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aether's Reviews (111)

The Unwanted Guest

Tamsyn Muir

4.75

challenging funny reflective tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Tamsin does it again in this short play script!

Where Machines Run with Gold

Benjanun Sriduangkaew

4.5

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

Some fascinatingly mercurial characters, many of whom are trans in very cool ways. Lots of mystery!

All Orbits Decay Homeward

M. Zakharuk

4.5

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

Beautiful short fiction, just enough of the universe to tell what the author is trying to convey. I love the pieces that reference exactly how many milliseconds an operation takes, just to show the time scale.

The Demon of the House of Hua

Maria Ying

4.0

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

A cute, shorter look into the history of the Hua family, with some connections back to the main series. I enjoyed it! And it was quite hot in some places, describing demon sex is really something lol.

Wyrmheart: A Chainverse Novella

Vyria Durav

3.25

adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

A lovely interpretation of Maria Ying's chain universe by Vyria! I see much of her other work as influence to this. A cute story in two parts!

The Might of Monsters

Maria Ying

4.75

adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Half the people in this book are trans and it's always a joy to find out who they are! I love the way that Maria threads all of the characters together in the story. The betrayal and heartbreak that happened in this book are unlike some of the other stories she tells in this and her other series, but I feel it fits well.

The Grace of Sorcerers

Maria Ying

4.75

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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: Complicated

It is so incredible to see the characters of Those Who Bear Arms in an urban fantasy setting! The way Maria writes these women is so incredible, and the spicy scenes seriously make me bite my lip. They're something to behold, especially when you can literally bend the limits of reality! The transness in these books is not as apparent as the OG series, but still there which is welcome. I love the way Ying describes some of the magic that happens too, it's so visceral.

Any Other Name

Ela Bambust

4.0

adventurous emotional tense fast-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: No

This was a great, fun read about a girl finding herself! I squealed when

the pairing ceremony put Emily with another trans girl!

I also loved the digs and jabs at JKR's shitty wizarding world throughout the book, it was a pleasure to recognize those instances.

This book has some lovely ways of thinking about magic, and some interesting laws built into the nature of it. I was on my toes throughout and sped through the end of the book to find out what happened. I wish there were more scenes of Emily finding herself, bonding with Jenna, and just romance in general. All-in-all though, a wonderful read.