ride_4ever: (Fraser - OTW)
ride_4ever ([personal profile] ride_4ever) wrote2025-06-11 10:11 pm
Entry tags:

PSA: beware this scam: it's not AO3

[personal profile] verushka70 will give you all the details about this comment scam being perpetrated by bots in fic comments on AO3. Do not react to the bot threats that falsely claim they are from AO3! Check out her very important warning in her DW post.

Please signal-boost this if you are so inclined.
usuallyhats: The four ghostbusters heading into battle (ghostbusters into battle)
incorrigibly frivolous ([personal profile] usuallyhats) wrote2025-06-11 01:18 pm

Books and comics read in April and May 2025

The Sapling Cage - Margaret Killjoy
The Butterfly Assassin - Finn Longman
Lake of Souls - Ann Leckie
A Sorceress Comes to Call - T Kingfisher
James - Percival Everett
Those Beyond the Wall - Micaiah Johnson
The Dead Cat Tail Assassins - P Djèlí Clark
The City in Glass - Nghi Vo
Return of the Thief - Megan Whalen Turner
The Brides of High Hill - Nghi Vo
The Practice, the Horizon and the Chain - Sofia Samatar
Navigational Entanglements - Aliette de Bodard

The West Passage - Jared Pechaček
Metropolitain: An Ode to the Paris Metro - Andrew Martin
We Called Them Giants
The Hunger and the Dusk, vol 1
Saint Death's Herald - CSE Cooney
The Butcher of the Forest - Premee Mohamed
The Raven Scholar - Antonia Hodgson
In Universes - Emet North
So Let Them Burn - Kamilah Cole
The Time of the Ghost - Diana Wynne Jones
The Gentleman and His Vowsmith - Rebecca Ide
The Magicians of Caprona - Diana Wynne Jones

The Sapling Cage (three stars), A Sorceress Comes to Call (two stars), The City in Glass (five stars), The West Passage (five stars), Saint Death's Herald (three stars), The Raven Scholar (three stars), The Gentleman and His Vowsmith (two stars)The Sapling Cage
This took me a bit to get into, partly because I was struggling to get a handle on the world, but it picks up once Lorel joins the witches, and has some really interesting stuff on duty, responsibility, power and how to live in a world that has other people in it. I felt like it faltered a bit in the second half when the action picked up, though, partly because it stopped addressing those questions and partly because writing action scenes is not Killjoy's best skill - they're not bad, exactly, but they are a bit awkward. And while I see what the author was trying to do with the denouement and the villain's motivation, it just didn't really come off.

What did work really well, however, was Lorel's debate on whether she wanted use magic to transform her body because she wanted a different body, or because having that body would make it easier for her to exist in a transphobic world. I particularly liked that it doesn't really factor into her internal debate that the magic to make it happen is difficult and painful and needs the participation of another person: she can tackle how to get it if she decides it's something she wants.

So definitely a mixed bag: the aspects of it I loved, I REALLY loved, but I'm still on the fence about whether I'll read the next in the trilogy.

A Sorceress Comes to Call
Two stars is probably a little ungenerous, but I was so frustrated by this book by the time I finished it, because it's two books, and they're both good books, but they are fighting each other. Part of this book is an incredibly well done horror novel about domestic abuse and control, and part of it is a delightful Regencyesque comedy of manners, and maybe those two things could mesh, but they don't here: the comedy of manners defangs the horror novel, and the horror makes the comedy of manners feel frivolous, even though both taken individually are great.

I could also have done without the comedy of manners heroine banging on about how OLD and DECREPIT she is, she's just SO ANCIENT, an OLD LADY, when she is in fact... fifty one. (Definitely a known problem with Kingfisher's writing, and this is at least older than her previous "I'm just SO OLD" heroine was, so... progress?)

The City in Glass
Absolutely loved this. Gorgeous prose, incredible images, wildly compelling - Nghi Vo does not miss.

The West Passage
This book was a wild ride and I had a great time (even if it contains slightly more cannibalism than I would ideally prefer). It's a medieval inspired fantasy, but not in a knights and peasants way, in a mysticism and weird little guys from the margins of illuminated manuscripts way: there's definitely some Gormenghast in its DNA, as well as some of the odder corners of Arthuriana, but it is absolutely its own thing. And the ending absolutely elevated the whole thing.

Saint Death's Herald
I absolutely adored Saint Death's Daughter, but this sequel didn't work as well for me. I still love Lanie, but the new supporting cast and their relationships with her weren't as strong as the previous books, so I was a lot less invested overall (especially in the incredibly drawn out fight sequence around the 60% mark), and the more peripatetic plot meant there was less of a sense of place to this one. I also felt like the prose leaned into the elements that I liked less from the previous book. I didn't dislike it, though, and I'm hoping this is just a touch of middle-book-itis (it did feel like there was a lot of mopping up from book one and manoeuvring into position for book three) - I will definitely be finishing the trilogy.

The Raven Scholar
Definitely a three stars (affectionate) here. I loved the middle of this book, as our (not stated but very obviously) autistic heroine navigates the situation she's been flung into and grapples with her own past choices, but the beginning was a bit rocky and I felt like the end collapsed down a lot of interesting complexities in the interests of having a more standard Villain Plot to defeat. It's a very long book, though, so I spent more time in the fun middle than the shaky beginning and end, and am excited for more in this world!

The Gentleman and His Vowsmith
I feel like this book couldn't quite decide what it wanted to be. It tried to be a romance, a fantasy novel, a murder mystery and a gothic novel all at once, and ended up not really doing justice to any of them. And while it's definitely possible for this kind of genre mishmash to work, it has to be better integrated into the whole; here it felt like we were just skipping from one to the other, and as a result none of them were managed in a completely satisfying way - I forgot who the murderer was almost immediately after it was revealed, for example, because the solution was such a damp squib. The dialogue in particular also couldn't decide if it wanted to be period or modern, and overall it felt it was never sure if it wanted to be Regency-with-magic or full AU.

I do think that all of those things would have been easier to overlook if it had been shorter and faster paced though, it did have some fun stuff going on, but its flaws got more evident and more frustrating the more I read.
oracne: turtle (Default)
oracne ([personal profile] oracne) wrote2025-06-09 08:52 am
Entry tags:

Letter Writers!

Love for our Elders is a program to send handwritten letters to older adults. "Our mission is to alleviate social isolation among older adults through handwritten letters and intergenerational connections."
pi: (Default)
Pi ([personal profile] pi) wrote2025-06-05 09:12 am

Rhea314's Summer Podfic Swap Dear Podficcer Letter

Dear Podficcer,

I'm excited you're matched with me! Happy Summer Podfic Swap :D I hope you find something you're excited to record, and I look forward to listening <3 Below is some guidance on what I do and don't enjoy. Podfic fandom is a wonderful place and I've received so many beautiful gifts over the years. I am excited for whatever you might want to record for me.

more information )
duskpeterson: The lowercased letters D and P, joined together (Default)
duskpeterson ([personal profile] duskpeterson) wrote2025-06-04 08:27 pm

FIC: The Royal Sanctuary: historical background (Tempestuous Tours)

The royal sactuary is arguably the most important chamber in the palace. It is here that, in former times, a sanctuarian priest held daily rituals designed to uplift the spirits of worshippers and – I am sorry to say – crush the spirits of slaves. The Emorians, rightly appalled by the Koretians' treatment of their slaves, built part of their new palace over the burning ground just outside the courtyard, which lay within easy sight of the sanctuary.

Despite its despicable misdeeds of the past, Koretia's priesthood has survived to the present day. The Jackal, who is also High Priest of Koretia, holds annual services to honor the slaves who served and died in Koretia; these services are often attended by the few slaves who survived their treatment. Some of these slaves remain dead in mind but come willingly to this service, drawn here by the Jackal, who is the god of death and who therefore watches over their spirits in the Land Beyond. To witness these dead-in-mind men and women gather around the Jackal is a deeply moving experience - a living monument to the Koretian belief that the gods can transform evil into good.

The royal sanctuary was desecrated at the time of the Emorian invasion of 961; the sanctuary was used to stable horses in the years that followed. After the Emorians withdrew from Koretia in 976, the chamber remained empty for many years. In 987, on the twenty-fifth anniversary of the liberation of Koretia's slaves by the Emorians, the chamber was rededicated under the name of the Royal Sanctuary of the Living Dead. It is now a memorial to the suffering of Koretia's former slaves.

Conveniently for visitors, the royal sanctuary can be visited separately from the rest of the palace. The sanctuary now has its own entrance, unconnected to the royal residence or any other portion of the Koretian palace.


[Translator's note: The Royal Sanctuary plays a dramatic role in Death Mask.]

valoise: (Default)
valoise ([personal profile] valoise) wrote2025-06-03 08:44 am

Books read in May

When the Moon Hits Your Eye by John Scalzi
The premise of the book - that the moon turns into cheese - is utterly ridiculous, but that not what the book is ultimately about. Scalzi focuses on how a wide range of people deal with the extraordinary, how they come to grips with sudden radical changes in their daily lives.

The Practice, The Horizon, and The Chain by Sofia Samatar
An exploration of class and oppression on a fleet of generation ships, I liked this more than most of the reviews I've read. While it's not my top choice for Hugo Best Novella, I think it definitely belongs on the ballot.

The Brides of High Hill by Nghi Vo
Another Hugo Best Novella nominee, this is part of the Singing Hills series. While not my favorite work in the series, the magic here took an unexpected turn and I liked it.

Doctor Who and The Five Doctors by Terrance Dicks
Like the televised story, this short book is so packed with Doctors, and companions, and story lines, it's hard to really give the focus to any f them. I did like how the opening focuses on Susan, providing information on her life after she left the TARDIS.

Convergence Problems by Wole Talabi
His second collection of short fiction, this was really great. His characters have a depth to them, the writing is sharp with no excess, and both his fantasy and sf are great. He experiments with storytelling in wonderful ways.

Destination: Amalthea by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky
I've read books by them which I really enjoyed (The Dead Mountaineers Inn, Roadside Picnic, Monday Begins on Saturday) so when I saw this hard sf work was available as an ebook at my library I jumped on it. Very disappointing. The translation was really, really bad. If a newly translated version ever comes out I'll give it another shot.
pi: (Default)
Pi ([personal profile] pi) wrote2025-06-01 02:25 pm
Entry tags:

Fuck the Patriarchy Vidshow

I made a Fuck The Patriarchy vidshow for VidUKon 2025 exploring experiencing patriarchy, resistance and pushing for change, and seeking post-patriarchy and (queer) joy.

1. The Second Rib by Seasaltmemories (Revolutionary Girl Utena)
Tell Patient Zero he can have his rib back. A dual portrait of how Utena and Anthy individually cope with patriarchy. (watch-
ing this vid is what inspired me to put together this show in the first place!)

2. Smile by Januarium (Kevin Can Fuck Himself)
No more Mrs. Sweet and Miss Nice / No more Mrs. Fuckin’ Polite / Time for Mrs. Takin’ What’s Mine / You don’t need him

3. Losing My Mind by ohvienna (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Deanna Troi is fine (she’s just very tired, that’s all).

4. Dollhouse by Periru3 (Mad Men)
One day they’ll see what goes down in the kitchen.

5. Phenomenal Woman by odessie (Hidden Figures)
Breaking boundaries and chasing fire

6. Fascination by charmax (Billy Elliot)
The word is on your lips, say the word

7. Crazy, Classic, Life by metatxt (Pose)
Everyone wants a “crazy, classic, life.” Be Gay, Do Crimes!

8. Weapon by eruthros (Cindi Mayweather, Janelle Monáe)
Throw all your hell towards the heavens, cause your voice is a weapon

9. Stand By You by thingswithwings (Multifandom)
Male privilege is a shield - you can choose what you use the shield for.

10. A Gorgeous Vid Moment by Llin (Queer Eye)
Young man, what do you wanna be?

11. I Know A Place by heresluck (Sense8)
Don’t you be afraid of love and affection.

12. Salute! by nu_breed (정년이 | Jeongnyeon: The Star Is Born)
let us stand together/ Maeran Gukgeuk is for the lesbians! **PREMIERE**

13. People Like Us by JinkyO (We Are Lady Parts)
We are all misfits living in a world on fire.

14. Black Tie by such_heights (A League of Their Own)
You will find the clothes that fit.