all, but there’s usually one that you pick out as your favorite. Someone like you, someone nothing like you, someone you admire.

So this time around, we have:
- Barbarian Lady
- Dad Bard
- Small Girl (we love)
- Awkward Wizard
- I-hate-people Forest Girl
- I Do Not Understand This Reference/Paragon of Virtue Paladin
- Hugh Grant (as Hugh Grant)
They’re all different, with their own virtues and vices and fashion styles and motivations. Barbarian Lady is tough, Forest Girl is the only braincell among them. Usually it’s easy for me to pick a favorite, but this time–

I told my friend I related to all of them, because at one point or another in life, I’ve felt and acted the way they do–although perhaps with less bloodshed. The wizard’s lack of confidence is all too familiar in the form of stage fright. The barbarian lady is tough, yes, but she’s soft on the inside and wants pretty cottagecore things. As for the others–well, you can draw your own conclusions.

It’s a fascinating thing to consider, and probably means the characters are written and acted very well–no one in the crew is really a “side character.” They all get love, all get their day in the sun.

Can I say more without spoiling a movie most of you have not yet seen?

Probably not.

We’ll stop here then, and if you go to see it, remember to add this to the list of Renfaire Culture Movies, and that the dragon is always right.
Book Review: Prince of the Fallen Kingdom

March 21st, 2023
So I thought I’d give myself a bit of a break after smashing through Writers of the Future Vol. 39 in…barely over a week. Relax, take a Tuesday off the schedule, sleep a little, stare into space.

Not so.

This is C.A. Doehrmann’s fault, by the way, although she doesn’t know it yet.

Why? Because this lovely lady had the audacity to put one of her books up on Smashwords for free this week, setting off an irreversible chain of events:
- bookmarkedone discovering Smashwords (very dangerous, so many shiny books)
- nabbing Prince of the Fallen Kingdom
- thinking about Prince of the Fallen Kingdom while writing reviews
- opening book “just to relax”
- devouring said book in slightly over 24 hours
- Now We Must Talk About It/bookmarkedone is not getting her little break anytime soon
Really. The nerve of some people, waving free books under my nose. As if they don’t know I’ll drop everything in an alarming crash of shattered porcelain to follow them down any dark alleyway/troll tunnel/Hero’s Journey they choose, whilst ignoring every other responsibility in the world.

Book: Prince of the Fallen Kingdom, by C. A. Doehrmann

Series: Arc Legends of Ellunon, No. 2

Genre: YA High Fantasy (Sword and Sorcery/angels?)

Content for the Sensitive Reader:

Magic, battle sequences, mild flirting, some violent imagery, tensions between cultures, bloodshed, scars, monsters, 1 slightly graphic character death. Appropriate for a wide audience.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

SPOILER WARNING: this book is a sequel and review may contain spoilers for Book 1, The Kingmaster! You’ve been warned!

(flaps sweater sleeves ominously in your direction)

All the people gone that ought to be?

Okay. Let’s get on with it.

So in case you missed my review of the first Ellunon book, let me catch you up.

Wholesome Boy teams up with Veteran Warrior Dude and Healer Princess to save the world from Mr. Ominous who keeps stabbing everyone with black mind-control darts. They run in circles a bit. Lives are at stake. There are not enough sandwiches.

Book 2?

Wholesome Boy and Healer Princess are continuing the quest of Book 1…without Warrior Dude. They walk a lot. A new Mr. Ominous is in town, but this time with a side of Tantalizing Backstory. There are swords. Lots of stabbing. Still not enough sandwiches.

Let me explain.

Kyen of Avanna is our hero…sort of.

It probably shouldn’t delight me as much as it does that Doehrmann makes the mythic hero of the world and awkward gangly boy who just wants to eat sandwiches and not be bothered by anybody.

Delight me it does. Very much.

Kyen is one of those “you have never done anything wrong in your life, and I love you, shh, don’t start giving yourself a guilt complex, this is not negotiable,” characters.

He’s a master swordsman. He’s faultlessly polite. He has a past and he Does Not Talk about it. I should not be nearly as invested as I am in the moments when he almost doesn’t get to eat. The major battles? Great, very interesting. Someone coming between Kyen and bread? I am here and I am angry.

Okay, not that angry. You get the point.

And even though Kyen is a wandering loner…

He’s still tromping over hill and dale with Princess Adeya of Isea, who kidnapped herself into his company at the end of Book 1.

IF you read the review of the first book, you know I have…difficulties with Adeya.

Most of these fall into the category of her being really inexperienced and young–and thus the damsel in distress of the group.

Well, this time she’s still young. She shouts and cries and pleads and generally shows way more emotion than all the other characters (especially “slightly dazed, hm? Yes, I’m listening” Kyen). When things get scary, a lot of the time, she needs help.

But she’s learning.

Book 2 Adeya is way better than Book 1 Adeya. Yes, she’s still inexperienced, but she is putting herself firmly in the path of those who can teach her. She’s learned a lot, and she’s aware of how much she still doesn’t know. Yes, there are moments when the “pampered princess,” comes to light, but there are also moments when Adeya stamps her foot and demands to be respected…and it works. Nothing gets her down. Sure, she might cry for a bit, but she’s so relentlessly, cheerfully stubborn–

It’s delightful. She doesn’t get embarrassed when she doesn’t know things. She just says, “I can learn.” And that’s tremendous.

There are so many things that we don’t know, and I think a lot of us become afraid to ask as we get older. We don’t want to use that new word we learned because we’re afraid we’ll say it wrong, we don’t want to ask what that friend is talking about, because what if everyone knows it? We’re afraid of looking stupid.

Adeya isn’t. And I love that about her.

And you know, it’s nice to have a character who isn’t afraid to feel things, either. Don’t get me wrong, I love the reserved, brooding types. But Adeya is so open, whether it’s sunshine or tears–

When you have a book full of characters who don’t feel they have the luxury to cry, it’s sometimes refreshing to see someone who does.

And as for her being the “damsel in distress?”

Well, it’s true. Almost everyone in the book knows more about self-defense than Adeya, who picked up a broadsword for the first time in Book 1. So it’s more a juxtaposition issue–she’s going to look clumsy because everyone around her is so flawlessly skilled. Sometimes she needs help so she doesn’t wind up skewered on a sword. But at other times, she’s putting herself out there, facing the fight along with warriors far more experienced.

And that is something we call brave.

Which gives me a perfect opportunity to talk about the fight scenes.

Fight scenes are infamously hard to write. So, so tricky. If you don’t describe what’s happening, the reader is just going to be confused as to who won and why. If you describe every blow like a sports commentator, the reader is going to be bored to tears and probably confused by technical jargon.

Doehrmann does neither.

Sure, there are some moments where it’s a little confusing, where it could be clearer, shorter, etc. But for the most part?

She does something, very, very clever.

She not only splits her fights into one-on-one duels and Epic Battle Sequences, but she changes the style based on who is fighting.

Adeya fighting a bully with an overblown sense of confidence? It’s nothing short of a schoolyard brawl, hair pulling, punching, emotions flaring out of control. It works because it fits the characters. Adeya doesn’t know what she’s doing, so she’s not going to be technically flawless. She has one move and she does it very well.

When Kyen is holding a sword? Totally different situation. It’s gorgeous because it gives you insight into their characters, personalities, and experiences, while keeping the scenes varied.

Very good.

But I do have a little complaint about the swordplay…

Besides, you know, occasionally putting blades away without cleaning the blood off.

Adeya asks to learn a certain move, and is told that it’s too advanced. Adeya, being Adeya, tries it anyway, and eventually persuades her teacher that she can learn it, and does.

While it’s a great scene, and it shows a lot of character not only at that moment, but every time after when Adeya performs that particular maneuver–I have some reservations.

Vibrato. the reason is vibrato.

Hang on, because it’s going to seem like I’m diving way off topic.

Vibrato is this thing we do in violin (and voice, and many other instruments) that wavers the pitch, just slightly, to create a pretty effect, instead of just a flat, unchanging note. Only thing is, with a violin, we don’t have frets like, say, a guitar does. You don’t want to be playing around with pitch if you don’t have a sense of where “home” is.

In other words, if you’re a student who’s just learning and hasn’t burned A 440 and a few other key pitches deep into the recesses of the squishy flesh residing inside your skull.

Vibrato is not even whispered about in early violin classes.

Oh, students want to learn it, even when they don’t know what it is. It really changes the tone, and young musicians can hear that. But they’re told, unequivocally, no.

Until you are grounded in your sense of pitch, you’re not ready.

So when I hear Adeya ask to learn something complicated and be told no…I’m thinking of watching someone try to vibrato and completely lose their tonal center and any sense of music at all.

It bugs me. A little bit. If you’re not ready for something, you’re not ready, and no matter of assertiveness is going to make up for time and patience and lots and lots of practice. Even if you know how something works in your mind, getting your body to follow those instructions sometimes takes much longer than it feels like it should.

I digress. Clearly.

I’m not sure it’s stated how long Adeya has been studying or how long she trains before she learns her One Signature Move…it could be reasonable. I’m being picky. As I do.

Shall we get back to the story?

Right. Where were we? Kyen and Adaya, off to save the world.

Or…Kyen and Adaya, about to get clobbered by fiends, destroy a village, and plunge headfirst into the backstory of Kyen of Avanna that we didn’t know we needed.

You think when you start the book, that it’s going to be exactly the same as the first one–Kyen and Adaya on the run from various fiends and Mr. Ominous with a black weapon.

Not so.

There’s a more fiendish fiend. Not only does it want to eat you to add to its shadow-shape, anything it touches will be infected with its oozy shadow-self.

Yeah. Definitely did not have that in the last book. And a fight with something that you can’t let touch you? That’s a bit more scary than just avoiding a mouth full of teeth.

And instead of a vague Mr. Ominous in the shadows, our villain has a name. And a face. and a backstory. And a complaint to file with the greater People of his Homeland, thank you very much.

Are you getting the idea that I like this book yet?

I’m going to cut the chase. I kind of loved it.

And that’s rare for a self-published/indie book, because usually I’m gritting my teeth over how glorious it could have been with just a little more editing.

It’s not the most genius groundbreaking fantasy novel of the decade. But it doesn’t try to be. It’s a light read, a fantasy novel for readers, not scholars, with a few good twists and a lot of heart.

So now I’m going to gush about all the things I liked.

First off,

We get to find out what the Arc looks like.

This was actually one of the things that bugged me the most from Book 1–we don’t have a sun in this world, but a thing called the “Arc,” which I, the reader, had only the vaguest idea of what it looked like.

My best guess now is that it’s a bit like the rings of Saturn, except they serve the purpose of the sun.

I have no idea how that would affect the gravity/tides/light/etc. of this world, but I do think aesthetically it is very cool.

And I know I said Adeya has “damsel in distress” moments…

But that’s probably not quite fair. In addition to being very brave with the limited skillset that she has, Adeya is still the trained healer we met in the first book.

And in a world of characters giving could you please stop getting stabbed for five minutes energy, that’s a pretty useful thing to know.

We no longer have Mr. Sexist Nobleman wandering around

slowly driving me crazy by masking his horribleness in a ruse of chivalry.

Look, I’m a little renfaire bard, okay? I have feelings when it comes to chivalry.

Mostly running into stuff like this and saying That’s Not It.

Don’t misunderstand, there’s still a jerk in the book that I would like to personally punch in the face. But he’s more of a “I don’t respect you because I don’t appreciate your skills/you come from a different culture/also I’m going to flirt with you,” creep than a sexist one.

Variety, I guess. He is, at least, not getting away with it.

But let’s focus on the good stuff.

Lady warrior fighting right alongside her swordbrothers and it isn’t even questioned once if she should be there because she is amazing, and also did I mention she has metal spikes braided into her hair, braiding each other’s hair for battle, and by the way, there’s solid female friendships starting here–

(deep breath)

The writing is good.

There are at least two places I was grinning because of a plot twist and one that made me gasp and say “No,” out loud, as in, “No, you did not just do that ooh that’s good.”

Not many books get that.

And for all that it’s a simple world, nothing overly detailed or complicated–

Let’s talk about the names!

This might have caught my attention reading the first book–we have Kyen of Avanna and Adeya of Isea, but also–Finn? And Clarissa?

Seems a little odd, right?

Oh, ho, ho, wait until you see what she’s done.

Let me introduce you to Ennyen, Gennen, Inen, Odallyan, and Wynne.

Notice a similarity in name structure? Or how about Kyen, son of Odyen?

Ignoring for a second the similarity to “Odin” and the mythic depth that connotation offers, it’s a pretty clear familial similarity. The previous five are all from the same country.

Doehrmann has carefully chosen names that tell you what country and culture the character comes from before any introduction is made.

Clever, clever!

The language nerd in me is immensely pleased.

Do I know the pronunciation difference between Ennyen and Inen?

No.

But let’s talk about the romantic tropes.

Look, this isn’t a romance. It’s a very clean, tame little story about a boy and a girl, heroic teenagers, who just happen to be traveling together and falling into…a lot of romantic tropes.
- There’s Only One Bed. Technically I think this happens twice, and I’m just so amused because of how it turns out (hint: the romance readers are probably disappointed).
- Let me heal your wounds and gently touch your scars from long-ago battles
- I am absolutely protecting you (from both parties in the non-relationship)
- Sassy side character kids be like, “…y’all are runaway lovers, right?”
- oooh, you were betrothed once upon a time, and now I have to deal with Feelings that I definitely do not have.
- It’s okay for us to hang out because I am never getting married.
- (falls asleep on your shoulder)
- Prefers to sleep outside your door so I know you’re safe.
If you look me in the eye, and without smiling, tell me this isn’t going to be a romance somewhere down the road, darling, you lie to me and I do not believe you.

What I didn’t like?

Look, it’s not perfect.

I’m personally still not sold on the fiends as villains. Big shiny waves of shadow and light don’t really make me feel anything in a fight scene. Like yes, they’re visually stunning, but I don’t know what the impact is. A shadow creature that can double in size and grow itself new limbs when you hack them off is really disgusting and terrifying, yes, but does it have the same impact as fangs over your face, saliva dripping onto your cheek?

I know teeth are going to hurt. What it feels like to be absorbed by a fiend? I’m a little less sure.

It’s a little repetitive in places. The ruin is just a ruin–a maze to get lost in, and it’s difficult to tell one corner from the next. Kyen wanders off a lot, and a lot of time is taken up looking for (and usually not finding him).

Not that I blame him for that.

There’s still the creep I mentioned before. There’s a lot of sass and mockery from different characters towards Adeya just because she’s from a different culture and doesn’t understand how things work.

But all told?

It’s really nice. There’s a strong “murder isn’t the answer” vibe that we don’t get in a lot of books. The writing flows well, and it’s also one of those rare specimens where I like the sequel better than the first book. And there’s a lot more explanation of how this world’s magic system works–things that maybe aren’t essential to know to enjoy the story, but when they involve the difference in being/consciousness of non-human entities–I am definitely here for that.

So if you like books with magic, swords, and sassy side character children, and have some patience, Prince of the Fallen Kingdom might be just the thing.

Hm? What’s the patience for?

Funny thing, that.

After I finished the book, I wandered over to Doehrmann’s Goodreads page. Just to see what the next book was called, how many were in the series, that kind of thing.

And there’s the first book, there’s the second book–

And…there is no third book.

The elusive Book 3–has yet to be published.

Oh. No.

So…yeah. Now we must wait.

Just when things were getting good.
ARC Review: Writers of the Future Vol. 39 (Part II)

March 18th, 2023

And we’re back, reviewing the second part of the anthology, filled by winning stories from the “most enduring and influential contest in the history of SF and Fantasy.”

Not like it’s a big deal or anything.

If you want to catch up on part I, you can click the link here, but otherwise, let’s charge ahead!

“Fire in the Hole: A Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. Adventure,” by Kevin J. Anderson

Rating: 4 out of 5.

TW: ghosts, zombies, vampires, demons etc., domestic abuse, language, death by alcohol poisoning, child with unknown parentage

The cover art story!

I didn’t expect to enjoy this one.

I’m not a big fan of zombies. And this promised to be very silly.

That said, it’s funny with a lot of heart. It’s simple and straightforward, with clear heroes and villains, and cheerful, likeable characters. It’s complete with quotes from both The Hobbit and Spiderman, if that gives you any hint as to what sort of story this is.

Plus dragons. Y’know.

And after all the solitary wizards and secret worlds of fantasy (not that they aren’t magnificent), it’s nice to see everyone magical and unmagical just going about their lives together. Happily. So what if you’re a zombie and he’s a salamander and she’s a water sprite? There’s room enough for us all.

I think I could get used to stories like that.

“A Trickle in History,” by Elaine Midcoh

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

TW: plans for suicide rather than capture/execution, xenophobia, war, discussion of the Holocaust, mild language

Almost a decade ago, a writer friend told me about a little-known history fact related to World War II. It was the first time I’d heard it, and I was quite awestruck, while she carried on to say that she wished someone would either write a story or literally time travel to erase one of the darkest horrors in history (I’m a little fuzzy on which she said at the time).

Well, the story is here. Someone’s done it.

“A Trickle in History,” is a story of the last surviving Jewish people in the world, trying to go back in time to stop the Holocaust.

It’s tragic. It’s painful. It’s kind of beautiful. I think it’s an important story to hear right now.

Besides. I have a soft spot for time travel.

Rebecca’s eyes widened. “You want me to kill—”

“No,” Albert interrupted. “We want you to live.”
Midcoh, Elaine. L. Ron Hubbard presents Writers of the Future Vol. 39 (Kindle Locations 5709-5711). Galaxy Press, Inc.

Are there flaws? Plot holes? Paradoxes? Are there things left broken, imperfect?

Yes to all of these. But now that this story is written, it will inspire the next one, starting where it left off.

I imagine that friend of mine might like reading it.

“The Withering Sky,” by Arthur H. Manners

Rating: 4 out of 5.

TW: violence/murder, horror, addiction, alcohol, language, possible warning for claustrophobia and agoraphobia

Ahh, this one.

I don’t read horror a lot. It’s more that the horror genre makes a little care package, selects a few stories, some spooky shadows, creaky noises, and its weirdest new monsters, wraps them in brown paper and twine, and drops them on the rooftop under the garrett window, delivered via crow.

They sort of show up and insist on having my attention. Like a toddler reaching grabby hands for your face.

He hopes that you enjoy the story and apologises for the ever-shifting doom mural that consequently appears on your bedroom wall. He is working on removing this effect from his prose, but for now asks that you think of it not as a bug, but as a feature.
Hubbard, L. Ron. Writers of the Future 39 (Kindle Locations 5856-5858). Galaxy Press, Inc..

I could tell this was a good one because I wasn’t scared reading it so much as–look, if there’s a name for that emotion, someone tell me. You know, when you know what’s coming, feel it clenching in your gut, but you keep hunting a way out, any way out, dreading calmly. The pages were flicking by.

It’s disgusting. It’s horrible. The place is stark and unfriendly and miserable. It’s definitely not the kind of story world you’d take a willing vacation in.

But there’s something real there. Something I recognize.

That desire the protagonist has to wander, to keep moving, moving–you decide if it’s good or bad, but it’s familiar to me. It’s something I understand.

“The Fall of Crodendra M,” by T. J. Knight

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

TW: drug use/addiction, alcohol, language, planetary destruction

I was immediately interested in this one when the author mentioned the topic of real vs. virtual life. It’s something I think about probably more than most people because of all the live music performance–and when Ye Olde Plague struck the lands, I started to wonder if it would come back at all, if people would care to leave the comfort of their homes and trudge out to squeaky theatre seats to hear us play old music by (mostly) long-dead composers.

It didn’t go the way I thought it would. Which, generally, is a compliment.

A serene waterfall, a battlefield with smoke and mute gunfire. All that has happened in the universe, captured for our collective imaginations. Watch, and forget your troubles.
Knight, T. J. L. Ron Hubbard presents Writers of the Future Vol. 39 (Kindle Locations 7054-7056). Galaxy Press, Inc.

It’s funny. Both “The Withering Sky,” and “The Fall of Crodendra M,” feature the Vitruvian Man. Not as a plot point. Just casually, as a description.

Anyway.

Normally it annoys me, a story where it could all have been avoided, if people just cared, if government wasn’t utterly blustering and useless. When the main action is just to make the protagonist feel good, rather than to change anything at all.

Maybe it did a little. But more than that–

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the times when a feeling jolts me too fast for me to think things through–is it right, is it wrong, why I feel it in the first place.

Sometimes it’s nice to stop thinking and just go. Forget if it matters. Just do what you need to do.

Live.

“What Is Art Direction?” by Lazarus Chernik

I…do not really know what to make of this one. I’ll leave it to the actual illustrators and art professionals to judge its worth.

The statistics were interesting.

Audiences see the average book cover in less than one second. If an illustration attracts them, they will look at it for approximately two seconds and may read the title. If, in those two seconds, they decide the illustration “speaks” to them, they will engage with it for an average of five seconds, reading the first sentences of a blurb. Every step of this progression increases their likelihood of buying and reading the whole story.
Chernik, Lazarus. L. Ron Hubbard. presents Writers of the Future Vol. 39 (Kindle Locations 7703-7707). Galaxy Press, Inc.

“Constant Never,” by S. M. Stirling

Rating: 2 out of 5.

TW: Christianity vs. paganism, religious prejudice/insults, battle violence, animal and human sacrifice, attempted sexual assault, slavery, misogyny, themes of robbery/rape, some graphic deaths

Oddly enough, the one I thought I’d love, the incredibly historical fantasy story complete with dragons and references to the Sigurd myth–yeah, sorry, S. M. Stirling, this was emphatically not my cup of tea or tankard of any other more suspicious substance.

I hate Karl.

I realize that is more or less the point of the narrative. But it reminds me far too much of reading the story of Es-Sinbad of the Sea in the 1001 Arabian Nights, shoving snacks in my mouth and waiting for him to die.

It’s an odd sort of story where you don’t root for your protagonist a little bit.

But options for hero in this story are slim–the man who uses the faith of Christianity as a shield for every selfish, vulgar, repulsive decision he makes, or the man who slaughters many and kills a man for human sacrifice.

It’s funny. The story is meant to mimic the Lay of the Volsungs–a story with a lot of blood and gore and many other highly regrettable choices.

I’d take Sigurd over Karl every day of the year, no questions asked.

Sorry.

“The Children of Desolation,” by Spencer Sekulin

Rating: 5 out of 5.

TW: cancer, cult behavior/youth gangs, drugging, action/fight sequences, language

But this one might just be my favorite!

Oddly enough, it does share one similarity with “Constant Never.” The Ouroboros, the snake eating its own tail. Just like the Vitruvian Man, it’s in the background, twinning two stories that appear back to back.

The anthology isn’t themed beyond the greater concept of speculative fiction. It’s an odd coincidence.

I loved almost everything about “The Children of Desolation.” This wasn’t just a pawn game like “White Elephant,” or a quest for survival in a horror landscape or anything like it.

It’s about a man who loves his family and wants to do the right thing. It’s about the price of blood spilled, about revenge and loyalty and mercy.

I love this so much. The characters (grumpy old man, small blind girl, and giant dog), the setting (a dystopia that somehow manages to still be beautiful), the conflict, the plot twists, the criminal underworld, debt collectors–argh, this thing is good!

And it’s good in a way that tells you the author understands life, too. What matters most. What makes life worth keeping.

And we are getting a novel of this loveliness? Really?

“Timelines and Bloodlines,” by L. H. Davis

Rating: 3 out of 5.

TW: nudity, assassination, battle, bomb threat, mention of rape/prostitution, modern witchcraft, language

I can’t really say the same about “understanding life” as in the previous story.

It’s another numbers game, a mental exercise. Fundamental question: if you kill someone in the past, what happens to their descendants? How many people do you wipe out of existence with one life?

It’s the same theme that appears in “A Trickle in History,” but the two handle the idea in very different ways.

It’s interesting. The characters are a little more rounded than in some hard sci-fi. It’s compelling. Sometimes it’s hard to see just how things will turn out. And the science-y explanation of how time travel works is actually quite fascinating.

Are there paradoxes that were ignored? Probably.

Am I annoyed at the “let’s see the only woman in the story naked…twice?” Yes.

But for the most part, I can’t complain about the style or the quality of writing. It flows well. And at heart, the characters are trying to save what’s most important to them, whether that’s one person or the whole world.

“The Last History,” by Samuel Parr

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

TW: death, murder, corpses, blood magic

If “The Children of Desolation,” was my favorite, then “The Last History” comes very, very close indeed.

And with the possible exception of the cover, this also might be my favorite illustration.

Fun fact about this anthology. Descriptive text has been added for each of the illustrations in the eBook version so those who are visually impaired can still enjoy the experience. They’re included with links like footnotes at the end of the book.

I was reading the one for “The Last History” illustration, and I had to go back and look again, because I was so busy squinting at the tiny letter system in the arched stone that I missed the fires and the stained glass.

It’s beautiful, anyway. I think my favorite part is how clearly you can see the personality of the characters in the image, even though they’re so small in comparison.

He stands tall, feet apart, balanced, ready to take on the world or run and jump in the air. She stands quietly, reserved, in dark colors, like a shadow.

It’s gorgeous.

There’s the Chinese Civil Service Exam, transformed in a world of calligraphy-based magic. There’s an elderly woman protagonist and an army of young students. There’s a talking frog.

Seriously, what more could you ask for?

Oh, maybe a discussion of unbalanced society and innate unfairness despite appearances, the violence of fighting for justice, character depth and tension, and the love of parent and child, student and teacher, hmm?

Lovely story. Exactly what I didn’t know I wanted to read.

Final result?

Usually when I get the new volume in my hands and finish reading it, I’m ready to attest that it’s better than the year before. Not sure I can keep saying that. Right now, I’m just thinking of all the stories I’ve collected since the first ARC I got from GalaxyPress–Luke Wildman’s “How to Steal the Plot Armor,” Brittany Rainsdon’s “Half Breed,” Leah Ning’s “Yellow and Pink.” A few more of Hubbard’s stories.

I’m not sure I can keep comparing anthologies because each one has had at least one story I grab and hold onto, glittering even among the rest.

Whatever you say, I’ve been to the outer reaches of the universe, fallen into dark tunnels, met dragons, traveled through time (twice!), and taken a train from a city underneath the earth.

It’s been an adventure.

Rating: 4 out of 5.
ARC Review: Writers of the Future Vol. 39 (Part I)

March 17th, 2023
I have an ARC! I have an ARC! I’ve read the book that isn’t even out yet!

Excuse the gloating. No, I don’t seem to get tired of this.

L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Vol. 39

Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, and horror

Publication Date: May 16, 2023

Disclaimer: bookmarkedone received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. To say that the lure of free books does not sway bookmarkedone’s opinions would be naïve, but to assume that any ideas expressed in this review are anyone’s but hers would be outright ridiculous. Try to tell bookmarkedone what to write and you will likely escape with singed fingers and a crushed sense of pride.

The Rules Are As Follows:
- Writers of the Future is an anthology.
- Each story gets its own mini-review.
- Spoilers are clearly marked (this time there are none).
- No star rating for craft essays.
- I will wax poetic and wander off topic and no, you can’t stop me.
- The anthology is gigantic, so this post is split into two parts.
- Star rating for book as a whole is saved for post 2.
- If you still don’t understand what’s going on, click the links to read the posts for Vol.s 36, 37, and 38–we’ve been doing this for a while.
Okay! No more time for delay! We have this year’s best new science fiction and fantasy stories hot off the press!

“Kitsune,” by Devon Bohm

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

TW: language, drug use, nudity, toxic/abusive relationships, affair, topic of racism

There aren’t supposed to be foxes in New Mexico. They went extinct in 2035.
Bohm, Devon. L. Ron Hubbard presents Writers of the Future Vol. 39 (Kindle Location 437). Galaxy Press, Inc.

Starting off with a very literary magical realism story, replete with folklore from multiple cultures, beautiful colors, and some pointed statements about what it means to love and be loved.

Did I see the plot coming at the first hint of the end?

That’s a hazard of studying both fantasy and literary conventions. It’s still very well-written.

Except…

This is the one that made me get kind of mad because abusive relationships were presented as the norm.

They’re not. And we shouldn’t act like they are because that’s accepting them, acting like it can’t change.

Girl in the relationship for the social status being surprised when the insensitive druggie boyfriend turns out to be, well, the insensitive druggie boyfriend, and blaming society instead of realizing her own part in the problem is also a really good way to annoy bookmarkedone. In real life or books.

It’s probably a necessary narrative. It’s the limited perspective of the narrator. It’s for effect. I know this.

It’s just one of those stories that makes me want to sit the character down, give them a cup of tea, and then yell some sense into them like Edna Mode from The Incredibles.

Not the most gentle, therapeutic route. I’m aware.

“Moonlight and Funk,” by Marianne Xenos

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

TW: murder, drugs, alcohol, slavery, consensual vs. non-consensual relationships, seduction, mild language, discussion of gender, vampires

This one has an older feel, like some of the stories I’ve read from much earlier anthologies. The illustration, too.

Not a complaint. It’s a simple little story of a vampire contemplating mortality–but perhaps not the way you expect.

…an army of condos had conquered the old magic…
Xenos, Marianne. L. Ron Hubbard presents Writers of the Future Vol. 39 (Kindle Location 942). Galaxy Press, Inc..

Welcome to the Florida Keys! It’s time to meet a dragon with a wound covered by duct tape and a vampire who sells upcycled jewelry for a living, gets along well with the locals, hates litter, and wears pink high-tops.

I’m smiling just thinking about it.

It’s so unexpected, but it’s perfect. I immediately thought of the ladies selling jewelry made from old silverware at the last Renaissance festival I was at, and yes, yup, 100%, totally could have had a vampire there. Wouldn’t even question it.

Besides that, the story has good heart.

An immortal life without ice cream or the sun on your shoulders is a heavy thing to consider. Even if you want to live forever.

“Death and the Taxman,” by David Hankins

Rating: 4 out of 5.

TW: death, mild language, religious imagery, demon/spirit summoning, 1-2 rude jokes.

To any tax auditors reading this: you are lovely people. Please don’t audit David again. He hopes you enjoy “Death and the Taxman.”
Hubbard, L. Ron. Writers of the Future 39 (Kindle Locations 1232-1233). Galaxy Press, Inc.

It’s quite a person who can make death something less frightening, and more than that, can make us laugh.

Seems impossible, I know. But please, let me introduce you to Hankins’ version of Death–grim, businesslike, lonely, socially awkward, incapable of lying, loves ice cream, and has a personal hatred of doorknobs.

This weirdo. I love him.

Add to that the gorgeous writing, the sounds and smells (some of these realistically disgusting. Well done) and flavors that Hankins works into his writing, and I’m almost willing to overlook the stolen, warped bits of religious imagery that all stories of this type have.

Almost.

Am I personally satisfied with the ending?

No. I am not.

Is it objectively a very good one?

Yes. Yes, it is.

(more to the point, I’m pretty sure I heard rumor about a novel-length version in the works…Hankins. Hankins if you’re listening, please, I need more Cora)

“Under my Cypresses,” by Jason Palmatier

Rating: 3 out of 5.

TW: language, alcohol, prejudice.

Ah. AI. The hot topic virtually everywhere in the artistic/creative world right now.

But this isn’t a bad romp, for being about AI. It’s much further in the future than our present day. In a time when the difference between sentient AI and sentient human is a slim one.

It’s colorful. Loud. Bright. Got one of my favorite illustrations for the anthology. And the “real-but-not-real,” that’s something that’s fascinated humanity since we began to dream. Something familiar, even in a very futuristic sci-fi, from Dealings with the Fae.

What I don’t like?

There’s a lot of hinting about the protagonist’s backstory that just…never gets answered. Like yes, it’s true, the focus is on the now, and in the restraining length of a short story, there’s not a lot of space, and everything else is so interesting you might overlook it–

I’m still going to grumble about it, though.

Otherwise, it’s an interesting exploration of “what is a person” if it’s no longer just “human,” and some familiar condemnation of social prejudice in a new shape.

Mostly I just like the AI ghosts. They’re cool, alright?

“Circulate,” by L. Ron Hubbard (craft essay)

Perhaps the things he said were lies, perhaps divine truth. But whatever they were, they stimulated.
Hubbard, L. Ron. Writers of the Future 39 (Kindle Location 2252). Galaxy Press, Inc.

I think I’ve read this one before, but I don’t recall if it was in one of the previous anthologies or the WOTF online workshop.

Either way, some solid advice about thwarting writer’s block.

“The Unwilling Hero,” by L. Ron Hubbard

Rating: 3 out of 5.

TW: alcohol, smoking

So after waging my way..sixty-seven percent through the giant tome that is Hubbard’s Battlefield Earth–I wasn’t as perky about reading another of his stories as I was last year.

Not that there’s anything wrong with them. Just that if you ate Cheerios for breakfast every morning for a year, eventually you’d start to dream about the rare possibility of a fruit loop.

Stylistically. Needed something new.

That said, “The Unwilling Hero” is charming enough. There are the markers of its culture and era, the young man individualist hero out to save the world/solar system/etc. But in this case, the young man is Vic.

Vic Hardin was far from ninety feet tall. He was about five feet five. He had a wiry shock of hair, a good-natured grin, a snub nose and freckles. He was not afraid of anything commonly met on a reporter’s beat except his city editor…
Hubbard, L. Ron. Writers of the Future 39 (Kindle Locations 2373-2375). Galaxy Press, Inc.

It’s pretty hard not to like Vic, at least a little bit.

And at heart, it’s about what really makes a hero–is it all the fame, or is it being a soldier, or is it about people?

Hubbard’s a hopeless little romantic sometimes.

So if you can chuck out the bits about Manifest Destiny spread out onto an interplanetary scale, it’s not a bad little read.

“White Elephant,” by David K. Henrickson

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

TW: language, xenophobia, discussion of gender, human genetic alteration

Honestly, I have mixed feelings on this one.

On the one hand, we have two really cool ladies ruling this hard sci-fi story world.

On the other–it’s more about politics and the mechanics of the science fiction elements than anything else.

Not bad if that’s your kind of story or if you need to prepare your solar system for an alien invasion/visit/diplomatic AI envoy–but it’s not exactly my favorite type of thing to read.

It’s interesting. It’s a little long. I’m salty about not getting more of the aliens on the page and will likely remain so even though that’s clearly not the story the author wanted to write.

Couple of things annoy me.

You know I’m a fantasy writer. Most of you know this very well.

In fantasy, we have a high respect for earth, stone, and tree. And magic, but that’s not the point here.

The narrator of this story has lived most of her life on another planet. A place where the very gravity is different. She’s gotten used to it. Likes it.

And hates Earth.

Eh? You’re really complaining about the dirt and wind and wildness of Earth? Madame?

It’s raining right now, outside the garrett. The kind of cold rain, ice lining the rooftops below the window. Drops lashing against the glass. I’m breathing the rainy air, cold breeze squeaking in, whispering to me old songs about running and laughing, dark nights and brighter mornings, rich treasure and red fire.

Tell me again that you don’t like Earth.

And then there’s the neoforms.

Look, we all know that styles change and humanity looks different in different eras. But is the point of life really to give up wild emotion, gender, desire?

I know it’s tempting. Not to feel the bad things. But I can’t believe that’s the actual meaning of life.

“Piracy for Beginners,” by J. R. Johnson

Rating: 2.5 out of 5.

TW: language, action/fight sequences, innuendo, pornography, gas chambers

Three interplanetary adventure stories in a row is a little much for my “we-prefer-fantasy” reading tastes. Look, space is great, but I do like to see a tree once in a while.

I stood facing the crew, projecting confidence like a unicorn spews rainbows.
Johnson, J. R. L. Ron Hubbard presents Writers of the Future Vol. 39 (Kindle Location 3969). Galaxy Press, Inc.

So even though I was a little sci-fi fatigued, there are some really nice lines in this one. The protagonist is one of those no-nonsense ladies that Gets Things Done and has a snarky sense of humor. Some of the arguments with her ship’s AI were quite funny.

There’s action, there’s heart, there’s the grit of fighting for what you believe in, for who you believe in.

There’s also a passage of backstory heart-to-heart that it really did not feel like we had time for in the middle of the fight, but again, take this with a grain of salt as my brain was getting a bit of a spaceship overload.

Pirates are always nice.

“Prioritize to Increase Your Writing,” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (craft essay)

Mind games. Writing is all about mind games and understanding yourself. Even though I don’t understand myself as well as I think I do.
Rusch, Kristine Kathryn. L. Ron Hubbard presents Writers of the Future Vol. 39 (Kindle Locations 4894-4896). Galaxy Press, Inc.

I really liked this one.

It’s easy to forget to take care of yourself as a writer. The goal, the goal, especially when it seems hard to reach, is often the only thing you think about. And when you set your own hours, you can work very little, like Rusch mentions, or sometimes, far too much.

Hence the number of times I’ve been editing posts well after midnight.

(cue bookmarkedone glancing awkwardly at clock…again)

It’s good to remember to take care of yourself. Eat good food. Be with the people you love. Sleep when you need to.

Feeling especially caught by that last one.

That’s the halfway point! Two of my favorite stories coming, but you’ll have to read the second post to see which ones they are.

Stay tuned!
The Kingmaster (Book Review)

February 7th, 2023
I have no memory of acquiring this book.

No, but seriously. I opened my Kindle to read Battlefield Earth, and there it was, at the very top of my virtual bookshelf, implying that I’d downloaded it sometime in the last two weeks.

I have, at best, only a fuzzy recollection of possibly doing so.

More concerning, its title contains the word “Arc.”

I am not on the advanced reader team for this book. I am not familiar with this author. No emails have been exchanged requesting a review.

Goodreads claims it was published in 2021.

cue the bookmarkedone panic because nooo I did not leave this book sitting there that long, right?

In case you’re worried, I downloaded it January 28th. Of this year. “Arc” is part of the series name, not an indication of an advanced copy. Most likely it was a freebie someone posted on Twitter, I snagged it, and promptly forgot about it in the chaos that is reviewing books, composing a musical, and plotting the creation of a medieval punk band.

I’m always very careful with my ARCs.

The Kingmaster, by C. A. Doehrmann

Series: Arc Legends of Ellunon, No. 1

Genre: (YA) Fantasy

Content for the Sensitive Reader:

Bloodshed, Epic Battles, plenty of swordfighting, magic, one Man Who Mysteriously Lost His Shirt scene, mind control/possession, poisoning, use of blowdarts (if you have a needle phobia, this might not be for you), some sexist/ableist comments.

Bookmarkedone rating:

Rating: 3 out of 5.

It’s actually a rather fun read. It’s got a good flow to the prose, one that catches you and keeps you reading so the pages flick by. And it’s quick. Compared to the 1,050-page monster that is Battlefield Earth, I felt like a wizard speeding through this.

It starts in the middle of things, not so deep that you have no idea what’s going on, but so the characters already know each other and have some history to their relationships and the world.

I knew this was an indie book, so I braced myself for the flaws that come with that heritage–no professional editing team, usually the early days of a new writer, some soft spots in the story.

Not so.

A few typos. That’s all. That and the perhaps too-blue background of the cover are the only things that immediately separate this from a traditionally-published novel (and let’s face it. I’ve picked out typos in professionally published books. Even among my favorites).

It deserves being noted. Because to come up with something that polished, to do it on your own, while handling writing, formatting, publicity, and getting it to the grubby hands of hungry little readers–

It’s quite something.

Anyway, on to the book itself.

Allow me to introduce you to our cast of characters.

Kyen of Avanna

Skinny lad. Believes in the beauty and wonder of The Sandwich. Forgets things easily. Wanders off often. Fights for his friends. Very awkward around young ladies of nobility. Doesn’t do physical affection (hugs). Oh yeah, and there’s something about him being a master swordsman and the sole survivor of a kingdom decimated in the last war, of which he is a mythic hero.

This boy. I kind of love him.

Finn of Veleda

Redhead. Also fight-for-my-friends type. Gets woefully insufficient page time. Has ten sisters. Also happens to be a crown prince.

Adeya of Isea

Have you read or seen The Princess Bride? She’s…kind of a Buttercup. Little bit. You know, stunningly beautiful, Goldilocks hair, plays the damsel in distress. Three times. Cries…a lot.

It’s not as bad as all that. She’s spunky and energetic and knows what she wants. She doesn’t let anyone stand in her way.

She’s young, that’s all. And next to two master swordsmen when she’s just learning the basics of fighting, she’s going to look clumsy and awkward.

I like Adeya. Or I want to like her, anyway. She’s kind. All she really wants to do is help.

Galveston of Eope

So while titles for Finn and Adeya are more like minor inconveniences that do not prevent them from hanging out with a homeless wanderer like Kyen–

Galveston is a Prince.

Imagine Boromir, and then add an extra layer of pompishness.

I like Boromir. Galveston–less.

At any rate, he’s still cool when it comes down to smashing stuff with a sword. He’s a former soldier who lost a hand in the same war Kyen fought in–but that doesn’t stop him from knocking down his foes like bowling pins. In that aspect, at least, he’s amazing.

The Kingmaster (villain)

Ah yes! The swishy-swishy-black-cloaked bad guy! Assassin time! Appearing in your bushes with a blowpipe and poison darts! Mysteriously escaping all possible pursuit!

I can’t actually say more than that without spoiling the book.

The story itself?

There’s a lot to like.
- the fight scenes are actually…good? As in reading them is interesting because of the way the author describes the way the characters move (and yes, each one has a different fighting style and it’s gorgeous)
- Doehrmann knows how to write some suspense and make you care about the characters (Kyen. We care about Kyen. Boy deserves more sandwiches)
- There are some eyebrow-raising plot twists (even if I, a seasoned fantasy curmudgeon, had my suspicions)
- tree cities
- Tree Cities.
- less murder than you might expect. Look, it’s a fantasy where the fate of the world is at stake, so there’s going to be some bloodshed, some casualties. But Doehrmann is careful. She doesn’t see death as the ultimate answer to solving a conflict. Especially in cases where monsters can’t be killed.
What I didn’t like?
- it’s quirky for the sake of being quirky–there’s no sun in this world, just the “arc.” No implication of what this looks like or how a sun in the shape of a crescent moon might affect the world it shines on, gravity, twilight, etc. (although we do get a green sunrise, which is…frankly, lovely). It’s for the aesthetic, like the names, and doesn’t really have anything to do with the worldbuilding or story.
- sexist comments to the girl! You’re a woman! You can’t fight!
cue a round table of literary lady assassins laughing in this stupid boy’s face. Just because we might weigh half as much as you and don’t have the power of a charging bull, we can still stab, slice, poison, and political-intrigue our way just fine, thank you.
- ableist comments to the guy–
At first I thought it was a coincidence/sloppy writing, how frequently Galveston’s missing hand was brought up in description. Okay, we get it. He’s missing a hand. Lots of people in fantasy (and especially High Sea/Pirate) books are.

But then we get to the topic of why Adeya doesn’t like him. Not technically a spoiler here, since it’s obvious from their introduction, when he’s presented as her suitor, and she’s presented as…less enthused.

“I mean, have you seen Galveston’s arm? And he’s so old! I’ve tried but I can’t! I just can’t!”
Doehrmann, C. A. The Kingmaster: (Arc Legends of Ellunon Book 1) (p. 191). C. A. Doehrmann. Kindle Edition.

Hold up.

I can see her not wanting to have a suitor significantly older than herself–she reads like a teenager, although I don’t believe her age is ever mentioned, and honestly, who can blame her there?

But complaining about his arm?

(cue furious bookmarkedone noises)

I’m angry about this for a lot of reasons.
- It’s not a big deal. It’s not even ugly to look at, it’s just a clean amputation.
- He gets on fine without the hand (see smashing up lots of people/places with his sword)
- Congratulations! You just made your protagonist so shallow when we were just starting to like her!
- There are so many other things to dislike about Galveston that there’s really no excuse for Adeya choosing this one
  - his personality
  - his nastiness to her/trying to make her feel small/useless
  - his casual sexism
  - the fact that they just aren’t a good fit for each other as people
Need to reject a guy’s affections? Totally fine. It happens. Don’t take your tips from Adeya of Isea.

Other complaints?

The whole Galveston comment has to make me reevaluate another aspect of the book that I dismissed on the grounds of “writer probably didn’t think about it from this angle.”

It’s medieval fantasy. Everyone has various types of swords, shields, spears, helmets, Spanish-style cotton armor, leather armor, chain mail–you get the idea.

They all have traditional, fantasy-trope Eurocentrically-medieval weapons, while the villain has a blowpipe.

I’m going with the hope that the author did her research and discovered it has been used in Western Europe, even if it traditionally is associated with Asia and Central and South America.

Instead of, y’know, singling out the villain as “culturally different.”

You wouldn’t do that…right?

Moving on.

Last thing that makes me squirm is the whole “arcangel” thing. It’s clearly drawn from religious language, and the entire book is characterized by the light/dark, good/bad imagery.

It’s the first book. I don’t know what the writer is plotting for the future, if this is intentional allegory or–just something that happened. It’s something I pay close attention to, anyway.

All in all, it’s not a bad little book.

It’s a fun read, even with its flaws. And it’s got a good moral at its heart:

Stick by your friends, even if they push you away and you aren’t sure what to do, vett your guests better than “dude, that’s a great story,” oh, and make sure that you give soldiers an ample pension when they retire so they don’t start an uprising against you.

Solid life advice.
The School for Good and Evil (Page to Screen)

January 24th, 2023

I came here for one reason and one reason only. To watch Sophia Anne Caruso be a dazzling good actress and watch a nonsensical fairy-tale fashion show lasting two hours and twenty-seven minutes.

I read the book first, because I’m a nerd.

If you missed the first part of the review, (the book), you can find it here, and if you don’t care, then you can crash ahead. Have fun.

So when I saw the length of the movie, my first thought was, “Ah. A carefully duplicated storytelling event in which every element is meticulously copied from the book and bibliophiles across the world are delighted.”

Well, sort of. They get it pretty close.

There are some differences. For the most part, they’re good differences.

The cast is older.

I did a little poll with the gang I watched the movie with (none of which had read the book) and asked how old they thought the characters were supposed to be. Guesses ranged from fifteen to eighteen, which I thought was pretty fair, going by the tone of the film.

I nodded to myself, smiled a little, and told them that in the book, Sophie is possibly as young as thirteen.

The appropriate expressions of confusion, concern, and slight disgust emerged.

I’m not going to mention all the reasons why it was super awkward and uncomfortable for Book Sophie to be that young since going through it in the book review was more than enough. But casting 21, 19, and 22-year-olds for Sophie, Agatha, and Tedros, respectively, makes a lot more sense. It’s a YA vibe. A PG-13 movie. Teenagers can have fairytales too. It’s okay.

(I have since read that Sophie is supposed to be fifteen in the book…let’s just say that’s not particularly clear in the writing. At all. Especially since Especially since I’ve typically seen it marketed as a MG title, not YA).

The flirting is less like pulp fiction romance.

Only one “boy-who-mysteriously-lost-his-shirt” instead of it happening with remarkable regularity. And the nudity is completely erased.

Yes, in case you were wondering, these were two of my major complaints with the age of the book characters.

They still flirt. There’s still some over-the-top cheesy romance moments (whoops, I fell into your arms, oh look, now you have to teach me archery, darling), but that’s sort of to be expected. This isn’t exactly a serious film.

But the “everyone must pair off and have a date for the ball or be expelled?” Gone. Not even mentioned. It was ridiculous, after all.

Relationships are still sometimes shallow, but now it’s in an amusing, possibly ironic way. We the audience can smile and shake our heads when Sophie picks out her prince and finishes by saying, “Aesthetically it just makes sense.”

The abusive elements in the School for Evil are fewer in number

True, according to psychology, treating someone negatively can at times bring out their negative side as they lash out at the unfairness of their situation. But it’s a little difficult to stomach an actual torture chamber as part of a school curriculum.

The room is still there in the film, but no one gets hurt. It’s more of an aesthetic choice, a visual threat.

Scary and a little uncomfy? Perhaps. But at least there’s no more murder of a “monstrous” sentient individual by a teenage girl.

Fewer unnecessary characters

The painter is gone. The overly-princess-y princess teaching animal communication is gone. The main cast is pared down to just a few teachers, making it more focused and easier to keep track of.

And while we’re talking about the teachers, we do have to talk about the unique acting choices.

Because at first, Professor Dovey and Professor Anemone are over-the-top, “isn’t it all lovely” fairytale princess types. Think Anne Hathaway as the White Queen in Alice in Wonderland and you’ll get the idea. It’s sometimes a little weird, a little distracting.

But when things get serious? That façade evaporates.

The film addresses the superficiality of the Good School more directly than the book. I can’t help suspecting this is playing into that–the two teachers are filling their role, appearing to be princess perfect, pretending everything is going smoothly, even when they’d much rather be themselves.

And while we’re on the topic,

The film version actually addresses the fundamental problems of the school

The idea is a balance between good and evil. Okay. Sure. Whatever.

In the book, everyone is completely convinced that the balance between good and evil still exists–only one of the characters has the power to overturn it.

In the movie, we get to acknowledge that this clearly is not the case.

People who are self-centered but beautiful infest the School for Good. The Schoolmaster claims that the school is the ultimate authority–no mistakes can or ever are made, so don’t bother questioning something you think is wrong. Good has won contests for centuries–but in truth, it’s Evil that’s winning–Good is complacent and weak, and what’s more, the punishments they exact on their enemies are brutal beyond any sense of justice.

Let’s hit the pause here for a second. Because even though this is a little thing and it’s easily overlooked, this is important.

Anyone who has read the Grimms’ fairytales (it’s me, I read the Grimms’) or Perrault’s (yes, those too), Andersen’s (I am a nerd), Asbjørnsen and Moe folktales (you’re getting the idea) or any other number of folk and fairytales, the old ones, before the Victorian era came in and scrubbed the blood off our faces, we know that real fairy stories are painful, dangerous, weird, confusing, wild affairs where people get hurt, punishments are brutal, even Cinderella has some bloodshed, and you don’t ask what is cooking in the pot.

So to hear the Schoolmaster laugh and mention just a few of the ways “heroes” kill their enemies in these stories–we know what’s up.

When people hate something enough, when they are sure of how right they are, of the complete evilness of their enemy, they don’t think about consequences. Maybe you’ve seen this before–the hero has a hard time killing not because they care about the life of the enemy, but because they don’t want to have blood on their hands.

Fairytale heroes aren’t always nice people. And it’s true in real life, too.

We don’t care what happens to the monsters, do we? We don’t stop to think about what’s right, about how it feels to suffer when it’s “what they deserve.”

Punishment is a thing. But it can become torture. Justice is an ideal. So easily, it’s petty vengeance.

To see a silly fairytale spoof movie tackle something like the us/them divide, to say just because you’re in the moral right doesn’t make it okay to mistreat another person–it’s good.

It’s very good indeed.

Diverse characters!

You may remember a few of these from our review of the book. Kiko is still here in the film, sweet as ever, but she’s joined by others from different cultures and races. Just a single look at the main poster makes it clear.

Fairytales are for everyone, from every culture, background, lifestyle, and appearance.

(cue a very pleased bookmarkedone)

And in an opening shot of the School for Good, front and center, there’s a princess in a wheelchair. Granted, we don’t see her a lot for the rest of the film (I failed to pick her out a single time if she was there), but it was exciting to see her. There are curvy actresses on both sides of the Good/Evil divide…although Dot, the girl who can transform anything into chocolate, isn’t the chubbiest one anymore (she’s even more fun than in the book, has an adorable hairstyle, and nobody even thinks about criticizing her because she’s the girl who can turn anything into chocolate isn’t that cool?). The fat-shaming that had me grinding my teeth together in the book is blissfully deleted.

And while we’re here, I want to talk about height differences.

Probably doesn’t seem like a big deal to most people, but in filmmaking, it’s typically easier to have people of similar height playing the main roles so they all fit neatly in the frame.

Sophia isn’t as tall as the other actors. And they don’t try to hide that.

Personally, I think it’s really nice. People are different shapes and sizes, and it’s good to recognize that, to say it’s okay, it’s normal, it’s beautiful even, to be exactly what you are.

And does it personally delight me to have a Small Furious Person in goth-y outfits taking on the world?

Yes. Yes, it does.

Nicer characters and blurrier lines.

(SPOILERS in this section)

I had…a hard time liking a lot of the book characters. Sophie was a shallow jerk, Agatha was so pragmatic and pessimistic. It isn’t hard to figure out which one is going to wind up in which school if you’re paying attention.

But in film?

Agatha’s beautiful. She dresses more plainly than Sophie (not to say I wouldn’t totally buy her gorgeous long coat if I found it in a shop somewhere), but there isn’t as much harping on her physical appearance as there is in the book. Both girls are lovely and unique in their own, different ways.

We don’t start with Agatha griping over Sophie testing makeup on her or cooking with only healthy flour. We see them bonding. We see them saying snarky things about the messed-up little town where they live (face it. The fairytale village of Gavaldon has Problems). They eat together. They stick up for each other. They see each other as equals.

It’s so much easier to make Agatha’s point after that–we’re not all good or all evil, we’re human. Where the girls went after that opening, it’s easier to see how they were pushed and pulled, changed by the choices they made, rather than born into them.

As one of the professors said, we are what we choose to do. Not “what” we are.

(end SPOILERS)

Remaining Problems?

The witch makeup transformation for one of the characters has the stereotypical giant nose and large, pointy ears. I’ll let you draw your own conclusions on why that doesn’t sit well.

There’s still the age-gap relationship between an immortal and a teenager, but at least the girl isn’t barely thirteen anymore, and the two at least look and act pretty close in age.

And there’s the Harry Potter levels of possession, blood magic, power hungering, sorcery and battle.

It…doesn’t bother me because I live and breathe this genre and that’s–just kind of what we do (ay, happy Friday, Jake. Got another “my powers are overwhelming me and blurring my sense of judgement and even though I made this choice I didn’t know what it would mean and now I think I’m losing who I am.” When you’ve seen it all, you’ve seen it all). But I mention it because I know it can be a bit much for people who aren’t used to that kind of thing. Blood oozing from the walls is a bit weird if it’s your first time. Or third time. Or if it’s in like a suburban house or an office, yeah, that would be freaking me out too. I get it. Know what you’re comfortable with.

So…yeah. That’s The School for Good and Evil.

End result? I liked the movie better than the book. Feels weird, but yeah. It’s still a goofy, silly fairytale movie, but there’s some good stuff at its core. Most of the issues of the novel are gone, smoothed out like writing another draft, and all that’s left is to enjoy the show. It’s not perfect. It’s better than it was.

Until next time,

happy reading.
The School for Good and Evil (Book Review)

January 17th, 2023
Am I late to the party for a book published in 2013?

Yes.

Am I late to the party for a book that got a Netflix adaptation late last year?

Also yes.

But fear not! The curmudgeon has arrived, so it’s high time to bring the music to a screeching stop and stare in horror, frozen awkwardly on the dance floor, open-mouthed over your plates of petit fours, glossy hardcovers in hand, as I sharpen my pencil and make my villain entrance.

Are we in for another book rant, my lovelies?

One final time, overwhelmingly, yes.

Book: The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

Series: The School for Good and Evil, No. 1.

Genre: MG High Fantasy/Magic School

Content for the Sensitive Reader:

Some mild language; fatphobic, ageist, and sexist comments; a few instances of cultural appropriation for artistic/fashion reasons; heavy emphasis on appearances as personal value; shirtless characters, ogling of said shirtless/short skirted characters, undressed characters–all of these characters are minors, by the way; brief age-gap relationship between a 13-year-old and immortal of unknown age; mild kissing/flirting; magic, spells, discussion of “hags” and “witches,” transformation into sentient animals (some humanoid), murder of est. 12 sentient background characters and dramatic death of 4-6 named characters.

Bookmarkedone Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

This is one of those books that I finish and want to do nothing more than rub my temples and make inarticulate noises because clearly, you’ll all understand my eloquently phrased reaction to this piece from that, right?

It’s not a great book. It’s not a bad book.

Hence the internal conflict.

First you should hear the good part.

It’s a story about friendship. It’s the story of two girls who somehow overcome their differences and teach everyone around them to look beyond appearances, to appreciate who they are and the power of choices–we are who we are because we decide. We fight for what kind of people we want to be. No matter the difficulty, we choose to do good or do evil.

And the epic battle of middle-grade students clobbering and stabbing and mud-sloshing each other in the last third of the book isn’t bad in terms of fast pace and drama, either. It has a few twists and turns to keep you guessing.

It’s got good descriptions. It’s pretty.

So what’s the problem?

Um. A lot.

First of all, it’s very, very flirty for a MG book. Can middle-grade characters notice each other and flirt? Absolutely. Are they going to do it with the fluency, confidence, and vocabulary that Chainani gives them?

Uh. Probably not.

The kids in this novel are twelve. The age a lot of kids are incredibly awkward and shy around the opposite sex, Chainani’s characters are more than ready to flirt and gawk and kiss and date, Sophie is showing a lot of skin in very modern, non-fairytale outfits (not important to the point, but still), sneaking out late at night for romantic meetings–you get the idea.

And describing boys not just looking at but slobbering over girls?

That’s distasteful at any age.

There’s a prescriptive, pawnlike aspect to affection in the novel.

Boys are a prize for the prettiest girls, and vice versa. Granted, this is meant to play into the shallow, “surface characteristics only” nature of the characters in the first half of the novel, but for most of the characters, this doesn’t change at the end. They’re all perfectly happy to go off with their assigned dates to a party, people they neither know nor like, let alone love. Not only buying into the “a relationship makes me a whole/worthy individual” toxic logic fallacy, but doing it because failure to do so results in getting kicked out of school.

Love and romance! Do it for the passing grade, kiddos!

And actually, the more I think about this, the more angry it makes me.

There’s enough pressure on kids to do well in school already. I live among the nerds, right? I’ve seen it. You want to be smart, you’ve got to be smarter. The world is an ugly, competitive place. Get the A. Fight for it like your value as a person depends on it.

Because, unfortunately, a lot of kids (and teens!) actually believe this. My worth correlates to my academic performance. And hey! Our system doesn’t exactly make it easier. There’s a fine-print implication that if you do well in school, you’ll get into college, get a good job, get a happy life.

Lies. But sure, now that we’ve got life, career, and happiness tangled up with academic performance, let’s just lump romance into the pile.

I’m not joking. Some kids become princesses in this magic school, some fail and get transformed into talking teapots. Don’t pass the class, don’t become royalty, don’t get paired with a prince of equal aesthetic success, and certainly don’t find anyone else who will love you.

Guess only the protagonists get a happy ending in Chainani’s world.

(cue bookmarkedone screaming)

What’s next?

Hmm. Should probably tackle the fatphobic comments.

Most of my issues with the book I’m desperately attributing to sloppy writing. Don’t misunderstand–there’s some great writing here. The beginning is painfully slow at times, yes, but otherwise, it’s polished.

I’d always prefer attributing something to an honest mistake than outright cruelty.

So.

Like with the weird romance dynamic, the comments start as a way to hint at the character of one of the protagonists (hint: it’s pretty clear she’s awful from the start!). How to villainize your character, fast and dirty edition?
- Have her say she hates old people
- Have her dislike and actively insult/be rude to curvy/chubby characters
- …and anyone else who doesn’t fit her standard of “beauty.”
It’s a tool. It’s a foil. I don’t like it, but I grit my teeth and wait for the character development, when apologies are given and the protagonist recognizes the beauty of people as they are.

Except it doesn’t really work. There are two curvy characters clearly noted in the novel–one a student, the other a professor. The student, Dot, is introduced perpetually eating. The professor is…not particularly intelligent.

And that’s it. Dot continues to eat chocolate and be an absolute sweetheart for page after page while everyone treats her like trash, until they briefly acknowledge her surprising, good-natured intelligence at the end.

Barely.

The problem? Dot’s stopped eating chocolate. As if we have to change her character to make her fit.

No.

As for the professor, she tints her makeup to costume as a “queen of Persia” in…what honestly feels like a bad caricature with a fake accent.

Uncomfortable.

Also uncomfortable is the perpetuated blue/pink, boy/girl, protector/defenseless garbage spewed at us on the Good side of the school–apparently if you want to be a good girl, you have to be pretty, sit still, and get rescued.

Are we serious?

Look, I get that Chainani is going off the fairytales he knows, the “damsel in distress trope,” but that’s not how fairytales go. There’s a Grimms’, particularly gory, where the boy dies in the beginning and his sister has to work the magic for his resurrection. Girls take action in fairytales. Sure, they might be at a disadvantage sometimes, but so is the third son, the Ashlad–

I’m getting carried away.

I think this is, again, either poor writing, or setting something up for a series and not finishing it in the actual novel. One of the protagonists even questions the foolishness of all this–but then turns around and buys into the “I’m defenseless” argument.

And when a girl does something, takes some action outside the realm of villainy?

She’s compared to a prince. As if she can’t have her own agency, as if a princess taking action, moving the story forward, is absolutely unheard of.

(screams in angry folklore nerd because did Rhiannon beat all of the knights in a horse race to be called defenseless? Did she haul grown men up a hill on her back because she’s weak?)

Oh, and let’s not forget Anadil. Cool Henchmen No. 2 student with albinism…who is referred to as “the albino,” and during a Cinderella-esque transformation sequence when ugly deformities are erased–gets “chestnut hair.”

(cue more bookmarkedone screaming)

Okay, let’s go with the option that maybe Anadil was self-conscious about her unique appearance and the spell reflected her own ideas of what a conventional beauty looks like–but now I’m in danger of fanfictioning this thing because nowhere is anything like that mentioned. If anything, just the opposite. Anadil is cool because she’s confident. Sure, Hester and Sophie call the shots, but she never crumbles like Dot does.

So why do I like this highly implausible scenario? Because, darling, then I can cleverly avoid the idea that the author would dare to imply that people with albinism are anything but the beautiful, unique, wonderful individuals that they are!

(still more bookmarkedone screaming. I think it’s getting louder)

Let’s move on!

It’s another magic school book.

Obvious, I know. But like it or not, the book is in conversation with the Harry Potter franchise.
- Same sorting into opposed houses (two instead of four)
- Same teachers absolutely useless at keeping their students out of mayhem
- Same Forbidden Forest (it’s blue this time)
- Same “gotta get a date for the Yule Ball/Evers Ball or be a loser” rush
- Same protagonist determined there’s more out there, they’re destined for greatness, they’re special
You get the idea. If you had to sum up the first School for Good and Evil book, it would pretty much be, “Hey, we know sorting houses are actually not a great way to structure education, but we still want a magic school and can’t think of anything else, so just have a book where the whole point is that they’re bad.”

Okay. We can live with that. It’s a good point, right?

And this is one point that actually gets pulled off well in the novel.

We’re all human. We all fail. We all do horrible things, even to our dearest friends. We’re joined in this struggle of life, good and bad, and in that common ground, we can be united. Our flaws can drive us apart, but they can also bring us together.

Awesome, right? Terrific thing to hand to kids. Look at your friend who’s being harsh or rude or cruel. Maybe there’s something you don’t know. Maybe your kindness can make their life better. Maybe you can make a friend.

As the hours passed, Good and Evil shared looks across the Clearing—first threatened . . . then curious . . . then hopeful . . . and before they knew it, they were drifting into each other’s sides, sharing blankets, crepes, and cherry grenadine. Evil thought it had corrupted Good and Good thought it had enlightened Evil, but it didn’t matter. For two sides soon turned into one, cheering on the Prince-Witch revolution.
Chainani, Soman. The School for Good and Evil (p. 334). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition.

The Prince-Witch revolution. Possibly my favorite line in the entire book. Two sides joined together by a symbol, by people who dared to reach for something no one said they could have, to break the rules, to risk it all.

It’s a really great moment.

And then the book ruins it.

Because right after you finish the novel, Chainani has included a note from the School Master with a sorting test. So you can find out if you’re Good or Evil. So the story can continue exactly the way it was going before the novel began, nothing changed.

In conclusion?

Yeah, I don’t know what to tell you about this book. It’s got some heart, but I can’t excuse its moral failings, either.

You know, one of the top recommends after reading a Chainani book is a Chris Colfer Land of Stories book. And I could see that. It has that same blend of research and squishy feel of “this is a kids’ book so we’re not going to go that far. Let’s just talk about glass slippers some more!”

(rubs forehead because Grimms’ Cinderella didn’t even wear glass shoes)

It’s funny, because I can remember getting really mad about a few Colfer books. More because Cinderella isn’t a fighter, that’s not her character strength, don’t throw a plot twist in the actual final page when I don’t have the next book in my lap you evil creature, why is Red Riding Hood–that kind of thing. Aesthetic, personal preferences I can get understandably furious over.

Not usually stuff that’s going to hurt anybody.

When I think about what Chainani’s book was reaching for–you’ve always been beautiful, you don’t need to change, it’s okay to make mistakes and forgive, we all need it because we’re human–I’m just disappointed. I can’t believe the truth Chainani holds in his hands because of so many stupid lies he hasn’t cared enough to squash.

I’d rather a Colfer book that doesn’t try to have such an important moral at its heart, that doesn’t fail to achieve it by such a titanic flop.

You could have been great, little book. You could have been earthshattering.

At least you tried.
The Iron Raven (Book Review)

December 20th, 2022
So the next time I yet again try to pick up and enjoy a YA book, someone please teleport into my local library, shake me by the shoulders, give me Paddington Bear’s Hard Stare, and teleport away again.

I am not a happy reader of YA.

And yet! Every time! The gorgeous book covers! The delectable story concepts! The ease with which the writing flows!

It can’t be that bad, I think. YA fantasy is just MG fantasy aimed at an older age group.

Right. Except it’s really not. It’s an entirely different thing, and if you compare one to the other, you’re just going to get a massive headache and possibly a Master’s degree level thesis.

Where am I going with this?

I’m about to review Julie Kagawa’s The Iron Raven. It’s about to be a really solid grumpy little rant (it’s fun when we do those. Really). But it’s unfair for me to eloquently trash this book for failing to meet my expectations when I, the noble reader, am in fact set up to dislike YA as a genre, apparently down to my core.

Some people spend their whole lives aspiring to be snobs. Some of us just start life out that way.

Book: The Iron Raven by Julie Kagawa

Series: The Iron Fey: Evenfall, No. 1.

Genre: YA Fantasy (modern Fae/Robin Goodfellow retelling)

Content for the Sensitive Reader:

Enough profanity to push the PG-13 film rating, some dramatic sequences, magic magic magic, blood/battle scenes (none particularly graphic), assassins, attempted seduction (mild/moderate), suggested seduction of multiple men and women by one character, kissing, gooey shadow monsters, antisemitic imagery/caricature and other racial insensitivity.

Bookmarkedone Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

WARNING: this rantish review will contain spoilers for The Iron Raven! Read at your own risk!

Okay. Deep breath. Set the stage.

It’s about the middle of November. I’m in the tiny local library downtown, browsing the half-size stack that is the YA book section. It’s technically the first in-person visit to a public library since pre-Plague days, so I’m understandably very happy.

And I pick up The Iron Raven. Because it’s yellow. It has ravens on it. And it promised me Robin Goodfellow an entire book all to himself are you joking it’s coming home with me.

There was a little voice in the back of my head chiding me that I wasn’t going to like the YA version. This was silenced by corvid brain chanting Puck, Puck, Puck, Puck over and over again.

Another little thing I should mention.

There are a few characters that I am–particular about.
- Peter Pan
- Robin Hood
- and now, apparently, Robin Goodfellow (Puck)
If there’s a reinterpretation, I’m already there with my grabby hands outstretched. If I haven’t read/watched it, then I know about it. Retellings are great.

But if you reinterpret a story so it loses all the core essence of what we loved about it in the first place…

I’m getting ahead of myself. The Iron Raven. Let’s talk about it.

It started out…really well, actually.

I mean, it’s pretty hard to go wrong with a magical Fae market under the shadow of a Ferris wheel in an abandoned fairground, right?

Of course right.

And giving us our tour is Puck, introducing all the things he can use just to prank everyone.

(This is, I should note, after the prologue in which we meet Young Puck and a lot of dead forest creatures…it’s established things are Going to Happen in this book and we’re not shying away from the violent side of Faerie nature. Right? Well…)

Thing is, we don’t stay in the Goblin Market very long. Why am I mentioning it?

Because it’s probably my favorite location in the book.

I have a weakness for magic abandoned circus places. It’s specific. I’m aware.

Let’s talk about the characters, shall we?

Bear in mind, I’ve never read a Kagawa book before. I don’t know who any of these non-famous, non-mythic characters are or how they tie into things.

Lucky for us, Kagawa has no problem repeating herself.

Kind of a lot.

So in no particular order:
- Puck (I lied. Of course he comes first. He’s the reason I’m here). It’s Robin Goodfellow! From A Midsummer Night’s Dream! Puck of Pook’s Hill! Everyone’s imagination who has ever crossed paths with him once because he is the unforgettable prankster! In this version, he’s a pointy-eared flirty boy in a green hoodie who swears too much and tells terrible puns that are never funny!
- Keirran–emo kind of not vampire Fae Elf Prince Boy who appears to deliver ominous message, take part in one Epic Battle, and promptly disappear for the rest of the book. Shame. I could have liked him.
- Nyx–nighttime assassin, required Fae who Does Not Understand This Reference, and required Hot Girl presence in every YA book ever. You know, the one that cannot exist in “closely fitted leather armor” without having some idiot boy slobber all over her–erm–be part of the main romantic arc. Yes, it’s Puck. Yes, I’m grumpy about it. In her favor, she does have a unique appearance to give the rest of the cast a little variety. Shiny silver hair and yellow eyes are cool.
- Ash–original emo Elf boy. Pretty sure Puck actually says this at some point in the book. Essentially exists to be Puck’s foil/best friend/worst enemy and nothing else. No character arc.
- Meghan Chase–former mortal girl/chosen one and now ruler of the Iron Fae. Good for her. Likes falling into her husband’s arms. Can also shoot lightning out of her hands.
- Coaleater–part metal (is he technically a cyborg? we’ll never know) Iron Fae horse person. Honestly pretty cool, but super focused on tradition and honor. Kind of just there to round out the cast, move the plot forward (like the literal sentient machine of Deus ex machina) and chill in the background until someone needs to dramatically battle vault off his back.
- The Big Bad monster. No, I am not joking. That’s really the name Puck gives it in the book. Essentially your standard ink blob monster (think Rorschach plus the globby creatures that pop up in multiple Studio Ghibli films and add a few extra tentacles and antlers). Makes you hate life. And probably possesses you so you kill all your friends.
(cue bookmarkedone massaging temples because what do I do with this?)

Look, I was willing to give Modern Puck a chance. There’s not a lot of detail about him in the Midsummer version, which means there’s a lot of room for fanfiction authors (let’s not pretend–that’s what this is) to do their stuff. Green hoodie? Why not? He’s not a suit-and-tie kind of guy. Mischief? Absolutely. Swears a lot? Personally don’t care for it, but it’s definitely a plausible interpretation. Falls deeply and madly in love with a serious assassin after actually falling in love with a mortal girl some years prior?

…excuse me?

That’s…not the Puck I know.

Especially when the Lady in Question is a very no-nonsense killer type.

Puck. What even.

And while we’re on the subject, let’s talk about Nyx, because I really need to talk about Nyx.

Bear in mind, I like her. I don’t really understand pairing Puck with her, but I like her.

Here’s the plot point I take issue with. Nyx is a type of Fae that steals glamour–essentially Fae life force–from other creatures constantly to fend off fading into oblivion. This can happen intentionally, all at once, or unintentionally, uncontrollably, all the time. With me so far?

Okay. Next you need to know that absorbing glamor can change the person who absorbs it. Absorb the energy of the “Big Bad?” You’ve got a snarling, very angry Ent/Goodfellow/Fae/etc. Simple, right?

Here’s my point. Nyx is with Puck all the time. Sometimes quite literally in his shadow. At the beginning of the book, she’s cold and distant. She’s an assassin and a bodyguard. Her one job is to keep her king alive. The regular suffer-in-silence emo YA type.

By the end of the book? She’s cracking jokes with Puck. Specifically, his jokes.

Do you see what I’m getting at here?

Puck isn’t falling in love with Nyx. He’s falling in love with the part of himself that Nyx has siphoned from him–especially after he gave her a lucky token he’d been carrying around since the beginning of the book.

Do we address this fact that Nyx is not going through a character arc so much as losing her identity and becoming a second Puck or the fact that this may or may not be intentional or that she one day may drain Puck’s extensive glamour/life essence dry?

No. They’re in love. That’s it.

Moving on from clearly non-canon material, let’s talk about the plot!

It…reads like a video game.

Now if you like that, it could be great. Start at point A, talk to a lot of NPCs, end at point Z after a lot of Epic Battles and hooray! You win! End book!

For me…I kept wanting to skip ahead, to where things actually got good, but there was no “skip ahead…” and this was the entire book.
- Puck gets into Squabble leaving Goblin Market
- Puck gains new Companion
- Puck goes on quest to deliver information about Squabble to Queen
- (Puck goes on Side Quest/character bonding adventure to prevent Companion from instantly dying in Iron Realm)
- Puck delivers information
- Puck joins Queen on original quest started by Squabble
- (cue much traveling, several epic battles that really all feel the same except the very last one where something finally clicks for Puck that has clicked for the reader a long time ago, and that’s a wrap. Let’s not forget to thank our secondary locations, Steampunk Fae Realm, Ominous Forest, Ominous Forest II, Return to Ominous Forest I, Boggy Swamp, and Castle We Stole from Beauty and the Beast)
The battles are equally, if not more video-game-esque than the plot. It’s the classic MMORPG–each character has a different skillset (in this case the glamour powers of Summer, Winter, Iron, and whatever Nyx has going on), powering up time, and spells that require recharging (if you think I’m joking, near the end, Ash literally builds his wife ice parkour steps so she can dramatically hop up them to be at Good Stabbing Height). More importantly, characters can die, but it’s not likely, and even when the possibility is incredibly great…none of the battles really mean anything.

Look, I read a lot of SF/F stories every year, particularly from new and emerging authors, and the question is, if you make death less possible, if you make characters more powerful or completely unkillable, you’ve got to raise the stakes in another way. Even if you can’t die, you can still hurt. Even if you don’t feel physical pain, everyone’s got something they want to protect.

How about the epic battles in J. A. Becker’s “For the Federation,” in Writers of the Future Vol. 38, hmm? Difficult to kill just means higher stakes, even more dramatic fight sequences as time slips away.

Or “War Hero” by Brian Trent (WOTF Vol. 29), where dying means coming back to life to be tortured again and again and again in an endless loop of gruesome pain?

Yeah, Kagawa doesn’t do any of that. She could. She sets it up by telling us once the Fae die, that’s it. It’s over. Complete cessation of existence. No souls to pass on to some afterlife.

But she doesn’t delve into it. Maybe it’s because Puck is never really serious about anything, but even from the first battle, it feels–methodical? Ritualistic? Just going through the motions? Just another Monday at the office?

Danger has long since ceased to hold any spice for these ageless characters, and, accordingly, there is no heart-pounding on the account of the reader, either, even when doing a backflip over an antlered and tentacled hateful shadow-monster should, under normal conditions, be pretty thrilling.

Am I being a little unfair?

Maybe. It’s like I said. I’m not a fan of heavy profanity when I read, and that was pretty hard for me to get past. I tried. I tried to like this new, watered-down, friendlier, “not violent to mortals,” “ask the girl if she actually wants to kiss you now,” version of Puck.

But what dropped it from a three-star to a two-star review?

Early on in their adventures, Puck and Nyx come across an encampment of goblins. There’s a struggle, Nyx kills a few, and lets the last one go when he begs for his life in a silly accent. Puck proceeds to casually call their entire race the cockroaches of that dimension, and Nyx agrees. Later, they pass by another goblin camp (if memory serves me properly), and Puck, under emotional strain, considers how fun it would be to rush in and kill all of them.

Okay! Let’s look at the facts here, please!
- These are not beetles, flies, gnats, rats, mosquitoes, or any other type of pest that could cause disease, crop damage, or any other type of major problem.
- The goblins here are sentient creatures. Evidenced by their capability to speak coherently to Nyx.
- Robin Goodfellow is talking about a massacre of sentient creatures to take the edge of tension off his day–killing for fun.
Okay! It’s Puck! He’s not a nice guy in all the stories! Fae kill mortals sometimes. What’s the difference between that and killing a few goblins?

Well, first of all, there’s a world of difference between playing a malicious prank on a human because you don’t understand how mortality works (the classic function of Puck and most Fae), accidentally killing said mortal, versus intentionally going out to exterminate an entire race of creatures.

Second of all, they’re goblins.

This is a picky topic, and I’ve thought more than a little bit about how to tackle it. If you’ve spent any time at all in the fantasy writing world, you’re probably aware of the huge debate of J. K. Rowling’s goblins in Harry Potter and how they pass on unkind stereotypes and caricatures of the Jewish people. Maybe it’s intentional, maybe it was simply passing down cultural stories without looking more closely at what they might mean. Of course I saw it after the issue was carefully pointed out to me, but I wasn’t really sure how I personally felt about it. It read more like an extremely unfortunate accident than something malicious (although that could be just because I generally like fictional goblins).

But to introduce your goblins not as an independent group in a fantasy world with their own culture, motivations, and beauty, but as something to be carelessly stamped out? To refer to them as cockroaches?

That, to me, feels way, way more alarming.

Kagawa’s protagonist essentially says, “I’m bored. How about a genocide of a sentient people group that traditionally has been used as a stand-in for a real-life group that is currently undergoing serious hate?”

(cue bookmarkeone screaming because not okay, not okay, not okay why is no one talking about this?)

Oh, but never fear! There’s actually more!

Remember I mentioned Coaleater in the character list? Cool dude? Iron Fae? Partially metal? Could probably stand up to just about anybody without flinching?

If I read this correctly, he’s also Kagawa’s POC representation. Dreadlocks, skin tone, etc. Cool, right? Representation for the yay!

…well…

Maybe I wouldn’t have thought about this so much if I hadn’t gone on full alarm mode with the goblin genocide. But Coaleater also has a nonhuman form. He can shapeshift into a horse.

Normally, wouldn’t think twice about that. Shapeshifting, great. Horse is a noble creature, makes sense that someone with a serious sense of honor and nobility would take that shape. No problems, right?

But if you exclude the greenish and dark blue skin tones (since they don’t have an obvious parallel in our world), Coaleater is, as far as I understand, the only POC character.

And he makes a transformation into a beast. An animal, traditionally used as a beast of burden, that other characters proceed to sit and ride on in the rest of the novel.

That’s…really super not comfy for me to think about in light of historical slurs and stereotypes.

To see this from a mature author (with a minority heritage, no less!) and a major publisher, published only last year–frankly, I’m a little shocked.

I want to believe this is an accident. It probably is. Sloppy writing. That’s all. On the part of an author and her entire editing and development team. Sure. Stranger things have happened, right?

But it’s still…not good.

Just once, I’d like to have unproblematic goblin fiction. No caricature, no stereotype, no real-world parallel. Just funky little goblin dudes with their shiny pebbles and mushrooms and mismatched socks.

Even if I have to write it myself.

So that’s the Iron Raven.

If you made it this far, thanks for reading the whole rant. Some other book reviews are in the works (even some gushy fangirling ones! I do actually like reading books), so stay tuned!

Until next time, happy reading.
A Realm at Stake (Audiobook Review)

August 13th, 2022
I put off reviewing this a lot longer than I should have.

It’s complicated.

I’d like to say “This was a great book!” or “This was an okay book,” or even just go wild and shred it in another of my more venomous book rants. You know, the ones that are majority of the reason I blog under an alias.

I…can’t do any of these.

Why?

I’m so delighted you asked. Brace yourselves, friends, for–

A Realm at Stake by K.C. Julius, narrated by Chris Walker-Thomson

The Drinnglennin Chronicles, No. 2

Genre: YA/New Adult High Fantasy & Adventure

Content: mild and occasional strong language, heterosexual and homosexual lovers, rape (twice), slavery, beatings, prostitution, “lessons in seduction,” touching a minor without consent, incest, murder murder murder (depicted and somewhat graphic including the murder of an infant and a young child), “conquests” of females, nudity, underage drinking, suicide, drunkenness, innuendo, obscene hand gestures (not described), kidnapping, drug use, xenophobia–did I catch it all?

Bookmarkedone Rating:

Rating: 2 out of 5.

Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this audiobook in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own, because few are they who may tell me what to write and live to tell the tale.

Still here?

A word of warning–this isn’t technically a review so much as it’s me hitting the highlights. The “good parts” version, plus warning you what you’re in for, (i.e., good characters, but get ready for some trauma). You can read the plot synopsis on Goodreads.

That’s not what I’m here for.

Right.

If you read the content warnings, I probably don’t need to repeat again that this is most certainly not a book for kids.

I’m going to say it again anyway.

It’s easy to get confused, with the protagonists being so young, dragons being the stuff of so many MG fantasies–look, if I got it mixed up, it’s clear it can happen. Julius was kind enough to rush in and correct me after reading my review of Portents–this was never intended for a young audience.

It’s worth repeating because I can just see some tenderhearted, crestfallen tween crying over this book, confused and absolutely crushed by a world where everything doesn’t turn out alright in the end, where rape, slavery, and war are the regular order of the day. I don’t want to see that happen.

So once an for all: adult book.

Cool.

The good news is that the second book is much more obvious about what kind of story you’re getting right out of the gate. While we started Portents with chapters and chapters of what could easily be middle-grade Chosen One fluff, there’s a scene with lovers and councils of dark wizards smack in the opening prologue.

Now that we know what we’re about?

…I kind of devoured this thing. I listened to a fourth of it in one evening without my attention flagging. If anything, I had to take little breaks to let it settle in my head and breathe because did you really have to switch POVs there after that happened?

That’s just something I do, I think. If something especially important happens in a novel, I have to get away from it for a while, mull it over, take a walk, listen to the music of characters’ lives, hopes, and dreams shattering like the most delicate glass.

(Ending scenes of The Two Towers, I’m looking at you. Tolkien knew what he did.)

Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself.

The story of A Realm at Stake is almost exactly what you’d expect after reading Portents of Chaos:
- Dragonriders ride dragons,
- King still needs to choose an heir from the four contenders presented in book 1,
- Wizard rides pony over entire continent and leaves kids unattended to get into their own trouble because he has bigger problems at the moment even if they do set the house on fire.
- There’s also a sniper assassin (but that isn’t really resolved in this book, so…I probably should not talk about it. Cue bookmarkedone refraining from cheering “yay sniper assassin for the drama!”)
- ominous ominous ominous in preparation for Book 3.
Except…it’s not.

You thought you could get comfortable with six POV characters? No, no, no, no, no! You’re not starting the book with Maura or Leif or even Borne–Julius is presenting a brand-new character in a completely different country!

To be fair, this was one of my favorite choices that Julius made in A Realm at Stake. Why?

Because for an entire novel, we’ve heard nothing but demonizing propaganda about the Helgrin warriors, and Julius opens the sequel with a fluffy wholesome scene as a boy (Helgrin) waits breathlessly for his father (more Helgrin) to return from sea.

Not only does the affection they show one another this throw everything you thought you knew about the Helgrins out the window, it’s deeply humanizing. Monsters? No, not here. Just ordinary people trying to live their lives and protect their families…and occasionally raiding seacoast towns to keep the economy running.

Bold move, Julius. Bold move.

Helgrinia itself? Oh, to be sure, it has its deep and horrific social flaws as much as Drinnglennin. But with names like Ragnar and Snorri, with longships and mead and braided blond hair? With maypole dances and occasional rape?

…It’s just Viking culture.

Like I mentioned in my review of book 1, there’s pros and cons when it comes to worldbuilding like that, deriving locations from real-world places. It’s a choice, and it’s a clear choice.

And besides. Male characters with long blond braids remind me of happy days in Rohan. It’s nice to have some variety of hairstyle.

What I do love?

The relationship between Fynn and his brother.

They have every reason to hate each other, the older to ignore the younger, the younger to envy the elder, to fight jealously for their father’s attention. But they don’t. There’s a sweet brotherly affection between the two of them, wholesome, playful and sweet. Fynn has only awe for Jared, and Jared–I think he loves his little brother, as impossible as the plot makes that out to be.

They’re forever looking out for each other, throwing their arms around one another’s shoulders, stealing one another’s mead or ale, admiring one another’s strengths (You’ve grown taller! You’re a mighty man of war!).

All hail the fluff, basically. And, as it turns out, I am very much here for sibling relationship dynamic fluff.

I almost find it more wondrous and remarkable than the dragons.

More of this, Julius, if you please!

And while we’re on the topic of the good stuff…

If I’m being honest with myself, between the Maypole dance, the spirit of good fun, food and fire, song and dance–and yes, a few too many pirates itching to get drunk–the Helgrin festival (while the sun was still up and everyone was happy, mind you) felt just a little a bit like faires I’ve been to. Felt a bit like home.

And while Fynn isn’t a sweet kid in the same sense Leif is, he still loves everyone he knows. He loves his mother, his half-brother, his father, his friends, even his brother’s friends–well, okay, he doesn’t like the lord’s wife, but she’s mean, so nobody’s going to blame him for that one–he’s just a good, wholesome kid.

So even though they’re Viking types and have ridiculous moral problems in their society–I still liked them.

Julius, I liked them. I hope you’re happy.

This is also the point in reading the book that I look into the middle distance and think “You’re going to stab this poor kid’s heart out like a ripe fruit.” When a day is too perfect in the world of some writers, we readers cower under the cliffs and trees because we know, we know better.

There’s a lot that goes on in A Realm at Stake. After being introduced into Helgrin culture, Julius drops back into Morgan the Wizard’s POV…which is when I realized that there is no recap of book 1. It’s just off to the races with Fynn in fantasy Viking land, getting ready for Midsummer, learning the intrigue of another court, listening to an old man talk about that time he had a wild dream after doing mushrooms…erm…great times, right?

I think it’s great, but if you aren’t reading one book on the heels of the other the way I am, or even worse, reading the second book without the knowledge of the first–yeah, you’re not going to have a clue who any of these people are.

And then it’s back to Whit’s POV, the most irritating and arrogant focalized character…who starts reminding us how charming he is by snapping at Morgan for not serving him to his satisfaction and finding a dryad girl hot.

Don’t love Whit.

The stakes seem higher this time. Or maybe I’m just sinking deeper, falling into the story, needing to know what happens to the characters as the stakes climb higher and higher and–

New POV chapter.

Okay, I know it was structured this way in book 1, but Julius.

Julius. You’re giving me whiplash here.

I just wanted to know what happens with the magic tree.

I say this, but it’s really half a compliment at least. It means she’s improved her writing because I want to know what happens. It matters now.

So I take a deep breath, pay the compliment, say okay, let’s read about Maura. This is fine.

And then Leif is back.

(muffled sounds of bookmarkedone screaming my boy is here! as Leif bumbles around poking and fidgeting and being a literal ray of sunshine, bouncing on the cushions, eating all the food, and talking with his mouth full–thank you for that convincing munching voice, Walker-Thomson, it was perfect)

You may continue.

And of course we get both a joust and Mob-Ball this time. Really, Julius, you spoil us.

And yes, I am required to be a Renaissance faire kid here for just a minute because, well, I’ve been to jousts.

We don’t…actually care that much about the score.

It happens in a blink, and if you aren’t watching, you could miss a near-unhorsing. If it’s a five-point hit or a three-point hit–that’s for the herald to remember, not the casual fan.

But she got the rules right, and the way the crowd reacts, the shouting and the breathless silence. So I can’t complain too much.

It’s a little reminiscent of Ivanhoe. And the voices for the vendors hawking their wares, that’s perfect.

But where there’s jousting, there’s also Borne, one of my un-favorite characters from the first book, appearing just when Leif isn’t around to smack him for getting too close to Maura. Or at least distract him! Noo, Maura, don’t get lost in his eyes, he’s a total creep, please, you deserve so much better–

I digress.

If you’ve already read the book, you may have noticed that I left out a lot of stuff that happened in the second half.

I’m not going to talk about the slavery and prostitution. I’m not going to talk about the lessons in seduction or how annoyed I am by the trope of guards not stopping to wonder what a Hot Girl is doing inside the jail. The concept of a woman’s sexuality as a weapon. The rape(s).

It’s all there. It’s not my type. It’s rough enough that I probably wouldn’t have finished the book if I hadn’t promised to review it. But here we are.

There’s good and bad. I’m trying to chin up and look for the good.

If you read the book, good luck to you. All I can say is that now you know what you’re in for.

Category: Book Reviews

Book: Prince of the Fallen Kingdom, by C. A. Doehrmann

Series: Arc Legends of Ellunon, No. 2

Genre: YA High Fantasy (Sword and Sorcery/angels?)

Content for the Sensitive Reader:

SPOILER WARNING: this book is a sequel and review may contain spoilers for Book 1, The Kingmaster! You’ve been warned!

Kyen of Avanna is our hero…sort of.

And even though Kyen is a wandering loner…

And as for her being the “damsel in distress?”

Which gives me a perfect opportunity to talk about the fight scenes.

But I do have a little complaint about the swordplay…

Hang on, because it’s going to seem like I’m diving way off topic.

Shall we get back to the story?

Are you getting the idea that I like this book yet?

So now I’m going to gush about all the things I liked.

We get to find out what the Arc looks like.

And I know I said Adeya has “damsel in distress” moments…

We no longer have Mr. Sexist Nobleman wandering around

But let’s focus on the good stuff.

The writing is good.

And for all that it’s a simple world, nothing overly detailed or complicated–

But let’s talk about the romantic tropes.

What I didn’t like?

But all told?

So if you like books with magic, swords, and sassy side character children, and have some patience, Prince of the Fallen Kingdom might be just the thing.

“Fire in the Hole: A Dan Shamble, Zombie P.I. Adventure,” by Kevin J. Anderson

“A Trickle in History,” by Elaine Midcoh

“The Withering Sky,” by Arthur H. Manners

“The Fall of Crodendra M,” by T. J. Knight

“What Is Art Direction?” by Lazarus Chernik

“Constant Never,” by S. M. Stirling

“The Children of Desolation,” by Spencer Sekulin

“Timelines and Bloodlines,” by L. H. Davis

“The Last History,” by Samuel Parr

Final result?

L. Ron Hubbard Presents Writers of the Future Vol. 39

Genre: Science fiction, fantasy, and horror

Publication Date: May 16, 2023

The Rules Are As Follows:

“Kitsune,” by Devon Bohm

“Moonlight and Funk,” by Marianne Xenos

“Death and the Taxman,” by David Hankins

“Under my Cypresses,” by Jason Palmatier

“Circulate,” by L. Ron Hubbard (craft essay)

“The Unwilling Hero,” by L. Ron Hubbard

“White Elephant,” by David K. Henrickson

“Piracy for Beginners,” by J. R. Johnson

“Prioritize to Increase Your Writing,” by Kristine Kathryn Rusch (craft essay)

The Kingmaster, by C. A. Doehrmann

Series: Arc Legends of Ellunon, No. 1

Genre: (YA) Fantasy

Content for the Sensitive Reader:

Bookmarkedone rating:

Anyway, on to the book itself.

Kyen of Avanna

Finn of Veleda

Adeya of Isea

Galveston of Eope

The Kingmaster (villain)

The story itself?

What I didn’t like?

Other complaints?

Moving on.

All in all, it’s not a bad little book.

Stick by your friends, even if they push you away and you aren’t sure what to do, vett your guests better than “dude, that’s a great story,” oh, and make sure that you give soldiers an ample pension when they retire so they don’t start an uprising against you.

If you missed the first part of the review, (the book), you can find it here, and if you don’t care, then you can crash ahead. Have fun.

The cast is older.

The flirting is less like pulp fiction romance.

The abusive elements in the School for Evil are fewer in number

Fewer unnecessary characters

The film version actually addresses the fundamental problems of the school

Diverse characters!

Nicer characters and blurrier lines.

(SPOILERS in this section)

(end SPOILERS)

Remaining Problems?

So…yeah. That’s The School for Good and Evil.

Book: The School for Good and Evil by Soman Chainani

Series: The School for Good and Evil, No. 1.

Genre: MG High Fantasy/Magic School