Rachel Manija Brown's Blog, page 41
December 12, 2022
Biggles fic - The Darkening Dust
Apparently today is Biggles Day. Guess what option won my poll yesterday?
The Darkening Dust.
This is an outtake from "von Stalhein in the Light." It takes place on the plane, in the time when the story breaks from von Stalhein's POV and picks up with Biggles in the hospital.
You are in the middle of a mission, Erich told himself. You cannot let yourself be distracted by injuries or pain or— He saw the danger in even pursuing that thought, and concluded, or anything. What you need is a task to focus on.
(Clearly the best way to distract yourself from thinking you got the love confession you want more than anything, in circumstances in which you can't believe it's true, is to... Well, here is a very accurate comment I got on this fic, from![[personal profile]](https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/hostedimages/1491408111i/22407843.png)
cefyr
: Sometimes all you need in a fic is fluffy angsting over how pretty and competent Biggles is.)
comments
The Darkening Dust.
This is an outtake from "von Stalhein in the Light." It takes place on the plane, in the time when the story breaks from von Stalhein's POV and picks up with Biggles in the hospital.
You are in the middle of a mission, Erich told himself. You cannot let yourself be distracted by injuries or pain or— He saw the danger in even pursuing that thought, and concluded, or anything. What you need is a task to focus on.
(Clearly the best way to distract yourself from thinking you got the love confession you want more than anything, in circumstances in which you can't believe it's true, is to... Well, here is a very accurate comment I got on this fic, from
cefyr
: Sometimes all you need in a fic is fluffy angsting over how pretty and competent Biggles is.) comments
Biggles in the Terai, by W. E. Johns
Algy goes missing while investigating gold smuggling near the Terai, a jungle region between India and Nepal. By the time this is reported to Biggles, he's presumed dead. Biggles immediately takes Bertie with him to go find Algy--one way or another.
This is a very fun book, partly because of the unusual team-up of just Biggles and Bertie. Bertie is sweet, competent, and extremely self-deprecating, which made me wonder if it's his personality or a cultural norm for behavior if you're a Lord and with people who aren't, so you don't seem like you're LORDing it over them. There's a good mystery, a ton of India-Nepal border atmosphere, and lots of nice opportunities for Biggles to be comfortable in a place he knows well.
It is also astonishingly not very racist! That is, there is some of-the-time language, but there's a lot of Indian and Nepali characters, and they're all portrayed as just people: some heroic, some criminal, some ordinary. I particularly enjoyed the young aspiring pilot who tags along on their adventures and a matter-of-factly heroic Gurkha.
India here is very clearly not the India of The Boy Biggles. Time has moved on and language has changed - something acknowledged in the book itself.
Biggles and his crew are also noticeably older than they are in some of the earlier books. They don't age in real time, but they do age; in some of the later books, including this one, they're clearly middle-aged. One of the most striking scenes is when Biggles gets in a dogfight and realizes that it's been years since he's been in one. The other pilot has absolutely no chance against him because Biggles is an actual aerial combat veteran and his opponent seems to be just a guy doing crimes. Biggles tries to warn him, but of course that's not something you can really convey from an airplane...
I feel that it is not a spoiler to say that Algy is not in fact dead. But given that he's presumed dead for a lot of the book, I wished the characters were slightly less stiff upper lip about it. The first chapter in particular needed more quiet freaking out of the sort everyone else did when Biggles went missing in Biggles Fails To Return. I felt a bit angst-deprived, and also post-rescue comfort-deprived.
As a result, there are several Terai-based fics I would like to recommend:
Sunflowers, by
sholio
. Very touching post-rescue missing scene which also deals with the passage of time.
Fracture Reduction, by
blackbentley
. "Okay. You're fine. Good for you. But have you ever considered what this has been like for me?" Ginger asked. (Spoiler: Algy is not fine.)
Good Neighbors, by
sholio
. After the events of the book, Algy gets a visitor while the others are away.
[image error] [image error]
comments
This is a very fun book, partly because of the unusual team-up of just Biggles and Bertie. Bertie is sweet, competent, and extremely self-deprecating, which made me wonder if it's his personality or a cultural norm for behavior if you're a Lord and with people who aren't, so you don't seem like you're LORDing it over them. There's a good mystery, a ton of India-Nepal border atmosphere, and lots of nice opportunities for Biggles to be comfortable in a place he knows well.
It is also astonishingly not very racist! That is, there is some of-the-time language, but there's a lot of Indian and Nepali characters, and they're all portrayed as just people: some heroic, some criminal, some ordinary. I particularly enjoyed the young aspiring pilot who tags along on their adventures and a matter-of-factly heroic Gurkha.
India here is very clearly not the India of The Boy Biggles. Time has moved on and language has changed - something acknowledged in the book itself.
Biggles and his crew are also noticeably older than they are in some of the earlier books. They don't age in real time, but they do age; in some of the later books, including this one, they're clearly middle-aged. One of the most striking scenes is when Biggles gets in a dogfight and realizes that it's been years since he's been in one. The other pilot has absolutely no chance against him because Biggles is an actual aerial combat veteran and his opponent seems to be just a guy doing crimes. Biggles tries to warn him, but of course that's not something you can really convey from an airplane...
I feel that it is not a spoiler to say that Algy is not in fact dead. But given that he's presumed dead for a lot of the book, I wished the characters were slightly less stiff upper lip about it. The first chapter in particular needed more quiet freaking out of the sort everyone else did when Biggles went missing in Biggles Fails To Return. I felt a bit angst-deprived, and also post-rescue comfort-deprived.
As a result, there are several Terai-based fics I would like to recommend:
Sunflowers, by
sholio
. Very touching post-rescue missing scene which also deals with the passage of time. Fracture Reduction, by
blackbentley
. "Okay. You're fine. Good for you. But have you ever considered what this has been like for me?" Ginger asked. (Spoiler: Algy is not fine.) Good Neighbors, by
sholio
. After the events of the book, Algy gets a visitor while the others are away.[image error] [image error]
comments
December 11, 2022
Polls, marzipan, biplanes, bread, and what happens after you eat bread. Or marzipan. Or anything.
View Poll: #28009
"Bake bread" is not on the poll because it's rising right now.
Regarding my poll yesterday, I read Biggles in the Terai, tidied the house a bit, cuddled my cats a lot, watched some more Andor, and dumped lot of dead leaves into the chicken coop - just in time, as it's been pouring all day. (To be clear, the chickens were never in any danger - their run just gets unhygienically gross.)
I am still looking for recommendations on delicious foods that can be shipped as a holiday gift to me. I have no dietary restrictions and eat everything. Hyper-local to somewhere not California is a plus
estara
provided a link to delicious marzipan. While poking around the site, I discovered this peculiar figure, which sent me on a fascinating internet rabbit hole. Perhaps I will order a caganer figure as a holiday gift for one of the multiple poo-obsessed small boys in my life.
Finally, in this medley of extemporanea, I wanted to mention that I read Stephen Graham Jones' My Heart is a Chainsaw and will post a review on Tuesday, if anyone wants to read before then so they can discuss. I will post a non-spoilery review and link to
sholio
's spoilery discussion. It's a fast read and very good. Warnings for basically everything, but especially slasher-style gore/grossness.
[image error] [image error]
comments
"Bake bread" is not on the poll because it's rising right now.
Regarding my poll yesterday, I read Biggles in the Terai, tidied the house a bit, cuddled my cats a lot, watched some more Andor, and dumped lot of dead leaves into the chicken coop - just in time, as it's been pouring all day. (To be clear, the chickens were never in any danger - their run just gets unhygienically gross.)
I am still looking for recommendations on delicious foods that can be shipped as a holiday gift to me. I have no dietary restrictions and eat everything. Hyper-local to somewhere not California is a plus
estara
provided a link to delicious marzipan. While poking around the site, I discovered this peculiar figure, which sent me on a fascinating internet rabbit hole. Perhaps I will order a caganer figure as a holiday gift for one of the multiple poo-obsessed small boys in my life.Finally, in this medley of extemporanea, I wanted to mention that I read Stephen Graham Jones' My Heart is a Chainsaw and will post a review on Tuesday, if anyone wants to read before then so they can discuss. I will post a non-spoilery review and link to
sholio
's spoilery discussion. It's a fast read and very good. Warnings for basically everything, but especially slasher-style gore/grossness.[image error] [image error]
comments
December 10, 2022
Weekend Poll
Everything on here is something I actually want to do and would enjoy doing - no unpleasant chores here, even if they sound like chores.
View Poll: #28000
comments
View Poll: #28000
comments
December 9, 2022
Biggles fic by me
I have written a sequel to my "Biggles and von Stalhein are forced to work together to escape a pitch-black cave" story, Biggles in the Dark.
von Stalhein in the Light picks up immediately after "Biggles in the Dark" leaves off, so you do need to read that one first.
Algy could carry Biggles to the aeroplane, but then he had to fly it. He couldn’t keep him awake and give him water in tiny sips all the way back to England.
There was only one person who could do that.
I can’t believe I’m even considering this, Algy thought.
It's 11,000 words, so that's what I've been doing while everything else piles up around me.
comments
von Stalhein in the Light picks up immediately after "Biggles in the Dark" leaves off, so you do need to read that one first.
Algy could carry Biggles to the aeroplane, but then he had to fly it. He couldn’t keep him awake and give him water in tiny sips all the way back to England.
There was only one person who could do that.
I can’t believe I’m even considering this, Algy thought.
It's 11,000 words, so that's what I've been doing while everything else piles up around me.
comments
December 6, 2022
Biggles in the Orient, by W. E. Johns
This book is exactly as racist as you would expect from the title, which is especially unfortunate as it's otherwise a really good story with an unusual, clever plot. It's a wartime mystery and it's very well-done.
In WWII, Biggles and his squadron are transported in deep secrecy, finally ending up on a base in India. There's an important supply route between India and China, but planes which fly it have been crashing inexplicably. There's no apparently sabotage, nor are they getting shot down as far as anyone can tell. At some point in a routine flight, they drop out of radio contact, fly erratically for a minute or so, then crash. So far there have been no survivors, and so many men and planes have been lost that the base is having a collective nervous breakdown, with men drinking heavily and generally coming undone.
Biggles proceeds to investigate this under incredibly tense circumstances in which he or his men are liable to die any time they fly the route, all the obvious checks have already been done, and he's now in charge of men who are already burned out and ready to throw their lives away just to get it over with.
The mystery plot is great, there's some good adventure scenes, and one of the aerial battles is among his best aerial battle sequences that I've read so far - it's terrifying, horrifying, and beautifully written.
Aaaaaand also there is a lot of racism. A LOT of racism. Though at one point Biggles tells his men not to call Indians "natives" because it's discourteous. JOHNS. You were so close!
Spoilers!
( Read more... )
[image error] [image error]
comments
In WWII, Biggles and his squadron are transported in deep secrecy, finally ending up on a base in India. There's an important supply route between India and China, but planes which fly it have been crashing inexplicably. There's no apparently sabotage, nor are they getting shot down as far as anyone can tell. At some point in a routine flight, they drop out of radio contact, fly erratically for a minute or so, then crash. So far there have been no survivors, and so many men and planes have been lost that the base is having a collective nervous breakdown, with men drinking heavily and generally coming undone.
Biggles proceeds to investigate this under incredibly tense circumstances in which he or his men are liable to die any time they fly the route, all the obvious checks have already been done, and he's now in charge of men who are already burned out and ready to throw their lives away just to get it over with.
The mystery plot is great, there's some good adventure scenes, and one of the aerial battles is among his best aerial battle sequences that I've read so far - it's terrifying, horrifying, and beautifully written.
Aaaaaand also there is a lot of racism. A LOT of racism. Though at one point Biggles tells his men not to call Indians "natives" because it's discourteous. JOHNS. You were so close!
Spoilers!
( Read more... )
[image error] [image error]
comments
December 5, 2022
The Monster of Elendhaven, by Jennifer Giesbrecht
Monster was the best, his favourite word. The first half was a kiss, the second a hiss.
In the gross and grimdark city of Elendhaven, where the sea is poisonous and even the drinking water is coal-black due to a magical apocalypse, a creepy nameless child gets abused, takes the name of Johann, and becomes a serial killer. Johann discovers that he has Wolverine-like healing powers and cannot be killed; he uses this power to continue randomly murdering people because he's a monster, an identity he cherishes.
Johann learns that a fragile and fancy accountant named Florian Leickenbloom is secretly a sorcerer, and demands that Florian employ him and find out what he is. Florian, mildly intrigued, takes Johann in and tells him he'll be a part of Florian's grand plan to get revenge on Elendhaven for killing his family.
The entire rest of the book is Johann flirting with Florian, Florian not really reciprocating, and the two of them murdering a lot of people. It's very lushly written, mostly descriptions of gross stuff because in this world everything is gross. Everything is also anticlimactic. There's a series of revelations that should be cool, but they all fall flat because by the time I realized they were supposed to be revelatory, they'd already been revealed in a more low-key way like thirty pages back. We learn more about what connects Johann and Florian, but that's also anticlimactic because it doesn't change anything about their relationship.
Spoilers! ( Read more... )
Out of the many problems I had with this book, the one which really prevented me from enjoying it was that I didn't care about or enjoy reading about any of the characters. I love horror and noir, which are both genres in which the characters are often bad people, not intended to be likable, etc. So I absolutely don't have to like a character or have them be a good person to enjoy a story about them. Walter White, Annie Wilkes, and Norma Desmond are 100% terrible people, but they're magnetic and I can't get enough of them.
Johann and Florian are one-note and boring. Murder and sociopathy are not interesting by themselves. There are much better books about gay murderers. (Also, there's not even that much gayness! It's just one-sided flirting.)
Content notes: child sexual abuse, graphic gore, vomit, general grossness, edgelord vibes, weird race stuff.
In general, the book felt stylish but pointless. However, I read it because I'd seen multiple raves about it, so this may be a minority opinion.
[image error] [image error]
comments
In the gross and grimdark city of Elendhaven, where the sea is poisonous and even the drinking water is coal-black due to a magical apocalypse, a creepy nameless child gets abused, takes the name of Johann, and becomes a serial killer. Johann discovers that he has Wolverine-like healing powers and cannot be killed; he uses this power to continue randomly murdering people because he's a monster, an identity he cherishes.
Johann learns that a fragile and fancy accountant named Florian Leickenbloom is secretly a sorcerer, and demands that Florian employ him and find out what he is. Florian, mildly intrigued, takes Johann in and tells him he'll be a part of Florian's grand plan to get revenge on Elendhaven for killing his family.
The entire rest of the book is Johann flirting with Florian, Florian not really reciprocating, and the two of them murdering a lot of people. It's very lushly written, mostly descriptions of gross stuff because in this world everything is gross. Everything is also anticlimactic. There's a series of revelations that should be cool, but they all fall flat because by the time I realized they were supposed to be revelatory, they'd already been revealed in a more low-key way like thirty pages back. We learn more about what connects Johann and Florian, but that's also anticlimactic because it doesn't change anything about their relationship.
Spoilers! ( Read more... )
Out of the many problems I had with this book, the one which really prevented me from enjoying it was that I didn't care about or enjoy reading about any of the characters. I love horror and noir, which are both genres in which the characters are often bad people, not intended to be likable, etc. So I absolutely don't have to like a character or have them be a good person to enjoy a story about them. Walter White, Annie Wilkes, and Norma Desmond are 100% terrible people, but they're magnetic and I can't get enough of them.
Johann and Florian are one-note and boring. Murder and sociopathy are not interesting by themselves. There are much better books about gay murderers. (Also, there's not even that much gayness! It's just one-sided flirting.)
Content notes: child sexual abuse, graphic gore, vomit, general grossness, edgelord vibes, weird race stuff.
In general, the book felt stylish but pointless. However, I read it because I'd seen multiple raves about it, so this may be a minority opinion.
[image error] [image error]
comments
December 4, 2022
My Fic in a Box stories
I wrote EIGHT stories for Fic in a Box! I had a really good time with this exchange - I wrote a lot, and there were a lot of great stories to read and beautiful art to admire.
Biggles - W. E. Johns
If you haven't read any of the books, all you need to know is that "Biggles" Bigglesworth and his buddy Algy Lacey have been pilots since fighting in WWI together, and Erich von Stalhein has been Biggles' nemesis since that time. Biggles and von Stalhein have a kind of "beloved enemy," mutual respect, flirt in between shooting dynamic. Canonically, von Stalhein starts out as a German spy in WWI.
Spoilers for his arc in the book series. ( Read more... )
I'm avoiding spoilers for my own stories in the body of the post, but feel free to post spoilery comments in comments.
Biggles in the Dark. Biggles and von Stalhein are forced to work together when an explosion traps them in a pitch-black cave.
This was really fun to write as they're doing all sorts of things in absolute darkness, so there are no visual descriptions for most of it. Also, Biggles is a sort of unreliable narrator in this story, as there's something very important going on that he doesn't understand but the reader does. I love writing with those sorts of pre-set rules/restrictions.
Aid and Comfort. A standoff between Biggles and von Stalhein leads to them spending the night together in a freezing cabin.
Also very fun to write. Biggles is so very Biggles that it nearly breaks von Stalhein's brain. Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Fever, Delirium, Canadian Shack, Home Improvement, Spies & Secret Agents.
With My Own Hands. When an undercover job goes wrong, Biggles is forced to torture von Stalhein.
The torture, I should note, is brief and fairly mild as torture goes. And yes, I also really enjoyed writing this. They're working together rather than enemies in this one, and I love undercover stories and people having to communicate with each other without onlookers realizing what's going on.
Danny Dunn series - Jay Williams
Mrs. Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Date. After an accident at the lab, Mrs. Dunn and Carl Ellison have their first date on the ceiling.
All you need to know to read this story is that Mrs. Dunn is the live-in housekeeper for an eccentric professor who invents things like shrinking rays, and Carl Ellison is a cop who bonds/flirts with her over coffee in one of the books.
I have always loved looking at ceilings and imagining being gravity-reversed so I have to walk around the ceiling fan.
Deliverance (Movie)
Trust Fall. Bobby tries to bury the memory of what happened to him, until his insurance agency mandates a team-building camping retreat.
I watched the movie recently. Cultural osmosis has reduced it to a joke reference to an extremely non-jokey scene, but it's much more than either the meme or the scene. It's got excellent performances, beautiful cinematography, and some interesting commentary on toxic masculinity, nature, and civilization.
But of course, my immediate reaction was that I really wanted to write a coda for Bobby. How do you deal with a trauma that's so socially unacceptable to experience?
江湖 | Triad Underworld (Movie)
Cena. Hung Yan-Jau and Lefty at the restaurant, through the years.
Probably incomprehensible unless you've seen the movie. But just in case: Hung Yan-Jau is Andy Lau, Lefty is Jacky Cheung in paisley velvet, they're gangsters, they have a restaurant.
Star Trek - The Original Series
A Diplomatic Relationship. Federation Envoy Uhura meets Princess T'Pring for diplomacy, flirting, and literary allusions.
AU suggested by recipient. I had a lot of fun with it, and with coming up with Vulcan terms and literary allusions. I now want to read the series of Vulcan pulp novels I invented.
Sandman - Neil Gaiman
Lucky's Chance. A veteran trying not to dream is visited by Delirium and Dream.
All you need to know to read this is that there are seven siblings who embody core concepts like Dream, Delirium, Death, etc.
comments
Biggles - W. E. Johns
If you haven't read any of the books, all you need to know is that "Biggles" Bigglesworth and his buddy Algy Lacey have been pilots since fighting in WWI together, and Erich von Stalhein has been Biggles' nemesis since that time. Biggles and von Stalhein have a kind of "beloved enemy," mutual respect, flirt in between shooting dynamic. Canonically, von Stalhein starts out as a German spy in WWI.
Spoilers for his arc in the book series. ( Read more... )
I'm avoiding spoilers for my own stories in the body of the post, but feel free to post spoilery comments in comments.
Biggles in the Dark. Biggles and von Stalhein are forced to work together when an explosion traps them in a pitch-black cave.
This was really fun to write as they're doing all sorts of things in absolute darkness, so there are no visual descriptions for most of it. Also, Biggles is a sort of unreliable narrator in this story, as there's something very important going on that he doesn't understand but the reader does. I love writing with those sorts of pre-set rules/restrictions.
Aid and Comfort. A standoff between Biggles and von Stalhein leads to them spending the night together in a freezing cabin.
Also very fun to write. Biggles is so very Biggles that it nearly breaks von Stalhein's brain. Tags: Hurt/Comfort, Fever, Delirium, Canadian Shack, Home Improvement, Spies & Secret Agents.
With My Own Hands. When an undercover job goes wrong, Biggles is forced to torture von Stalhein.
The torture, I should note, is brief and fairly mild as torture goes. And yes, I also really enjoyed writing this. They're working together rather than enemies in this one, and I love undercover stories and people having to communicate with each other without onlookers realizing what's going on.
Danny Dunn series - Jay Williams
Mrs. Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Date. After an accident at the lab, Mrs. Dunn and Carl Ellison have their first date on the ceiling.
All you need to know to read this story is that Mrs. Dunn is the live-in housekeeper for an eccentric professor who invents things like shrinking rays, and Carl Ellison is a cop who bonds/flirts with her over coffee in one of the books.
I have always loved looking at ceilings and imagining being gravity-reversed so I have to walk around the ceiling fan.
Deliverance (Movie)
Trust Fall. Bobby tries to bury the memory of what happened to him, until his insurance agency mandates a team-building camping retreat.
I watched the movie recently. Cultural osmosis has reduced it to a joke reference to an extremely non-jokey scene, but it's much more than either the meme or the scene. It's got excellent performances, beautiful cinematography, and some interesting commentary on toxic masculinity, nature, and civilization.
But of course, my immediate reaction was that I really wanted to write a coda for Bobby. How do you deal with a trauma that's so socially unacceptable to experience?
江湖 | Triad Underworld (Movie)
Cena. Hung Yan-Jau and Lefty at the restaurant, through the years.
Probably incomprehensible unless you've seen the movie. But just in case: Hung Yan-Jau is Andy Lau, Lefty is Jacky Cheung in paisley velvet, they're gangsters, they have a restaurant.
Star Trek - The Original Series
A Diplomatic Relationship. Federation Envoy Uhura meets Princess T'Pring for diplomacy, flirting, and literary allusions.
AU suggested by recipient. I had a lot of fun with it, and with coming up with Vulcan terms and literary allusions. I now want to read the series of Vulcan pulp novels I invented.
Sandman - Neil Gaiman
Lucky's Chance. A veteran trying not to dream is visited by Delirium and Dream.
All you need to know to read this is that there are seven siblings who embody core concepts like Dream, Delirium, Death, etc.
comments
December 2, 2022
Worrals Carries On, by W. E. Johns
"Do you realize that you've been intruding in what is acknowledged to be the most dangerous side of war? Believe me, had the men in that building known that you were there and were watching them, they would have - er - disposed of you without the slightest compunction."
"Oh, I realize all that," agreed Worrals. "What about it? Quite a lot of people are risking their lives in this war. Is there any reason why we should be exceptions?"
In this book, Worrals and Frecks of the WAAF get entangled in espionage, help out the French Resistance, and organize a spectacular rescue. This all comes about after Worrals notices a leaf stuck to the undercarriage of a plane, a leaf from a plant that doesn't grow anywhere the plane has supposedly been, and proceeds to make a Sherlock Holmes-worthy set of deductions and investigations. She pulls on a single thread, and all sorts of things come up with it. Accompanied by the loyal Frecks, Worrals pursues a spy, makes a dramatic forced landing, and ends up the official leader of an extremely dramatic rescue behind enemy lines.
There's about two pages' worth of Worrals being courted by fellow pilot Bill; Frecks threatens to bail out of the plane if such goings-on continue. Bill is fine - he particularly endeared himself to me by giving an exhausted and emotionally drained Worrals a much-needed packet of raisins, and assuring her that everyone collapses to some degree at the end of a mission - but Frecks is right there.
The series continues to blend very exciting adventure with atmospheric settings and fascinating little glimpses into ordinary life during WWII. Worrals and Frecks get trapped in a nightclub with the spy they're tailing when air raid sirens sound, and have to continue to dodge him inside; most people continue dancing. Why not? They're in the same amount of danger whether they dance or not.
You can download a free ebook at The Faded Page.
If you want a paper copy, there's a reprint edition available. Unfortunately, it's been given absolutely hideous new illustrations.
[image error] [image error]
comments
"Oh, I realize all that," agreed Worrals. "What about it? Quite a lot of people are risking their lives in this war. Is there any reason why we should be exceptions?"
In this book, Worrals and Frecks of the WAAF get entangled in espionage, help out the French Resistance, and organize a spectacular rescue. This all comes about after Worrals notices a leaf stuck to the undercarriage of a plane, a leaf from a plant that doesn't grow anywhere the plane has supposedly been, and proceeds to make a Sherlock Holmes-worthy set of deductions and investigations. She pulls on a single thread, and all sorts of things come up with it. Accompanied by the loyal Frecks, Worrals pursues a spy, makes a dramatic forced landing, and ends up the official leader of an extremely dramatic rescue behind enemy lines.
There's about two pages' worth of Worrals being courted by fellow pilot Bill; Frecks threatens to bail out of the plane if such goings-on continue. Bill is fine - he particularly endeared himself to me by giving an exhausted and emotionally drained Worrals a much-needed packet of raisins, and assuring her that everyone collapses to some degree at the end of a mission - but Frecks is right there.
The series continues to blend very exciting adventure with atmospheric settings and fascinating little glimpses into ordinary life during WWII. Worrals and Frecks get trapped in a nightclub with the spy they're tailing when air raid sirens sound, and have to continue to dodge him inside; most people continue dancing. Why not? They're in the same amount of danger whether they dance or not.
You can download a free ebook at The Faded Page.
If you want a paper copy, there's a reprint edition available. Unfortunately, it's been given absolutely hideous new illustrations.
[image error] [image error]
comments
December 1, 2022
Love, Laugh, Lich (Claws & Cubicles # 1), by Kate Prior
"Sorry I saw your dick, er, dicks, sir."
A current romance trend is D&D-style romcoms with monster heroes. Love, Laugh, Lich is about the romance between an undead lich and his secretary Lily. It takes place entirely in the office, and is about 60% romcom about a magical workplace and 40% fucking.
He towers over me, staring into my soul probably. I mean, as far as I can tell, the cloak's hood doesn't have eyeballs, but even as I look into that endless void, I can feel his gaze sweeping over me, sending goosebumps over my skin.
How does a lich who is nothing but a cloak and a chilly void fuck his secretary, you ask? You may be surprised to hear that the answer involves three dicks. They are stacked vertically. The top one has a sucker and is for Lily's clit. The middle one is a regular dick and is for her vagina. The bottom one, appropriately, is for her bottom.
(He has a physical form when he wants to. It's enormous and has a bear's head, a mane, golden eyes, four large horns, claws, and a tail. In addition to three dicks.)
At one point he puts a magical butt plug up Lily's ass and it just stays there for several chapters while she wanders around the office and has conversations with people.
Despite the D&D trappings, what this reminded me of the most was the trend from about five years back of lighthearted romance novelettes about billionaire bosses fucking their secretaries. Nothing much happens other than the lich and Lily flirting and fucking; at the end he gives her his heart (literally, it's in a jar) and the book abruptly ends.
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A current romance trend is D&D-style romcoms with monster heroes. Love, Laugh, Lich is about the romance between an undead lich and his secretary Lily. It takes place entirely in the office, and is about 60% romcom about a magical workplace and 40% fucking.
He towers over me, staring into my soul probably. I mean, as far as I can tell, the cloak's hood doesn't have eyeballs, but even as I look into that endless void, I can feel his gaze sweeping over me, sending goosebumps over my skin.
How does a lich who is nothing but a cloak and a chilly void fuck his secretary, you ask? You may be surprised to hear that the answer involves three dicks. They are stacked vertically. The top one has a sucker and is for Lily's clit. The middle one is a regular dick and is for her vagina. The bottom one, appropriately, is for her bottom.
(He has a physical form when he wants to. It's enormous and has a bear's head, a mane, golden eyes, four large horns, claws, and a tail. In addition to three dicks.)
At one point he puts a magical butt plug up Lily's ass and it just stays there for several chapters while she wanders around the office and has conversations with people.
Despite the D&D trappings, what this reminded me of the most was the trend from about five years back of lighthearted romance novelettes about billionaire bosses fucking their secretaries. Nothing much happens other than the lich and Lily flirting and fucking; at the end he gives her his heart (literally, it's in a jar) and the book abruptly ends.
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