Vespertine! Vespertine!
Jan. 29th, 2024 12:51 amA couple people expressed interest in Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson following my best books of 2022 post, a book I summarised as "Joan of Arc meets Venom". In particular, ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
sovay said: "Tell me more about Vespertine! It sounds hand-tailored to you.".
First off, no, YOU're predictable. Second, yes this is late. In my defense, I do not understand linear time and have read the book half and a whole time again since.
Hopefully not spoilery summary:
In the country of Loraille, the Dead come back if not properly laid to rest. People with the Sight can see those Dead and are vulnerable to possession by them, which allows to wield relics bound to specific Dead to gain various powers, which itself carries the risk of possession if overpowered by the bound spirit. During an attack by the Dead on her convent, Artemisia is forced to bond with a relic of the highest order to save everyone. This makes her, essentially, a living saint, which is unfortunate for Artemisia because she just wants to lead a quiet life as a Grey Sister, away from people who might talk to her (urgh). Even more unfortunaly, rather than being a mindless force of nature, the revenant is sapient and it has Opinions. Artemisia and the revenant then have to buddy cop their way through figuring out why the Dead attacked her convent, an investigation that takes them, through battle, imprisonment and refugee camps, into Bonsaint, seat of the Divine.
Non-spoilery things I love about this book:
( Things )
Spoilery stuff I like:
( Stuff )
I would love to read more in this world. I LOVE EVERYONE IN THIS BAR. I can't think of any other book that made me want to draw this much.
TL;DR: Vespertine (by Margaret Rogerson) is a great book and you should read it and talk to me about it.
sovay said: "Tell me more about Vespertine! It sounds hand-tailored to you.".Hopefully not spoilery summary:
In the country of Loraille, the Dead come back if not properly laid to rest. People with the Sight can see those Dead and are vulnerable to possession by them, which allows to wield relics bound to specific Dead to gain various powers, which itself carries the risk of possession if overpowered by the bound spirit. During an attack by the Dead on her convent, Artemisia is forced to bond with a relic of the highest order to save everyone. This makes her, essentially, a living saint, which is unfortunate for Artemisia because she just wants to lead a quiet life as a Grey Sister, away from people who might talk to her (urgh). Even more unfortunaly, rather than being a mindless force of nature, the revenant is sapient and it has Opinions. Artemisia and the revenant then have to buddy cop their way through figuring out why the Dead attacked her convent, an investigation that takes them, through battle, imprisonment and refugee camps, into Bonsaint, seat of the Divine.
Non-spoilery things I love about this book:
( Things )Spoilery stuff I like:
( Stuff )I would love to read more in this world. I LOVE EVERYONE IN THIS BAR. I can't think of any other book that made me want to draw this much.
TL;DR: Vespertine (by Margaret Rogerson) is a great book and you should read it and talk to me about it.
