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Diamondsong #2
Capture
Diamondsong is a unique epic fantasy saga told in ten parts.
For lifetimes, the Ja-lal have prevented contact with the dangerous fairies of the forest. As tensions grow, those barriers are beginning to crumble. Blending rich worldbuilding with progressive themes, Diamondsong is a tale of power, identity, relationships—and magic.
Part 02: Capture
Dime has discovered the startling truth about her history, and now she wants to know why. Determined to find and question the High Seat of the Fo-ror, Dime marches into the Heartland forest. Continue Dime's journey with this fantastical tale of fairies, power, and secrets.
For lifetimes, the Ja-lal have prevented contact with the dangerous fairies of the forest. As tensions grow, those barriers are beginning to crumble. Blending rich worldbuilding with progressive themes, Diamondsong is a tale of power, identity, relationships—and magic.
Part 02: Capture
Dime has discovered the startling truth about her history, and now she wants to know why. Determined to find and question the High Seat of the Fo-ror, Dime marches into the Heartland forest. Continue Dime's journey with this fantastical tale of fairies, power, and secrets.
121 pages, Paperback
Published October 23, 2018
1 person is currently reading
19 people want to read
About the author
E.D.E. Bell
36 books210 followersE.D.E. Bell (she/her or e/em) loves fantasy fiction, and enjoys blending classic and modern elements. A passionate vegan and earnest progressive, she feels strongly about issues related to equality and compassion. Her works often explore conceptions of identity and community, including themes of friendship, family, and connection. She lives in Ferndale, Michigan, where she writes stories and revels in garlic. You can follow her adventures at edebell.com.
Bell was born in the year of the fire dragon during a Cleveland blizzard. After a youth in the Mitten, an MSE in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, three wonderful children, and nearly two decades in Northern Virginia and Southwest Ohio developing technical intelligence strategy, she started the indie press Atthis Arts. Working through mental disorders and an ever-complicated world, she now tries to bring light and love as she can through fantasy fiction, as a proud part of the Detroit arts community.
Bell was born in the year of the fire dragon during a Cleveland blizzard. After a youth in the Mitten, an MSE in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, three wonderful children, and nearly two decades in Northern Virginia and Southwest Ohio developing technical intelligence strategy, she started the indie press Atthis Arts. Working through mental disorders and an ever-complicated world, she now tries to bring light and love as she can through fantasy fiction, as a proud part of the Detroit arts community.
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
March 18, 2022
I love the Diamondsong novellas series to pieces, and that goes double for its multifaceted and forthright hero Dime, small in stature and towering in gumption. She's *bisexual and 40+ (in Earth maturity reckoning), an ex-spy for her country whose conscience drove her to quit before a major promotion, a doting mom, wife and friend, and a hero on a quest for truths about herself and her world.
[*SIDE NOTE: In Bell's original fantasy setting of Ada-ji people simply don't need words like bisexual because heteronormativity doesn't pervade language or society. On a related note, it's only during introductions people use prefixes denoting their preferred feminine or masculine or nonbinary/spectrum self-identities (Fe' for feminine like Fe'Dime, Ma' for masculine like her husband Ma'Dayn, Ji' for a spectrum of nonbinary-ness) and if you aren't acquainted well enough, the polite custom is to use nonbinary terms by default.]
My breezing through book two was no surprise given how thoroughly I have enjoyed E.D.E. Bell's short stories and her selections (and, one assumes, ministrations as editor) in my favorite small press Atthis Arts' anthologies like As Told By Things and Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove and more recently Community of Magic Pens.
Capture: Volume 2 is as delightful as the first, continuing Dime's quest to sort through the lies the Ja-lal and Fo-ror governments spread about each other and their motives, and bringing back (at least briefly) some of my favorite side characters like the exiled "witch" Ella. Questions are answered but still more are raised, providing plenty of dramatic fuel for sequels.
Questions we get answered (but WITHOUT me spoiling anything) include:
"What is the significance behind the marks upon Dime and her gemstone amulet?"
"Which of the Fo-ror tried to have Dime arrested and why?"
"Why are the sentient 'newt' race being artificially restricted to barely hospitable territory?"
With the first book we got an intimate look at Ja-lal society and home life and factions of political unrest beneath the placid surface through Dime's eyes (and some vignettes without her), and spent time among the "newts'" and other people on the fringe of their civilization.
Now we get an intriguing look at the home lives and society and leaders of the Ja-lal's historical enemies, the magic-wielding and winged Fo-ror, through Dime's travel misadventures as she tries to prove she's not the threatening, primitive "brute" they expect.
Dime is even less surefooted in the corrupt halls of power where her direct and open, friendly nature put her at odds with the Fo-ror's rigid class structure, schemes and subterfuge--and sometimes their deadly intent. It's the contrast between Dime and her adversaries that makes their interaction so fun (and sometimes funny) to watch.
The same holds true when we meet Rock, Dime's still cocky and glib but older and wiser former flame and fellow agent for the Ja-lal's central intelligence network. Rock is now the Fo-ror's prisoner--or is she?--and looking to ally with Dime again in secret, if she'll trust her. Though they banter like old friends and seem equally protective of one another, Dime's not comfortable with Rock's deviousness or easily persuaded by her justifications.
I find Dime's reluctance to compromise her principles and return wrong for wrong (if she can possibly avoid it) both admirable and endearing. And it's especially endearing how even behind enemy lines she's so often thinking about her loved ones and how to get back to them, including her platonic friend Ador.
In sum, I can't help rooting for Dime and look forward to more of her pluck and determined meddling to create a more just world, and the friends and alliances she makes along the way, in books to come!
WHEN AN ADVENTURE GOES DOWN AS SATISFYING AS STRONG TEA, SPEAK UP---BOOST THE SIGNAL!
[*SIDE NOTE: In Bell's original fantasy setting of Ada-ji people simply don't need words like bisexual because heteronormativity doesn't pervade language or society. On a related note, it's only during introductions people use prefixes denoting their preferred feminine or masculine or nonbinary/spectrum self-identities (Fe' for feminine like Fe'Dime, Ma' for masculine like her husband Ma'Dayn, Ji' for a spectrum of nonbinary-ness) and if you aren't acquainted well enough, the polite custom is to use nonbinary terms by default.]
My breezing through book two was no surprise given how thoroughly I have enjoyed E.D.E. Bell's short stories and her selections (and, one assumes, ministrations as editor) in my favorite small press Atthis Arts' anthologies like As Told By Things and Five Minutes at Hotel Stormcove and more recently Community of Magic Pens.
Capture: Volume 2 is as delightful as the first, continuing Dime's quest to sort through the lies the Ja-lal and Fo-ror governments spread about each other and their motives, and bringing back (at least briefly) some of my favorite side characters like the exiled "witch" Ella. Questions are answered but still more are raised, providing plenty of dramatic fuel for sequels.
Questions we get answered (but WITHOUT me spoiling anything) include:
"What is the significance behind the marks upon Dime and her gemstone amulet?"
"Which of the Fo-ror tried to have Dime arrested and why?"
"Why are the sentient 'newt' race being artificially restricted to barely hospitable territory?"
With the first book we got an intimate look at Ja-lal society and home life and factions of political unrest beneath the placid surface through Dime's eyes (and some vignettes without her), and spent time among the "newts'" and other people on the fringe of their civilization.
Now we get an intriguing look at the home lives and society and leaders of the Ja-lal's historical enemies, the magic-wielding and winged Fo-ror, through Dime's travel misadventures as she tries to prove she's not the threatening, primitive "brute" they expect.
Dime is even less surefooted in the corrupt halls of power where her direct and open, friendly nature put her at odds with the Fo-ror's rigid class structure, schemes and subterfuge--and sometimes their deadly intent. It's the contrast between Dime and her adversaries that makes their interaction so fun (and sometimes funny) to watch.
The same holds true when we meet Rock, Dime's still cocky and glib but older and wiser former flame and fellow agent for the Ja-lal's central intelligence network. Rock is now the Fo-ror's prisoner--or is she?--and looking to ally with Dime again in secret, if she'll trust her. Though they banter like old friends and seem equally protective of one another, Dime's not comfortable with Rock's deviousness or easily persuaded by her justifications.
I find Dime's reluctance to compromise her principles and return wrong for wrong (if she can possibly avoid it) both admirable and endearing. And it's especially endearing how even behind enemy lines she's so often thinking about her loved ones and how to get back to them, including her platonic friend Ador.
In sum, I can't help rooting for Dime and look forward to more of her pluck and determined meddling to create a more just world, and the friends and alliances she makes along the way, in books to come!
WHEN AN ADVENTURE GOES DOWN AS SATISFYING AS STRONG TEA, SPEAK UP---BOOST THE SIGNAL!
September 24, 2018
Yay! Part 02! I hope you'll like my series. : )
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews