Reviews – Page 15 – Marked for Plot

The Black Coast

I came for innovative queer worldbuilding, and I stayed for dinosaurs. This book kept coming up on lists of stories with queer worldbuilding elements, came off my shelf because I wanted to read a story about dragons. While I liked the book a lot, it didn’t succeed on either count, and folks coming to this story looking for queer representation will find themselves disappointed, despite a 5/6-gender society and cultural clashes over the morality of homosexuality being major elements of this book. Hopefully that shifts in the sequels, but right now it’s probably better to think about this as a more plot-focused Game of Thrones style story.

The Premise:
There’s two main storylines happening in The Black Coast. The town of Black Keep is visited by raiders (who are fleeing an undead monster on their home islands) who wish to settle the land instead of fight. The stepson of the town’s Thane betrays his own honor to allow them to settle, capturing his stepfather (who has anger issues) and imprisoning him to prevent a bloodbath. They must learn to live together while other raiders hunt them down and convince other Thanes that the raiders shouldn’t be slaughtered. Meanwhile, the sister of the Emperor travels to Alba (a neighboring nation) under her second life as the Queen of the Underworld to arrange the assassination of a family that claims the rightful inheritance of the God-King’s blood that (in theory) was inherited by her brother. In that same city is a thief just trying to survive.

Read if Looking for: Dinosaurs, codes of honor, more POVs than is wise, cultures inspired by Feudal Japan and Scandinavian Vikings

Avoid if Looking For: magic, character-focused stories, travel & journeys

December Comic Mini-Reviews

My exploration of graphic novels and comics continues. Here’s a bundle of graphic novels I read in December. You’ll find a decent amount of horror, Red Scare America with anthropomorphic animals, cozy mermaids, and some vintage high fantasy elves. These are sort of loosely organized with my favorites at the top, but ultimately none of them felt like they warranted a longform review on their own.

Shirewode

December this year has, apparently, been the month of mildly disappointing sequels. If you’d like to see my review of book 1 in this take on gay Robin Hood, see Greenwode. It lost a lot of the things that made it interesting, rehashed old ground, and didn’t succeed in raising the stakes of book 1 in a satisfying way. Just frustrating all-around. I think it’s a good recommendation for people who want fantasy gay yearning, but I needed the series to move past that.

You would think from this cover art that archery and action were going to be at least a little more prominent in this book? Too bad! Think again!

If you loved and wanted more of the ‘enemies by fate and religion’ vibes in book 1, you may like this one a lot more than I did. It remains the focal point of the series.

The Premise:
Book 1 ended pretty tragically. Gamelyn thinks his first love is dead. Rob thinks his first love betrayed him and is responsible for the death’s of his parents and sister. The Abbess and Sherriff are just generally horrible people. Book 2 picks up several years later as Gamelyn returns from his time in the Crusades as a Templar. Meanwhile Rob is finally the bandit we all knew he’d become. Gamelyn is assigned to hunt down the false pretender to the pagan god’s power by the Templars, not realizing the love of his life is actually alive and the very man he’s hunting. Meanwhile, Rob’s sister Marion is also alive, has amnesia, and is the kept pet of the evil Abbess.

Flesh Eater

I didn’t know much about Flesh Eater going into the story other than it involved spiders and a queer male protagonist. I’m not totally sure what I expected, but Zootopia for Adults setting up an Epic Fantasy trilogy wasn’t it. Lots to love here, with a really fantastic take on an everyman protagonist. However, it’s not quite as dark as the title and cover might lead you to believe.

Elevator Pitch:
Coal is a fox with very distinctive markings. This is unfortunate considering he is a criminal. Once a librarian, he has been branded a Flesh Eater for consuming his father’s flesh. As he desperately tries to make enough money to clear his record, Coal ends up involved with the underbelly of society. He’s scrambling to get by, to survive the Emperor’s bounty hunters, and to make money any way he can. Unfortunately, life as a librarian didn’t prepare him for any of this.

Read if Looking For: extended spider-riding scenes, a normal person who acts (mostly) like a normal person would, animal societies, organized crime

Avoid if Looking For: Overpowered protagonists, clear villains, medieval tech levels, lots of magic

Ironbound

Progression Fantasy isn’t a genre I’ve spent that much time with recently. However, as I’ve been clearing out my Kindle Unlimited cache, it popped up and I said ‘fuck it, let’s take a risk on another Roman-coded setting.’ Will of the Many was fun. Not mind blowing, but fun. And I think that’s where I fall with Ironbound. The Holy Roman Empire may consume the minds of straight men, but 700 pages of it was more than enough for me to feel exhausted by the end.

The Premise
Castor has worked all of his (admittedly rather short) life trying to earn the Empire’s favor to gain magic. Few earn the privilege, for the metal granting these powers is a rare resource. The story begins when his school goes through their final tests, determining which students will become elite members of their society. Unfortunately, things go to pieces when a wolf-headed monster attacks the ceremony, and Castor takes the blame. HIs family dead, his life forever changed, Castor vows revenge against the Empire who wronged him.

Read if Looking For: an overpowered morally upstanding hero who has been utterly wronged, lots of fight scenes, Roman settings without any of the queerness from actual Rome

Avoid if Looking for: thematic depth, creative use of powers, female characters (even side ones)

The Restored (Secret Records of Axel Font #2)

For a review of book 1 in this magitech action thriller reminiscent of Arcane, see The Effaced.

As I’m putting together my end-of-year wrap up post, The Effaced has floated around within my Top 10 reads of the year. Unless I read something mind-blowing in the next week, I think it’ll probably stay there. Begley has been pretty clear that the commercial failure of this book has hit him hard as an indie author (only 16 ratings on goodreads as of this post), which sucks because he’s doing a lot of creative things in the progression fantasy subgenre, and one of the few in that arena writing queer characters. The sequel didn’t quite live up to the hype I threw behind the original, and solidified that it should probably be read after his Journals of Evander Tailor series for the best experience .

The Premise
Book 1 set up a bunch of threats (Axel’s old owner, a mysterious demon, a shadowy cabal of ruthless capitalists with too much power), and this book more or less locks in on the demonic threat more than any others. It expands the cast to focus more equally on around 5 characters instead of staying locked-in on Axel. It also featured a rather extended battle sequence bouncing between perspectives, which formed the core of the page count in this book.

Read if Looking For: bespoke hard magic systems, demonic invasions, happy endings, the lightest sprinkle of romance in an action book

Avoid if Looking For: nuanced solutions to systemic problems, the tough side of Found Family, explicit sex scenes

The Power Fantasy

When I explored the idea of using comics in an Ethics class I’m putting together for high schoolers, The Power Fantasy was one of the most-recommended titles. It’s easy to see why, as the whole series is one big thought experiment on whether people with extreme superpowers can exist ethically (notice I said exist, not behave). It’s also got a clear thematic lineage with Watchmen, taking the superhero deconstruction presented by Moore in directions that feel much more 2025. Ultimately, I don’t think it’s quite straightforward enough for me to want to use as a whole-class read with high schoolers, it’s great for anyone looking for something to chew on.

Elevator Pitch:
In this version of earth, Atomics (people with superpowers) began appearing in the 1940s with a woman gave birth to a literal angel. While most Atomics have minor powers, there are six Superpowers currently alive; the book defines a Superpower as “an individual with the destructive capacity of the nuclear arsenal of a major world power.” These six characters form the core of the main cast. There’s a psychic and moral philosopher, the idealistic angel reminiscent of Superman, a gravity manipulator who hosts a floating commune, a girl who transforms into a kaiju when angry, a woman with deep connections to Hell, and a man whose technology borders on magic. They don’t all get along, and each has their own idea about what a good and just world looks like.

Read if Looking For: ensemble cast of morally dubious supers, cigars that defy gravity, non-sequential storytelling

Avoid if Looking For: authors who hold your hand, heroes vs villains storylines, dramatic fight scenes

A Holiday Season Romance Binge

November, December, and January are typically months when I dive back into romances. I like things sweet and quick-moving as work at school intensifies. For a lot of genre romances though, I don’t think there’s a ton to say in long form review formats. At least, not for the type of reviews I like doing. So here’s a bundle of mini reviews for anyone looking for dudes making out this winter. And yes, I am on the bandwagon of reading a bunch of Rachel Reid books now that the Heated Rivalry TV show is out. You will find no shame from me here.

That said, even though a few of these are 5/5, none come close to being as good as my favorite romance of the year, Looking for Group by Alexis Hall.

The Sign of the Dragon

I have perhaps an unreasonably high bar for books in verse. Some of my early adult reading experiences were with Jacqueline Woodson, and the few science fiction and fantasy poem books I read just didn’t live up to the standard she (and a few others) set. I think I’ve finally found a speculative fiction book in verse I can recommend wholeheartedly: The Sign of the Dragon by Mary Soon Lee was a delight, a wonderful read for the wintertime, and just generally heartwarming and heartbreaking. A great book to peruse a few poems per night, and I enjoyed reading this over the span of months, instead of my normal span of days.

The Premise:
Xau never thought he would become King. When the dragon on the mountain ate all his older siblings though, Xau passed her test and earned himself a crown he never wanted. Sign of the Dragon follows Xau’s journey as he discovers what kind of ruler he wants to be, oversees conflicts and alliance with many foreign nations, falls in love, raises children, faces supernatural threats, and tries to live a life that prioritizes kindness and acknowledging the humanity of all. The book also features many illustrations of various cinematic and/or emotional portions of the story.

Read if Looking For: epic and mythic stylings, idealistic leads, cozy books that also deal with grief, a constellation of POVs, horses (and a cat)

Avoid if Looking For: protagonists with real flaws, dragon-forward books, the thrill of battle

A Rune in the Rubble

One of my goals in 2025 was to read more truly unknown books. Some of my favorite reads have been nearly unknown, and popularity is no indicator of quality. Steven Cavehill’s pitch for his book on r/queersff caught my eye, and I mentally bookmarked it for when I started one of my kindle binges. It’s got some classic high fantasy and dystopia elements, and was a fun read. I’ll definitely pick up the sequel, but I also hope that Cavehill goes through a final round of line-edits on his writing next time around.

The Premise:
Rhys is a city guard relegated to paperwork, much to the disappointment of his noble family. He’s dating the mildly possessive leader of the demon-hunter Rangers, an organization he’s working to join. Ambrose is a half-elf thief desperately trying to buy a better life for his younger brother. The two are on a collision course when Ambrose robs a noble runesmith, accidentally causing the house to burn down and starting a manhunt for him. A manhunt Rune is placed in charge of.

Read if Looking For: asshole families, always another secret, tropey fantasy characters, overly-dependent relationships, notices at the start and end of sex scenes

Avoid if Looking For: polished writing, characters who see the plot coming at them, books free from fantasy racism (elves)