What do you think?
Rate this book
The Seven Gods #1
Some by Virtue Fall
(Book One of the Seven Gods)
By the King's Edict, men have been banned from performing on stage. Everyone else is still out for blood.
Sabajan Hollant, director and co-founder of the celebrated Lord Chancellor's Players, has one This time they're going to do it right. If they want to keep their noble patron-hell, if they want to stay in the theater business at all-they're going to have to keep their hands clean. No accidents, no rising to other troupes' provocations and taunts, and certainly no more duelling in the streets.
But their arch-rivals have different plans, and soon enough, Saba and her troupe are caught up once again in an escalating drama of revenge, betrayal, and outright sabotage.
The men may have started this war-but Saba and her remaining players are going to end it.
By the King's Edict, men have been banned from performing on stage. Everyone else is still out for blood.
Sabajan Hollant, director and co-founder of the celebrated Lord Chancellor's Players, has one This time they're going to do it right. If they want to keep their noble patron-hell, if they want to stay in the theater business at all-they're going to have to keep their hands clean. No accidents, no rising to other troupes' provocations and taunts, and certainly no more duelling in the streets.
But their arch-rivals have different plans, and soon enough, Saba and her troupe are caught up once again in an escalating drama of revenge, betrayal, and outright sabotage.
The men may have started this war-but Saba and her remaining players are going to end it.
148 pages, Paperback
First published January 25, 2022
19 people are currently reading
1686 people want to read
About the author
Alexandra Rowland
13 books1,624 followersAlexandra Rowland is the author of several fantasy books, including A Conspiracy Of Truths, A Choir Of Lies, and Some by Virtue Fall, as well as a Hugo Award-nominated podcaster (all sternly supervised by their feline quality control manager). They hold a degree in world literature, mythology, and folklore from Truman State University.
They are represented by Britt Siess of Britt Siess Creative Management.
Find them on Twitter, Instagram, Patreon or their website.
They are represented by Britt Siess of Britt Siess Creative Management.
Find them on Twitter, Instagram, Patreon or their website.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews
Read
January 7, 2022I'm a simple gay. I see LESBIANISM and RIVALRY and THEATER in relation to the same book and I go immediately UNHINGED
February 25, 2022
Some by Virtue Fall by Alexandra Rowland is the first in the Seven Gods series. I say she puts her degree in world literature, mythology, and folklore to good use here.
This novella was an absolute scream. So much fun! ‘Dramatic disaster thespian lesbians’ as one reviewer perfectly described it. I loved every bit of it and can’t wait for more adventures of Sabajan and her crazy troupe.
f/f very gay but nothing explicit :-)
Themes: Theater of Light, the Reds, patronage, high Shakespeare vibes, rivaling theater companies, perfect tits, lost Euhemenon play, theft and arson.
5 Stars
This novella was an absolute scream. So much fun! ‘Dramatic disaster thespian lesbians’ as one reviewer perfectly described it. I loved every bit of it and can’t wait for more adventures of Sabajan and her crazy troupe.
f/f very gay but nothing explicit :-)
Themes: Theater of Light, the Reds, patronage, high Shakespeare vibes, rivaling theater companies, perfect tits, lost Euhemenon play, theft and arson.
5 Stars
May 18, 2025
An entertaining and much needed shorter read after reading a few lengthier books back to back to back. This darkly whimsical tale of duelling lesbian theatre troupes struggling to keep their doors open and lamps lit was a fun, fast-paced romp.
Thanks to rampant brawling, men have been recently banned from the theatre, and directors are scrambling to recast all the male roles in their upcoming productions. The Reds and the Theatre of Lights are arch rivals, constantly scheming to sabotage the other in a feud that felt like a darker twist on a
classic screwball plot. There were also allusions to Bring it On thanks to an unfortunate instance of blatant artistic thievery that felt a lot like the Mighty Toros pillaging from the Clovers, and Legally Blonde thanks to a minor sub-plot involving a stolen dog. No idea if these touchstones were intentional, or if I am just tragically millennial. The story is of course also steeped in Shakespeare (I mean, the title alone telegraphs this quite clearly) but I admit I am a greater scholar in 90s sleepover movies than the works of the bard.
My biggest gripe with this story, is that there were a lot of names - of people, of places etc to keep track of. There’s very little time spent on exposition, as the reader is thrown into the mix and forced to figure it out as things progress. I also would have liked the pacing to be a little more even, some events resolved rather easily, and with a longer page length more time could have been spent fleshing out certain developments.
Overall though, I had a fun time with these scheming casts of dramaturges, and while I’m not chomping at the bit for a next instalment, I’d be inclined to revisit this world again in future!
Thanks to rampant brawling, men have been recently banned from the theatre, and directors are scrambling to recast all the male roles in their upcoming productions. The Reds and the Theatre of Lights are arch rivals, constantly scheming to sabotage the other in a feud that felt like a darker twist on a
classic screwball plot. There were also allusions to Bring it On thanks to an unfortunate instance of blatant artistic thievery that felt a lot like the Mighty Toros pillaging from the Clovers, and Legally Blonde thanks to a minor sub-plot involving a stolen dog. No idea if these touchstones were intentional, or if I am just tragically millennial. The story is of course also steeped in Shakespeare (I mean, the title alone telegraphs this quite clearly) but I admit I am a greater scholar in 90s sleepover movies than the works of the bard.
My biggest gripe with this story, is that there were a lot of names - of people, of places etc to keep track of. There’s very little time spent on exposition, as the reader is thrown into the mix and forced to figure it out as things progress. I also would have liked the pacing to be a little more even, some events resolved rather easily, and with a longer page length more time could have been spent fleshing out certain developments.
Overall though, I had a fun time with these scheming casts of dramaturges, and while I’m not chomping at the bit for a next instalment, I’d be inclined to revisit this world again in future!
March 24, 2022
fun little fantasy novella with a really charming protagonist and rival theater troupes! 🎭
August 2, 2022
If the mechanicals from A Midsummer Night's Dream were a theatre troupe of chaotic and useless lesbians. And they had a rival troupe also of chaotic and useless lesbians. But maybe the real enemy was the capitalist patriarchy we smashed along the way.
Written with a charming mixture of Elizabethan wit and modern colloquialisms, and filled with banter so vulgar it would make Shakespeare proud.
It reminded me of the rowdy, goofy, unhinged Shakespeare camps I used to participate in. All my former peers would love this.
(But of course, as a director myself, I do have several notes, the biggest one being that we desperately needed a Dramatis Personae, because I was so lost between characters sometimes.)
CW/TW: alcohol consumption, fire (mention), violence (mostly offscreen), blood (brief), imprisonment
Written with a charming mixture of Elizabethan wit and modern colloquialisms, and filled with banter so vulgar it would make Shakespeare proud.
It reminded me of the rowdy, goofy, unhinged Shakespeare camps I used to participate in. All my former peers would love this.
(But of course, as a director myself, I do have several notes, the biggest one being that we desperately needed a Dramatis Personae, because I was so lost between characters sometimes.)
CW/TW: alcohol consumption, fire (mention), violence (mostly offscreen), blood (brief), imprisonment
January 22, 2022
3.5 stars
Maybe the real enemy was the capitalist assholes monetizing art for politics all along...
A really cute and fun novella, about two rival acting troupes. While the worldbuilding felt rushed, and I was confused about the languages and culture, I did enjoy this novella immensely. The romance was a slow burn and really cute, I hope it's developed more in the sequels which I will definitely be reading!
The main character, Saba is THE most useless lesbian (don't blame her). Might fuck around, challenge my arch-nemesis to a duel, burn a building down, and fall in love with a rival?
Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Maybe the real enemy was the capitalist assholes monetizing art for politics all along...
A really cute and fun novella, about two rival acting troupes. While the worldbuilding felt rushed, and I was confused about the languages and culture, I did enjoy this novella immensely. The romance was a slow burn and really cute, I hope it's developed more in the sequels which I will definitely be reading!
The main character, Saba is THE most useless lesbian (don't blame her). Might fuck around, challenge my arch-nemesis to a duel, burn a building down, and fall in love with a rival?
Thank you to the author and publisher for providing me an eARC in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
September 16, 2025
I think the world needs more feral, rival lesbians. The fact that they’re theater lesbians only makes it better.
Alex Rowland’s books are a treasure, and this is a fantastic, gripping novella that kept me in the edge of my seat. A delight!
Alex Rowland’s books are a treasure, and this is a fantastic, gripping novella that kept me in the edge of my seat. A delight!
January 26, 2022
Alex's writing is, as always, magical and enthralling; I devoured Some By Virtue Fall in two days and I want more, damnit!!!
October 13, 2024
Chaos! Arson! Lesbians!
May 18, 2022
I have discovered something worse than the editor to no editor pipeline: the editor to Victoria Goddard as your editor pipeline.
It’s also really something to see so much bullshit about inherent gender differences in a book by a nonbinary person.
It’s also really something to see so much bullshit about inherent gender differences in a book by a nonbinary person.
January 19, 2023
idk maybe I am emotionally attached to a group of dramatic gay thespians causing chaos for 150 pages straight.
May 1, 2022
TL;DR: Suitably dramatic and entertaining tale about chaotic queer actors
Some By Virtue Fall is immensely fun, and a perfect chaotic thespian novella. The characters aboslutely come to life off the page, and the story has the frenetic energy of a farce, with real heart underneath (and a lot of queerness). It ties together a lot of action and some simple but effective theming with efficiency and flair. It can be a little weird to remember this is a fantasy book in the same world as Rowland's other works, because it often feels like it could be an alternate history book instead, but that might change as the series progresses. Not the deepest novella, but certainly one of the most enjoyable.
Rating breakdown
4.5 stars rounded up to 5
9/10 in personal rating system
Some By Virtue Fall is immensely fun, and a perfect chaotic thespian novella. The characters aboslutely come to life off the page, and the story has the frenetic energy of a farce, with real heart underneath (and a lot of queerness). It ties together a lot of action and some simple but effective theming with efficiency and flair. It can be a little weird to remember this is a fantasy book in the same world as Rowland's other works, because it often feels like it could be an alternate history book instead, but that might change as the series progresses. Not the deepest novella, but certainly one of the most enjoyable.
Rating breakdown
4.5 stars rounded up to 5
9/10 in personal rating system
February 10, 2022
Oh, this was a riot - definitely left me feeling oddly rebellious and half in love with theater again by the end! I've totally dubbed this the "decidedly dramatic disaster thespian lesbians" novella.
I'm also digging the apologies in this book. They're thorough and full of acknowledgment in a way that I wish I saw more of.
Cool quote:
"I have no attention to spare for forgiveness or condemnation."
I'm also digging the apologies in this book. They're thorough and full of acknowledgment in a way that I wish I saw more of.
Cool quote:
"I have no attention to spare for forgiveness or condemnation."
April 12, 2025
a fantasy novella revolving around theatre?? written by Alexandra Rowland??? featuring cutthroat rivalry, Women’s Wrongs, sparkling wit, set in the same world as Yield Under Great Persuasion?? say no more!!!
“The men may have started this war…but Saba and her remaining players are going to end it.”
“The men may have started this war…but Saba and her remaining players are going to end it.”
October 1, 2024
This novella packed so much in!! Two queer theatre troupes are rivals, and they engage in hjinks such as stealing each others plays, flirting outrageously, drinking, and sword fights with fake swords. Very fun!
March 11, 2022
Can we make "fantasy novels about dramatic theater lesbians and their rivals" an entire genre, please? This was delightful and I want more!
March 13, 2022
That was fun, I'd read more in this fantasy world!
April 22, 2022
bruh this shit slapped the fuck. saba marry me
September 4, 2022
It was quick and fun, but too short to be properly satisfying
September 9, 2022
Oh I *very much enjoyed this.*
Fantasy Shakespeare in Love, without the bittersweet ending. A bunch of drama kids going absolutely ham. Almost no men and a heck of a lot of women, and a Sapphic slow burn at the center. Just impeccable entertainment.
Fantasy Shakespeare in Love, without the bittersweet ending. A bunch of drama kids going absolutely ham. Almost no men and a heck of a lot of women, and a Sapphic slow burn at the center. Just impeccable entertainment.
April 1, 2024
Duelling theatre lesbians!
Great novella by Alexandra Rowland!
In a short 80 odd pages she crams in whipsmart dialog, drama, emotion, action and theatrics!
Absolutely loved it.
Great novella by Alexandra Rowland!
In a short 80 odd pages she crams in whipsmart dialog, drama, emotion, action and theatrics!
Absolutely loved it.
November 3, 2024
this was good fun! i have now reread all of rowlands works or read them for the first time in the last few months!
March 15, 2024
Great story
Fun adventure with a bit of romance, lots of different female characters, it's the theatre and everyone is queer, plenty of friendly banter insults. Set in the same world as some of the author's other books but stands alone. Recommended.
Fun adventure with a bit of romance, lots of different female characters, it's the theatre and everyone is queer, plenty of friendly banter insults. Set in the same world as some of the author's other books but stands alone. Recommended.
January 29, 2022
"I mean, the worldbuilding was interesting, and the characters were fun, but ultimately it was a novella, and I just never vibe with novellas."
"In that case, have you considered perhaps...not reading novellas?"
As usual, my wife is smarter AND wiser than I am.
"In that case, have you considered perhaps...not reading novellas?"
As usual, my wife is smarter AND wiser than I am.
February 16, 2022
A delightful novella, which hits the ground running and never stops until the end, ramping up the stakes until all seems lost... but this is a comedy, not a tragedy, and the antagonists are not mustache-twirling villains. If you've read A Choir of Lies recently (which I have), it could not be a more different book - but the talent remains. Wonderful Shakespare-but-with-lesbians tale in a low/no-magic corner of Rowland's expansive world, which I'm very glad they've decided to open to self-pub as well as trad pub! Saba is *awesome* and although her flirtationship is fun, it's really her friendship with Alvana I love most. QUEER! WOMEN! STANDING! TOGETHER! *wild applause*
August 26, 2022
BOTH the theater kid and the queer woman in me loved this book, which is not something I can say often or lightly. It takes place in a fictional society based vaguely on Elizabethan-era England, with a few crucial differences (namely the country being racially diverse and highly queer). Furthermore, rather than an edict barring women from acting in theaters, there is an edict barring men. Therefore, the story stars a troupe full of women and non-binary actors and directors scrambling to put on a pseudo-Shakespearean play while also fending off the devious whims of rival troupes.
Personally, this concept felt straight out of my daydreams and it was delightful to see fleshed out and full of queer woman and nb joy, love, and drama. The protagonist Sabajan is enchantingly hotheaded, unabashedly lustful, and dryly hilarious, catapulting herself instantly onto my list of hottest fictional women. She is as large and exaggerated as the characters she plays, and I liked seeing her spar with the mysterious Iracena, romance beautiful Nazeya, and love her troupe stubbornly and single-mindedly. The only character I didn’t enjoy as much was her best friend, Alvana, the weepy playwright with writer’s block. I also felt surprised the lost play didn’t evolve into as much of a plot point by the end as it was set up to become. In any case, I would be delighted if Rowland wrote even just one more of these fun little novellas, if only for me to catch another glimpse of Sabajan.
Personally, this concept felt straight out of my daydreams and it was delightful to see fleshed out and full of queer woman and nb joy, love, and drama. The protagonist Sabajan is enchantingly hotheaded, unabashedly lustful, and dryly hilarious, catapulting herself instantly onto my list of hottest fictional women. She is as large and exaggerated as the characters she plays, and I liked seeing her spar with the mysterious Iracena, romance beautiful Nazeya, and love her troupe stubbornly and single-mindedly. The only character I didn’t enjoy as much was her best friend, Alvana, the weepy playwright with writer’s block. I also felt surprised the lost play didn’t evolve into as much of a plot point by the end as it was set up to become. In any case, I would be delighted if Rowland wrote even just one more of these fun little novellas, if only for me to catch another glimpse of Sabajan.
June 25, 2022
3.25 stars
OK, so real talk: I almost DNF’d this.
I know, it’s a novella, and that doesn’t really make any sense due to how short it is, but I really wasn’t in the mood for low stakes fantasy when I started this.
But I left it for a couple days and then picked it up again and ploughed through it and here we are.
It was fine. Amusing even.
But it was also very niche in terms of the theatre focus. Like I was a theatre kid when I was in school but this was almost too much for me.
Will truer theatre kids than me enjoy it? Probably. There’s a rivalry, all of the melodrama, backstabbing, eccentric and over-the-top characters and there’s a lot to like there.
But I was not a hundo percent in the mood for it and thus did not appreciate it in the manner that it was meant to be appreciated.
This is the start of a series of novellas, and I could see myself continuing on with it (although that would be entirely mood dependent), but I won’t be making it a priority by any means because me and committing to a series is virtually unheard of and I will not be shamed.
OK, so real talk: I almost DNF’d this.
I know, it’s a novella, and that doesn’t really make any sense due to how short it is, but I really wasn’t in the mood for low stakes fantasy when I started this.
But I left it for a couple days and then picked it up again and ploughed through it and here we are.
It was fine. Amusing even.
But it was also very niche in terms of the theatre focus. Like I was a theatre kid when I was in school but this was almost too much for me.
Will truer theatre kids than me enjoy it? Probably. There’s a rivalry, all of the melodrama, backstabbing, eccentric and over-the-top characters and there’s a lot to like there.
But I was not a hundo percent in the mood for it and thus did not appreciate it in the manner that it was meant to be appreciated.
This is the start of a series of novellas, and I could see myself continuing on with it (although that would be entirely mood dependent), but I won’t be making it a priority by any means because me and committing to a series is virtually unheard of and I will not be shamed.
May 16, 2022
I LOVE THIS BOOK .
Saba, my absolute beloved is one of the most refreshing characters I have read in a long, long time. In fact, all the characters were so well made, each of them distinctive in their own right.
Nazeya... Well let's just say I understand why Saba fell head over heels for her at almost first sight. I love her character, and I absolutely adore her relationship with Saba and I can’t wait to see how it progresses in the books to come.
The plot was *chef's kiss* and there was a perfect ratio of drama to serious prose, which by the way was absolutely gorgeous.
The ending of this book came as a surprise, but an extremely pleasant one. It showed how well the characters had developed in this short period of time so clearly!
I am so excited for the next book, and how the story continues; this book is straight going into my pile of "will reread 10+ times this year."
Saba, my absolute beloved is one of the most refreshing characters I have read in a long, long time. In fact, all the characters were so well made, each of them distinctive in their own right.
Nazeya... Well let's just say I understand why Saba fell head over heels for her at almost first sight. I love her character, and I absolutely adore her relationship with Saba and I can’t wait to see how it progresses in the books to come.
The plot was *chef's kiss* and there was a perfect ratio of drama to serious prose, which by the way was absolutely gorgeous.
The ending of this book came as a surprise, but an extremely pleasant one. It showed how well the characters had developed in this short period of time so clearly!
I am so excited for the next book, and how the story continues; this book is straight going into my pile of "will reread 10+ times this year."
March 13, 2023
My guys this book. It has every perfect thing to keep you glued to the pages from start to finish. Tension sparks up at every new sentence and things don't stop turning and come down to the absolute best theatre performance that ever took place in the pages of a book. If you're looking for surprises, betrayals, bravado and some genuine, utter good chaos, go and give this book a chance, it won't disappoint. I can't wait for the next ones!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 82 reviews