ladyinbooks

[ladyinbooks]

When Hiraeth Terai is sent to kill a whore, he assumes the job will  be simple. But Damas Kyrion is not at all the usual type of hetairos,  and the secrets he holds could burn planets.

As if that wasn’t enough of a problem, there’s also the way he seems familiar. So familiar, in fact, that all Hiraeth wants to do is keep him.

Whether Damas agrees to it, or not.

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

#Rarely Pure #Hiraeth Terai #Damas Kyrion

[ladyinbooks]

I was checking my AO3 history, just skipping along and this is what I see for Icarus, Burning

“Last visited: 11 Apr 2024 (Latest version.) Visited 74 times” which granted doesn’t mean a lot, considering the page refreshes a lot during my rereads, and I have read this 3 times now? Two times? Enough times to be enamoured evermore by Samiel and Jason.

Then I look at Path to Paradise.

“Last visited: 04 Mar 2024 (Latest version.) Visited 22 times”

And I’m just, happy. It’s not often I am enamoured by a specific author.

Am absolutely in love with Rarely Pure too. Thank you for your hard work.

Ok, that's it, you made me cry. 😭

Thank you. Seriously, thank you. What a lovely message to log into tumblr and see today. I don't think I can adequately describe how happy it makes me to know that you love my fics, but more than that, that you reread them. It makes me very happy indeed.

I am incredibly lucky, and phenomenally grateful that I have amazing readers like you. I don't say it often enough and I should, but knowing you enjoy my scribbles means the world to me.

(And you've made my evening, just so you know! ❤️)

#lady replies

[ladyinbooks]

When Hiraeth Terai is sent to kill a whore, he assumes the job will  be simple. But Damas Kyrion is not at all the usual type of hetairos,  and the secrets he holds could burn planets.

As if that wasn’t enough of a problem, there’s also the way he seems familiar. So familiar, in fact, that all Hiraeth wants to do is keep him.

Whether Damas agrees to it, or not.

CHAPTER TWENTY

#Rarely Pure #Damas Kyrion #Hiraeth Terai #Aubrey Draxios #Lysander Kyrios

[ladyinbooks]

Have you read Mary Renault's Alexander series/if you have, do you have thoughts? I've only read the persian boy so far and just started Fire from heaven but I've always heard amazing things about how she wrote them

Hello lovely anon!

I'm going to start off with an apology in advance, because whoops! You've asked me something that's set off my inner ramblings quite happily here (in a good way). So I'm going to roll up my sleeves behind the 'read more' and get overexcited about this.

But just in case, the tl;dr is: yes, I have. And yes, I love the series (with a few caveats):

Let's start when young!Lady was a small, wide-eyed thing, all of 17, who had just lied on her Oxford application form, and said she'd read Arrian's Campaigns of Alexander. Then she got called for interview and thought 'Oh shit, I'd better actually read it'. So she did. And she loved it. And she kind of... ended up developing a little obsession with this bloke called Alexander.

Now, around the same time as this deceit was taking place, Robin Lane Fox's biography on Alexander was fairly accessible in most book stores. Possibly because it's really quite a readable biography, and thus had become quite popular. And so young!Lady snaffled that too, and read it. And Lane Fox's name kept coming up in conjunction with Mary Renault's (perhaps because - personally speaking - I think they have a fairly similar approach in their views on Alexander), and so young!Lady thought 'Hey! Let's read those books too!'

All of which, is a very long-winded way of saying: I read them, and I loved them at the time. (To be fair, I still love them. Hephaistion my beloved.) Renault's style of writing is gorgeous. I know for some people it can be off-putting, and a little difficult to parse (she's not what I call a 'light read' in that sense), but I genuinely love the way she constructs her prose.

She was also, I think, one of the first fictional writers to actively and openly tackle an explicit romantic relationship between Alexander and Hephaistion (most prominent in Fire from Heaven, but it's definitely still there in The Persian Boy), and although Hephaistion-as-a-concept had been kicking around before then, I think Renault made the relationship (and Hephaistion) more... mainstream, if I can put it like that?

Renault's historical research is also good. She does give a really interesting flavour of what it must have felt like to live in a Macedonian court, filled with intrigue and the kind of political machinations that resulted in heads rolling. She captures that dangerous, desperate element very well, and she makes Macedonian life accessible to a reader in a way I very much enjoy.

I think as I've got older, where my love for Renault's version has become a little tarnished is in my own inability to put aside my mental nitpickings (and this is no fault of Renault's writing!). Her Alexander trilogy writes about Alexander-the-Legend, not Alexander-the-Man. For me, there is very little balance to be had from her, and although this was a stylistic choice, I do find myself missing the nuance of an Alexander who is not, well, pretty much a perfect example of a living god. He's almost Achillean in the way Renault portrays him - far beyond us brief mortals! - and in some ways that makes his fictional character feel more inaccessible to me. Her Alexander is untouchable. Unknowable. Godlike in his abilities and driven by ambitions far beyond anything a non-heroic mortal can comprehend.

I also feel that Renault's portrayal (understandably) is a bit wrapped up in W.W. Tarn's vision of Alexander as some kind of benevolent conqueror (he wasn't), whose life's exploits were geared towards the betterment of mankind (they weren't). I need to add: this isn't a criticism of Renault! Tarn's scholarship and ideology was very prevalent for quite a while (see: Robin Lane Fox, who sort of subscribed to a viewpoint of Alexander along vaguely similar lines, I think).

My other gentle nitpick, is that very often Renault's women are stereotypes. Or caricatures. Olympias comes across as a vengeful harpy (interestingly, I think there is a lot or Renault's Olympias in Oliver Stone's film version). Again, I think it's fair to defend Renault with the fact that she's working with historical sources that can have the same biases - but even so, for me it's not particularly satisfying.

In the same vein...

Hephiastion my beloved. He does suffer from this too, I think. He's very much in the style of an 'Alexander-can-do-no-wrong' kind of character, and although that does fit the narrative purpose, it simultaneously makes me a little sad that we don't particularly get to see an active, competent Hephaistion in the way I personally feel he likely was. He's not completely reduced to the role of 'the boyfriend', but he is completely defined by Alexander - his behaviour, his impulses, his career are all attributed more to being 'philalexandros', than to any genuinely displayed individualistic motives. Again, it's not a bad thing, but for my Hephaistion-loving gremlin heart it can be dissatisfying if I don't turn off that portion of my brain a bit.

All of which is my very rambling way of saying: yes, I've read Renault's Alexandriad, and yes I genuinely do love those books - for what they represent, for what they do and just for the sheer joy of reading them. But I do have some slight quibbles. None of which are enough to put me off of them, only to say that I think as a reader I have to temper my expectations and meet the books where they are (for what they are). They are beautifully written, and I do think they do something rather unique for the Alexander mythos.

One other book I'd recommend - purely for the sheer delight of it - is Aubrey Menen's A Conspiracy of Women. Written around the same time, it's very different and deals primarily with a moment in time during Alexander's campaigns. It is a satire (not particularly historically motivated), and it pokes fun at quite literally everyone. Whilst not at all romantic in (either sense of the word) the way Renault's writing is, I do love the fact it takes aim at Alexander, and the Alexander mythos (along with a more generally satirical approach to the concept of empire building).

I also love Menen's Hephaistion, who is possibly the driest, wittiest takes-no-nonsense-from Alexander character:

Few men could face an angry Alexander and remain in control of themselves. But one of these was Hephaestion. He glanced at his friend the King, smiled and then said, "Alexander, if you continue to glare that way, the poor man will die of fright. Bathyllus," he said, "for the moment only His Majesty may wear Persian robes. Maybe one day we shall all do so. But His Majesty has not yet made up his mind on the subject."

This being the exact truth, it made Alexander angrier than ever, as Hephaestion knew it would, but with him and not with the unfortunate Bathyllus. Alexander turned his back on Hephaestion. "See that he is brought to my tent," he said, and strode away.

"See that you bring yourself to His Majesty's tent," said Hephaestion to Bathyllus. "I am in no mood for his imperial tantrums this evening..." (pg.19)

Or:

"Hephaestion," he said, "am I really as vain as you say?"

"Did I say you were vain?"

"You said I was in love with myself. Just now. When I boxed your ears."

"Ah," said Hephaestion. "Yes. You are."

"You must tell me when I get vain."

"I do," said Hephaestion.

"Yes, you do," said Alexander. "And I am grateful."

"You are usually remarkably cross," said Hephaestion. "But I shall go on telling you."

"It's strange," said Alexander. "We have conquered a world together, but our friendship is as strong as ever."

Hephaestion made no answer.

"You must find me very hard to bear sometimes, Hephaestion."

"Sometimes," agreed Hephaestion.

"When?" asked Alexander.

"When, for instance, you say things like 'We have conquered a world together, but our friendship is as strong as ever'." Hephaestion echoed exactly the touch of pomposity that Alexander had put into his voice.

Alexander smiled. He reached out and put a hand on Hephaestion's shoulder as they rode together." (pg. 101)

Hephaistion my beloved.

#lady replies #perils of a classicist in modern life #sometimes Lady is a Classicist #this reply could be ten times longer #I have a lot to say about Alexander in fiction #and it shows #alas I do not have the time to do a deep dive into all the things I'd love to reflect on at the moment

[ladyinbooks]

Absolutely everything Dr Reames has said above - 100% agree. She's summarised perfectly the issues that I have with Hephaistion in a lot of docu/dramas (including his relegation to 'the boyfriend' and the use of the 'jealous boyfriend' trope).

(And Dr Reames, if that's a spoiler for Dancing with the Lion, then I am very, very excited to see your take on Roxanna!)

So at any given point (in any given day), you can usually find me thinking about Hephaistion Amyntoros. (Yes, I'm a Classicist. Yes, I have favourites, ok?)

I recently made the choice to watch Netflix's Alexander the Great docudrama, and while I have a lot of Thoughts on it (let's not get me started on the cutesy nicknames, because I'm still gnashing my teeth), I did have a good laugh at the fact some reviewers are getting themselves in an absolute twist over the fact that Alexander might have - gasp! - been in love with Hephaistion! (I feel like we're reliving 2004, and the legendary threat by a group of Greek lawyers to sue Oliver Stone over this exact same thing...). The whole Alexander/Hephaistion thing is not...new. At all. I am not sure why this is apparently a surprise.

(Like, it's 2024 and we're still really ignoring Diogenes and his little dig to Alexander about Hephaistion's thighs, huh?*)

Personally, I take far more issue with not letting Hephaistion be seen as competent in documentaries/dramas. Let him be his awesome self! He was out there running logistics, enacting diplomacy, getting the army fed and watered and running Alexander's empire (not on his own, but he achieved the highest ranking office the year before his death and he got it because he was darn good at what he did). Hephaistion was capable. Eminently capable. He had politicians and philosophers writing to him, and yes the likelihood was they did so because he had the ear of the king, but the reason he had that ear at all was because the king trusted him to handle those issues well.

So let's give the man his dues please. (And if you'd like more info on any of this, I'd wholeheartedly suggest picking up any of the research done by Dr Jeanne Reames, who examines Hephaistion and his role beautifully.)

*Yes, I know, that source is unreliable - ssh, let me have this

#Today was the day #Lady discovered one of her academic heroes has a tumblr #also if you haven't read the Dancing with the Lion series #do it. #Do it now. #Run do not walk to it #It is perfect #perils of a classicist in modern life

[ladyinbooks]

So at any given point (in any given day), you can usually find me thinking about Hephaistion Amyntoros. (Yes, I'm a Classicist. Yes, I have favourites, ok?)

I recently made the choice to watch Netflix's Alexander the Great docudrama, and while I have a lot of Thoughts on it (let's not get me started on the cutesy nicknames, because I'm still gnashing my teeth), I did have a good laugh at the fact some reviewers are getting themselves in an absolute twist over the fact that Alexander might have - gasp! - been in love with Hephaistion! (I feel like we're reliving 2004, and the legendary threat by a group of Greek lawyers to sue Oliver Stone over this exact same thing...). The whole Alexander/Hephaistion thing is not...new. At all. I am not sure why this is apparently a surprise.

(Like, it's 2024 and we're still really ignoring Diogenes and his little dig to Alexander about Hephaistion's thighs, huh?*)

Personally, I take far more issue with not letting Hephaistion be seen as competent in documentaries/dramas. Let him be his awesome self! He was out there running logistics, enacting diplomacy, getting the army fed and watered and running Alexander's empire (not on his own, but he achieved the highest ranking office the year before his death and he got it because he was darn good at what he did). Hephaistion was capable. Eminently capable. He had politicians and philosophers writing to him, and yes the likelihood was they did so because he had the ear of the king, but the reason he had that ear at all was because the king trusted him to handle those issues well.

So let's give the man his dues please. (And if you'd like more info on any of this, I'd wholeheartedly suggest picking up any of the research done by Dr Jeanne Reames, who examines Hephaistion and his role beautifully.)

*Yes, I know, that source is unreliable - ssh, let me have this

#perils of a classicist in modern life #sometimes Lady is a Classicist #and it shows #Hephaistion my beloved

[ladyinbooks]

When Hiraeth Terai is sent to kill a whore, he assumes the job will  be simple. But Damas Kyrion is not at all the usual type of hetairos,  and the secrets he holds could burn planets.

As if that wasn’t enough of a problem, there’s also the way he seems familiar. So familiar, in fact, that all Hiraeth wants to do is keep him.

Whether Damas agrees to it, or not.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

(And is now a bad time to admit that RP is... very likely going to be more than 34 chapters now I've completely finished drafting the predicted chapter outlines?)

#rarely pure #damas kyrion #hiraeth terai #lysander kyrios #aubrey draxios

[ladyinbooks]

hi! big fan of your stories here, just came here to say i was just reminded of "he's got stadust in his veins" and i hope you got your rabies shot recently because i'm foaming at the mouth. i'd give anything and anyone (except you) to experience reading about IB for the first time again. i love you so much <3<3<3

AHHH! OMG lovely Anon! This beautiful message made me tear up this evening. Thank you so much! 😭😭❤️❤️❤️ I'm so pleased you love IB - it's a fic that's so close to my heart for so many different reasons, so it genuinely makes my day when I read that someone has enjoyed it, and is thinking about it too.

#lady replies #icarus burning

[ladyinbooks]

When Hiraeth Terai is sent to kill a whore, he assumes the job will  be simple. But Damas Kyrion is not at all the usual type of hetairos,  and the secrets he holds could burn planets.

As if that wasn’t enough of a problem, there’s also the way he seems familiar. So familiar, in fact, that all Hiraeth wants to do is keep him.

Whether Damas agrees to it, or not.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

#Rarely Pure #Hiraeth Terai #Damas Kyrion #Lysander Kyrios #Aubrey Draxios

[ladyinbooks]

@moardragonspls has written the definitive IB and The Mummy crossover. You can find the first chapter of The Lenian Sun Rises HERE. (The fic is archive locked, so make sure you log in and leave @moardragonspls some love and kudos if you can! ❤️)

I know I've screamed about this fic before, but it deserves screaming about again! Political prisoner!Jay. Priest!Samiel. Deneira and her machinations. I just love this so much! 😭 Jay in that golden sarong is just...mm. Perfection. And then seductive, cunning Samiel (hello you beautiful morally grey wonder!). The whole setup for this fic is such a stunning, intriguing premise, and I'm itching to know more. The backstory here is only hinted at so far, but you can tell it's a rich, beautiful one, and nothing hits my gleeful political shenanigans love in quite the same way as differences in status, and this has it in spades.

Oh, I'm in love all over again. Thank you @moardragonspls for creating this masterpiece - it lives in my head pretty much all the time. (And I was strangely thinking about this on the train on Monday!) ❤️❤️❤️❤️

#lady's phenomenal readers #Icarus Burning

[ladyinbooks]

No thoughts. Head empty. Just over here sobbing and screaming over the utter perfection of @dashka12's insane talent. 😭😭😭

OMG LOOK AT IT! It's so beautiful! ❤️ P2P in Penguin Classics style. I have so many Penguin Classics on my shelves, and now Path to Paradise looks like one of them. There was incoherent feral gremlin screaming when I saw this. So much of it.

(And the original binding @dashka12 did of P2P is so utterly, utterly glorious. I'm staring at it on my bookshelf right now, and I still get it down to just hold it from time to time, because it's a thing of beauty. 😍)

Binderary Bind #1 💖

Paperback version of Path to Paradise by @ladyinbooks in the Penguin Classic Aesthetic.

Since the first week of february is only half a week thought i'd start easy with a paperback before attempting two books a week.

I also made a hardback version last year and here are the two side by side.

#lady's phenomenal readers #Path to Paradise

[ladyinbooks]

GraveTiger is still posting their epic Daimion Athannus fic, and I'm still utterly hooked on the world building and plot! The politics are delicious, and I'm still:

Utterly enthralled by the Daimion/Venn brotp (seriously, I love them)

Gnawing and feral over the political shenanigans and world building

In love with an OC (I am Team Talos and no one can stop me!)

#lady's phenomenal readers #icarus burning

[ladyinbooks]

I have to say that upon re-read, I love Athannus so much

Awww! 😭 I'm so glad you love him! He's one of my (absolutely not a secret) faves. ❤️ I have so many thoughts about Daimion, and even though I plotted his story out from start to finish, he's honestly just such a tragedy, poor man.

For me, the theme of Daimion's story is 'almost'. He was almost happy. He almost had the love of his life. He almost got away with unseating Deneira. He almost didn't make it to being king (because he didn't want it). He almost got to have his son properly in his life. And in the end, the only thing really left to him, all day every day, is duty. And he's bound by it. He's good, and honest and decent and so he won't ever hand power over to anyone else (at least not until Pyrrhine's well and truly out of her current mindset), because it's Lenia first, for him. Above his own happiness. Above everything.

And honestly if I could, I'd love to give him happiness. Send him off to live on Elysium, to bask in the sunshine and be with what's left of his family. More, I'd love to give him Aoide back too, because I think she's there in his heart always, and there's probably not a day that goes by where he doesn't miss her, or see scraps of her in the people around him (Samiel, and even Deneira).

And now I've made myself sad.

Justice for Daimion!

#lady replies #Icarus Burning

[ladyinbooks]

i just devoured all of ur works and they’re AMAZING (like ‘i’m seriously considering learning how to book bind so i can have physical copies’ level amazing). i can’t stop rereading them. i just had a four hour flight and all i did was reread icarus burning on it. also your love in chains au (jay being a prisoner but STILL in charge? chefs kiss) and anything to do with samiel/jay/pallas (i get it pallas) are especially interesting to me with how they change the main story dynamics while still keeping true to the core of the characters. your writing is honestly incredible and ill read anything you write forever. i can’t wait for more of rarely pure and going down (hades and persephone references?? hello)

Ahh, oh my gosh - what a lovely message! Thank you! ❤️❤️❤️

Firstly, I'm sorry but I was grinning so much when I read that you'd spent your four-hour flight re-reading IB. I mean... honestly, that's just so lovely. (And the idea of someone loving it enough to be reading it on a plane just makes me mind-bendingly happy - you have no idea!) I have a similar length flight tomorrow, and now I'm going to spend most of it grinning to myself thinking someone chose to spend their time travelling by reading something I wrote. (Sorry, I can't explain it, but it just has really made my day to know that.)

The Love in Chains AU still sits frequently in my head, and the dynamic is exactly as you described. I've had a rough little draft in my 'random stuff' folder for a while now, that I think I need to tidy up and post. Basically a tiny sequel where everyone thinks Samiel is the most dangerous man in the room and... mm. No. It's the man who comes in halfway through the meeting, distracts 'the most dangerous man in the room' and then quietly derails the whole operation. Jay vs. Samiel in this scenario is... well. I have a whole lot of thoughts about Jay weaponising affection against Samiel in a viciously calculated way, purely so he can continue to undermine Samiel's rule. (And, let's be honest, there's also a part of him that very much loves the idea of having that power over the 'most dangerous man in the room'.)

I'm glad someone else is on team Pallas! (I have such a soft spot for him. He's such a poor bewildered sweetheart! 😂)

The good news is that there is - at last! - more Rarely Pure. I've got another 30k written, so I'm happy I can start posting again now. Which means there will be a chapter up this Sunday.

As for 'Going Down', it's still next on my list, and I'm quietly picking away at all the angst and drama in an outline. (Poor Jack. I'm enjoying making him suffer!)

#lady replies

[ladyinbooks]

OMG! GraveTiger has started a Daimion Athannus fic and I'M IN LOVE! I'm crying! Daimion my beloved!

It's Chasing Rainbows on AO3, and so far chapter one features:

Daimion's inner monologue (salty and hilarious and beautifully bittersweet)

Gorgeous, gorgeous world building

Pallas! We have Pallas! This is not a drill!

Something Daimion Never Wanted To Think About Regarding His Son-In-Law

Daimion & Venndred brotp (I am here for them - I have all the feels for them - they deserve all the brotpness they can have and I love their drunken bitching sessions)

Now excuse me, I'm off to read chapter one again.

#icarus burning #lady's phenomenal readers

[ladyinbooks]

Hello! First of all I love all your works and am currently in the process of rereading Icarus Burning because it lives rent free in my mind and has become a comfort story. Secondly, I was wondering if you have a specific program you like to use to write with and would recommend?

Oh my gosh thank you! ❤️ I honoured it's become a comfort story - I definitely have a few of those, so the fact that IB is one of yours means a great deal to me.

In terms of recommending software to write with, I am... sadly very, very old school. 😂 We're talking 'Wait, this is MS Word 2010' kind of old school (largely because I refuse to upgrade to Office365 and have grimly clung on to my one-off bought Office suite that doesn't force me to sign in anywhere). For me, Word works (albeit I cheerfully ignore the grammar hints most of the time), because I'm comfortable with it. I tend to use either Calibri or Times New Roman (I know, I know) for fonts.

So I suppose the only advice I can really give is: find software that works for you. Make sure it's something you're comfortable with, and suits your purposes (e.g. do you want things like autocorrect/grammar/spelling/suggestions etc., or do you want something more basic?). I think it's also got to look right, if that makes sense? It has to be something you're comfortable staring at for a while. (I speak from the experience of glaring at pages of RP today. 🤣)

#lady replies

[ladyinbooks]

Hi! I am a huge fan of Icarus, Burning!! Thank you for writing this beautiful piece of work! I was wondering if you’re okay with creating personal binds of your story? I’m an amateur bookbinder and have bound a few fics so far, and would love to have a personal copy of Icarus Burning as I love your story half to death! I adhere to all codes of conducts regarding the ethics of binding fanfictions or unpublished original works, so there will be no profit generated from this project - just a precious story to keep on my shelf! I would also be more than happy to make a copy for you as well, as I’ve done that before in the past for other authors!

Please let me know, but if you do not feel comfortable with it I completely understand! Thank you in any case! I’d be happy to talk about it more if you have any questions or anything you want to know about me!

Thanks again 🫶🏻

Hello! 😊

Oh my gosh, thank you! I'm so pleased you love IB. (Seriously, it makes me so happy when people let me know they have enjoyed it!)❤️

In terms of binding a copy, please do feel free! I'm always absolutely honoured that people want to create such beauty from something I've written! The only requests I always have are: that the bindings are for personal use, and that my fics aren't uploaded to sites like LuLu) for creation. (And if you would like to link me to any pictures of the binding, I very much want to scream excitedly about them! 😊)

Feel free to message me if you would like to ask any more details, and thank you so much for such a lovely message! ❤️❤️

#lady replies #icarus burning