SciFi/Fantasy Book Review: A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows: https://t.co/GTbFU7Ql77
— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) November 4, 2022
Short Review: 8.5 out of 10 - An M-M Fantasy Romance featuring a noble man from a homophobic nation, struggling with trauma from rape & being disowned as he's betrothed to a
1/3
Short Review (cont): lord from a far more accepting rival nation and has to deal with court intrigue as assassins take aim at him, his betrothed, & his new family. Really strong themes of recovering from trauma and the importance of being openly valued + very good romance.
— Josh (garik16) (@garik16) November 4, 2022
2/3
A Strange and Stubborn Endurance is the long awaited* fifth novel from author Foz Meadows, whose Manifold Worlds YA Portal Fantasy duology made waves in 2016-2017. I really really liked the first of those two novels, An Accident of Stars, which to be honest was one of the first really queer novels that I think I read since I started reading back in 2015, and pulled it off in a novel filled with themes about identity and more in ways that I really liked - although I didn't quite love some of the twists in its sequel. But I was really looking forward to more from Meadows, and finally I am getting my wish in A Strange and Stubborn Endurance, which is not a YA novel but instead a M/M fantasy romance....
*The wait was exacerbated by Meadows having to deal with an essentially abusive agent with regards to her last books*.
And the wait was largely worth it, as I really liked A Strange and Stubborn Endurance - it tells a really strong M-M romance in which one of the two partners deals with coming from a homophobic country and trauma from rape, and the other deals with a surprise partner he never expected. Add in some court intrigue, which winds up coming down to plot elements - showing how much a loved one is valued is major theme - that tie in really well with the recovering from abuse and the romance plot, and well you have a book that generally works really well. The only major problem for me was the early rape scene, which, if you can get past that (and I advise skimming), you'll find a really really solid and enjoyable romance.
TRIGGER WARNING: RAPE - The book's second chapter features from first person a rape in detail and this goes on for thee hardcover pages, and honestly is a bit more than it needs to be. As noted in the rest of this review, the book uses this well, and the story of main character Velasin's trauma and recovery from trauma as a result of the rape are handled really well as a major theme of this book, so the book is still well worth reading. And the scene is skimmable like I eventually did. But it very well may be too much for some readers.
Also Trigger Warning for Suicidal Ideation and self-harm as a result of the above.
-----------------------------------------------Plot Summary-------------------------------------------------------
Velasin "Vel" vin Aaro never thought he'd marry. As the third son of a respected but not especially powerful Ralian noble, he thought he was of little interest for any political marriage to any other noble house in Ralia and.....well, Vel is attracted to men, not women, even though Ralian custom/religion considers such attraction to be blasphemous and unthinkable. But after a civil war grants Vel's father greater importance and a new territory next to the strange foreign nation of Tithena, Vel finds himself betrothed to the daughter of a Tithenai lord, to his great shock.
Or at least he was, until his secret was exposed by the appearance of Vel's unfaithful lover, a man who won't take no for an answer, and whose sudden rape of Vel tears apart everything Vel seemingly had in the world. It seems Vel has ruined his own life and his family's hopes for him....until the Tithenai envoy who had come to fetch him proposes that Vel marry the brother of his intended instead, the noble Caethari.
Caethari ("Cae") has never had any interest in politics, despite being the possible heir to two powerful Tithenai nobles. He figured that he might wind up in a political marriage, but when word came that one of he or his sister would be tied to a Ralian noble, he assumed naturally that Ralian prejudice would prefer his sister...so the betrothment to Vel becomes a bit of a shock. Even more so when Vel is nothing like he could've expected - a man shy and traumatized, but incredibly warm, caring and intelligent, something who he easily could grow to care for if he had time.
But time is something the two of them might not have, as Vel and Cae soon find themselves seemingly targetted by an unknown faction seeking to kill Vel...a faction using the name of Cae's old identity as a fighter against Ralian invaders. To survive, the two of them will have to trust each other intimately and quickly, and see if their wits...and love...can guide them to the answers they seek.....
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Okay super long plot summary there, sorry, couldn't help myself. Anyway, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance follows both Vel and Cae through large segments of plot told from one of their perspectives - in first person for Vel and in third person for Cae. The story is much more Vel's than Cae's honestly, which explains this choice - Cae's point of view helps make clear to the reader how genuine he is and how he and other Tithenai consider Vel in their confusion, but he doesn't really have much character development to do as he's already a pretty good and accepting guy...instead that development largely belongs to Vel, who is the one really really thrown for a loop.
For Vel comes into this situation with a ton of trauma and emotional baggage. On the most immediate level, there's the rape he suffers from his former lover, a lover who preceded that rape by being unfaithful to Vel and shattering his trust. This of course makes Vel incredibly hesistant to be touched and to commit to a relationship given what just happened, and the scars result in various panic attacks and suicidal thoughts, if not close suicide attempts that he just can't go through. On a deeper level, Vel comes from a country that treats non-hetero relationships, as well as non-cis people, as utterly monstrous - it's not against the law, but it is against all religion and custom - and so the openness towards it of the Tithenai is an utter shock that he just can't bring himself to believe, resulting in more being withdrawn.
And as Cae learns rather quickly, these shames and traumas are a shame, because Vel is an absolutely bright and caring young man who deserves far far more. Vel is a man who went out at night as a young teen to try and save a jerkass older brother he thought might be in trouble, and got in major trouble. He's a man who in the process came back with a mute young boy who he helped save and took in as his servant...but who treated him as more of a friend, and helped develop a system of sign language so that this friend, Markel (sp?), could function better in the world, and would do anything to help Markel survive and thrive even if Vel can't seem to. Vel's first thoughts are usually for others...and he combines that caring with an intelligence - especially a political intelligence - that makes him a clear asset to any noble house who would actually listen to him...something that obviously didn't happen with Vel's father and others in authority.
The narrative in this novel works really nicely, even as it occassionaly every 70 pages or so shifts points of view, to put forth a thriller-like mystery-esque plot for the main characters to decipher and plot around, which allows the two to not only become closer together, but also for Vel to have chances to heal thanks to Cae and others he winds up meeting. The politics of Tithena are also fascinating in how it directs the interplays between nobles and between peoples of various genders, and between peoples of magic - which is the one place the far more open and diverse Tithena remains someone discriminatory - magic is supposedly used only by persons who are given to the Temples and lose all their inheritance rights, despite the fact that most people can use at least a little magic with a little training (and others more gifted in it can do some pretty neat things, even as magic isn't a major element of this setting).
It all culminates with an ending, and a reveal of the main antagonist, that works in a really strong way to compliment Vel's emotional journey through recovery - as the plot really winds up driven by issues of Acknowledgement that both Vel and other Spoiler Characters find problematic: the acknowleding by ones' loved ones and superiors of one's value, such that they understand internally how valued they are and can have a healthy mental valve. Not everyone can be like Cae, unconcerned mostly with how others judge them and comfortable with one's role in society (and not ambitious), and most people need others to make it clear that they are valued to remain of healthy mind - indeed, for Vel, it's a constant struggle for him to accept that he has value that Cae and others have to try to force him to understand. And so when one's parents, loved ones, or superiors don't emphasize that to those people, it can result in devastating results, as seen at first from Vel's suicidal thoughts and later through the acts of others who suffer similar problems. Notably this is the case even where those others do actually value these loved ones...but just don't make that clear, leading to tragedy that could have been avoided.
It's some really strong stuff and the romance is really nicely done, culminating in a solid M-M sex scene eventually (the book is basically a slow burn in that sense, with it taking forever for the two characters to get over their "Just friends" or "fear of causing hurt due to the other's mental trauma" to actually act on their attraction). The interaction of gender and peoples in Tithena is really nice, and the side characters are generally great, particularly again Markel and one character who was Cae's former lover who turns out to be a really fun and gracious and enjoyable ally.
My biggest complaint here is that well, the book opens with the previously mentioned rape scene, and it is ROUGH. I really wonder if the book could honestly have skipped its first two chapters entirely and began with Vel on the road with the Tithenai, with what actually happened to him being only alluded to and then eventually revealed directly to the reader at the same time it was to Cae - I don't think there was anything in the first two chapters that would've been lost as a result and it would've made this book far more readable...whereas if I didn't know Meadows and trust them, I might've DNFed the book right there and then for the rape being so specific and so quickly. Again the book makes it worth it, but it just felt like too much.
Overall, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance works as a really good return for Meadows, and I do recommend it. The book is entirely stand alone, although Meadows has said in an interview with Locus that a follow-up is being written, and I will very much look forward to same.
Okay super long plot summary there, sorry, couldn't help myself. Anyway, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance follows both Vel and Cae through large segments of plot told from one of their perspectives - in first person for Vel and in third person for Cae. The story is much more Vel's than Cae's honestly, which explains this choice - Cae's point of view helps make clear to the reader how genuine he is and how he and other Tithenai consider Vel in their confusion, but he doesn't really have much character development to do as he's already a pretty good and accepting guy...instead that development largely belongs to Vel, who is the one really really thrown for a loop.
For Vel comes into this situation with a ton of trauma and emotional baggage. On the most immediate level, there's the rape he suffers from his former lover, a lover who preceded that rape by being unfaithful to Vel and shattering his trust. This of course makes Vel incredibly hesistant to be touched and to commit to a relationship given what just happened, and the scars result in various panic attacks and suicidal thoughts, if not close suicide attempts that he just can't go through. On a deeper level, Vel comes from a country that treats non-hetero relationships, as well as non-cis people, as utterly monstrous - it's not against the law, but it is against all religion and custom - and so the openness towards it of the Tithenai is an utter shock that he just can't bring himself to believe, resulting in more being withdrawn.
And as Cae learns rather quickly, these shames and traumas are a shame, because Vel is an absolutely bright and caring young man who deserves far far more. Vel is a man who went out at night as a young teen to try and save a jerkass older brother he thought might be in trouble, and got in major trouble. He's a man who in the process came back with a mute young boy who he helped save and took in as his servant...but who treated him as more of a friend, and helped develop a system of sign language so that this friend, Markel (sp?), could function better in the world, and would do anything to help Markel survive and thrive even if Vel can't seem to. Vel's first thoughts are usually for others...and he combines that caring with an intelligence - especially a political intelligence - that makes him a clear asset to any noble house who would actually listen to him...something that obviously didn't happen with Vel's father and others in authority.
The narrative in this novel works really nicely, even as it occassionaly every 70 pages or so shifts points of view, to put forth a thriller-like mystery-esque plot for the main characters to decipher and plot around, which allows the two to not only become closer together, but also for Vel to have chances to heal thanks to Cae and others he winds up meeting. The politics of Tithena are also fascinating in how it directs the interplays between nobles and between peoples of various genders, and between peoples of magic - which is the one place the far more open and diverse Tithena remains someone discriminatory - magic is supposedly used only by persons who are given to the Temples and lose all their inheritance rights, despite the fact that most people can use at least a little magic with a little training (and others more gifted in it can do some pretty neat things, even as magic isn't a major element of this setting).
It all culminates with an ending, and a reveal of the main antagonist, that works in a really strong way to compliment Vel's emotional journey through recovery - as the plot really winds up driven by issues of Acknowledgement that both Vel and other Spoiler Characters find problematic: the acknowleding by ones' loved ones and superiors of one's value, such that they understand internally how valued they are and can have a healthy mental valve. Not everyone can be like Cae, unconcerned mostly with how others judge them and comfortable with one's role in society (and not ambitious), and most people need others to make it clear that they are valued to remain of healthy mind - indeed, for Vel, it's a constant struggle for him to accept that he has value that Cae and others have to try to force him to understand. And so when one's parents, loved ones, or superiors don't emphasize that to those people, it can result in devastating results, as seen at first from Vel's suicidal thoughts and later through the acts of others who suffer similar problems. Notably this is the case even where those others do actually value these loved ones...but just don't make that clear, leading to tragedy that could have been avoided.
It's some really strong stuff and the romance is really nicely done, culminating in a solid M-M sex scene eventually (the book is basically a slow burn in that sense, with it taking forever for the two characters to get over their "Just friends" or "fear of causing hurt due to the other's mental trauma" to actually act on their attraction). The interaction of gender and peoples in Tithena is really nice, and the side characters are generally great, particularly again Markel and one character who was Cae's former lover who turns out to be a really fun and gracious and enjoyable ally.
My biggest complaint here is that well, the book opens with the previously mentioned rape scene, and it is ROUGH. I really wonder if the book could honestly have skipped its first two chapters entirely and began with Vel on the road with the Tithenai, with what actually happened to him being only alluded to and then eventually revealed directly to the reader at the same time it was to Cae - I don't think there was anything in the first two chapters that would've been lost as a result and it would've made this book far more readable...whereas if I didn't know Meadows and trust them, I might've DNFed the book right there and then for the rape being so specific and so quickly. Again the book makes it worth it, but it just felt like too much.
Overall, A Strange and Stubborn Endurance works as a really good return for Meadows, and I do recommend it. The book is entirely stand alone, although Meadows has said in an interview with Locus that a follow-up is being written, and I will very much look forward to same.
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