Expanding on the Gunfighter and the Gear-Head

I didn't really want to touch on this subject in the review since it was honestly irrelevant to the review itself, but nonetheless, it is a subject I want to discuss.

Let's talk feminism.

Yuuuuuuuuuup, I heard groans everywhere. But stick around for a bit! I want to analyze this seriously!

To anyone who has read TGATGH (btw, spoilers, obviously), the mention of feminism should come as no surprise. Beyond the fact that almost every lead in the book is a female, barring Ramen and the enemies, of course, the theme of feminism is so overwhelming I honestly wtf'd to myself once I finished reading. There is the fact that all the males turned out to be enemies and betrayed the females. Or they died. Poor Daniel, RIP.  Then there are the small groups of male pilots who were important but not significant enough to give names and ultimately were just kind of there.

So males are not appreciated. Cool. Now to turn the feminism level up to eleven, we have the fact that the big new "government" ruling in the chaos after the apocalypse consists solely of females. Everybody high up is female.

What does this all say about feminism? Perhaps the author, Ms. Duffy, is saying that the world is better off ruled by women. After all, they bring stability and protection and peace to the lawlessness and chaos that would otherwise remain. But surely a group of men could do that as well? The women appear to be just as cruel as men were back in the past when colonization began and repeat the behavior of abuse on the opposite sex.

My take on it? Maybe she's saying nothing at all and simply wrote a book with this setting because that was what she wanted to have. Or maybe she's saying that equality is best for all? I honestly have no idea because the ending pretty much killed the major men characters off and focused solely on Gieo and Fiona.

Then again, there are more books in the series (which I do not plan on reading, because come on, fuck multiple books in one series: I'm done with aliens and guns and  post-apocalyptia) which means plenty of chances for her to build on this world where men are grasping for the reins and the women are laughing at them from their pedestals high above in the carriage.

Link to review of TGATGH

The Gunfighter and the Gear-Head

An apocalyptic alien invasion set humanity on the edge of extermination. Unable to match technology with the invaders, humanity bet their existence on their physical strength overcoming. In a desperate last stand by the world’s greatest scientists, the cataclysm electromagnetic pulse wiped out all technology on the planet, stranding the aliens on earth, effectively locking them in the cage with the beasts of humanity that remained. Using pre-industrial weapons of war, the surviving humans fought back…

Six years later, Gieo, the self-proclaimed last pilot on earth, was shot down yet again. She finds herself in the unwelcoming post apocalyptic old west town of Tombstone, the guest of the beautiful gunfighter Fiona with a turbulent history. Their budding romance hits an immediate snag when Fiona’s mysterious past finally catches up with her, bringing with it old flames, hot grudges, and a rekindling of the war with the aliens that had cooled to a stalemate.

Sky-captain Gieo and her fleet of steam-powered dirigibles are humanity’s best chance to turn the tide of the war against the alien invaders, but only if Fiona can protect her from blind cultists, jealous ex-girlfriends, and a town of apocalypse cowboys with suspect sanity.

---

Well uh... Started this book on a whim, picked it up, read it in about 4 hours, give or take some minutes here and there for distractions such as bathroom breaks and food and the internet in general. Fresh impression? Intriguing, entertaining, fresh, different, and... abrupt. But more on that later. For now, let us delve straight into the spoiler-free portion of this review.

Plot: [7/10]

Let us pick apart the convoluted mess that the plot appears to be before it turns into something recognizable and solid. The story begins with the introduction of Gieo, one of two main characters, and the story from there takes off into typical romance territory. And, oh my, the romance rapidly begins as soon as Gieo comes into contact with Fiona. We get character development, romance development, drama, but nothing solid save for the fact that these strange lizard aliens from space are still out in the desert and Fiona and other hunters slay these things for livelihood in a post-apocalyptic world. Slark, as they are called. Interestingly enough, this "enemy" of mankind is hardly the real enemy of the story, but I'll leave that for the spoilers section. That's the general gist of the plot, heavily dumbed down, but hey, there it is. Whether it is interesting to you or not, please note that it is quite different from any lesbian fiction plot I have touched yet. Which isn't much, but there it is. The fact that the setting is unique to any other lesbian work I have read, and the attention and the development the plot receives, is definitely a plus in its favor. Too often a lesbian novel will focus far too heavily on the romance, and in my opinion, TGATGH does a nice job of integrating what a reader wants: sex + romance + plot where the romance plays a rather twisted part.

Characters/Characterization: [9/10]

Boom. Yeah, I gave it that high of a score. From the very start, Gieo was an interesting figure, and not only because of the way she dressed. Her strange name, her wonky robot sidekick Ramen – I'll stop myself before I ruin the fun of discovery for you. In general, I have never seen anybody as unique as she was and so brutally realistic that I could definitely see her right now, in real life, existing in the world had it not gone to hell. Definitely a whole sea of depth was devoted to her, and I became attached to this Asian badass genius (and trust me when I say that there is quite a lot of depth, because that does not happen often in my experience). As for Fiona, Gieo's lover, I was instantly intrigued with her story. Never would I have imagined that the other half of the main couple would be a nearly psychotic, hardened, gunslinging Victoria's Secret model. Formely, of course, considering the world went to hell and lingerie hardly matters in a war against aliens.

The two form interesting contrasts against one another, and certainly because of Gieo's role as the inventor and sole genius of human society and Fiona's role in... well... beyond the fact that she's an incredibly unrealistically amazing shot.

The other characters are refreshing as well, and many of them play important, important roles. I was quite pleased with how the story was not centered on just the main couple, that almost everyone else who was given a name and mentioned more then 5 times reappeared with some action that would move the plot along considerably.

Prose/Writing Style/POV: [7/10]

Third-person, right away. Easy to tell, obviously, and it works because the view shifts between Fiona's perspective and Gieo's. While I normally have intense distaste for POV shifting between characters, it works in this novel because it serves to develop each character in their own right and help both of them grow without seeming too dependent on one another. It also serves to give insight to 2 very distinct people who obviously have their differences, and allows both of them to leave an impression on the reader. Too often a lesbian novel will focus entirely too much on one character and not the other, and it leaves this feeling of favoritism that often makes the relationship bland and uninteresting.

As for the prose, it's fairly short. Simple. Precise descriptions, to the point, and fits with the rather straightforward and blunt attitudes Gieo and Fiona harbor. There's a ton of description, and while that can be a bad thing, it leaves room open for imagination about the alien technology, the town they live in, and the different societies that are introduced. And, of course, Gieo's inventions, because that girl is the inventor. The inventor. The world was painted alive for me, and I had no trouble picturing various scenes whatsoever. In fact, my eyes slightly burn from the brightness of all the desert that I imagined in the past 4 hours. Or it could be from staring at my monitor. Who knows?

As for writing style, there was definitely a quirk to every sentence and certainly every piece of dialogue. The humor sometimes was genuinely laugh out loud, and I found myself wanting several times to share my joy with someone else only to realize they wouldn't get the joke outside the context. There's 21st century humor in there, my friend, and it is wonderful.

Besides that, the written sex is great. What more do you need to know, eh?

Final Verdict? [8/10] - If you don't read this, I don't know why you're even bothering with reading lesfic

Seriously, this is quite the piece of story-telling and writing. Unique setting, unique characters, unique everything, for the most part. I can't even begin to describe the hell of a trip the romance story took, let alone anything else for that matter. It was full of moments you didn't see coming, and even if you did, they were still amusing enough to fully enjoy even with the lack of surprise. There is depth to this novel. Surprising depth, for that matter, and so although the ending was abrupt and kind of slapped you in the face, the depth of everything in the novel made it worth the trip.

---Spoilers from this point on, read at your own risk---

Now, I know, I know. The first thing on your mind is going to be... WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT WITH THE ROMANCE? THE DEPTH? THE PLOT? IT WAS A CLUSTERFUCK AND YOU'RE LYING, YOU SACK OF SHIT.

If you look past some of the more unsavory parts of the novel, and past some of your own distaste, there was quite a lot of depth.

Starting from the beginning, Gieo is in some sort of blimp thing and shooting anti-aircraft artillery for god knows what reason and you're busy wondering what the hell is going on. It spirals into more confusion when she crash lands and is completely calm about it and simply radios in and waits for help. Then Fiona shows up and suddenly they're almost going straight to fucking.

WHAT DEVELOPMENT?! you might be screaming.

Oh, but there is. Almost immediately, you hear that Fiona is a former Victoria's Secret model and Gieo has been fantasizing about this woman for quite some time, so it should come as no surprise as when fate finally throws this woman at her, Gieo will fully take advantage of the situation. Then of course the romance gains depth as the story goes on, but the almost-rushed pacing of the romance can be said to mirror the rush of attachment people get for no apparent reason in real life when they suddenly fall for someone. Or it could just have been an executive decision to cut down on the falling for each other to the drama that occurs with Veronica and Carolyn later on.

And then the plot. Oh yes, the plot. It was always lurking there, always little things in the background you didn't really think about until it resurfaced later to kick our heroines in the butt somehow or make things more complicated or served to further the plot. That, in my opinion, is what makes a good plot. Subtle foreshadowing you don't realize until it happens. Romance integrated into the very core of the plot.

Examples: the huge men in the beginning who ask for tech help from Gieo turn out to be heavily prized pilots for their assault against the Slark. Fiona's past relationship with Carolyn nearly fucks Gieo over and indirectly causes Veronica's death by keeping her stationed at Tombstone. Zeke's presence and the methanol drinking cult end up causing mass destruction and are tied in together with the plot.

The world is also another aspect that was filled with surprising depth. This will be the last thing I talk about, as I am getting exhausted. Each town and place in the novel serves as different examples of the kind of lives lived after the invasion of the Slark. You have Tombstone, run roughly like an old Wild West sort of town until the Ravens come in and domesticate the place. Then it turns into some strange WWII suburban area with a Fallout 3 vibe. There's Albuquerque, the exception amongst all other outposts of humanity: well-fortified, safe, filled with simple pleasures like hot showers and running water, and almost seemingly identical to life as it once was before. There's the barren land that Gieo rides her motorcycle over, showing the destruction the Slark caused, making the situation seem entirely real and dreadful at once. Etc.

Overall, I was quite pleased with this novel. There's a brutal, harsh reality to it all, something so twisted and yet so beautiful that I can see this exact scenario playing out in the case that lizard aliens from space ever came to earth to invade.

Oh! Which reminds me. I rather loved that we never get to see much of the Slark, only their corpses or them getting shot/beat to death. While they were the "enemy", they instead served to show the brutality of humans and bring out the brutality in humanity. The way they go down so easily while Fiona and the other Ravens are decimated at Tombstone by their own kind led by Zeke only further proves that humanity's greatest enemy is mankind itself. Most of the conflict in the novel occurs between humans. The important ones, at any rate. The conflict against the Slark was hardly the focus, only the motivating factor that spurred things into motion.

Clever, clever.

But that's enough out of me. Was I the only one who enjoyed TGATGH?

Link for purchase: at amazon

Edit 2/25/23

I forgot to mention that there was one problem with the novel. This contains semi-spoilers, so there's your warning.

The ending, unfortunately, for all its fanfare, ended far below expectations. In fact, it was terribly rushed and quite clearly so, lacking the elaborate detail the other scenes had and quickly jumping to the end. This, of course, can be attributed to deadlines and etc., but it's still a trap that many lesbian novels fall into. This is one of them. It's not a bad end, though, so take the disappointing end with a grain of salt. Is it disappointing? Certainly so. Does it make the book not worth reading? If you're in it for the happy end, then by all means, read it. If you're looking for something elaborate and quite clearly written well and thought out, then the ending might make the book a huge frustration for you.

Overall, I still recommend reading it. It's a gem in the desert storm that is known is lesfic.

And just when I thought everything was normal again!

I was having a perfectly average day. Floating through my first two periods, sleeping through my third, floating through the next, panicking in math class, going out to lunch...

Come gym period I am having a slightly above average day. Green and I are in giggling like mad from shenanigans (well, she giggled. I snickered. I'm not quite girly enough to giggle but not manly enough to chuckle either). Okay, fine, we're friends.

Then, as we go back up to the locker room to change (protip: never have the changing room locker NEXT TO THE PERSON YOU ARE ATTRACTED TO), she turns to me and says,"Oh! I have something to show you!"

Jokingly, I ask, "Does it involve clothes being thrown off?" Because, you know, we're going to the changing room. Duh.

I get a look of "really, Vanui, really?" and I shrug.

Turns out, she flips open her phone after we're both changed, and lo and behold, there's a picture of me on Santa's lap. My first reaction was to shout, at the top of my lungs, attracting all attention from the rest of the 50 or so girls crammed in there, "You took a picture?! Green!"

She giggles her way out of the locker room, telling me all the while how she had to go through so much trouble trying to get the company's phone to work and take a picture before finding time to text it to herself. Here I am going, "What the fuck why why why would you go through so much trouble to take a picture of me on Santa's lap" in my head.

So while we're on the subject of Santa, I learn that Santa told Green to "take care of Big Guy (oh lawd, he actually thought I was a dude)" and while I laughed it off, I really hope she didn't ask Santa, "Why do I need to take care of him/her?"

Because, well, uh...

If Santa revealed anything, Green would know it's her. And I really don't want to make things awkward like it was for us for the first 3 years of high school when I confessed to her 3 times. Jesus.

I don't even know. I just... I don't even.

So here's what happened today...

This is... less thoughts and more of a post to the world about my life, but... Eh, maybe you all will derive some amusement from my day.

Let us begin with me going to the mall to buy Christmas gifts for my families and, of course, with the motive of seeing the girl I love (let's call her Green). It was convenient that she works the Santa photo visit thing in the mall for a job, and so I decided, "Hey, why not go give her some company. I know I sure as hell get bored at my job."

Here's some back-story: I've been in love with Green for 6 years. I've confessed already, and she's straight, so by all means, I should move on. My heart is stubborn and refuses to change, though, no matter how badly I want it to.

I tell you this because I ended up talking with her a lot longer than I should have. I'd go shop, get some stuff, stop by, chat for some amount of minutes, then go back to shopping. I did this until I had most of my shopping done, and then she still had an hour left of work. After picking up some stuff at Spencer's (nothing dirty, you pervs), I spent my last hour there with her at the Santa station.

Me, being me, jokingly joked about sitting in Santa's lap, even though I am well above the age that people should be for doing such things. Green told me to go for it. Then I told her I didn't really have anything to wish for. She still told me to go for it. I then thought of a wish and told her so, but I still didn't want to do it. She asked me what my wish was, and I couldn't tell her, but she went ahead and kept encouraging me to go for it.

Under her smile, I caved. Blushing like an idiot, embarrassed beyond embarrassed, I stood in line with kids a quarter of my size. The employee managing the line (Green was working the cash register) eyed me before asking me whether or not I wanted to take a picture or simply chat with Santa. She had seen me throughout the entire 4 hours I spent at the mall, and I knew she thought I was strange.

Still, Green smiled brightly and encouragingly over at the register, and I persevered.

"Just a chat," I said.

Finally, it was my turn. I awkwardly tried to sit to the side of Santa so I wouldn't crush him under my weight, but he chuckled and told me, "No no no, lad! You get to sit on Santa's lap!" So I did. I sat down, amused that he thought I was a guy (I'm androgynous, if I do think so myself). We exchanged pleasantries like two normal people. "Hello! How are you?" "I'm fine. How about you?" "Pretty good! Pretty good!" It was strange since I was sitting on his lap.

Eventually, I said, "Alright, I'll keep this quick since I know I'm heavy."

Santa looked at me curiously.

"I've been in love with someone I can't have. And... And it's been 6 years. All I wish for is... i-is for it to go away. "

"It's been what?" he asked. I was speaking too softly, I realized, deathly afraid that Green could hear us. I repeated my words and he made a noise of understanding. "Ah. How old are you?"

"17," I replied.

"Wow. Since you were 11, huh."

"Yup."

"So what's stopping you two from being together?" he asked me curiously. This made me pause. He thought I was a guy, but... I bit my lip, thought for a moment, and told him a vague, but true, answer.

"Many things. Things I can't control," I told Santa. He nodded. His eyes scrunched up a bit underneath the white fluffy fringe of his red hat, and he thought for a moment, struggling to come up with words. I was starting to get disappointed (what was I expecting in the first place? I don't know) when he spoke.

"Sometimes," he began, "relationships aren't meant to be. And then all you can do is move forward. Let time do the rest. Time heals all wounds." I looked at him. It seemed to be ordinary advice. Cliche. But it was true. I wasn't as disappointed as I was mere seconds ago, but I still wanted more. However, he had more to say. "When my mother died from cancer, I couldn't believe it for about 3 months. Sometimes I still feel like she's around. But, eventually, little by little, I got better, and well... That's how life goes. You just got to keep moving on."

From my close proximity, I could see that his eyes were red, and I felt a little guilty for somehow bringing up painful memories for him. It made me swallow thickly, and all I could concentrate on was Santa's watering eyes.

"If you two can't be together, then all you can do is let her go. Seperate," he gently told me. I nodded. I understood completely. It was what I had been hearing from my close friends thoughout the past 6 years, and although it was the same advice, it was somehow liberating to hear it from Santa, a man who was just as ordinary as I, thrust into a position of giving little children happiness and inspiring happiness even when his own situation was probably worse than the spoiled children he saw. His next few words earned my complete respect. "If you two were ever meant to be, she'll come back to you. If it happens, it does. If it doesn't, it doesn't."

"You're right," I said. "Completely. I understand. Thank you, Santa. Thank you." By this point, my voice was weak and shaky and I couldn't trust myself to say much more than thank you. I knew I had already talked too long, so I made my way out.

"Stay safe and out of trouble! No violence!" he hollered at me. I managed a small smile and wave and turned.

"Thanks, Santa."

"Hey!" Green shouted at me. I nearly jumped out of my skin. For a brief second, I thought she had heard every word I had spoke to Santa, but then: "You forgot your sticker!"

"Sticker?" I asked, confused and somehow relieved.

"For talking with Santa."

Laughing, I walked back and picked one up from the basket. I made my way over to her. "Better?" I peeled the sticker off and stuck it on her uniform. She smiled brightly at me, and my heart was racing from the combined stress of what I had done and how pretty she was even in such an ugly black apron.

Once she had adjusted the sticker elsewhere, she looked at me curiously. I raised an eyebrow back at her. "What did you talk with Santa about? You were there for a while."

"I can't tell you," I told her. She stared at me, and I felt like she had a notion of what I was talking with Santa about. But whether or not she knew I was talking about her in particular was a fact up for grabs. "I... It was interesting. You were right. This Santa's good."

I stayed with her for half an hour more, chatting about nothing and everything, both of us dead tired and me watching her back when she had to work. I thought she was brilliant when she acted so confident with the costumers and was so business like.

I felt Santa's eyes on me at times, and I wondered if he had figured out who I was talking about. For all  he knew, though, it could've been someone else. But if he guessed that it was Green, then he was truly the wisest Santa I've ever met.

The City, the Mountain, the Stars, and the Booze

“You ever think this is all for nothing?” she asked.

“What? What’s all for nothing?” He turned his body on the grass and looked at her.

“Everything. Getting an education, finding a job, making money, living...” She gestured at the city below, vodka bottle swishing in hand. They were a good distance away from the reaches of society, but the city lights were still bright, and she squinted.

“Shit, man. You dragged me up the mountain to talk about this?”

“Nah. Wanted to get out of the city, off the campus, mostly,” she softly stated. Trying to see if she could see individual people from her spot, she gave up and took a swig. They weren’t too far out, but they had driven fifteen minutes and hiked another two hours to reach their spot on the side of the mountain. It was part of the public trail, but no one ever made use of the plateau they claimed. City people were too damn lazy.

“If that’s all you wanted, then we should’ve joined the boys and hit the club where they serve real drinks.” He pointedly swished his bottle of vodka and tilted his head back for a large gulp. His lips left the bottle with a smack and a sigh. “Burns real good. Damn.”

She cocked an eyebrow at him. “Which club? Strip? Or the dancing kind?”

“Both. Could’ve hit both tonight, man,” he laughed, winking. “But I know you gave that kind of thing up, right? No more partying hard, picking up chicks, waking up on the other side of campus...”

She turned her eyes away and focused them on the tallest tower of the city, saying nothing and letting the silence stretch on. He grunted and shut himself up, knowing she would respond in time. Drink swishing in hand, he bided his time and let himself drink until he felt his limit approaching.

“Hey, ease off. I didn’t bring you out here to waste my stash and get smashed.” She snatched the bottle out of his hand and put the lid back on. Shrugging, swaying, he laid back on the grass and gazed at the black sky.

“You ever miss the stars?” he asked. Glad that his words weren’t slurring yet, he felt confident enough to look at his companion again.

“Are we ever going to answer each other’s questions?” she responded. Still, she leaned back and gazed with him. “Yeah, I miss them. I don’t miss home, though.”

“With good reason.”

“Yeah.”

“Yup.”

Listening to silence, they laid there. It was getting cold out, and everything was either dying or dead, so they didn’t have to worry about bugs or living creatures. Kept the drinks cool, too. She opened her mouth and breathed, watching white steam escape into the sky.

“This whole ‘all for nothing’ thing... Is accounting really that bad?” he prodded. If it is, he thought, then you really should have said something all those years ago before you started your senior year of college.

“Nah.” She closed her eyes.

“Then what is it?”

After a moment’s hesitation, she answered, “Forget it. Nevermind.”

“You can’t tell me to forget it if you bring it up in the first place,” he shot back. She remained mute, so he sat up, the world swimming in his vision as he did so. “Damn, girl, if you are just going to bullshit me all night, I am going home and leaving you here to walk back.”

“You’re welcome to try.” Confused, he watched her sit up, reach into her pocket, and pull out the keys, dangling them in front of his face. He reached for them. She quickly moved them out of reach.

“Don’t make me fight you.” He glared.

“You wouldn’t, and we both know it.” She smiled, the first time that night, and he scoffed.

“This childhood friend thing sucks.”

“Yeah, but it works out for the both of us, doesn’t it?”

They simultaneously sighed, glared at one another, and burst out laughing.

“Remember how everyone at school thought we were siblings before we told them our last names?” he chuckled.

“And then when we did tell them, they didn’t believe us.” They snickered together some more and talked of old times again, remembering the gas station they used to buy slushies at, the gaming store they first obtained their addiction in, the social studies teacher they hated in sixth grade, people they used to know and how he was convinced that Santa Claus was real...

Tension had vanished for a moment, and although they eventually slipped back into silence, they remained at ease. She set her bottle of vodka down and capped it up, rolling it toward her backpack and returning to her position on the ground. If she looked hard enough, she could see the stars. At least, she thought she did.

By memory, she could try and find the constellations even without seeing the bright lights in the black sky, and she attempted to do so. They faced west from their position, and armed with only that knowledge, she mentally mapped out Orion, Altair, Virgo...

They had laid there for so long that he was about to slip off to sleep. Her voice, however, pierced through the quiet and shook him back awake. “Hey... About before.”

“Yeah?” he sleepily muttered.

“I’m sorry. I... I’m a little... down on life.”

“I noticed.” He opened one eye and sniffled. “What’s got you down? Missing the booze and sex?” She laughed softly, and he knew she appreciated his attempt to lighten the mood.

“Maybe.” She glanced shyly at him and rubbed her nose. Surprised, he blinked.

“Wait, are you serious?”

“I mean... Okay, that didn’t come out right.”

“And the way it was supposed to come out was...?”

“I’m lonely,” she blurted out. Their eyes met, and he froze. Rubbing the back of her neck, she squeezed her eyes shut and groaned at the stars; he simply gaped without moving. “Is it that strange?”

“That you of all people are lonely? Someone call a medic ‘cause I am hallucinating,” he mumbled. After receiving a slap to the side of his head, he shut up.

“Damn it, take me seriously for once,” she growled.

“I always take you seriously. You’re the only person I know who hates her major and tries her best at it anyway, and I understood that you were never free enough to try your hand at a real relationship even if you wanted it,” he replied. “How’s that?”

“You’re right, of course,” she grudgingly accepted. He smirked, then his face fell.

“So what’s changed now?”

Nobody moved. The withered grass beneath their bodies stirred a tiny bit when a small breeze passed through. Then it was gone. In the distance, the sound of a wolf’s howl faintly rode the breeze and carried over to their ears. The call was mournful.

“I fell for someone. Hard,” she whispered. His forehead creased with concern.
“Are you telling me that you’re putting your major ahead of a potential girlfriend?” he asked, incredulous. She shook her head, and for that, small relief shuddered through his frame.

“It’s...”

He said nothing. Only turned his body to stare at her downturned face and grasped her shoulder firmly. His hand was warm.

“I saw her kissing a guy.” And the truth was out in a pained, raspy voice. Ice ran down his spine, and clarity cleaned the alcohol entirely out of his system.

“Oh. Oh, I am so sorry, girl,” he whispered back, wrapping her in a warm hug. He smelled like leather and booze, and the scent was comforting, more so than his whispered words and the hand patting her soothingly on the back. He had smelled like leather even back in first grade. Letting out a garbled laugh, she recalled that he insisted on wearing a tacky leather jacket at all times or, if it was summer, a leather vest.

“It’s fine. Don’t worry about it,” she sniffed, pushing him away so she could wipe her tears. “I should have known, you know? I really should’ve learned by now.” Her chuckle was pathetic, and he narrowed his eyes down at her.

“You know–”

“I do know. I know that I always fall for the people I can’t have, and that’s why I’ll always go back to the booze and the one night stands and forget it all.”

He said nothing. She stood up and stretched, gaze turning back toward the city. Even as late as it was, it teemed with life, and even from this distance, she could sense the life and depravity that echoed from every party, every club, and every bar. Wiping her eyes, she gave a wry smile and held a hand out. He took it and, with her help, joined her standing.

“Are you okay?” he asked. He was worried, that much she could tell. Shaking her head, she shrugged.

“As okay as I’ll ever be. I needed a cry,” she told him. Her voice cracked with the effort. “Thanks for being my shoulder to cry on.”

He gave her a small smile of his own and told her, “I’m here for you. Always. So don’t go giving me thanks now, you troublemaker. Save it for when you don’t need this shoulder to cry on anymore, and then we’ll start talking thanks.”

She owed him much more than simple thanks, but she swallowed her thoughts. They didn’t need that right now. All they needed was this. Their mountain, the city before them, the stars, and each other. And booze. Perhaps the booze, as well.

“There’s a lot of people in one city. Who knows? Maybe one of them will be Miss Perfect for you.”

Not giving any indication that she had heard, she picked her backpack and vodka up and began the long march down, her white breath escaping from her mouth with every few steps she took.

------

(Excuse any inaccuracies with the constellations. I have no idea what I'm talking about there.)

The Exile and the Sorcerer (Lyremouth Chronicles - Book 1)

The quest for the stolen chalice is a sham - her family's excuse to get rid of Tevi. Exiled in a dangerous and confusing world filled with monsters, bandits, and sorcerers, Tevi battles demons within and without as she searches for her place in the strange new world.
Jemeryl has her future planned out - a future that will involve minimal contact with ordinary folk who do not understand sorcerers. Her ambition is to lead a solitary life within the Coven and to devote herself to the study of magic. It is all very straightforward - until she meets Tevi.
Two unlikely allies join forces to defeat an insidious evil and on the journey find one another.

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For a book I picked up without knowing anything about it, not even a summary, it was quite interesting. The title of the first chapter was “A bad joke”, and I didn’t know what to think. Was that implying something?

I quickly learned that the joke wasn’t on me. It was on the main character, the unfortunate, seriously depressed and zero-confident Tevi. (Yes, Tevi. Though I have seen far worse in the way of names, I was glad that the name was unique and short enough to remember.) The beginning half of the story was an introduction to the world and Tevi’s character, her plight, her growth and the loss of innocence. Quite standard in the way of fantasy, and I was pleased with the world Miss Fletcher, the author, created (more on this later in the spoilered section).

This is all I can say before the spoilers come in, so now I’ll begin with my ratings.

Plot: [5/10]

Why? Because most of this book is world-building and character-building. Due to the fact that this is the first book in a series, it isn’t surprising. It does seem to drag on when the plot seems to be going nowhere and nothing really drives Tevi beyond self-preservation. However, the plot kicks in near the last quarter of the book, and I feel that that wasn’t the best move on the author’s part. It was there from the beginning, and it was foreshadowed in a way, but it feels weak when compared to other novels out there.

Characters/Characterization: [8/10]

Tevi’s growth was handled quite well, and from the start, she was a character I could relate to. She might bother people who have never had the same problems as her, but I feel that she accurately represents those of us who are homosexuals and live in a world that condemns our “choice”. I can’t really talk about the other important main character, who doesn’t even show up until the second half of the book, without spoilers (although the character can’t be that hard to guess with the title being The Exile and the Sorcerer). Rest assured, most characters seem to be an accurate reflection on the society they live in and how their society reflects ours.

Prose/Writing Style/POV: [7/10]

First off, I do want to say that I saw several grammatical errors and sentences that seemed to miss a word or two. I saw quite the error with a “>” in front of a sentence at one point. I don’t know if this was due to the version I read, but... Hopefully that is the case. Regardless, that doesn’t affect this grading.
The POV is Third-Person Limited, switching from Tevi to other characters at times, but the focus is still mainly on her. This breaks the flow of the story at some points, and although it greatly annoyed myself at the time, I have come to understand the purposes behind the POV switches. They are bearable and not overused.
As to the style of writing, it works. The majority of the book is spent in subject-verb sentences, and this is quite common with the fantasy genre dealing with swords, fighting, magic, etc. The descriptions are definitely nearer to the higher end of the scale compared to other works I’ve read in the genre (and by genre, I mean fantasy lesbian fiction), so that was a plus.

Final Verdict? [6.5/10] - Worth a Read

I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. It lulled at times, but I loved Tevi as a main character and the small bits of humor thrown here and there throughout the novel. The character growth was handled quite well, and although some people seem to be cast off without a second thought, I’m sure they’ll reappear in one of the later books. Overall, nice experience. I would have liked to see the plot more structured, but for all intents and purposes, Miss Fletcher made the story move along somehow. The only other big problem was the romance, but more on that below.

----Spoilers Ahoy!---- (I shall assume you have already read the book, so characters will be mentioned, and sometimes I will not clarify who they are to people who have not read)

Ah, the beginning had me fooled. I read the first page and thought to myself, “Oh god, not another story with tribes and tomfoolery between villages and simpletons”. The first pieces of dialogue pointed everything in that direction, courtesy of Laff, Tevi’s bitter sister (who we aren’t supposed to like, but I knew better than to judge her for what she appeared to be... Typical character ploy made by authors).

Thank goodness that all changed when Brec, the childhood friend and crush, and Tevi’s “family” kicked her out. That scene hit too close to home for me, and I’m sure it will (or has) reminded others of their own similar situations. It was handled well, all things considered, and I think that was what Miss Fletcher intended with that scene: sympathy and empathy. I was pleased that Brec appeared to have been forced, quite against her will, to “out” Tevi, so to speak. No unnecessary bitchery (ahem) was afoot.

(In retrospect, having read the book in its entirety, I have the feeling that the readers will laugh once Tevi inevitably returns to her homeland and shoves her newfound badassery in their faces. Of course, I could be wrong, seeing as the rest of the series is already published, but I digress.)

For all their gripes about Tevi and her weakness, for she was pretty much the runt of the litter in her tribe, the author gave reasonable explanations later in the book to explain that Tevi may not be as worthless as she originally thought. It is always a good move on the author’s part to start the main character off in a position of low power and have them grow and become wiser and stronger, and this takes the twist of “you were always strong, just handicapped”. Getting ahead of myself, but I want to make the connection here. The discrimination Tevi experienced humbled her even further, and that is part of the reason why I cannot get mad at her magical strength over all others in the world beyond her home, although it seems to make her entirely too powerful at times.

Before anyone says anything, yes, she lost her eyesight because of her encounter with a basilisk. She lost it because she was curious and foolish, and even then, her eyesight was restored, better than before. So shush. She is overpowered at the moment. (And to that point, I did like how the author revealed Tevi’s eye color in such a manner).

Miss Fletcher creates two worlds for Tevi to live in, the first of which is her place of birth, an island where your blood determines your place in the hierarchy and homosexual behavior is strictly prohibited and punishable by death. Similar to our own world, hetersexual sex runs rampant throughout the colony and the impression is that pretty much every girl is very... “loose”, shall we say. I see this world as a reflection of the past, where kings and queens did rule, homosexuals were put to death, and people did not seriously consider the consequences of their sexual behaviors (*coughAIDScough*).

On the flipside, the mainland that Tevi travels to is governed by a system that takes into account ability and disregards all ties to blood. From the first family that Tevi travels with, we learn that children are expected to make their own livelihood, that they cannot depend on an inheritance. The government is comprised of the Coven, the elite of the sorcerers in the land, whose abilities are the product of their own work. Homosexual behavior is seen as normal, and to think otherwise is very alien, as seen by the difficult time that Jemeryl had when she tried to understand why Tevi was so “homophobic”. I believe this is Miss Fletcher’s vision of the direction our world should take, so this is a reflection of the future.

Before we touch romance, I want to comment on Tevi’s inability to differentiate between genders on the mainland. Is this another way that Miss Fletcher is saying how the way we dress and the way we act should not define our genders?

But of course, this is all my mad opinion.

Now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for... romance. Oh god. I had the horrible fear that Brec would be the eventual romance, but as time went on, that became less and less likely, and then Cayell came along and I almost punched Tevi through my computer screen for her idiocy in that failed relationship. I sincerely hope that Miss Fletcher patches things up between the two someday. By then, I was done expecting a decent relationship development.

Then Tevi took that trip up to the mountains and met the crazy sorcerer. Their initial meeting was... nothing special. Nothing jumped out. Tevi was blind and not really attracted to the person that was supposed to save her eyesight. Jemeryl was very attracted to Tevi immediately, but how are the readers supposed to connect with a character they had hardly met 20 pages before?

Their relationship seemed to develop further and further along, but I was sorely disappointed when they jumped straight to sex, what, 10 or so days after meeting? Granted, the sexual tension was there from the start, but there was no build up. For novels that span over three or so books, the relationship shouldn’t culminate in the span of 50 pages. Take your time, Fletcher! You have book space to work with! I do understand that she might’ve wanted the relationship to be there before the second book started, but it would have been great to tease the readers and end the first book with only a kiss. There’s nothing left to look forward to if they sex it up immediately.

Aaaaaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnnnnnnnnndddddd...

That is all, folks. That is all.

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As an end note, I would like to put a disclaimer that this is all my opinion. Feel free to agree or disagree, let me know, yadda yadda. I plan on reading more of the series and finishing it, unless one book leaves me so disgusted or bored that I can’t get through it all.

Vanui out.

Purchase here: at amazon