Winter Tide - Ruthanna EmrysLovecraft lore is fascinating. It’s also very xenophobic, raci

Winter Tide - Ruthanna EmrysLovecraft lore is fascinating. It’s also very xenophobic, racist, and sexist. If you’re into the world he built but would rather skip the grossness, this book is for you. Aphra and Caleb Marsh are the last land-based children of the Deep Ones. In the 1920s, the US Government raided Innsmouth and imprisoned all of the residents there, including Aphra and Caleb. They are the only ones who survived the decades since. Now, FBI Agent Ron Spector needs their help to uncover the possibility of Soviet spies using body jumping magic. Aphra may not trust the government, but this is also her only opportunity to get her hands on books stolen from her home town and kept hoarded in Miskatonic University.It’s hard for me to put my finger on exactly what it is that captures me so intently about this book. I can certainly point to the diverse cast. Aphra and Caleb were adopted by a Japanese-American family taken to the same camp where they were being held, and Neko, their adopted sister, travels with them. Agent Spector is Jewish. Aphra’s student, Charlie, is disabled. Agent Dawson is a black woman who joins the team later. The main characters may be part of a fictional persecuted race, but the story never lets you forget that there are real persecuted races as well, and that even the characters we like and sympathize with can fall prey to those attitudes. The themes of found family also resonate strongly with me. Aphra and Caleb have lost so many people they love, but through the course of the story, they start to let new people into their hearts. Aphra, as a character, is also intensely interesting, and I love her sense of duty and how she continually tries to be better. The magic this story weaves is as mysterious and subtle as the magic Aphra and her friends work, hard to pin down, not especially flashy, but captivating nonetheless. It would make Lovecraft roll in his grave to see his creations being used in such an inclusive story, but that’s all the more reason to read it.Buy indie! Find a store at IndieBound, or buy digitally on Kobo. -- source link

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