Advance Review (or sometimes called Reader) Copies are books released to reviewers ahead of publication. These reviewers then post their honest opinions about the book on release day across multiple platforms (like Amazon and GoodReads). Whether it’s a 5 or a 1 star, an honest review is worth it’s weight in gold—which is one of the reasons ARC editions are free to the reviewer.
Our first read is FOURTH WING, by Rebecca Yarros! Book club starts today, but if you're seeing this after Sept. 1 2023 don't worry: you have until the end of October to join and finish the book!
Life has been a little all over the place for the past couple months. I had surgery, my sister had surgery, my husband was let go from Twitch, and now we're in the middle of moving! So with all that excitement, the newsletter and Book of the Month went to the wayside.
I want a way to continue Book of the Month, but in a way that lets me get to know you all better, and lets you see what an author looks for when analyzing and learning from a novel. That means, Book Club Time!
1. Sign up for a Fable.co Account
2. Join the Sword & Board Discord
3. Click on the Fable Link pinned in #Book-Club
4. Follow the Fable instructions on how to pick up the book.
As an author, my mantra is to tell challenging stories and minimize harm. The major failing I see with sexual violence in many media forms is where the point of view and gaze fall. Particularly in western media, that gaze is often heterosexual masculine. That means sexual violence comes from that same perspective, and makes grotesque GoT Sansa scenes where her rape is all about the men (either perpetrator or witness). The violence is there to horrify and titillate the viewer. We should be horrified. We should never be titillated. Respect for the survivor is missing in these situations. I could break down where this failing is in a lot of media, but I don’t think that is the most important conversation to have. I think the more important questions are: 1) should sexual violence be included in stories for shock value, and 2) how can sexual violence be written.
If you’re looking at this before May 1, 2022, we’re currently running a special promotion on our Patreon where when you sign up at any tier, you receive the patron-only Gods Chronicle Anthology, volume 1. It is an alpha read edition that gives a great deal of backstory for characters within The Dying Sun, such as Merikh, Loralee, and Nikias. It also gives perspective to oft talked about characters Mansur and Rajiya.
Below are snippets from each of the shorts within the anthology. If you’d like to read them in full, please consider becoming a patron. Tiers start at $5/month. Thank you!
I have been eyeing this book for some time. I am a complete sucker for big books, and at 800 pages long, The Priory of the Orange Tree, written by Samantha Shannon, certainly fits the bill. But don’t let yourself be intimidated by its size. It is not an 800 page slog through a mire of excessively long diatribes about food. It is 800 pages of character driven story that itself firmly in the category of ‘do not miss’ fantasy.
When I came home after vacation, I was unsure what book to pick up from the to-be-read pile. I had my non-fiction read started, but needed something fiction. Something a little less knock-down-drag-em-out on my emotions than The Dragon Republic was. Looking over my bookcase, I came to Jade Dragon Mountain.
The Dragon Republic, written by R.F. Kuang, is the sequel to The Poppy War. Unlike many sequels, The Dragon Republic doesn’t suffer from sequel syndrome. It follows protagonist Rin as she struggles to come to terms with the atrocities of war, the loss of trusted leadership, drug abuse, and PTSD. If you haven’t read The Poppy War, I highly suggest doing so and then immediately following up with The Dragon Republic.
Arrow’s Fall is the climax of Herald Talia’s series. It begins immediately at the end of Arrow’s Flight, where Talia has just arrived home to the Collegium and finds herself embroiled in politics from the get-go. A betrothal offer for Elspeth arrives from the neighbouring kingdom of Hardorn. An offer that appears too good to be true. When Talia and Kris are sent to find out whether the King’s intentions are true, it becomes a struggle to survive that depends on their wits, and the relationships they’ve cultivated with all of Valdemar’s Heralds.
Arrow’s Flight, by Mercedes Lackey, screams of Middle-Book-Syndrome. The second in the Heralds of Valdemar trilogy, it picks up where Arrows of the Queen ends. Talia, Queen’s Own, leaves with her mentor Kris for her first patrol as a full-blown Herald. There are many trials ahead of her on the road, but the greatest challenge comes from within.
I want to preface this post by saying I have very much enjoyed Storm Front by Jim Butcher. So much so that I immediately moved on to the next book in the series. The world created by Butcher is enticing, dark, mysterious and dangerous. The magic is well thought out, and he spends just enough time explaining how it works for you to believe that Dresden is a masterful practitioner without belabouring the point. I also want to say I know nothing about Jim Butcher and am not implying that he is misogynistic. With that preface, let’s begin.
It’s hard to believe that it’s autumn and almost Halloween living in near-seasonless SoCal, where the high today is 95F (a balmy 35C). The high wind warning, at least, is creating obliging scratching at the windows from branches and leaves all tousled about. It’s a far cry from my childhood, where costumes were made to fit over snowsuits. To feel a little more seasonable, I’ve joined in on the tradition of ready spooky books: The Woman In Black by Susan Hill, and I Am Legend by Richard Matheson. Both of these stories have been made into movies, but if you think you know the stories you’re wrong.
