For the characters

Book Four is Aces and Eights. Available now!
(Photo courtesy of Amazon.)

I've heard it said that people pick up the first book of a series for the plot, but they stay with the series for the characters. This is true in spades (sorry: pun intended), when it comes to the "Aces High, Jokers Wild" series by O. E. Tearmann.

If you're already a fan of this series, I have excellent news! The fourth book, Aces and Eights, is now available in e-book format (here's hoping a paperback and audio version are released soon!).

If you're not already a fan of this series, I have even MORE excellent news! There is a wonderful series awaiting your discovery--and it's now four books long! (plus a Christmas-themed novelette, After Hours Game, that ideally should be read between Books 2 and 3)

If you're not reading the XK9 books, why not these?

Dystopian warm fuzzies?

Personally, I tend to steer clear of fictional dystopias, although I have a dear friend, Lynette M. Burrows, who writes a great dystopian series. (Scroll down her homepage for a list of great dystopian novels, if you love to read them).

The Hands We're Given  (Book One) was
a tour de force introduction to this world.
(Image courtesy of Goodreads.)

But I made an exception for the "Aces High, Jokers Wild" books--and I'm very glad I did. The people in these books are all their own kind of special. Talented, broken. Abused by the brutality of the world in which they live. But they rise above. They pull together. And, bit by bit, the oddballs and misfits of Base 1407, AKA The Wildcards, triumph. They use their unique talents and diverse strengths to succeed where more conventional approaches fail.

I love these people so much, I will gladly read anything Tearmann writes about them. Strictly for the characters, this series has become an "insta-buy" for me.

I love them because they're smart. They're perceptive--about their situation, and about each other. They love first, and while they may quarrel about details, their love is unconditional. Put to the most severe tests, they stay true to themselves and their team.

If you haven't discovered this series, you're in for a treat (Image courtesy of the Aces High Jokers Wild website).

The world they inhabit

Call the Bluff, Book Two, is a bit shorter,
but every bit as riveting. New dangers
threaten, and cherished lives endangered.
(Photo courtesy of Amazon.)

Tearmann has done some interesting world-building in these books. The Unites States of America that we know has been overrun and subsumed. In this world, seven corporations rule much of North America, each with its own territory, its own rules, and its own moral code. Codes which are imposed on the subject-citizens, although the "Corps" themselves follow an amoral code of self-interest and absolute control to the greatest extent possible.

Climate change has wreaked its havoc on the world, and most of the formerly-verdant plains states are now desolate near-deserts. Only the areas farmed by AgCo, with its patented, genetically engineered food crops that can't reproduce on their own (no seeds but those controlled by AgCorp will grow) feeds the nation.

The Co-Wy Grid (contemporary Colorado and Wyoming, where the Wildcards of Base 1407 stay on the run) is a patchwork of danger and sanctuary, respite and conflict. For the past 60-some years, the Democratic State Force (on the Co-Wy Grid they're informally known as the "Dusters") has sought to restore democracy.

The LGBTQ angle

Raise the Stakes leads the Wildcards
into newrealms of possibility, and sees
a promising new turn in the fight
against the Corps. (Photo courtesy
of Goodreads).

If you're not normally a reader of LGBTQ fiction, this series may take you by surprise. As with everything they do, the Wildcards don't particularly adhere to conventional gender norms.

That starts with the protagonist of the very first book, Commander Aidan Headly (born Andrea), who gradually transitions into his true self over the course of several volumes.

The books include a fair number of rather graphic sexual interactions. They may or may not be your "cup of tea," but as I noted in my review of the first book, I've never read a book in which such scenes were more essential to the plot, or more appropriately used to express character growth. If you're willing to roll with it and let your hair down, these scenes are pleasantly steamy no matter what your orientation. After all, love is love. And it's masterfully handled here.

For the characters.

But there's also a lot of plot between the steamy sex scenes.

Do you like suspense? Join Kevin and his team when they go on the Grid. Do you enjoy sticking it to "the man" and triumphing over the machine-like inhumanity of large corporate entities? Then Tweak and her unique talents are your sweet spot. She'll have you cackling with glee.

Do you love the drama of bringing a traumatized human being into an accepting space, then helping him or her understand they are finally, finally safe? (Or as safe as it's possible to be, in this world.) Then you will love these books.

Buy them. Read them. You will not regret it.

IMAGE CREDITS:

Many thanks to Amazon for the cover images for Call the Bluff and Aces and Eights. Thanks to Goodreads for the cover images for The Hands We're Given and Raise the Stakes. And many thanks to O. E. Tearmann's website for the four-book series image. I appreciate all of you!

Representation and social transformation

The Artdog Quotes of the Week

How does representation play a role in social transformation? Last week's Monday post explored stereotypes and the power of portrayal. Now let's tackle social transformation.

Make no mistake. Society is always transforming. Social change happens, whether we want it to or not. And individually we can't control how it changes.

No, the creators of content can't change basic facts of human existence. But we can affect how people think about those facts, for well or ill. (This quote-image featuring Ellen DeGeneres is courtesy of FCKH8 on Twitter).

One person's efforts rarely provide a huge pivot point, unless that one person speaks for thousands, and society was ripe for the change. Case in point: #MeToo. That one was way overdue!

What kind of future do you want?

We can't control the changes. But we can affect how things change. 

What kind of future do you want? As creative people, we make art that comments on how things are and how things could be. If you think a more broadly representative world would be more fair and interesting, reflect that in your art.

Subverting the stereotypes

If you think harmful stereotypes should be questioned, treat them like the clichés they are. Turn them inside out. Subvert them. Transform them into something fresh and unexpected and better.

It can take guts to "call people on their stuff" and challenge stereotypes. But artistic integrity demands it. (This quote-image from Rosie Perez is courtesy of The Huffington Post).

That's just basic sound practice--but you're also making a statement by the way you make the transformation.

Please note that this approach requires awareness. Creative people fall into tropes, clichés and stereotyped thinking when they don't recognize them for what they are. We all have unconscious biases. But we owe it to ourselves, our work, and our fans to learn about them and challenge them.

Representation and social transformation

Wider and more diverse representation is essential to the social transformations that I would love to see come about. I have my own ways to portray that, particularly in the stories I write.

Artists need to seize the power of portrayal. (This quote-image from Gina Rodriguez is courtesy of The Huffington Post).

There are as many possible approaches as there are artists. Some, such as those in the Solarpunk movement, seek to portray the benefits of positive future change.

Writers, artists, filmmakers and others with a more dystopic bent often dramatize how badly things can go wrong. Perhaps as a cautionary tale. Or because they're pessimists. Or because conflict is inherent in a dystopic plotline.

Everyone takes an individual path, because each of us has our own unique voice. We must let the world hear our visions, presented from our own perspectives, in our own voices.

What values do you seek to embrace? What negative outcomes do you hope we avoid?

IMAGE CREDITS:

Many thanks to  FCKH8 on Twitter and The Huffington Post for the quote-images in this post.