A Strange and Stubborn Endurance: 1 (Tithenai Chronicles)

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On top of what Vel is going through is the fantasy story of someone trying to break the alliance. Vel is the target of someone trying to kill him and blaming it on Cae. This part of the story was a great mystery to untangle and held many surprises. There is the use of magic as well, which for most of the book is rather subtle. Vel can wield a little magic, in which he can use fire and untangle knots. Untangling knots was an interesting choice, and even Vel makes light of it in terms of magic use. In Tethani, magic use is more prevalent. There is school to train mages, though we don’t see the extensive use of it with mages. They come to an agreement to be friends, as Vel tells him he doesn’t know if he can bear intimacy again. Cae understands, and their friendship grows. Their slow burn romance was pragmatic, as they work well together, and despite Vel’s hesitations and self-doubt, he begins to have feelings for the kind, gentle man that Cae is. Yes,” said Father, and though he was discomforted in the admission, at least he did me the courtesy of not looking away. “You’ve always been a good son, Vel—a good third son, supportive of your brothers and uncovetous of their dues. I watched you with Jarien earlier, and unless I miss my guess, you bear him no ill-will, though many in your position would. I know you haven’t sought marriage”—and here he reached out, squeezing my chair’s arm as if in proxy for my withheld hand—“but I wouldn’t propose it now, even though it please my king, if I thought it was not also a reward to you; a fitting, good thing for a loyal son.” BT] You are a lover and prolific writer of fanfiction. What was your first brush with fanfiction? And how has fanfiction influenced your work as an author? Velasin vin Aaro never planned to marry at all, let alone a girl from neighboring Tithena. When an ugly confrontation reveals his preference for men, Vel fears he’s ruined the diplomatic union before it can even begin. But while his family is ready to disown him, the Tithenai envoy has a different solution: for Vel to marry his former intended’s brother instead.

He broke off, and we shared a certain fond, pained expression at all that the absence entailed. “I know,” I said softly, and left it at that. The A complete joy to read. From the love story, to the slow healing of the main character, to the intricate mystery of the plot, Meadows has constructed a world to get lost in and this is a book to savour.”—Everina Maxwell, author of Winter's Orbit With the plot against them foiled and the city of Qi-Katai in safe hands, Velasin and Caethari have begun to test the waters of their relationship. But the wider political ramifications of their marriage are still playing out across two nations, and all too soon, they’re summoned north to Tithena’s capital city, Qi-Xihan, to present themselves to its monarch.

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Reminiscent of Ursula K. Le Guin, An Accident of Stars will take you to a lush, magical new world.” – Laura Lam Which, thanks to the unusual emptiness of the courtyard, left Cae alone with Velasin. The injured tiern took a step forward, paled and almost fell over, remaining upright seemingly through sheer stubbornness. Only then did Cae realise the extent of the problem: Velasin’s left thigh was wet with blood, the dark stain spreading across his breeches. Most likely, he’d pulled his stitches open. Hissing in dismay, Cae moved to help him. The follow-up to Foz Meadows's A Strange and Stubborn Endurance , a sultry political & romantic fantasy exploring gender, sexuality, identity, and self-worth. Had Father learned of my indiscretions? Both recently and otherwise, I’d committed so many that I didn’t bother to narrow down what stories might have reached him, or from which sources. My life in Farathel had become little more than a string of offences against propriety; that I regretted only a few of them, and for more complex reasons than simple contrition, didn’t make me any less keen to avoid their consequences, nor did it blunt my desire to escape, however briefly, the circumstances of their creation. It was equally possible, however, that the summons entailed only news of pleasant things—an increase in my sinecure; the expected birth of a new niece or nephew, or—moons!—another half-sibling; some propitious detail about the estate—and a certain self-interest wouldn’t let me forget it.

Pixieltd on Reading The Wheel of Time: Taim Tells Lies and Rand Shares His Plan in Winter’s Heart (Part 3) 3 hours ago Oh,” said Velasin, swaying slightly. He gripped the edge of Markel’s bed, trying to steady himself, and all at once, Cae realised how pale he was. “Do you want me dead, then?” BT] What is the biggest difference between writing Solace and Grief and The Key to Starveldt to now with A Strange and Stubborn Endurance? I remembered the cane, and the book, and the dog, and for the second time that day, I battled the urge to confess.A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is a book of nuance, passion, and insight, and effectively showcases Foz Meadows' talents." - Juliette Wade Many a reader longing for a sense of homecoming in the realm of romantic fantasy will find it in A Strange and Stubborn Endurance.”—Jacqueline Carey, New York Times bestselling author of the Kushiel's Legacy series And this bugs me; because if authors can stretch their imaginations far enough to envisage the presence of modern-minded men in the fake Middle Ages, then why can't they stretch them that little bit further to put in modern-minded women, or modern-minded social values? It strikes me as being extremely convenient that the one universally permitted exception to this species of "authenticity" is one that makes the male heroes look noble while still mandating that the women be downtrodden and in need of rescuing. BT] I read that you decided at age 12 to become a writer. How did that happen? What led you to that discovery? FM] It’s a queer fantasy romance centered on the diplomatic marriage between two noblemen: Velasin vin Aaro, who’s from the homophobic nation of Ralia, and Caethari Aeduria, from the more liberal nation of Tithena. Vel, a gay man, is originally slated to marry Cae’s sister, but when he’s outed under ugly circumstances, the Tithenai envoy proposes that he marry Cae instead. Though Vel’s father is opposed to the new arrangement, as the alternative is to let the alliance fail, he allows it to go ahead, though not before effectively disowning his son. So Vel starts out the story in a very dark place, but his arc is ultimately one of healing – and at the same time, there’s political shenanigans afoot when he gets to Tithena, because not everyone is thrilled about the alliance.

Having never experienced this sort of generalized acceptance of his sexuality and identity before is all initially pretty overwhelming for poor Vel, a situation that’s compounded by the fact that his new husband Caethari Aeduria isn’t the monster he feared, but a kind, devastatingly attractive man who seems like everything he could have ever wanted in a partner. My reply was forestalled by the sudden appearance of the man himself, trailed by a nursemaid carrying baby Jarien. Remarriage certainly suited Father; I hadn’t seen him so hale in years. His paunch was gone, new muscle firming his arms and shoulders, eyes bright, skin clear. Even before the awful wrangling of what was now called the Dissension, the decade or so in which a loose cadre of antagonistic nobles had stoked political strife within Ralia, and which had finally ended, somewhat anticlimactically, with the exposure of Lord Ennan vin Mica’s plans for rebellion and the arrest, imprisonment and/or execution of his various co-conspirators, my mother’s death had wearied him on a level I’d been too young to fully comprehend, for all that I witnessed it daily. But not even civil peace had eased him as Lady Sine did; or perhaps that was Jarien’s doing, if not the two in combination. Either way, his positive transformation threw into sharp relief my own, inverse trajectory, and in that moment, had he asked for the truth, I would have confessed to everything—even, perhaps, beyond my culpability. Spoiler alert: The absolute best part of A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is the relationship that slowly grows between Vel and Caethari, a delicate push and pull that shows rather than tells us about the pair’s growing feelings for one another and then genuine desire to make their unexpected partnership work. I know I can’t be the only person who gets a little swoony over a well-done marriage of convenience trope, and Meadows executes it brilliantly here. I saw what happened,” Cae said, into the silence. “From the parapets of the Aida. I was coming to help.” How can so many (white, male) writers narratively justify restricting the agency of their female characters on the grounds of sexism = authenticity while simultaneously writing male characters with conveniently modern values?The characterisation is fantastic. The conclusion is nerve-biting and explosive – and has dragons… I really really love it” – Tor.com on A Tyranny of Queens