Kickstarter Day 3 (26 days left) Mountain Pic & Book Rec

So....close...! As I write this, The Labyrinth of Flame's Kickstarter is only $114 from funding.  Just a few more backers and we're there.  Heh, one reason I promised to share wilderness pics and book recs every day is so I could distract myself from refreshing my Kickstarter dashboard by sighing happily over my old backpacking and climbing trip pictures instead.  So many beautiful mountains and fun memories!

For today's pic, I chose one of Wyoming's Cirque of the Towers, located in the Wind River range.  Okay, two pics, because I can never resist the cirque's awe-inspiring scenery.  As I've said on the blog before, Cirque of the Towers is one of the three mountain places that inspired Tainted City's Cirque of the Knives.  I really, really need to go back and do some real climbing there (as opposed to just backpacking).

Looking through Jackass Pass to the Cirque of the Towers (yes, it really is called Jackass Pass. Perhaps because of mules, but perhaps also because it's a steep enough slog  to the pass that the folks who named it weren't feeling in a charitable mood)

Within the Cirque

And for today's book rec, I chose an old favorite of mine: Patricia McKillip's The Changeling Sea.  I recently read an excellent analysis of the book over at Black Gate by Matthew David Surridge which does the book far more justice than I have time for today.  Suffice it to say this is one of the novels I've re-read so many times I almost have it memorized.  Like much of McKillip's work, The Changeling Sea is beautifully crafted: short and yet satisfying, full of beautiful imagery and mythic magic.  It's also a comfort read in the best sense of the term - a story that never fails to lift my spirits when I'm stressed or upset.  Yet at the same time, it's quietly subversive, turning accepted fantasy tropes on their heads in a way that never feels forced or heavy-handed.  Just a wonderful book, and one I highly recommend.