#chronicles of the kencyrath

[words-writ-in-starlight]

Hello, I came across your Kencyrath rec post and I am tentatively intruiged. That said I wanted to ask about a trigger before I dive in. Suicide is pretty strong trigger for me. I can handle it if it's mentioned, but detailed descriptions of the act or a lot of time spent in a suicidal character's head/thoughts dealing with suicidal ideation would not be. Is this an issue in the Chronicles of Kencyrath, and if it is, do you have a different recommendation?

Okay SO.

The Kencyrath exist in a honor/shame society, in which going against the code of honor (lying, breaking your word, etc) is considered a sin that can only be forgiven through an honorable death. Sometimes this takes the form of going into battle without the intention to come back, generally without armor, but it also takes the form of ritualized suicide with a specific kind of knife. I would call it a very specific kind of suicidal ideation, in which it doesn’t come so much from a depressive headspace as it does from a kind of rigidly religious one. There isn’t a ton of time spent in the heads of characters actively pursuing ritual suicide, nor what I would call traditional depressive suicidality, but it IS a very present element of the society, including people freely making choices with the understanding that they will be expected to take their own life afterward, or people being forced to take their own life as an alternative to being dishonored. Think samurai rules or Imperial Chinese rules and you’ll be in the right ballpark. Ultimately I can’t know the inside of your brain, but if onscreen suicide discussion or aftermath is a concern, I might table this series until you feel more ready for it.

In terms of alternative recommendations, buckle up, I have a list based on what part of the Kencyrath pitch you were into. These recommendations are made with the assumption that all the OTHER content warnings for the Kencyrath are not a problem, but I’ll note any really major ones and include a broad rating according to AO3 rules. Anything with an asterisk by it heavily features the big Chivalric Devotion vibes of the main Kencyrath dynamics. I read a lot of that.

Sprawling politics:

The Unbroken* (drafted soldier impresses daughter of the empress, they try to stop a war, full of double-crossing schemes and gallant ladies, cw colonialism, M for violence, sex, and extremely real colonialism)

The Captive Prince* (dethroned prince is sold into slavery under his mortal enemy, definitional enemies-to-lovers content, cw sexual assault, E for a very sexually relaxed culture in a bad way)

A Taste of Gold and Iron* (unambitious prince gets tangled up in a currency fraud scheme and gets a shiny new bodyguard, E for a very sexually relaxed culture in a good way)

October Daye series (starts out classic urban fantasy, rapidly becomes Blood Magic and Politics The Series, for those committed to a long series, T for violence)

Pulp fantasy adventure vibes:

Hero and the Crown/The Blue Sword* (classic sword and sorcery fantasy, for DnD lovers and people who read Horse Girl Books as kids, General Audiences)

Silver Under Nightfall* (vampire couple teams up with vampire hunter to cure a magical plague, the polyamorous murder romance you need in your life, cw coercive assault and body horror, E for gore and numerous threesomes)

Heaven Official’s Blessing***** (translated Chinese novel, very old fallen god returns to Heaven and Does His Best, for those committed to a LONG book, currently on volume 8, T for violence)

Witch King (body hopping demon tries to solve his own murder with his found family in tow, perfect standalone book, T for violence)

Spicy magic systems:

The City We Became/The World We Made (sentient cities and extra dimensional invaders, for everyone who read a lot of Avengers In NYC fic back in 2012, cw racism and survival sex work, M for sex)

Gideon the Ninth/The Locked Tomb series***** (everyone knows about this series, it’s the one with the lesbian space necromancers, cw for just the craziest flavors of abuse, M for violence and cannibalism I guess, also fits the below category)

The Gilded Ones* (what if all the misogynists who said women were demons were absolutely correct, and it was fucking rad, cw for SO much sexism and also religious indoctrination, T for violence)

A Soul to Keep* et al (okay oKAY LOOK THIS IS MONSTERFUCKER CONTENT BUT I RECOMMEND IT, local cursed woman gets forced to marry a demon, they argue a lot and the sex scenes are REAL bizarre, cw kidnapping and the second book deals with a character coming out of a severe depression, HARD E for monsterfucking, obviously)

Interpersonal relationships that are just SO fucked up:

A Dowry of Blood (a letter from Dracula’s first wife to the man himself, cw domestic abuse, M for adult themes and sex)

Remnants of Filth/Yuwu* (translated Chinese novel, loyal general becomes the jailer for his traitorous ex-lover, cw slavery and discussion of sexual assault, E for sex)

The Salt Grows Heavy (homicidal Little Mermaid and plague doctor wander through an apocalypse together, actually read everything Cassandra Khaw has ever touched, the absolute pinnacle of horror, cw all her stuff for really creative violence and body horror, M for violence and gore)

Anyway if you have any other book recommendation questions and/or you read any of these and enjoy them, hit me up, recommending books to people is genuinely one of my great joys in life.

#Kencyrath #book rec #chronicles of the Kencyrath #hooooo boy howdy let’s get into these tags huh #the unbroken #the captive prince #a taste of gold and iron #October daye #the blue sword #silver under nightfall #heaven official’s blessing #tgcf #witch king #the city we became #the locked tomb #Gideon the ninth #the gilded ones #a soul to keep #a dowry of blood #remnants of filth #Yuwu #the salt grows heavy #cassandra khaw #listen i fucking L O V E recommending books #i AM the person who will ask what you like about your favorite books and recommend five things off the top of my head #i flatter myself I’m quite good at it #oh the other cassandra khaw book i recommend is hammers on bone #which is about an elder god working a day job as a private investigator #and has the vibe of a magnus archives Meat Episode(TM) #but that one doesn’t really fit the kencyrath tone except a couple niche scenes in the master’s house and jame’s nightmares

[elise-nic]

If you haven't read the Kencyrath series, which of the following would you guess didn't happen (yet):

@2-octopuses-in-a-trenchcoat

#chronicles of the kencyrath #kencyrath #polls #if you haven't read blank polls #if you haven't read

[rattyjol]

I found a couple of old fics tonight and posted them on AO3 basically unedited:

Esk, Issa (Beginning, Movement): Imperial Radch, 800 words

My existence began in a single room. Or rather, this is where my memory record begins. My existence itself began in a laboratory some very many gates away, but this is only hardware. I, myself, did not begin until I was already in orbit, already set into place above the planet where I was destined to live and die.

The Merrikitt Hotel: Chronicles of the Kencyrath, mall AU, 1.2k

Jame stood in the empty hotel parking lot and tapped her chin. Up close, the Merrikitt Hotel was much nicer than she’d thought, dwarfed as it was by the Four Seasons’ veritable high rise next door. She contemplated the likely price for a room, weighed it against her unfortunately barren wallet, and then weighed it a second time against Rowan’s reaction if Jame came back from her lunch break still dripping mud all over The Knorth Face’s nice clean floors. Never mind that Jame thought it would lend a pleasing verisimilitude to an outdoor goods store; Rowan’s expressionless face could speak volumes when necessary. Right, showering at the Merrikitt it was.

#imperial radch #chronicles of the kencyrath #ancillary #kencyrath #anita writes

[othercat2]

Book Blather

I have volumes three and four of Heaven Official's Blessing on hold at the library! (I was somewhat surprised to find that the library got them for some reason. I shouldn't have been, after all, Phoenix public library has a lot of LGBT titles, including some fairly obscure sf and fantasy.)

Books I'm reading:

Deathless Gods, PC Hodgell: This is the most recent book in the Chronicles of the Kencyrath. Jame and Tori have to deep with the extremely slimy political machinations of Caldane Caineron, who has screwed up the mercenary contracts with the Seven Kings, who are one of the Kencyr's major clients. (The Kencyr primarily support themselves through taking mercenary contracts. The Riverlands are not actually great territory for extensive agriculture.)

Jame's friendships with Timmon and Gorbel continue to be slightly surreal and hilarious. (Jame is obviously a Very Good Influence.)

Kindrie meanwhile is neck-deep in unspecified trouble. I think The Trouble will probably turn out to be related to his third of the Tyr-ridan and politics.

In other news, I adore Randiroc.

The Grief of Stones, by Katherine Addison: I am pretty much chugging my way through this book. The going has been pretty slow since it's a pretty dark read this time around.

Assassins of Thassalon by Lois McMaster Bujold: I only got a few pages into this book, and that was months ago, which means I will have to start from the begining. What I read was pretty good, but I got distracted.

Scorpica by G.R. Macallister: I have not even started this book, and I might not because its hard for me to start new books. The worldbuilding looks interesting! But I am also having mild flashbacks to obscure seventies/eighties fantasy-sf with matriarchal societies. As one does.

Beyond, by Mercedes Lackey: This is the first book in the Founding of Valdemar. This will be my second or third attempt to read the book. (I was only able to read a chapter before getting distracted.)

Book I am waiting for:

Witch King, by Martha Wells. Holy shit, what I've seen/heard of it is so cool. :D I am hoping for some weird found family with technical Dark Lords. (Because that's what it looks like from here. Weird found family case fic with technical Dark Lords.) May is too far away, and I am filled with Longing.

#reading #martha wells #mxtx #katherine addison #pc hodgell #chronicles of the kencyrath #witch king #grief of stones #lois mcmaster bujold #penric and desdemona

[kynngi]

wanted to doodle Jorin from the kencyrath books bc he baby

#kencyrath #jorin #im only on book 1 but i would die for him #chronicles of the kencyrath

[shipcestuous]

Been reading “Chronicles of Kencyrath”, and I definitely recommend it to any fans who like high fantasy books! The world is crazy as hell, there’s ton of incest (Jame and Tori’s sexual tension is killing me), and have a lot of badass characters in it! The new book for the series is coming out this year, so it’s the perfect time to start binge-reading it. Support the author by buying the books on Amazon and other retailers!

Thank you, Anon! How great it is to hear from an enthusiastic new reader. I did not know that a new book was coming out this year, that's very exciting. Crossing my fingers for some good Jame/Tori to add to all of the good already.

#asks #anonymous #chronicles of the kencyrath #jame and tori #r: brosis #canon #commentary #noiv #nr

[thelaithlyworm]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Chronicles of the Kencyrath - P. C. Hodgell Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Jamethiel "Jame" Priest's-bane, Torisen Black Lord, Original Character Additional Tags: Music, Band Fic, Apocalypse, Podfic, Podfic Length: 10-20 Minutes Summary:

When Jame sings, she doesn't just bring down the house, she brings down the world. Or: an ethnomusicological take on apocalyptic bandfic.

#podfic #chronicles of the kencyrath #coming down the chain

[seirnarei]

Gorbel is one of my favorite Kencyrath characters, he’s torn in so many directions and raised in one of the worst houses for respecting the Kendar but he still is one of the most respectful and decent highborn we see. Hes also just so much more calm about Jame’s general destruction than pretty much anyone other than Sheth.

#chronicles of the kencyrath #gorbel #doing a reread and got to the part in to ride a rathorn where they kill the randir tempter #by shoving bees down her throat and everyone else is just horrified and gorbel just goes you have such intresting ways of killing people #THAT IS THE RESPECT THAT I WANT FOR JAME

[who-do-i-know-this-man]

⚠️Vote for whomever YOU DO NOT KNOW⚠️‼️

#ultimate obscure blorbo #polls #round 1 #Toppei Tachibana (Vampires 1966) #Torisen Black Lord (The Chronicles of the Kencyrath)

[tanoraqui]

Torisen & Klondike bar, please!

[ask meme]

What would they do for a Klondike bar?

Tori would do nothing for a Klondike bar. Tori has never heard of Klondike bars. Jame, however, would trip - literally - into an alternate dimension where there are Klondike bars, befriend a couple local divinities, infuriate a couple other local divinities, semi-accidentally help somebody stage a coup, scandalize any Kendar who'd managed to follow her here, and return with several crates of Klondike bars. She sends one of them to Tori with a letter explaining that she thinks these may be useful for feeding their people through the upcoming winter; also that she accidentally hastened the advent of the apocalypse again by personally punching Gerridon in the face (again) (it was during the coup. don't worry about it!).

Tori may or may not read the letter. He takes a bite of one of the Klondike bars and concludes that they're good, and sends them to the kitchens to see if they can be replicated in some way, lest everyone starve this winter. He sends one to the college at Mount Albion to see if they can do it, too.

Kirien writes back that she's set the appropriate scholars on it, and by the way why isn't Tori writing about Kindrie's arrival in Gothregor? He set out two months ago.

(Kindrie has been kidnapped again. He does not get a Klondike bar.)

#akaanir of starfleet #ask meme #kencyrath #kencyrath chronicles

[quotent-potables]

That which can be destroyed by the truth should be

Kirien, Seeker's Mask, book 3 of the Godstalker Chronicles, by P. C. Hodgell

#quotes #seeker's mask #godstalker chronicles #kencyrath #i have not read this book or this series #so let me know if i am labeling it wrong #truth

[laaxrun]

9 people you would like to get to know better

Tagged by @aeondeug

3 ships: hi i had to rewrite this entire section

Jame/Tori from the Kencyrath Chronicles. Not even always in a romantic way, I'm just so obsessed with them and all of the incredibly kind and incredibly (accidentally) fucked up ways they love each other. Utena/Anthy because that series rewrote my entire brain as a queer weirdo teen. I'll be thinking about their revolution until I die. Griddlehark and their situationship(s) with Ianthe because they're all so awful (affectionate) and I'm dying waiting for Alecto to come out. I may reread this series soon

First ship: I genuinely have no idea, but given what I was doing on the internet as a teen it could've been almost any popular ship in 2006

Last song: I had the sudden but very explicable urge to listen to the metalocalypse theme today. So it's that

Last movie: Zardoz! We hosted a movie night to watch this with friends and god it was fucking weird. Featuring a freshly post-Bond Sean Connery in a speedo with attached bandoliers

Currently watching: X-Files, very slowly. The Untamed, also very slowly. And theoretically my partner and I are watching Utena lol

Currently consuming: Ten Planets by Yuri Herrera, Deadhouse Gates by Steven Erikson, and Varney the Vampire. And lots of goth rock, because it's that time of year (all year)

Currently craving: hot apple cider and curry

Ah fuck, do I even know nine people to tag?

@professorahoge @rubberbandballqueen @awoocrew @prawnwar @v3rb4tim @cheshiremadds @pippinstark @glamourslime @clitar

Woe, questions be upon ye!

#runner-up ship is hualian bc my darling girlfriend (tagged above) made me watch the tgcf donghua #and thus all but physically chucked me down the danmei rabbit hole

[tanoraquisloviebracket]

Round 2, Poll O

Dave the Polar Bear (mid-sized) is one of my first—maybe the first?—of my annual family Secret Santa gifts via the World Wildlife Fund's adoption program. He’s named after David Tennant because a friend of mine at the time was a big fan of both Tennant and polar bears. 

VS

Blackie (black-finned shark, small) was recently gifted to me by a friend. You may have noticed by this point that I like sharks! Mostly named for his black fins, a little bit named for Torisen “Blackie” Knorth of the Kencyrath Chronicles.

#round 2 #lovies #stuffies #polls #bracket #stuffed animals

[shadow-words]

Book Review: Deathless Gods by P.C. Hodgell

Deathless Gods by PC Hogdell--Some great moments but tending toward the darker side.

Deathless Gods by P.C. Hodgell is the tenth book in The Chronicles of the Kencyrath. It features a great deal of politicking, difficulties with the mercenary contracts the Kencyrath need to keep their people fed over winter, and a slowly building sense of dread. Torisen attempts to navigate the increasingly murky waters of a society under siege and possibly losing. Kindrie gets kidnapped (isn’t…

View On WordPress

#fantasy #p.c. hodgell #review: book

[othercat2]

Kencyrath Memes!

I've been listening to @thepodcastboundinpaleleather and I've gotten to the read-through of Dark of the Moon.

#chronicles of the kencyrath #i love my tiny fandom

[kynngi]

Torisen Black Lord upon being drugged and hunted for sport in his own house

#Kencyrath #chronicles of the kencyrath #torisen #ok but im on TRaR and im legitimately losing my mind at tori being forced to hide under furniture from these ladies