#R.B. LEMBERG

[transbookoftheday]

♾️🌈 Trans Books To Read For Neurodivergent Pride Day 🌈♾️

("The Spirit Bares Its Teeth" isn't out yet, but you can preorder it or request an ARC on NetGalley.)

[valya-dudycz-lupescu]

It’s time to unveil the cover of Embroidered Worlds: Fantastic Fiction from Ukraine and the Diaspora, as well as the list of thirty authors and their stories!

Taras Kopansky is the Ukrainian artist who created the art, "Metahutsulka" for the cover. His piece is inspired by Mykola Senkovsky’s famous 1926 photograph “Old Hutsulka” that won the Grand Prix at the European International Exhibition in Paris.

The translated stories have working titles, since our translators are working on them at the moment, but they will give you an idea of what you have to look forward to:

TATIANA ADAMENKO | Kestrel Travel Agency

VOLODYMYR ARENEV | There, Where the Garden Will Be

VIRA BALATSKA | Following Revenge

KÁROJ D. BALLA | In the Belly of the Dinosaur

ELIZABETH BEAR | Lest We Forget

ANATOLY BELILOVSKY | Iron Feliks

ÉVA BERNICZKY | Dreamers of Uzhhorod

OLHA BRYLOVA | Iron Goddess of Compassion

DAVID DEMCHUK | Three Forest Tales

VASYL DUKHNOVSKYI | A Hole in the Shape of God

OLEKSIY GEDEONOV | The Midst of Snow

MYROSLAVA HORNOSTAYEVA | The Stray Tram

YARYNA KATOROZH | The Bike Spirit

MAX KIDRUK | Closer to the Pole

OLENA KRASNOSELSKA | Scream

R.B. LEMBERG | Geddarien

HALYNA LIPATOVA | The Last of the Beads

VALYA DUDYCZ LUPESCU | Honey

ASKOLD MELNYCZUK | A Brief History of the Little : People

MIKHAILO NAZARENKO | Big-Nose and the Faun

IRYNA PASKO | The Rainbow Bridge

STEFAN O. RAK | The Long Black Veil

N.R.M. ROSHAK | Bitter Thing

IHOR SILIVRA | Family v1.1

OLEH SILIN | To See Jupiter

A.D. SUI | Svet

SVITLANA TARATORINA | Battle of the Gods

OSTAP UKRAINETS | Neptune’s Day

YURIY VYNNYCHUK | An Embroidered World

OLEKSIY ZHUPANSKYI | Havrylovna

You can read the rest of the update here:

Just a few days left to become a backer! The campaign ends on September 30th! Please help us to spread the word!

Дуже дякую! Слава Україні!

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

The Unbalancing by R.B. Lemberg

goodreads

New love blossoms between an impatient starkeeper and a reclusive poet as they try together to save their island home; a gorgeous tale of the inevitable transformations of communities and their worlds. Beneath the waters by the islands of Gelle-Geu, a star sleeps restlessly. The celebrated new starkeeper Ranra Kekeri, who is preoccupied by the increasing tremors, confronts the problems left behind by her predecessor. Meanwhile, the poet Erígra Lilún, who merely wants to be left alone, is repeatedly asked by their ancestor Semberí to take over the starkeeping helm. Semberí insists upon telling Lilún mysterious tales of the deliverance of the stars by the goddess Bird. When Ranra and Lilún meet, sparks begin to fly. An unforeseen configuration of their magical deepnames illuminates the trouble under the tides. For Ranra and Lilún, their story is just beginning; for the people of Gelle-Geu, it may well be too late to save their home.

Mod opinion: I've read it and I really liked this one. The magic system was very cool.

[bookcoversonly]

Title: The Unbalancing | Author: R.B. Lemberg | Publisher: Tachyon Publications (2022)

[andreablythe]

Culture Consumption: June 2023

Culture Consumption: June 2023

Hi, lovelies. Here’s my month in books, movies, television, and games. Books Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin is one of my favorite reads of the year. The story centers on Sam Masur and Sadie Green, two friends who bonded over playing video games as kids before having a falling out, leading to them not speak to each other for years. When they stumble into each other while…

[plantdad-dante]

Book #94 - The Four Profound Weaves by R.B. Lemberg

(oh not again)

I love that they're old. They're in their 60s and they're friends and they're trans and they choose to go and change their lives and I love them so damn much.

Fuck!

Again, a story that I want to be profound about and fail, because profound is exactly what it was. I do apologize, reader. Words fail me to describe the colour of my heart.

Idk, maybe I should just stop reading novellas.

But then, what else to read?

What else to read on the side while the other book I'm reading is too big to fit into my backpack without bending and breaking? What else to read under the table during a boring lecture I would otherwise fall asleep in (incidentally, did you know that the oldest surviving handwriting of Great Britain is a Roman birthday invitation from the 5th century? Now you do.)

What else to read during Pride Month, when the emotional cauldron bubbles high regardless, so you might as well read all the stuff you know will affect you deeply, anyway.

No, truly, what else to read right now but this? What else but hope. What else but defiance, but death, but song.

What else to read during Pride?

(That is a rhetorical question, go read this book, I'm going feral.)

[aroaessidhe]

can’t wait to read this!

[duckprintspress]

Celebrate International Non-Binary People’s Day with Books by Non-Binary Authors!

Today, July 14th, is International Non-Binary People’s Day. Last year, we put together a post featuring our favorite books with non-binary characters. This year, we changed it up by highlighting books we loved written by out non-binary authors! We hope you’ll take a peek at the works we’ve listed here and other stories created by these awesome folks! The contributors to this list are: Shea Sullivan, Nina Waters, Sanne, May Barros, Shadaras, Tris Lawrence, Meera S. and two anonymous contributors.

Iron Widow (Iron Widow series) by Xiran Jay Zhao

Gender Queer: A Memoir by Maia Kobabe

Your Shadow Half Remains by Sunny Moraine

Nimona by N.D. Stevenson

How to Love: A Guide to Feelings and Relationships for Everyone: A Graphic Novel by Alex Norris

Freshwater by Akwaeke Emezi

Chameleon Moon (Chameleon Moon series) by RoAnna Sylver

Gamechanger (The Bounceback series) by L.X. Beckett

The Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang

The Echo Wife by Sarah Gailey

The Four Profound Weaves by R.B. Lemberg

Foxhunt (Foxhunt series) by Rem Wigmore

An Accident of Stars (Manifold Worlds series) by Foz Meadows

A Taste of Gold and Iron (Mahisti Dynasty series) by Alexandra Rowland

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

She Who Became the Sun by Shelley Parker-Chan

Melissa by Alex Gino

Once & Future (Once & Future series) by A.R. Capetta

When We Were Magic by Sarah Gailey

Our Dreams at Dusk: Shimanami Tasogare by Yuhki Kamatani

Providence Girls by Morgan Dante

Soulstar (The Kingston Cycle series) by C.L. Polk

Who are YOUR favorite non-binary authors?

[transbookoftheday]

The Unbalancing by R.B. Lemberg

Beneath the waters by the islands of Gelle-Geu, a star sleeps restlessly. The celebrated new starkeeper Ranra Kekeri, who is preoccupied by the increasing tremors, confronts the problems left behind by her predecessor.

Meanwhile, the poet Erígra Lilún, who merely wants to be left alone, is repeatedly asked by their ancestor Semberí to take over the starkeeping helm. Semberí insists upon telling Lilún mysterious tales of the deliverance of the stars by the goddess Bird.

When Ranra and Lilún meet, sparks begin to fly. An unforeseen configuration of their magical deepnames illuminates the trouble under the tides. For Ranra and Lilún, their story is just beginning; for the people of Gelle-Geu, it may well be too late to save their home.

[battyaboutbooksreviews]

🌈 Queer Books Coming Out in July 2024 🌈

🌈 Good morning, my bookish bats, and happy July! Pride Month may be over, but remember: Read Queer ALL Year. Here are a FEW of the stunning, diverse queer books you can add to your TBR before the year is over. Happy reading!

[ Release dates may have changed. ]

❤️ Earth to Alis - Lex Carlow 🧡 Cursed Boys and Broken Hearts - Adam Sass 💛 The Sky on Fire - Jenn Lyons 💚 The Meaning of Liberty - Sage Donnell 💙 Making It - Laura Kay 💜 The Black Bird of Chernobyl - Ann McMan ❤️ A Map of My Want - Faylita Hicks 🧡 The Devil You Know - Ali Vali 💛 The White Guy Dies First: 13 Scary Stories of Fear and Power - Various 💙 The Second Son - Adrienne Tooley 💜 Cursed Under London - Gabby Hutchinson Crouch 🌈 Forbidden Girl - Kristen Zimmer

❤️ Rise - Freya Finch 🧡 Undercurrent - Patricia Evans 💛 Online Rebellion - Blue Matt Jeff 💚 Wolf Gift - T.J. Nichols 💙 Cash Delgado Is Living the Dream - Tehlor Kay Mejia 💜 Miller: Origin - Starr Z. Davies ❤️ The Shadows Beyond - T.J. Rose 🧡 The Ones Who Come Back Hungry - Amelinda Bérubé 💛 Their Viscountess - Jess Michaels 💙 Fast Holiday - Kerry Lockhart 💜 The Great Cool Ranch Dorito in the Sky - Josh Galarza 🌈 The West Passage - Jared Pechaček

❤️ The Hades Calculus - Maria Ying 🧡 Misrecognition - Madison Newbound 💛 One Last Summer - Kristin Keppler 💚 Waypoint Seven - Xan van Rooyen 💙 Hiding Him - Adam Hattan 💜 Thousand Autumns - Meng Xi Shi, Me.Mimo ❤️ The Adventure Zone, Vol. 6: The Suffering Game - Various 🧡 Rowan & Aldred - Lucie Fleury 💛 Yoke of Stars - R.B. Lemberg 💙 Casting Vows - Ariella Talix 💜 Count Felford's Vessel - S. Rodman

❤️ The Actor and His Secret - Ben Alderson, Laura R. Samotin 🧡 How To Die Famous - Benjamin Dean 💛 So Witches We Became - Jill Baguchinsky 💚 The Amazing Alpha Tau Romeo and Juliet Project - Lisa Henry, Sarah Honey 💙 The Noble’s Merman - S.S. Genesee 💜 The Loudest Silence - Sydney Langford ❤️ Life is Strange - Brittney Morris 🧡 Bury Your Gays - Chuck Tingle 💛 I Will Never Leave You - Kara A. Kennedy 💙 The Blonde Dies First - Joelle Wellington 💜 Under the Lupine Moon - A. Knightley

❤️ Benji Zeb is a Ravenous Werewolf - Deke Moulton 🧡 Charlotte Illes Is Not a Teacher - Katie Siegel 💛 The Ghostkeeper - Johanna Taylor 💚 Trespass Against Us - Leon Kemp 💙 Exes & Foes - Amanda Woody 💜 The Very Long, Very Strange Life of Isaac Dahl - Bart Yates ❤️ Unbound - J.A. Vodvarka 🧡 StreamLine - Lauren Melissa Ellzey 💛 Time and Time Again - Chatham Greenfield 💙 No Road Home - John Fram 💜 Queen B - Juno Dawson 🌈 A Darker Mischief - Derek Milman

❤️ Beautiful & Terrible Things - S.M. Stevens 🧡 Benvolio & Mercutio Turn Back Time - Elle Beaumont, Lou Wilham 💛 About Last Night - Laura Henry 💚 You Had Me at Happy Hour - Timothy Janovsky 💙 Moonbane - Jamie Jennings 💜 Between Fate & Failure - Amber D. Lewis ❤️ Blessed by the Cupid Distribution System - Robin Jo Margaret 🧡 Between Dragons and Their Wrath - Devin Madson 💛 Twisted Magic - Barbara J. Webb 💙 Rare Birds - L.B. Hazelthorn 💜 At the End of the River Styx - Michelle Kulwicki 🌈 Origin Story - Jendi Reiter

❤️ Eras of Us - Shannon O'Connor 🧡 Corpses, Fools and Monsters: The History and Future of Transness in Cinema - Willow Maclay, Caden Gardner 💛 A Wolf in Stone - Jane Fletcher 💚 Toward Eternity - Anton Hur 💙 Portrait of a Shadow - Meriam Metoui 💜 Anyone's Ghost - August Thompson ❤️ Home Ice Advantage - Ari Baran 🧡 Unbelievable You - Chelsea M. Cameron 💛 Incorrect Eyes - Andromeda Ruins

[haveyoureadthistransbook]

The Four Profound Weaves by R.B. Lemberg

goodreads

Wind: To match one's body with one's heart Sand: To take the bearer where they wish Song: In praise of the goddess Bird Bone: To move unheard in the night The Surun' do not speak of the master weaver, Benesret, who creates the cloth of bone for assassins in the Great Burri Desert. But Uiziya now seeks her aunt Benesret in order to learn the final weave, although the price for knowledge may be far too dear to pay. Among the Khana, women travel in caravans to trade, while men remain in the inner quarter as scholars. A nameless man struggles to embody Khana masculinity, after many years of performing the life of a woman, trader, wife, and grandmother. As the past catches up to the nameless man, he must choose between the life he dreamed of and Uiziya, and Uiziya must discover how to challenge a tyrant, and weave from deaths that matter.

Mod opinion: I've read this a while ago, but I remember liking it.

[maryrobinette]

My Favorite Bit: R.B. Lemberg talks about YOKE OF STARS

R.B. Lemberg is joining us today to talk about their novel, Yoke of Stars Here’s the publisher’s description: In the School of Assassins, Stone Orphan waits for a first assignment. After their first kill, they will graduate and attain the coveted cloth of bone. But instead of a commission, Stone Orphan gets an inquisitive linguist, Ulín. Ulín has heard the Orphan Star’s song of despair,…

[scholar-of-yemdresh]

This Post.

I'm finally doing it! A list of Adult (20s+) Nonbinary/Genderqueer/Transneutral and Trans men rep in SFF books(no romantasy). This will only be limited to main or major characters.

I've not read everything on this list, so some information could be inaccurate or missing e.g I might not know that a character is actually a POC or 40s+. I will also advise to check content warnings because some of the books listed here can get pretty gnarly.

Will occasional be updated

Keys: 🏳️‍⚧️=Trans Author,✊🏾= Author of Colour,🌈=POC,🧓🏾=40s+, ♂️= Trans man , ⚧️= Nonbinary,🎨=Comic

Claude from The Chatelaine by Kat Heartfield ♂️

Tarquin Mercator from The Devoured Worlds by Megan E. o'keefe ♂️

Yari from Master of Poisons by Andrea Hairston ⚧️🧓🏾🌈✊🏾

Sol Katz from Dead Collections by Issac Fellman 🏳️‍⚧️♂️🧓🏾

Rosie from Persephone Station by Stina Leicht ⚧️🧓🏾

Rafe from Viscera by Gabrielle Squailia🏳️‍⚧️♂️

John Wyndham from The Affair of the Mysterious Letter by Alexis Hall 🏳️‍⚧️♂️

Casey Ravel from the Ballad of Perilous Graves by Alex Jennings ♂️🌈✊🏾

Ardent Violet from The Starmetal Symphony by Alex White🏳️‍⚧️⚧️

Gyen Jebi from Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee ⚧️🏳️‍⚧️✊🏾🌈

Shock Pao from Shock Pao by Ren Warom ♂️

Firuz-e Jafari from the Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia 🌈✊🏾🏳️‍⚧️⚧️

Iktan from Between Earth and Sky by Rebecca Roanhorse ⚧️🌈✊🏾

Chih from the Singing Hills Cycle by Nghi Vo ⚧️✊🏾🌈

Brennus from Wolf Among the Wild Hunt by Merc Fenn Wolfmoor ⚧️🏳️‍⚧️

Dex from Monk & Robot by Becky Chambers 🌈(?)⚧️

Anima from In The Watchful City by S. Qiouyi Lu ⚧️🌈✊🏾🏳️‍⚧️

Eolo from The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie ♂️

Ridley from No Gods,No Monsters by Cadwell Turnbull 🌈✊🏾♂️

Enae & Qven from Translation State by Ann Leckie⚧️🌈🧓🏾

Penfield R. Henderson, Aiden Chase, Blithe + others from Future Feeling by Joss Lake 🏳️‍⚧️♂️

Ilan from The Faithful Dark by Cate Baumer♂️

Various from The Tensorate by Neon Yang 🏳️‍⚧️✊🏾🌈⚧️♂️

Alex Easton from What Moves the Dead by T.Kingfisher⚧️

Edie from Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto⚧️🏳️‍⚧️🌈✊🏾

Nameless Man from The Four Profound Weaves by R.B. Lemberg🌈🏳️‍⚧️♂️🧓🏾

Arén from A Promise Broken by S.L. Dove Cooper♂️

Erígra Lilún from The Unbalancing by R.B. Lemberg 🏳️‍⚧️⚧️

Claire|Claude from Baker Thief by Claudie Arseneault ⚧️

Dianthus from The Fate of by J.E. Lynn ⚧️

Asa from The Forgotten Lyric by Carolina Cruz⚧️🌈

Sal Hernandez from It Took Luke by Mark Bouchard & Bayleigh Underwood 🎨⚧️🌈🏳️‍⚧️

MCs from Time Will Devour His Children by Otava Heikkila🎨🏳️‍⚧️♂️🧓🏾🌈

Jonah from Dominion of Blades by Matt Dinniman♂️

Tet Sang from The Order of the Pure Moon Reflected in Water by Zen Cho♂️or⚧️🌈✊🏾

Marcus from Lesser Known Monsters by Rory Michaelson♂️🌈

Scorn from Emergent Properties⚧️

Misery Nomaki from The Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang✊🏾🏳️‍⚧️🌈⚧️

Taigan from The Worldbreaker Saga by Kameron Hurley⚧️🌈

Leiander from The Stones Stay Silent by Danny Ride♂️🏳️‍⚧️

The Plauge Doctor from The Salt Grows Heavy by Cassandra Khaw⚧️🏳️‍⚧️✊🏾

Aleph Null from Test by Christopher Sebela & Jen Hickman🎨⚧️

Joel Lodowick from My Heart Is Human by Reese Hogan🏳️‍⚧️♂️

Jules from Finna by Nino Cipri 🌈⚧️🏳️‍⚧️

Dax from Shatter Minds by L.R Lam🌈♂️

Scout from The Last Gifts of the Universe by Riley August⚧️

Avery Ryu from Dead Space by Kali Wallace🌈⚧️

[neixins]

read yoke of stars by r.b. lemberg in one sitting and it was so good i’m gonna chew my arm off !!!!!!!!

[gealach-in-a-misty-world]

Beneath the waters by the islands of Gelle-Geu, a star sleeps restlessly. The celebrated new starkeeper Ranra Kekeri, who is preoccupied by the increasing tremors, confronts the problems left behind by her predecessor. Meanwhile, the poet Erígra Lilún, who merely wants to be left alone, is repeatedly asked by their ancestor Semberí to take over the starkeeping helm. Semberí insists upon telling Lilún mysterious tales of the deliverance of the stars by the goddess Bird. When Ranra and Lilún meet, sparks begin to fly. An unforeseen configuration of their magical deepnames illuminates the trouble under the tides. For Ranra and Lilún, their story is just beginning; for the people of Gelle-Geu, it may well be too late to save their home.

"To heal, you must first become trusted".

R.B. Lemberg's The Unbalancing is a quiet story of salvation, an Atlantis-like story set in a world governed by a Bird goddess, where stars are kept by starkeepers and people do magic with their names. The main characters, a nonbinary demisexual poet and a loud starkeeper with much hurt in her past, come together to save their island from destruction, and they find love with each other.

The poet is a quiet character, unwilling to take on the role that others are sure should be hers; the contrast with the starkeeper, who took what she could to emancipate herself, makes for an interesting dynamic. The starkeeper is an extrovert, taking on many lovers, but behind the exuberant veneer is someone who is deeply hurt. The poet is still questioning, attempting to find their place and the precise iteration of their nonbinary identity, for this is a world where nonbinary people can be of five different types, and they signal it through hair tokens and complex hairstyles. This is a story of acceptance, too, and finding one's worth, and overcoming one's past.

The worldbuilding is immaculate, painting with deft strokes a world that is complex and different and deeply accepting, where consent matters to acts of magic and the stars come from afar. It is a slow unraveling, when the mystery of the stars' origin is revealed, and it is deeply touching. The ending feels just right in its inexorability, with pages of exquisite prose.

The Unbalancing is a quiet treasure of a novel.

✨ 4 stars

.

📚📚📚 IF YOU LOVE THIS, YOU MIGHT LIKE:

* Keeper of the Dawn, by Dianna Gunn

for: community, consent

[You can find more of my reviews about queer speculative fiction on my blog MISTY WORLD]