Fireheart Tiger: The seduction and threat of power
Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard
Princess Thanh was a royal hostage for many years in the northern country of Ephteria before being sent back to her home country of Bình Hải. Two years after her return, she’s a disappointment to her mother, the empress, who hoped that Thanh’s time in Ephteria would give her insights into that country’s government and culture, making her more useful as a diplomat. It’s especially important now that an Ephterian delegation is arriving, certain to make demands and threats that will encroach on Bình Hải’s independence. But Thanh is a quiet, somewhat uncertain person too thoughtful and discreet, according to her mother rather than a power player. Thanh is also hiding a secret: since a disastrous fire in the Ephterian palace, small items in her vicinity have a mysterious habit of catching on fire. And the only real relationship she had in Ephteria was a clandestine love affair wit
Inscape follows rookie agent, Tanta, who has trained her whole life to work for InTech, one of the big corporations who run the city. Her very first mission is a code red: to take her team into the unaffiliated zone just outside InTech’s borders and retrieve a stolen hard drive. It should have been quick and simple, but a surprise attack kills two of her colleagues and Tanta barely makes it home alive.
Determined to prove herself and partnered with a colleague whose past is a mystery even to himself, Tanta’s investigation uncovers a sinister conspiracy that makes her question her own loyalties and the motives of everyone she used to trust.
Enough Medieval Fantasy RPGs Already
Baldur’s Gate,
The Witcher, and World of Warcraft. They all have at least one thing in common: They are all medieval fantasy RPGs.
Medieval fantasy is a pleasantly familiar bit of escapism, filled with elves, dwarves, orcs, goblins, dragons, and swords-and-sorcery high jinks in countrysides, forests, castles, and dungeons. It was popularized through the influence of Arthurian legend, Norse mythology, C.S. Lewis, and J.R.R. Tolkien (who was himself heavily influenced by Norse myths). Medieval fantasy RPGs, meanwhile, rose to prominence through the likes of
Ultima,
Forty years after
Diablo IV, and
I recall writing a Most Anticipated post in previous years that was full of excitement and optimism. This year, well, I’d like to pretend I’m excited. I know there are good books coming in 2021. I
know it. Right now, what I’ve got is the teeth-gritted determination to last long enough to read some of them and appreciate the experience. And that? Well, that’ll have to substitute for excitement.
Roll on a comprehensive vaccine programme for 2021!
And also good books. There are so many good books coming out this year that I’m anticipating with determined pleasure, in fact, that this will be an extra-long installment…