Virginia politician sues Barnes & Noble to prevent sale of fantasy book

CBS reports that a Virginia state legislator is filing a restraining order against bookstore chain Barnes & Noble in an attempt to get them to restrict access to certain books. This comes amidst various attempts to ban and even burn certain books across the United States, which just last week prompted The Handmaid’s Tale author Margaret Atwood to auction off an “unburnable” version of the book to support the fight against censorship. In case you needed another reminder that we’re living in a reality where people in power in the United States have bafflingly idiotic views about censorship, here’s the latest.

Republican lawyer Tim Anderson, who serves in the Virginia House of Delegates, stated in a Facebook post that he filed a lawsuit for his client Tommy Altman against Barnes & Noble and Virginia Beach Schools in order to prevent minors from purchasing or borrowing certain books without parental consent. Altman is currently running for Congress, and this case is being filed in his name despite the fact that his campaign website proclaims he supports free speech. “My client, Tommy Altman, has now directed my office to seek a restraining order against Barnes and Noble and Virginia Beach Schools to enjoin them from selling or loaning these books to minors without parent consent,” Anderson’s statement reads.

And what books are Anderson and Altman seeking to restrict? As of this writing, there are two the lawsuit has singled out: Gender Queer, a memoir by Maia Kobabe; and A Court of Mist and Fury, a fantasy novel by Sarah J. Maas.

Virginia politician wants to ban teens from buying Sarah J. Maas book

Gender Queer is a book that is coming under fire across the U.S., as things like Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” bill gain traction. The American Library Association named it the number one most challenged and censored book of 2021, so while I in no way agree with it getting restricted, I can at the very least understand how it came across the radar of this conservative politician.

But A Court of Mist and Fury? Not that I ever expect book bans to make sense, but this one seems especially ridiculous. Bestselling author Sarah J. Maas has been writing fantasy books for years; the first novel of her Throne of Glass series came out back in 2012. That series spanned eight novels and was marketed as a Young Adult fantasy with romantic elements. And the romantic elements are there; those books had a reputation for having some surprisingly steamy scenes for YA novels.

But those aren’t the ones being targeted here. A Court of Mist and Fury is from Maas’ next series, A Court of Thorns and Roses, which is an adult high fantasy series. As Altman points out in his Facebook post, the marketing for Mist and Fury calls it a “sexy, action-packed” novel. As with Throne of Glass, it has gained some notoriety for its sex scenes, which is what led to it being named in this lawsuit.

However, it is an adult novel, meaning it is shelved right next to A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, a couple aisles over from Outlander by Diana Gabaldon, within throwing distance of Stephen King’s catalogue, and right down the way from the entire romance section. Are you really going to tell me that A Court of Mist and Fury is more explicit than anything we see in those books, or any number of others in the adult fantasy, science fiction, romance, horror, or general fiction sections? Barnes & Noble has company-wide shelving policies; unless stores in Virginia Beach are putting them in the wrong place, these books are not being shelved in the young adult or children’s sections of the store.

Anderson’s request for the restraining order states that, “There is probably cause to believe that the book ‘A Court of Mist and Fury’ is obscene for unrestricted viewing by minors.” It’s also odd that he’s just signaling out this one book and not the rest of the series. A Court of Mist and Fury is the second out of four books. So I guess the rest of them are fine?

Anderson’s post also states that, “We are in a major fight. Suits like this can be filed all over Virginia. There are dozens of books. Hundreds of schools.”

If only the fight actually had anything to do with teenagers’ wellbeing instead of pandering to voter who apparently go in for censorship. The most disconcerting part is that, according to Anderson, their request is apparently being taken pretty seriously by the Virginia Beach Circuit Court, which “found probable cause that the books Gender Queer and A Court of Mist and Fury are obscene to unrestricted viewing by minors.” The lawyer calls it a “major legal victory.”

Barnes & Noble pushed back against the Virginia legislator’s case, telling CBS that it carries “thousands of books whose subject matter some may find offensive.”

"We ask that our customers respect our responsibility to offer this breadth of reading materials, and respect also that, while they chose not to purchase many of these themselves, they may be of interest to others."

Hear hear.

To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and sign up for our exclusive newsletter.

Get HBO, Starz, Showtime and MORE for FREE with a no-risk, 7-day free trial of Amazon Channels