Blog of Destiny - Media Reviews

The Scratch Daughters by H. A. Clarke

2026-01-30T00:00:00+00:00

The Scratch Daughters is the sequel to The Scapegracers that I took my sweet time getting around to. This is less of a review and more of an addendum to August Clarke’s previous work, as everything that made the first book great is still here.

The prose remains as amazingly sickening as ever, and while it grapples with themes in a similar way to the first book, the themes it focuses on are different and provide new perspective on Sideways and the girls. It shifts and tightens its focus on gender, religion and forgiveness in a way that results in really satisfying payoffs as they weave constantly through the pages and intertwine with every character.

It also pays off things that I felt were left unfulfilled by The Scapegracers. I was delighted when it questions what ties these girls together beyond magic and reckons with the complicated, not-always-good people these girls can be. The honeymoon phase of their friendship is over, and Clarke uses this to demonstrate why they are all the more inseparable and makes you fall in love with them even more.

This is also one of those series where you can tell the author is figuring things out about themselves as they write, as the topic of gender becomes a lot more introspective and called into question throughout this entry. I had heard the second book gets more trans and gendery and the reports are true; as always with Scapegracers, it’s tackled in a delightfully fucky non-standard way.

I think I have to say I liked The Scratch Daughters even more than the first book. It does such a good job of expanding on themes, bringing in new ones and somehow finding time to tidy up rough edges as a cherry on top. I’m so excited to read the final book and the rest of Clarke’s works. Gods I cannot recommend this series enough.

A Little Vice by Erin Elkin/Shadell

2026-01-19T00:00:00+00:00

A Little Vice is something I was looking for but never expected to find, and then it gave me so much more than I ever asked. The novel-length web serial by Erin Elkin (screen name Shadell) explores transition in-depth using the framework of the behind-the-scenes of a magical girl show, showing the quiet moments and character interactions that happen between (and sometimes still in) fights.
Now I hear what you’re saying: Keystroke you handsome beautiful dazzling thing you, is this blog now a thinly-veiled ruse for you to talk about forcefem? And to that I say: Maybe. Possibly. Yes. Look; it’s not my fault that gendery stories tickle my brain in the way that makes me wanna write about them, and this has grounded stakes, a slow exploration of gender, one of the densest girls in fiction, and just a sprinkling of forcefem to top it all off.
I’m not a huge magical girl fan myself so I can’t speak too much to that element of this story, but it managed to embody the kind of fun you get from watching Sailor Moon while also being more grounded and conveying the experience in a fairly accessible way. The corny villains and dramatic speeches all make more sense because you get to know these characters and the framework behind their struggles, and that framework isn’t always as simple as good vs evil. Sometimes it does result in characters having multiple hidden identities, which gets confusing when every name for them is used interchangeably in a single scene.
Our main character C is such a failure of a boy and also a girl to be honest. Never have I related so hard to an idiot so in denial, and that’s at least half of the reason why I’m talking about this. Her journey of self discovery takes more than the whole book as she struggles with her identity, still considering herself a guy even after a magical girl transformation. She has to be tricked into using she/her pronouns by her chaotic partner-in-crime, who expertly diagnoses the situation upon talking to her for the first time and starts gendering her correctly to the confusion of literally everyone.
Despite her confusion, she gives everything her all and is such a drama queen about it; everyone’s doing their best to be supportive and understanding and that undermines her ability to be a dramatic sad“boy“, and she’s not having any of it! The drama must be upped; she must pronounce her past-self dead (but definitely not in a trans way) and declare herself irredeemable like a teen going through an emo phase (which in a way she is).
The amazing writing continues outside of C’s identity struggles. The story has a fun spectrum of characters with outside-the-norm presentations and not just a binary femme cast that similar stories tend to have, which just felt nice to be included as a non-binary non-passing trans girl. The focus is also moved away from just physically transitioning and hones in on the myriad of other aspects that make up someones identity and presentation and gives them so much room to breathe and be explored.
The physical transition is still an element though, and it’s also done really well; with a slow unwitting magic estrogenisation providing angst and character friction instead of simple wish fulfilment, and when the wish fulfilment comes it brings more complications without solving any issues. My philosophy on fictional transitions is simple: Do whatever results in the most angst (I love torturing blorbos someone take my fanfiction away).
Elkin has written one of my favourite books about transitioning, making me feel like I did when I read To Own the Libs but even more personal and explorative despite the much more fantastical elements. I strongly recommend this to anyone who loves reading about stupid girls, magical girls, and/or a little bit of forcegirls, there’s just so much to love.
She’s so fucking dense just like me frfr.

Akudama Drive and Religion

2025-07-20T00:00:00+00:00

While it isn’t necessarily one of the main themes of the show, Akudama Drive deals with the theme of religion in multiple ways.
The first example of religion being shown in the show is the Shinkansen, the holy train that the people of Kansai pray to. Its holiness stems from it being the only connection to Kanto, which is treated as the holy land or paradise, and the people worship the Shinkansen because it represents the path to that paradise. The Shinkansen station itself is akin to a temple, with the buttons to access the train being hidden behind Torii gates. Torii gates themselves are the gates that separate the mortal world from the world of spirits, commonly found at temples. Accessing the Shinkansen requires stepping into the world of divinity, separating it from mortals.
The executioners also deal with religion as they stand as the arm of Kanto within Kansai. The Boss of the executioners is the only one in Kansai we ever see directly communicating with Kanto, and she does it in a room reminiscent of temples. She kneels in front of artificial faces, submitting to her rulers, her gods. The executioners then follow her commands, and therefore follow the will of Kanto. The executioners are fanatics to their mission as it is their divine purpose.
Kanto itself is an artificial god, an amalgamation of likely millions of people and a supercomputer. Kanto wishes to become truly immortal, to truly become god. It trying to fuse with the siblings could be viewed as a parallel to Adam and Eve consuming the fruit of knowledge, though reversed as Kanto forces the siblings to consume it.
Swindler is Jesus, it is incredibly unsubtle; she gets crucified by the unjust authorities and becomes a martyr for a cause that topples the current regime.
There’s a bunch of other possibly religious imagery: The executioners headquarters that Courier topples could be viewed as the tower of Babel, an artificial attempt to reach god. The executioner light swords evoke the visuals of the branched sword in the vaguest possible way. Doctor’s entire god complex. The story itself is very Gnostic, with Kanto being the demiurge.

Akudama Drive (2020)

2025-07-20T00:00:00+00:00

Akudama Drive (2020) is a “heist” anime that really gets the punk in cyberpunk. On top of its stunning visuals, it is a high-stakes action-packed story with a tight focus on its characters and the system they live in.
The characters are diverse in their motivations, personalities and crimes, with the only thing uniting them being how fucked up they all are and that they all were conscripted under threat of death to perform an impossible heist. Throughout the story we see what drives them, as well as what separates the monsters on both sides of the law from people trying to do the right thing.
This focus on separating morality from legality and the injustice of policing is what makes this show feel truly cyberpunk over merely having a neon-soaked aesthetic. The Executioners are a special task force of police with the jurisdiction to execute Akudama (criminals) with limited oversight. They are state-sanctioned violence taken to the extreme and as the show progresses it gets harder and harder to differentiate them from the Akudama.
Just because the show’s cyberpunk themes go far beyond the visual, doesn’t mean that the art style isn’t striking. The visual designs of the Akudama are unique and chaotic, while the Executioners are all dressed in crisp, white uniforms lacking individuality, reflecting their role as the arm of the state.
The tension between chaos and order in the art design is reflected in the wider world, with the state infrastructure being clean, tidy and artificial while the criminal underworld is bathed in a mess of neon blood splatters. The rest of the city is caught in-between; a cyberpunk urban sprawl with as many neon lights as it has shadows.
How the story is paced is also unique. It starts out with a status quo that is quickly settled into over the course of five or so episodes before breaking it in a way that takes the show to new heights. It gets away with this multiple times and every time brings with it a new perspective that pulls you so much deeper.

Click here for spoilers.</summary>
The characters are what make this show truly great, each one with depth and purpose, but our two favourites exemplify this above all else:
The Courier is initially introduced as the only character purely motivated by money and only has love to show for his bike. However this transactional persona slowly falls away over the course of the show as he is revealed to be the only other character motivated by kindness, eventually giving up everything not for a cause but for people he believes in.
He’s also a feminist, which is why it wouldn’t be very feminist of him to take first place from a woman.
The Swindler is the heart and soul of the show. Her arc is the loss of innocence. Nominally our PoV character, she gets caught up in the scheme by accident and invents the persona of The Swindler to keep herself safe. However by crafting the fake persona of a brilliant liar, the longer she keeps up the facade the more she sinks into the role in a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Cutting her hair during the third act symbolises leaving her innocence behind (and makes her look like a hot butch), having now killed two men to protect Sister and realised how corrupt the system is after trying to return to society and finding herself unable to—having been branded an Akudama. When she finally embraces her role by planning out her first big deception not borne from panic or accident, she incites rebellion; finally earning her title card in her last moments.
As the rebellion takes hold in the streets the first bullet is fired by a child, parents murdered by the system that said it would protect them. </details>
Overall the show is a masterclass in subverting and surpassing expectations, and highly recommended even if you read past the spoilers as it is sure to remain an experience no matter how much knowledge you have. Also the implied trans villain is a bold move. Just an insane show.

Welcome to Dorley Hall by Alyson Greaves

2025-04-18T00:00:00+00:00

Welcome to Dorley Hall is the first book in an ongoing forcefem webfiction that is being now physically published by Alyson Greaves. As seems to be a theme with small published trans books, it takes the absurd premise of a forcefem cult and uses it delightfully seriously.
I’ve taken a few gender studies classes, and while I’ve been present for a lot of discussions of what Toxic Femininity is, and if it even exists, I think I can confidently say I’ve found it right here. Dorley Hall explores a program (or programme because this book is British) that takes extremely toxic men, and feminises them, while an innocent closeted trans girl gets caught in the mix.
Stef is one of the characters we follow stuck in “woke jail” (the basement) and is a lovely person deeply strugging with their gender identity. Despite their cell-mates being objectively pretty horrible people, the book managed to endear me to them as well. Together they manage to be human (and occasionally very funny) despite the other’s crimes, and being able to watch their slow character growth and bonding as Stef looks after them and ties them together was always my favourite sections to read.
The book also doesn’t shy away from the questions of gender raised by its absurd hypothetical. What is the gender identity of women who were forced to be so? Outside of the basement we follow hacker Christine (she just like me frfr) and delve into the above-ground politics of Dorley Hall.
The hall itself is a bit silly conceptually, and if the book was focused on anything other than its characters I doubt it would work. Thankfully that is exactly where the focus is: Each girl has their own story and struggles to deal with what happened to them. The way this is explored and navigated is done carefully and wonderfully, making the novel a clear stand out.
On a meta level, the cover for this book is gorgeous. I also respect Greaves a lot for her willingness to leave the original work up on Ao3 even when formally publishing the story. A lot of authors remove the original source of the works when physically publishing, which is understandable from a monetary perspective, but some go so far as to erase their existence as a webfiction author entirely.
It does make it frustrating to wait for the next book’s release however, knowing there is so much more online with a gap of almost a year between physical instalments. Makes me wonder what the point of such a gap between publications accomplishes, unless they really want to make sure the first book sells before doing the rest.
I want to study all the characters like bugs.

Ranma ½ (2024)

2025-03-03T00:00:00+00:00

Ranma ½ (2024) is a remake of a 1989 anime based on a 1986 manga that currently has one season. Featuring a martial arts boy in an arranged marriage with a martial arts girl, the twist is that when the boy gets splashed with cold water, he turns into a girl. I don’t think it’s very good.
I watched the Ranma remake because as a trans girl it’s just one of those shows it seems every other trans girl has seen, and I was hoping to get into some of the trans fanfiction of which there is an abundant amount unsurprisingly.
I didn’t have high expectations for the show based on what I had heard and what I expected from a manga and anime created in the 80s. I got what I expected largely; an anime with “whacky genderbending hijinks”, kinda pervy humour, and a lack to ever actually engage with its own premise.
One place it could use its premise is to engage with sexism, however not only does it never do this, you also just have to put up with constant teenage-boy-level sexism that just gets grating. I know it’s meant to be “in character”, but being annoying in character is still annoying. Avatar: The Last Airbender is a great example of a show that can intergrate sexism well while targetted at a younger audience, and Ranma falls flat on its face in comparison.
The show is also weirdly anti-queer. Like there’s standard not including queerness for an 80s show (though that isn’t exactly an excuse either, Sailor Moon originally aired 3 years after the original Ranma anime and they could also change things in the remake), and then there’s how much they have to go out of their way to avoid being queer due to the show’s premise.
Ranma has plenty of romantic interactions, however they are completely restricted to the opposite gender of whatever he currently is. He isn’t allowed to have tender moments with Akane in his girl form, and when he reveals the form changing to Shampoo she just leaves. This is to say nothing of Kodachi, who while being one of the most lesbian-coded characters I’ve ever seen is somehow apparently completely straight and only interested in Ranma’s guy form.
I was also warned prior to watching that the depiction of Chinese characters is not great and yeah… Outside of Shampoo (who is kind of painted as dumb but so are a lot of other characters), every other Chinese character such as the tour guide and the rest of the women in Shampoo’s village are depicted with caricatures.
There’s also a big idiot ball that gets passed around a lot in this show. As mentioned, Shampoo holds it for a substantial bit towards the end, but other characters get a turn such as Akane towards Ryoga/P-Chan’s liar-revealed plot. In general it just makes the show a great deal more frustrating to watch, and paints the involved characters as stupid.
My most petty complaint is that throughout the show, Ranma didn’t get a magical girl transformation sequence once. That would have at least been fun but we can’t even have that.
What makes all these worse and so much more conflicting for me is that sometimes Ranma does decide to be good and show how much potential it has. It has great animation, especially for fights, sometimes it is genuinely funny with a joke beyond just “haha, boobs”, and the characterisation is really strong and furthered by good dialogue, providing some character moments that really stand out.
One of these moments is in episode 8, after Ranma gets kissed by Mikado, and actually opens up his vulnerabilities to Akane. Not only is this moment tender, meaningful and just really fucking good, but overall whenever the romance between Ranma and Akane comes up it’s surprisingly good (when it’s not dumb). The show’s handling of consent is also well done, especially considering the kind of humour it usually employs.
I didn’t expect to write my thoughts on shows on this blog (as you can probably guess by the categories), but Ranma somehow gave me enough notes to make one with how much potential it constantly squanders and how sometimes it’s just really good out of nowhere.
The only people I’ve talked to so far who like the show are either guys who watched it when they were teenage boys, or girls who watched it when they were teenage boys.
Overall I don’t think it’s really worth watching unless;

You’re a teenager who has its sense of humour,</li>
An egg (there isn’t really any gender enjoyment other than the “wow I wish I could turn into a girl”, and when you’ve already turned into a girl that tends to fall flat), or</li>
Wanting to get into the fanfiction (it’s actually really good and picks up all the potential, gender and otherwise, the show dropped).</li> </ol>

Otherside Picnic by Iori Miyazawa

2025-02-27T00:00:00+00:00

Otherside Picnic is a Roadside Picnic-inspired yuri light novel by Iori Miyazawa that takes inspiration from internet horror stories and creepypastas for its ‘zone’. It features two girls with the closest kind of relationship in the world exploring a green and blue wasteland devoid of life; except for the horrors.
The girls themselves are lovely. Sorawo and Toriko can be really different but bounce off each other in ways that feel natural, and you get a very clear sense of how their relationship progresses throughout the story. As I learnt more about how each of the girls thinks and feels I was worried that the story might try to fit them into neat boxes, however Otherside Picnic embraces the messiness of relationships and labels completely, resulting in romances that feel unique and far more true to real life and my experiences.
The world-building is the other stand-out aspect of this series. The way The Otherside pulls inspiration from real-life internet horror stories (all indexed in the back of each novel) is fascinating, and the way this is treated academically in the text results in some of my favourite scenes. You can tell Miyazawa was extremely detail-oriented and asked questions about his own world, usually ones that preempted my own, making for a delightful lack of nitpicks if you’re like me and try to pick apart the logic behind everything.
This detail extends from the horror stories to other aspects like the guns, with not just how they function and are used, but also the logistics of transporting, supplying them and the legality involved, much to the delight of a gun nut like myself.
The primary flaw of these novels is the prose. It might come down to translation, but the prose can be jarring. This sometimes works for comedic moments, however most of the time it results in having to conciously put effort into reading instead of being effortlessly dragged along, as some good books can do. The pacing, however, is excellent. It provides enough space for all aspects of the novels to breathe and provides a surprising amount of falling action, which I’m always a fan of.
This review is short because overall this is just a really solid series with very few flaws and a couple of things that defy expectations. I can strongly recommend you give it a read.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

2025-01-13T00:00:00+00:00

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is a fun, sometimes emotional, little romp across the galaxy in the form of a sci-fi book written by Becky Chambers. It features a diverse cast of characters on a journey of ~~self-discovery</del> doing a job to get paid and making lots of stops along the way.~~
The characters are an interesting bunch and a fitting focal point of the book. As stated before the cast is diverse with some aliens, an AI, and of course humans thrown in the mix. The way they all interact and share their cultures is fun and interesting to read about.
Something that weakened the time spent with these characters was the way perspective jumps around, in an almost anthology-like way, between them. Because of this I don’t feel like I got the chance to get attached to anyone, and because most characters also have their own individual plotline happening while in their PoV, it means the plotlines also lack the depth for me to get invested.
This happened with most plotlines, including the romance happening over the course of the plot with two scenes leading up to it, one scene where it “happens”, and then is basically quiet for the rest of the book. I would have preferred the perspective stay attached to one character, such as the newbie Rosemary as her sheltered perspective is already used to introduce a lot of the alien concepts in the book and she is one of the most developed characters.
As for the overarching story, the book feels very plot driven with event after event just kind of happening to the crew on their way to leave for their journey. A few times probably wouldn’t have been as noticeable, but the way things happen contribute to the anthology-like feeling; the crew travels for a bit, something happens, they do something about it, then continue on their journey in a very monster-of-the-week kind of way.
Each of these events usually also result in one of the crewmates having their time in the spotlight to reveal their “secret” and receive character development. This ends up feeling extremely formulaic and like it’s trying to fulfil the blurb on the back. None of the secrets really change anything about how you view the character or turn into a situation that would be compelling to see unfold so it ultimately feels unfulfilling.
The worldbuilding in this book is a favourite. I loved learning about different alien cultures and history, what cool technology is around (like an inter-dimensional drill), or just whatever humanity has been up to between now and then. Chambers does a great job at fleshing out all corners of this universe with interesting side character and titbits that make it feel full and alive.
Overall the book is good and can be fun, just make sure you’re aware of the kind of book this is going in. The title and blurb makes it sound like a character-driven exploration of a crew stuck in isolation as they travel through deep space, however in actuality it is a plot-driven problem-of-the-week style romp through populated space, making pit stops along the way to the start of the journey (which is done in-between chapters in like 4 days).
I am interested in reading the robot girl sequel which focuses on a minor character present at the end of this book, as the world created is vibrant and I really want to learn more about it.

To Own the Libs by Zoe Storm

2024-11-30T00:00:00+00:00

To Own the Libs by Zoe Storm is exactly the kind of book I’ve been searching after for years. I think I found it when going down a Goodreads rabbit hole of trans books, and with a title like that how could it not grab my attention. Despite its meme-able name however, this book can be extremely serious, grounded and relatable on a personal level.
The premise is what draws you in, of course: A conservative-leaning man at a “woke” college decides to transition in order to prove that a cis guy could transition in order to get all the benefits in society women and trans people get (that are definitely real). Despite the outcome being obvious from the outset to any trans reader, Lily’s journey is what makes this novel compelling, as she struggles with politics, doubts, and a weird bubbly feeling inside her.
To Own the Libs starts with its premise that sounds outlandish and proceeds to take it seriously, grounding it in reality and exploring Lily’s mindset and, just as importantly, feelings that led her to these series of decisions. This story really gets those feelings right; the confusion of euphoria, the self-doubt in your identity, and the unravelling of political beliefs held in-part to keep you from your own happiness.
It doesn’t skip over the important step of figuring yourself out as so many other trans media do. Where they often start with a protagonist already sure of who they are, and if they don’t, figuring it out very quickly and definitively without the recognition that transition is an ongoing and constant discovery.
The novel also doesn’t shy away from topics like violence, as the threat queer people can face is taken just as seriously as the thoughts and emotions of our main character. Topics like misgendering, assault and even suicide and death come up and have gravity to them. It also goes into detail about hormones, which is another aspect that I don’t see in a lot of other stories, though it neglects some areas like blood tests.
Even with all the seriousness, there is still much humour to be found in Lily being an oblivious dolt that had me giggling like a madwoman by chapter 3. Her attempts to assert her masculinity sometimes sound like Shadow the Hedgehog in the kind of way only barely-adult teens can manage.
According to an author’s note, when To Own the Libs was originally published digitally it finished at the climax with only a short epilogue, providing minimal falling action. The ebook and print version added several extra post-scripts that extend the story, providing a nice feeling of winding down which I really appreciate as a goodbye to these characters.
The paperback isn’t the highest quality; mine was a little warped when it arrived (ordered from Blackwells) in a humidity kind of way and the page margins are super thin. It is still functional as a book however, there were no issues with ink bleeding and I read through the whole thing just fine. This was assisted by the prose, which is smooth and unobtrusive. While there is nothing that grabs your attention, there is also nothing that trips you up, making for a pleasant read.
Overall, this book is an amazing story about transitioning, not just a character who is trans. I can’t recommend it enough if you want to read a story about a girl slowly discovering herself, or were just a tough egg to crack and want to reminisce through someone who is somehow a bigger egg than you were.
She’s still cis tho ;3

The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin

2024-10-25T00:00:00+00:00

The Three-Body Problem is a science fiction novel originally released in China by Liu Cixin before being translated to English by Ken Liu. It features multiple storylines taking place at different points in time; one with a disgraced astrophysicist after the Chinese Cultural Revolution and one with a nanotechnology professor seeking to uncover a conspiracy.
The foreword present in the copy I have was slightly off-putting, as it espouses that humanity should direct lots of its resources to space defence in case first contact was established. I kind of think that we should address the problems we actually know we have first before starting an arms race against an enemy we don’t know exists. It’s clear that the future in Liu’s novel is drawn from this belief, and the book sometimes comes off as an exercise in justifying it.
The novel opens during the throes of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, and during this part of the book it is difficult to tell which parts are actually based in history, which parts are extrapolated from historical events, and which parts are completely made up. Without having studied Chinese history I found this confusing, however it ceases to be a problem past the first couple of chapters situated in the past.
When I received this book it was due to its status as a staple in the hard sci-fi genre. I can’t say I have a great amount of experience in the genre, but I consider The Martian and Andy Weir’s other books some of my favourite of all time. The Three-Body Problem felt nothing like that, the science is so advanced and theoretical it feels like it becomes closer to philosophy. The vibe it gave me was closer to Neon Genesis Evangelion than other sci-fi books I’ve read.
Despite this, at times it is very grounded in reality. The characters feel extreme but still real and anyone who is familiar with Posadism will recognise how some of the beliefs in this novel can appear.
Even though some nagging issues dominate this review (sorry), I nevertheless found The Three-Body Problem compelling enough to read through in the course of a couple of days. At its core it has a mystery with a strong through-line and I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the philosophy behind science and how it can be taken to extremes in this fictional setting.

The Scapegracers by H. A. Clarke

2024-06-10T00:00:00+00:00

The Scapegracers was recommended to me in a random Discord chat as I was bitching about how hard it was to try and find good queer non-contemporary fiction. Written by August Clarke as their debut book, as soon as I saw it involved lesbians, witches, deer and the colour purple it instantly shot to the top of my “to-read” list.
Scapegracers feels like an oddity among queer books I’ve read as it features neither the process of figuring out the lesbian, but also doesn’t just have it as a tangential trait while the protagonist goes off on an unrelated adventure. It focuses on Sideways, a girl who very much knows she likes girls but has no idea of her place in the world. This is all thrown into chaos when a magic trick performed for the popular girls clique goes too well and Sideways is pulled into their world and them into hers.
Clarke’s writing is extremely verbose, following Sideway’s stream of consciousness very closely and to a degree some readers might even find annoying. While it does feel like it sometimes drags in the slower points of the book, its visceral detail makes the magic and few action scenes feel hard and gritty and nauseating, making performing a spell feel akin to light body horror in some places. It can also be a source for light humour.

“What the fuck are bleacher gods?” The door was in sight, thank the bleacher gods… </blockquote>
Clarke isn’t interested in writing assimilationist narratives, stating in an interview that they intend to write messy queer characters that break the mould. Subsequently, queerness is at the forefront of The Scapegracers, with magic being a very clear metaphor as the other girls explore their potential sexuality through it and it is constantly described with ambiguity, fluidity and feeling. The book doesn’t shy away from homophobia either, from school bullies to the eventual reveal of the larger existential threat to the witches.
While very queer there isn’t much explicit transness, however Sideways makes it very clear that her lesbianism is very trans-inclusive, with the only mention of girldick I’ve read in a fictional book. Given how the author has since come out as some kinda genderfuck and I’ve been told book two gets fun with gender I’m very exited for when I get my hands on that!
One of the things I wish it delved more into was deconstructing the trope of the popular girl clique and the power dynamic it has with others. As Sideways is almost immediately adopted into the clique there isn’t much introspection as to how their social influence affects other people outside the clique, however when it delves into Sideway’s life before it absolutely destroys me.

I didn’t have any friends at all. Just me and my spell book. I mean, there were people I talked to in class, but that’s where the relationship ended. God, I hate that. I’d rather be a stranger than someone’s casual friend. At least with a stranger, there’s things to unwrap about each other. There’s a mystery there. People don’t care about their acquaintances’ mysteries. Why the hell would they? I don’t. I only went to parties because people didn’t know how to politely avoid inviting me. </blockquote>
Also I know she’s a lesbian but gods damn is Sideways a disaster like a woman pivotal to the mystery shows up and you’re too busy thinking gay shit to question her?? Girl please I am begging get your act together!!
Overall, Scapegracers is probably one of my favourite queer books ever, up there with Dreadnought and I cannot recommend it enough if you like lesbians, witches, messy young-adult magic drama, or all of the above.

Axiom's End by Lindsay Ellis

2023-12-07T00:00:00+00:00

Axiom’s End is a sci-fi first-contact novel by the ex-YouTuber, now Nebula-er(?) video essayist Lindsay Ellis. Set in 2007, it features Cora Sabino trying to live a normal life after her estranged father whistleblows a government cover-up of first contact in the wake of a large meteoric event. Her attempts are quickly thrown off when a second event happens right over her new workplace.
Lindsay has obviously written before, with a long history of video essays and previous fiction work, with Axiom’s End being her first published novel. Her experience shows, as her writing is compelling and interesting, with complex characters all explored through the relatable lens of a linguistics college dropout. We are kept grounded, even in completely foreign situations, through Cora’s thoughts and actions and we slowly get to understand the unknowable being through her effort.
I wish that linguistics had played a slightly bigger role in establishing communication. One of my favourite parts of Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary was the time spent on just establishing understanding between the two parties. While Babel fish doesn’t bother me in more fantasy sci-fi like Hitch-Hiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Doctor Who, I prefer harder sci-fi like Axiom’s End edges into to get a bit more in-detail instead of handwaving with a magic universal translator.
Despite the linguistics being rarely explored, this book is deeply invested in the alien society, and specifically how it relates, pushes up against, and may even be completely unknowable and incompatible to human society. The primary drive of this book may revolve around running, escaping, hiding and fighting various threats, but its ideological core remains around exploring if cohabitation or even friendship is possible across a galaxy-spanning cultural divide.
With this combination of grounded characters, character and plot-driven story, and a strong philosophical core to follow through; the book is effortlessly readable. It easily kept me invested and managed to keep me reading until well past my bedtime and into the morning. I can heartily recommend it.
And I still want to know how alien pronouns work!

Artemis by Andy Weir

2022-06-23T00:00:00+00:00

Artemis by Andy Weir is an awesome hard sci-fi action/mystery in which entire chapters of the climax are dedicated to welding and it could not be more riveting. Weir branches out a lot compared to his previous novels and it pays off, with more great characters and a diversity that makes the world feel alive.
Highly recommend (did not stay up from 2am to 6am reading it cover-to-cover shut up).