widespread archaeological evidence suggests that many North Americans of this era acknowledged the existence of three genders: “men”, “women”, and “employees only”
The sense I get from a lot of queer media is that my high school friendships weren’t nearly fucked up enough. They’re like “yeah, this person aggressively and at times violently disrespects my boundaries, they act like they’re entitled to know everything about me while constantly keeping potentially damaging secrets from me and genuinely don’t seem to perceive any double standard there, they hold me to secret standards of behaviour and act personally betrayed if I don’t live up to them, and they’re my best friend in the world, I would literally die for them”, and I’m just sitting here like “I 100% cannot relate, but this is such a consistent and recurring theme that it almost feels like I was missing out”.
the “came back wrong” trope except like… they didnt. like this mad scientists wife died, and so he studied necromancy, brought her back, and she came back and it all worked. like she came back exactly the same as she was before with literally no difference. but the scientist guy is like “oh no… what have i done…. shes Different now!!!! she came back Wrong!!!!” and shes just like. chilling. reading a book. cooking dinner. shes just so so normal but in the guys mind hes like “oh shes soooo weird” but shes just normal
I’m imagining if tolkien lived now and publishers were asking him if he had enough followers on twitter and if he could film videos to market his found family elfcore magic cottagevibes worldbuilding fantasy book on tiktok. i think he would run them over with his car actually
I loved this series! I don’t know where my copy of the 1st book went but the others are on their way to the library bookstore, and I hope they find a new home there
It was hard to say bye to these books (but I plan to get the new millennium editions in ebook soon… and i need the space). I read them when I was in high school and college.
They’re really excellent, set in Our World (not fantasy whatever land). They remind me in some ways of Terry Pratchett’s work–not the setting or voice, but in the underlying ethos of the work. Although the characters go through difficult things (big warning for A Wizard’s Dilemma), the world overall feels… kind?
More things to love about this series
Hispanic & queer representation, if you pay attention. In other, more recently-written series, these aspects of the characters might have been played up. In this series, those aspects are still present but more subtly. I actually like this because it’s more fitting with my experience of the world. It also serves the story itself better and allows the characters’ choices and actions to be the focus of the story.
Even in the case of the antagonists, the characters are… They extend civility and understanding to the antagonists, but they don’t veer into “all-forgiving hero” territory. The story doesn’t get into really black-and-white good-and-evil morality, but it isn’t that tiresome “everyone sucks enjoy your undifferentiated grey.” The heroes are heroic because of how they choose to treat others.
I love it when stories say “the way you treat others does matter.” Kindness is repaid with kindness.
The styles of magic are cool too! I think many people have read “this character has a connection with plants and growing things” magic before. One of the other characters has a connection with mechanical and technical things! There’s a scene in one of the books where he communes with, I think it’s an airplane? And he can feel its eagerness to be flying, its fierce joy in speed and movement. I think that’s lovely.
There are some good jokes in there, like the pig!
If you love space and astronomy, you’ll probably like this series :) Especially the later books.
If you like alien cultures (and more traditional fantasy other-cultures) you’ll probably like this seriies
Overall I just really enjoy these books and recommend them okay byeeee
It’s an honor, btw, to be compared to Terry, even glancingly. Thanks for that. ☺️
ALT
