Quiet Portrayals of Minorities

We, along with many others, have said time and again how important it is for us to have marginalised people depicted. Erasure is extremely damaging, and tokenism is little better improvement.

Many authors and writers are catching on to that - either due to a genuine hope to make things better or because they’ve caught on that diversity may be a useful marketing ploy in some circles (yes, I tend to be that cynical - indeed anyone looking at the conquest of the Shondaverse should have realised there’s money in diversity).

One of the things that feeds my cynicism are the “Quiet Portrayals.”

“Quiet Portrayals” can come in many forms: the Blink-and-you-miss-it-bisexual, the ambiguously-olive-skin-tone, the absent POC ancestor, the careful avoidance of labels and identities, relying on vague descriptors or relying on brief one off mentions in long series.

Ultimately, they are portrayals of marginalised characters - but kept as low key as possible. It very closely resembles the idea of having to Google The Minorities, but while there you can only tell that a character is marginalised by looking for extra-textual clues and statements by the author (the infamous Word of Gay which renders Dumbledore gay, honest), in this case you have to carefully study every book and every episode and pick out the one or two references that indicate that a character is a minority. The information is in the book, it’s definitely there - it is just very brief and easily missed to people who aren’t taking careful notes.

The marginalised person is portrayed as marginalised in the book or on the show - but

but carefully masked, subtly presented to not be too overt or too present or too offputting for the privileged mainstream. That’s not saying that the writers here are expressly thinking in those terms - in many cases I would say certainly not. However the pressures of “maketability”, the societal default and our overwhelming sense of what a protagonist should look like, as well as the ongoing insistence that a book with marginalised characters must be entirely about marginalised issues make the Quiet Portrayal a very easy trap to fall into.

For marginalised readers this may be a portrayal of themselves - but it comes with a subtext: yes you can be in these stories so long as you are quiet. So long as you aren’t TOO Black/gay/Asian/trans. So long as you don’t “flaunt” or “stuff it down people’s throats.” Again, this may not be the intended message of the author - and they may even have more overt marginalised characters (but who are probably not more prominent, not as major a character or not the protagonist), but it does carry this message. The main characters, the protagonist can be marginalised so long as they are sufficiently “low key” while marginalised characters who cannot hide, cannot pass or whose marginalisation is not easily overlooked are pushed to supporting roles.

There are many ways this Quiet Portrayal can be achieved. One of them is to make references to the character’s marginalised nature to be brief and one off in a more overarching story. Take Sanctuary, Dr. Helen Magnus, who despite being a co-protagonist and appearing in 58 episodes over 4 seasons there is one, one single episode, where her bisexuality was referenced. If you missed that episode, you would think this series completely lacked LGBT characters, it certainly didn’t help that this belated revelation only crept onto the scene in the second-to-last episode of the show. Doctor Who also lept on that trope with River Song giving us a last minute spoiler that she is bisexual. Witches of East End lasted only two seasons - but it was two seasons full of overwhelming amounts of graphic sexuality and sexual relationships between opposite sex couples; except two episodes. Two episodes in which it was revealed Joanna is bisexual and has had a female lover who we briefly meet. Her bisexuality is not mentioned before this and never mentioned again - in a show that is wall-to-wall naked skin and humping.

The Witch with No Name (Hollows #13) by Kim Harrison

Cormel, Undead Master vampire, is finally tired of waiting for Rachel to discover how to preserve their souls after death. He wants results and he wants them now – or Ivy dies.

You’d think angry Master vampires would be enough for anyone to deal with – but the Dewar of the elves is forming their own plans – machinations that could have dire consequences not just for the vampires caught in their manipulations – but the future of magic itself.

Throw in Earthbound demons, pixies that can’t fly and the elven goddess coming back and gunning for Rachel and it feels like everything is collapsing at once – and only Rachel can put it together again.

This is the last of the Hollows Series and I’m not sure how to react to that

Actually, that’s a lie. I react to that by weeping inconsolably, running around the house babbling incomprehensibly in between screaming “WHYYYYYYYYYY?! at an uncaring sky before huddling in a corner, clutching my tablet and rocking back and forth, occasionally pleading with the universe for just one more book.

But that rather lacks dignity, it has to be said.

This book, the last book (NOOOOO), just makes all of that even worse! Because it is pretty much the perfect ending to the Hollows Saga, it draws upon so much that has made this series awesome ; it manages to both perfectly cap this awesome series and remind me how awesome this series is and how it CANNOT END! NOOOOO!

Ok, I’m trying to write a coherent review, I really am – but all I keep hearing is “NOOOOOOOOOOOO!” repeating over and over in my head.

This story brings together this awesome world, bringing it back to its core and underscoring everything we’ve already learned – that basically nearly everything out there is a result of the Elves vs Demon conflict – the vampires and their lack of souls and their whole toxic society and culture, the weres, the witches, the curses on the elves and the demons, the ever-after, ley lines etc. I love how the power of this is shown through the eyes of those around Rachel – especially Trent and Al – we see that hatred that is saturated in their cultures but we also see the guilt; the awareness of the sheer atrocities both species have inflicted not just on each other but also on the world in general is really prevalent throughout the book.

Another constant reminder is just how broken their world actually is – how everything is pretty much wrong; like the undead vampires and their constant, normalised abuse, the FIB and their inability to enforce the law and the IS and their unwillingness to do so and so many other little hints.

The Problem With Trent and Rachel's Love Story in Kim Harrison's The Hollows

Possible Spoilers Ahead

The Hollows is a series by one of our favourite authors, Kim Harrison. Essentially, humankind becomes stricken by an infection borne in tomatoes and the world almost shuts down. The world is saved by the supernaturals (Inderlanders) who not only announce their presence but take on the jobs once filled by humanity to keep the world running. Our protagonist is Rachel Morgan and she is a witch. She lives with her friends Jenks, a pixie and Ivy, a living vampire. Together our merry threesome spends most of the series involved in one supernatural disaster after another.  If you haven’t read The Hollows, we heartily recommend it.

Throughout the series, Rachel for better or worse has had several love interests. In recent books however, it’s clear that Harrison is setting Rachel up to have her HEA with Trent - an extremely shrewd elf. There are longtime fans of this series who are great fans of this pairing and, to some degree, I agree that Rachel and Trent make an awesome couple. I even admit that at one time I may have tweeted Kim Harrison bemoaning the fact that she didn’t let Rachel and Trent do it at the end of book 11. Talk about a pure tease. Rachel and Trent have known each other since they were children and for much of that time it would be fair to describe their interactions as acrimonious. It is only after Rachel works as Trent’s security on a few missions that an attraction begins to develop and they learn to see each other through a different lens. However, as the relationship progressed, even as my pure fanpoodle heart was racing, there were several problems that I have been forced to acknowledge.

Trent has done some terrible things… but this doesn’t necessarily preclude a relationship, especially if the characters and relationship are developed and the problems addressed.

Trent is one of the best characters I’ve seen written in a long time, certainly one of the best villains and, in some ways, one of the best redeemed villains. He appears in the first book as the cruel and brutal organised crime boss, a man engaging in horrendous illegal research that has already destroyed most of humanity - he’s a drug dealer, a murderer, a man Rachel simply has to bring to justice.

As the story develops we learn so much more about him - and see so much about his growth.

Was he ruthless and engaging in terribly illegal practices? Of course he was - his entire species

rested on the results of his tests. His people will literally become extinct if he is not successful - how could he not break these laws? And how could he not destroy his enemies with brutal, evil efficiency? This isn’t his money or his power that is under threat - they are threatening the continuation of his species. If someone was literally menacing the last hope humanity has to stave off extinction, what would we do to them?

Was he callous and cold? Yes, but did he have a choice - raised by bodyguards who have extreme trouble showing emotion after his parents were killed? Having dubious friends (at best), the best of which actively engages in a gang war with him? What chance did he have to become other than callously ruthless when he had this solemn duty dumped on him from such a young age? When the only tools he has to achieves these goals break the most vital laws of society, how could he not become an underworld power? There is literally no other way for him to save his people.

As the books progress we learn more and more about his character - not someone breaking the law and controlling people for his own power, but forced into this very dark life by an overwhelming sense of duty. We also learn that his overwhelming loathing of demons, which colours many of his reactions to Rachel’s magic use, has to be overcome in the face of a mutual genocidal war and thousands of years of brutal conflict

We also see him grow as he learns that there are other ways to do things. As he comes to know Rachel - and Jenks - he develops real friendship perhaps for the first time in his life. He learns a way of doing things beyond bribes, threats, charming manipulation and the loyalty of employees, even though he’s tried all on Rachel, none have compelled more than temporary compliance (and no small amount of headaches). As the books progress and he needs them more and more (and is pushed by Quen) he is forced to work with Rachel as an equal, to show her grudging respect and, in doing so, learn a whole new way of living and thinking. In the last book he marvels how many people in Rachel’s life are willing to risk so much for her - how, when her life is on the rocks, she has Ivy and Jenks and David and so many others willing to step up and have her back. Rachel shows him a new way of living and a new way of relating to people and an option beyond the eternal pressures of duty that crush him.

Undead Pool (The Hollows #12) by Kim Harrison

Chaos comes to Cincinnati again – magic is raging out of control, waves of unpredictable, boosted magic is messing up spells and charms throughout the city, causing havoc. The Undead vampires, whose mere presence keeps their younger, living counterparts in check as well as organises the Inderland world have fallen to slumber and will not wake. The whole city is falling apart

And Rachel is in the middle of it. Pulled between the elves and the demons, trying to deal with the inexplicable entity that the elves worship as a goddess while dodging her fellow demons who will never tolerate such a betrayal and hunting down the dissidents who are willing to tear the whole system down.

All the while trying to decide exactly what there is between her and Trent, while duty remains an extreme barrier between them.

This book is responsible for my sleep deprivation. This book is to blame for me still being awake when the sun rose, unable to put it down because I had to keep going, I had to keep reading. This book is responsible for me being late for work because I kept putting off leaving just one more minute, just a few more pages…

Bad book. Naughty book. And may the next one be as epic. I don’t need sleep.

Where to begin on all the wonderful things about this book?

First, the world building here is epic. Complex and complicated and wonderfully integrated and explained. The whole concept of the elven goddess, what she is, her very nature and the competing opinions of the elves and demons was incredibly well done. It was both brain hurtingly complex but at the same time amazingly well explained. At the same time it added so much context and information to the elves, their magic and the battle between the elves and the demons; how the elves could be powerful enough to subjugate the demons yet the demons then obtain the power to break free and drive the elves out.

But it’s not just the magic system that has been amazingly developed and explain – the whole context of the elf/demon war has been wonderfully expanded in this book and the last book. the nuance of it, the powers each side had, the crimes each side committed, the reason for the demonic fear and hatred and elven loathing and contempt. There’s a richness and a depth to the world as it builds up book by book – shown in the Undead vampires as well. For much of the series the undead vampires have been a constant, menacing threat, a worry, something everyone could very much do without. We’ve seen how abusive they are to the living vampires who look to them as well as how corrupt they can be – and how untouchable. But this book brought the flip side of the coin – and with The Hollows there’s always a flip side to the coin. The elves are after their own agenda and in hiding, both the witches and the weres being scattered it’s the Undead who hold Inderlander society together. Without them everything falls apart, including the IS – they’re both the glue that holds Inderlander society together and the force that creates order. It’s wonderful to see that, to see the other side to the cold, menacing threat they’ve always been. In turn that creates order for larger society because the Inderlander/human hatred is still there, just under the surface which is so often hinted at through the books.

But we don’t just flip the switch – through Ivy and her struggles with Nina, with the very nature of the Free Vampires reminds us that while the Undead are essential, their reign is still cruel and badly in need of reform. But then, as we learn more of the elves, it’s clear their reign would be far from perfect.

Ever After (Hollows #11) by Kim Harrison

 Rachel is faced with a crisis that hits very close to home – Rosewood babies are being kidnapped. Babies like her, with too many demon enzyme who normally die very young, are being stolen – each with the potential to become a day walking demon.

But it is just one move in Ku’Sox’s plan against her – the created and lethal supposed saviour of demon kind has his eyes fixed on Rachel and is determined to bring her – and, in fact, all of the Ever After down with him. The demon collective is too afraid to dare challenge him, and willing to accede to his demands even as his plans set to destroy the Ever After, render demons extinct and even end magic itself.

And he’s using children – those nearest and dearest to Rachel and Trent – to get his way, forcing hard choices and sacrifices on the people she cares for. It seems she can keep no-one safe and the entire force of the demon collective is poised to fall upon her as they panic and the Ever After shrinks.

There was a lot to love here. The world building grew immensely – but never in a way that derailed the plot or even slowed it down (though there were other factors that put on the breaks). We learned so much more about the world – the history of the gargoyles, the history of the ley lines and the Ever After and, most stunning of all, the history of the demon/elf conflict and the demons’ origins. The full nature and revelations of the demon/elf war, its origins and the nature of the demons who managed to survive since then was a wonderful shift in our perceptions of who the good and bad guys are – and suggests strongly that good and bad are just far too simplistic for this conflict. It added a lot of wonderful nuance and depth to this world. I’m sitting here rewriting this paragraph several times over because I am desperately trying not to spoil the awesome revelations but equally desperately want to talk about them – because they were so good. Even aside from the main plot line, Jenks and Belle’s ongoing revelations of fairy and pixie culture and Ivy’s storyline showing exactly what they mean when they say older vampires tend to kill themselves – it’s now very evocatively shown rather than just told.

And we got a full sense of that nuance and the epic implications of what these revelations meant in the story. Trent wants to make peace with Dali, which he’ll consider – but, given Dali’s own history – he can’t just accept the outstretched hand. Rachel’s epic speech about common demon history, about what they’ve endured, matching her own experiences to that and using it to shame Ku’Sox

We’re also definitely going to see more about the Elven goddess – which I really want to see.

The story itself was a roller coast – despite some elements I’ll discuss in a moment – it was very good at building tension and emotion. I won’t spoil, but some of the things that happened outright shocked me and added to the demand for action and excitement this book built excellently. There were also some excellently emotional scenes – the mourning, Rachel’s speech, Trent’s revelations that, for all his lofty goals, he’s a father first, Al’s drunken little binge, Rachel’s look into Al’s dreams, the rings – there was incredible emotion throughout this and I really felt for the characters

I have to criticise the writing and pacing of the middle of this book – but preface this with saying that part of the problem with this is how well written some of the rest of the book is. See, throughout this book there’s a strong sense of a big epic show down coming up. Something epic is coming. The Ever After rests in the balance. The future of magic rests in the balance. Rachel’s life rests in the balance. Not only that, but Ku’Sox has done some things (which I won’t spoil) that will make anyone who has read the Hollows series from the beginning want him dead. Twice. Slowly. The emotion is very well maintained and made me desperately want to read Rachel’s vengeance against this demon. I was eager for that show down – very very eager. The pacing was set with a tight deadline, everything was delicately balanced and had to be solved in time!

So when we hit the great big flabby pudding of writing in the middle of the book it was like getting stuck behind a tractor on a narrow road when you’re running late. Why is it going so slow? What is this? Get out of the waaaaay?! MOOOOVE! While some of these delays were spent with Rachel’s emotional state – that was already apparent and didn’t need so much time spent on it; we were already shown, abundantly, what she was feeling, we didn’t need to be told repeatedly. Ivy came back with her whole new storyline encompassing Felix as well – and while I can understand a hint about it, a hint and then moving it to the next book would have been far better. It was a distraction in this book and, with me waiting for the big show down with Ku’sox, I was yelling for Ivy to get her story out of the plotline so we could move forwards. Then we had the theft at the museum. It was fun, it was a nice little reminder to earlier Rachel adventures as well – but it didn’t add anything. Quen could just as easily got those rings from the original owners as was initially planned. It was an unnecessary scene in a long book that could have been cut to get us to the epic conclusion I was hungering for.

Review: Into the Woods by Kim Harrison

 

The first half of this book contains a series of short stories set in the Hollows world. And I think they do some excellent jobs as short stories – filling in the gaps of the character’s development. They tell the story of things we know happened in their past that we’ve heard about, that has often been mentioned, but which we haven’t actually seen. Because we’ve read the Hollow’s series we know that they are pivotal moments in the character’s past and really add to what makes them the characters they are and what motivates them.

So we see Rachel when she first summoned Pierce. Her struggle in still recovering from her illness and the constant battles against fatigue which, in turn, drive her to prove she is as strong and physically capable of those around her. Her resistance to a quiet “academic” life as, in some way, giving in to that weakness. It also really characterises and adds depth to her relationship with her brother.

We see Ivy first framing Arthur, her supervisor which certainly becomes a major element in later books as well as her interviewing Mia the Banshee for the first time. I think this story is excellent not just for showing us two iconic events in the Hollows series, but also for displaying vampire culture at its most blatant. I don’t think we learn over much about Ivy, certainly not beyond what we already do – the broken, damaged person that Piscary abused and the problems that left her with – but it did really show how much such abuse fits into the vampire world and how it is an expected part of vampire politics and, through that, the IS. The expectation that a rising living vampire has an obligation to give up their blood and their bodies, and how harmful this exploitation and abuse can be to their psyches.

The stories I thought were most revealing were both looking through Jenks’s eyes – just seeing things from the point of view of the Pixie, their culture, their size, their power and seeing through Trent’s eyes as he claims his daughter back. After so long with him being the cold hard manipulator, the almost antagonist, it’s such a change to actually see who he is, his motivations, his beliefs, his worries – and through them to gain an insight into Elven culture, perhaps the Inderlander species we’ve seen the least of. The same applies to seeing Ceri first becoming Al’s familiar – these were the 3 stories that shed more light into corners of Inderland we hadn’t seen very much.

At the same time, if you have read the Hollow’s series, this book won’t add anything. Everything in these books has been referred to or inferred to some degree in the main plot line. The extra information added does nicely flesh things out and let us see their pasts rather than merely hear it reported or remembered; but it adds nothing new, nor, particularly, does it develop the characters since we know this about them. It is still nice to see these moments we know defined their lives, nice to hear it from their own mindsets and especially nice to step outside of Rachel’s POV and see what the characters around her think – gaining gems like Ivy’s respect for witch magic or Rachel’s determination to overcome her physical weakness and definitely Jenk’s pixy-eye view.

It’s also worth noting for people who have bought anthologies that these short stories appear in different anthologies Kim Harrison has contributed to. Double check if you don’t want to buy the same story twice.

Review: Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison, Book 1 of the Hollows Series

 

Rachel Morgan is a witch working for the IS, a police organisation that governs the various Inderland races – vampires, witches, weres, leprechauns, pixies, fairies and many many more. It’s a varied and exciting job - usually. But her boss doesn’t like her very much and she keeps getting rather dull assignments. It doesn’t help that her last few have not gone according to plan

And she’s had enough. Now with Ivy, a living vampire and fellow runner and Jenks, a pixie backup, she has quit and is ready to go it alone and start her own firm. Except the IS takes exception to people leaving – especially Ivy leaving – and the goodbye letter comes with a death threat. Now Rachel doesn’t just have to make a living, she has to dodge assassins and pay off her contract before one of them gets lucky

Enter Trent Kalamack. City councillor, millionaire and crime lord – if only she can prove it, it’d definitely get her free and clear.

In between hunting Trent and dodging assassins she also has to deal with the problem of a hungry – and abstinent – vampire house-mate and a demon. More than enough for any witch to deal with.

I think the most impressive thing about The Hollows series in general and this book in particular is the world. There are few worlds that I love as much as the Hollows (I think Ilona Andrews’ is the only series offhand whose world building I love as much) and none that surpass it. With living vampires, dead ones, weres of various stripes, elves, pixies, gargoyles, fairies, the ever after, demons, trolls – and things I can’t even remember but are all connected somehow – this world is incredible

But not just the various creatures (and their cultures and habits) but the history as well. The Angel Virus, the Turn, the consequences for genetic engineering and ongoing nervousness about tomatoes – this world is rich and has been clearly worked on in great great detail. Kim Harrison is one of those authors who makes me think she’s got a huge shelf of world building and plot notes (that I would probably commit several crimes to obtain). In short, I love love love this world and if Kim Harrison does finish this series, I hope it will be to start a dozen more all set in this wonderful world.

Rachel has many qualities I like. She’s tough, she’s brave, she’s fun and she’s fiercely, dramatically, furiously independent. These qualities are, however, linked to more than a little Spunkiness. She’s reckless to a degree that is infuriating. She doesn’t plan nearly enough, she ad libs too much, she sticks to a course of action long after most reasonable people would have written it off. In other words, she’s a fun character but her decision making is so incredibly flawed and frequently annoys me. In general, though, her behaviour feels more like real personality flaws rather than contrived tropes (that doesn’t mean they don’t fit tropes, but it means it feels authentic at least).

Storywise I enjoy it –but I admit I love it more for the world than the story at this point. Rachel is flailing around trying to buy off her IS contract and in doing so shows off all her best and worst qualities. It’s interesting to see the little plots and the twists as she tries to survive the IS and hunt down Trent – but all are interesting more to show off the world, introduce the characters et al more than in and of themselves (did I mention I love the world?) Not that it’s boring – far from it, the action scenes are well written and exciting and never once made me put the book down. But there are large parts of the plot that are caused as much by Rachel’s poor decision making (such as the rat fights) or, worse, random unconnected events (going to the library) that I didn’t like – I liked the scenes, but not how we got to those scenes.

Fangs for the Fantasy podcast, episode 56

This week we discussed Being Human (US), Grimm’s dodging of meta and repeatedly appropriating past atrocities as well as excluding all women, Being Human (US), and the Walking Dead which has Shane who is not yet dead (alas) and the Woman Who Has Taken to Her Bed.

And of course, our book of the Week, Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison, the latest in the Hollows series

Review: A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison, Book 10 of the Hollows Series

Rachel Morgan is a Demon. She’s finally accepted it. The problem is that to stay safe from the rest of demonkind after riling them up a tad she has to wear a charmed silver necklace that separates her from her magic.

She’s a Demon, but a magicless Demon. And that’s getting in the way of her doing her job and protecting her friends - especially since she’s never been one to hide in the background. And it couldn’t be a worst time to be magicless, with the anti-Inderlander hate group HAPA now active in Cincinnati and a trail of witch victims being left in their wake. And if she decides to reclaim her magic, exactly how does she placate Algaliarept who has every reason to be rather annoyed with her.

Add in both the IS and the FIB treating her as a very dangerous person, she herself being a prime target for HAPA as well as her changing relationship with Trent and a new bodyguard shipped in by her parents and she has a lot to handle.

We have introduced some brand new concepts and shadow groups into the story now - with both HAPA and The Men Who Did Not Belong. Both are going to be interesting. After all, while HAPA is an outright hate group and certain to be reviled, where do the Men Who Did Not Belong stand? Especially since they’re a large, powerful, dangerous human organisation that seems to lack Inderlanders and feels entitled to police, imprison and even kill Inderlanders at their own discretion. There’s a lot of nuance that needs developing and exploring there - does the IS know? What about the Coven of Ethical Standards? What about the Vampires? I think there are seeds for a lot more plots here with both HAPA and the Men Who Did Not Belong and I’m really curious to see where it goes.

I’m also quite relieved that we had a storyline that revolved around human hatred of Inderlanders, including slurs, attempted genocide and prejudice that, in turn, didn’t invoke actual marginalised groups in the real world or marginalisations at all. Inderlanders were hated, but not oppressed, attacked but not facing a power imbalance. It’s a fine line to draw, but in a genre

However, while these stories are interesting and could have gone somewhere, I also feel they were kind of unnecessary. We have existing plotlines - Ku’sox and Al and her relationship with Trent and her relationship with Ivy and Jenks and her continuing realisation of what it means to be a Demon, trying to find a balance with the Demon World, how other Witches treat her, Rynn Cornel’s wish for her to help vampires keep their soul after death - there was a lot of plot there left hanging and we didn’t really develop any of it - instead we ended up going down these new plot lines instead. And they’re interesting, I’ll look forward to reading them, certainly - but we already had issues pending and I was left with the feeling that not much had happened. I’d just read a 500 page book that can be summed up with “HAPA exists, the Men Who Don’t Belong exist, Rachel took her bracelet off”.

In some ways I feel vaguely frustrated by this book. I knew she’d start with the charmed bracelet but after Pale Demon, when she finally embraced once and for all that she was a Demon, while at the same time laying down the mighty smackdown on all around her, I expected some grade A arsekicking. I expected Rachel Morgan, Demon, laden with a few choice curses (which she would, of course, be in two minds about using) and a whole lot of powerful magic making it clear that, in general, she’s a major power to be reckoned with and respected.

And she didn’t. Trent did a few times, he’s certainly coming into his own. But even when she wanted to impress the Men Who Did Not Belong she wasn’t very impressive. I think the only magic she used was setting up circles. It wasn’t her main response, it was pretty much her only response. Where was her magic? Even Winona and Chris - a human - had better magic in this book than Demonic Rachel did. And generally not being impressive was a recurring theme with Rachel - Chris, Gary and certainly Eloy seemed to be more than a match for her over and over again

Fangs for the Fantasy podcast, episode 41

Another week, another instalment of our podcast, discussing what we've watched and read this week and also seeing which of us has suffered reading or watching the most painful content this week.

We continue our struggles with the Vampire Diaries, wonder exactly where the Walking Dead is going along with the American Horror Story, sigh over Secret Circle and consider the problematic erasures in Once Upon a Time, yet also discuss what we like about it and Grimm. We also discuss our new catch up series, The Fades. We also cry over the sheer horror of the CW defiling our beloved Hollows series

Looking at the books we've read we discuss Chloe Neil's Chicagoland Vampires, Rachel Vincent's series and Rachel Caine's Morganville Vampires

We also discuss the extremely problematic way many Urban Fantasy appropriates teh language of equality movements

And next week we'll be reading Gail Carriger's Blameless, book 2 of the Parasol Protectorate series

Mixed Raced Characters in Urban Fantasy don't Necessarily Constitute Inclusion

One of the recurring tropes we’ve found in Urban Fantasy is the use of token inclusion for people of colour. Unfortunately for many authors, the addition of one person of color in an all White cast, even in cities in which the population demographics would suggest a larger representation is necessary, qualifies for a claim of equal representation. This is beyond irritating in and of itself. But there’s a related trope that doesn’t even go so far as that to use the oft normalized tokens - mixed race protagonists. One of the major issues is that even though these people are technically bi-racial, they are often so light skinned that they exist with passing privilege, thereby never having to negotiate the racism faced by everyday people of colour. Urban fantasy gives new meaning to the phrase light bright and damn near White.

In and of themselves, mixed race protagonists are by any means a bad thing - not by any stretch. We’d welcome, hail and do happy dances about more mixed-race protagonists, or more protagonists of colour in general, if it constituted good equal representation but alas that is not the case. It would be good to see if these mixed raced people read like mixed raced people, instead of White people with a touch of exotic thrown in for extra flavour.

They nearly always have a disconnect with their heritages of colour. Often this is in the form of a dead or missing parent. For example, Anita Blake’s Hispanic mother is dead, Mercy Thomas’ Native American father is missing. Kelley Armstrong’s Jeremy has an absent Asian mother. Richelle Mead’s Rose Hathaway has an absent Turkish father. In Clay and Susan Griffith’s Greyfriar series, Adele’s Persian mother is dead. The dead parents trope in this situation gives the author the opportunity to iinclude a mixed race character, (and mention their physical characteristics) without ever having to include any cultural context or signifiers (Though, it has to be said, this is not limited purely to canonical mixed race characters and there are no small number of POC token inclusions that are also divorced entirely from cultural signifiers). It also creates the question of where are the other members of the characters family? Was every single raced parent an orphan, that they left no family behind to interact with their children? There is always a reason why these families completely disappear to justify the erasure, and allow the author to claim faux inclusion points. It also means that authors don’t have to research cultures outside of their direct experience and serves to privilege Whiteness.

Podcast: Vampires in Mystic Falls

This week Vampire Diaries in on hiatus. We discuss Charlaine Harris' Aurora Teagarden and Shakespeare series, LA Banks The Minion, Patricia Briggs, Kim Harrison's Hollow's series, Stephenie Meyer's Twilight and Ann Rice's Vampires

Also an important recording that notes Tami and Renee admitting to being older than Sparky and how much amazingly younger than them he is.

Listen to internet radio with Vampires In Mystic Falls on Blog Talk Radio

Podcast: Vampires in Mystic Falls

Vampire Diaries is on hiatus this week. We discuss Stephenie Meyer's Twilight, Laurell K Hamilton's Anita Blake and Merry series, Kim Harrison's Hollows series, Charlaine Harris' Teagarden series

Listen to internet radio with Vampires In Mystic Falls on Blog Talk Radio