The obscuration of a book like this being literal porn is, I think, the point. My wife and I interact with a lot of religious girls, being near a religious university. She has had this book recommended to her by otherwise pious girls, who could probably recite a screed again porn videos, but don't see the connection between that and what they do with their books.
Which is to say, the shell games with words was supereffective against naive women in particular, and by the time they might realize it they're too much of a femgooner to be honest with themselves. I hope Maas rots in hell for the insidiousness of what she created.
Wow, I had no idea this was the content of the book my ex was reading. I shelled out a lot of money for a custom Etsy laser engraved Stanley cup themed after this book series. This whole time I thought it was just Narnia for women. I was swindled…
I could go on about the neuroticism of my Taylor Swift loving, BookTok, therapy speak ex-girlfriend, but ultimately I’m happy I came to the realization about who and what she was before I put a ring on it. Thank God.
I read this book before it was cool and hated what the author did to Tamlin. I did a search for Beauty and the Beast retellings, which I was into at the time (still am, but good ones are so hard to find) and that's how I waded into it not knowing what it was. Maas completely trashed and undermined this premise by switching the love interest based on literally nothing. I suspect she just wanted to drag it out into a series after getting enough sales to justify it. I've not recommended it to anyone, nor raved about it, nor really done anything but let it lurk on my Kindle app. It's not on my physical bookshelf for anyone to see. I agree with you. Women want captured, held, and enslaved, as long as the prison is comfy and they're flattered by the near-rape levels of insane lust that lead to ravishment. Time to bring back some barbarism if you want to put them into their place again.
Very astute (and comedic) write up. I made the mistake of reading it at the recommendation of an ex who said they were her "favorite fiction books of the last five years". Not to put her on blast but you're absolutely right that the core consumers of the series don't see these types of books as the hard erotica, since if they did, I doubt she would have told me to read it. I suppose that's where the double-standard that really irks me about this entire genre comes into play; I hate to be the guy who says, "Well, if the roles were reversed" since I usually don't like that argument, I can't help but wonder what would actually happen if a man was to rewrite one of these books where the exact same thing happens, but the POV is changed from the woman's to the man who kidnapped her. It'd be derided as exploitative, misogynistic, and worse, I'm certain. This goes for just about anything I've seen crawl out of the fetid pool of BookTok, most of which exceed ACOTAR in the severity of the content, and if any of it was written by a man, he'd probably be arrested. I'm not saying that a gender-swapped or POV-swapped copy would be any better or justified, because it wouldn't, but the lack of self-reflection, dishonesty, and cognitive dissonance on behalf of the readership is what stuns me more than anything about the book itself.
Also yes Maas is a thoroughly mid author, and even that feels like giving her too much credit. In a culture that took literature seriously, she'd be relegated to the back corner of the bookstore on the romance shelf with corny Harlequin romance novels that, for whatever reason, are still clowned on even though their less self-aware spiritual descendants are moving by the caseload.
"I can't help but wonder what would actually happen if a man was to rewrite one of these books..."
May I introduce you to Norman's Gor series of barbarian novels? Which women also loved, BTW. Naturally, it was frozen out by the industry despite its wide popularity.
My ex got very into these books while we were dating, then suddenly her standards for me changed quite a lot until I wasn't the right man for her anymore. Glad my wife hates the author and won't pick up any of her books!
Reinforces my general approach of only allowing books that are at least 80 years old for my children. Anything newer has to be reviewed, which is often a pain in the ass. I don't want to read this garbage. The Goodreads for ACOTAR is also garbage. Check it out. What is with these women and their reviews? Utterly cringe.
So I just have to hope someone with a brain and a moral compass has read the book. Thanks for taking one for the team!
My mom (ignorant) bought me (male) Fourth Wing for Christmas because it been recommended to her by coworkers. I realized this was not just Fantasy written by a woman in the first paragraph... Look at all the tens/hundreds of thousands of public reviews for the book by women with their personal names and selfies up, imagine if guys did the same for pornography. Totally insane.
Listening to two minutes of description of this book and I could tell you it was romance femsmut but I had no idea it was this bad. Highlights an interesting phenomenon in today's world: the acceptable socialization of fringe entertainment or ideas b/c of the appeal to women.
It is porn, and it is an addiction. The section labeled BookTok, or even worse, SpicyTok are filled with dozens upon dozens of pornographic books.
I can’t read most new releases because I don’t know what progressive hell I’m going to delve into when reading. For now I have to stick to the classics or at least authors I’ve read before.
Maas is only one of the many, many accomplices who has ruined a generation of women.
I think one of the less-appreciated downsides of hardcore pornography being everywhere is how it outshines all other forms of titillation. They get lost in the glare.
The effect gets doubled when you already have a cultural blind spot for female lust.
The Monster Girl Encyclopedia mention sent me. Hope the editors pay you enough for a flamethrower next round.
Twilight and 50 Shades were the same thing for the generation before ACATAR.
I also find it hilarious, depressing, disheartening, and gross that the first book's love interest is discarded for the new better hotness in the next book.
Sounds like these ladies would like some classic Robert E Howard Conan the Barbarian stories. Lots of delicate flesh crushed against hard armor by iron thews, smothering kisses, etc, as well as LOTS of nubile young ladies held down writhing on altars to dark gods and/or whipped by evil sorceresses
The obscuration of a book like this being literal porn is, I think, the point. My wife and I interact with a lot of religious girls, being near a religious university. She has had this book recommended to her by otherwise pious girls, who could probably recite a screed again porn videos, but don't see the connection between that and what they do with their books.
Which is to say, the shell games with words was supereffective against naive women in particular, and by the time they might realize it they're too much of a femgooner to be honest with themselves. I hope Maas rots in hell for the insidiousness of what she created.
Wow, I had no idea this was the content of the book my ex was reading. I shelled out a lot of money for a custom Etsy laser engraved Stanley cup themed after this book series. This whole time I thought it was just Narnia for women. I was swindled…
I could go on about the neuroticism of my Taylor Swift loving, BookTok, therapy speak ex-girlfriend, but ultimately I’m happy I came to the realization about who and what she was before I put a ring on it. Thank God.
Glad you got out while you could bro the engraved Stanley cup is crazy
A red flag so large it would collapse into a black hole.
All Women Are Unrepentant Gooners.
Good Lord, i should not have looked up gooner
I need to get my daughters to a convent, stat. Sadly it’s too late to not teach them how to read.
I read this book before it was cool and hated what the author did to Tamlin. I did a search for Beauty and the Beast retellings, which I was into at the time (still am, but good ones are so hard to find) and that's how I waded into it not knowing what it was. Maas completely trashed and undermined this premise by switching the love interest based on literally nothing. I suspect she just wanted to drag it out into a series after getting enough sales to justify it. I've not recommended it to anyone, nor raved about it, nor really done anything but let it lurk on my Kindle app. It's not on my physical bookshelf for anyone to see. I agree with you. Women want captured, held, and enslaved, as long as the prison is comfy and they're flattered by the near-rape levels of insane lust that lead to ravishment. Time to bring back some barbarism if you want to put them into their place again.
Very astute (and comedic) write up. I made the mistake of reading it at the recommendation of an ex who said they were her "favorite fiction books of the last five years". Not to put her on blast but you're absolutely right that the core consumers of the series don't see these types of books as the hard erotica, since if they did, I doubt she would have told me to read it. I suppose that's where the double-standard that really irks me about this entire genre comes into play; I hate to be the guy who says, "Well, if the roles were reversed" since I usually don't like that argument, I can't help but wonder what would actually happen if a man was to rewrite one of these books where the exact same thing happens, but the POV is changed from the woman's to the man who kidnapped her. It'd be derided as exploitative, misogynistic, and worse, I'm certain. This goes for just about anything I've seen crawl out of the fetid pool of BookTok, most of which exceed ACOTAR in the severity of the content, and if any of it was written by a man, he'd probably be arrested. I'm not saying that a gender-swapped or POV-swapped copy would be any better or justified, because it wouldn't, but the lack of self-reflection, dishonesty, and cognitive dissonance on behalf of the readership is what stuns me more than anything about the book itself.
Also yes Maas is a thoroughly mid author, and even that feels like giving her too much credit. In a culture that took literature seriously, she'd be relegated to the back corner of the bookstore on the romance shelf with corny Harlequin romance novels that, for whatever reason, are still clowned on even though their less self-aware spiritual descendants are moving by the caseload.
"I can't help but wonder what would actually happen if a man was to rewrite one of these books..."
May I introduce you to Norman's Gor series of barbarian novels? Which women also loved, BTW. Naturally, it was frozen out by the industry despite its wide popularity.
I was gonna say, women loved that series, but other women hated it so much they got it suppressed. LoL
Probably my favorite article of the year so far. I dated a gril last year who was super into SJ Maas. I now see why I had a weird vibe about this.
My ex got very into these books while we were dating, then suddenly her standards for me changed quite a lot until I wasn't the right man for her anymore. Glad my wife hates the author and won't pick up any of her books!
Great essay, well done.
Reinforces my general approach of only allowing books that are at least 80 years old for my children. Anything newer has to be reviewed, which is often a pain in the ass. I don't want to read this garbage. The Goodreads for ACOTAR is also garbage. Check it out. What is with these women and their reviews? Utterly cringe.
So I just have to hope someone with a brain and a moral compass has read the book. Thanks for taking one for the team!
Hahaha. Zoomer gal here, can confirm it’s all the rage.
I wasn’t raised with sexual morality. Was bisexual, did some shameful things (single digit penis count though).
I repented and atoned for my sins.
I found a Real Man. On my past “I don’t want to hear about that, I’m not a fucking cuck”
Those are magic words. I respect him. He has the paternal instincts my dad didn’t.
My mom (ignorant) bought me (male) Fourth Wing for Christmas because it been recommended to her by coworkers. I realized this was not just Fantasy written by a woman in the first paragraph... Look at all the tens/hundreds of thousands of public reviews for the book by women with their personal names and selfies up, imagine if guys did the same for pornography. Totally insane.
Listening to two minutes of description of this book and I could tell you it was romance femsmut but I had no idea it was this bad. Highlights an interesting phenomenon in today's world: the acceptable socialization of fringe entertainment or ideas b/c of the appeal to women.
It is porn, and it is an addiction. The section labeled BookTok, or even worse, SpicyTok are filled with dozens upon dozens of pornographic books.
I can’t read most new releases because I don’t know what progressive hell I’m going to delve into when reading. For now I have to stick to the classics or at least authors I’ve read before.
Maas is only one of the many, many accomplices who has ruined a generation of women.
I think one of the less-appreciated downsides of hardcore pornography being everywhere is how it outshines all other forms of titillation. They get lost in the glare.
The effect gets doubled when you already have a cultural blind spot for female lust.
The Monster Girl Encyclopedia mention sent me. Hope the editors pay you enough for a flamethrower next round.
The Right understands the Left better than the Left understands the Right: exhibit 9998
Twilight and 50 Shades were the same thing for the generation before ACATAR.
I also find it hilarious, depressing, disheartening, and gross that the first book's love interest is discarded for the new better hotness in the next book.
I also can't say that I'm surprised by it.
Sounds like these ladies would like some classic Robert E Howard Conan the Barbarian stories. Lots of delicate flesh crushed against hard armor by iron thews, smothering kisses, etc, as well as LOTS of nubile young ladies held down writhing on altars to dark gods and/or whipped by evil sorceresses