high-bar baking

I’ve been told I write good ledes for these. I’m not entirely sure that’s true. 

But I can tell you the best opening line for a book that I’ve quite possibly ever seen. I wasn’t even looking for it, I was just curious. “How does Novik start the Scholomance series?” I was hoping it was excellent, because in my head (high stakes, I know) I was pitting her against the overwrought-but-addictive contrivances of Fourth Wing. Novik does not disappoint, but even I wasn’t ready for this one. 

“I decided Orion needed to die after the second time he saved my life.” 

Perfection. 

Short, succinct, to the point. Carrying a theme that will persist throughout the entire series, but also just such a tease. What could she possibly mean by that sentence?! Read on to learn more. 

Read the book. Not this blog post. I wouldn’t dare deprive you of the pleasure. 

So, of course, with that hook, I went ahead and lost of a week of sleep reading the trilogy all over again. In the name of research, naturally. I want to gift them to a friend soon, but I had to make sure they hold up. Fear not, they do.

And there’s one singular reason it’s my favourite fantasy series (fantasy, not romantasy — temper your expectations, y’all). Naomi Novik writes an incredibly tidy book. That makes it sound so, so lame, but hear me out. She writes watertight books. You will find no plot holes in the series. Not even the minor ones that I’m willing to overlook in other franchises. She just… thought through everything. And as the armchair quarterback, resident plot hole finder that we all know and hate, I care. I care that you took the time, that you were as deeply immersed in your world as you hoped I would be. Because I am. You wrote it that well. 

Other perks: magic costs something, a niche demand that I make of all fantasy. And magic has balance. Another biggie for me. 

The moral of the story (other than “the ends don’t justify the means”) might be that you should write good ledes. But probably it’s just that you should write a book good enough to live up to the best lede you can conjure. 

Oh, and these are Sarah’s Classic Brownies that were supposed to be peanut butter until I realized I’d run out of peanut butter. Rookie mistake, I know.