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Oh my bones, I haven't posted Nona yet!! How could I forget my child??

The Locked Tomb by Tamsyn Muir series is not only one of my absolute favourite book series, but it's also the most mind-fuckery, interplanetary, fantastical, hodgepodge of living chaos, disaster lesbians with swords, and divinely altered cow corpses. And if I haven't confused you yet then you've probably read at least one of these books.

Nona the Ninth is the third in the Locked Tomb, and is completely different to the books before it. In delightful ways. Nona is just trying her best. None of her friends really know who she is, but they all seem to be waiting, for one, or the other. But mostly Nona just wants to have her cool student friends come over for her birthday, and maybe her dog friends if she's allowed. Her dreams are full of rivers, hands that don't seem to belong to her, and expectations that when she wakes she'll know.

On the cover of this book is a quote from Alix E. Harrow that says "You will love Nona, and Nona loves you." And that's so right, I do, and she does. And she will love you too. And you will love her.

Special shout-out to Mayticks, etsy maker and incredible artist, for sending a bunch of fantastic house pins all the way to Perth for our Nona launch (I've got them on as rings for this pic). I dressed up as Gideon and had a delightful time, and though this hardcover was not in my sticky-painted fingers at the time, I did get my grubby hands on some awesome pins.

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The number of Becky Chambers' books that have made me cry giant Ghibli animated tears is now up to five. How many before compensation kicks in?

A Prayer for the Crown-Shy is the continuing story of Sibling Dex and Splendid Speckled Mosscap. My two favourite un-gendered beings in all the fictional universes as of right now. Every interaction they have, every meeting with someone new, or someone they've known their whole life is an opportunity for kindness, compassion, love, and learning. And every page of this novella speaks volumes.

I don't think anything better embodies the term Hope-punk like the Monk and Robot series does. Humans who've learned to make the world better while they live in it. Gods who are there for you like the sun or the spring is, continual but not request-able. Robots who are learning to be part of a world entirely changed from their creation. And everyone involved doing so with such beautiful humanity (yes, I know Mosscap, you're not a human, still counts.) And yep, all this hope done made me cry. Again.

The last few pages of this one pulled me right into a memory of a day leaning out over pitch black water on a duck-poop covered pier, and trailing my itty bitty 7yr old fingers through sparkling lights. Thank you Becky, I love it.

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Guess who's got a painted robot hand and is shaking with love for Murderbot once again?? This gal! Heck yeah everyone, Murderbot is back in Fugitive Telemetry. Martha Wells dang done did it again and as per usual, I am in love. I just love Murderbot so much that I can't even hold the book straight. I love its sass, its angst, its utter dedication to soap operas. I love everything about Murderbot. Every dang thing. This one is the 5th novella of the series (5 novellas and 1 standalone novel). The Murderbot Diaries is probably my favourite sci-fi to date (hmm maybe tied with Becky Chambers' Wayfarers) and I keep (and will keep) recommending it to everyone I know. No other snarky non-human will ever compare.

Murderbot has my heart and soul and laughter and surprise. I will not shut up about it (clearly). Aaaargh so good!

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I love Murderbot. I love, love and love Murderbot. On the cover of the first of Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries is a quote from Ann Leckie that says "I love Murderbot!" I agree with her. and yes, I know that Murderbot looks mostly human so all the bot parts wouldn't be showing but it wouldn't look at all bot if I just left my hand human, so here we are. I still love Murderbot.

All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy, and lastly the novel, Network Effect are now among my favourite books of all time. The sarcastic, grouchy, genderless, socially awkward, narrating, bot is just the best character. It's internal monologue is so funny, and angry, and everything I want from a unit that is learning all about itself as a potential person.

I devoured the five of these stories in less than two nights each, and not just because they are mostly novellas in size. The excitement didn't let up, nor did the sass. I was giggling at 3am and it was all thanks to Murderbot.

There is a lot of depth to these books that I cannot even remotely delve into in a tiny review so I'll just say holy crap and you need to read them. I'll stop gushing sometime soon, I promise, it's just, I don't know if you've noticed, but I love Murderbot.

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Spooky scary skeletons for halloween!!

Tamsyn Muir's Harrow the Ninth was a book I'd been waiting for from the moment I finished Gideon. Now I'm waiting for the next one!

I read Harrow in about two days and at one point had to stop and put the book down because I was laughing so hard I couldn't hold the book still enough to see the words. If you've read Harrow you'll know exactly the chapter-end i mean.

I loved this book as much as I loved its predecessor, especially every moment our second narrator complained. Look I know what I like and I like lesbians with bone magic in space hanging out with god. Happy Harroween!!

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So upon reading my back catalogue I found my darling Gideon the Ninth and read what I wrote back in 2020 and while I may have had a point about unlikable protagonists and how they are most often men and that's stupid, and these women are plenty unlikeable but the book certainly isn't. I cannot leave this post simply at that point. So we're doing this one again. This is one of my all time favourite books. Gideon is a twat. Harrow is an asshole. I love them more than anything in the whole world. This book is part space opera, part gothic mystery, part messy competition, and all gristly, boney, fantasy insanity. The characters are mouthy, stubborn, coarse, argumentative, broody, bitchy, filthy, sexy, annoying and enigmatic. (all five million of them, there's a reason that this book starts with a dramatis personae) Tamsyn Muir loves to throw her readers into the deep end of the confusion pool and then shrug and say "I dunno, swim or something". And it is a fantastic and frustrating style of writing which I am so endeared to now. The Locked Tomb series is an absolute stand-out fantasy series for me. Gay as hell. Bloody as hell. Sexy as hell. And hellish as hell.

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Claire Heywood is now in my go-to list for Greek myth retellings, right next to Madeline Miller. They are both absolutely top tier writers and the way they tell these mythical women's stories, in particular, is incredible.

The Shadow of Perseus follows the three women intrinsically linked to the 'hero' Perseus: his mother, his monster, and his wife.

Danae's comfort is ripped away from her through the words of an oracle, and her father's arrogance. Alone and pregnant, she must start life anew. And raising Perseus without his father is going to be the hardest thing she's ever done.

Medusa is safe in her home, with her sisters, and the snakes. Until a stranger ends up in her care. The safety that relies on her family's anonymity and the stories that come with it will be in the hands of a boy determined to prove his power.

Andromeda wants nothing more than to keep her family in good standing. She will sacrifice her dignity, her body, or her life to keep those she loves safe. But when a young man blunders into her world, she will have to leave everything she knows for a life on a razor's edge.

These women are so beautifully thought out and their stories are so well reinvented. I love Heywood's approach of making the myths less about the gods, and more about the decisions of humans. While I have to say I loved Daughters of Sparta more (because Clytemnestra was right and you cannot convince me otherwise), I was really moved by this story of the women around Perseus, and oh, how my heart breaks for Medusa. Really just a stellar reimagining.

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Nimona!!! Given its Netflix movie release, I couldn't resist showing the love to one of my all time favourite graphic novels.

What started out as an internet comic is now an insanely beautiful animated movie. And I absolutely loved it. It was more heartwarming than the heartwrenching of the book, but the humour, the adventure, the silliness, and the love was all translated across the formats. The two are not the same story but follow the same path and any fans of the graphic novel will not be disappointed.

If you haven't watched Nimona on netflix yet, go check it out, it's awesome. Also if you haven't read Nimona, by ND Stevenson, go check it out, it's awesome.

Nimona is the story of a villain and his new sidekick… that the agency didn't send, and he didn't hire. But here she is I guess, Nimona, ready for action. Ready to dismember and disembowel any nemesis she comes across… and anyone else who gets in the way. Also she's a shark! snap snap