Readers Roost: Windmills Promo

Thursday, March 17, 2022

Windmills Promo

Bio-terrorists release a plague in the United States that spreads to kill most of the world’s Caucasian population. As the deadly virus mutates, Tzu Shin, a renowned medical doctor and biologist, defects from China to help develop a cure. His only daughter, Lin Kwan, is left behind in Hong Kong with her aunt.

Then Kwan’s father summons her from across the sea to bring him Chinese medicinal herbs he needs to develop a cure. Lonely and missing her parents, she accepts the challenge, traveling with her sensei Li Zhong to the New World.

But a Chinese assassin is on her trail, determined to kill her and Li Zhong, and when Kwan discovers her father has disappeared, she sets out on a journey to find him and deliver her precious cargo, a quest that she may not survive.

Available at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Zumaya website and through all indie bookstores! Support local! Box set available--

WINDMILLS is the first book in the Color of Fear series, followed by DESTINATIONS and ADVERSARIES.

series trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C5HtphfL7TE&t=160s

Review

Four out of five stars

Young Lin Kwan is an unexpectedly efficient and determined protagonist in this gritty near-future dystopian novel. After a biochemical attack decimates much of the population of the United States, she is the sole hope for her father, a scientist attempting to find a cure before the deadly disease renders humanity extinct.

The book does not shy away from the realities of life in a lawless society where women and girls are targeted by sexual predators. Few males can be trusted, and Lin Kwan is aware of this. Although filled with youthful determination, she is amply sensible. Lin Kwan's intelligence and skillfulness in the martial arts might turn some teenage protagonists into a Mary Sue, but the author is adept enough to prevent this from happening. Lin Kwan always seems remarkably real despite her extraordinary skill set.

The book is filled with exemplary writing including an engaging storyline and strong character creation skills. I would love to give it five out of five stars, but there is one factor that stops me from doing so.

I am not assuming any malice on the author's part, but I feel that size shaming is so prevalent that many writers forget that larger readers even exist. I died a little each time it happened because otherwise; the story was perfect.

This paragraph provides one such instance.

She studied her face in the meter-square mirror, one of Ehuang’s luxuries, purchased in the time when her aunt had been considered quite beautiful. Before she’d lost a husband to the war and eaten her way into a cushion of comfort.

Fat is not synonymous with ugly. I thought that Aunt Ehuang was a lovely lady. She cared for her daughter and her niece. While not strong in the way Lin Kwan was strong, she showed determination and strength of character.

The "eating her way into a cushion of comfort" line reminds me of the horrible idea that fat women with a history of sexual trauma get fat in order to become unattractive to men so as not to be attacked again. This idea is tremendously insulting. Also, anyone who has ever struggled with binge eating knows that it's anything but "comforting."

Size is dependent on a myriad of factors. Reducing it to "calories in, calories out" implies that a woman like Ehuang should simply go on a diet and she will be desirable again as if being desirable to men should be a woman's ultimate aim. The paragraph could have simply stated that the mirror was one of Ehuang's luxuries purchased in the time before she lost her husband in the war.

I hope that in the future the author will consider writing fat characters from a neutral perspective rather than using them as cautionary tales or metaphors for vice. I feel sad when my only reason for not giving a book a five-star rating is because fat people are Things That Should Not Be rather than being allowed to just be.

Fans of dystopian fiction will enjoy this book with the caveat that those with a history of eating disorders or body image issues may find its treatment of larger people upsetting. Those with a history of sexual assault may wish to approach the story with caution as well, however, none of the threatening encounters are described in detail.

Author Bio

Lyndi Alexander always dreamed of faraway worlds and interesting alien contacts. She lives as a post-modern hippie in Asheville, North Carolina, a single mother of her last child of seven, a daughter on the autism spectrum, finding that every day feels a lot like first contact with a new species.

Author Links

Website and Blog https ://lyndialexander .wordpress .com /

Facebook https ://www .facebook .com /lyndialexander 13/