Courtly Love Iron Widow by Ziran Jay Zhao Review Iron Widow by Ziran Jay Zhao has been on my To-Read list for a long time, and I had avoided it for mostly subconscious reasons surrounding the marketing of novels as “Young Adult,” I think. There’s much to say about YA as a pseudo-genre (it’s not a genre,
Canon The Lightsaber of Baylan Skoll It is where Baylan and Shin reject the formulation of the Star Wars narrative, not Jedi, but not Sith either, that I find most compelling for future narratives. It all begins, as many Jedi tales do, with the lightsabers carried by both characters.
Adaptation Gender and Magic in House of the Dragon: Alys Rivers, Admiral Lohar, and Rhaenyra Targaryen HotD adapts Fire and Blood excitingly; one of the most exciting potentials I have seen so far centers around the role of feminine power throughout, which I will show through a discussion of Rhaenyra, Lohar, and Alys Rivers.
Adaptation Temptation of the Force by Tessa Gratton What does it mean to love? When the Jedi say throughout the franchise that they are to eschew attachments, it is possession of the romantic variety which is shown to be problematic, as much about secrecy and dishonesty as the act of marriage.
Adaptation Knights of the Jedi Order What I love most about this era is the dedication to love itself. Like the courtly romances of the medieval period, the idea of love is explored as it relates to the Jedi (Knights) and what it means to their vows (oaths). The Jedi of the High Republic are, quintessentially, Arthurian knights.
Adaptation A Love Letter to Star Wars: The Acolyte The Acolyte is at once old and new, reaching inside and outside of timelines within the Star Wars narrative and within the primary "real" world of the audience. I love it.
Fantasy The Practice, the Horizon, and the Chain by Sofia Samatar Review An incredible and quick read that I devoured in a single sitting, Samatar's Prose resonates with every fiber of my being.
Fantasy Someone You Can Build a Nest In by John Wiswell-Review The story of a shapeshifting monster who has no humanoid form unless and until she eats enough material that she may construct a body from the inside out. That alone raises some fascinating questions about living in a body and having a gender and more.
Novella When Among Crows by Veronica Roth As a medievalist, the depictions of a Holy Order of Knights made me think about chivalry differently, and the backbone of Slavic legendary material provided a fantasy realm I, as a medievalist raised on Western (read: British) models of fantasy, found largely new.
