Books That Burn

This fortnight we bring you our discussion of "Salamandastron", our highlight episode from the "Redwall" series by Brian Jacques. *Book TW for viral outbreak and quarantine, with fever. Topic 1: Epidemic - Dryditch Fever. Begins at (1:30), CW for plague, fear of death, child in danger, sickness, death. Topic 2: False accusation. Begins at (14:45), CW for child punishment, false accusation, murder, terrorizing others, threat of physical violence, weapons. Topic 3: Parent/child relationships. Begins at (24:30), CW for threats of murder, child abuse, verbal abuse, rage, descriptions of violence. Spoiler-free recap and ratings: Begins at (38:45). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/booksthatburn). Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this book. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

Please enjoy the spoiler-free (or at least spoiler-light) portion of our interview with author M. D. Neu. Timestamps are marked for the interview questions. Introductions (0:10) Personal history and brief overview of books written by M. D. Neu. (1:10) Do you consider your character’s physical description when writing how other characters treat them? (8:25) What is your approach to incorporating visible characters of color in your work?What do you do to make it go beyond social coding, or not? (10:15) When depicting types of queerness that are not your identity, do run them by members of those communities? (20:00) How does setting influence depictions of disabilities in your stories? (26:08) Do you have a favorite book written by someone else, and if so what makes it your favorite? (31:35) What is your favorite non-traumatic thing in any of your books? (34:00) Do you have any queer authors or authors of color whose work you’d like to shout out? (37:35) Where can our audience find you? (39:10) Outro (44:30) --- Check out M. D. Neu's website for more info about his writing. You can follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, look up his Youtube channel, or check out his Goodreads profile. Major works by M. D. Neu discussed in this interview: "Contact", "Conviction", "TAD". --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive part two of this two-part interview. You can find Robin's written reviews of Contact, Conviction, and TAD at Reviews that Burn. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we bring you “The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms”, book one of "The Inheritance Trilogy" by N. K. Jemisin. This book contains frank and intimate portrayals of sex and sexuality, usually but not only between gods. Topic 1: Enslavement and Constraint. Begins at (1:30), CW for enslavement, incest mention, "one drop rule" mention, torture, death, description of magical disembowelment, visceral description of physical torture. Topic 2: Yeine - Ostracization, Isolation. Begins at (24:00), CW for ostracization, death, abandonment. Topic 3: Yeine - Atmosphere of Cruelty. Begins at (34:45), CW for description of physical magical disembowelment, animal cruelty example, murder. Spoiler-free recap and ratings: Begins at (46:00). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/booksthatburn). You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we're discussing "The Broken Kingdoms", book two of "The Inheritance Trilogy" by N. K. Jemisin. This book contains frank and intimate portrayals of sex and sexuality. Book TW for body horror, massacre, genocide. Topic 1: Shiny - Suicidal Tendencies. Begins at (0:50), CW for suicide, self-harm, mention of cutting, death, murder. Topic 2: Oree - Kidnapping. Begins at (12:08), CW for kidnapping, ableism, indoctrination, threat of murder, loss of autonomy. Topic 3: Oree - Guilt / Body as a weapon. Begins at (25:03), CW for weapons, mention of sex, death, loss of autonomy, guilt. Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (39:07). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “The Kingdom of Gods”, book three of The Inheritance Trilogy by N. K. Jemisin. Topic 1: Kahl - Abandonment. Begins at (0:50), CW for abandonment. Topic 2: Sieh - Loss of Innocence. Begins at (17:00), CW for loss of innocence. Topic 3: The Arameri - Cycle of Violence: Colonialism Edition. Begins at (27:20), CW for slavery, colonialism. Promo for Too Many Captains; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (39:25). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our LinkTree. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.  

Welcome to our first discussion episode, the topic is J. K. Rowling and the Harry Potter series. Please read the CWs in the show notes below before proceeding with the episode. Take care of yourselves, and we understand if you need to skip this one.This episode is mainly for people who are currently unaware of or just learning about J. K. Rowling's problematic nature and rampant transphobia. When we recorded this, in early July 2020, JKR had been putting out at least one transphobic tweet for almost a month and a half and doesn't show any sign of stopping. We focused our discussion on portrayals of bigotry and trauma in the main Harry Potter series, with some discussion of the contents of her recent tweets.This book contains specific spoilers for the first book, and general spoilers for the full Harry Potter series.Discussion topics/CWs:Fatphobia (linking large body sizes with laziness and cruelty)Child abuse (food restriction and malnourishment, denying meals to a minor, locking a minor in a confined space as punishment)Racism (anti-Black and anti-Asian racism, specifically)Antisemitism (portrayal of Gringotts Goblins)Slavery (House Elves)Betrayal (implications of JKR's actions)--- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Find all our links on our LinkTree. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “Long Way Down” by Jason Reynolds. Robin has been looking forward to this episode all year, ever since it was recommended to them by a very helpful librarian when they went home for Christmas 2019. We're pleased to report that the book was as good as they were told, and we're excited to share our discussion with you. Topic 1: Mom - Death of family members. Begins at (1:30), CW for self-harm, gun violence, murder, revenge killings, death of family members. Topic 2: Will - Premeditation of murder. Begins at (11:30), CW for ideation about death and violence. Topic 3: Will - Cycle of violence: Revenge edition. Begins at (22:00), CW for gun violence, revenge killing, trauma on readers. Promo for Infectious Groove; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (32:10). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our LinkTree. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “Virtual Vandals” by Diane Duane. This is book one of the series "Tom Clancy's Net Force Explorers". Topic 1: Stunted emotional growth. Begins at (1:30), CW for discussion of classism and classist perspectives. Topic 2: Threat of physical harm. Begins at (16:44), CW for vehicular manslaughter, threats of murder. Topic 3: Neurological damage. Begins at (25:32), CW for physical danger, shock, and brain damage. Promo for Garrett Talks to Himself; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (36:06). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our LinkTree. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “Uglies” by Scott Westerfeld, the first book in the Uglies Quartet (shout-out to anyone who remembers when this was officially a trilogy). Topic 1: David - Loss of home. Begins at (1:25), CW for loss of parents, loss of home. Topic 2: Tally - Self Esteem. Begins at (11:26), CW for surgery, lack of self-esteem based on looks, intentionally cruel nicknames, systemic cruelty. Topic 3: Tally - Consent. Begins at (25:51), CW for surgery, coercion, lack of consent. Promo for Midwest Meltdown; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (43:55). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our LinkTree. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “Pretties” by  Scott Westerfeld. Book CW for for discussion of eating disorders, self-harm. Topic 1:  Zane - Brain damage, headaches/migraines. Begins at (0:50), CW for physical injury, memory loss, abuse, drowning. Topic 2:  Tally and Zane - Surveillance, loss of privacy. Begins at (13:51), CW for abuse by control, privacy violation. Topic 3:  Tally - Food denial behavior. Begins at (27:01), CW for anorexia, bulimia, purging, food control, self-harm. Promo for Drinking and Screaming; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (39:28). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our LinkTree. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “Specials”, book three of the Uglies Quartet by Scott Westerfeld. Book CWs for ableism, discussion of eating disorders, major character death. TW for self-harm. Topic 1:  Specials, Shay, Tally - Emotional extremes (emotional inhibition). Begins at (0:50), CW for self-harm, medical condition description, medical abuse. Topic 2:  Zane - Ableism. Begins at (18:42), CW for ableism, discussion of cosmetic surgery, character death. Topic 3: Shay - Cutting/self-harm. Begins at (33:48), CW for self-harm, medical condition description, medical abuse. Promo for Bad Songwriter Podcast; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (48:18). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our LinkTree. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “Extras” by Scott Westerfeld. Book CW for anxiety and gaslighting. Topic 1: Frizz - Compulsion. Begins at (0:50), CW for compulsion, gaslighting, discussion of trauma response, anxiety. Topic 2: Aya - Social Anxiety. Begins at (8:15), CW for anxiety. Topic 3: Aya - Loss of Privacy. Begins at (21:21), CW for loss of privacy, anxiety. Promo for Crit Chat; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (37:50). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our LinkTree. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re dipping into horror with a discussion of “NOS4A2” by Joe Hill. Nicole read just part of this and Robin made it through the whole thing (but it took a month). Book TW for torture, sexual assault, child abuse, necrophilia, self-harm, animal death, death. Topic 1: Christmasland Kids. Begins at (1:30), CW for casual cruelty mention, physical torture, TW body horror (teeth, dismemberment), animal cruelty. Topic 2: Lou - protection/self-sacrifice. Begins at (11:28), CW for death, heart attack mentions, assumptions of mental illness by characters. Topic 3: Vic - attempted rape, kidnapping, not being believed about her own trauma. Begins at (17:35), CW for attempted rape, kidnapping, kidnapping of child, assault, death, murder, necrophilia, self-harm, animal death, “bury your gays”. Promo for Deep Dark Truth; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (32:22). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this book. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “A Spell for Chameleon” by Piers Anthony. We were joined by Matthew of the podcast Unintelligible Design. There was a lot to discuss in this very sexist book, we recommend you check out our spoiler-free wrap-up before deciding whether to read this one. Book TW for bullying, sexism, misogyny, toxic masculinity, transphobia, dysmorphia, racism against fictional races, colonialism, mention of suicide, discussion of rape, body horror, assault, death. Topic 1: Rape Trial. Begins at (1:30), CW for rape, rape accusations, victim blaming. Topic 2: Bink: Toxic Masculinity. Begins at (18:40), CW for mutilation, toxic masculinity, fantasy incel culture, lack of consent, objectifying women, rape mention, murder mention. Promo for Happily Ever Haunted; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (56:30). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this book. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “Rhapsody: Child of Blood” by Elizabeth Haydon. Book CW for murder, mass death, child death; TW for use of "prostitute" when describing sex workers. Topic 1: Rhapsody and Emily - Sexism. Begins at (1:30), CW for sexism, virginity as a construct, sex, rape, sexual abuse. Topic 2: Achmed and Grunthor - Racism. Begins at (16:03), CW for cannibalism, genocide, fantasy racism, talk of microaggressions. Topic 3: Jo - Ritual sacrifice and child abuse. Begins at (24:30), CW for descriptions of child murder, child mutilation, parental death. Promo for Half Damage; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (33:35). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this book. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “Prophecy: Child of Earth” by Elizabeth Haydon. Book CW for violence, murder, massacre, cannibalism, death of a child, discussion of sexual assault, sexual assault of a minor. Topic 1: Ashe - Bodily Autonomy. Begins at (0:50), rape mention, murder, ritual sacrifice mention, theft of body part, mutilation of body part, guilt of over other people's actions. Topic 2: Weaponization of female bodies against their loved ones. Begins at (12:37), CW for rape, cannibalism. Promo for Circle of Friendship; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (35:35). --- You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “Destiny: Child of Sky” by Elizabeth Haydon.Book CW for violence, murder, massacre, cannibalism, death of a child, discussion of sexual assault, sexual assault of a minor.Topic 1: Khaddyr - Death. Begins at (0:50),body horror, dismemberment.Topic 2: Rhapsody and Ashe - Gaslighting. Begins at (18:50), CW for gaslighting, rape, possession, pregnancy, slavery, coercion.Topic 3: Rhapsody - Boundaries. Begins at (34:45), CW for self-harm, toxic coping methods, unhealthy boundaries, possession, rapePromo for The BackTracker History Show; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (46:50).---You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.Find all our links on our Carrd.Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

This fortnight we’re discussing “The Raven Tower” by Ann Leckie, with special guest Andrew of Bea Nostalgic. Book TW for brief transphobia, discussion of infanticide, discussion of suicide, anti-twin prejudice in a fictional culture, massacre, parental death, major character death. Topic 1: Oskel and Okim - Microaggressions. Begins at (1:30), CW for suicide, infanticide, child sacrifice, microaggression descriptions. Topic 2: Eolo - Dissociation and Dysphoria. Begins at (18:00), CW for dysphoria, misgendering. Topic 3: The Raven’s Lease - Advocated Suicide as Honorable Volunteer Sacrifice. Begins at (41:10), CW for suicide, society-advocated suicide, self-sacrifice, self-harm, murder. Promo for Pretty Nice Podcast; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (1:03:35). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “Ender's Game" and "Ender's Shadow” by Orson Scott Card. These books cover approximately the same span of time and most of the same characters as each other. We focused our discussion on three events/traumas which are shown in both books from the perspective of their respective main characters. We're discussing these as books we used to love (and might still) but do not recommend to new readers.Book TW for antisemitism, racism, homophobia, ableism, ableist slurs, assault, murder, eugenics, genocideTopic 1: Abuse and PTSD. Begins at (1:30), CW for abuse, bullying, ptsd,Topic 2: Murder and PTSD. Begins at (21:30), CW for murder, bullying, abandonment, emotional isolation, gaslightingTopic 3: Genocide and Consent. Begins at (34:52), CW for violation of consent, ptsd, genocide, mental health crisis, emotional breakdown, coma mentionPromo for Book Reports Pod; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (53:05).Recommended books to read instead:Animorphs by K. A. ApplegateWar Girls by Tochi OnyebuchiThe Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb---If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this book.You can check out Robin's written review of Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow at Reviews That Burn.Find all our links on our Carrd.Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

This fortnight we’re discussing “Daja's Book” by Tamora Pierce. This is the third book in The Circle of Magic quartet, part of the Emelan series. This series features four main characters and this time we're focusing on Daja. We're joined by Anna and MJ, the hosts of The Circle of Friendship Podcast where they discuss all things Emelan.  Book TW for child abuse (not depicted), death.  Topic 1: Frostpine - Child Abuse. Begins at (1:30), CW for ostracization, child enslavement, child abuse, abandonment, PTSD.  Topic 2: Polyam - Disability. Begins at (17:15), CW for Description of physical injuries, ostracization, victim-blaming (disaster survivor), PTSD.  Topic 3: Daja - Ostracization. Begins at (38:35), CW for Ostracization, bullying, queerphobia.  Promo for Midwest Meltdown; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (58:08).  ---  If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this series.  Find all our links on our Carrd.  Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “Shatterglass” by Tamora Pierce. This is the fourth book in The Circle Opens quartet, part of the Emelan series. This series features four main characters and this time we're focusing on Tris. We're joined by Anna and MJ, the hosts of The Circle of Friendship Podcast where they discuss all things Emelan.  Book TW for child neglect, child abuse, ptsd, violence, parental death (not depicted).  Topic 1: Glaki, Yali, and Iralima (abandonment). Begins at (0:50), CW for parental death, child abandonment.  Topic 2: Kethlun (KETH-luhn) - Near-death and disability. Begins at (15:05), CW for ptsd, cptsd, murder mention, near death experience, physical disability.  Topic 3: Tris - Powerlessness. Begins at (28:25), CW for plague, epidemic, Covid-19 mention, serial murder, helplessness, assault.  Promo for The Derek Duvall Show; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (41:17).  ---  If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this series.  Find all our links on our Carrd.  Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “Battle Magic” by Tamora Pierce. This was the third book published in The Circle Reforged, part of the Emelan series, but we recommend reading it before "The Will of the Empress" and "Melting Stones" for the best first-time experience. This series as a whole features four main characters and this time we're focusing on Briar. We're joined by Anna, one of the hosts of The Circle of Friendship Podcast where they discuss all things Emelan. Book TW for torture, death, animal death, PTSD, war, massacre. Topic 1: Disability. Begins at (0:50), CW for ableism, disability, PTSD, death, near-death experience.  Topic 2: Death and Loss. Begins at (8:06), CW for war, PTSD, casualties of war, animal death, spoilers for Briar's Book.  Topic 3: Torture (animal death). Begins at (17:30), CW for animal death, cruelty to animals, physical torture, psychological torture, threats of harm to loved ones, descriptions of torture, mention of nudity, animal abuse, slavery, PTSD, mention of the horrors of war, mention of civilian casualties.  Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (35:03).  ---  If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this series.  You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd.  Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “The Will of the Empress” by Tamora Pierce. This was the first book published in The Circle Reforged, part of the Emelan series, but we recommend reading it after "Battle Magic" and before "Melting Stones" for the best first-time experience. This series as a whole features four main characters and this time we're focusing on Sandry. We're joined by Anna and MJ, the hosts of The Circle of Friendship Podcast where they discuss all things Emelan.  Book TW for mental illness, kidnapping, confinement, sexual assault (backstory).  Topic 1: Zhegorz - Mental Illness. Begins at (0:50), CW for mental illness, institutionalization, abuse, magical abuse, homelessness.  Topic 2: Sandry - Abandonment. Begins at (10:50), CW for miscommunication trope.  Topic 3: Sandry - Kidnapping. Begins at (24:14), CW for kidnapping, sexual assault mention, rape culture, claustrophobia, loss of agency.  Promo for Another Pass from the CPOV network. Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (35:54).  ---  If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this series.  Find all our links on our Carrd.  Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

We have a fun episode for you this time! We're joined by Andrea for a special discussion of one of our favorite kidlit books, The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. Episode TW for possible derealization, please refer to additional details below the topic list if this is a concern for you.  This book has a film adaptation which you can find here.  Link to monkey study discussed in the episode.  Topic 1: Absent Parents. Begins at (0:00), CW for abandonment, neglect. This topic had a small recording issue and is a highlight reel from our discussion. The episode starts properly with Topic 2.  Topic 2: Food Insecurity. Begins at (5:50), CW for food insecurity, food deserts, hunger, eating disorders, body horror.  Topic 3: Illness. Begins at (16:20), CW for death, illness, body horror.  Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (28:18).  ---  This is an April Fool's Day episode. While we love a good joke, we don't want to distress our audience. This episode may invoke feelings of derealization (unreality and disorientation) as we take very seriously a book which perhaps on its own might not warrant the level of scrutiny we grant it in this episode.  ---  You can find Andrea on Twitter, TikTok, and on Good Idea.  ---  If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.  Find all our links on our Carrd.  Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “Beneath The Citadel” by Destiny Soria. We're joined by Christian from The Lazy Gringo Podcast.  Book TW for panic attacks, violence, child abuse, suicide, child death, major character death, death.  Topic 1: Child abuse. Begins at (1:35), CW for child abuse, dislocation, injury mention, panic attacks, suicide mention.  Topic 2: Memory Loss. Begins at (12:54), CW for Memory loss, memory theft, loss of personality, loss of bodily function.  Topic 3: Death and the specter of mortality. Begins at (24:35), CW for suicidal ideation.  Promo for ComicsQuest; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (33:55).  ---  If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.  To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi.  You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd.  Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing “The Cat Who Sniffed Glue”, part of the Cat Who series by Lilian Jackson Braun. We're joined by special guest Dare. You can follow Dare on Twitter or find more info and links on their LinkTree. Book TW for ableism, sexism, homophobia (brief), drug use (not depicted), car accident, violence, animal death (not depicted), suicide (not depicted), death (not depicted). Topic 1: Belle - Erasure. Begins at (1:30), CW for loss of identity, classism, racism example in discussion. Topic 2: Qwilleran - Car Accident. Begins at (19:30), CW for car accident, pets in danger. Topic 3: The Fitch’s - Murder/Suicide. Begins at (31:20), CW for character death, murder, car crash, prison mention. Promo for Fun & Games; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (53:00). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

This fortnight we’re discussing “All the Birds in the Sky” by Charlie Jane Anders. We've had this on the booklist since almost the beginning and we're so excited to finally bring you this episode.  Book TW for abusive parents, parental death, torture (implied), sex (explicit), bullying/abuse (explicit).  Topic 1: Serafina - Emotional connection. Begins at (1:35), No major CWs.  Topic 2: Laurence - Parental abuse: Neglect. Begins at (14:20), CW for neglect, discussion of torture, child abuse.  Topic 3: Patricia - Parental abuse: Control. Begins at (23:55), CW for neglect, food abuse, bullying, targeting abuse, child abuse.  Promo for CPOV Reignite; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (36:50).  ---  If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.  To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi.  You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd.  Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. 

This fortnight we’re discussing the anthology “This Is How You Die: Stories of the Inscrutable, Infallible, Inescapable Machine of Death”, edited by Ryan North, Matthew Bennardo, and David Malki! This anthology was published after the original, "Machine of Death", but can be read independently. We discussed three specific stories by different contributors. "Furnace" by Erika Hammerschmidt "Drowning Burning Flying Falling" by Grace Seybold "Toxoplasmosis of the Brain" by Gord Sellar Book TW for domestic violence (backstory), homophobia, ableism, racism, racial slurs, terminal illness, bullying, blood, gore, gun violence, violence, self harm, suicidal thoughts, suicide, torture (not depicted), genocide, animal death, child death, major character death, death. --- This episode discusses fictional depictions of suicide (Topic 2). If you're in the United States the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. For those of our audience outside of the United States, you maybe able to find the suicide hotline number or other appropriate emergency services for your country in this directory provided by OpenCounseling. --- Topic 1: "Furnace" - Death. Begins at (1:43), CW for Infertility, sex, death, loss of innocence, bomb mention. Topic 2: "Drowning Burning Flying Falling" - Loss of agency. Begins at (12:33), CW for Suicide, death, grief, suicidal ideation, suicidal thoughts, loss of agency. Topic 3: "Toxoplasmosis of the Brain" - Death camps. Begins at (24:57), CW for abandonment, HIV/AIDS, stereotyping based on death, child death, death, rape, genocide, murder. Promo for CPOV Reignite; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (34:45). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this book. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

This fortnight we're discussing “Under the Pendulum Sun” by Jeannette Ng, with special guest Dare! You can find them on Twitter, or check out their Linktree for more details about their various streaming and gaming exploits. TITLE: Under the Pendulum Sun AUTHOR: Jeannette Ng PUBLISHER: Angry Robot YEAR: 2019 LENGTH: 409 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy RECOMMENDED: Yes Book CWs for sexism, alcoholism, colonialism, incest, emotional manipulation (backstory), mental illness, confinement, body horror, suicidal thoughts, animal death, child death (backstory), murder, major character death, death. Topic 1: Disassociation. Begins at (1:35), CW for Discussion of historical harm to children and autistic people, stigmatization of autistic behaviors. Topic 2: Religious Trauma. Begins at (11:25), CW for suicidal tendencies, religious trauma (Protestant Christianity), biblical justification for harm, death (brief mention). Topic 3: Incest. Begins at (23:10), CW for incest, biblical justification for harm, death (brief mention). Promo for CPOV - RMC vs CG; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (39:35). CW for eugenics mention. --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.  To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

This fortnight we're discussing “Black Sun” by Rebecca Roanhorse, the first book of the series "Between Earth and Sky". As of the time of recording only "Black Sun" was published". TITLE: Black Sun AUTHOR: Rebecca Roanhorse PUBLISHER: Gallery / Saga Press YEAR: 2020 LENGTH: 464 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy RECOMMENDED: Highly Book TW for racism, xenophobia, vomit, blood, gore, child abuse, murder, violence, suicide, major character death, death. Topic 1: Naranpa - Coup Attempt. Begins at (1:35), CW for discussion of death, violence. Topic 2: Okoa - Death of a Parent. Begins at (11:22), CW for death of a parent, suicide, murder. Topic 3: Xiala - Ostracization. Begins at (19:48), CW for disability, ostracization, child abuse, dismemberment. Promo for CPOV Screen Snark; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (27:32). CW for discussion of racism, death. --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.  To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “The Midnight Bargain” by C.L. Polk. This book does for discussions of sexism in a magical aristocratic setting what the The Kingston Cycle does for classism in the same. TITLE:  The Midnight Bargain AUTHOR: C.L. Polk  PUBLISHER: Erewhon YEAR: 2020 LENGTH: 384 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy RECOMMENDED: Yes Book TW for pregnancy, vomit, death (not depicted), sexism, violence. Topic 1: The Circle - Loss of security. Begins at (1:35), CW for misogyny. Topic 2: Ysbeta - Allocishetnormativity. Begins at (16:00), CW for misogyny, aphobia. Topic 3: Beatrice - Misogyny. Begins at (25:00), CW for misogyny, discussion of birth control side effects. Promo for CPOV Saturday Morning Confidential; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (37:05). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “Soul of the Fire” by Terry Goodkind. This is the fifth book in the series, "The Sword of Truth". Sometimes we discuss a book neither of us could stand and one of us didn't finish, and this is our hate-read pick for 2021. TITLE: Soul of the Fire AUTHOR: Terry Goodkind PUBLISHER: Tor Books YEAR: 1999 LENGTH: 788 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: High Fantasy RECOMMENDED: No Book TW for CW for coercion, "simple native" tropes, racism, sexism (graphic), slavery (graphic), sexual assault (graphic), rape (graphic), sexual violence (graphic), assault, murder, transphobia (minor), genocide, death. Topic 1: Gaslighting. Begins at (1:30), CW for gaslighting, genocide, sexism, toxic patriarchy, misogyny, gaslighting of the audience. Topic 2: Slavery. Begins at (15:52), CW for slavery, reference to historical slavery (USA), slave advocating for slavery. Topic 3: Sexual Assault / Rape Culture. Begins at (25:42), CW for rape culture, rape, women as property. Promo for CPOV Autographs; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (37:10). CW: animal death. --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “THE MERMAID, THE WITCH, AND THE SEA” by Maggie Tokuda-Hall, a young adult fantasy novel set on the islands and high seas. TITLE: The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea AUTHOR: Maggie Tokuda-Hall PUBLISHER: Candlewick Press YEAR: 2020 LENGTH: 368 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Fantasy, Mythology RECOMMENDED: Highly Book TW for homophobia, colonialism, racism, sexual assault (not depicted), mutilation, child abuse, vomit, blood (graphic), self harm, slavery, torture (graphic), child death, murder (graphic) major character death, death (graphic). Topic 1: Rake - Colonialism. Begins at (1:30), CW for colonialism, mention of parental death. Topic 2: Evelyn - Sold by her parents. Begins at (7:17), CW for non-consensual marriage, colonialism, discussion of character death. Topic 3: Flora/Florian - Mutilation. Begins at (18:41), CW for mutilation, death, description of physical wounds. Promo for CPOV -  Men of Steel; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (28:48). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “Not Your Sidekick” by C.B. Lee, the first book of the series "Sidekick Squad". The fourth book, "Not Your Hero" comes out at the end of August 2021. TITLE: Not Your Sidekick AUTHOR: C.B. Lee PUBLISHER: Duet YEAR: 2016 LENGTH: 304 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Superheroes RECOMMENDED: Highly Book TW for ableist language (brief), vomit (brief), racism, kidnapping, violence, death (not depicted). Topic 1: Schoolkids - Gaslighting. Begins at (1:35), CW for gaslighting, lying, Topic 2: Abby - kidnapping. Begins at (12:40), CW for kidnapping. Topic 3: Jess - Betrayal. Begins at (21:12), CW for brief discussion of racism. Promo for CPOV RobCast; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (27:45). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “Bridge to Terabithia” by Katherine Paterson, many people's first shockingly sad childhood book. TITLE: Bridge to Terabithia AUTHOR: Katherine Paterson PUBLISHER: HarperCollins YEAR: 1977 LENGTH: 192 pages AGE: Middle Grade, Young Adult GENRE: Realistic Fiction RECOMMENDED: Yes Book CW for ableist language, bullying, homophobia (brief), fatphobia, sexism, grief, child abuse (not depicted), domestic abuse, violence, child death, major character death, death. Topic 1: May Belle - Domestic Abuse. Begins at (1:35), CW for domestic abuse, mention of death. Topic 2: Leslie - Misogyny. Begins at (8:15), CW for misogyny, mention of homophobia, mention of child death. Topic 3: Jess - Survivor's Guilt. Begins at (22:24), CW for misogyny, child death. Promo for CPOV Autographs; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (31:16). CW for mention of homophobia. --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight Nicole is discussing “Shadow Rising” by Robert Jordan, the fourth book in The Wheel of Time with our transcriptionist and fellow WOT fan, Heather. Book TW for physical assault, sexual harassment, combat wounds, PTSD, magical attack, horror monster attacks, identity crisis, depiction of mental illness caused by magic, depiction of auditory hallucinations, kidnapping and restraint, misandry, misogamy, betrayal, depiction of hanging, general physical violence and death, general depictions of emotional manipulation and emotional abuse, depictions of discrimination against marginalized communities, descriptions of imbalanced power dynamics. Topic 1: Aram - Abandonment. Begins at (1:30), CW for abandonment, parental death. Topic 2: Min - Second-hand emotional trauma. Begins at (12:10), CW for physical harm, reliving trauma. Topic 3: Author's treatment of characters. Begins at (20:30), No major CWs. Promo for Circle of Friendship; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (36:50). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “Early Departures” by Justin A Reynolds. We discuss a toxic relationship, abandonment, and death in this YA sci-fi novel about grief, loss, and second chances. Robin read this as an ARC last year and is pleased to report that their re-read of the final version held up. TITLE: Early Departures  AUTHOR: Justin A. Reynolds PUBLISHER: Katherine Tegen Books YEAR: 2020 LENGTH: 480 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Science Fiction RECOMMENDED: Highly Book TW for ableist language (brief), toxic relationship, grief, vomit, pregnancy, drowning, car accident, parental death, major character death, death. Topic 1: Toxic Relationship. Begins at (1:35), CW for Toxic relationships. Topic 2: Abandonment. Begins at (13:10), CW for Parental death, death, abandonment. Topic 3: Death. Begins at (22:05), CW for Parental death, death. Promo for Half Damage by Crit Chat; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (33:00). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “Unwind” by Neal Shusterman. This is book one of the Unwind Dystology. Robin has been reading Shusterman's work since they were a kid and this was a new one for them. UNWIND is a dystopian future where abortion is outlawed but teenagers can be "unwound", a state which is distinct from death in ways that are legalistic, technical, and horrifying. TITLE: Unwind AUTHOR: Neal Shusterman PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers YEAR: 2007 LENGTH: 335 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Dystopian, Science Fiction RECOMMENDED: Yes Book TW for discussion of abortion, discussion of “retroactive abortions”, discussion of “right to life” Topic 1: Vestigial Existence. Begins at (1:30), CW for Death, loss of self, dismemberment, body horror, medical content Topic 2: Split identity. Begins at (11:35), CW for Death, loss of self, dismemberment, body horror, medical content, loss of control over body Topic 3: Dismemberment. Begins at (23:58), CW for Death, dismemberment, mention of abortion, medical trauma Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (39:45). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “Thirsty” by M.T. Anderson. In THIRSTY, everyone sucks. Suddenly learning you're a vampire doomed to brief madness before death or (best case scenario) a long life of cannibalism will ruin anyone's day. Looks like it's going to ruin Chris's month. TITLE: Thirsty AUTHOR: M.T. Anderson PUBLISHER: Candlewick Press (MA) YEAR: 1997 LENGTH: 237 pages AGE: Young Adult, Middle Grade GENRE: Fantasy, Horror RECOMMENDED: Yes Book TW for queerphobia (brief), ableist language, misogyny, bullying, anxiety, mental illness, stalking, vomit (graphic), self harm (graphic), gore (graphic), blood (graphic), violence, cannibalism, animal death, lynching, murder, child death, major character death, death. Topic 1: Child Death. Begins at (1:30), CW for Murder, child murder, ritual human sacrifice. Topic 2: Bullying. Begins at (16:10), CW for Bullying, child death, murder. Topic 3: Cognitive deterioration. Begins at (29:00), CW for ableism, self-harm, auto-cannibalism, cognitive deterioration, suicide mention, murder, suicide by cop, mention of lynching. Promo for Crit Chat; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (41:00). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “GRACELING” by Kristin Cashore. This is the first book of the YA fantasy series, Graceling Realm. TITLE: Graceling AUTHOR: Kristin Cashore PUBLISHER: Houghton Mifflin YEAR: 2008 LENGTH: 471 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Fantasy, Romance RECOMMENDED: Yes Book TW for sexism, misogyny, sexual content (brief), sexual assault (not depicted), kidnapping, child abuse, animal cruelty, medical content, blood, vomit, violence, torture, animal death, parental death, child death, murder (graphic), death (graphic). Topic 1: Leck - Gaslighting. Begins at (1:35), CW for Murder, torture, animal cruelty, death Topic 2: Katsa - Coercion. Begins at (13:00), CW for Violence, death, coercion Topic 3: Bitterblue - Death of Parent. Begins at (22:10), CW for Murder, death of parent, child abuse Promo for CPOV - Another Pass; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (29:15). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “Labyrinth Lost” by Zoraida Córdova, book one of the Brooklyn Brujas series. TITLE: Labyrinth Lost AUTHOR: Zoraida Córdova PUBLISHER: Sourcebooks Fire YEAR: 2016 LENGTH: 336 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Fantasy RECOMMENDED: Highly Book TW for bullying, child abuse (backstory), blood, violence, panic attacks, missing parent, animal death, death. Topic 1: Kidnapping. Begins at (1:35), CW for mention of torture, betrayal Topic 2: Family Rejection. Begins at (11:00), CW for abandonment, mention of drug use.  Topic 3: Misplaced guilt. Begins at (23:00), CW for missing parent, discussion of divorce, discussion of death. Promo for ComicsQuest from CPOV; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (32:40).  --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “Bruja Born” by Zoraida Córdova, the second book in the Brooklyn Brujas trilogy. Heather joins us again on this episode! TITLE: Bruja Born AUTHOR: Zoraida Córdova PUBLISHER: Sourcebooks Fire YEAR: 2018 LENGTH: 352 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Fantasy RECOMMENDED: Highly Book TW for ableist language, vomit (graphic), fire, blood (graphic), gore (graphic), violence (graphic), pregnancy (not depicted), medical content, medical trauma (graphic), cannibalism, child death, death. Topic 1: Casimuertos - Cannibalism. Begins at (0:50), CW for Cannibalism, undead, self-aware zombies Topic 2: Lula - Survivor's Guilt. Begins at (9:30), CW for death, bus crash. Topic 3: Lula - Life Drain. Begins at (22:45), CW for mention of gore, death. Promo for Fun and Games (CPOV); Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (35:57). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “Wayward Witch” by Zoraida Córdova. Heather joins us once again to wrap up the excellent Brooklyn Brujas trilogy. TITLE: Wayward Witch AUTHOR: Zoraida Córdova PUBLISHER: Sourcebooks Fire YEAR: 2020 LENGTH: 239 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Fantasy RECOMMENDED: Highly Book TW for kidnapping, confinement, emotional abuse, animal death (not depicted), excrement (brief), vomit, blood, gore, body horror, violence, major character death, death. Topic 1: Nadira - Deadly Journey. Begins at (0:55), CW for death. Topic 2: Rose - Memory Loss. Begins at (13:30), CW for memory loss, abandonment. Topic 3: Rose - Abandonment. Begins at (27:05), CW for memory loss, abandonment, parental death, death. Promo for CPOV Reignite; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (41:00). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “IRON WIDOW” by Xiran Jay Zhao. This is book one of a planned series. Wu Zetian wants to assassinate her sister's murderer, but finds herself in a string of mech battles working alongside Li Shimin, the strongest pilot in Huaxia. Told in Third Person with Single POV. TITLE: Iron Widow AUTHOR: Xiran Jay Zhao PUBLISHER: Penguin Teen YEAR: 2021 LENGTH: 400 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Science Fiction RECOMMENDED: Highly Book TW for grief, misogyny (graphic), sexual content, alcohol, alcoholism (graphic), medical content, injury description, pregnancy (backstory), blood (graphic), vomit, suicidal thoughts, domestic abuse, child abuse, violence (graphic), torture (graphic), murder (graphic), parental death (backstory), major character death (graphic), death (graphic). Topic 1: Forced Alcoholism. Begins at (1:35), CW for alcoholism, torture, death. Topic 2: Death Machine. Begins at (10:00), CW for sexism, misogyny, death. Topic 3: Invasion. Begins at (21:15), CW for death. Promo for RMC vs CG; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (31:25). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “Assassin's Apprentice” by Robin Hobb. This is the first book in "The Farseer Trilogy" which is itself part of the "Realm of the Elderlings", a connected set of several trilogies. TITLE: Assassin's Apprentice AUTHOR: Robin Hobb PUBLISHER: Voyager YEAR: 1995 LENGTH: 460 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy RECOMMENDED: Highly Book TW for cursing, pregnancy, ableism, sexism, misogyny, bullying (graphic), physical abuse (graphic), emotional abuse (graphic), alcohol, alcoholism, excrement, drug use, miscarriage (backstory), rape (not depicted), child abuse, blood (graphic), violence (graphic), medical content (graphic), animal death, suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt, child death, death. Topic 1: Patience - Betrayal. Begins at (1:35), CW for infidelity, betrayal, parental death, death. Topic 2: Burrich - Child Abuse. Begins at (11:20), CW for abuse, animal death. Topic 3: Galen - Emotional Abuse. Begins at (22:15), CW for suicidal thoughts, suicide attempt. Promo for Screen Snark; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (30:15). --- This episode briefly discusses fictional depictions of suicide. If you're in the United States the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. For those of our audience outside of the United States, you may be able to find the suicide hotline number or other appropriate emergency services for your country in this directory provided by OpenCounseling. --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “River of Teeth” by Sarah Gailey. If this sounds interesting then we recommend reading it in the omnibus collection “American Hippo” which includes this novella, its sequel (“Taste of Marrow”), plus some short stories in this setting. TITLE: River of Teeth AUTHOR: Sarah Gailey PUBLISHER: Tor/Forge Books YEAR: 2017 LENGTH: 192 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy, Alternate History RECOMMENDED: Highly Book TW for racism (minor), fatphobia, transphobia (minor), pregnancy, drug use (smoking), alcohol, fire/fire injury, blood (graphic), gore, violence (graphic), medical content, animal death, child death, murder, major character death, death (graphic). Topic 1: Child Death. Begins at (1:30), CW for child death, animal death. Topic 2: Betrayal. Begins at (14:32), CW for death. Topic 3: Mutilation. Begins at (25:36), CW for mutilation, addiction, child death, death. Promo for CPOV Circle of Friendship; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (36:22). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of RIVER OF TEETH at Reviews That Burn. They also reviewed AMERICAN HIPPO. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “Cemetery Boys” by Aiden Thomas. Yadriel gets a bit more than he was expecting when he summons the wrong ghost. TITLE: Cemetery Boys AUTHOR: Aiden Thomas PUBLISHER: Swoon Reads YEAR: 2020 LENGTH: 344 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Fantasy, Romance RECOMMENDED: Highly Book TW for cursing, ableist language (brief), grief, racism (brief), transphobia, misgendering, deadnaming, alcohol (brief), blood, self harm (brief, religious ritual), domestic abuse (backstory), child abuse (backstory), gore (brief), violence (graphic), medical content, parental death (backstory), murder, major character death (graphic), death (graphic). Topic 1: Child Abuse. Begins at (1:35), CW for child abuse, physical abuse, fire/fire injury (burns). Topic 2: Transphobia. Begins at (11:00), CW for sexism, misogyny, transphobia, deadnaming, misgendering Topic 3: Murder. Begins at (21:30), CW for murder, blood, death. Promo for Farragut Forward IndieGoGo; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (32:00). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “Batman: Nightwalker” by Marie Lu. This is part of the DC Icons series, where each book is written by a different author. We discussed this Batman novel as part of #DarkKnightFortnight from Certain POV. You can find all the Certain POV shows which participated on this page. TITLE: Batman: Nightwalker AUTHOR: Marie Lu PUBLISHER: Random House Books for Young Readers YEAR: 2018 LENGTH: 288 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Fantasy RECOMMENDED: Yes Book TW for blood (graphic), fire (backstory), domestic abuse (not depicted), violence (graphic), gun violence (graphic), sexual content (not depicted), sexual harassment, car accident (graphic), parental death (not depicted), suicide (not depicted), murder, death. Topic 1: Richard - Emotional Abuse. Begins at (1:30), CW for emotional abuse, death of parent. Topic 2: Cameron - Medical Trauma. Begins at (13:46), CW for medical trauma, murder, death. Topic 3: Bruce and Madeleine - Death of Parent. Begins at (25:06), CW for violence, murder, death of parent, death. Promo for CPOV - RobCast; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (36:09). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “Firebreak” by Nicole Kornher-Stace. If you enjoyed this you should check out “Archivist Wasp” and “Latchkey” (in that order), since they're part of the same universe. TITLE: Firebreak AUTHOR: Nicole Kornher-Stace PUBLISHER: Gallery / Saga Press (Imprint of Simon & Schuster) YEAR: 2021 LENGTH: 416 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Science Fiction, Dystopian RECOMMENDED: Highly Book TW for rationing, confinement, cursing, alcohol, excrement (brief), blood, gore, fire/fire injury (graphic), medical content (graphic), medical trauma (graphic), gun violence (graphic), violence (graphic), child abuse (backstory), police brutality (graphic), torture (graphic), parental death (backstory), child death, major character death, death. Topic 1: B - Kidnapping. Begins at (1:30), CW for kidnapping, death. Topic 2: Mal - Dehydration. Begins at (9:55), CW for death, dehydration. Topic 3: 22 - Medical Experimentation. Begins at (20:25), CW for medical trauma, violence, child abuse, child death, death. Promo for Men of Steel; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (30:14). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “Jade City” by Fonda Lee, the first book in the Green Bone Saga. TITLE: Jade City AUTHOR: Fonda Lee PUBLISHER: Orbit YEAR: 2017 LENGTH: 560 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy, War RECOMMENDED: Highly Book TW for cursing, grief, sexual content (explicit), sexual abuse (brief mention), torture (brief mention), sexism, drug use, drug abuse, mental illness, self harm, body horror, massacre, excrement (brief), vomit, blood, violence (graphic), gun violence, torture, animal death (brief), major character death, death. Topic 1: Sexual Abuse. Begins at (1:30), CW for sexual abuse (not described). Topic 2: Parental death. Begins at (15:00), CW for addiction, parental death, death. Topic 3: Addiction. Begins at (22:30), CW for addiction, gun violence, death. Promo for CPOV SMC; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (32:50). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “The Forever War” by Joe Haldeman. TITLE: The Forever War AUTHOR: Joe Haldeman PUBLISHER: Gollancz YEAR: 1974 LENGTH: 238 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Science Fiction, War RECOMMENDED: Yes Book TW for cursing, grief, xenophobia, chemical control of sexual orientation (nonconsensual), homophobia, acephobia (ambiguous), ableism, mental illness, sexual content, sexual assault (not depicted), rape (brief), medical content (graphic), medical trauma (graphic), alcohol, drug use, vomit, blood, gore, violence, gun violence, eugenics, genocide, torture (brief), suicidal thoughts (brief), animal death (brief), murder, parental death, death. Topic 1: Compulsory Homosexuality. Begins at (1:35), CW for homophobia, conversion therapy, compulsive sexuality, war, death. Topic 2: Suicidal Thoughts. Begins at (14:42), CW for suicidal thoughts, war, death. Topic 3: Future Shock. Begins at (22:58), CW for homophobia, war, death. Promo for CPOV - Men of Steel; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (35:42). --- This episode mentions suicidal thoughts in fiction. If you're in the United States the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. For those of our audience outside of the United States, you maybe able to find the suicide hotline number or other appropriate emergency services for your country inthis directory provided by OpenCounseling. --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “Scavenge The Stars" by Tara Sim. This is the first half of a duology retelling "The Count of Monte Cristo" by Alexandre Dumas. TITLE: Scavenge The Stars AUTHOR: Tara Sim PUBLISHER: Disney-Hyperion YEAR: 2020 LENGTH: 352 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Fantasy, Retelling RECOMMENDED: Yes Book TW for grief, ableist language (brief), kidnapping (graphic), alcohol (graphic), gambling addiction (graphic), drug use, child abuse, slavery, terminal illness, medical content, excrement, vomit, blood (graphic), gore, violence (graphic), gun violence, child death (graphic), parental death, murder (graphic), death (graphic). Topic 1: Debt Slavery. Begins at (1:35), CW for child abuse, slavery, death. Topic 2: Betrayal. Begins at (13:10), CW for betrayal, terminal illness, death. Promo for CPOV Autographs; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (27:36). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing the horror novella “The Atrocities” by Jeremy C. Shipp. Apologies for the odd episode schedule, the next two episodes will be a month apart, then we should be back to our usual fortnightly schedule after that. TITLE: The Atrocities AUTHOR: Jeremy C. Shipp PUBLISHER: St. Martins Press-3PL YEAR: 2018 LENGTH: 112 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Horror RECOMMENDED: Highly Book TW for child abuse (backstory), mental illness, medical content, medical trauma, child abuse, emotional abuse, domestic abuse, body horror, gore, self harm, animal death, animal cruelty (backstory), child death, death. Topic 1: Mental Illness. Begins at (1:35), CW for mental illness, physical abuse, emotional abuse, child death, death. Topic 2: Kidnapping. Begins at (15:00), CW for kidnapping, institutionalization, mental illness, child death, death. Topic 3: Child Death. Begins at (22:25), CW for kidnapping, mental illness, child death, death. Promo for Another Pass from CPOV; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (32:55). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “The Marrow Thieves” by Cherie Dimaline. This is speculative fiction so good it made Robin rethink how they read the closely related but distinct genre of dystopian fiction.  TITLE: The Marrow Thieves AUTHOR: Cherie Dimaline PUBLISHER: Dancing Cat Books YEAR: 2017 LENGTH: 240 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Speculative Fiction RECOMMENDED: Highly Book TW for sexual content (brief), cursing, ableist language (brief), alcohol (backstory), alcoholism (backstory), drug use (backstory), dug abuse (backstory), kidnapping (graphic), confinement (backstory), starvation (graphic), genocide (graphic), sexual assault, rape, child abuse, physical abuse, excrement (brief), vomit (brief), violence, gun violence, cannibalism, animal death, parental death (backstory), child death, murder, major character death, death. Topic 1: Food Scarcity. Begins at (1:35), CW for food scarcity, Topic 2: PTSD. Begins at (10:37), CW for ptsd, food scarcity. Topic 3: Cannibalism. Begins at (21:45), CW for cannibalism, murder, death. Promo for CPOV Autographs; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (32:12). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “The Song of Achillles” by Madeline Miller, a retelling of the story of Achilles and Patroclus. We're joined by special guest Taylor! TITLE: The Song of Achilles AUTHOR: Madeline Miller PUBLISHER: Ecco Press / Bloomsbury Publishing YEAR: 2011 LENGTH: 416 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy, Historical RECOMMENDED: Yes Book TW for sexism, homophobia, possible biphobia, grief (graphic), kidnapping, confinement, terminal illness, slavery, vomit, blood (graphic), gore (graphic), sexual content, medical content, domestic abuse, rape, cannibalism (backstory), animal death, murder, child death (graphic), major character death (graphic), death (graphic). Topic 1: Exile. Begins at (1:35), CW for violence, death, murder. Topic 2: Hovering Shade. Begins at (13:30), CW for homophobia, death. Topic 3: Rape. Begins at (30:05), CW for rape, slavery. Promo for Circle of Friendship from CPOV; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (55:45). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “Legendborn” by Tracy Deonn. Unusually for us, we have just one main topic where we discuss how the deaths and absences of several characters' mothers are handled. TITLE: Legendborn AUTHOR: Tracy Deonn PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster YEAR: 2020 LENGTH: 511 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Fantasy RECOMMENDED: Highly Book TW for discussion of slavery, discussion of sexual assault, discussion of colonization, grief (graphic), racism, sexism, kidnapping, child abuse (backstory), blood, violence, gore (graphic), torture, car accident, animal death, parental death, major character death. Harry Potter reference (brief). Main Discussion: Death of Parent. Begins at (1:35), CW for abandonment, neglect, memory loss, alcoholism (brief mention), parental death, death. Promo for CPOV - Reignite; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (30:50). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “Gideon The Ninth” by Tamsyn Muir, a book best described as "lesbian necromancers in space". We're joined by special guest S.T. ("Saint") Gibson! You can find all their stuff at their website. TITLE: Gideon the Ninth AUTHOR: Tamsyn Muir PUBLISHER: Tor/Forge YEAR: 2019 LENGTH: 448 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy, Science Fiction RECOMMENDED: Highly Book TW for cursing, ableism (brief), grief, toxic friendship/relationship, vomit, blood (graphic), violence (graphic), gore (graphic), body horror (graphic), cannibalism, medical content, degenerative illness, emotional abuse, physical abuse (backstory), child abuse (backstory), suicide (backstory), child death (graphic), murder (graphic), self harm, parental death (backstory), major character death (graphic), death (graphic). Topic 1: Toxic Relationship. Begins at (1:35), CW for toxic relationship, blood, cannibalism, death. Topic 2: Suicide. Begins at (14:27), CW for toxic relationship, suicide, murder, death. Topic 3: Cannibalism. Begins at (24:40), CW for vomit (brief mention), gore, body horror, child death, suicide, death. Promo for Comics Quest from Certain POV; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (35:16). The wrapup contains an extended discussion of how suicide is handled in the book as a topic for the care rating. --- This episode discusses fictional depictions of suicide. If you're in the United States the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. For those of our audience outside of the United States, you may be able to find the suicide hotline number or other appropriate emergency services for your country inthis directory provided by OpenCounseling. --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing the vampire novel, “Fledgling”, by Octavia Butler. TITLE: Fledgling AUTHOR: Octavia E. Butler PUBLISHER: Grand Central Publishing YEAR: 2005 LENGTH: 310 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Horror RECOMMENDED: Highly Book TW for memory loss, animal death, ableism, racism, racial slurs, violence, gun violence, blood, major character death, death. Topic 1: Coercion. Begins at (1:35), CW for murder. Topic 2: Memory Loss. Begins at (9:35), CW for adult/minor relationship (brief mention), murder, death. Topic 3: Racism. Begins at (19:05), CW for racism, murder, death. Promo for CPOV - Fun & Games Promo; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (29:35). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “Radiance” by Catherynne M. Valente. Set in an alternate version of the 1920's where the planets are as lush as as early sci-fi thought they'd be, and the moon makes a surprisingly good film set as long as you don't mind that the actors turn blue. TITLE: Radiance AUTHOR: Catherynne M. Valente PUBLISHER: Tor Books YEAR: 2015 LENGTH: 352 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy, Science Fiction RECOMMENDED: Highly Book TW for ableist language (brief), cursing, grief (graphic), abortion (backstory), racism (backstory), homophobia, sexual harassment (backstory), sexual content, drug use, drug abuse, alcohol, body horror, animal cruelty (not depicted), domestic abuse, vomit (graphic), blood (graphic), gore (graphic), violence, war (brief mention), gun violence (backstory), self harm, suicide, cannibalism (ambiguous), murder, death. Topic 1: Percival Unck - Child Death. Begins at (1:37 after intro), CW for child death, death. Topic 2: Anchises - Lone Survivor. Begins at (15:45), CW for death. Topic 3: Severin Unck- Death? Begins at (26:02), CW for drug use, death. Promo for CPOV RobCast; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (34:40). Honored guest Grimoire makes an appearance at (39:18) and (42:54-44:28). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “Sassinak” by Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Moon. This covers several decades of the protagonists life as she's enslaved by planet pirates and then spends several decades getting the skills for stopping them. TITLE: Sassinak AUTHOR: Elizabeth Moon, Anne McCaffrey PUBLISHER: Baen YEAR: 2020 LENGTH: 304 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy, Science Fiction RECOMMENDED: Yes Book TW for sexual content (brief mention), ableism (brief), grief (graphic), xenophobia, bullying, sexual harassment, mental illness (brief), drug abuse (backstory), kidnapping, vomit, blood, gore, violence, gun violence, torture (brief mention), child abuse, slavery (graphic), suicide (brief), animal death (brief mention), murder, child death (graphic), parental death, death (graphic). Topic 1: Abandonment. Begins at (1:35), CW for suicide, death. Topic 2: Racism. Begins at (16:12), CW for racism, death. Topic 3: Enslavement. Begins at (34:28), CW for slavery, death. Promo for The Real Movie Critic vs the Cine-Guy; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (43:32). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “Portrait of a Thief” by Grace D. Li, a thriller where five young Chinese Americans are hired to steal back Chinese art from Western museums. PUBLISHER: Tiny Reparations Books YEAR: 2022 LENGTH: 320 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Contemporary, Mystery, Thriller RECOMMENDED: Highly Topic 1: Financial Insecurity. Begins at (1:35), no major CWs. Topic 2: Betrayal. Begins at (20:33), CW for parental death (backstory). Topic 3: Diaspora Experience. Begins at (32:42), no major CWs. Promo for CPOV - RMC vs CG; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (52:52). Book TW for alcohol, cursing, sexual content (brief), grief, racism (brief mention), xenophobia (brief mention), domestic abuse (brief), fire (brief), colonization (backstory), parental death (backstory), COVID pandemic (backstory). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “Queen of the Conquered” by Kacen Callender, the first book in the Islands of Blood and Storm duology. PUBLISHER: Orbit YEAR: 2019 LENGTH: 400 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy, Mystery RECOMMENDED: Highly Topic 1: Rape. Begins at (1:35), CW for rape, slavery. Topic 2: Torture. Begins at (13:56), CW for torture, slavery. Topic 3: Social Isolation. Begins at (25:26), CW for slavery, death. Promo for CPOV - RobCast; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (43:18). Book TW for sexual content (brief), gaslighting (graphic), mental illness, grief (graphic), racism (graphic), alcohol, fire/fire injury, pregnancy, excrement, blood, violence, child abuse (graphic), sexual assault, rape, injury detail (brief), colonization (graphic), slavery (graphic), cannibalism (brief mention), mutilation, torture, genocide, suicidal thoughts, suicide, murder, parental death, child death, death (graphic). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of theCertain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we're discussing “The Storyteller's Daughter” by Cameron Dokey, a retelling of the Arabian Nights. PUBLISHER: Simon Pulse YEAR: 1997 LENGTH: 221 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Fantasy RECOMMENDED: Yes Topic 1: Power Imbalance. Begins at (1:35), CW for death. Topic 2: Infidelity. Begins at (16:46), CW for illness, infidelity, murder, death. Topic 3: Misogyny. Begins at (29:12), CW for sexism, misogyny, infidelity, death. Promo for CPOV - Screen Snark; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (41:17). Book TW for grief, ableism, sexism, misogyny, bullying (brief), infidelity, infertility (brief), confinement, toxic relationship, blood, violence, terminal illness, murder, suicide, parental death, death. --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This month we're discussing “A Blade So Black” by L.L. McKinney, the first book in the NightmareVerse trilogy, retelling Alice in Wonderland with a Bi Black girl from Atlanta, Georgia. PUBLISHER: Imprint YEAR: 2018 LENGTH: 384 pages AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Fantasy RECOMMENDED: Highly Topic 1: PTSD. Begins at (1:35), CW for racism, police brutality, murder, child death. Topic 2: “House” Arrest. Begins at (12:58), CW for confinement, death. Topic 3: Wounds. Begins at (26:07), CW for medical content. Promo for Saturday Morning Confidential from Certain POV; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (33:14). Book TWs: Graphic/Explicit CW for grief, blood, violence. Moderate CW for sexual content, cursing, adult/minor relationship, vomit, gore, murder, injury detail, child death, parental death, death. Minor CW for ableist language, racism, dementia, alcohol, gun violence, body horror. Brief Harry Potter reference. --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This episode we're discussing “Hench” by Natalie Zina Walschots. It's a story of using spreadsheets to show that the destructive "heroes" are the real villains. PUBLISHER: William Morrow YEAR: 2020 LENGTH: 416 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy, Science Fiction, Superheroes RECOMMENDED: Highly Topic 1: Murder. Begins at (1:30), CW for murder. Topic 2: Body Horror. Begins at (19:05), CW for gore, body horror. Topic 3: Medical Trauma. Begins at (29:41), CW for injury detail, medical content, medical trauma. Promo for CPOV Men of Steel; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (41:34). Book TW for cursing, sexism, misogyny (graphic), ableism, grief (graphic), kidnapping (graphic), confinement, child abuse (brief), panic attacks (graphic), stalking, infidelity, toxic friendship, toxic relationship, sexual harassment (brief), alcohol (brief), drug use (smoking), excrement, blood, vomit (graphic), gore (graphic), injury detail (graphic), body horror (graphic), medical content (graphic), medical trauma (graphic), torture, violence (graphic), murder (graphic), major character death (graphic), death (graphic). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This month we're discussing “The Grace of Kings” by Ken Liu, the first book of the Dandelion Dynasty. PUBLISHER: Saga Press YEAR: 2015 LENGTH: 640 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy RECOMMENDED: Highly Topic 1: Intimidation/Murder. Begins at (1:35), CW for poison, injury detail, torture, suicide, murder, animal death. Topic 2: Sexism. Begins at (18:25), CW for sexism, rape. Topic 3: Slavery. Begins at (33:22), CW for slavery, murder. Promo for Another Pass; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (42:52). Book TW for sexism, misogyny, pregnancy, excrement, blood (graphic), gore (graphic), violence (graphic), fire/fire injury, genocide, suicide, torture, self harm, child abuse (graphic), animal cruelty, cannibalism, murder, child death, death (graphic). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This month we're discussing “Mexican Gothic” by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. PUBLISHER: Del Rey YEAR: 2020 LENGTH: 320 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy, Historical, Horror RECOMMENDED: Highly Topic 1: Torture. Begins at (1:35), CW for torture, confinement. Topic 2: Incest. Begins at (11:38), CW for coercion, cannibalism, incest, death. Topic 3: Eugenics. Begins at (22:45), CW for incest, racism, eugenics, colonization, miscarriage, child death, murder, death. Promo for CPOV Autographs; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (41:04). Book TW for sexual content, sexism, racism, eugenics, pregnancy, miscarriage (backstory), gaslighting (graphic), drug use, alcohol, alcoholism (backstory), confinement, mental illness, suicide (not depicted), fire/fire injury, vomit (brief), blood, gore, violence, gun violence, injury detail, body horror (graphic), sexual assault, rape, self harm (brief), medical content, incest, cannibalism, child death, suicide, murder, animal death (not depicted), death. --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This episode we're discussing “Ptolemy's Gate” by Jonathan Stroud. Really, we end up in a thematic discussion of how the main trilogy develops concepts of colonization, classism, and torture across its entire run. PUBLISHER: Listening Library YEAR: 2005 LENGTH: 501 pages (15 hours 32 minutes) AGE: Young Adult GENRE: Fantasy RECOMMENDED: Highly Topic 1: Colonization. Begins at (1:35), CW for colonization, slavery, war. Topic 2: Classism. Begins at (18:25), CW for classism, ableism. Topic 3: Torture. Begins at (39:19), CW for torture, deadnaming, slavery, colonization, war. Promo for CPOV Men of Steel; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (58:36). Book TWs: Graphic/Explicit CW for classism. Moderate CW for cursing, confinement, violence, police brutality, torture, slavery, war, colonization, murder, suicide, child death, death. Minor CW for ableism, fatphobia, xenophobia, sexism, misogyny, kidnapping, fire, rape. --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This episode we're discussing “A Strange and Stubborn Endurance” by Foz Meadows. We originally recorded this under the impression that it's a stand-alone book, but the sequel (All The Hidden Paths) has been announced for late 2023. PUBLISHER: Tor Books YEAR: 2022 LENGTH: 544 pages AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy RECOMMENDED: Highly Topic 1: Social Isolation. Begins at (1:35), CW for homophobia, ableism, classism. Topic 2: Intimate Partner Violence. Begins at (18:06), CW for sexism, misogyny, rape, suicide attempt. Promo for Comics Quest; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (35:57). Book TW for grief (graphic), sexual content (explicit), xenophobia, cursing, ableism, homophobia (graphic), transphobia (brief mention), misgendering, infidelity, pregnancy (brief mention), miscarriage (backstory), bullying (backstory), child abuse (backstory), panic attacks/disorders (graphic), kidnapping, confinement, alcohol (brief), alcoholism (backstory), vomit (graphic), blood (graphic), gore, violence (graphic), fire/fire injury, injury detail, medical content, medical trauma, sexual assault (graphic), sexual violence (graphic), rape (graphic), self harm (graphic), suicidal thoughts (graphic), torture (brief mention), murder (graphic), animal death (graphic), parental death (graphic), death (graphic). --- This episode features a book with fictional depictions of self harm and attempted suicide. If you're in the United States the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is 1-800-273-8255. For those of our audience outside of the United States, you may be able to find the suicide hotline number or other appropriate emergency services for your country inthis directory provided by OpenCounseling. --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Join the CPOV Discord Server! Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This episode we're discussing “BATTLE ROYALE” by Koushun Takami. This is a two-part episode, in this first part we're discussing students dealing with isolation and loss of control in the context of a deadly game. (Part Two will release on July 31st, 2023) PUBLISHER:  Simon & Schuster YEAR: 1999 LENGTH: 617 pages (19 hours 29 minutes) AGE: Adult GENRE: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Thriller RECOMMENDED: Highly Topic 1: Self-Isolation. Begins at (1:30), CW for isolation, child abuse, murder, death. Topic 2: Loss of Control. Begins at (20:20), CW for child abuse, murder, death. Promo for Robcast; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (37:27). Book TW for sexual content, cursing (graphic), ableism, mental illness, homophobia (brief), homophobic slurs (brief), sexism, misogyny, fatphobia (brief), bullying (graphic), drug use (smoking), kidnapping (graphic), confinement, child abuse (graphic), sexual harassment (graphic), sexual assault (threatened), rape (backstory), adult/minor relationship (backstory, non-consensual), vomit (graphic), blood (graphic), gore (graphic), violence (graphic), gun violence (graphic), medical content (graphic), murder (graphic), child death (graphic), death (graphic). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd. Join the CPOV Discord Server! Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This episode we're discussing BATTLE ROYALE by Koushun Takami. This is the second of two episodes, this one deals with two characters who were damaged in different ways before the story begins. PUBLISHER:  Simon & Schuster YEAR: 1999 LENGTH: 617 pages (19 hours 29 minutes) AGE: Adult GENRE: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Thriller RECOMMENDED: Highly Topic 1: Brain Damage. Begins at (1:35), CW for violence, car accident, medical trauma, child abuse, murder, child death, death. Topic 2: Sexual Abuse. Begins at (24:12), CW for child abuse, sexual abuse, rape, murder, child death, death. Promo for CPOV - RMC vs CG ; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (47:37). Book TW for sexual content, cursing (graphic), ableism, mental illness, homophobia (brief), homophobic slurs (brief), sexism, misogyny, fatphobia (brief), bullying (graphic), drug use (smoking), kidnapping (graphic), confinement, child abuse (graphic), sexual harassment (graphic), sexual assault (threatened), rape (backstory), adult/minor relationship (backstory, non-consensual), vomit (graphic), blood (graphic), gore (graphic), violence (graphic), gun violence (graphic), medical content (graphic), murder (graphic), child death (graphic), death (graphic). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.  Find all our links on our Carrd. Join the CPOV Discord Server! Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This episode we're discussing “War Girls” by Tochi Onyebuchi, a story of two sisters whose lives are ravaged by war. Topic 1: Dehumanization. Begins at (1:35), CW for ableism, colorism, colonization, child abuse, medical content, body horror, war, slavery, child death, death. Topic 2: Generational Trauma. Begins at (25:29), CW for PTSD, emotional abuse, physical abuse, child abuse, war, death. Promo for CPOV Circle of Friendship; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (45:08). Book TW for body horror, xenophobia, colonization, bullying, confinement (graphic), drug use, drug abuse, gun violence (graphic), violence (graphic), murder, war (graphic), suicide, child soldiers (graphic), child abuse (graphic), emotional abuse (graphic), physical abuse (graphic), infertility, torture (graphic), injury detail, slavery, parental death (graphic), child death (graphic), death (graphic). --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Join the CPOV Discord Server! Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This episode we're discussing “The Ghost Bride” by Yangsze Choo, where a young woman is engaged to marry a ghost, and it turns out he's more of a meddler than she expected from the dead. PUBLISHER: HarperAudio YEAR: 2013 LENGTH: 368 pages (12 hours 7 minutes) AGE: Adult GENRE: Fantasy, Historical RECOMMENDED: Yes Topic 1: Murder. Begins at (1:35), CW for stalking, murder, death. Topic 2: Overdose. Begins at (11:18), CW for overdose, death. Topic 3: Stalking. Begins at (20:02), CW for stalking. Promo for CPOV Fun and Games; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (33:27). Book TW for drug use, drug abuse, excrement (brief), blood, abortion (backstory), body shaming, child abuse (backstory), medical content, child death, suicide attempt (brief mention), suicide (backstory), death. --- If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter. You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. Find all our links on our Carrd. Join the CPOV Discord Server! Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission. Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

To tide you over between regular episodes, Robin reads their blog post from July 2022 with thoughts on the book "Singularity". You can find the original post here. The spoiler-free book review is here.

To tide you over between regular episodes, Robin reads their blog post from April 2023. ----- This is a follow-up to my review of "Feed Them Silence" by Lee Mandelo, involving some thoughts that are too personal to make sense in the review as they swiftly veer away from the text specifically and instead into a broader meta-conversation of books like this which I have read previously, assumed correlations between emotional complexity and humanity, and how processing these thoughts has prompted me to make a change in my own life. CW for discussion of ableism, dehumanization, animal cruelty/death, body-horror-adjacent concepts, and brief mentions of racism and genocide ----- Wikipedia - Alexithymia Wikipedia - Philosophical Zombie Wikipedia - Masking In Defence of De-persons by Johanna Hedva The Ten Stages of Genocide

*This essay contains moderate spoilers for the first sixteen October Daye books, major spoilers for SLEEP NO MORE and THE INNOCENT SLEEP, and minor spoilers for Babylon 5 (S3 E4 "Passing Through Gethsemane"). Link to the original essay. INTRO (00:36) When reading SLEEP NO MORE and THE INNOCENT SLEEP by Seanan McGuire (the newest October Daye books), I was struck by similarities in the ethical framework of these two books and certain aspects of the 1990's sci-fi show Babylon 5, particularly the way that changes in personality or memories are treated with relation to assumptions of personhood. I am certain that Seanan McGuire is also very familiar with Babylon 5 because one of her telepathic characters in the Incryptid series uses specific aspects of Babylon 5 as a framework for ethical telepathy. THE DEATH OF PERSONALITY IN BABYLON 5 (01:12) UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS (04:46) MAJOR CHARACTERS (06:45) Toby - Nickname for Sir October Daye, titular character of the series, changeling (fae mother, human father) October - Toby's current personality in SLEEP NO MORE and THE INNOCENT SLEEP, remembers a different history from Toby of the first sixteen books Tybalt - Cait Sidhe (cat fae), Toby's husband (October doesn't remember him) Amandine - October's mother Simon Torquill - Daoine Sidhe, Amandine's husband, October's father (not by blood) Titania - One of the queens of Faerie, cast the illusion which created October from Toby and distorted many people's memories Quentin - Daoine Sidhe, Toby's squire in the previous books, currently squire to someone else August - October's sister, daughter of Amandine and Simon Stacy - Toby's friend from childhood, recently removed by Titania PLOT HIGHLIGHTS (07:47) TOBY VS. OCTOBER (09:57) WHY TITANIA DOESN'T THINK THIS IS HARM (11:17) WHY OCTOBER WANTS TO REMAIN (13:06) THE RIDE AND TITANIA'S ALTERATIONS (14:04) TITANIA'S TRAP ON THE RIDE (16:19) ETHICAL PARADOXES - PERHAPS UNSOLVABLE (17:42) THE RESOLUTION (22:00) A MASSACRE OF MINDS (25:00)

Greetings! Welcome to Books That Burn. I'm Robin, and this is the first essay I've specifically written for the podcast, to be made available first to Patrons, then to the main feed and on Reviews That Burn. Please feel free to send us suggestions for future essays. Before I get started, I'd like to thank our Patron who gets a monthly shoutout, Case Aiken. The support of our Patrons makes this podcast (and blog) possible, and we're grateful to all of you. *This essay spoils major elements of NIGHT SHINE and MOON DARK SMILE by Tessa Gratton. The written version of this essay can be found at the link.

Greetings! Welcome to Books That Burn. I'm Robin, welcome to another book essay about something that was too big of a thought to fit into a normal review, specifically: Why Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong is not like The Hunger Games. Please feel free to send us suggestions for future essays. Before I get started, I'd like to thank our Patron who gets a monthly shoutout, Case Aiken. The support of our Patrons makes this podcast (and blog) possible, and we're grateful to all of you. When perusing other reviews of Immortal Longings by Chloe Gong, I've seen many comparisons to The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins. This comparison is both slightly true and mostly unhelpful as a generalization, as what they have in common are either superficial genre features or not unique to The Hunger Games. I understand why the comparison occurs to people so I'd like to take it seriously. Nicole and I have covered The Hunger Games on our podcast, and I recently reviewed Immortal Longings.  I'll also make some reference to an earlier book with many of the same elements as later appeared in The Hunger Games: Battle Royale by Koushun Takami. You can find both parts of our podcast discussion on that book here (Part 1, Part 2), as well as my written review of Battle Royale. While I think it does make sense to compare and contrast them, these books are not interchangeable.  Please refer to the link for the full essay.

Sometime in the first year of my review blog, I developed a checklist which I use when reviewing sequels. It helps me qualitatively describe how they are composed, and how they interact with the surrounding books in their respective series. More recently, I added a much shorter checklist for describing the first book in a series. Full Episode Text on Reviews That Burn Works Cited Ancrum, K. The Weight of the Stars. Imprint, 2019. ---. The Wicker King. Imprint, 2017. Black, Holly. Ironside: A Modern Faerie Tale. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2020. ---. Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2020. ---. Valiant: A Modern Faerie Tale. Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2020. Brown, Roseanne A. A Psalm of Storms and Silence. HarperCollins, 2021. ---. A Song of Wraiths and Ruin. HarperCollins, 2020. Callender, Kacen. King of the Rising. Hachette UK, 2020. ---. Queen of the Conquered. Hachette UK, 2019. Cipri, Nino. Defekt. Tordotcom, 2021. ---. Finna. Tordotcom, 2020. Grant, Mira. Blackout. Orbit, 2012. ---. Deadline. Orbit, 2011. ---. Feed. Orbit, 2010. ---. Feedback. Orbit, 2016. Khaw, Cassandra. A Song for Quiet. Tor.com, 2017. ---. Hammers on Bone. Tor.com, 2016. Maxwell, Everina. Ocean's Echo. Hachette UK, 2022. ---. Winter's Orbit. Tor Books, 2021. McGuire, Seanan. Be the Serpent. Astra Publishing House, 2022. ---. Sleep No More. Astra Publishing House, 2023. ---. The Innocent Sleep. Astra Publishing House, 2023. Reid, Ava. Juniper and Thorn. Random House, 2022. ---. The Wolf and the Woodsman: A Novel. HarperCollins, 2021. Weir, Andy. Artemis: A Novel. Ballantine Books, 2017. ---. The Martian: A Novel. Ballantine Books, 2014. Westerfeld, Scott. Extras. Simon and Schuster, 2007. ---. Pretties. Simon and Schuster, 2008. ---. Specials. Simon and Schuster, 2011. ---. Uglies. Simon and Schuster, 2011.

Welcome to another book essay from Robin! Thank you Case Aiken, who receives a monthly Patron shoutout. ----- This essay contains spoilers for SHADES AND SILVER by Dax Murray.  Many attempts at gender allegories in fantasy (or sci-fi) fall apart because they try to replicate binary gender in an attempt at gender essentialism in different trappings. SHADES AND SILVER deftly avoids this by starting without gender and then never focusing on it.  Full Essay Text at link.

Welcome to another book essay from Robin! Thank you to Case Aiken, who receives a monthly Patron shoutout. This was originally going to be an essay comparing The Hunger Games series to the Uglies quartet, but I ended up with so much to say about each series on their own that instead this discusses just The Hunger Games trilogy and the role of its prequel, "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes".  This contains major spoilers for “The Hunger Games”, “Catching Fire”, “Mockingjay”, and “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”, all by Suzanne Collins. Link to the full essay text.

Hello and welcome to Books That Burn with another book essay from Robin! Thank you to Case Aiken, who receives a monthly Patron shoutout. This essay discusses (and moderately spoils) the following works by Alexis Hall:   ROSALINE PALMER TAKES THE CAKE (2021) 10 THINGS THAT NEVER HAPPENED (2023) GLITTERLAND (2013) WAITING FOR THE FLOOD (2024 edition) FOR REAL (2015) A LADY FOR A DUKE (2022) BOYFRIEND MATERIAL (2020) HUSBAND MATERIAL (2022) THE AFFAIR OF THE MYSTERIOUS LETTER (2019)   A brief note: when I first conceptualized this essay, I thought I was going to read every published novel by Alexis Hall, then I intended to discuss at least one book from each of their series. It turns out that their catalog is so extensive that even after taking two months to read (and occasionally, reread) as much of their work as I could get my hands on, I still haven't gotten to everything. Neither do I, on balance, want to spoil major elements of their entire catalog. Therefore, I haven't read everything they've written, and I don't reference every single thing that I read. However, I read enough to be sure of my point generally, and am happy with what I've chosen to reference specifically. Link to the full Essay. Preamble (00:00) Content Warnings (01:29) Introduction (01:52) Learning to Be Okay with One's Own Flaws (5:05) Becoming Less Reactive to the Shortcomings of Others (11:05) Reaching for Community (14:12) Accepting Something Already True (23:51) Internal Reflection and Attitude Adjustment (25:49) Change Inspired by Others (30:59) Not Changing At All (36:24) Conclusion: Challenging "Likeability" As A Goal (38:02)

Hello Patrons and general audience members! Welcome to another Books That Burn essay by Robin. Thank you to Case Aiken, who receives a monthly Patron shoutout. [Full Transcript Available Here] This is the first in a five-part essay series discussing two long-running book series by queer authors: October Daye by Seanan McGuire, and Inheritance by A.K. Faulkner. I chose these series because I love them both, they were intended from the start to be long series, neither of them are finished yet, and the authors have different structural approaches to developing each series across so many volumes. Purely coincidentally, they are both long-running contemporary fantasy series mainly set in California in or near the 2010's, with major characters named Quentin, and whose fast-healing protagonists have a tendency to quasi-adopt a gaggle of magical teenagers. After a brief moment in the 1990's, October Daye begins in earnest in 2009 and has reached 2015 as of the eighteenth book, while Inheritance is ambiguously set in the mid-to-late 2010's. Each of my essays focuses on a particular topic of importance to long series. They're designed to be intelligible on their own, and can theoretically be read in any order, but most readers will have the best experience if they start with the first essay and proceed linearly. Character Growth - No one is perfect, especially not a protagonist in book one This essay spoils major elements of the following books: ROSEMARY AND RUE by Seanan McGuire and JACK OF THORNS by A.K. Faulkner, as well as lightly discussing some spoilers from later books in their respective series. 

Hello Patrons and general audience members! Welcome to another Books That Burn essay by Robin. Thank you to Case Aiken, who receives a monthly Patron shoutout. [Full Text Available Here] This is the second in a five-part essay series discussing two long-running book series by queer authors: October Daye by Seanan McGuire, and Inheritance by A.K. Faulkner. I chose these series because I love them both, they were intended from the start to be long series, neither of them are finished yet, and the authors have different structural approaches to developing each series across so many volumes. Purely coincidentally, they are both long-running contemporary fantasy series mainly set in California in or near the 2010's, with major characters named Quentin, and whose fast-healing protagonists have a tendency to quasi-adopt a gaggle of magical teenagers. After a brief moment in the 1990's, October Daye begins in earnest in 2009 and has reached 2015 as of the eighteenth book, while Inheritance is ambiguously set in the mid-to-late 2010's. Each of my essays focuses on a particular topic of importance to long series such as these two. They're designed to be intelligible on their own, and can theoretically be read in any order, but most readers will have the best experience if they start with the first essay and proceed linearly. Series Structure - Series Arcs and Monsters of the Week This essay spoils major elements of the first ten books of the Inheritance series by A.K. Faulkner, as well as the first six books in the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire, while lightly discussing some spoilers from later books in that series. It touches briefly on themes of murder and death, as well as alluding to fictional depictions of kidnapping, torture, and harm to children.  What Is a Monster of the Week? (02:48) Monsters in Inheritance (05:52) Monsters in October Daye (14:30) Series Arcs (18:05) Arc Structure and October Daye (19:28) Seasons in Inheritance (29:51) A Balancing Act (34:31)

Hello Patrons and general audience members! Welcome to another Books That Burn essay by Robin. Thank you to Case Aiken, who receives a monthly Patron shoutout. [Full Text Available Here] This is the third in a five-part essay series discussing two long-running book series by queer authors: October Daye by Seanan McGuire, and Inheritance by A.K. Faulkner. I chose these series because I love them both, they were intended from the start to be long series, neither of them are finished yet, and the authors have different structural approaches to developing each series across so many volumes. Purely coincidentally, they are both long-running contemporary fantasy series mainly set in California in or near the 2010's, with major characters named Quentin, and whose fast-healing protagonists have a tendency to quasi-adopt a gaggle of magical teenagers. After a brief moment in the 1990's, October Daye begins in earnest in 2009 and has reached 2015 as of the eighteenth book, while Inheritance is ambiguously set in the mid-to-late 2010's. Each of my essays focuses on a particular topic of importance to long series such as these two. They're designed to be intelligible on their own, and can theoretically be read in any order, but most readers will have the best experience if they start with the first essay and proceed linearly. Unreliable Narrators - Lies and Delusions This essay spoils major elements of the first six books of the Inheritance series by A.K. Faulkner, as well as scattered revelations and major spoilers from the first twelve books in the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire. This is a discussion of lies, delusions, and the mistakes they create, and some take longer to dispel than others. It touches briefly on themes of murder and death, as well as alluding to fictional depictions of kidnapping, torture, and abuse of children.  Introduction (1:54) Who Tells The Story (3:36) Perspectives in October Daye (5:08) Perspectives in Inheritance (7:07) Lies in October Daye (8:36) Lies in Inheritance (11:50) Delusions in October Daye (13:38) Delusions in Inheritance (15:45) Conclusion (18:21)

Hello Patrons and general audience members! Welcome to another Books That Burn essay by Robin. Thank you to Case Aiken, who receives a monthly Patron shoutout. [Full Text Available Here] This is the fourth in a five-part essay series discussing two long-running book series by queer authors: October Daye by Seanan McGuire, and Inheritance by A.K. Faulkner. I chose these series because I love them both, they were intended from the start to be long series, neither of them are finished yet, and the authors have different structural approaches to developing each series across so many volumes. Purely coincidentally, they are both long-running contemporary fantasy series mainly set in California in or near the 2010's, with major characters named Quentin, and whose fast-healing protagonists have a tendency to quasi-adopt a gaggle of magical teenagers. After a brief moment in the 1990's, October Daye begins in earnest in 2009 and has reached 2015 as of the eighteenth book, while Inheritance is ambiguously set in the mid-to-late 2010's. Each of my essays focuses on a particular topic of importance to long series such as these two. They're designed to be intelligible on their own, and can theoretically be read in any order, but most readers will have the best experience if they start with the first essay and proceed linearly. When a Villain Lives - Recurring Antagonists and Redemption Arcs This essay spoils major elements of the first ten books of the Inheritance series by A.K. Faulkner, and of the first sixteen books in the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire. It discusses themes of murder and death, as well as fictional depictions of kidnapping, rape, torture, and abuse/murder of children.  Introduction (01:58) Still Terrible: Countess Evening Winterrose (04:41) Logistically Important: Hieronymus D'Arcy, Duke of Oxford (07:48) Staying in the Middle: Frederick D'Arcy (12:38) Stuck in the Middle: Simon Torquill (16:41) Redemption Arc: Simon Lorden (19:49) What's Next? (23:43) Coda: Freddy and Simon (24:37)

Hello Patrons and general audience members! Welcome to a two-part reading of some Books That Burn essays by Robin. Thank you to Case Aiken, who receives a monthly Patron shoutout. These two essays are both about my thoughts on generative AI, but neither was long enough to be an episode on its own. As a reviewer of books, I'm very concerned with the news and societal reception of the resource-guzzling plagiarism machine, especially when Indie authors are among those most immediately harmed by having their work stolen and struggling to stand out in a sea of AI-generated slush flooding the ebook market. While I understand that there are useful versions of AI which aren't used to push out garbage no one actually wants to read, the existence of that particular firehose does need to be addressed. With that out of the way, please enjoy my reading of two essays about generative AI. ----- The Problem Is Not That You Want What Generative AI Promised, The Problem Is That They Lied About Whether It Could Deliver (01:14) [Link to Full Text] A Reflection on Path-Dependent Processes (07:26) [Link to Full Text]

Hello Patrons and general audience members! Welcome to another Books That Burn essay by Robin. Thank you to Case Aiken, who receives a monthly Patron shoutout. [Full Transcript Available Here] This is the fifth and final entry in a five-part essay series discussing two long-running book series by queer authors: October Daye by Seanan McGuire, and Inheritance by A.K. Faulkner. I chose these series because I love them both, they were intended from the start to be long series, neither of them are finished yet, and the authors have different structural approaches to developing each series across so many volumes. Purely coincidentally, they are both long-running contemporary fantasy series mainly set in California in or near the 2010's, with major characters named Quentin, and whose fast-healing protagonists have a tendency to quasi-adopt a gaggle of magical teenagers. After a brief moment in the 1990's, October Daye begins in earnest in 2009 and has reached 2015 as of the eighteenth book, while Inheritance is ambiguously set in the mid-to-late 2010's. Each of my essays focuses on a particular topic of importance to long series such as these two. They're designed to be intelligible on their own, and can theoretically be read in any order, but most readers will have the best experience if they start with the first essay and proceed linearly. Long Series and How to Read Them - Somewhere Is Better Than Nowhere Introduction (1:38) Episodic Series (4:02) Linear Storytelling (5:59) Periodic Onboarding (6:39) What's a Reader To Do? (7:50) Five or Fewer (9:11) Six or More (12:01) Conclusion (14:24)  

I love The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. I have read the unabridged version more than once, and my most recent reread was in 2023. At that time, I wrote a couple of brief essays which I posted on Tumblr, one of which was about a canonically queer character and the other discussed a character who is often left out of the various adaptations. I present for you these essays with expansion and alteration, because I keep returning to them as pieces of writing and because I don't want them to be limited to those original posts. I'd like to thank longtime Patron Case Aiken, who receives a monthly shoutout, as well as new patrons DivineJasper and Sasha Khan. (Quotes are from Robin Buss' English translation of Alexandre Dumas' work.) ----- Full Essay Text Canonical Queerness in The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas Edmond No Longer -- The Importance of Haydée in The Count of Monte Cristo