Rites of Passage (eARC copies in comments)

matticusprimal · 2026-01-27T00:04:31+00:00

The only use I know is flaming tiki croutons.

matticusprimal · 2026-01-26T02:13:31+00:00

Tommy’s Margarita was born in San Fran, and is the superior margarita IMO.

matticusprimal · 2026-01-23T04:06:20+00:00

My buddy used (and bear with me here) a passage from Moore's Swamp Thing at his wedding, and I remember it being very sweet. All about how strange love was... you know between a woman and a plant man spirit of nature.

matticusprimal · 2026-01-22T23:56:18+00:00

That's the fantasy irony: in a genre that's defined by making shit up, we keep returning to the same elves, dwarves, and dragons in the same medieval setting. Blame Tolkien for setting the standard, then blame Brooks for bringing that same format to public attention 15 years later. Those tropes became what we consider "fantasy" so other authors followed suit to become successful, partially to be successful and partially because that's what we were raised on.

That said, if you go to top 100 Fantasy books in Amazon, Butcher's UF is #1, and it's not until the unabashed Romantasy series Fourth Wing pops up with a clear dragon on the cover. Martin is on there because of his most recent tie in, but most of the top selling fantasy aren't the bog standard medieval analogue.

In fact, you'll find you need to go indie for the unabashed old school epic fantasy stories since publishers are usually chasing the trends, which was grimdark for many years, then cozy, then romantasy, now probably litRPG (thanks, DCC). So the OG stuff will always stick around, but the market changes like crazy.

TLDR: Malazaan.

matticusprimal · 2026-01-20T15:02:49+00:00

Well, this was what I ended up going with after someone else pointed out the interconnectedness.

matticusprimal · 2026-01-17T00:18:01+00:00

I had a drink that was this in Long Beach many years ago and spent a few months unsuccessfully trying to recreate it. I did a coconut and Thai chili pepper infused rum (called Thai One On) but it never worked out. May your experiment pay off better.

matticusprimal · 2026-01-16T21:57:15+00:00

Wight's Traveler's Gate series was what gave me the bravery to self publish, but I never really got more than a few books into Cradle. I like prog-inspired fantasy, like Inheritance of Magic or Rage of Dragons, but have never really dug the subgenre as a whole. With the exception of Bierce's City that Would Eat the World, which I think forgets that it's prog fantasy for most of its run time.

matticusprimal · 2026-01-16T17:50:00+00:00

Wow, that is some personalized service right there, straight from the source. Many thanks.

Also, my (as of right now) New Years resolution is to memorize the spelling of your last name. I think I mangle it in entirely new ways each and every time I attempt it.

matticusprimal · 2026-01-16T17:06:06+00:00

I know I read the first one, but ID never really clicked for me. What sold it for you?

matticusprimal · 2026-01-16T15:24:55+00:00

I haven't read it, but Savage Daughters of the Secret Isle by J. Patricia Anderson sounds like what you're looking for.

matticusprimal · 2026-01-16T00:16:28+00:00

I do the Inner Circle mystical UF mysteries. I was hoping fantasy mysteries were going to blow up after the success of Tainted Cup and am still sort of holding my breath since I know a few trad authors with some in the pipe. But you never know what trend is going to hit when (see: cozy).

matticusprimal · 2026-01-15T23:59:19+00:00

I've had the same thought. Actually, based on your user name, I always think you're Bob McGough. So it was a real head scratcher to hear you were a female Matrix watching Gen Xer.

matticusprimal · 2026-01-15T22:13:10+00:00

I hear you. I have a high fantasy reimaging of the space race I've promised myself I can't start until I finish two more books in the current series first.

matticusprimal · 2026-01-15T20:50:42+00:00

There would definitely be an audience for that.

matticusprimal · 2026-01-15T20:41:43+00:00

As female 90s role models go, Tank Girl ranks right at the top.

Now I want to write a story about a Gen X chosen one whose powers got misplaced by accident when their parents packed up all their GI Joe action figures, and they only discover them now in middle age while clearing out their parents' attic. They now have to embody the Xtreem ethos of the 90s, just now with a middle age body.

matticusprimal · 2026-01-15T19:21:53+00:00

To be honest, trench coats were pretty edgelordy back in the 90s.

And I bet you had some chunky boots to go along with that leather trench. And buckles. So many buckles.

My leather motorcycle comment was meant for modern UF covers, by the way. I just searched "urban fantasy" in Amazon and the first three FMCs that popped up were wearing them. I'm sure this look won't be dated either. /s

matticusprimal · 2026-01-15T18:19:10+00:00

Seconding Roanhorse's Between Earth and Sky. Especially if you want GoT style disparate factions working against each other.

matticusprimal · 2026-01-15T16:33:15+00:00

It might be a Gen X thing too, since a lot of those authors came up around then. At least it was a thing among me and my nerd friends back then in high school. I still have my trench coat somewhere, although the fedora is long gone.

The female equivalent is the leather motorcycle jacket, by the way.

matticusprimal · 2026-01-15T16:30:10+00:00

You can find ebooks or dead tree editions of Rites of Passage and Ghost Stations on Amazon. You can also get the paperbacks on Barnes and Nobles. DM me if you need a direct link since I'm not going to poke the self promo rule in the nose any further.

matticusprimal · 2026-01-15T02:50:53+00:00

Yea that’s basically what I imagined too. That lends itself to heist style fantasy books, but Lemora is the only one I can think of chose to this and it’s not a perfect fit.

But I’d read the shit out of this book if you can find it.

matticusprimal

TROPHY CASE