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A review by etemp
Sword Dance by A.J. Demas
3.75
its nice to know that there are people out there who properly hate philosophers (the xenophobic ones, at least) and feel the need to immortalize that hatred in a full length novel. i appreciate that.
this book gives a lot of knives out vibes, also netflix's decameron, if you've seen that, with a splash of home alone, except that everyone is vaguely mediterranean. the two leads, damiskos and varazda, are both quite prickly and grumpy, which is a fun dynamic to see once they get under each other's skin. i wouldn't say that it's an 'opposites attract' dynamic as the summary implies, it's more that they're mutually aligned against the racist idiots surrounding them and that they each have different strengths in thwarting the racist idiots. but it's written really well, no matter what! they have fun, flirty banter and they care about each other a lot and they work really well as a team. i kind of love them.
i don't think i've ever read a book where one of the main love interests was a eunuch, so this was new territory for me. the writing surrounding varazda's gender identity was so interesting and heartfelt, and i really appreciated the care that the author took to make his experience nuanced. the same goes for the writing of dami's disability as well as both characters' ptsd. they were always so gentle with each other without coming across as ingenuine or stiff, so snaps for that.
i also really liked the way that dami led the group of women and children (plus varazda ofc) against the racist idiots as if they were his military unit. it was really sweet to see him adapt his methods to suit their abilities and vulnerabilities, giving them confidence in their security to defend themselves. it was really empowering without forcing them to all be girlbosses or something cliche.
unfortunately i do have to knock some points off for how much air-time the racist idiots got with their philosophizing. it made me feel icky to read, even if the author and the main characters were all condemning it. it was too similar to maga stuff that i've heard people say in real life, and i don't look for that in my escapist fiction.
this book gives a lot of knives out vibes, also netflix's decameron, if you've seen that, with a splash of home alone, except that everyone is vaguely mediterranean. the two leads, damiskos and varazda, are both quite prickly and grumpy, which is a fun dynamic to see once they get under each other's skin. i wouldn't say that it's an 'opposites attract' dynamic as the summary implies, it's more that they're mutually aligned against the racist idiots surrounding them and that they each have different strengths in thwarting the racist idiots. but it's written really well, no matter what! they have fun, flirty banter and they care about each other a lot and they work really well as a team. i kind of love them.
i don't think i've ever read a book where one of the main love interests was a eunuch, so this was new territory for me. the writing surrounding varazda's gender identity was so interesting and heartfelt, and i really appreciated the care that the author took to make his experience nuanced. the same goes for the writing of dami's disability as well as both characters' ptsd. they were always so gentle with each other without coming across as ingenuine or stiff, so snaps for that.
i also really liked the way that dami led the group of women and children (plus varazda ofc) against the racist idiots as if they were his military unit. it was really sweet to see him adapt his methods to suit their abilities and vulnerabilities, giving them confidence in their security to defend themselves. it was really empowering without forcing them to all be girlbosses or something cliche.
unfortunately i do have to knock some points off for how much air-time the racist idiots got with their philosophizing. it made me feel icky to read, even if the author and the main characters were all condemning it. it was too similar to maga stuff that i've heard people say in real life, and i don't look for that in my escapist fiction.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping
Moderate: Cursing, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Transphobia, Blood, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape, Suicide, Trafficking