I read this book called ‘The Strangler Vine’ by M.J. Carter Now, the book is whatever.
Actually, okay, it’s not whatever. It’s interesting, but only because the setting is 1837 British India. The main character is lame, and the side character, who is actually cool, mostly does stuff off screen because it’s first person view point and, as I mentioned, the main character is lame.
By ‘lame’ I mean he’s an okay guy, but he doesn’t do anything, because he’s a moron. He’s not actually a moron. He just doesn’t know anything and won’t learn anything. Because racism. Which is kind of the point of the book, I think, or at least one of the points, but it sure does make for boring main characters. Also, the ending was depressing.
BUT THAT’S NOT THE POINT HERE.
The point here is that I’ve read something by Miranda Carter before.
It was a history book. About WW1 and the king, kaiser and czar. (‘George, Nicholas and Wilhelm: Three Royal Cousins and the Road to World War I’) It was interesting, but not very remarkable. But definitely well written and easy to read.
Okay, but isn’t that SUPER SWEET? She’s like a crazy history writer! And now she’s writing a fiction book! That is SOOOO COOOL! How do you even get to have enough skills to do that?
I have no idea.
I can’t even imagine the size of a project like that! With sources and everything? I can’t even begin to imagine even actually writing a novel! Let alone a historically accurate history talky book!
Anyway, I thought that was super sweet, so I figured I’d share.
Dear Thief 
I know right? What kind of person could come up with something super cool like that, like a story set in medieval (specifically sengoku to Tokogawa period) Japan that doesn’t even mention Japan or use any Japanese but nonetheless manages to effectively communicate a strong sense of world in communion with well-researched historical detail? Probably not anybody I know, but if I did I bet she’d totally empathize with people who accidentally end up with side characters that are way cooler than the main character (and also she’d be super awesome). Prolly though it would have worked out better if she wrote a backstory in 1790s India with the cool side character as the main character. Or if the main character wasn’t lame and racist but just less cool than the cool characters. But you know ;P
Also if you ever write a history book, I’d totally read it.
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