Books That Burn

This fortnight we’re discussing “IRON WIDOW” by Xiran Jay Zhao. This is book one of a planned series.

Wu Zetian wants to assassinate her sister's murderer, but finds herself in a string of mech battles working alongside Li Shimin, the strongest pilot in Huaxia. Told in Third Person with Single POV.

• TITLE: Iron Widow
• AUTHOR: Xiran Jay Zhao
• PUBLISHER: Penguin Teen
• YEAR: 2021
• LENGTH: 400 pages
• AGE: Young Adult
• GENRE: Science Fiction
• RECOMMENDED: Highly

Book TW for grief, misogyny (graphic), sexual content, alcohol, alcoholism (graphic), medical content, injury description, pregnancy (backstory), blood (graphic), vomit, suicidal thoughts, domestic abuse, child abuse, violence (graphic), torture (graphic), murder (graphic), parental death (backstory), major character death (graphic), death (graphic).

Topic 1: Forced Alcoholism. Begins at (1:35), CW for alcoholism, torture, death.

Topic 2: Death Machine. Begins at (10:00), CW for sexism, misogyny, death.

Topic 3: Invasion. Begins at (21:15), CW for death.

Promo for RMC vs CG; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (31:25).

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You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. 

Find all our links on our Carrd.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we’re discussing “GRACELING” by Kristin Cashore. This is the first book of the YA fantasy series, Graceling Realm.

TITLE: Graceling
AUTHOR: Kristin Cashore
PUBLISHER: Houghton Mifflin
YEAR: 2008
LENGTH: 471 pages
AGE: Young Adult
GENRE: Fantasy, Romance
RECOMMENDED: Yes

Book TW for sexism, misogyny, sexual content (brief), sexual assault (not depicted), kidnapping, child abuse, animal cruelty, medical content, blood, vomit, violence, torture, animal death, parental death, child death, murder (graphic), death (graphic).

Topic 1: Leck - Gaslighting. Begins at (1:35), CW for Murder, torture, animal cruelty, death

Topic 2: Katsa - Coercion. Begins at (13:00), CW for Violence, death, coercion

Topic 3: Bitterblue - Death of Parent. Begins at (22:10), CW for Murder, death of parent, child abuse

Promo for CPOV - Another Pass; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (29:15).

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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.

To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi.

For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter.

You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. 

Find all our links on our Carrd.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we’re discussing “Unwind” by Neal Shusterman. This is book one of the Unwind Dystology. Robin has been reading Shusterman's work since they were a kid and this was a new one for them.

UNWIND is a dystopian future where abortion is outlawed but teenagers can be "unwound", a state which is distinct from death in ways that are legalistic, technical, and horrifying.

TITLE: Unwind
AUTHOR: Neal Shusterman
PUBLISHER: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
YEAR: 2007
LENGTH: 335 pages
AGE: Young Adult
GENRE: Dystopian, Science Fiction
RECOMMENDED: Yes

Book TW for discussion of abortion, discussion of “retroactive abortions”, discussion of “right to life”

Topic 1: Vestigial Existence. Begins at (1:30), CW for Death, loss of self, dismemberment, body horror, medical content

Topic 2: Split identity. Begins at (11:35), CW for Death, loss of self, dismemberment, body horror, medical content, loss of control over body

Topic 3: Dismemberment. Begins at (23:58), CW for Death, dismemberment, mention of abortion, medical trauma

Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (39:45).

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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.

To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi.

For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter.

You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.

Find all our links on our Carrd.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight Nicole is discussing “Shadow Rising” by Robert Jordan, the fourth book in The Wheel of Time with our transcriptionist and fellow WOT fan, Heather.

Book TW for physical assault, sexual harassment, combat wounds, PTSD, magical attack, horror monster attacks, identity crisis, depiction of mental illness caused by magic, depiction of auditory hallucinations, kidnapping and restraint, misandry, misogamy, betrayal, depiction of hanging, general physical violence and death, general depictions of emotional manipulation and emotional abuse, depictions of discrimination against marginalized communities, descriptions of imbalanced power dynamics.

Topic 1: Aram - Abandonment. Begins at (1:30), CW for abandonment, parental death.

Topic 2: Min - Second-hand emotional trauma. Begins at (12:10), CW for physical harm, reliving trauma.

Topic 3: Author's treatment of characters. Begins at (20:30), No major CWs.

Promo for Circle of Friendship; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (36:50).

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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.

To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi.

For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter.

Find all our links on our Carrd.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we’re discussing “Not Your Sidekick” by C.B. Lee, the first book of the series "Sidekick Squad". The fourth book, "Not Your Hero" comes out at the end of August 2021.

TITLE: Not Your Sidekick
AUTHOR: C.B. Lee
PUBLISHER: Duet
YEAR: 2016
LENGTH: 304 pages
AGE: Young Adult
GENRE: Dystopian, Science Fiction, Superheroes
RECOMMENDED: Highly

Book TW for ableist language (brief), vomit (brief), racism, kidnapping, violence, death (not depicted).

Topic 1: Schoolkids - Gaslighting. Begins at (1:35), CW for gaslighting, lying,

Topic 2: Abby - kidnapping. Begins at (12:40), CW for kidnapping.

Topic 3: Jess - Betrayal. Begins at (21:12), CW for brief discussion of racism.

Promo for CPOV RobCast; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (27:45).

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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.

To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi.

For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter.

You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.

Find all our links on our Carrd.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we’re discussing “Soul of the Fire” by Terry Goodkind. This is the fifth book in the series, "The Sword of Truth". Sometimes we discuss a book neither of us could stand and one of us didn't finish, and this is our hate-read pick for 2021.

TITLE: Soul of the Fire
AUTHOR: Terry Goodkind
PUBLISHER: Tor Books
YEAR: 1999
LENGTH: 788 pages
AGE: Adult
GENRE: High Fantasy
RECOMMENDED: No

Book TW for CW for coercion, "simple native" tropes, racism, sexism (graphic), slavery (graphic), sexual assault (graphic), rape (graphic), sexual violence (graphic), assault, murder, transphobia (minor), genocide, death.

Topic 1: Gaslighting. Begins at (1:30), CW for gaslighting, genocide, sexism, toxic patriarchy, misogyny, gaslighting of the audience.

Topic 2: Slavery. Begins at (15:52), CW for slavery, reference to historical slavery (USA), slave advocating for slavery.

Topic 3: Sexual Assault / Rape Culture. Begins at (25:42), CW for rape culture, rape, women as property.

Promo for CPOV Autographs; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (37:10). CW: animal death.

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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.

To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi.

For fortnightly news and updates, as well as links to recent written reviews, subscribe to our newsletter.

You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.

Find all our links on our Carrd.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we’re discussing “Black Sun” by Rebecca Roanhorse, the first book of the series "Between Earth and Sky". As of the time of recording only "Black Sun" was published".

TITLE: Black Sun
AUTHOR: Rebecca Roanhorse
PUBLISHER: Gallery / Saga Press
YEAR: 2020
LENGTH: 464 pages
AGE: Adult
GENRE: Fantasy
RECOMMENDED: Highly

Book TW for racism, xenophobia, vomit, blood, gore, child abuse, murder, violence, suicide, major character death, death.

Topic 1: Naranpa - Coup Attempt. Begins at (1:35), CW for discussion of death, violence.

Topic 2: Okoa - Death of a Parent. Begins at (11:22), CW for death of a parent, suicide, murder.

Topic 3: Xiala - Ostracization. Begins at (19:48), CW for disability, ostracization, child abuse, dismemberment.

Promo for CPOV Screen Snark; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (27:32). CW for discussion of racism, death.

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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. 

To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi.

You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn.

Find all our links on our Carrd.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

Members of the Certain Point of View network of podcasts.

This fortnight we’re discussing “The Cat Who Sniffed Glue”, part of the Cat Who series by Lilian Jackson Braun. We're joined by special guest Dare. You can follow Dare on Twitter or find more info and links on their LinkTree.

Book TW for ableism, sexism, homophobia (brief), drug use (not depicted), car accident, violence, animal death (not depicted), suicide (not depicted), death (not depicted).

Topic 1: Belle - Erasure. Begins at (1:30), CW for loss of identity, classism, racism example in discussion.

Topic 2: Qwilleran - Car Accident. Begins at (19:30), CW for car accident, pets in danger.

Topic 3: The Fitch’s - Murder/Suicide. Begins at (31:20), CW for character death, murder, car crash, prison mention.

Promo for Fun & Games; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (53:00).

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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon.

To make a one-time donation please support us on Ko-Fi.

Find all our links on our Carrd.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

This fortnight we’re discussing “Ender's Game" and "Ender's Shadow” by Orson Scott Card. These books cover approximately the same span of time and most of the same characters as each other. We focused our discussion on three events/traumas which are shown in both books from the perspective of their respective main characters. We're discussing these as books we used to love (and might still) but do not recommend to new readers.

Book TW for antisemitism, racism, homophobia, ableism, ableist slurs, assault, murder, eugenics, genocide

Topic 1: Abuse and PTSD. Begins at (1:30), CW for abuse, bullying, ptsd,

Topic 2: Murder and PTSD. Begins at (21:30), CW for murder, bullying, abandonment, emotional isolation, gaslighting

Topic 3: Genocide and Consent. Begins at (34:52), CW for violation of consent, ptsd, genocide, mental health crisis, emotional breakdown, coma mention

Promo for Book Reports Pod; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (53:05).

Recommended books to read instead:

Animorphs by K. A. Applegate

War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi

The Farseer Trilogy by Robin Hobb

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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this book.

You can check out Robin's written review of Ender's Game and Ender's Shadow at Reviews That Burn.

Find all our links on our Carrd.

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.

This fortnight we’re discussing “A Spell for Chameleon” by Piers Anthony. We were joined by Matthew of the podcast Unintelligible Design. There was a lot to discuss in this very sexist book, we recommend you check out our spoiler-free wrap-up before deciding whether to read this one. 

Book TW for bullying, sexism, misogyny, toxic masculinity, transphobia, dysmorphia, racism against fictional races, colonialism, mention of suicide, discussion of rape, body horror, assault, death. 

Topic 1: Rape Trial. Begins at (1:30), CW for rape, rape accusations, victim blaming. 

Topic 2: Bink: Toxic Masculinity. Begins at (18:40), CW for mutilation, toxic masculinity, fantasy incel culture, lack of consent, objectifying women, rape mention, murder mention. 

Promo for Happily Ever Haunted; Spoiler-free wrap-up and ratings: Begins at (56:30). 

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If you'd like to make a monthly donation, please check us out on Patreon. Patrons at any level will receive the bonus Epilogue episode for this book. 

You can check out Robin's written review of the book at Reviews That Burn. 

Find all our links on our Carrd. 

Music provided by HeartBeatArt and is used with permission.