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Reading Wednesday
Apr. 7th, 2021 07:33 amJust finished: A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis. I loved this one! It's barely YA—it centres around a young protagonist, but there's none of the condescending flat prose or, well, didactic moralism that I associate with the genre. Grace's coming-of-age narrative is about becoming more herself, and that inevitably goes to some dark places.
(Yes, I know, #NotAllYA, and it was in fact a discussion of non-didactic YA that led me to this book, but really, most.)
Anyway, it's impeccably researched historical fiction, with beautifully rendered characters, and a conclusion that did not go where I thought it would. I've so far made two other people read it and they are also loving it.
All trigger warnings apply, basically. Like every one I can think of, except for the one thing that tends to actually trigger me in fiction. ( advisory ) Despite this I found it very uplifting, ha ha ha.
Currently reading: The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood. This is one of the random free novels I get from Tor every so often, and the author's debut. At first it put me off because it begins with a Dramatis Personae and a pronunciation guide (seriously), plus a map, which are tendencies in fantasy fiction that I do not love. But I'm quite enjoying the actual story so far. It's about a teenage orc priestess raised to be a sacrifice to a Lovecraftian-sounding Unspoken God. Which is a pretty rad opener tbh. I really enjoyed that I forgot it was about orcs and didn't realize she was an orc until she commented on how one of the other characters was weird-looking because he didn't have tusks. Nicely played. At any rate, she is whisked away by a wizard, who trains her to become an assassin/spy for him as he plots to find a lost artifact and retake his home from his rival.
OKAY BE HONEST AUTHOR this is one of your D&D campaigns, isn't it? I'm not judging. It's just very, very obviously a D&D campaign. I'm here for it. I would absolutely play this D&D campaign. The worldbuilding has these neat Gate things and feels expansive and lived in, without the infodump (Dramatis Personae and pronunciation guide aside) that I'd expect from a high fantasy novel. It's quite long but it's fun so far.
(Yes, I know, #NotAllYA, and it was in fact a discussion of non-didactic YA that led me to this book, but really, most.)
Anyway, it's impeccably researched historical fiction, with beautifully rendered characters, and a conclusion that did not go where I thought it would. I've so far made two other people read it and they are also loving it.
All trigger warnings apply, basically. Like every one I can think of, except for the one thing that tends to actually trigger me in fiction. ( advisory ) Despite this I found it very uplifting, ha ha ha.
Currently reading: The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood. This is one of the random free novels I get from Tor every so often, and the author's debut. At first it put me off because it begins with a Dramatis Personae and a pronunciation guide (seriously), plus a map, which are tendencies in fantasy fiction that I do not love. But I'm quite enjoying the actual story so far. It's about a teenage orc priestess raised to be a sacrifice to a Lovecraftian-sounding Unspoken God. Which is a pretty rad opener tbh. I really enjoyed that I forgot it was about orcs and didn't realize she was an orc until she commented on how one of the other characters was weird-looking because he didn't have tusks. Nicely played. At any rate, she is whisked away by a wizard, who trains her to become an assassin/spy for him as he plots to find a lost artifact and retake his home from his rival.
OKAY BE HONEST AUTHOR this is one of your D&D campaigns, isn't it? I'm not judging. It's just very, very obviously a D&D campaign. I'm here for it. I would absolutely play this D&D campaign. The worldbuilding has these neat Gate things and feels expansive and lived in, without the infodump (Dramatis Personae and pronunciation guide aside) that I'd expect from a high fantasy novel. It's quite long but it's fun so far.
