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Yo @KevinHearne - I have some really nice things to say to and about you
It’s gonnae take a bit so I’ll thread it. I hope you get to see it
When I first read the Iron Druid stories, I really liked them... a lot. What bothered me a bit (and I saw other criticism as well along the same vein) that the women in the book, many of them goddesses, were a bit one dimensional
As the series went on the course was corrected, and the exploration of the motivations and emotions of Granuaile, The Morrigan, Flidais, Brighid, and Fand really brought them to life and rounded out the story in unexpected but entirely welcome ways
It seemed like maybe you took the criticism to heart and endeavored to do more. To show more. To make it more real and accessible to anyone who might pick up one of your novels or series. It’s a treat to watch someone you like get better at their craft and better at humanity
Now that I’ve read the two Seven Kennings books (can’t wait for Krakens!) and Ink and Sigil I think it’s safe to say that you write the most inclusive fantasy stories I’ve ever read. Which is way cool. But it’s not the coolest thing
The coolest thing is that it never seems like pandering. The characters are who they are regardless of who they love, how they love, how they self identify - the identity is what makes the characters special. It’s, well, their character that makes them special.
And you do it in such an effortless way, almost like these aspects of their identity are an afterthought and no big deal. It’s an entirely healthy way to be inclusive. A lot of people who walk a heteronormative path just want to be seen like everyone else.
Their sexual or gender identity is part of who they are but not the whole of who they are. Usually when you see someone defining their life by their identity they are either struggling with it themselves or feeling marginalized or under threat because of it.
So thank you, @KevinHearne, for writing a bit of excellent fantasy that literally anyone can pick up a find a bit of themselves in. It’s a rare treat these days, escapism. Thank you again and again. ~~End Thread
