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Fannish 50 - Angst that Worked, Part 2
Friday, February 21st, 2025 10:33 amThis is Part 2 of 2 offering some examples of books containing angst that "worked" for me. These aren't summaries, they're just brief descriptions of some of the tropes and themes that I found angsty and satisfying. Part 1 with the first three books is here.
Dragon's Winter by Elizabeth A. Lynn
A lot of psychological angst dealing with guilt and questions of loyalty and personal identity. Karadur struggles with the idea of loving people who have betrayed him; Azil struggles with guilt while hiding his physical and emotional pain from Karadur. Azil also deals with his identity as a harpist after his hands are badly damaged. The way that Lynn writes is so sparse, it leaves a lot of room for the reader's own interpretation to be fitted in between what is said (and of course MY mind is going to interpret the maximum amount of angst possible). There are themes of imprisonment as well.
Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat
Book 1 angst was all James for me: magical healing is a trope that just invites the character to be heavily tortured and everyone around them takes their suffering for granted because… "eh, they'll heal". Then the aspect of the collar added a level of restricted freedom, coercion, and humiliation to James' whole situation that I found really satisfyingly angsty.
Book two brought Will angst to the table. I won't go into spoilers, but his backstory got dark *quick* and then the coup de grace at the end was great. I like when sad characters get a tiny glimmer of hope and happiness and then have it all dashed in one dramatic rug-pull.
Some additional themes that I think added to the angst are the question of fate/pre-destination, social rejection, and objectification (in particular of James, seeing him as a powerful tool instead of a person).
The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
It's almost impossible to discuss the angst/whump in this series without spoilers but I'll try to be as vague as possible. There are characters who are incredibly devoted to their chosen leaders and willing to risk anything to serve them and their interests. When a character suffers because of devotion to another, that seems to be a big angst trigger for me. I also love hyper-competent characters, which we get a LOT of in this series. There are also themes in the series about restricted freedom, but in this case it's due more to circumstances of birth and a sense of duty than being physically imprisoned, although there is that too.
I've got a ton more angst books that I could analyze but I think this is a good starting point. Next post will be about books that DIDN'T tickle my id, despite looking on paper like they should.
Dragon's Winter by Elizabeth A. Lynn
A lot of psychological angst dealing with guilt and questions of loyalty and personal identity. Karadur struggles with the idea of loving people who have betrayed him; Azil struggles with guilt while hiding his physical and emotional pain from Karadur. Azil also deals with his identity as a harpist after his hands are badly damaged. The way that Lynn writes is so sparse, it leaves a lot of room for the reader's own interpretation to be fitted in between what is said (and of course MY mind is going to interpret the maximum amount of angst possible). There are themes of imprisonment as well.
Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat
Book 1 angst was all James for me: magical healing is a trope that just invites the character to be heavily tortured and everyone around them takes their suffering for granted because… "eh, they'll heal". Then the aspect of the collar added a level of restricted freedom, coercion, and humiliation to James' whole situation that I found really satisfyingly angsty.
Book two brought Will angst to the table. I won't go into spoilers, but his backstory got dark *quick* and then the coup de grace at the end was great. I like when sad characters get a tiny glimmer of hope and happiness and then have it all dashed in one dramatic rug-pull.
Some additional themes that I think added to the angst are the question of fate/pre-destination, social rejection, and objectification (in particular of James, seeing him as a powerful tool instead of a person).
The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
It's almost impossible to discuss the angst/whump in this series without spoilers but I'll try to be as vague as possible. There are characters who are incredibly devoted to their chosen leaders and willing to risk anything to serve them and their interests. When a character suffers because of devotion to another, that seems to be a big angst trigger for me. I also love hyper-competent characters, which we get a LOT of in this series. There are also themes in the series about restricted freedom, but in this case it's due more to circumstances of birth and a sense of duty than being physically imprisoned, although there is that too.
I've got a ton more angst books that I could analyze but I think this is a good starting point. Next post will be about books that DIDN'T tickle my id, despite looking on paper like they should.
