I recently finished The Shadowed Sun by N. K. Jemisin, the second novel in her Dreamblood duology. Perhaps that is why romance in fiction is on my mind. Without naming names, though this probably still amounts to a bit of a spoiler, it employs the age old, and by all means effective, arc of enemies to lovers. According to some, namely my partner, that is the most effective romantic device in fiction. While I don’t necessarily disagree with her, it’s certainly a fantastic one when handled as well as it is by the absolutely indomitable and talented N. K. Jemisin, I hesitate whenever words like “best” are used. Not to mention that when it fails, it really fails. Last thing one would want is an unintended study on manipulation touted as healthy love. Although, as I’ve mentioned, that is not at all the case with The Shadowed Sun. To pique the interest without delving too much further into spoiler territory, the book follows the events of the first, narrating the story of an outcast prince attempting to reclaim the mystical land of Gujaareh from imperial Kisuati rule while a deadly nightmare plague ravages the populace. You see, Gujaareh houses the temple of Hananja, its priests skilled in narcomancy, the magic of dreams. But no power is without risk, and no past without its blemishes. Practitioners of this magic can harm just as easily as heal, and dreams are at times not so easy to control, madness not so easy to curtail. As secrets spill from the religion’s past to harm the present, the city-state of Gujaareh is at a tipping point, and the outcast prince, the supposed avatar of Hananja herself, will need the help of the temple that killed his own father to reclaim what is rightfully his. His father was killed to save his homeland from the madness that is part and parcel to the power of his bloodline, but even so. Some grudges are not so easily forgiven, even when faced with a priest so unlike his expectation, the first female Sharer, a healer forging her own uncertain destiny in the face of far too many demands. She has her own voice, and it will be heard. If that at all piques your interest, give it a look.
In other news, I recently finished the newest season of The Dragon Prince, I suppose now called The Dragon Prince: Mystery of Aaravos. Have to say, still enjoying its story. To keep in the spirit of this post, it is not without its romance. I’ve appreciated the show’s willingness to bring characters together when it feels right, as they did with Callum and Rayla, and as they do with a certain human female general and elvish queen. I will say though I thought their handling of Callum and Rayla in this newest season wasn’t as up to par as I’d hoped. It’s shown early on, but Rayla has spent the time skip away from Callum for reasons of duty, and while she could have communicated with Callum in many different ways during that multiple year period, never does. It’s a pet peeve of mine when a story feels stuck in a binary. Namely, it seems they felt they could either have Rayla stay, or leave entirely with no in between. But real life often dwells in the in between, and her return could have had the same impact without the extremes of the self-imposed exile. In any case, I’ll say that most every other aspect of the show I enjoyed. I heartily recommend a watch.
I’ve also begun a deep play into Horizon Forbidden West, and all I can say is I ship Aloy and Sun-King Avad. Really I just want Aloy to embrace her friendships and stop going it alone all the time. She is a bit of an ass to those who care about her in the beginning, but I’m betting that changes over the course of the game. Seeing glimmers of it already. In any case, happy to once again be hunting robotic wildlife in this colorful world.
Last but not least, is it ever not a good time for a Princess Bride rewatch? I don’t think so. Go ahead and give it another gander and thank me later.
All the best,
M. Weald
P.S. Just finished reading 2084 by Mason Engel, a self-published novel by an author from my hometown. In the past we’ve critiqued each other’s works and I can say if you’ve read the novel 1984 by George Orwell, give 2084 a shot! It’s a fun and easy read. He’s also a filmmaker, having released a film about indie book stores called The Bookstour and a film about author origin stories called Story Road. He has a third documentary in the works called Books Across America. If any of that sounds good to you, check out masonengel.com.
P.P.S Future Michael here. Writing on 12/12/2024. Wanted to add that as more of The Dragon Prince has come out, it’s only gone downhill in terms of writing quality. It’s unfortunate; I liked the series so much. But the narrative cracks that started showing in book 4 with how they dealt with Rayla only get worse. Characters seem hell bent on making poor decisions. Maybe I’ll have a blog post that goes more in depth down the line, but at this point I don’t think I’ll finish the show.
M. Weald 