I really enjoyed this one. It has everything I love. It's epic, military fantasy, with very little romance. It's political and action packed. I loved Touraine and Luca! Such a wonderful dynamic between them. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I was confused at times about the countries and different cultures. That could just be me.

I loved the writing and will keep an eye out for more from this author.

This has been, hands down, one of my most anticipated releases of the year. I’ve been looking for books with messy, complicated relationships lately, so that sounded fantastic, plus being promised critique of colonialism on top and that cover? With those arms? 😍

Unfortunately, while it’s a good book, I have to admit I found it something of a struggle, even if it was no fault of its own.

Touraine has been stolen as a child and indoctrinated to be a soldier for the empire of Balladaire. After a few years of service, her company gets sent to her homeland to help supress a rebellion. Luca is Balladaire’s legitimate heir, who goes to Qazāl to deal with the rebellion and prove herself capable of ruling to get her uncle off the throne. Along the way, the two women get hopelessly entangled, both in politics and with each other.

The main star of the book are absolutely the themes. The way it examines colonialism from both sides of the coin and uses it to craft the story is masterful. The way Touraine is loyal to the empire that mistreats her and very slowly and gradually starts to reconsider things and fight for her own place in the world. The way Luca tries to be a better ruler but makes horrible choices anyway. The question of improving the system or tearing it down. Often, fiction offers easy answers, but this did not. It felt very real. I also liked that the colonial power was France-inspired instead of England as is more typical.

The relationship developing between them is equally messy. Clark is not afraid to explore the uneven power dynamic in all its complexity and potential for conflict. It was absolutely my favourite aspect because I simply haven’t seen many fictional books like it before.

It also deals prominently with religion, which is directly tied to magic, and I found the approach extremely fascinating – Balladaire has no magic and renounced all worship of gods, claiming it to be to be uncivilised superstition. Yet the thing Luca is most curious about is whether there is any truth in the stories of Qazāli healing magic, which could help save her homeland.

So after all this praise, how come that I struggled with it? Honestly, I’m not completely sure myself. If there is a flaw I could see, it’s that the pacing is a little uneven in places, not nearly to the extent it’d bother me this much. I think my main problem was the tension – it’s unpredictable and very intense, with characters making a lot of choices that make you want to yell “WHY are you DOING this” at them, and while this is a feature for most people, I was apparently in the mood for something more chill and fluffy, something I didn’t realise until I was a good way through.

If you want an intense book and the premise sounds good to you, I would absolutely still recommend it. And I am definitely interested in the sequel – I just hope that with the next one, the timing will be better.

Recommended to: fans of The Traitor Baru Cormorant and The Shadow Campaigns should definitely check it out, as should those looking for post-colonialism in fantasy and messy f/f relationships

Though I enjoy the general concept for this story, I am not vested enough in the character's story to continue.

I am finding it so difficult to gather all my thoughts on this book because there is just so much to talk about. Usually, when I write reviews, I like to start by talking about what area of the book I thought was the strongest, but with The Unbroken, every aspect was fantastic. (Speaking of which aspects of the book were strongest, I think it’s safe to say that Touraine’s arms are really the stars of the show here).

The worldbuilding blew me away, the characters were so well developed, and the plot had me on the edge of my seat constantly wondering what would happen next!

The world of the Unbroken is heavily influenced by the French colonization of Northern Africa. C. L. Clark paints a vivid picture of Qazal, from the slums, to the markets, to the heavily colonized quarters of the rich Balladairian merchants. Right from the start the horrors that Balladaire has wrought onto the colonies is made clear. From stolen children, to stolen land, there’s nothing that Balladaire has left untouched. When presented with this situation you would think that any native-born Qazali would hate the Balladairians through and through, however, for our main character Touraine, this is not the case.

For me, this is what made Touraine such an interesting character. She was uprooted from her homeland at such a young age, and when initially landing at the docks, the only emotions she can muster towards Qazal is disgust. For Touraine, the only things she remembers about her “home” are what her teachers in Balladaire drilled into her. Qazal is a land of the uncivilized. The native people are beneath her. She has been educated to know that their belief are antiquated and savage. I’m not going to get into spoilers, but the best thing about The Unbroken was Touraine’s character development. Throughout the book you get the see Touraine question her beliefs time and time again, wondering at the end of the day, who the real savages are.

Our other main character, Luca, is equally as interesting. Luca has been sent to the colonies by her uncle (the sitting regent) tasked with quelling the growing rebellion. Luca has a singular goal, and that is to peacefully stop the rebellion, and prove that she is finally ready to take the throne. What surprised me the most about Luca was how naively optimistic she was about Balladiarian relations with the Qazal. She initially recruits Touraine to help her negotiate with the rebels, which is something I never would have thought a royal of an imperialistic country would do. Throughout the book Luca struggles with wanting a solution that serves both sides while also proving that she is fit for the throne.

The Unbroken is full of twists and turns. Whenever I thought I knew what decision a character would make, they completely surprised me. I gave this book 4.5 stars for its beautiful writing, well-developed characters, and fantastical worldbuilding. I can’t wait to see what happens in the next book, although if I’m being honest, I can’t really see what could possibly happen in a sequel since the book wrapped up rather nicely. Regardless, I am still eager to read whatever book C. L. Clark puts out next!

When I tell y’all that I was NOT ready for C.L. Clark to go this hard. I’m typically a fast reader and will a 500 page book in a day or two. This book took me almost a week to get through because it was so utterly visceral and gut punching. So much of the dialogue made me pause and just stare at the wall. I was not expecting this story to be so painful, but it was worth every single page.

C.L. Clark’s debut novel is a North African inspired fantasy novel that is chock full of political intrigue. Clark unapologetically examines the consequences of colonialism, which ranges from land occupation to the erasure of language and culture. This is something that I haven’t done to this level of detail in fantasy, and I absolutely loved it (even though my heart was definitely stomped on several times).

So let’s get into our POVs.

The story alternates between two POVs. Touraine is the Lieutenant who commands her platoon of fellow “Sands” soldiers that are there to carry out the orders of behalf of Balladairan Empire. Mind you, Touraine was stolen as a child and was raised to serve said empire without a chose. Princess Luca is the heir to the Balladairan Empire, but she’s currently embroiled in a battle with her uncle to win back her rightful place on the throne. These two women are POLAR opposites, but it works so well in the story because it allows the reader to experience the colonialism from two vastly different lenses.

As far as our mains go, I LOVED Touraine. So much of her experiences and pain (especially when acknowledging internalized racism) were so relatable for me as a Black woman. While I came to appreciate Luca, so much of what came out of her mouth made me want to throw the book at her. I just…Luca’s character reminds me so much of the white people that “mean well” but still manage to insult you with their ignorance nonetheless.

This book is so queer! This is a queer normative world, and the sexuality of characters are not used as plot points. Touraine is lesbian and Luca is bisexual. This is a slow burn sapphic romance, and when I saw slow burn, I mean literal snail pace. While the jury (aka me) is still out on this ship, I definitely appreciated the normalized queerness of this book.

When it comes to side characters, and there’s quite a few, I was amazed at how fleshed out and complex they all were. Every single one of them contributes to the story is a meaningful manner, and at no point did I think that any of the side characters were fillers.

In terms of pacing, there were moments in the middle where the action of the plot slows down a bit, but that’s really when Clark digs into the visceral annihilation of her dialogue. I don’t want to give anything away but know that these conversations are painful to say the least.

Overall, The Unbroken is an incredible, must read for those who are looking for fantasy that really pushes boundaries and doesn’t take into consideration your feelings while doing it.

Thank you to Orbit Books for providing a copy for review. This did not influence my review. All opinions are my own.

Thank you so much, NetGalley and Orbit books, for the chance to read and review this book!

Touraine is a soldier. She was stolen as a child and raised to be a killing machine, to die for the empire, but when her company is sent to her homeland in order to stop a rebellion, she struggles with the ties of blood. Luca is looking for someone able to sway the rebels towards peace, while she gets her uncle off the throne. Touraine and Luca found themselves through massacres, mysteries, rebellion, espionage, in a compelling and captivating epic fantasy, in a crumbling desert empire.

The Unbroken is an amazing story, filled with complex and wonderfully human characters, interesting in their intricacies, doubts and fears. The setting is lush and evocative, the characterization one of the best I've ever read and I loved the way the author talks about Touraine and Luca, intriguing characters, battling with loyalties, blood ties, doubts and so much more. I love reading this book, because the author has a gift for storytelling, the descriptions brilliant, the plot twists thrilling and I was hooked since the very beginning.

Multi-layered military fantasy and political intrigue with sapphic protagonists and colonialism at its center.

Content warnings include: racism, colonialism, violence, execution, death, alcohol consumption, animal attack, loss of limb, slavery, illness, rape threats; mentions of abduction and indoctrination of children, child abuse, riding accident leading to disability and chronic pain, attempted rape.

The Unbroken drew me in first with its cover, which perfectly portrays Touraine, the main protagonist, a conscripted soldier for the Balladairan Empire. What appealed to me after was the North African inspired fantasy setting with a plot centered around rebellion against a colonizing Empire. What then made it even more interesting was that Luca, the second protagonist, is the heir to said Empire.

The dual POV worked perfectly here, the back and forth between two characters with completely different origins and motivations being intensely intriguing and part of what I liked most about the book.
Both protagonists are sapphic, though if you're looking for a fantasy with a prominent romantic subplot, this is not the book for you.
Luca is white and disabled from a badly healed leg after a riding accident, and she's the Balladairan Empire's heir. Touraine is Black and was taken as a child by the Empire and brutally raised to be a solider, part of a whole squad of stolen children who can barely remember anything about where they come from, but who also aren't truly part of the country where they were raised.

The plot starts off with them arriving in Qazāl, which incidentally is also where Touraine was born, and where Luca is supposed to squash the rebels that have started to gain movement in the colony. A complex web of intertwined events centered around the two protagonists begins.

It's not a happy story, dealing with the brutality and horrors of colonialism, racism and dehumanization. Other important topics are rebellion, identity, home, family and loyalty. Especially the latter is constantly questioned! They are all conntected and woven into the plot masterfully, from both characters' perspectives. Character development is constant, but definitely not a straight line.

Equally twisted was the progression of the plot. It was never predictable and went into so many different directions, it always kept me on edge. It was very exciting to read, and the ending, while concluding the immediate plot, also leaves my mind running wild with theories about where it might be headed next!

A great debut, and I'm looking forward to the sequel!

Wow. This one hits hard with the awful truths of colonialism and abuse of the conquered, and I'm not even sure if that's what hit the hardest. Even the expert weaving of faith-based magic into the story isn't enough to lighten the punch.
Expertly written and brilliantly plotted. Clark created a world where the deep character study of a soldier who finds herself back in a home she doesn't remember to fight a war she never wanted flows from moment to moment with gravitas and emotion.
Touraine was taken from her home as an infant and conditioned to do anything for the conquering country that raised her. But when her company gets sent back to the land from where they were taken and forced to enforce the rule of the conquerors, she suddenly finds that things are not as black and white as she was taught. Add the young ruler of the Empire to the mix and it's a guaranteed flame to a powder keg. It's a clash of personalities, believes, desires, and greed that will claim a high cost before things can be resolved.
This book is not only a masterclass in character development, it's also a study in loyalty, revolution, revenge, and even, surprisingly, love. Every action taken, whether good or bad, is (mostly) taken out of love and consideration for others, even the ones that end up backfiring spectacularly. It's a study of consequences with high stakes that pulls you in and doesn't let go. Highly recommended.

Many happy thanks to NetGalley and Orbit books for the phenomenal read!

The Unbroken is a dual POV epic fantasy that follows two women from very different backgrounds. One is a disgraced soldier of Qazali origin and the other is the future ruler of the Balladairan Empire.

Touraine is saved from sure death for a crime she did not commit by Luca is exchange for being a pawn in her plan towards peach between the Qazali rebellion and the Balladairans. However Luca's version of peace is still a very much colonized version where even granting the people minimal rights is a power struggle, And Touraine having the most freedom she's ever had really has to grapple with her place in the world. All she knows is serving the empire in different roles. So it's interesting to read about her basically decolonizing her mind to reject the notions that have been programmed into her. Right now she's an outsider who has been tugged away from everything she knows and her Sands(fellow soldiers) she can relate to.

There was a little point where it lagged in the middle while we get to know the characters more in the routine they've settled in. It does end up picking back up as Luca and Touraine battle each other on different sides. There's romantic tension between the two but it's not a sweet romance where they perfectly fit. Luca is the master and the one with dominant power which is something that can't be ignored.

CL Clark does an great job describing the world of Qazal. I love fantasies where you can picture the town clearly and are given vivid descriptions of what people wore and ate.

Thank you Netgalley for the free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

At first I was really lost when it came to the world building, it felt like a lot was thrown at me at all once. But as I neared the middle of the book I started to realize I understood the world building and was enjoying the characters and fast paced plot. I also think the pacing was off at times, where we would have a lot of action and then things would slow down significantly for a good chunk of the book.

But the strength of this book is the characters and the action scenes. I found that I was really attached to the characters and kinda swooning over the potential romance. And every time an action scene happens I was completely enthralled.

Despite some of the downfalls foe me, I really do look forward to continuing on in this series!

Thank you to NetGalley and Orbit for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Overall rating: 3 stars

The Unbroken was on my most anticipated books for this year mainly because it is a North African inspired adult fantasy written by a Black author, LOVE THAT. The setting was giving me Morocco vibes and I was here for it. We have two POVs: Touraine and Luca. Touraine is a soldier who is returning to the country (Qazal) that she was born in but she has been gone for the majority of her life. She and hundreds or thousands of other children were taken away when they were young and raised to serve this empire. She looks up to a general in this Balladarian army and strives to literally “be the best she can be” LOL. Although Touraine has essentially wiped her hands clean of her homeland, some of her fellow soldiers have not and long to find family members and learn where they’re from. They don’t serve the army because they want to, it is because they have to.

Luca is the princess of this empire. Her parent have died and her uncle is ruling when she is supposed to be the queen. She needs to prove to her uncle she can handle being the queen. She heads to Qazal, which has its struggles between the native people and the Balladarian people who have come in to try and control the country. There are constant clashes between the natives and the government and Luca needs to get it into control and have a healthier, yet still beneficial to the crown, relationship with the government and the people of Qazal.

Without spoiling certain aspects, Touraine finds herself in a sticky situation where the princess saves her and makes Touraine her assistance. Luca thinks that she can use Touraine to be her “spy” and ambassador to the local people to somehow make peace. Needless to say, it does not go smoothly and there’s lots of twists, turns, and battles for the city of Qazal.

The first half of the story was my favorite. I loved the world building, I could perfectly envision the setting. I loved the political intrigue and military aspects of the story. I at first enjoyed the two main characters because I thought they both were unique and I had an idea of where it was going between them. This story has lots of themes of colonialism and the effects it has on the country that has been colonized and what it does to the people. What happens when children are taken away from their home country and their people and raised to fight against them ? It talks about the struggles of coming back to a place you don’t recognize as home, how you feel you’re a citizen of the country that raised you, but the country that stole you and made you be a soldier still treats you as less than.
I felt for Touraine so much, especially in the first half, because she was so conflicted and didn’t know what side was “right” and what her role in all of this should be.

I really liked Luca in the beginning because she seemed like a princess who actually wanted to help. She wasn’t helpless, she was smart and capable. She has a disability but she didn’t let that stop her from being able to fight. She doesn’t take pity for her disability either. She reads and studies and she tries to learn so they she can be a better ruler than her father was. I was so excited in the beginning.

However, around the midway point it started to slow down for me. It’s hard to say why without spoilers but both Luca and Touraine kept being somewhat wishy-washy with their feelings towards each other and this situation going on in Qazal. There was so much back and forth, especially from Touraine, that it was hard to keep rooting for her. She’s supposed to be this super capable, smart, strong army Lieutenant but yet she makes really dumb decisions that put people she cares about in danger.

Another aspect that would have helped is if there was more with the magic. Magic is gone from the city and without it, the story felt less fantastical. I wish it was present throughout the whole book because I would have enjoyed it more. When we do finally see magic, it’s so dark and I loved it and I wish it was a bigger part of the story earlier on.

Overall, a solid start to a series. I’m interested to see what the next book does, but this one could’ve had some changes and maybe been shorter and been a more enjoyable read

3.50 Stars. This was a well written story that unfortunately was not really for me. I love fantasy, especially sapphic fantasy, so this was another book on my most anticipated ‘21 reads list. I was so excited when I was approved for an ARC copy and could not wait to spend this weekend (it’s a long book) reading this. My expectations might have been a little high, but in the end, the quality of this book was definitely higher than my actual enjoyment. Enjoyment wise this book was just in the average or okay category, but I upped my final rating a little because the book was well written.

This is a long book, twice the size of an average read, but I was excited for a big epic fantasy adventure. I knew that this book was slower in parts, and it was, but I actually liked the slower parts. I thought the world building was well done and I loved all the details of culture, government, and military that Clark wrote so well. I felt fully immersed in this new world. I also thought that Clark did really well with not being too info-dumpy which is always appreciated.

I’ve noticed in other reviews, that people thought the first half was slow but liked the second better. While I agree about the speed, I was the opposite in what I enjoyed. The book from about 50% to 75%, felt like a real slog to me. The pace actually speeds up, but I felt like there were a bunch of start and stops in all the action and little storylines. It looks like this is going to happen, but then this does, than this, so I could not get comfortable with the story and it was harder to read. The flow of the last quarter, the ending, was much better but I didn’t particularly enjoy reading about anything that was going on.

I think the biggest issue was that I did not like the main characters. I like strong badass women and while both mains acted like they wanted to be, they were anything but. Luca, a princess who did not seem to understand crown politics at all, and Touraine, a lieutenant who disappointed me most of all. Touraine, who is supposed to be the best, the highest ranking of all her soldiers, and instead is an absolute mess. I don’t think she did anything right the whole book except for one choice near the end. It was so frustrating to read about such a useless character. I can’t even count how many people are dead because of her choices. You know when you wish a main character will just go away to some far off city and leave the rest of the characters in peace, well that’s not really a great sign.

Besides the fantasy aspects, I wanted to read this book because it was sapphic. That was a bit of a bummer too. I would not read this book if you are looking for romance. I would say that this book did not have romance. One character likes the other, while the other character just ruins anything that character is trying to do. It’s not much of a relationship and I could not even get why one character pinned after the other when she got nothing in return.

I’m such a character driven reader that not liking the mains really affected my enjoyment. If you are more of a plot driven reader, this book might work much better for you. This book has a lot of wonderful high reviews so I’m a bit of an outlier here. It was well written and well imagined, but it just was not my type of book. I don’t think I will be reading the sequel, but this author has plenty of talent and I will keep an eye on her future books.

The Unbroken starts out extremely promisingly, telling the tale of Touraine, the young Qazali who was taken from her home as a kid and raised in the Balladairean empire as a member of the colonial forces, meant to be the first troops sent back to quell any uprisings in their land of birth. And here she is now, on a boat back to El Wast, a lieutenant in charge of troops known as Sands for their desert origin, accompanying Crown Princess Luca on a tour of her empire's Qazali holdings.

But Luca has an ulterior motive: with her uncle on the throne as her (unwanted) regent, she wants to prove herself worthy of replacing him by investigating Qazali healing magic and finding a permanent solution for the deadly plagues that ravage Balladaire. Her own homeland has long since turned its back on magic and faith, considering both "uncivilized", but Luca is convinced that her people will embrace any remedy that frees them from devastation, and by extension will embrace her own ascension to the throne.

When Touraine's quick thinking saves Luca from an assassination attempt, the soldier comes to the princess' attention. Needing a go-between who will prove acceptable to the local rebels as well as loyal to the Empire, Luca decides that Touraine perfectly fits the bill. Unfortunately, Touraine soon finds herself struggling with both attributes, betwixt and between dissonant aspects of her own identity.

This is such a fantastic premise, based on the French history of colonizing North Africa, and the first third or so is really gripping, compelling stuff. The almost out-of-body feeling Touraine has upon returning to her homeland is something I felt in my bones, as is the complicated relationship she has with colonial Balladaire, feeling both grateful to and resentful of it for all that it's done to and for her. In this respect, it's very much reminiscent of the excellent <a href="https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2019/05/11/the-traitor-baru-cormorant-the-masquerade-1-by-seth-dickinson/">Baru</a> <a href="https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2020/09/02/the-monster-baru-cormorant-the-masquerade-2-by-seth-dickinson/">Cormorant</a> <a href="https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2020/12/22/the-tyrant-baru-cormorant-the-masquerade-3-by-seth-dickinson/">series</a> it's been compared with.

Unfortunately, the similarities end when it becomes disappointingly clear that Touraine is no Baru. Whereas Baru was often too clever for her own good, Touraine is very much not. Touraine has to make several hard choices -- and with the first big one about the guns, I empathized, as that was not a clear line to navigate -- but she keeps making progressively worse and worse choices as the narrative continues. It's really hard to sympathize with a character who keeps doing dumb things. I was also less than thrilled with what seemed to me an inconsistency in the science of the book (ha! I've gotten really tetchy about <a href="https://www.thefrumiousconsortium.net/2021/03/25/deathless-divide-dread-nation-2-by-justina-ireland/">science in speculative fiction</a> recently) as it flip-flopped over whether Balladaire understood vaccines -- tho perhaps that was just an error in the Advanced Reader's Copy that has since been edited out in the finished product.

I did appreciate how C. L. Clark shows that choosing violence is almost always a race to the bottom. While I thought the ending somewhat unlikely, or at least too sudden to be likely, I am glad that Ms Clark hints at how unprepared the rebels are for what comes next. I'm curious to see if she'll explore the workings of government from there on in, both in Qazal and Balladaire. I'll probably read the next book, but am not looking forward to it with any great enthusiasm.

The Unbroken by C. L. Clark was published March 23 2021 by Orbit Books and is available from all good booksellers, including <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/15382/9780316542753">Bookshop!</a> Want it now? For the Kindle version, <a href="https://amzn.to/3tWvlGe">click here</a>.

I saw some marketing for this book hyping the romantic elements for this book (some of which I parotted when trying to build hype for the book on twitter), and I think it's misleading. Based on synopsis info, I already knew there was a power imbalance, but it's actually much steeper. By the time Luca and Touraine have full contact with each other, Touraine was pardoned from a death sentence in exchange for working for Luca, and Luca could easily revoke that if Touraine raised her ire. Touraine was conscripted as a child, torn from her family and culture, and conditioned to be a soldier loyal to Balladaire. Touraine has some awareness of the power imbalance, but she still very much seeks signs of approval from Balladaireans, making the romance mirror real life dynamics and also squicky. The Unbroken deals with topics of colonialism, cultural estrangement, the repercussions of war, and religion/ faith. We don't see a lot of the magic system in this book. It's feared and hidden away for strategic use, and Balladaire doesn't practice anymore. What we do see is devastating, and it looks like it will play a much larger role in sequels. There's a large cast of memorable characters. I enjoyed Touraine's bonds with the other conscripts, colloquially known as Sands, especially Tibeau and Pruett. The resistance council is also made up of dynamic characters. All the political leaders are fumbling towards a goal, and it seems like only the most ill-intentioned are able to achieve theirs. This tension between intent and how to execute it powers the story and drives the characters to make difficult, unforgiveable decisions.

Loved the book. Was a great read, and the world building was amazing. Would love to read more by this author. Will tell my friends and family to buy.

I loved this book - one of my favorites from 2021 so far, and Touraine is a compelling, swoon-worthy main character. My crush on Touraine aside, I admire how Clark depicts several nuanced positions in relation to empire with her varied, very human cast of characters. A lot of fantasy books center on “burning down” an oppressive regime, which I’m all for, but I appreciate how Clark doesn’t end the story there, and she doesn’t make it look so simple. Definitely looking forward to the sequel!

I wanted this book because of the cover, because, holy crap look at that woman's arms. I'm shallow, OK? But yes, while Touraine is incredibly hot, this is also an intense and unflinching look at colonialism and belonging.

Touraine was conscripted as a child of five into the Balladairan legions from conquered Qazāl, derogatorily called the Sands. All traces of her life before were beaten out of her – the language, the culture, her own name. By contrast, Luca is the Balladairan princess, used to a life of luxury, though she was badly injured during a childhood riding accident that causes her a great deal of pain and necessitates her using a cane. Both arrive in Qazāl on the same ship with similar goals: to solidify Balladairan rule and crush the rebellion. When Touraine stops a rebel assassination attempt, she comes to the attention of the princess, and things snowball from there. Both women must figure out what – and who – they’re willing to risk to accomplish their goals.

“It baffled her, how stupid the rebels were about the balance of power: the Qazāli had nothing. Balladaire had numbers, equipment, supplies—they were winning, had been winning for decades. Some of the Sands might miss their families, their pasts, but it would be better to stay on the Balladairan side of the conflict.”

This book doesn’t pull any punches about living under colonial rule. I can’t say I know much about French colonialism, but it reminded me strongly of reading Merzak Allouache’s Bab el-Oued, set in post-colonial Algeria, specifically a scene where a French family comes and reminisces about living in the apartment now home to an Algerian family. In this book, the roads are referred to as “rues,” they eat dishes with chickpeas and flat round bread, and the military uniforms are reminiscent of French legionnaires.

“By the sky above, she wanted to be enough.
No. More than enough. She wanted to be a queen for the histories. Someone who changed Balladaire for the better. Someone who changed the world.”

Touraine and Luca are two sides of the same coin, both trapped by into harmful patterns by what they think they want. Touraine is trying to live up to the ideal of the perfect Balladairan soldier, in hopes of one day getting promoted to better protect the Sands. Luca’s trying to live up to the memory of her father as a wise ruler and she believes the only way to force her uncle to cede the thrown is to take care of the growing rebellion in Qazāl. The truth is that both women are up against impossible odds: no matter what Touraine does she’ll never be Balladairan, and Luca’s father was an imperialist despot, hardly worthy of emulation. Touraine isn’t Qazali and isn’t Balladairan, the only people who know how she feels are her fellow Sands. But early on, after certain events, she’s separated from them and becomes part of Luca’s household. But still, the Sands the only family she knows, so when they’re threatened, she does what she has to to save them.

“The princess leaned against the door, and when Touraine was dressed in the vest and trousers, she made an appreciative sound in her throat and smirked. “It’s a crime to keep those arms of yours hidden away in an army coat.”

This book is intense, and at times I had to put it down because I was simply too emotionally involved. Luca and Touraine make a series of increasingly worse decisions in order to take care of the people they care about. The romantic pull between Luca and Touraine was… complicated. There were times I rooted for them, but most of the time I wanted smack some sense into Luca. It’s not that she isn’t trying to do right by Touraine and the Qazāli in general, but merely having good intentions doesn’t excuse the harm she’s actively causing. The power imbalance, too, gave me pause, but I’m curious to see where their relationship goes next.

“There was something like family here, even if it was the familiarity of desperation, scrounged from necessity and danger. Just like the Sands had become her family.”

Even more complicated, though, was the relationship between Touraine and her mother, Jaghotai. It’s all the pain of colonial Shālan squished down into one interpersonal relationship, and I hurt so much for the both of them. I loved Touraine’s troop of Sands, Luca’s guards, and the rebels, especially Aranen. They were all separately drawn characters with their own motivations. It took a while to get to the magic system, but I enjoyed it. And that’s my main criticism of the book: the pacing was extremely slow and uneven. It took a while to get to the meat of the book, and especially toward the end the pace was almost frenetic.

“Every time she was here, she felt helpless. Always at the mercy of some Balladairan or another, hanging from their whims. Not tonight. Tonight, she came of her own will. She didn’t want mercy. She wanted them to burn.”

Overall, this was an utterly engrossing read, and I will definitely be picking up the next in the series.

I received an advance review copy of this book from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

C.L. Clark is back with another brilliant fantasy! The Unbroken is a novel that I've heard so much about it lately. Fortunately, it's also the first in a series (Magic of the Lost), so this is not the last we'll be seeing of these characters.

Touraine was not born to be a soldier – but she was raised to be one. She was taken as a child and forced to work her way through the ranks. Now, she's been sent back to the very land she was stolen from – and she's going to have to make a choice.

Then there's Luca. She's in need of a spy willing to cross the line, take risks, and in general, ignore concepts such as treason. What she needs is a rebel. And it's looking like Touraine may fit that bill.

“Stupid, stupid. Instinct alone saved her life. She lifted her arms just in time to get a slice across her left forearm instead of her throat.”

Guys, there is so much to love about The Unbroken. It is a fierce and compelling tale – one that will tug at your heartstrings one moment and throw you into the center of the action the next. Needless to say, I loved it.

This is probably not the best book to read if you're looking for something bright and happy. The Unbroken is incredibly bleak at times – but that just makes other moments shine all the brighter. It's a fine balance and one that C.L. Clark found.

I think that it wasn't until I was a third of the way in that I found myself getting truly emotionally invested in the story. Don't get me wrong – the horrible things happening in this book were still hitting hard (perhaps too hard). But it wasn't until I started rooting for the characters that it felt more intense and real.

I love how much was fit into The Unbroken. It's fantasy and a little bit science fiction. It's got action, world-building, character development, and did I mention that it's GLBT? I love it so much, and I sincerely cannot wait to hear news of the sequel.

I’m going to start by saying that the content of The Unbroken is incredibly rich and in-depth. The first half reads like a non-fictional account of the climate, politics, art, history, etc of Qazāl which is a plus for world building but a heavy weight to carry for pacing. Just when scenes seem to be taking off with dialogue and character interaction, the author breaks in with 3x as many details of, for example, the courtyard they are entering or fabrics that went into the making of their clothing. In the end, I think most of us read fiction for characters or action and that is lacking in the first half. The second half is better.

There are battles, intrigue, magic, the story moves faster from one point to the next. I’m not saying it is lightening quick, just explaining that it picks up.

Now here’s the part that frustrated me the most, I did not like the two main characters very much. Balladairan Princess Luca Ancier is young and hopes to take her place at the throne very soon. Her uncle believes that sending her to Qazāl, a nation that they hold under subjugation, will give her the necessary experience to rule or maybe kill her off which would make him the king. She’s an okay character but I wanted so much more, not just the fact that she uses crutches due to her permanent injuries. There’s a person there and I wanted to know her but that’s what happens when we get so much architectural information rather than character defining scenes. Finally, Touraine, who I so badly wanted to hero worship because one look at the cover and I was won over. She is a Lieutenant with the slave soldiers who were stolen as children from Qazāl and raised to be fighters for Balladaire. Of course, it’s a bitter homecoming. They’re viewed as traitors by the locals and yet are slaves to the Balladairians. It’s a powder keg that’s due to set off, not only because of the “Sand’s” return but also because revolution is in the air. Back to Touraine. She’s confused, not the brightest, oftentimes weak, and worst of all, cannot make up her mind which causes much turmoil. Not the stuff of heroes but maybe that is the author’s aim. Luca and Touraine have an interesting dynamic together which is still hazy at this stage but I’m looking forward to see how their relationship evolves. Interestingly, I found many of the secondary characters to be much more impactful even though their appearances are brief.

Let me end by saying the writing is top notch and the author’s turn of phrase is magical. I intend to keep reading this series because it’s worth it and I still recommend because the author unabashedly went all out to create something special. There are shortcomings but I have no doubt, they will be straightened out and there will be amazing works in the future.

The author interviews continue! This week, I’m talking to CL Clark, author of the new fantasy novel The Unbroken, which follows a soldier called Touraine and a princess called Luca and their complicated relationships with empire and with each other. We chatted about Arabic dialects, how the book changed in the editing process, and whether it’s possible to hold power ethically. You can listen to the podcast in the embedded player below, or download it directly to take with you on the go!

Episode 144

Things We Discussed

The Battle of Algiers (movie)
Ici on noie les Algeriens (movie)

Cherae talks a bit about different dialects of Arabic, so to break down what they’re saying a little bit: Darija is Moroccan Arabic; Masri is Egyptian Arabic; Shami or Sami is Levantine Arabic (Syrian, as well as Lebanese). The question I ask about saying the G is because the Arabic letter J (?) is pronounced as a G in Egyptian Arabic. The thing Cherae says about negative sh is about the consonant construction “sh” that’s used to negate a statement.

The Wheel of Time, Robert Jordan
Ancillary Justice, Ann Leckie
Ender’s Game, Orson Scott Card
The Thousand Names, Django Wexler
Powder Mage series, Brian McClellan (first one is Promise of Blood)
Broken Empire trilogy, Mark Lawrence (first one is Prince of Thorns)
Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey
Assassin’s Creed: Valhalla
What Remains of Edith Finch
Machinarium
Shadow of Mordor
Stardew Valley
Winter’s Orbit, Everina Maxwell
The Monster Baru Cormorant, Seth Dickinson
A Desolation Called Peace, Arkady Martine

You can find Cherae on their Twitter or subscribe to their newsletter here. The book again is The Unbroken, which you can get wherever books are sold!

You can get at me on Twitter, email the podcast, and friend me (Gin Jenny) and Whiskey Jenny on Goodreads. As a brand new feature, you can also follow me (Gin Jenny) and Whiskey Jenny on Storygraph! If you like what we do, support us on Patreon. Or if you wish, you can find us on iTunes (and if you enjoy the podcast, give us a good rating! We appreciate it very very much).

Credits
Producer: Captain Hammer
Photo credit: The Illustrious Annalee
Theme song by: Jessie Barbour

Transcript

Gin Jenny: Welcome to the Reading the End Bookcast with the Demographically Similar Jennys. I’m Gin Jenny, and I’m here with author CL Clark, author of the new fantasy novel The Unbroken. Cherae, great to have you on the show.

CL Clark: Hi, thanks so much for having me.

GJ: I wanted to start by— Could you tell us a little bit about the book and about yourself?

CLC: Sure! I’m CL Clark, you guys can call me Cherae. I am a writer from Kansas City, Kansas, though I haven’t lived there in quite some time. I’ve been on the road for the last several years. I am the author of The Unbroken, which is a novel about Touraine, who is a conscripted soldier for the Balladairan Empire. And she’s very loyal to it, at least when we start the book. And it’s also about Luca, who is the Balladairan Empire’s princess, and her main goal is to get her throne back from her uncle. And so when they both end up in Qazal, all of their best laid plans get turned upside down.

GJ: Awesome. That’s a great description. Let me ask you a question that’s not about this book. When people say they’re from Kansas City, Kansas, versus when they say they’re from Kansas City, Missouri, can you explain what that distinction is? I know it’s a city in two states, but I don’t understand that specific thing.

CLC: Okay, so to be fair, usually—I don’t even know why I made that distinguishment now, but I usually just say Kansas City, because for me, they’re the same city. But there are distinct law differences. Like you can’t buy alcohol on Sunday in Kansas City, Kansas, but you can in Missouri, and so my friends would exploit that quite a lot. But they’re one greater metro area, really. And when I became like, a young adult with my own apartment, I technically lived just a block over the state line. And so I was technically in Kansas City, Missouri. And so, you know, it’s for me, it’s one large sort of super-city, I guess.

GJ: Okay, awesome. That is so enlightening. Thank you so much. The last thing is fascinating. Okay, so returning to The Unbroken, which I loved. What was the germ of the idea for this book? You’ve been calling it Touraine’s Arms on social media, which I feel like distills it down to its most fundamental assets. But where did you start with it? Was with the characters, the relationships, the setting?

CLC: Actually, when you mentioned Touraine’s arms with it, though, I did not literally think of her physical arms, one of the things I really wanted to do and explore was when female characters in fantasy are allowed to be violent. And so it really is about her arms, her weaponry, like how she gets to physically hurt people. And yeah, so I guess that’s not— I mean, there are a lot of things to say about that. But, um, so it was like, when women get to be violent, and how they’re allowed to feel about it, like, do they have to feel remorse? Must it always be in service of saving a child or themselves? Because so often it was, and if it wasn’t, then they were a bad guy. You didn’t see the same thing with the guy characters. So there was that, and there was also, I was also in this class, a couple classes, studying postcolonial literary theory, and reading books by colonial, postcolonial authors. And so it all just kind of slammed together into one book, specifically one scene, which was the soldier who had to execute people who were her own people. That was the beginning.

GJ: Yeah, that scene is, yeah, remarkably impactful. So what changed from your first idea that— As you’re writing, is there anything that really significantly changed as you were going through? Or is it pretty true to your original vision for it?

CLC: The book itself is pretty true to that original vision. But there is one major, major change that happened in the last draft in between my like despair at never getting an agent to finally getting an agent selling the book. And that is a character, there was one character who—I’m not going to say any names, but if you’ve read the book already, you can probably guess—there’s one character who was Touraine’s brother, and I changed that character. They are not her brother anymore. They are someone else. But I didn’t change anything else, the rivalry and the hatred and the anger, even the like, fistfights, they all stay the same. And it changed the book so dramatically. And I just fell in love with this character. And yeah, so that was the biggest change.

GJ: That’s really cool. Why did you make that decision?

CLC: I cannot tell you because that would tell you who this character is now. And I don’t want to do that on air. Okay. But I’m happy if somebody wants to, like, do it off books, and I will answer that question for people.

GJ: All right, that makes sense. So you talked about some of the ideas from the book, arising from you studying postcolonial literature. What can you tell me about your research? I’m always so fascinated by what authors do to prepare for writing, especially, fantasy novels, where of course, the research can go in a lot of different directions, because ultimately, you’re making it all up.

CLC: I did, I did make up a lot of things. But before I did that, I really wanted to better understand how colonialism has worked in practice in the real world. And since my area of study was French, French language, and French literature, it was my first real inroad into this, because at first I was, you know, I was, like many Americans, I was in love with France and in love with Europe. And that love led me to digging deeper into the language and the culture. But that also meant I was digging deeper into the history, which means you’re seeing the underbelly of everything that made this perfect nation. And so actually one of the things I did was start learning Arabic as well, because I wanted to have access to some primary source documents from the colonial era. And even after, so I could see what people were talking about in their own language, not just North African writers writing in French. I watched, as well as reading books, I watched films by French and North African French artists, like Battle of Algiers is one pretty famous one, but also Ici on noie les Algériens, which is Here We Drown Algerians, and yeah, it’s a— So yeah, it was not really light reading by any means.

GJ: Yeah, no, sure. So I took a little Arabic in high school. My teacher was Tunisians so I have a Tunisian accent. What kind of Arabic are you learning?

CLC: So I had to learn Moroccan standard when I was studying, but they also taught it to us with one colloquial and tandem and but I had different teachers each time. So one teacher was Moroccan, but he taught me Egyptian because that was what the department said everybody had to do. But we had, we had like, Darija club. And so I would speak Darija with him outside of class. But then I had another teacher who would speak I we only really had Egyptian, we have Masri or Shami, so Syrian, dialects to choose from an actual class. And so we did Syrian dialect, Leventine dialect, in another class. And so it was back and forth. And actually, I, my partner and I, sometimes we speak Arabic, but she makes fun of me because I have a in general I have a Moroccan or Egyptian accent.

GJ: And you say the G?

CLC: Mmmm… Sometimes! Sometimes, okay, but I still I have my kafs from hanging out with my Moroccan professor a lot. And oh, gosh, what else? I keep all of my negative shushes. And they do not.

GJ: So yeah, I remember when I was taking Arabic because my mom studied Arabic as well. But she and she lived in Egypt for a year. So I would be pronouncing things the way I was pronouncing them. And she’d be like, No, no, no, it’s this way, the Egyptian way. So how did you decide what to put in the book from history and what to ditch? Like one thing that I found really interesting is that Balladaire, which is clearly inspired in part by France, is an atheist state rather than being Catholic as France was. So how did you make that kind of decision?

CLC: Well,one thing that I didn’t want to do was to make just straight analogs of these nations. I wanted on one hand, just to be able to write, you know, a fantasy world with different magic and stuff like that. And so if I were going to distinctly create a Catholicism and Islam or whatever, I’m not actually really writing fantasy, I’m just writing historical fiction. And that wasn’t where I wanted to go. But also, I’m not a historian, and I’m not North African. And so that’s not really, I don’t think, for that, really for me. Not unless I’m doing a substantial amount more research than I have done. And I’ve done research in general, but also specifically, and I just don’t, I would never call myself expert enough to write like a straight historical fiction about France and any North African country.

GJ: Oh, that makes total sense. Do you have any—are there books that you thought were particularly good? Like, if people were interested in learning more about the actual French colonization of North Africa? Are there books that you thought were particularly superb?

CLC: The films would be a good start.

GJ: Okay, awesome. Yeah. I’ll include those names in the show notes so people can look for them. So how did you come to the fantasy genre? Have you always been a fantasy reader? What are some books you started with?

CLC: Have I always been in the fantasy genre? Definitely, almost to the exclusion of science fiction for a very long time. Yeah. But I can’t remember what my first young fantasy book would have been. But the one that really changed the game for me was when I first read The Wheel of Time, the first Wheel of Time books, and because I had like a kids’ edition—

GJ: Oh my God, that’s adorable.

CLC: Yeah, it was like, I mean, I don’t know if it was intended to be for kids. But it came in like my school’s little book catalog. And it was like divided into two, so it was like, small hand size, smaller hands, I don’t know. And so that was kind of the beginning of the end. And then like, my parents noticed me or family members noticed me—like I was always a bookworm, but they started seeing that I was interested in this fantasy. And I will never forget, I had a family member, a couple aunts of mine who really loved Lord of the Rings. And basically, they found out I liked fantasy. The night that I was hanging out with them at their house, and Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers had just come out. And so they kind of looked at me, and then they looked at each other. And they said, Okay, we’re going to the movies tonight. And they sat me in front of Lord of the Rings number one, bought us tickets for Lord of the Rings number two later that night. And then I got about like halfway to like Gandalf fighting the Balrog, and then they just sort of picked me up and whisked me away to the movie theater. And that was the end, and then like for Christmas that year, I got Lord of the Rings book, I got Lord of the Rings soundtracks. I got all the movies up to that point. It was—yeah, that was it.

GJ: That sounds like a near perfect movie viewing experience. It’s actually so validating to hear someone else say they saw the movies first. My sister was a big fan. My older sister was a big fan of the books. And I tried to read them numerous times before the movies came out. And I just couldn’t get past—like I know, everyone says Tom Bombadil, and I did struggle to get past Tom Bombadil. And then I really couldn’t get past the Council of Elrond. When Fellowship of the Ring came out, I just saw the movie. And then I skipped and read The Two Towers first, which worked really well.

CLC: Yeah, I don’t know if I would have made it if it hadn’t been for seeing the movies first. And then I mean, the third movie didn’t come out for so long that I had nothing else to do. I was, you know, I was a kid. So I just read through it, I guess.

GJ: And you said to the exclusion of science fiction— Are you reading more science fiction nowadays?

CLC: Yes, yes, I am. I’m, I’m sure I had like some bad experiences reading like classical science fiction. And at this point, I don’t blame myself. I’m like, Well, of course you did. But now things are a bit different. And so I think I think the first one that kind of really got me into science fiction— And so now I’ve gone back and been reading through things, but I think Ancillary Justice was, I don’t know, my science fiction gateway drug, maybe?

GJ: I read Ender’s Game when I was in middle school, and I really liked it. So as you can imagine, that’s been a whole journey since then, given that its author is just an absolutely terrible person.

CLC: Yeah, I did read Ender’s Game. And that was the only one

GJ: Yeah, it was the only one for me to– I’m not really sure why, I’m not really sure what bounced me out of reading more SF. And then for military fantasy, is that a subgenre that you’ve read a lot of? Because I have read a moderate amount.

CLC: I feel like I’ve read a lot. But part of that for me, it was just that I feel like so much of fantasy has been military fantasy. It’s always about somebody going off to fight this war and that war. But I do think that the subgenre is getting more specific. And I remember stumbling upon Django Wexler’s The Thousand Names. And it was, as I was rolling this seed of an idea, that scene of Touraine having to execute some people, and in my head at the time, it was her with a rifle. And she was part of a firing squad. And I couldn’t quite reconcile the idea of, you know, jumping forward in technology like that, in fantasy. And so seeing The Thousand Names was like, this light bulb going off, like, oh, it is fantasy. You can, you can do whatever you want.

GJ: Whatever you want. It’s great.

CLC: Yeah. And that proved that there was a market for it, as well as Brian McClellan’s Powder Mage series. And so I just sort of ran with it. I didn’t really look back, didn’t ask any questions, though, I probably will, I will go back and probably write something that’s just like, swords because I like them. But sorry, to go back to your actual question. I’m—the other sort of scholarly interest I have, it’s related to postcolonial stuff, but it’s also war literature, and war narratives, and how we talk about war, how we engage in it, how we memorialize and how we fantasize about it. And so, I probably still have some more military fantasy coming out in the future.

GJ: That’s awesome. Am I right— Did I read that you have a background as a personal trainer?

CLC: Yes.

GJ: Was that useful to you in writing a character like Touraine, whose living depends on her being in really good physical shape?

CLC: I don’t know that I use that, per se. I mean, like, I have a pretty solid idea of what humans are capable of training to do. And not just like what they could do in a fantasy book. But I didn’t—I don’t think I really used it so much. But it did impact how I conceived of her and how I conceived of characters’ physicality in general.

GJ: Yeah, for sure. So what is the best workout routine to attain arms like Touraine’s like if you were going to do something that didn’t require you to be taken from your home and raised by a punishingly racist imperial system of warfare,

CLC: I mean, I am primarily a body weight training emphasis. And so my go-to would always be different varieties of push-ups and pull-ups. But if you’ve got some dumbbells laying around your house, by all means, pop up some curls and stuff and load them up.

GJ: All right, this is great to know, I have very weak noodle arms.

CLC: I would definitely start with the push-ups then.

GJ: Okay, all right, noted. I definitely can’t do a push-up, but I guess I can work up to it. Um, so Luca and Touraine’s relationship is obviously really complicated. Luca’s trying to prove herself as a ruler so that she’ll have access to her rightful throne. And I’m curious about the writing process when you’re writing about a character who, who personally is sympathetic, but who structurally as part of the ruling class of this empire is capable of doing and is doing a great deal of damage,

CLC: It was a very interrogatory kind of process. Like, I would not even say that I made her all that sympathetic. Like, I think that there’s, there are some people who will see more, and some people who will see less, put it that way. But I really just wanted to show that she had these conflicting desires, and like many of us do, and that sometimes we don’t always want the good thing, more than we want the thing that is for us. Yeah. And sometimes, you know, the good thing is what helps people and what is for me, is just for me.

GJ: One thing that I thought was interesting about Luca is that she really hasn’t asked herself about the ethics of holding power at all. She’s thinking exclusively in terms of, well, I think I would be better than, say, my uncle. So she’s not really thinking about the fundamental ethics of running an empire. Do you think there’s an ethical way to hold power in a monarchy? You know, the easy questions on Wednesday evening.

CLC: Well, I’ll put it this way. I do not think there is an ethical way to have an empire at all.

GJ: Yeah, agreed. I think it’s inherently violent.

CLC: But I do like my little fantasy books where we can just, you know, la la la la la, princess is cute, kiss. But that’s also not what I’m writing here either.

GJ: Yeah. I mean, the relationship is at all stages very fraught. Are you—if I understand book schedules correctly, you must be at least well into writing Book Two.

CLC: Yes, I have, as of now, given a draft to my editor, and am thinking revision thoughts about it, as well as trying to figure out how we’re going to wrap this whole thing up.

GJ: Sure. Is there anything you can tell us about what’s ahead?

CLC: Well, we’re going to have a few different points of view, a few new characters coming in. I’m not entirely sure how many of them will make it, at least their point of views will make it into the actual final second book, but they are all characters you’ve met before, or at least heard about. And so I am excited to let people get to know these characters a bit more

GJ: Awesome. And how was the process of writing the second book, as compared to writing the first one,

CLC: It was very fast.

Gin Jenny 20:51

It seems incredibly hard.

CLC: In between my very, very first draft of The Unbroken, and this draft, I became an outliner. And so that was very, very helpful. And so I actually was able to outline and write through it for the first draft of book two—We have some titles, we just need to get them approved. I can’t wait. But I think it also just invited its own new challenges, you know, because I’m, like, like many authors say, when they’re writing their book twos, especially when they’re writing them on like genre schedule publishing, like a year later, and a year later, you start seeing people’s reactions. And sometimes, you know, that’s getting into your head and impacting things you thought you wanted, but don’t want and, and so on. So it’s definitely an exercise in finding your core desire for the story and being able to block out the noise and other people’s opinions for what story they want you to write. So in that way, it’s actually quite difficult.

GJ: Yeah, I’m sure. So you said you became an outliner? How did you become an outliner? What were you before?

CLC: Like a very just faint sketch of an outline, like, here’s some vague ideas. This is the beginning. And this is the end. And this is probably how they get there. Because you know, they need this scene and this scene. And so I went kind of like that, and that was not the worst idea. I think someone’s described, basically, what I did is like the headlights method, you can see as far as your car’s headlights, and it was fine. But I also had to do a lot of revision. And so like nine years later, here we are. And yeah, very different from the outline and the year.

GJ: Yeah, no, I’m sure. The headlight method, that’s really good. I haven’t heard that before. But that’s an extremely good analogy. Another thing I always like to hear about is the cover design process. Were you involved much in that and what was that process like on your end?

CLC: It was exhilarating. Because I found out very early on that I was going to get Tommy Arnold who I’ve been in love with his work for forever. Even before I knew it was him, like, he stopped the show for everybody with the Gideon covers. So when I found out the same guy was going to do the art for Touraine, I just lost my mind. But before that, I was talking with Brit, my editor, and she really understood the kind of story I was telling and the kind of writer I am and the kind of person I am, honestly. And she said that she wanted to take the idea of the man in the center of the cover on a throne or in his pile of bones chair whatever. Like think of The Prince of Thorns and King of Thorns and like that series, those covers, or think of The Powder Campaign, the Bryan McClellan books, think of those covers. And she’s like, I want to keep those elements but I want it to be a woman, and I was like, that’s exactly it. That’s what I want. And so we have Touraine, and we’ve got power, we’ve got biceps, destruction in the background, all those things that are usually guy things are now hers.

GJ: Yeah, it’s a beautiful cover. I think it’s really great. We’ve been in quarantine for a year now. Have you discovered any new quarantine skills? Or is there anything that’s gotten you through quarantine?

CLC: Um, do I have any new skills? No. But I wouldn’t have minded—I thought a lot that I wish I had my instruments. I play the cello, but my cello has been at my mom’s in Kansas City for the last few years while I travel. Well, you know, so I guess I could say I picked up running a couple years ago, but started doing it more, racking up my mileage this year, training on and off for races that are not happening, but still, you know, pretending. What else helped me get through? The Assassin’s Creed games. I spent the first half of quarantine playing Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. And now a year later, I started playing Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. So that’s where I’m at with my quarantine life.

GJ: Those seem like amazing things. I just started gaming for the first time ever in quarantine.

CLC: Oh, welcome, welcome.

GJ: Thank you. Thank you. People are very welcoming. Overall, I feel like everyone’s like, Oh, good for you. It’s a good time to be a gamer.

CLC: What are you playing?

GJ: I like walking simulators. They’re not stressful, and I’m a very stressy gamer.

CLC: Oh, like what?

GJ: Oh, like, um, okay, what if I haven’t played that many games yet? So bear with me. Um, I think the first one I played was What Remains of Edith Finch.

CLC: Oh, okay.

GJ: And then what else have I done? Oh, like, Machinarium, and then there’s another one from—maybe, that’s maybe that’s not a walking simulator, in which case I apologize for forgetting the terminology. But yeah, Machinarium. And then I played a couple other games from that company, because they’re, they’re cute and not stressful.

CLC: I’m partial to—I mean, I don’t really know terminology either; like, I know basic stuff. But I just know, I like games that have stealth modes assassination. So the Assassin’s Creed games, obviously, are a go. And also the Shadow of Mordor, Shadow of War series have a similar play style. I can either stab in the dark or range weapon, or melee, I have the option of deciding who I want to be that day. And either being a sneaky killer or just laying waste, and then it just depends on my mood. But I also, I don’t know, real gamers may not care for these things. But I like the settlement aspect of Valhalla right now. You get to kind of build your own settlement. It’s a little bit Age of Empires. It’s kind of funny, because my partner is also playing Stardew Valley at the same time. And so there are all these little parallels, like they go fishing, and I just have a fishing rod now so I can go fishing. And I have to go and collect these little iron pieces, and they have to go collect these little iron pieces. I do a lot more murder.

GJ: So there’s more that unites us than divides us. And then before I let you go, just wondering what you are reading right now?

CLC: What I am trying to read would probably be more accurate, because I’m actually just sort of surfing gently between books that I’m really excited about, but my brain space just, I’m struggling to sit down sometimes and just read. But I’ve got Winter’s Orbit by Everina Maxwell. I have very high hopes. I am very excited for something nice and warm, especially given that my other read is The Monster Baru Cormorant. I’m rereading that.

GJ: Oh, yeah, I’ve heard it. I’ve heard it’s brutal.

CLC: Yeah, I love it. And then I also just got my copy of A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine, so some really good stuff on deck.

GJ: So Winter’s Orbit came out of fanfiction, sort of. Are you a fanfiction reader at all?

CLC: I have been, but I haven’t lately. I think actually, honestly, part of it was, and I’m sure other fanfiction readers will describe their adventures into it the same way. But, you know, I was a young queer reader, and I couldn’t find anything. I mean, there were some books but not like the plethora there is now. And now that there is just so much more, I’ve found myself reading these outside books instead. Now that I’ve been talking about it more with people, I’m thinking about, you know, finding some good stuff. So if people have recs, by all means, please, I’m ready. I actually found myself wishing— So this is a call maybe to your listeners for some good Eivor/Randvi fic, like, the gay one. Which is from Valhalla, the video game? So if anybody’s got any of that, I want it.

GJ: Oh, okay. I’m gonna ask my video gaming friends. This is all a mystery to me, but I’ll ask them. What did you read fanfiction in when you were younger?

CLC: It was not a specific property, but just like original fics that people were writing. Though I did used to belong to a writing role playing forum for the Wheel of Time series, which was my gateway drug.

GJ: Alright, awesome. Well, hopefully we’ll be able to get you some fantastic recs. It has been a nice solace during the pandemic to have fanfiction to return to I’m relatively new to it. I’ve only been reading it for, I don’t know, five or six years. It’s been really nice during the pandemic when my brain just doesn’t have room for anything else.

CLC: Yeah, I bet.

GJ: Well, thank you so much for coming on the podcast It’s been really great. Where can people find you online if they want to say hey, or learn more about the book?

CLC: My Twitter is at C_L_Clark. And you can sign up for my newsletter at clclark.substack.com. And I think my website is attached to both of those things.

GJ: Okay. Perfect. And the book is The Unbroken and it’s out now and everyone should read it. It’s really great. I couldn’t put it down. I was really so excited to find out what was going to happen next. And I can’t wait to read the rest of the trilogy.

CLC: Thank you so much.

GJ: This has been the Reading the End Bookcast with the Demographically Similar Jennys. You can visit the blog at readingtheend.com; you can follow us on Twitter @readingtheend. We are both on Goodreads as Whiskey Jenny and Gin Jenny, and you can email us—we love it when you do—at readingtheend@gmail.com. If you like what we do, you can become a podcast patron at Patreon.com/ReadingtheEnd. And if you’re listening to us on iTunes, please leave us a review. It helps other people find the podcast.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai