Spooks (MI5): Fanfic: Not Quite James Bond
Jul. 5th, 2025 12:09 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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Fandom: Spooks (MI5) [werewolf!Lucas verse]
Rating: G
Length: 885 words
Summary: James Bond had Q for cutting edge science creations, Section D have Alaric Braithwaite
For this month’s After Dark at the Movies, I’m writing about The Damned, a folk horror film about 19th century Icelandic fishers who find themselves in desperate straits and faced with the consequences of a terrible choice. I found it interesting that the small crew included two women – an older woman who cooks for the crew and a younger woman who manages the site and the crew, and whose gender never seems to be an issue when it comes to exerting authority and leadership.
This movie sent me down an internet rabbit hole where I found that women were an integral part of Iceland’s fishing industry for centuries.
Iceland women show up in ancient sagas as seafarers. Gudrid the Far Traveller, who was probably born around 985, voyaged over much of Europe and visited Greenland, Vinland, Norway, and Rome. Aud the Deep-Minded lived even earlier, and shows up in several sagas as a woman who captained her own boat on a journey from Scotland to Iceland.
Many Icelandic women achieved legendary status. Thurídur Einarsdóttir was famous for never losing a single crew member and for having a side business as a private detective.
Anna Björnsdóttir kept fishing even while pregnant.
Rósamunda Sigmundsdóttir is famous for wearing red skirts to attract seals.
Halldóra Clubfoot filled her boat with exclusively female rowers and beat men in countless rowing challenges.
Icelandic fishing in the 18th and 19th centuries was not particularly segregated by gender.
In a review of Sea Women of Iceland, Jane Nadel-Klein states:
Throughout the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it seems, fishing provided some relief and women played key roles as crew and even as boat captains.
Roberta Kwok wrote an essay about this same book in which she quotes the author:
Willson’s team combed through historical archives and publications to gather examples ranging from a female captain who led crews made up entirely of women, to expectant mothers who rowed late into pregnancy.
The sea “wasn’t a male space,” says Willson, a cultural anthropologist at the University of Washington in Seattle and a former seawoman. “It was not a feminist act in any way for them to go to sea.” It was just part of everyday life.
As the articles linked below describe in detail, women eventually became less involved on boats but deeply integral to fish processing which bolstered Iceland’s economy from 1903 to the 1969. Síldarstúlkur, also known as herring girls, poured into coastal towns to process fish directly from the boats. These young women changed Iceland’s economic world and found independence financially and socially.
While the herring girls enjoyed financial independence and a lively social life in dock towns that exploded into large cities, their work was difficult. The herring girls worked long hours, called at any time of day and night whenever a boat came in. The conditions were miserable and many started very young. One woman describes starting at work on the docks alongside her mother on her seventh birthday and being “an independent herring girl” by age eleven. The herring girls were passionate and savvy labor organizers who fought in strikes and demonstrations for pay equity and better working conditions.
Elizabeth Heath relates how this independence helped advance women’s suffrage and other rights for women in Iceland:
Herring girls’ organizing efforts took place around the same time that women won suffrage in Iceland. The country’s first women’s rights organization formed in 1894 and collected signatures on voting rights petitions. By 1907, 11,000 women and men—more than 12 percent of the population—had signed on. In 1915, women over 40 were granted the right to vote, and in 1920, the country introduced suffrage for all citizens ages 18 and up.
Later she relates:
In 1968, the Arctic Ocean herring fishery collapsed as a direct result of overfishing. The once-plentiful Atlantic herring was on the verge of extinction, and Iceland’s economy took a sharp tumble. Siglufjörður and dozens of towns like it emptied out. Fish processing plants were abandoned, boats sat idle in harbors and docks no longer hosted lively gatherings. But even as many herring girls returned to domestic duties, their impact on Icelandic politics and society continued to resonate.
Today only a small percentage of Icelandic women work on boats, but even the pervasive sexism in the industry has never driven them away altogether.
I fell into this topic because of my interest in The Damned, set in the 1800s. Sea Fever is another excellent independent horror movie. Set in 2017, it features an Irish fishing crew captained by a woman. The tiny crew includes another woman as well as a female biologist.
Real life fishing captain Linda Greenlaw became famous following the 2000 film adaptation of the nonfiction book A Perfect Storm by Sebastian Junger. She published her own memoir, The Hungry Ocean in 1999 and has published several subsequent nonfiction books as well as novels.
Back in Iceland, the 2025 documentary Strengur (also released as Tightlines) tells of young women learning to be fishing guides on Iceland’s rivers. Perhaps the depiction of women at sea and in the other roles within the fishing industry will bring women new recognition and opportunities within a changing social and environmental world.
Iceland’s Forgotten Fisherwomen
Seawomen of Iceland: Survival on the Edge by Margaret Willson (a review by Jane Nadel-Klein)
How Iceland’s Herring Girls Helped Bring Equality to the Island Nation
Women of the Seas: A Brief History
by Emily Bleeker
October 22, 2024 · Lake Union Publishing
Historical: AmericanRomance
This guest review comes from Lisa! A longtime romance aficionado and frequent commenter to SBTB, Lisa is a queer Latine critic with a sharp tongue and lots of opinions. She frequently reviews at All About Romance and Women Write About Comics, where she’s on staff, and you can catch her at @thatbouviergirl on Twitter. There, she shares good reviews, bracing industry opinions and thoughtful commentary when she’s not on her grind looking for the next good freelance job.
…
When I picked up When We Chased The Light, I had no idea it’s a continuation of Bleeker’s previous New York Times bestseller When We Were Enemies. That’s not the author’s fault, but Lake Union has to know this is going to cut into buys from confused newbies to the series, who have no idea that the first chunk of Vivian’s story happens in the previous book. How did she become an Italian translator at a POW camp? Previous book. How did she become a USO dancer? Previous book. How she met the secret love of her life, Father Antonio Trombello? Previous book. I won’t count that against this volume but it’s going to be quite a struggle if the reader hasn’t picked up the first volume.
Post-World War II, all-American sweetheart Vivian Snow became a major Hollywood icon. Living with the fact that her soldier husband has been declared MIA after going AWOL, she focuses on her career, leaving her daughter to be raised by her much put-upon sister. Vivian would do anything to be famous, unaware of the turbulence her romantic life bestows upon her future-actress daughter. Rumors that she had her abusive hubby bumped off during his disappearance do not help.
All the while, Vivian holds on to a close relationship with Father Trombello. Whispers of an affair linger in the air, but have never been proven. Did the priest break his vows? The truth lies in postcards sent between them – set to be auctioned off by Christies as part of Vivian’s estate.
I definitely recommend reading the first book, well, first. But once you do, the continuing adventures of Vivian are fascinating to follow. She’s a staunch, interesting character who rather reminds me of the “Marvelous” Midge Maisel, only minus the sense of humor. Vivian could’ve used more laughs in her life.
The book is overall a solid piece of fiction, if too focused on all of the men who abuse Vivian in a huge variety of ways. After awhile, the total lack of decent men in her life leaves one yearning for some kind of divine intervention to defrock Father Trombello. Then it becomes generational trauma, with Vivian’s little girl becoming a great actress with a messy series of relationships. The misogynistic mess that was Old Hollywood is enervating but also feels quite real.
When We Chased the Light should involve pre-reading its opening volume, but it’s a fairly decent overall experience even with its flaws.
RECOMMENDED: The Lion’s Den by Katherine St. John is $2.99 and a Kindle Daily Deal! Elyse wrote a Lightning Review for this one and gave it an A. Definitely check out her review for a list of triggers to be aware of.
This book is really two mysteries in one, and when they collide it’s a wonderful “ah-ha” moment. I wish I could say more than that, but I don’t want to ruin a single thing for another reader.
A dream vacation on a luxurious yacht turns deadly in this pulse-pounding beach read and perfect book club pick about glamour, friendship, romance, and betrayal on the Riviera.
Belle likes to think herself immune to the dizzying effects of fabulous wealth. But when her best friend, Summer, invites her on a glamorous girls’ getaway to the Mediterranean aboard her billionaire boyfriend’s yacht, the only sensible answer is yes. Belle hopes the trip will be a much-needed break from her stalled acting career and uniquely humiliating waitressing job, but once aboard the luxurious Lion’s Den, it becomes clear that all is not as it seems.
The dream vacation quickly devolves into a nightmare as Belle and the handful of other girlfriends Summer has invited are treated more like prisoners than guests by their controlling host, and Belle comes to see Summer for what she truly is: a vicious gold digger who will stop at nothing to get what she wants. Belle soon realizes she’s going to have to keep her wits about her — and her own big secret close to her chest — if she wants to make it off the yacht alive.
Duke, Actually by Jenny Holiday is $2.99! This is a holiday romance and the second book in the Christmas in Eldovia series. I remember Elyse reading it and commenting in Slack that she was enjoying it. I, sadly, don’t do holiday romances. What about you?
USA Today bestselling author Jenny Holiday follows A Princess for Christmas with another delightful contemporary Christmas romance between a playboy baron and a woman who has said goodbye to love.
There’s a royal wedding on, and things are about to get interesting.
Meet the man of honor
Maximillian von Hansburg, Baron of Laudon and heir to the Duke of Aquilla, is not having a merry Christmas. He’s been dumped by a princess, he’s unemployed, and his domineering father has sent him to New York to meet a prospective bride he has no interest in. In the city, he meets Dani Martinez, a smart (and gorgeous) professor he’s determined to befriend before their best friends marry in the Eldovian wedding of the century.
Meet the best woman
Newly single, no-nonsense New Yorker Dani is done with love—she even has a list entitled “Things I Will Never Again Do for a Man”—which is why she hits it off with notorious rake Max. He’s the perfect partner for snow angels in Central Park and deep conversations about the futility of love.
It’s all fun and games until their friendship deepens into attraction and, oops…
Falling in love was never part of the plan.
A Quantum Love Story by Mike Chen is $2.99! Shana recently mentioned this on Whatcha Reading and was having a good time with it. Have you read this one?
A cozy sci-fi novel from the New York Times bestselling author of Star Brotherhood
The only thing harder than finding someone in a time loop is losing them.
Grieving her best friend’s recent death, neuroscientist Mariana Pineda’s ready to give up everything to start anew. Even her career—after one last week consulting at a top secret particle accelerator.
Except the strangest thing a man stops her…and claims they’ve met before. Carter Cho knows who she is, why she’s mourning, why she’s there. And he needs Mariana to remember everything he’s saying.
Because time is about to loop.
In a flash of energy, it’s Monday morning. Again. Together, Mariana and Carter enter an inevitable life, four days at a time, over and over, without permanence except for what they share.
But just as they figure out this new life, everything changes. Because Carter’s memories of the time loop are slowly disappearing. And their only chance at happiness is breaking out of the loop—forever.
Fathomfolk by Eliza Chan is $2.99! This came out February of last year. Sarah reviewed the Illumicrate subscription box and this one was of their offerings.
Revolution is brewing in the semi-submerged city of Tiankawi, between humans and the fathomfolk who live in its waters. This gloriously imaginative debut fantasy, inspired by East Asian mythology and ocean folk tales, is a novel of magic, rebellion and change.
Welcome to Tiankawi – shining pearl of human civilization and a safe haven for those fleeing civil unrest. Or at least, that’s how it first appears. But in the semi-flooded city, humans are, quite literally, on top: peering down from shining towers and aerial walkways on the fathomfolk – sirens, seawitches, kelpies and kappas – who live in the polluted waters below.
For half-siren Mira, promotion to captain of the border guard means an opportunity to help her downtrodden people. But if earning the trust and respect of her human colleagues wasn’t hard enough, everything Mira has worked towards is put in jeopardy when Nami, a know-it-all water dragon and fathomfolk princess – is exiled to the city, under Mira’s watch. When extremists sabotage a city festival, violence erupts, as does the clampdown on fathomfolk rights. Both Nami and Mira must decide if the cost of change is worth paying, or if Tiankawi should be left to drown.
Happy July! Summer is heating up with a vengeance, both in the air and on the page, so break out some cool drinks, cue up your next read, and enjoy!
Author: Jordon Greene
Released: July 1, 2025 by Summit Ridge Press
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
Months ago a cheating ex-boyfriend left Kolton Wolf’s world shattered.
Jaded and angry, romance becomes whatever ends up in his bed from the apps or the club with a strict no-repeat policy.
Then he comes into the picture.
It’s Halloween at the “club” when Kolton first lays eyes on him. A Greek god in full costume, what little there is of it. Kolton can’t take his eyes off them. They’re perfect, beautiful. A few steps across the bar and what looks like rejection leads Kolton to an amazing steamy night with conversation far exceeding the usual surface level hookup he’s used to. The next day Kolton breaks his own no-repeat policy and reaches out to the boy.
Ghosted.
No one after that reaches the Greek god’s lofty levels. They’re simply temporary enjoyment between the ever repeating flashes of that night. Is Kolton fated to only relieve his angelic encounter as a dream, or will time and chance bring them back together before Kolton gives up?
Greene’s best known for his YA Noahverse novels, which makes it extra intriguing to see him break into Adult with a spicy romance, the perfect length (just under 200 pages) to make an ideal beach read.
Author: Karelia Stetz-Waters
Released: July 15, 2025 by Forever
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
A delicious, heartwarming romantic comedy about big dreams, life-changing friendships, and the people who bring out your best.
Six years ago, eco-chef Alice Sullivan and her culinary-school rival almost gave into the burning tension between them. But those kisses? Just the heat of competition boiling over. Sullivan never expected to see Kia after graduation . . . until Kia crashes back into her life with a plan to buy Sullivan’s beloved Portland greenspace.
Kia has worked hard building her social media empire as the big-hearted glitter-bomb queen of the food-truck scene. Now she’s one step away from opening a foodie utopia for underrepresented culinary talents. But Kia’s plans catch the attention of a bulldozer-happy food conglomerate, and now both Kia and Sullivan’s dreams are on the line. When a legal loophole turns out to be the only way to save what they each love most, they’re left with one pull off a very public fake marriage to obtain the deed to the land and keep their old rivalry under control.
As the line between fake and real love blurs, can Kia and Sullivan set aside their differences and find the perfect recipe for happily ever after?
The Stetz-Waters writing pair are at it again with another charmer, this one about two culinary school rivals reunited over another fight that pushes them into a marriage of convenience. The tension is high, both sexual and otherwise, and the care and love Sullivan has for the contentious land and its associate memories leaps off the page.
Author: Mary Roach
Released: July 29, 2025 by Montlake
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Romance
In this glittering, sapphic reimagining of Helen of Troy set in modern day mobster Greece, Helen is the daughter of a powerful crime lord on Paris is the woman hellbent on destroying her—if they don’t fall for each other first.
They’re thrown together in an opulent world of privilege, power, and cover-ups—and the closer they grow, the more the fragile balance of power in the world of crime lords begins to fray.
Because if Helen doesn’t choose to abandon her newfound connection with Paris and marry into the alliance her father arranged, they could all go to war.
And Helen and Paris might just be ready to let them.
I don’t read a lot of dark romance, but Sapphic, mafia, and Greek mythology-inspired? I absolutely had to check out Roach’s newest, and was not disappointed. (Note: she also has a YA coming out in September called Seven for a Secret that sounds similarly excellent and comps to Sadie, one of my favorite YAs of all time.) It’s vicious, it’s sexy, and the chemistry between Helen and Paris blazes.
Author: Emma-Claire Sunday
Released: July 17, 2025 by Harlequin Historical
Genre: Historical: European, LGBTQIA, Romance
Will this cynical fortune hunter find her true match? Find out in this enchanting sapphic historical romance
How can Lady Sylvia save herself from financial ruin?
Step 1: Move to the seaside for the summer, where there will be no shortage of wealthy bachelors holidaying.
Step 2: Strike a deal with local farmer if Hannah can help Sylvia bag a rich husband, Sylvia will fund Hannah’s dream of opening a cheese shop.
Step 3: Charm her way into luncheons, parties and exclusives balls, but do not start to confuse friendship with romantic feelings for Hannah.
Step 4: Focus on her fortune hunting scheme and not let her heart get carried away by her unexpected and magical kiss with Hannah!
There’s just something about seeing a Harlequin historical with a Sapphic pair on it, especially in an era when mass market paperbacks seem to be almost as rare as, well, Sapphic historicals. This one sounds charming and delightful!
Author: Clio Evans
Released: July 15, 2025
Genre: Contemporary Romance, LGBTQIA, Novella, Western, Romance
Series: Rainbow Ranch #3
In this steamy polyamorous cowboy romance novella, Beau Adams finds that the best things always happen in threes…
Living in the heart of Oklahoma, I’m just a cowboy with boots rooted firmly in running Rainbow Ranch. As eldest brother and professional worrier, I spend my days working hard with my family and yearning for someone I can never have.
Priscilla. She’s called Rainbow Ranch home for years and without her, my world would fall apart. Pris is gorgeous and smart and deserves everything good in her life. While I’ve always had eyes for her, I’ve never been brave enough to cross the fence between friends and lovers.
When a charming storm chaser named Sky arrives at our ranch, the three of us decide to give our wild hearts a chance. Sky is charismatic and sweeter than a cinnamon bun, and they just might be the missing piece we’ve needed.
But with pains from the past and worries about the future, Pris isn’t sure she can risk being hurt again, Sky isn’t sure Rainbow Ranch can be their home, and I’m not sure I can be the cowboy Pris and Sky deserve.
Can fate lasso the three of us into giving love a chance? Or will this whirlwind romance be our first and last rodeo?
The Rainbow Ranch series launches this month, kicking off with M.A. Wardell’s Stirring Spurs, and this polyam entry easily caught my eye because, well, look at it! It sounds sweet and sexy and like a much needed addition to queer canon, with its western backdrop and M/F/X romance. Yee-haw!
If you’re thinking you might need to check out this cookbook, yes, yes you do. And if you’ve got a potluck coming up, this book has you covered.
Inspired by other Patreon folks, including Chris DeRosa at Fixing Famous People, I’ve made some of the Patreon content free so you can sample what we’ve got.
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