Olivia Pourzia [she/her]

@opourzia

[She/Her] Game writer looking for work! Frequent DM, unable to resist putting words in things. You can find my work in: Star Trek Timelines, Game of Thrones Ascent, Choices: Stories You Play.

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Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· 14h

My second August read is between me and my therapist, but book 3 coming in strong with Sublimation! One of the best sci-fi books I've read in years. Possibly my favorite book so far this year. Honest, devastating, and it made me think a lot about my family. A treasure of a read.

The cover of a novel called Sublimation by Isabel J Kim. The background is a series of lines in a vertical color gradient. The center is black, but the lines moving away from it lighten into red, orange, and white. In each line is a woman dressed in all black, a gradient of herself. The different versions of herself are facing away from each other and moving toward the edges.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· 10d

First book of August: Dead Hand Rule! I love this series and how hard everyone is trying their best (except, y'know, the people choosing to cause problems). The last act felt like watching your best friend weave through 6 lanes of traffic only to be hit by [redacted] (complimentary).

The cover of a book, Dead Hand Rule by Max Gladstone. It is Book 3 of the Craft Wars Series. The cover depicts a young woman with blond hair raising an arm encircled by an iridescent snake. She seems to be standing among clouds while a city hangs, inverted, above her.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· 20d

Belated post but finished this right at the end of July: the first Daggerheart expansion. (2 of my 3 reads this month were TTRPG related, lol.) Lots of great new additions, stuff that inspired me even for my current 5e campaign. A very fun, energizing expansion!

The cover of a TTRPG book, Daggerheart Hope and Fear. Magical heroes in the foreground, representing the new classes, face off against smaller adversaries while larger foes like a dragon and vampire loom behind them.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Jul 15

Second book so far this month was The Iron Garden Sutra by A.D. Sui. This one was pretty different from what I expected, in ways that unfortunately didn't work for me as a reader, but I did still feel compelled enough to see the ending!

The cover of a book called The Iron Garden Sutra by A.D. Sui. A bright, warm yellow background on which black pinprick stars are scattered around the black orbital circles of planets. A silhouetted space station hangs in the center, and drifting up from the bottom towards it is a massive black ship wreathed in red vines, emblazoned with a white skull. A red orb peers out from behind the uppermost planet.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Jul 15

Finished two books last night! Carved in Stone is a gorgeously illustrated guide to the daily life of the Picts. It felt like the grown-up answer to some of my favorite books as a kid, meant to help you immerse yourself in another place and time and encouraging curiosity about what that means.

The cover of a book called Carved in Stone: A Storyteller's Guide to the Picts. The top and bottom border are covered in symbols from Pictish stone carvings, while in the center, a group of people in Pictish garb, horses, and cattle, cross a stream in the middle of a verdant wood.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Jul 1

Got in one more before the month is over! This was my first Nicola Griffith book, and it was a wonderful (and delightfully well-researched) read that brought much joy to my gay little Arthuriana-loving heart. Maybe after I finish the Shahnameh, I'll actually read Malory for the first time...

The cover a novel called Spear by Nicola Griffith. A large, dark iron bowl is full of white water turning to white trees or flame. A red silhouette of a rider with a spear danced above it, overlooked by the white silhouette of a castle fort.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Jun 28

Second June read: The Secret History by Donna Tartt. As a book, surprisingly engrossing. As something recommended to me as dark academia, there was almost no academia in it to speak of (at least not in the way I was looking for lol). Mixed bag, but still glad I read it.

The cover of a book: The Secret History by Donna Tartt. The covers depicts a Classical marble statue's face.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Jun 28

I've been behind on my reading thread! First book I read earlier in June: Slow Gods by Claire North. Extremely devastating, extremely difficult to describe - one of the best sci-fi books I've read in recent years. Huge thank you to @ceinwenlangley.bsky.social for the rec!

The cover of a book: Slow Gods by Claire North. The cover is largely black with red planets, a yellow ship shooting upward between them, and red concentric circles emanating from the center of the image.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· May 31

Managed to sneak in one more book this month! It helps that it was a short story collection, but wow what a gorgeous collection. It's been a while since I read something and thought "oh wow you can do THAT with prose?" What a wonderful gift.

The cover of the book The Anchored World by Jasmine Sawers - subtitled Flash Fairy Tales and Folklore. The covered depicts a woman's face in light, smoky watercolor, except for the darker wash of her eyes. Her silhouette trails down into black paint that looks almost like a forest.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· May 29

In keeping with the theme of tragedy and suffering: this felt like the slow wind up of a devastating gut punch that you know is coming the whole time, and yet it still manages to knock your feat out from under you. I am a Patroclus stan now. 10/10.

The cover of the book The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller. A bronze helmet in the style of ancient Greece on a weathered blue background.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· May 29

Forgot to update this thread but here are my May reads so far! (Idk if I will fit in another one.) The theme of this month is: I love tragedy and suffering. Wish I had read this one in a shorter time frame but absolutely loved it.

The cover of the book The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow. There are flower motifs around a cutout silhouette of a sword through which a sliver of a blonde woman is visible, mainly one of her eyes and jaw.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Apr 29

I don't care about gangster drama, I'm here for them!!

A picture from the show Shahrzad. A man in wearing glasses and a tie, Farhad, stands behind his love Shahrzad who sits in a red dress and a modern hat. He is fastening a necklace around her neck.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Apr 29

I set some very ambitious April reading goals and then April happened to me and I have finish one (1) book - Wicked Problems. But it was a good one. I was delighted to see so many familiar faces and moved by how much they all have changed in their ways.

The cover of the book Wicked Problems by Max Gladstone. The protagonist, Tara, stands on a catwalk in the foreground holding a magic knife in one hand and drawing more magic around her other (silver skeleton) arm. She is in a very nice suit. Eldritch horror tendrils surround her.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Apr 9

A meme of Anakin and Padme from the Star Wars prequel trilogy. 4 panels are arranged in a square. In the first panel, Anakin is captioned as saying, "You're gonna destroy a civilization." In Panel 2, Padme, smiling, says, "The one I wanted to, right?" In Panel 3, Anakin just stares back at her. In Panel 4, Padme, now concerned, says, "The one I wanted to, right?"

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Apr 7

If this war ends with the regime retaining open power over the Strait AND getting relief from all sanctions, the only thing all this violence and horror will have accomplished is STRENGTHENING them.

Screenshot from an AP News article that reads: Iran’s explanation of the 10-point plan included its claimed that the Strait of Hormuz would be subject to “regulated passage ... under the coordination of the Armed Forces of Iran.”

It added that would be “thereby conferring upon Iran a unique economic and geopolitical standing.” It also would receive full sanctions relief.

These terms would represent an extraordinary step down by the U.S. after 47 years of hostilities with Iran, starting from the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Apr 7

apnews.com/live/iran-wa...

A screenshot from an AP News update on Iran. It reads: A young designer who lives in central Tehran said her parents left at the beginning of the war but she stayed behind to take care of her cat.

Now, she says she’s “terrified” by Trump’s threats and is planning to drive north with her cat to join her family — if the U.S. really does knock out power plants after Tuesday night’s deadline.

“If there is no electricity, there is no water because the water pressure in Tehran is low and all buildings have electric water pumps. You can’t cook either. In the north, you can at least do something in nature, like the ‘Stone Age’ that he promised,” she said.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Apr 2

For once my anxiety and the US market have something in common

Screenshot from a CNN article about a stock market downturn that reads "Extreme Fear is driving the US market".

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Mar 31

Based on the relative sizes of Dead Country and Wicked Problems, I'm sure only good and normal things happen to Tara this time around.

A picture of a bookshelf featuring several books, but focused on Dead Country and its sequel, Wicked Problems. Wicked Problems is like 60% thicker which is definitely not a bad sign for the world or our beloved protagonist.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Mar 31

Latest March book: a re-read of Dead Country (so I can finally start the sequel). Always good to see Tara Abernathy again. This remains my favorite of the Craft books so far - a beautiful meditation on grief, homecomings, fear, the stories we tell ourselves. This one will always be special to me.

The beautiful cover of Dead Country by Max Gladstone, subtitled "Book One of the Craft Wars Sequence". The protagonist, Tara Abernathy, faces a crystalline white silhouette that towers over her. Tara holds a knife of light in her hand.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Mar 29

There've been multiple strikes on the nuclear power plant in Bushehr this past week, and in addition to the inherent catastrophic possibilities with bombing ANY NUCLEAR POWER PLANT, I think folks should also know where Bushehr is in Iran: on the coast of the Persian Gulf.

A screenshot of Google maps in Dark mode showing the location of the Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant. The map is fairly zoomed in but you can see Bushehr itself to the northwest. The power plant is along the coast of Iran.

A zoomed out screenshot of Google maps. There is a small red icon where Iran's Bushehr Nuclear Power Plant is located along the coast of the Persian Gulf. The nation of Bahrain and parts of Qatar are visible across the Gulf to the south.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Mar 27

A screenshot from an article linked earlier in the thread. It reads: "It has also occluded something deeper: the human decisions that led to the killing of between 175 and 180 people, most of them girls between the ages of seven and 12. Someone decided to compress the kill chain. Someone decided that deliberation was latency. Someone decided to build a system that produces 1,000 targeting decisions an hour and call them high-quality. Someone decided to start this war. Several hundred people are sitting on Capitol Hill, refusing to stop it. Calling it an “AI problem” gives those decisions, and those people, a place to hide."

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Mar 22

Back in January, some friends started a weekly read-along of the Odyssey. It's been very different from the shape of the story that has lived in my head for many years - accessible via Wilson's beautiful translation yet complicated as a modern reader. Tonight, I finally finished my first read.

The cover of a book - Homer's The Odyssey, translated by Emily Wilson. The top of the cover shows three women in ancient Greek attire, their figures partly painted, partly faded. Most of the cover below that is white, with a blue wave motif along the bottom.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Mar 19

Finished earlier this week but forgot to update the thread: last volume of The Burning Kingdoms! My brain feels like soup today but it was very good, perhaps my favorite of the series. A much happier ending than I was worried it would get!

The cover of the novel The Lotus Empire by Tasha Suri. The cover shows the two main characters, Priya and Malini, the former wielding magic that summons flowers into her hands, the latter behind her wielding a flaming sword, with fire and chaos in the background. They are both very hot and it's important that you know that.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Mar 4

Tonight, more intentionally, I finished vol. 2 of Persepolis. I have thought often of vol. 1 these past few days. In vol. 2, the author returns home after the Iran-Iraq war has ended but finds it almost unbearably changed and yet too much the same. Needless to say this one will stay with me, too.

The cover of a graphic novel, Persepolis 2: The Story of a Return by Marjane Satrapi

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Mar 4

I finished this just before the end of Feb, at a time when updating this thread was not exactly top of mind. Picked it up for story research, found parts more academic than were relevant to my questions, but still enjoyable and informative.

A photo of a book cover, Sasanian Persia: the Rise and Fall of an Empire by Touraj Daryaee

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Mar 3

Whoa what, it's almost like when you destabilize a country's government, you have no control over who will fill that vacuum.

Screencap of the following text from a New York Times article about Trump's decision to go to war with Iran and the C.I.A.'s assessment of what might unfold:

One envisioned a hard-line cleric replacing Ayatollah Khamenei — perhaps even a leader more bent on acquiring a nuclear weapon. Another scenario predicted an uprising against the government, a possibility many intelligence officials thought was remote, given the weakness of Iran’s opposition.

A number of senior Trump administration officials seized on a third scenario: that a faction of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps more pragmatic than the hard-line clerics might take power. Even though a cleric was likely to still be nominally in charge, that group of I.R.G.C. leaders would actually lead the country.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Feb 28

Hell of a day for my copy of the Shahnameh to finally get here lol

Four books arranged on a wooden table beneath some shafts of sunlight: Steering the Craft by Ursula K. Le Guin, the Shahnameh translated by Dick Davis, The Lotus Empire by Tasha Suri, and The Everlasting by Alix E. Harrow

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Feb 26

Great sky today.

A cloud strewn sky in the earliest bit of sunset, blue and grey and gold. Two birds flit across it and a small aircraft wake streaks into the clouds.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Feb 23

Second Feb book - The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennet Wonderfully weird setting that ties deeply into its twisty fantasy murder mystery. There should be more fantasy murder mysteries! Ideally ones that also make their Holmesian detectives 40 y.o. women with axes to grind. Absolutely loved it.

The cover a book called The Tainted Cup by Robert Jackson Bennett. It shows a tipped over goblet, out of which a tree flowering into skulls is growing. There is a silhouetted figure in each corner (characters from the book) and some organic matter is depicted as growing across the left side of the cover.

Olivia Pourzia [she/her]@opourzia· Feb 17

2026 reading thread (a month late but oh well): The Oleander Sword by Tasha Suri 3 for 3 Tasha Suri sweep on making gorgeous, tragic fantasies with heroines willing to throw themselves at fate and dare it to do its worst. I forgot to order Book 3 before I finished this one and now I regret it!!