Until the Dragon Comes

Reading Journal for March 6 2026

What I’ve Read
And Other Poison Devils by Twig (https://archiveofourown.org/works/77727411) This one requires a little explanation.
So, last October, AMC did a new show in the Anne Rice cinematic universe that they’ve been building with Interview with the Vampire and The Mayfair Witches called, in full, Anne Rice's Talamasca: The Secret Order. I don’t recommend it – the show is weirdly heterosexual for a Rice-inspired tale,  and for a spy story. They really do not delve deeply into the implication of having an untrained telepath as our main character. The show is so generic they literally named the main character Guy.

But! To you, dear reader, I am kinder than to myseI am a completionist and also a Bill Fichtner fan, so I watched Anne Rice's Talamasca: The Secret Order. It’s not great. It spends a great deal of time setting up Guy, and then all the payoff is for other characters who were introduced somewhat haphazardly.  However, the extremely specific Guy has some great slashy scenes with The Vampire Jasper – it’s classic handsy male actors making intense eye contact from four inches apart, and it appealed to enough people that there is a little fandom built up about it, myself included. THIS FIC is fantastic – it picks up a number of threads the show dropped and weaves them into a compelling personal narrative of a young vulnerable man who falls into the hands of a powerful older man and dedicates himself to his cause – and of course, unlike the canon, it’s well written and they fuck. Great work, Highly recommend as well Twig’s shorter work, The Hunter and the Gun (https://archiveofourown.org/works/75005866) which is closer to canon and also deeply fun.

The Golden Enclaves by Naomi Novik – The final book in the Scholomance series, about how the main character takes down magic capitalism from the inside. It’s wonderful payoff on the world building of the series, and good character work, and my god, Maw Mouths are just so much more horrible on the re-read than they are the first


What I’m Reading

Sword Heart by T Kingfisher - an excellent fantasy romance. What if Geralt of Rivia was assigned to protect a busty older woman with shitty relatives? 
Apparently, Sir Cameron Needs to Die by Greer Stothers -Static

What I’ll Read Next
My Real Children Jo Walton
Sunshine Robin McKinley

Work in Progress
I finished my Sock Madness qualifier socks after the deadline, but with enough done to be a cheerleader. I think I'll call it a win!