Books That Burn

Two Essays on The Count of Monte Cristo

I love The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. I have read the unabridged version more than once, and my most recent reread was in 2023. At that time, I wrote a couple of brief essays which I posted on Tumblr, one of which was about a canonically queer character and the other discussed a character who is often left out of the various adaptations. I present for you these essays with expansion and alteration, because I keep returning to them as pieces of writing and because I don't want them to be limited to those original posts.

I'd like to thank longtime Patron Case Aiken, who receives a monthly shoutout, as well as new patrons DivineJasper and Sasha Khan.

(Quotes are from Robin Buss’ English translation of Alexandre Dumas’ work.)

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Full Essay Text

Canonical Queerness in The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Edmond No Longer -- The Importance of Haydée in The Count of Monte Cristo

October Daye / Inheritance - Essay Series Part Five: Long Series and How to Read Them

Hello Patrons and general audience members! Welcome to another Books That Burn essay by Robin. Thank you to Case Aiken, who receives a monthly Patron shoutout.

[Full Transcript Available Here]

This is the fifth and final entry in a five-part essay series discussing two long-running book series by queer authors: October Daye by Seanan McGuire, and Inheritance by A.K. Faulkner. I chose these series because I love them both, they were intended from the start to be long series, neither of them are finished yet, and the authors have different structural approaches to developing each series across so many volumes. Purely coincidentally, they are both long-running contemporary fantasy series mainly set in California in or near the 2010's, with major characters named Quentin, and whose fast-healing protagonists have a tendency to quasi-adopt a gaggle of magical teenagers. After a brief moment in the 1990's, October Daye begins in earnest in 2009 and has reached 2015 as of the eighteenth book, while Inheritance is ambiguously set in the mid-to-late 2010's. Each of my essays focuses on a particular topic of importance to long series such as these two. They're designed to be intelligible on their own, and can theoretically be read in any order, but most readers will have the best experience if they start with the first essay and proceed linearly.

Long Series and How to Read Them - Somewhere Is Better Than Nowhere

• Introduction (1:38)
• Episodic Series (4:02)
• Linear Storytelling (5:59)
• Periodic Onboarding (6:39)
• What's a Reader To Do? (7:50)
  • Five or Fewer (9:11)
  • Six or More (12:01)
• Conclusion (14:24)

 

Two Essays on Generative AI

Hello Patrons and general audience members! Welcome to a two-part reading of some Books That Burn essays by Robin. Thank you to Case Aiken, who receives a monthly Patron shoutout. These two essays are both about my thoughts on generative AI, but neither was long enough to be an episode on its own.

As a reviewer of books, I'm very concerned with the news and societal reception of the resource-guzzling plagiarism machine, especially when Indie authors are among those most immediately harmed by having their work stolen and struggling to stand out in a sea of AI-generated slush flooding the ebook market. While I understand that there are useful versions of AI which aren't used to push out garbage no one actually wants to read, the existence of that particular firehose does need to be addressed.

With that out of the way, please enjoy my reading of two essays about generative AI.

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The Problem Is Not That You Want What Generative AI Promised, The Problem Is That They Lied About Whether It Could Deliver (01:14) [Link to Full Text]

A Reflection on Path-Dependent Processes (07:26) [Link to Full Text]

October Daye / Inheritance - Essay Series Part Four: When a Villain Lives

Hello Patrons and general audience members! Welcome to another Books That Burn essay by Robin. Thank you to Case Aiken, who receives a monthly Patron shoutout.

[Full Text Available Here]

This is the fourth in a five-part essay series discussing two long-running book series by queer authors: October Daye by Seanan McGuire, and Inheritance by A.K. Faulkner. I chose these series because I love them both, they were intended from the start to be long series, neither of them are finished yet, and the authors have different structural approaches to developing each series across so many volumes. Purely coincidentally, they are both long-running contemporary fantasy series mainly set in California in or near the 2010's, with major characters named Quentin, and whose fast-healing protagonists have a tendency to quasi-adopt a gaggle of magical teenagers. After a brief moment in the 1990's, October Daye begins in earnest in 2009 and has reached 2015 as of the eighteenth book, while Inheritance is ambiguously set in the mid-to-late 2010's. Each of my essays focuses on a particular topic of importance to long series such as these two. They're designed to be intelligible on their own, and can theoretically be read in any order, but most readers will have the best experience if they start with the first essay and proceed linearly.

When a Villain Lives - Recurring Antagonists and Redemption Arcs

This essay spoils major elements of the first ten books of the Inheritance series by A.K. Faulkner, and of the first sixteen books in the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire. It discusses themes of murder and death, as well as fictional depictions of kidnapping, rape, torture, and abuse/murder of children. 

• Introduction (01:58)
• Still Terrible: Countess Evening Winterrose (04:41)
• Logistically Important: Hieronymus D'Arcy, Duke of Oxford (07:48)
• Staying in the Middle: Frederick D'Arcy (12:38)
• Stuck in the Middle: Simon Torquill (16:41)
• Redemption Arc: Simon Lorden (19:49)
• What's Next? (23:43)
• Coda: Freddy and Simon (24:37)

October Daye / Inheritance - Essay Series Part Three: Unreliable Narrators

Hello Patrons and general audience members! Welcome to another Books That Burn essay by Robin. Thank you to Case Aiken, who receives a monthly Patron shoutout.

[Full Text Available Here]

This is the third in a five-part essay series discussing two long-running book series by queer authors: October Daye by Seanan McGuire, and Inheritance by A.K. Faulkner. I chose these series because I love them both, they were intended from the start to be long series, neither of them are finished yet, and the authors have different structural approaches to developing each series across so many volumes. Purely coincidentally, they are both long-running contemporary fantasy series mainly set in California in or near the 2010's, with major characters named Quentin, and whose fast-healing protagonists have a tendency to quasi-adopt a gaggle of magical teenagers. After a brief moment in the 1990's, October Daye begins in earnest in 2009 and has reached 2015 as of the eighteenth book, while Inheritance is ambiguously set in the mid-to-late 2010's. Each of my essays focuses on a particular topic of importance to long series such as these two. They're designed to be intelligible on their own, and can theoretically be read in any order, but most readers will have the best experience if they start with the first essay and proceed linearly.

Unreliable Narrators - Lies and Delusions

This essay spoils major elements of the first six books of the Inheritance series by A.K. Faulkner, as well as scattered revelations and major spoilers from the first twelve books in the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire. This is a discussion of lies, delusions, and the mistakes they create, and some take longer to dispel than others. It touches briefly on themes of murder and death, as well as alluding to fictional depictions of kidnapping, torture, and abuse of children. 

• Introduction (1:54)
• Who Tells The Story (3:36)
• Perspectives in October Daye (5:08)
• Perspectives in Inheritance (7:07)
• Lies in October Daye (8:36)
• Lies in Inheritance (11:50)
• Delusions in October Daye (13:38)
• Delusions in Inheritance (15:45)
• Conclusion (18:21)

October Daye / Inheritance - Essay Series Part Two: Series Structure

Hello Patrons and general audience members! Welcome to another Books That Burn essay by Robin. Thank you to Case Aiken, who receives a monthly Patron shoutout.

[Full Text Available Here]

This is the second in a five-part essay series discussing two long-running book series by queer authors: October Daye by Seanan McGuire, and Inheritance by A.K. Faulkner. I chose these series because I love them both, they were intended from the start to be long series, neither of them are finished yet, and the authors have different structural approaches to developing each series across so many volumes. Purely coincidentally, they are both long-running contemporary fantasy series mainly set in California in or near the 2010's, with major characters named Quentin, and whose fast-healing protagonists have a tendency to quasi-adopt a gaggle of magical teenagers. After a brief moment in the 1990's, October Daye begins in earnest in 2009 and has reached 2015 as of the eighteenth book, while Inheritance is ambiguously set in the mid-to-late 2010's. Each of my essays focuses on a particular topic of importance to long series such as these two. They're designed to be intelligible on their own, and can theoretically be read in any order, but most readers will have the best experience if they start with the first essay and proceed linearly.

Series Structure - Series Arcs and Monsters of the Week

This essay spoils major elements of the first ten books of the Inheritance series by A.K. Faulkner, as well as the first six books in the October Daye series by Seanan McGuire, while lightly discussing some spoilers from later books in that series. It touches briefly on themes of murder and death, as well as alluding to fictional depictions of kidnapping, torture, and harm to children. 

• What Is a Monster of the Week? (02:48)
• Monsters in Inheritance (05:52)
• Monsters in October Daye (14:30)
• Series Arcs (18:05)
• Arc Structure and October Daye (19:28)
• Seasons in Inheritance (29:51)
• A Balancing Act (34:31)
  

October Daye / Inheritance - Essay Series Part One: Character Growth

Hello Patrons and general audience members! Welcome to another Books That Burn essay by Robin. Thank you to Case Aiken, who receives a monthly Patron shoutout.

[Full Transcript Available Here]

This is the first in a five-part essay series discussing two long-running book series by queer authors: October Daye by Seanan McGuire, and Inheritance by A.K. Faulkner. I chose these series because I love them both, they were intended from the start to be long series, neither of them are finished yet, and the authors have different structural approaches to developing each series across so many volumes. Purely coincidentally, they are both long-running contemporary fantasy series mainly set in California in or near the 2010's, with major characters named Quentin, and whose fast-healing protagonists have a tendency to quasi-adopt a gaggle of magical teenagers. After a brief moment in the 1990's, October Daye begins in earnest in 2009 and has reached 2015 as of the eighteenth book, while Inheritance is ambiguously set in the mid-to-late 2010's. Each of my essays focuses on a particular topic of importance to long series. They're designed to be intelligible on their own, and can theoretically be read in any order, but most readers will have the best experience if they start with the first essay and proceed linearly.

Character Growth - No one is perfect, especially not a protagonist in book one

This essay spoils major elements of the following books: ROSEMARY AND RUE by Seanan McGuire and JACK OF THORNS by A.K. Faulkner, as well as lightly discussing some spoilers from later books in their respective series. 

When Miserable People Get Happy Endings: "Unlikeable" Protagonists in Alexis Hall's Writing

Hello and welcome to Books That Burn with another book essay from Robin! Thank you to Case Aiken, who receives a monthly Patron shoutout. This essay discusses (and moderately spoils) the following works by Alexis Hall:

 

• ROSALINE PALMER TAKES THE CAKE (2021)

• 10 THINGS THAT NEVER HAPPENED (2023)

• GLITTERLAND (2013)

• WAITING FOR THE FLOOD (2024 edition)

• FOR REAL (2015)

• A LADY FOR A DUKE (2022)

• BOYFRIEND MATERIAL (2020)

• HUSBAND MATERIAL (2022)

• THE AFFAIR OF THE MYSTERIOUS LETTER (2019)

 

A brief note: when I first conceptualized this essay, I thought I was going to read every published novel by Alexis Hall, then I intended to discuss at least one book from each of their series. It turns out that their catalog is so extensive that even after taking two months to read (and occasionally, reread) as much of their work as I could get my hands on, I still haven’t gotten to everything. Neither do I, on balance, want to spoil major elements of their entire catalog. Therefore, I haven’t read everything they've written, and I don’t reference every single thing that I read. However, I read enough to be sure of my point generally, and am happy with what I’ve chosen to reference specifically.

Link to the full Essay.

Preamble (00:00)
Content Warnings (01:29)
Introduction (01:52)
Learning to Be Okay with One's Own Flaws (5:05)
Becoming Less Reactive to the Shortcomings of Others (11:05)
Reaching for Community (14:12)
Accepting Something Already True (23:51)
Internal Reflection and Attitude Adjustment (25:49)
Change Inspired by Others (30:59)
Not Changing At All (36:24)
Conclusion: Challenging "Likeability" As A Goal (38:02)

The Rise and Fall of Snow: Why the Hunger Games prequel is good, actually

Welcome to another book essay from Robin! Thank you to Case Aiken, who receives a monthly Patron shoutout. This was originally going to be an essay comparing The Hunger Games series to the Uglies quartet, but I ended up with so much to say about each series on their own that instead this discusses just The Hunger Games trilogy and the role of its prequel, "The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes". 

This contains major spoilers for “The Hunger Games”, “Catching Fire”, “Mockingjay”, and “The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes”, all by Suzanne Collins.

Link to the full essay text.

Disability, Identity, and Allegorical Gender in SHADES AND SILVER

Welcome to another book essay from Robin! Thank you Case Aiken, who receives a monthly Patron shoutout.

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This essay contains spoilers for SHADES AND SILVER by Dax Murray. 

Many attempts at gender allegories in fantasy (or sci-fi) fall apart because they try to replicate binary gender in an attempt at gender essentialism in different trappings. SHADES AND SILVER deftly avoids this by starting without gender and then never focusing on it. 

Full Essay Text at link.