You should read The Last Girl Scout
Did you know that I, award-winning speculative fiction author Natalie H. Ironside, have written like a real book that you can buy and hold physically in your hands? Exciting!
The Last Girl Scout is a dystopian adventure story about queer hillbillies going on a big adventure in the irradiated ruins of Old America. If you liked Fallout or S.T.A.L.K.E.R. or all things American Gothic then I got five bucks says you’ll like this. Plus it’s got lesbians in it &and they are in love & they even hold hands.
The past lies like a nightmare over the world. Two hundred years after the War when atomic fire rained from the skies and burned the world to cinders, human civilization has had time to rebuild within the burned-out husk of Old America. But the old terrors of the past still persist, and while some work to build a better world, others still dream of reclaiming the glory of the Old World. In southern Appalachia, political commissar Magnolia Blackadder is sent on a mission into the irradiated Exclusion Zone of Old DC, where an evil that humanity thought it had vanquished centuries ago is waking up and rebuilding its strength. Along the way, she meets a strange woman with terrible secrets and an unspeakable past, and as they forge a bond and brave the terrors of the wasteland together, she learns that some demons are not so easily exorcised, and that some stones are better left unturned. In this her debut novel, award-winning author Natalie Ironside delivers a new vision of the post-apocalypse, a tale of adventure, terror, love, and that most basic and most powerful of all human desires: Freedom.
“But Natalie,” you say, “of course I want to support queer fiction and read this post-apocalyptic wasteland adventure transbian romance story, but how can I become a part of this true and amazing way?” Well, I’ll tell you!
Buy on Amazon
Buy on Gumroad
Cashapp five bucks to $NatalieIronside and include an email address and preferred ebook file type
Subscribe to my Patreon for a download link (and that’s only $2; call that a bargain. You’ll also get access to all sorts of other shit including my worldbuilding notes and the Christmas special)
Or message me an email address and your X number and I’ll send you an ebook for free; I call that Big Bill’s five-finger discount
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If you wanna know what other people have said about this amazing and very good hit new novel, fantasy author Dan Shepherd penned this lovely review:
And here’s an interview where I sat down with Fellow Worker Bundnik from the IWW’s Upstate New York GMB to talk about my very cool book in particular and leftist speculative fiction in general:
https://upstatenyiww.wordpress.com/2021/02/21/interview-of-fw-natalie-ironside-regarding-her-recent-novel/
Come check it out! & I hate to be that asshole who begs for reblogs but my blog got deleted recently and I lost all my followers the which is how I primarily promote my work the which is like 1/3 of our household income I need for such extravagances as “food” and “rent so if u could reblog this post that would be very cool and sexy of you
(Amazing and good cover art by fw @soul-hammer, sneak preview of the lesbians by @neladoesart)
I just finished reading this & y'all it is SO GOOD
Shucks ❤
I’m about eight chapters in and I’m not entirely sure what I actually expected this book to be, but whatever that was, it’s better.
Fun fact: I scored significantly lower on my trial exams than I could have because I couldn’t put down this book. No regrets.
I’m halfway done and really enjoying it! Zombies, vampires, transgender leads, Nazis getting shot. What more could you want from a book?
You heard it here first, folks
FW Ironside is excellent at grappling with multiple complex ideas in a pretty didactic fashion and writing compelling pulpy action. The Book Fucks
Hey, anyone who follows me and likes good books, y’all should read this one I still haven’t finished it yet but in my humble opinion it’s fuckin excellent
Y’all should read this book! It’s so good my unable-to-focus ass read it in one sitting!
If there’s anyone following me who hasn’t read The Last Girl Scout and has any interest at all in post-apoc, political intrigue or queer fiction, I’d strongly recommend giving Natalie’s book a try. It’s a compelling character-driven adventure brought to life by it’s diverse and believable cast. Characters come from a wide range of backgrounds- ethnicities, religions, sexualities and genders, all written as natural and integrated parts of multi-faceted beings, neither token asides to check off diversity boxes nor flat caricatures defined by singular traits, but complete and realistic, reflecting the same type of diversity of experiences the real world has to offer. The transbian romance that makes the beating heart of the story is complex and layered, and the queer issues it discusses go beyond the simple “queer pain” narrative that dominates mainstream queer lit, showcasing a broad and diverse range of experiences. The political elements, while a tad heavy-handed at times, weave a brilliant and fleshed-out example of a functioning society where a broad range of leftist views and factions work together towards common goals. Leftists of all stripes might want to give this a read if solely to draw inspiration from the depiction of pan-left cooperation.
In both the personal and political, Natalie repeatedly echoes the theme that while the ghosts of the past may shape the present, they do not define the future- only our choices to move forward do. But those choices are not made in a vacuum, and ultimately moving forward to a future worth having can only come from acknowledging the past, owning up to your sins and making a conscious effort to make amends for the harm you’ve caused.
Also it has spooky draculas and if I haven’t at least mildly intrigued you by this point idk why you’re even following me lol
shucks ❤
I brought a copy with me to fight camp and read it on the flight. I’ll probably read it again before fight day. I fucking loved it.
I finally read this and it’s a heartwarming tale of communists and anarchists working together to merc Nazis; I recommend it highly
Golly <3
