Scan barcode
bearish's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Literally a Trans Fairytale, Be Careful What You Wish For, Found Family, Aggressive Symbolism, TFW Your Polycule All Has the Same Name, Featuring: A Fun Bird God!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia and Deadnaming
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
venatrix's review against another edition
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I had some very mixed feelings about this book. It felt like there was a lot of potential in the world but something about the writing style made it fall flat for me.
We follow two older trans people - a man who recently transitioned and a woman who transitioned as a child. While they were physically on the same journey, it was emotionally very different.
The woman, Uiziya, is a weaver who feels her training was left incomplete when her aunt was exiled. She wants to find her aunt to finish learning. I had a very hard time with her chapters. She had the more interesting story in what she did (especially at the end) but… I just couldn’t believe her as a character. She felt like a child - at most in her early 20s - rather than a woman in her 60s. I was baffled how this woman has made a living for herself for decades when she seemed so paralyzed by the loss of her teacher. This feeling of childishness was furthered because the writing felt very abrupt and disjointed to me.
The woman, Uiziya, is a weaver who feels her training was left incomplete when her aunt was exiled. She wants to find her aunt to finish learning. I had a very hard time with her chapters. She had the more interesting story in what she did (especially at the end) but… I just couldn’t believe her as a character. She felt like a child - at most in her early 20s - rather than a woman in her 60s. I was baffled how this woman has made a living for herself for decades when she seemed so paralyzed by the loss of her teacher. This feeling of childishness was furthered because the writing felt very abrupt and disjointed to me.
The nameless man is trying to figure out where he fits in the world after his transition. I very much enjoyed his journey to find where he belongs, as he’s had decades of living as a woman in a culture with very rigid gender roles. His insecurity of what was his role as a man, fear of rejection and the pain of being deadnamed made the nameless man feel a real person with whom I was invested. I greatly appreciated his point of view. The writing for his chapters worked much better, as I felt it conveyed his confusion and insecurity.
The world was intriguing. But it was a setting, never feeling truly explored. I would have liked to know more about the world and its magic (through the lens of the nameless man only.) The ending just felt like a thing that happened rather than something being built to.
In summation… The Four Profound Weaves had one character I was invested in, with the rest of the book feeling a skeleton. I can see the potential, but it’s not quite there for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Death
gay's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming and Transphobia
perpetualpages's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
5.0
CWs: transphobia, misgendering, and deadnaming; death; blood, graphic violence and description of injury; some scenes containing beating and physical assault
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Violence and Death
Minor: Blood
coreym's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
reviewsandreadathons's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
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? It's complicated
3.75
This is a book that just plops you into the world with very little explanation. I did read a novelette set in the Birdverse first and that seemed to acquaint me a little more. Beautiful writing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Transphobia, Torture, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
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
wardenred's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
slow-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
5.0
For we are all woven of words; and after we go, it is our tales that remain, wandering around the desert with the wind.
This is the kind of book I qualify as a "quick read with a lasting impression." The two main strengths here are the characterization and the worldbuilding. The two main characters, both transgender in their sixties, are journeying through a desert, searching for past and future alike. The story unfolds slowly at first, then picks up the pace slightly in the latter half when more secrets are brought to light and the external stakes rise higher. Even in the external conflict, the focus remains staunchly on self-change, self-discovery, personal truth, and the courage it sometimes takes to not let go of yourself.
Both the way the story is structured and the way the setting unfolds in front of the reader's eyes, reminded me of the weaving that's so important to this tale and this world. At first, there's a collection of individual threads, each of them bright and intriguing, but you have no idea how they fit together. As the novella progresses, they do begin to fit together, forming a rich, unique tapestry that is seriously hard to talk about without giving too much away. It's a word that both a lot more inclusive than what a lot of us are used to and just as strictly gender-roled, even if the roles are different. It's a world of imaginative divine magic. It's a desert with ghost snakes and assassins. It's scary and strange and beautiful all at once.
The writing remains smooth and lyrical throughout, and the characters really, really shine on every page with all the experience they'd amassed way before this story began, the positive and the negative and the in-between. The Four Profound Weaves reminded me of some of my favorite books, taking the most interesting parts of them and mashing them together: it's not unlike The Balance Academy series by S.E. Robertson in how the characters undertake a physical journey that's really all about the inner change, and the focus on the older protagonists who are still in the thick of things, leaving through complex internal arcs and taking active part in external events, reminded me of Ravenwood by Nathan Lowell.
I think I'll end my ramblings here, because there are so many details I want to talk about, but the story is so intricate and thus so easy to spoil: some of the details may seem simple if you just know about them going in, but the way they unfold, the way you learn about them as you read, is a huge part of the magic. Very highly recommended, especially to my fellow queer/trans readers.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Death
drp_moonlight's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
The Four Profound Weaves follows two transgender elders who must learn to weave from Death. I enjoyed the message and the story, but I couldn't help to feel that this was part of a series (which it is). I felt like I was too quickly dropped into an unfamiliar world with a complicated mythology that I couldn't really grasp onto until the very end. Overall a quick and emotional read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming
Moderate: Body horror, Gore, and Transphobia
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
The book features death and talk of death heavily.