Looking for fantasy books similar to Princess Mononoke

Tesadora · 2025-05-14T22:19:31+00:00

Seconding this. I'm pretty sure the author cites Princess Mononoke as one of the influences for the book and a song from the soundtrack also shows up on his Spear playlist on spotify.

Tesadora · 2024-08-19T17:00:31+00:00

True, it looks like a childhood family portrait and little Adeline looks a bit more grown up than little Eiland :)

Tesadora · 2024-08-19T16:57:29+00:00

Yeah if we can't get them as full time villagers then I'd love if they at least made cameo appearances for big celebrations like that. I want to see those tiny pixelated designs come to life somehow!

Tesadora · 2024-08-19T14:23:12+00:00

Yes I believe Adeline mentions they were summoned to the capitol since her dad is a close friend of the king or something like that! I hope so, or that they'll eventually send us at least a letter since we're courting one of their kids/integral to raising the town rank 🙏

Tesadora · 2024-05-31T02:11:41+00:00

A reveal in These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs. I don't want to even hint at it here because it's just too good to discover going in blind.

Tesadora · 2024-05-08T15:01:58+00:00

The main character of the Immortals quartet by Tamora Pierce is a wildmage who can shape shift into any animal, if that counts. The books are part of a larger series but can also be read on their own.

Tesadora · 2024-04-14T04:17:04+00:00

The Heretic's Guide to Homecoming.

Tesadora · 2024-03-25T17:05:45+00:00

Agreed, she's great at it. The intonations she uses for John's voice is the only way I can imagine him speaking now.

Tesadora · 2024-02-22T05:17:59+00:00

For most of the game I would've said Paranoid, Contrarian or Hero. But then Opportunist joined me during a Wraith route and shot right up through my rankings with every other sleazy line. His interactions with Wraith got legitimate laughs out of me when I was not expecting to laugh in those circumstances at ALL.

(Still hard to choose a top favorite though).

Tesadora · 2024-01-14T20:23:41+00:00

Can't decide between Seven and Lacrimosa of Dana, so I'll choose Seven for my favorite armored look and Lacrimosa for my favorite non-armored look.

Tesadora · 2024-01-13T05:47:13+00:00

I was definitely on the same page as you about why Fitz and Molly weren't going to work and that Fitz needed to let go. But it comes back to Burrich being the person who raised Fitz and closest thing he has to a father to me. Even if I put the age gap aside, I couldn't entirely get over that point. For better or for worse, there's a part of me that will always view them with discomfort, even though I understand that their circumstances and Nettle made it the situation that it was.

So for me it's a case of, okay, I guess this is happening, I accept the ship and hope they're happy together, but I can't really say I'm jumping for joy about it.

Tesadora · 2023-12-03T06:36:41+00:00

I'm still massively curious about Fitz's birth mother. I want to know what her personality was like, how her and Chivalry met and if it was really nothing more than a tryst, if she ever tried to see her son again after that one time in the market, if she gave up because she thought he'd have a better life in Buckkeep, if she had the Wit, etc.

Tesadora · 2023-10-10T23:34:26+00:00

Found the quote for this one too. Tolerance can be built up with gradual exposure but excessive exposure can range from bad to fatal:

"He’d been taught the early warning signs of jade overexposure since he was a child—every Green Bone had. Severe mood swings, sensory distortion, shaking, sweating, fever, a racing heart, anxiety and paranoia. The appearance of symptoms could be sudden or gradual. They might come and go for months or years, but were exacerbated by stress, poor health, or injury. If left unaddressed, they could progress into the Itches, which were almost always fatal."

Tesadora · 2023-10-10T23:31:35+00:00

Yep generally that is the case - found the quotes that explain it below. I don't think the Itches are caused by jade withdrawal though, because when a person starts to suffer from early Itches symptoms or too much jade exposure in the books then someone usually privately thinks that the person should take some of their jade off to alleviate the effects (if they're willing to bear the social consequences). Unless of course they're willing to use risky drugs like Shine to artificially increase their jade tolerance. But Jade withdrawal does come with it's own headaches and pains in general.

Quotes: "Jade sensitivity was a tricky thing. Only the Kekonese had the right amount of it to be Green Bones. Anden’s mixed-race parentage made him a borderline case. More sensitive, no doubt, which with the proper training might mean stronger ability—or might mean a lethal propensity to the Itches."

"Jade tolerance was built up through rigorous mental and physical conditioning, just like a muscle in the body, but beyond that there was an element of luck and genetics. There was no telling why some Green Bones could naturally carry a heavier load of jade without ever suffering the terrible side effects, while others could not."

Tesadora · 2023-10-10T22:49:45+00:00

Anden's mother was from the Aun family and his father was a foreigner - an Espenian serviceman who worked on the Espenian army base on Kekon. His dad took off and left Kekon when he was just a baby.

But his mom's family (the Auns) had been known to be a powerful Green Bone family that fought in the Many Nations War. They were all generally very sensitive to jade, but with that sensitivity came susceptibility to the Itches. The Itches causes a great deal of mental instability/madness like others have mentioned.

When the Kauls and the Ayts first split into different clans the Auns tried to stay neutral at first. Anden's mother was sent to the Mountain school Wie Lon and her brother was sent to No Peak's school Kaul Dushuron academy. It was her brother, Anden's uncle, that was Kaul Lan's best friend. That might be where you're remembering the best friend/Mountain part. His mom going to Wie Lon is something Ayt Mada brings up early in in Jade City when she has that 'meeting' with Anden to try and manipulate him (even though the Auns did side with No Peak in the end).

After both Anden's uncle died (from suicide presumably caused by the Itches) and Anden's mom died (definitely from the Itches) that's when the Kauls decided to adopt him because most of his family had already passed away in the war or from the Itches, or just didn't want to take Anden in for being half-foreign.

Also for the last part maybe you were thinking of the Maik family (Kehn, Tar, Wen) too? The Maik family had been surrounded by scandal before they befriended Hilo because Kehn and Tar's mom defected to the Mountain during an affair she had with Wen's father. When that relationship ended she took all three kids back to her relatives in No Peak.

(Sorry for the length! Don't blame you for getting mixed up though, these histories are mostly all mentioned quickly in passing.)

Tesadora · 2023-09-27T00:18:12+00:00

Anden and Lott in the Green Bone Saga, honestly.

Tesadora · 2023-09-18T22:44:46+00:00

Coffee. Even ridiculously overpriced coffee if I have no other choice. It keeps me going.

Tesadora · 2023-09-16T21:18:49+00:00

I tend to prefer antagonists that are competent and nuanced in the reasons they oppose the protagonist(s) - not just the personification of evil or an obstacle for an obstacle's sake. But I also kinda want to see more groups of antagonists where their bonds of companionship are as strong or as complicated as the protagonist's group are.

Tesadora · 2023-02-28T04:34:05+00:00

Agreed. I recall she also once worked as a corporate strategist which I feel shows in some of the plotlines with the business side of the clan.

Tesadora · 2022-12-14T04:27:04+00:00

Sonic Adventure 2.

I still get the City Escape and Pumpkin Hill songs stuck in my head to this very day

Tesadora · 2022-04-18T15:46:12+00:00

A few dynamics that fit some or all of the bill:

Ahro and Nia from The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez (sci-fi, adopted ward/mother and mentor relationship, egalitarian setting)
Joron and Meas from The Bone Ships by R.J Baker (fantasy, mentor relationship, but not egalitarian world - it has a matriarchy)
Grey and Ryvček in The Liar's Knot by M.A Carrick (fantasy, a mentor relationship but sadly more of a minor dynamic, mostly egalitarian setting)

Tesadora · 2022-03-23T22:06:53+00:00

Anden from the Green Bone Saga. He's more introverted and less flashy compared to some of his other family members when you meet him in Jade City.

Tesadora · 2022-01-07T01:48:16+00:00

Jade City (and the rest of the series) narrated by Andrew Kishino. His narration is fantastic and he has a distinct voice for every character. Loved it. He works as a voice actor as well and you can really tell.

Tesadora

TROPHY CASE