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Hee, I like World of the White Rat as a description! Possibly my favorite fictional religion. And I am a bit of connoisseur.

That's how they're grouped at GoodReads. And, indeed, one of things I like about the books is the importance of religion to some of the characters. Stephen's longing for the certainty the he lost with the death of the Saint of Steel, Caliban's need to be a true Paladin again make the characters real to me. This is something I love from Bujold's World of the Five Goods books as well.

So many other books do not include religion at all or only in a superficial way. Or go to the other extreme and are just preachy.

Oh, yes, the Five Gods are another favorite.

I forget how I have seen the Kingfisher books grouped - Clocktaur War, Saint of Steel and I guess it is just Swordheart but she did say she was going to write the other sword's stories - although they are all the same world so grouping them together makes sense. And World of the White Rat delights me as a term of art. Good job, Goodreads.

I really liked the White Rat ... clerics? is that the right word? ... they seem to be intelligent and pragmatic and work to actually help people. I hadn't made the connection with Bujold's Five Gods world, but I could see the White Rat and the Bastard (one of whose symbols is a white rat) getting on well. (If this inspires any fanfic, please let me know.)

True! What an interesting idea

Oh, I love the idea of a White Rat/Five Gods crossover. Brilliant.

I have read about three of Gailey's books, but they don't hook me. I feel like they lack complexity or depth or something. It's all about the premise and not about the complicating factors/characters. "Upright Women Wanted" was a premise in search of a story, IMO.

I'm glad they work for some people though.

I fully support those fanfics. Please someone write.

And I only read Magic for Liars and Uprighgt Women—the first just didn’t hook me, the second I liked better, but not enough to reread.

I just learned the author of the book I’m reading got her start writing Buffy fanfic (Naomi Alderman’s The Power). Oh! And MsBelle is reading it too - we are reading it for the virtual book club she invited me to. They let me pick my first time out, which was awfully nice of them.

I did a book talk on Youtube for the American Hippo series (as they reedited it). I loved it. I also liked Magic for Liars and the Mirror Wife but I especially enjoyed the diversity in AH.

I still haven’t read The Power! It’s been sitting on my reader a loooong time (because of Zombie Run, I don’t think I knew about the Buffy fic but it makes sense)

I would have liked The Power more without the framing device. I know the genealogy of it, but it didn't work for me in this context, largely because of all the real-world references to minute things that the framing device tells us are lost to "modern" understanding.