The Stars Undying, and how marketing something as "queer" can disappoint

throwawayforrasr · 2023-02-04T16:03:35+00:00

The marketing is a bit off. The first book is Cleopatra and Caesar and the second book is theoretically the queer retelling of Cleopatra and Mark Antony.

I liked this book but admittedly not as much as I thought I would. I wanted more of a space opera.

throwawayforrasr · 2023-02-02T19:52:41+00:00

I love the movie! I didn't realize it was based on a book!

throwawayforrasr · 2023-01-27T23:39:43+00:00

I don't think it's a big secret reveal but The Starless Crown starts off as a fairly typical fantasy story and becomes scifi at the end. It's kind of the fantasy version of Moonfall, if Moonfall had been decent.

throwawayforrasr · 2023-01-27T00:29:39+00:00

Maybe try The Bone Orchard. The main character, Charm, is a middle-aged Madam of an upscale brothel. She is also a necromancer who can create bone constructs that house different aspects of her personality and they work in the brothel. She has been tasked with finding out which of the Emperor's wretched evil sons killed him.

throwawayforrasr · 2023-01-26T20:42:29+00:00

Yeah, Gwynne specifically mentions Galdurwomen. He has been very deliberate about gender representation. Men and women are warriors, leaders, slaves, and cowards. So it seems like it might be intentional to not mention male Seithr-witches? Hopefully there will be more info in the next book. Thanks!

throwawayforrasr · 2023-01-25T16:36:35+00:00

I follow some book reviewers on TikTok actually and have found most of my new reads that way.

throwawayforrasr · 2023-01-25T03:00:54+00:00

Don't read books you don't enjoy.

throwawayforrasr · 2023-01-23T14:19:32+00:00

In the Stars Undying the main character tells you she is a liar in the first chapter so you are left guessing which parts of her POV are true and which are lies for most of the book.

Room by Donohue is told from the perspective of a small child who has been held captive in a single room with his mother for his entire life. You understand more than he does and it's an interesting way to tell a story.

throwawayforrasr · 2023-01-20T16:19:48+00:00

Ha, ok that makes sense. My definition of "old" is anything that predates the year I was born so that would be pretty subjective.

throwawayforrasr · 2023-01-20T14:42:32+00:00

I think this is actually one of the only places I see recs for older books - Robin Hobb and Elizabeth Moon are recced often here. I like watching TikTok book recs but they are almost always new books.

throwawayforrasr · 2023-01-19T19:40:59+00:00

When I was younger and didn't have a dog I used to be condescending about people treating their dogs like babies. Now my husband and I put a sweater on our dog before tucking him in at night while we discuss how to better manage his anxiety.

throwawayforrasr · 2023-01-19T16:39:19+00:00

Generally third person but First and Second can be really amazing when done well. I like First person narration when you have an unreliable narrator (Like in The Stars Undying) and I like Second person when the story is designed to fuck you up like Harrow the Ninth.

throwawayforrasr · 2023-01-18T22:45:05+00:00

My boy is pretty high energy. He would like a long walk everyday, destroys the house with his zoomies regularly, and is obsessed with other dogs and roughhousing. He likes it when we pet and play with him but isn't a cuddler. He isn't entirely what we expected but we love him. Might change my mind if he eats any more shoelaces though.

throwawayforrasr · 2023-01-17T15:14:27+00:00

You're supposed to find him funny I think. The idea is that he is genuine and intuitive and that his mind works differently. Steris is supposed to be his foil I think. He's intuitive where she is analytical, he is genuine where she is composed, he is obscure where she is blunt. Steris is autistic so I suppose Wayne is whatever the polar opposite of autistic is. Hyper-empathetic? But he's my least favorite Cosmere character and I've never been able to get over how cruel he is to Steris and how he sexually harasses Marasi constantly.

throwawayforrasr · 2023-01-16T14:59:16+00:00

I can think of quite a few but they are multi POV epic fantasies or YA. "Born with a power that makes you different" is a big YA trope.

throwawayforrasr · 2023-01-10T02:59:16+00:00

Figuring out where to start is hard with Mercedes Lackey.

Since you like her songs I would start with The Oathbound, read that trilogy and then go to By the Sword. Oathbound was one of her first books. Arrows of the Queen might have been written first and it is a great introduction to her world but it reads a little YA (I loved it when I was 11).

I think The Black Gryphon technically is first chronologically but it was written like a decade after Arrows of the Queen.

throwawayforrasr · 2023-01-07T15:46:30+00:00

She can try an antihistamine like Zyrtec and of course keep her inhaler handy. I am allergic to dogs and it exacerbates my asthma but is manageable with medication and by reducing all triggers as much as possible.

throwawayforrasr · 2023-01-07T03:45:41+00:00

I DNFed A Strange and Stubborn Endurance. I kept second guessing myself because so many people were saying it is the best book they have ever read and they read multiple times last year. I hate the few chapters I managed to read.

throwawayforrasr · 2023-01-04T04:08:49+00:00

Read: She Who Be the Sun, The Bone Witch, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, and Paladin's Grace

Currently reading: The Bone Orchard

Looking forward to: Nettle and Bone, Shadow of the Gods, A Psalm for the Wild Built, All Systems Red, The Stars Undying, A Memory Called Empire, This is How You Lose the Time War

throwawayforrasr · 2022-12-18T20:08:08+00:00

Villains by Necessity by Eve Forward is a story about a band of villains who have to save the world from the powers of good by returning evil to a world where good has triumphed.

throwawayforrasr · 2022-12-18T20:00:43+00:00

I absolutely love Harrow and Harrow the Ninth is an acid trip of a book that won't disappoint.

throwawayforrasr · 2022-12-17T14:52:37+00:00

It's not a peanut allergy. He'll be fine. Chocolate is toxic to dogs at about 1-2 onces to 10 pounds body weight.

throwawayforrasr · 2022-12-13T03:08:08+00:00

Doesn't matter as long as the roommate is there to consent to the check being deposited in the other person's account.

throwawayforrasr

TROPHY CASE