I figured it’s high time to talk about Arlene C. Harris’s Les Mis spinoff series: Pont Au-Change. I’ve already purchased and read the first two books on Amazon, and plan on buying the third one after my next paycheck! Harris has stated that she intends for the series to be as long as Hugo’s unabridged novel, with four out of six volumes already published.
PAC imagines a scenario in which Valjean rescues Javert from his suicide attempt and they go off on bizarre (totally unromantic) adventures together. Although the story centers around these two, it also introduces a slew of new characters and elaborates on the whereabouts of old ones.
Javert’s physical description sounds pretty brick-accurate plus he has grey eyes and Long Flowing Hair ™️ because why the hell not. Also, although the series focuses on Javert’s character devolpment, it also elaborates on Valjean’s tramatic past and hesitant future as he comes to terms with his sainthood and learns not to be SO GODDAM SELFLESS ALL THE TIME!!!
(P.S. This is the CLOSEST thing I’ve seen to Valvert without actually having them bang. Valjean shaves Javert while he recovers post-Seine. Javert rubs ointment onto Valjean’s bee stings like an anime girl. I AM NOT MAKING THIS SHIT UP!!!)
Overall, I really enjoyed Ms. Harris’s writing style and she seems to have a solid understanding of Hugo’s rhetorical, down to the elaborate chapter names and long-winded descriptions. I could have done without Javert’s blatant mysogyny, but hopefully this will be corrected in the later parts as he completes his redemption arc. I’ll try to review the other parts as I read them, from what I’ve seen things just keep on getting weirder!
Belial: Funny story. Diablo and Baal were too chicken-shit to tell Mephisto that Inarius got Lilith pregnant. They tricked me into breaking the news. After learning the hard way that Mephisto was very much a shoot-the-messenger type, I decided never to tell the truth again.
Aponi, a ten-year old female gray wolf, stands on her platform and joins a group howl at Wolf Haven International. Her companion, male gray wolf Grayling, can also be seen in their shared enclosure.
Female wolfdog Layla’s original companion, Yukon, died of old age a few months ago, and male wolfdog Caedus’ mate, Shali, passed away in December. Now the two survivors are sharing an enclosure together! When the pair was first introduced, Layla’s boisterous energy seemed a bit much for Caedus. His initial excited whining and tail-wagging quickly switched to wide-open eyes and pulled-back ears as Layla chased him around her new home. Caedus, one of Wolf Haven’s heavier residents, can definitely use that little extra cardio!
As a special holiday sweet, sanctuary residents received a layered Popsicle made of blood, coconut milk, and dog treats– each topped with a happy gingerbread man.
To stimulate their senses and keen intellect, we provide our sanctuary residents with novel items to explore. Layla spends almost a full three minutes delicately licking the peanut butter out of her apple and then crunching through the fruit.
“Does Christ reign in your heart? Ask the things you have stored up there. See what they tell you. Does self-reliance seem like the most reliable way home? Everyone has a list of failures to demolish that claim. Only knowing the Lord as your yokemate and redeemer enables a passage through the strictest crevice. The approach is all different: no longer trying like a fly to buzz through a sunlit window pane, but as one carried not along the way, but by Him who is the Way.”
