Can I get some commotion for this absolutely brilliant Ex Romana art by @beforeviolets? I can't think of a better way to celebrate the Astounding Award nomination than bringing the chaos gays to life. Sargassa and Bloodtide are both available wherever you get your books. ☀️
tagged by the lovely @b-plot-butch! unfortunately:
but if I DID read, my list would be:
1. sargassa (sophie burnham). an alternate universe / sci-fi / speculative fiction tale of a world in which the roman empire still exists. written by a fellow debut author who is also a lovely person. I started reading this a few days ago and it's excellent so far, but then I got distracted by dragon age: inquisition so RIP 2 me.
2. sky full of elephants (cebo campbell). I heard about this book on the nh local npr station, which listed it as one of their favorite books of 2024 (along with my book!). all I know about it is that the premise involves all of the white people walking into the nearest body of water, and the librarian who was talking about it compared it to station eleven, one of my favorite books ever.
3. james (percival everett). it's been on my list forever, but due to aforementioned inability to read, I still haven't gotten around to it. but he is a phenomenal writer, and he wrote one of the only two medea retellings I didn't hate, so I want to get to this one.
4. by the fire we carry (rebecca nagle). I tend to have a severe allergy to non-classics related non-fiction, since I have to read so much of it for my job, but rebecca nagle is such a role model of mine, and native american law is also a deep interest of mine, so I must read this one.
5. there are rivers in the sky (elif shafak). tbh I have no idea what it's about, but it has a gorgeous cover and it was recommended to me by someone who loved my book, and I think it is related to the epic of gilgamesh somehow, so I want to try it.
6. gilgamesh (sophus helle translation). speaking of gilgamesh. like all books I own, I've had this forever but not gotten around to it. sophus helle was supposed to do a talk at my university this semester but the event was rescheduled, so hopefully I will now actually read this before the event (famous last words).
7. love is a war song (danica nava). I'm not a big romance reader, but the second romance book I've ever read was the truth according to ember, which was danica's debut (and the first traditionally published native american romance novel!), and it was so fun that I'm very much looking forward to her second book. also a fellow debut and also really lovely.
8. the message (ta-nehisi coates). one of the few other people who can get me to read non-fiction.
9. fire exit (morgan talty). I have no idea what this one's about either (I tend to prefer going into books totally unaware), but it has been recommended to be a billion times, so I want to see why.
tagging (no pressure): @leofrith, @artschoolglasses, @findusinaweek, @alethiometry, @lionofchaeronea, @greekmythcomix
Selah Kleios is twenty-two years old and suddenly one of the most important women in the empires. The role of Imperial Historian is her bi
Selah Kleios is twenty-two years old and suddenly one of the most important women in the empires. The role of Imperial Historian is her birthright, something she’s been preparing for since birth—but she was supposed to have more time to learn the role from her father, the previous Historian. In the wake of her father’s sudden and shocking assassination, Selah finds herself custodian of more than just the Imperial Archives, the towering central library that safeguards all collective knowledge of the Roman Imperium and its client empires. There’s also the question of the two puzzling classified items her father left in her care—an ancient atlas filled with landscapes that don’t exist, and a carved piece of stone that seems to do nothing at all.
Soon, though, it becomes clear that the Iveroa Stone is more than just a slab of rock. With the reappearance of an old lost love who’s been blackmailed into stealing it for an unknown entity, Selah finds herself in a race to uncover the mysteries the Stone holds. But she isn’t the only one with an interest in it—she’ll have to contend with the deputy chief of police, an undercover spy, and her own beloved half brother along the way. What begins as an act of atonement and devotion ultimately pulls her into the crosshairs of deep state conspiracy, the stirrings of an underground independence movement, and questions that threaten to shake the foundational legitimacy of Roma Sargassa’s past, present, and future.
"She will always choose change."
Sophie Burnham's Sargassa is an incredible alt-history novel, set in a world where the Roman Empire never fell and injustice runs rampant. When Selah's father dies, she has to fill his shoes pretty quickly and take his place as Historian, a hereditary job that's meant to be like a custodian of ancient knowledge. But the world she has to move in, a world where indentured servitude was never stopped, forces her to come to terms with some very harsh truths.
This is a multi-POV epic that also follows her slave-adjacent half-brother, a nonbinary rebel, a righteous cop, and an idealistic thief. Their characters meet and play off of each other beautifully, even the racist misogynist of a cop who's tragically in the wrong place at the wrong time. The luring corruption of the city functions as a backdrop to this delightful mystery as a millennia-old lie unfurls into the light and battle-lines are drawn.
The setting is perfect, with fantastic pieces of worldbuilding, little things you can really trace to the actual Roman Empire. At the end of the book is a helpful compendium explaining how this colony came to be, and the revelations only enrich the experience. You get the sense, early on, that not everything is as it seems, and it's fun to follow the clues clearly left for the reader.
Between the themes of systemic violence and slavery, there wouldn't seem to be much time for love stories, but two delicate queer romances unfold organically, following the course of the novel to its incredible conclusion. In particular, the sapphic love story featuring Selah has the strongest foundation, and a strong development.
Sargassa is the fantastic first book of a series that promises to be explosive.
✨ 4.5 stars
[You can find more of my reviews about queer speculative fiction on my blog MISTY WORLD]
In a world where Rome never fell, an unlikely group of protagonists are ready to burn down the empire in the first of this new speculative trilogy.
Selah Kleios is twenty-two years old and suddenly one of the most important women in the empires. The role of Imperial Historian is her birthright, something she’s been preparing for since birth--but she was supposed to have more time to learn the role from her father, the previous Historian. In the wake of her father’s sudden and shocking assassination, Selah finds herself custodian of more than just the Imperial Archives. There’s also the question of the two puzzling classified items her father left in her care—an ancient atlas filled with landscapes that don’t exist, and a carved piece of stone that seems to do nothing at all.
Soon, though, it becomes clear that the Iveroa Stone is more than just a slab of rock. With the reappearance of an old lost love who’s been blackmailed into stealing it for an unknown entity, Selah finds herself in a race to uncover the mysteries the Stone holds. But she isn’t the only one with an interest in it—she’ll have to contend with the deputy chief of police, an undercover spy, and her own beloved half brother along the way. What begins as an act of atonement and devotion ultimately pulls her into the crosshairs of deep state conspiracy, the stirrings of an underground independence movement, and questions that threaten to shake the foundational legitimacy of Roma Sargassa’s past, present, and future.
Content warnings
Death, murder, violence
Sexual assault, sexual harassment, mentions of rape
Slavery
Classism
Misogyny, patriarchy
Unintentional misgendering
Enbyphobia, slight homophobia
Review
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC!
Not gonna lie, the beginning is pretty rough. The first 20% introduces brand new PoV chapters one after the other, with each PoV character being in a different place doing different things, plus time jumps, which made it hard to understand who's who and what's going on. I seriously considered DNFing, but I am so glad I decided to push through.
Once all the main characters have been established, the book kicks into gear. The plot is fast-paced and engaging, the story beats are on point and the build-up leading to the reveal at the end was so well-executed, I couldn't put it down. Speaking of the big reveal, looking back, there are elements that make so much more sense in hindsight, which shows how the author really thought everything through.
One part that was kind of lackluster for me was the characters. There isn't anything wrong with them, and objectively, the character work is great! But I just couldn't connect with any of them. The romance sub-plots are also kind of meh. I didn't dislike them, but I also didn't root for them.
At its heart, though, this book is about classism and injustice. The author does an excellent job of tackling these themes with the portrayal how the caste system works, as well as how the system is built to discriminate against the lower class while protecting the upper class. I find this especially timely, with everything going on in the world right now. This book is brimming with visceral rage, from rage against the system of oppression, to rage against personal injustices.
Besides the rough beginning, this book is fantastic, with a brilliant plot and well-developed world-building and themes. I cannot wait to read the sequel!
Drew some main charaters from debut author novels coming out this year! Specifically SARGASSA by Sophie Burnham, TREASURES OF EGYPT by Amr Saleh, MOON DUST IN MY HAIRNET by JR Creaden, and WHAT GROWS IN THE DARK by Jaq Evans. Enjoy!
Picked this one up from the library new book section. In a world where the Roman Empire never fell, the province of Sargassa teeters on the edge of revolution, and a royal historian has been assassinated. Meanwhile, his daughter Selah struggles to fulfill his legacy, his acknowledged son Arran chafes against his low social status due to his illegitimate birth, and revolutionary spy Theo attempts to infiltrate the family.
This was a solid but not particularly original or outstanding epic fantasy. The Roman setting isn't especially vivid—which does have a textual explanation which is explained later, but it's still a bit of a letdown. Selah's slow realization that the society she lives in sucks, actually, is tired ground, and so is the underlying debate about how an effective revolution should operate. What I did like is Burnham's depiction of a society where most of the population is enslaved. Which is, of course, the brutal reality of what the real Roman Empire was like. Arran's situation is especially well done, depicting how he's trapped in a world where he's been brought up as a noble scion—but due to the fact his mother was a slave, his rights are extremely curtailed and he can never become a citizen.
I'd recommend this only for people who enjoy multi POV fantasy epics following a growing revolution. The twist near the end was interesting, but not enough to inspire me to read the next book of the series.
Hello! I'm Sophie/Zo, author of genre-defying and extremely fucking queer speculative fiction.
My debut novel Sargassa won the 2024 Sidewise Award and was shortlisted for the Locus Award for Best First Novel. Its sequel Bloodtide can now be found wherever books are sold. I currently find myself in the very bizarre position of being a current finalist for the Astounding Award for Best New Writer.
You can visit my website or find my socials and more fun links here. I've been active on Tumblr since 2010, just not under this name. :)
