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prosenheim's review against another edition
dark
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Moderate: Murder, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Misogyny, Confinement, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Self harm
jjjreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Outing, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Abandonment, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture
rorikae's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
'The Four Profound Weaves' by R.B. Lemberg is a thoughtful novella that follows two past friends as they attempt to rescue an item of value from an insidious collector.
Uiziya and the nameless man were acquaintances once upon a time and they reconnect as Uiziya seeks to learn the four profound weaves from her aunt and the nameless man seeks to be recognized for who he is. When Uizaya's aunt sets her a task to retrieve a weave from a local ruler who hoards treasures, the nameless man chooses to accompany her. This ruler holds something precious to him as well and by helping Uizaya complete this task, he may be able to finally close a chapter of his life that was previously stolen from him.
This novella is honestly hard to describe because Lemberg packs so much into a short length. The story feels far more expansive than one might think from the page count but I think this is in part because this is part of a wider universe that Lemberg often writes in. It is clear that they have spent a lot of time exploring this world and that comes through in this novella. There is a clear mythology within the world and this is explored throughout this particular story.
Ultimately, this is a story about trans identity. Both of the main characters are trans and each is grappling with different aspects of their identity. Uiziya has been hoping to learn from her aunt for years and this expectation has become a part of herself. The nameless man is seeking to be accepted for who he is after a lifetime of being deadnamed and having his identity rejected.
I am very excited to read more of Lemberg's work in the Birdverse. There are many pieces available on their website and I hope that we will see longer works in this world published in the future. I will definitely be following along for more of their work.
Uiziya and the nameless man were acquaintances once upon a time and they reconnect as Uiziya seeks to learn the four profound weaves from her aunt and the nameless man seeks to be recognized for who he is. When Uizaya's aunt sets her a task to retrieve a weave from a local ruler who hoards treasures, the nameless man chooses to accompany her. This ruler holds something precious to him as well and by helping Uizaya complete this task, he may be able to finally close a chapter of his life that was previously stolen from him.
This novella is honestly hard to describe because Lemberg packs so much into a short length. The story feels far more expansive than one might think from the page count but I think this is in part because this is part of a wider universe that Lemberg often writes in. It is clear that they have spent a lot of time exploring this world and that comes through in this novella. There is a clear mythology within the world and this is explored throughout this particular story.
Ultimately, this is a story about trans identity. Both of the main characters are trans and each is grappling with different aspects of their identity. Uiziya has been hoping to learn from her aunt for years and this expectation has become a part of herself. The nameless man is seeking to be accepted for who he is after a lifetime of being deadnamed and having his identity rejected.
I am very excited to read more of Lemberg's work in the Birdverse. There are many pieces available on their website and I hope that we will see longer works in this world published in the future. I will definitely be following along for more of their work.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Torture, Deadnaming, Death, Murder, and Transphobia
Moderate: Confinement
micheala's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
This is an interesting take on a coming of age novel in that both the main characters are in their mid-60s and are only now finally figuring out how to be who they are.
Seeing the nameless man's journey was more impactful for me then Uiziya's as I never really connected to her motivation.
R.B. Lemberg has previously published poetry in this universe and I feel that that can clearly be felt in the prose style. It was more flowery and metaphorical than I typically enjoy.
The world is really interesting, but it's also definitely on the weird side of fantasy. As much as I really appreciated the desert setting and clearly non-Western based cultures, the magic system was hard for me to wrap my head around. I'm not sure if I would have had an easier time if I had read the short stories set in this universe before hand, or this is just a system that my brain is going to struggle to get anyways.
If you're interested in queer stories by queer authors, you don't mind your fantasy being on the weird end of the scale, and/or you enjoy novellas, I would recommend this.
On that note, however, there are two big trigger warnings that I think are important to know before heading into this, particularly if you are not cis: The nameless man gets dead-named and misgendered on several occasions by different people in the latter half of the book
Seeing the nameless man's journey was more impactful for me then Uiziya's as I never really connected to her motivation.
R.B. Lemberg has previously published poetry in this universe and I feel that that can clearly be felt in the prose style. It was more flowery and metaphorical than I typically enjoy.
The world is really interesting, but it's also definitely on the weird side of fantasy. As much as I really appreciated the desert setting and clearly non-Western based cultures, the magic system was hard for me to wrap my head around. I'm not sure if I would have had an easier time if I had read the short stories set in this universe before hand, or this is just a system that my brain is going to struggle to get anyways.
If you're interested in queer stories by queer authors, you don't mind your fantasy being on the weird end of the scale, and/or you enjoy novellas, I would recommend this.
On that note, however, there are two big trigger warnings that I think are important to know before heading into this, particularly if you are not cis:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming and Death
Moderate: Blood, Misogyny, Murder, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia
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