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Queer Book Character Tournament 2 Round 1
Benjamin “Ben” Evans- The Darkest Part of the Forest
Ari Helix- Once & Future
Winter Ihernglass- Shadow Campaigns
Lily Chen- The Shadowhunters Chronicles
Character, book, and author names under the cut
Round 1 Side A Poll 16
Ari Helix (Once and Future) VS Flynn Carson (The Librarians)
Ari Helix
Flynn Carson
Ari Helix
"Okay so arthur keeps getting reincarnated and every time they do, Merlin wakes up and tries to guide them through everything except he fails every time and arthur always dies and now it's happened so many times that humanity as moved to space and ari helix is the latest reincanation. Also she's gay :)"
"She's a reincarnated King Arthur. She's sapphic. She's antagonistically friends with a centuries-old teenage Merlin. Merlin is also her, her wife, and her brother's son. She accidentally faked her death for a year. She's a time traveller."
Flynn Carson
"He’s best friends with excalibur. Like actually. They play fetch with dangerous artifacts together. "
"He’s a very smart very silly man. Autism personified. Knows so much about so many things that are seemingly useless outside the context of his job. He may be a bit of a self sacrificing idiot and he can be arrogant at times."
I'm in a fancasting mood, Mayan is 24 and Ari 17 but I couldn't find younger arab actresses
Sword in the Stars (Once and Future #2)- Amy Rose Capetta and Cory McCarthy
Background: I read the first book in this duology (Once and Future) over the summer and it was okay. It wasn’t amazing, it wasn’t one of my favorites by any means, but it was a highly diverse cast with many queer characters written by two queer authors, so I felt obligated to support it. The sequel has higher reviews than the first, so I’m hoping that it improves upon it. Either way its a queer fantasy/resistance novel so I doubt that I’ll hate it.
First half: I didn’t love Once and Future, I appreciated the diversity and message, but the plot wasn’t doing much for me. This is the complete opposite. The language is on point, they are sarcastic, rude, and funny. This book has the same feel as any good time travel movie/tv show. The characters are thrown into the past and can’t create too much change that will effect the future (Ex. Back to the Future, Avengers: Endgame, and especially the finale of Runaways). I am falling asleep as I write this, and I already had 2 cups of coffee so I’m at my end. The absolute best plot twists keep coming at the worst times for the characters. I have 175ish pages left and I can’t wait to see how it’s wrapped up.
Second Half: I didn’t cry- but I almost did. The plot goes right up until the last few chapters. Those serve as a few parts of an epilogue that really tug at your heart. This book was amazing. There was so much representation, some of the best twists and misdirects that I’ve ever experienced, ties back to the first book. This was a great book. I
Overall: I loved it. This is probably in my top 10 of all time. 100% recommend reading the first one, and if you so much as didn’t hate it, I suggest finishing the duopoly. 5/5 stars
*Can we just appreciate the gorgeousness that is this cover tho.....
Once & Future
Background: I saw this book when it came out back when I worked at a bookstore. The summary on the inside cover described it as a feminist teen King Arthur retelling, so I was obviously down. That’s a correct basis of the story, but it also is a sci-fi space novel. I didn’t realize this at all, I was totally okay with this, but not what I was expecting. It also is safe to say that this was the gayest book that I’ve ever read. (A great thing)
Review: This book threw you right into the plot. Not a lot of world-building or introductions, these were sprinkled in through out the first half. The chapters alternate between Merlin (who ages in reverse, now a teenager) and Ari (the 42nd reincarnation of King Arthur, and also the first female version). Back to it being the gayest book that I’ve ever read, there are 2 queer female main characters, 2 queer male characters, a gender fluid main character, and one main asexual character. There are countless other side characters and the setting’s society has progressed past major labels and cisgendered heterosexual normality. This was a change in comparison to lots of other queer literature where we are bombarded with the same plot of coming out, homophobia, and finally acceptance. Although there are only 2 POVs, there are more queer relationships on the side. Now on to the plot, it is extremely anti-capitalist. The main corporation MERCER owns a monopoly over everything in the galaxy. They are corrupt and this is a stark comparison to our current situation in the US and the world. A few large companies own the majority of production, with the parallels to Amazon being blatantly obvious. Chapters are broken up into scenes by & symbols that divide paragraphs, but lots of the time it seems unnecessary. Until you get to the last 100 pages the plot is slow and can be hard to follow at times. They jump from planet to planet without explaining how they got there. Individual characters learn information without us knowing that it was given to them. Lastly, there are multiple mysteries that are left unanswered. Hopefully these are explained in the sequel. One of my favorite quotes is:
“‘We gave everyone in the universe hope that it could be done. We never folded. And we got out alive’ She sighed. ‘That’s what resistance looks like, Merlin. It’s not one glorious, shining victory. It’s a torch that you keep burning, no matter what.’” - pg 238
If you like sci-fi or retellings I’d recommend it. Although it is incredibly queer, that doesn’t take the forefront. It isn’t as relatable as say Carry On and Wayward Son or Simon vs the Homo sapiens Agenda. Ari is a badass and I’d trust her to save the universe again. The last 100 pages reach the revolution territory, where all seems lost paired with the final battle. I would have rather had that at page 100 instead of 250 since there wasn’t as much of a background.
Overall: Fuck Amazon, be gay do crime. 3.5 out of 5 stars, but I’ll round up to 4. (Mainly due to the ending and potential of the sequel)
god i just finished sword in the stars by amy rose capetta and cori mccarthy AND Y’ALL ARE NOT READY. I REPEAT: Y’ALL ARE NOT READY
Kay: You named a dragon after me?
Ari: Missed you too much. Had to find a way to say your name every day.
King Arthur and her Gwenivere
Fan art of Once & Future by Amy Rose Capetta and Cori McCarthy, a queer anti-capitalist science fantasy retelling of King Arthur, would definitely recommend
