_BookReview: The Dragon Has Some Complaints_ by John Wiswell They are some extremely valid complaints too! #books #fantasy #bookreview

https://catchingshadows672971735.wordpress.com/2026/04/04/book-review-the-dragon-has-some-complaints-by-john-wiswell/?utm_source=mastodon&utm_medium=jetpack_social

Books: Favourite reads, March’26

Hit a major reading slump1 early in the month, but thoroughly enjoyed the books where I did manage to get past the first chapter, or first few pages, or first line, it really was that kind of month for kneejerk DNFs… Non-fiction also suffered, because everything I tried was just plain depressing in light of the handbasket’s current trajectory. So it ended up being a fiction month, and pretty much 100% queer in one way or another.

Fiction

The Paper Boys by DP Clarence

Extremely charming contemporary gay romance: it’s journalists divided by rivalry and class, it’s funny and sweet, it’s British humour, it’s completely my jam. I read all three currently available Brent Boys books (standalone but loosely following a group of friends/roommates; I don’t have to tell you how contemporary series work), and eagerly look forward to more by this ex-journalist author.

Out of the Loop by Katie Siegel

This is a Groundhog Day story with a difference: it starts when Amie wakes up the next morning, for the first time in two years. It then deals with the aftermath: how do you, a homebody with anxiety about trying new things, cope with unpredictability when you’ve grown comfortable knowing exactly how your day goes…while also solving a murder and pursuing a second-chance romance with your ex-girlfriend? Does a great job with a new angle to an well-known plot device.

The Works of Vermin by Hiron Ennes

Holy shit, this was amazing, and I say that as someone with aphantasia aka I cannot picture what the hell this “tree stump” city looks like, but I’m still here for it. There’s two storylines: the first follows Guy and Dawn, exterminators who hunt the myriad of pests that attack the city, as they encounter a new and deadly vermin. The second follows the arrival of a mysterious stranger into the political minefield of the upper city. Of course the two storylines intersect eventually – the more attention you pay, the faster you’ll see it. I really liked Leech by this author; I loved this one for the rare trifecta of great writing, characters, and plot. (Darker than my usual recommendations, however.)

The Incandescent by Emily Tesh

As with Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series, this uses the notion that magic makes children vulnerable to otherworldly predators/demons and that a magical boarding school is the best way to solve that problem (while causing secondary problems: a buffet of magic kids sure attracts the demons…). Instead of following students, however, it follows a career teacher, Walden, whose job, among many others, is to protect the school from demonic invasion. When a major outbreak almost destroys the school, it raises personal demons from the past, literally and metaphorically. I’ve loved all of Tesh’s previous books and this is no exception; I especially liked the way the rhythms of a busy school year flowed through the text (without being dull about it); her past as a teacher makes it very genuine and it matters as part of the plot too. I’m also glad to see the magical boarding school genre reclaimed, modernised and deepened.

The Pairing by Casey McQuiston

I didn’t read this when it first came out due to a deep aversion to contemporaries that is only just lifting (I guess I’ve swung from “need anything but the real world” to “need an alt-real world that is better than this cursed timeline”). I’m glad I came across it again – I loved it. The second-chance queer romance is good (very sexy, very pining; you might have trouble if you don’t like to see your romantic pairs hook up with others) but the love letter to the hedonism and sheer intensity of a fantastically idealised European food and art tour when you’re young and desirable and full of appetites is unsurpassed. It made me want to bake a focaccia and open an artisanal bookstore on the cobbled backstreet of a tiny mountain village.

Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die by Greer Stothers

Sir Cameron finds out he’s the star of a prophecy which predicts his death will bring about the fall of the dark lord. Sir Cameron doesn’t love this turn of events, but he figures there’s one other person featured in that prophecy who also won’t like it… Just plain fun, and I am enjoying the modern crop of dark-lord books that play with the concept.

Into the Midnight Wood by Alexandra McCollum

There’s few plot threads, but mostly it’s a mismatched roommates m/m romance between David and Meredith, set in a fantasy-normative world (ie the presence of magic and magical creatures is never questioned nor explained, which I really liked) – but not an entirely queer-normative world (Meri cops some schtick from his family). This is the type of story that I often find a bit too cosy, but it has good writing and extra depth, particularly with Meri. I also got a little stomach swoop every time someone was accidentally or purposefully mean to him, and I hardly ever have physical reactions when reading, so that’s an ringing endorsement of the extent of my engagement with this couple 🙂

Hell’s Heart by Alexis Hall

As it says on the cover, sapphic Moby Dick in space. The first-person narrator (“call me whatever the fuck you like”, but really just “I”) and Q join a crew hunting an atmosphere-dwelling Leviathan under the captaincy of, you guessed it, A. I’ve only come across negative-leaning mentions of this one so it’s likely a YMMV one; as much as I have liked or loved all of Hall’s books, my very favourite is the “gender-swapped Sherlock Holmes in a SF world” one, so Hell’s Heart is right up my alley and I loved spending time with it. It’s extra fun if you’re passing familiar with Moby Dick but it’s not necessary.

Writing News

I finally have a (very ugly) first draft complete, hallelujah, it was like pulling teeth. I tend to switch to a procrastination novel when I get this stuck, but my brain(/Mr Bolshie MC) wasn’t having with that either. Fortunately, the only thing worse than writing when in this mood is not writing, so I cudgelled this monster out of my head at about 100 words a day.

I’m usually editing a final-draft-shaped MS during the annual Easter family holiday Up North, but this year, I’ll put this eldritch horror of a first draft aside for valuable fallow time and amuse myself collecting cover ideas.

All that to say there will be no May release, but there will be a release at some point this year!

From Breakthrough to Blockbuster: The Business of Biotechnology

A COVID-era assessment of the biotech industry, particularly focusing on drug discovery and the knowledge necessary for businesspeople.

#BookReview #ScottsBookReview 💙📚

https://scottjpearson.com/from-breakthrough-to-blockbuster-the-business-of-biotechnology/

Sexographies is by the renowned Peruvian "gonzo" journalist Gabriela Wiener. It's deep-dive into the sexual underworld of South America in a series of electrifying and mind-blowing essays, published in English for the first time. #sex #memoir #essays #Peru #BDSM #Kink #nonfiction #review #bookreview

http://contentcatnip.com/2026/04/05/book-review-sexographies-by-gabriela-wiener/

Book Review: Sexographies by Gabriela Wiener

Sexographies is by famous Peruvian “gonzo” journalist Gabriela Wiener who dares to go where nobody has gone before – into the decadent, gritty and amusing sexual underworld of South America in a series of mind-blowing essays, published in English for the first time.

Rating: 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟

Genre: Non-fiction, Essays, Memoir, Sex, Gonzo Journalism.

Publisher: Restless Books

Review in one word: Adventurous

Peruvian journalist Gabriela Wiener has carved out a solid name for herself as a Gonzo journalist and lifelong adventurer in Latin America. She is bold and unafraid of pulling back the curtains on underground worlds most people don’t know exist.

Sexographies is a collection of short, evocative and darkly funny essays published for the first time in English and what an absolute treat it is to read!

Weiner puts her mind, body and soul on the page for all readers to bare witness to and the result is a deeply compelling, vulnerable and yet totally funny depiction of a variety of crazy sexual underworlds that exist in Latin America in parallel to the vanilla existence of the mainstream.

The book features a series sumptuous, decadent, gritty and colourful worlds that exist on the far margins of society. Wiener chronicles her experiences infiltrating a dangerous Peruvian prison to understand its tattoo culture with hardcore criminals, participating in weird and amusing orgies in swingers’ clubs, and walking the dark paths of the Bois de Boulogne in Paris alongside trans sex workers.

She undergoes a complicated egg donation process and takes part in an ayahuasca ritual in the Amazon jungle and is coaxed for a while into joining a sex cult. What makes these essays so much more vivid is how each adventure is profoundly personal and all about her own inward journey.

“Mercedes teaches me to look at myself in the mirror, to confront my sensuality, to seduce with my gaze, to reveal my belly as I swing my hips to the rhythm of “The Girls of Alexandria.”

Badani enters and, without asking, takes a picture of me in the middle of a hip-swinging trance. La Gatita has graciously pronounced me a natural. I lap it all up.

By the end of the night, I want to be like these women. I want to be lavished with heart-shaped sweets and chocolate roses. I want my work to be a hobby. I want to live with all of my best friends and play amorous games together.

I want to embroider panties and bras. I want to cook for my man. I want to wear Arabian fantasy clothes. I want to love the present. I want a god.

“For this she handed me the flogger, a whip with a leather handle and several strips. “I want to see your grip. Test it on your hand.” I took the flogger, combed it with my fingers and brought it down on my hand putting on a “bad girl” facial expression. Monique told me to flog the wardrobe.

I hit so hard I thought I nearly dismantled it. Monique laughed at me. “If that was a slave you would’ve destroyed his kidneys. What matters is not to hit hard, it’s to hit intoxicatingly.”

They say cruelty is a purely feminine virtue. I looked at Monique and asked her what was the most essential thing for me to know.

“Believe in yourself, love yourself, and know that you’re the best. You need to be self-aware, honorable, know your limits, and know the human body. Otherwise, it’s like handing a revolver to a monkey.”

“Some people think you’re a woman but when they find out you’re not they don’t care. They’re often really into it. They tell me it’s their first time and ask me if they can touch me. Before you know it, they’re down on their knees acting out their repressed fantasies. Everyone’s got their own drama.”

Vanesa can be vulgar but dreams of being treated like a sensitive girl. Everyone’s got their own drama.”

She is not taking in the mayhem from an anthropological distance, instead she is forever changed by intense experiences that challenge her ideas of monogamy and polyamory, immigration, motherhood, her fear of death and loads more.

The biggest theme is arguably the identity, gender and the human body and likewise how she feels about her own body. Her journeys into the far edges of human experience are thrilling and enjoyable and her writing style is deep, unflinching and totally addictive. I would highly recommend this book!

About the Author

Gabriela Wiener is a Peruvian writer and journalist, living in Madrid, Spain. She is considered a leading voice in “gonzo” journalism in the Spanish-speaking world. Her work explores themes of sexuality, identity, and migration with a unique, first-person, immersive style.

Content Catnip

Review - Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint (light novel), vol 2, by singNsong: lots of fun stuff in this volume, like the Cinema Dungeon, and I love how Dokja's shaping up. Rating: 4/5 ("really liked it").

Full review: https://breathesbooks.com/2026/04/04/review-omniscient-readers-viewpoint-light-novel-vol-2/

#bookstodon #BookReview

Fairy Tale was great. It had everything: a richly built world, well-drawn characters, and moments that made me laugh, cry, and pause in awe.

https://blackspineshelf.com/fairy-tale-stephen-king-review/

#fantasy #stephenking #fairytale #bookreview