Montclair by Anderson W Frost

0:50 Welcome back. Today we're stepping into the dangerous world of Montclair by Anderson W. Frost, a novella in the Thorns, Feathers, and Bones universe. In the kingdom of Vyrun, noble houses gather, ancient traditions carry terrible secrets, and two young women face truths that could unravel everything they believe.

1:11 Sabine's loyalty to Marquis Damien de Montclair is tested as his past resurfaces, while a baker's daughter named Winifred confronts the darkness beneath her kingdom's beauty. We'll be talking about loyalty, power, and what happens when the traditions that hold a society together also conceal its horrors.

1:31 So pour something strong, pull your chair closer, and let's see what's hiding behind all that velvet. All right, Peter, I'm kicking it over to you.

1:40 Okay, so before I start synopsizing this novella, I first want to say that because this novella is part of the Thorns, Feathers, and Bones saga, and also because it was only published just a little over two months ago, we're going to try to do the synopsis and the entire episode as spoiler-free as possible as we discuss this book.

2:02 That being said, the story begins with our main and probably most morally grey character, the Marquis Damien de Montclair, in the middle of the aftermaths of a horrible battle where his entire family has been killed, and on his knees, as one of the only survivors cursing the gods, he's approached by a mysterious man who offers him the power to get his revenge on the gods.

2:25 Skips many, many years later, and he is the Marquis, and they have a tradition where annually they will choose a special offering to the spirits of the forest, and they call seemingly random women from around the countryside to come and basically audition for this sacrifice. And his essentially live-in secretary, Sabine, is part of helping him select who gets chosen for this honor.

2:55 Meanwhile, in another part of this world, Winifred, who is sort of shunned by society because she exhibits some strange behaviors, talking to herself and saying that she sees things like her dead father, and a kind of lunacy is said to have run in her family, is given a letter saying that she has been chosen out of her family to be one of these potential offerings and she is summoned.

3:17 And that is basically where our worlds collide and what the story is about for the most part.

3:21 Yeah. So that gives us a good starting point without spoiling too much. And we're gonna head into Copiles so we can talk just a little bit about the nuts and bolts of this novella and then probably end it pretty close there because we don't want to spoil anything else. So characters. We have Sabine, who I gravitate toward.

3:40 I find her to be a very well-developed character, and I feel her struggle, her kind of internal struggle that goes on in this novella. So I like Sabine a lot. She's really good. Damien is a very elusive and kind of mysterious character. And I really feel like because this is a novella in this saga and somewhat of a bridge in a way between two portions of the world, I feel like Damien is supposed to remain elusive on some level.

4:08 We get to know him about as much as he wants us to get to know him.

4:11 That's correct. And so I have a feeling that's going to, of course, play a much bigger role later on as Anderson W. Frost develops this even further and kind of collides Damien with some of the other things he's already developed. So we've got Damien and then we have Winifred. And I feel like we get to know her decently well.

4:28 She's an interesting character. There's a lot there that's untapped. There is mystery surrounding her as well. So again, I believe that she has a much bigger role to play, but we get her to know her about as much as we're able to without all those secrets being revealed. But all in all, I found the characters very good.

4:47 I think I gravitated to these characters almost a little more than I did Thorns, Feathers, and Bones. Not that I didn't love the characters in that novel, but something about the intimacy of this novella worked for me.

4:58 It was a much smaller cast of characters. I would say that it's a cast of five, really.

5:03 Right.

5:03 And I agree, I was very careful to use our main and most morally gray character describing Damien because as it was true in Thorns, Feathers, and Bones, it's also true here, is where you don't have clearly hero and villain archetypes. We don't really understand their motivation entirely. We don't know if they're plotting or if they're altruistic.

5:24 We really don't know any of those things. It's kind of a mystery. And overall, that really describes this entire plot. It is sort of more of a mystery thriller than it was fantasy like Thorns, Feathers and Bones was, in my opinion.

5:38 Right. So that takes us into the atmosphere to a certain extent because you're kind of separating Thorns, Feathers and Bones as fantasy from this novella. I did feel a sense of fantasy in this atmosphere. I did feel elements of that, but it definitely has almost a Edwardian or Regency feel to it. Yes.

5:59 Along with the fantasy, as they're dealing with this court and these ceremonies and these rituals and this society that clearly has very wealthy people, very entitled people. And then you have these girls that are being called in.

6:14 Yeah, I agree. The atmosphere was completely different for me. And I think there's a reason for that. It's not a bad thing, but I believe that what we're dealing with is the other half of the world. Basically, I got the sense, if we weren't dealing with a different timeline, which I don't think we are, we're dealing with a different region entirely.

6:31 And so there's a totally different cultural feel to this story. And even to the point where they're really separated for the most part from magic. Like it's a novelty to them. When Winifred sees her first gnome, she's can't believe it. She's never seen a gnome in her life. As a matter of fact, she didn't know if there were any still alive or in the area.

6:52 And when she sees her first elf, the elves supposedly have gone into isolation centuries before. And so she's also shocked to see an elf. Otherwise, it's very much, you know, a high society, like you said, sort of Edwardian Regency period kind of feel. Almost the parading of the girls, you know, before the Queen in Bridgerton.

7:10 That's sort of how it felt to me.

7:12 Right. And there is an element of that, I think. So I don't want to spoil anything for our listeners because this is so new. But part of me wonders if the lack of magic in the world is a byproduct of Damien.

7:27 Right.

7:27 So I'll just leave that hanging out.

7:29 Very possibly. Very possibly. All in all, you could read this novella before you read Thorns, Feathers, and Bones. Honestly, it's that much separated overall from what's going on in the first book. The only tie-in is in a place, Casimir, which gets mentioned at the very, very end of this novella.

7:47 Right. And then we have this bridge, this small bridge that happens there at the end. But I agree. If you're looking for a shorter book, this novella style to kind of wade into the saga, this would be a good place to start and then turn around and read Thorns, Feather, and Bones. I mean, I think that's perfectly legit.

8:04 So the writing style, this was a different writing style from Anderson Frost for me. Like it definitely was his writing style, and I like it very, very much. But I think something about the intimacy of it and the characters, the writing style to me took on a slightly different tone and a different feel than his previous writing style had.

8:26 And I enjoyed it very much. Like the there's the right amount of description for me, there's the right amount of dialogue, there's the right amount of inference, the ability to infer a lot and read in between the lines without everything being overtly told to you. You know, I can sit there and I can kind of witness and then I can also make my own connections.

8:47 I think that I appreciate that in an author that they don't feel like they have to baby me into what I'm reading. And so I like that aspect of the writing style.

8:56 Yeah, I agree. It's a novella, so everything about it is smaller scale. Right. As far as his writing style compared to the first book, where he introduced several different regions of the world, multiple, multiple characters. We didn't know how they related to one another. They were also different species, and how it was all going to come together was a long build.

9:17 Right. But it was a good build. It's certainly a vast and detailed world that he's created, very, very real, and it was a major payoff. But in this, we basically just have one locale. And like I said, five characters.

9:30 Right. And I enjoyed that. I enjoyed that. Not that I didn't, I mean, again, the setup for Thorns, Feather, and Bones was amazing, but I enjoyed the intimacy of this. I keep using that word, and the fact that I felt like I was inside the characters' heads more and that I could really sit with them for a while instead of going from storyline to storyline.

9:51 So I enjoyed that.

9:52 Yeah. There wasn't a ton of mystery in Thorns, Feathers and Bones. There was some, but it was more about these characters and the relationship to one another and how they were all going to come together. Whereas this one was almost completely, what is actually going on in the entire book? And so that was that was enough to confuse you without making it this vast new world that we have to understand.

10:12 And that leads us into the plot because I feel like the plot is very mystery-based. There is fantasy, there is, you know, that kind of period feel to it, but there is this underlying, okay, is this person good or bad? Specifically with Damien, of course. What is really going on? What is the goal? What is going on with these young women?

10:33 You know, there's a lot of discovery on the part of Sabine, discovery on the part of Winifred, and then Damien kind of lurking there in the background, trying to infer the relationships between the people, particularly looking at Sabine and Damien, which you described her as his kind of secretary, and I agree, like secretary, office manager, agent, whatever it is, all those things wrapped into one, but also his lover.

10:57 Yes. Yeah.

10:57 You know, so there's there's a lot going on there that you kind of get gradually exposed to, and you're trying to put together what's going on with these people. And I found that to be really interesting. So there's a lot of connecting the dots with the plot. There's clearly a lot of bridging so we can bring again worlds together and and explore this in more depth.

11:18 And I don't know, I'm not sure I was surprised by anything in the plot, but pleasantly led along and just felt like I discovered along the way with the characters. Does that make sense? No, yeah. Like it was not, I was not suddenly like shocked by something where I was like, okay, where did that come from?

11:37 But this kind of journey that I was on with them that also had that mystery element.

11:41 Yeah. Yeah. It's not really a big twist. You already know from the very opening of the book that everything is not going to be exactly as it seems because you know Damien's got this plot for revenge.

11:52 Right.

11:53 And so everything that he does has to have something to do with that. So finding out that there's more going on than just some kind of beauty pageant, essentially, isn't a huge reveal.

12:04 No, it's not. But it is wonderfully developed. And it is that plot that allows you to kind of evolve with the story and begin to make small connections potentially to the rest of the saga.

12:18 Yeah. And on that note, it's almost entirely intrigue.

12:21 Yes, I would say I would say so. Like again, don't expect a huge plot twist, but the intrigue is there from beginning to end. Damien is just an intrigue-driven character, you know, and Winifred and Sabine are almost pawns in the society. Sabine has the potential to be more than a pawn, so does Winifred, obviously, but they are clearly pieces being moved around on a board, and they're equally trying to wade through the intrigue in their own lives to figure out what is going on.

12:53 Yeah, and the one thing I will say about the plot, because it's pretty straightforward, is that the main story is Sabine finding this whole choosing the offering affair very suspicious, and her trying to find out what's really going on before Winifred possibly becomes some kind of victim because she befriends her and starts to care about her and the other women and what's going to happen to them.

13:15 Right. Logic, I I did feel like everybody reacted logically, emotionally speaking. The confusion felt like, okay, I this is where you would be confused. The outrage felt like this is where you would be outraged.

13:26 Right. And it was very human. Like just logically, from an emotional, human standpoint, the moral choices, the moral ambiguities, the gray area that you're talking about, the internal dialogue that we kind of get with these characters as we kind of get a view of what they're going through and some of their insecurities, etc.

13:48 I felt all that was very well tied together and consistent. And that matters for me with logic, that a character remains consistent. Characters can develop, characters can have shifts in their circumstances and grow in their reactions, but the characters are very logically put together and I appreciate that.

14:06 I agree. Yeah. There was only one point where I was like, ooh, I don't know if I would have done that. And it was a decision that Damien makes near the end that is definitely going to come back at him. At him. And I tried to wrestle with the fact of whether or not he should have exercised the level of control that he exercised.

14:25 But we will see. As we learn more about his character, I'll understand more his decision at that point, his motivations.

14:32 Right. And that's really what this book does. It gets you interested, it gets that intrigue going. And it is definitely going to whetch your appetite to know more about what is going on and know more of this development of this morally gray character, Damien, and also his relationship to these two women as they drive forward.

14:53 And you are definitely, I think, going to see, I can't speak for the author necessarily, but from a literature teacher perspective, at some point, I think Damien has to make a choice, and you're going to see him either develop into a heroic figure.

15:08 Or a full-blown antagonist.

15:10 Or a full-blown antagonist, correct. And so it is interesting to see which way you think that's leaning. I think I hopefully lean toward him eventually making a heroic decision. I hope that the women in his life, the other people in his life have enough of an impact on him that that heroic decision can happen, and that uh he doesn't do anything to completely alienate himself.

15:34 So that is my hope for him, but he could end up being a total antagonist if he wanted to be.

15:39 At this point, he's very mucky of Ellian.

15:41 Yeah.

15:42 And if he has a redemption arc, it's going to completely rely upon his relationship with Sabine.

15:47 Yeah. I think she is the hinge for him. And perhaps his relationship with Winifred as that develops, you know, right now Winifred, like I said, is simply a pawn. He she is a a tool, so to speak, in his mind. She is potentially disposable, but it will be interesting to see if something shifts and that changes in some way.

16:07 And enjoyment, well, I mean, yes, absolutely. We read it because we loved the series and enjoyed this book and we love the first book. And if you haven't read Thorns, Feathers and Bones, this is your reminder to go get hyped up with our episode about it, first of all, and then check it out because it is epic fantasy at its finest.

16:24 I mean, this is world-building potentially on the level, I guess, of when I first sat down and discovered the Wheel of Time series. When I started reading Thorns, Feathers, and Bones, I really felt like I was getting introduced to all these characters and character lines that would continue or could continue to be developed through a series of books and become that complex, if that makes sense.

16:52 Like because there was so much there in Thorns, Feathers, and Bones, and it was intriguing on multiple levels.

17:00 Right. And I haven't read Wheel of Time, but I've read a lot of Sanderson, and this is different for me than Sanderson, where I think he clearly delineates heroes, villains, and morally gray characters. Anderson, all of his characters feel very morally gray and mysterious to me. Right. Like I still don't know who's the hero.

17:20 Is there a hero? Or is this just a group of flawed people living out a world where manipulation and power is king?

17:30 Yeah.

17:30 And whoever winds up on top is going to do so by being the best plotter.

17:34 Right.

17:35 And willing to make the most sacrifices and or sacrifice the most people.

17:39 Right. Well, and I felt like in Jordan's Wheel of Time, the first book really started very much like Thorns, Feathers, and Bones. I really felt like you were trying to figure out who these people were and whether they were going to be good or bad, whether one of them was going to step up to be the hero that he was supposed to be, whether these people working over here were working for the benefit of others or just for personal agenda.

18:04 I felt like there was a lot of that that went on in the opening. And I am in that first book in particular, The Eye of the World. So I it resonated with me on that level. So I haven't read as much Sanderson as you have. I've read The Jordan instead, you know, and I would be interested to read, read Brandon Sanderson and get a feel for that as well.

18:23 But this to me felt like Jordan. Basically, Anderson, when you listen to this, what I'm saying is maybe someday, instead of going to JordanCon, or in addition to going Jordan Con, we'll be going to FrostCon as well. FrostCon kind of has a cool sound to it, right? It does. It does. So I'm thinking that could happen because we've got a world-building situation here that could be that epic.

18:44 And we can say we knew him when.

18:46 That's right. We knew him when, and he was so cool. We're friends with that guy. So it was very enjoyable. I hope you guys will all read and get invested in Anderson W. Frost because I love meeting these authors that are just really developing their stories and pushing things out there and getting published.

19:07 And I think there's some beautiful stuff at work here.

19:11 I agree. Yeah. And he's going to do another novella after this one, related to or maybe not related to Montclair. I don't know, actually, before he does the official sequel to Thorns, Feathers and Bones. Okay.

19:23 Be ready. Because then when that sequel comes out, you can dive right into it and we can see where all these stories converge and these plot lines come together. So I'm excited. So we're in spooky season, Peter. Like it's spooky season. We're in October, and I feel like we've not completely gotten off to a full start yet in October.

19:42 This is our first one. So I'm excited to read some spooky books. And right now, the next one we are going to be looking at is Between Two Fires by Christopher Buhlman. Yes. And it is fascinating. I am really resonating with the historical accuracy of the medieval time period and the plague and all those things, but the horror factor is there as well, as well as some really incredible religious symbolism and iconography that's going on in the book, also.

20:13 So I'm excited to talk about that. So that is going to be our next episode. After that, we are going to try to pull in some additional spooky stuff.

20:22 You might see some Poe.

20:24 Yeah, definitely some Poe.

20:25 Some Indigenous Horror or Indigenous Persons Day.

20:29 Right.

20:29 That's part of this month too.

20:30 Yep, we've got that going on. And you've got another book you've recommended to me as well. So I feel like I'm stalked for my TBR on spooky season.

20:37 I'm going to try to get Liz to read When the Wolf Comes Home by not Cassidy.

20:42 So I'm going to be working on that. I've got a lot on my list to read, but I'm really excited about the things we're doing this month. This is one of my favorite months. Not that I don't love Thanksgiving and Christmas, but there's something fun about the fall starting and Halloween. Yeah. All right.

20:57 So until next time, keep reading.

21:00 Keep thinking.

21:01 And we look forward to talking to you soon. Bye.