Tag: worldbuilding
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The Shadow of the Gods – John Gwynne’s Inspired Take on Norse Mythology
We get to know our main characters in isolation, learning about their varied backgrounds, bonds, and motivations. Gwynne leaves just enough hints to allow readers to connect some of the dots on their own before their storylines begin to converge. Eventually, as all of their destinations start syncing up, it becomes clear that there’s more…
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The Poppy War Had Promise But Wasn’t Quite What I’d Hoped
Three-hundred pages in and I felt like Kuang had yet to really hook me with any narrative weight. Worse, I realized I had been carried along for all those pages on a wave of story beats built entirely upon tired tropes of the fantasy genre.
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2022 Reading Round Up
As 2022 comes to a close, I feel like it’s necessary to summarize what may well have been my most active year of reading in years. What started as trying to establish a good habit – of reading for a set amount of time each night – has reignited my love of all things reading…
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Babel: An Arcane History – a Period-Piece Tackling Colonialism that Struggles at the Finish Line
Though I feel it fails to choose whether to be either a fantasy or fully-developed alternate history, Babel’s greatest success is as an engrossing and well-researched examination of early- to mid-nineteenth century Britain and the effects of its colonialism, both at home and abroad. It examines the mindset of those who are assimilated into Western…
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The Rings of Power is the Right Direction for Tolkien’s Work
Tolkien could very well have been writing his world based on his understanding of systems of power in the Middle Ages which, admittedly, was heavily white-favored. That doesn’t mean we can’t call out his writing as incorrect and make changes to it.
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Harrow the Ninth – Delighting in Misdirection
I left Harrow the Ninth feeling like I’d just unwound a most fascinating puzzle box. When the final reveal actually unfolds, I felt like I had triumphed in successfully solving the conundrum of the story.
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Polytheism in Fiction – Lyons’ Eight Immortals
The heroes do not fight the Immortals in A Chorus of Dragons just because of their role as deities; the conflict coequally springs from the gods just being horrible people doing horrible things.
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Hell Followed With Us – a Metaphor for Our Times and For Queer Lives
White’s choice to replace traditional gender dysphoria with the fear of Seraph allows for a discussion on the determination and fear of a young trans person while allowing any reader, no matter their background, to understand the threat of puberty for a significant portion of youth today.
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Nevernight and Second Readings
There is a certain thrill that I feel when I crack open an old copy of a book. It’s exciting thinking about reliving the moments within, from the victorious action scenes to the heartbreaking tragic ones.
Blake is Reading 