#I guess we are doing this asdkjfaskg

[ashanimus]

Oh god. Well, most people say that Raksura lacks the polish of Murderbot and they're right, and I think that even she's said she'd have done some stuff differently--but as you say. Looking back on older work or adding stories to it, as she also has on a Patreon situation during Covid I think, these things are always a collaboration with the younger self.

Personally, I think matriarchal dragonshifters with their social soap opera and adventures on a biopunk star trek planet is just too awesome. The protagonist is such a bitch (affectionate) and I love him so so much. He and Storm would probably Dislike each other if they ever met, but there's themes of alienation in common there even if their journeys are VERY distinct.

I will caution that many of the themes in the Raksura stories involve sexual politics and sexual violence/its fallout in both metaphorical and literal ways--so if that is something that you will find upsetting, I would proceed with heavy caution. It also covers things like history, legacy, tradition and how its outgrown/maintained and why. There is a character in the series that I think Arcove would have a really interesting conversation with lol but for fear of spoilers I'll hold my peace for now.

For you specifically--and this is also where I started--for CJ Cherryh, I would suggest the Pride of Chanur. Imagine, if you will: a proud, middle-aged ship captain, still sharp but also Too Old For This Shit, finds her and her crew embroiled in a complex political mess because a human--a strange alien!--tried to stow away on their ship. And the people chasing him are enemies of her species (they call themselves Hani. They are matriarchal lion aliens).

Given how you have your own awesome sapient fantasy lions, I figure you may enjoy some sci fi lion aliens.

Cherryh is an amazing writer and I think her strongest skill is the epic empathy that generates the most immersive and intense point of view characters. Which is a good thing given her most famous works involve aliens. The work is quite dated now in that it's zeerust--you've got VHS tapes in space and such. But that lends it such a charm that of all her work, its the one I return to the most. She's also known for the Faded Sun trilogy. The Foreigner series I think is very dry and she can tend towards dryness but that type of comment of of course, a matter of tastes :3

Xenofiction Fans: Read Hunters Unlucky

Xenofiction fandom is really stagnant--I think that as impressive as some of the like, warrior cats and wings of fire animations I've seen out there are really impressive I really wish there were other titles that came to the attention of so many talented and energetic people! There's so much creative xeno out there, from the older titles that inspired modern ones, to the modern ones geared more towards adults like Abigail Hilton's "Hunters Unlucky" universe.

i especially like the latter because of how fannish they are, in the BEST way possible. It's one of the coolest combinations of technical skill, lush creativity and the fannish self indulgence that make me really really happy. Its a xenofictional epic with fantasy species and dense with complicated feelings, relationships and emotional processes that are IN the text rather than extrapolated from.

I also have found these books in particular challenging because things aren't drawn in terms of heavy black and white, and the conflict of old generation vs younger ones and the million little well meaning steps that it takes to get to a miserable status quo is REALLY fascinating.

I will add that while the title novel and the follow up are friendly for all that these books are significantly more adult in terms of the themes and content discussed usually described in the genre, especially lately. They're also quite a bit more explicitly LGBT, but perhaps not in the way one might think reading that sentence.

This is a bit of a crap review tbh and I'd like to do something a bit more thought out but I have a lot of feelings and really want people to experience something new, challenging and ultimately really inspiring. I've been turning these stories over in my head like rotisserie chickens.