#also points for poly rep and an all POC cast

[tlcartist]

I’ve had Iron Widow on my TBR list for like a year and a half. It’s been sitting on my bedside table since I bought it ages ago and I finally started reading it yesterday. I’m most likely going to finish it today so to say that I’m enjoying it is an understatement lmao

I feel so dumb for not reading it sooner. Depression really does suck the joy out of everything huh?

[celiabowens]

underrated SFF books (YA and Adult)

So uhm, since I keep seeing the same books on my dash all the time (and I like them too, just...there’s more! to read!) here’s a list of less popular SFF books, divided into YA and Adult. I’ve tried to mention when there is lgbt rep and the trigger warnings. Also, books written by poc will be in bold. Please point out any typo or mistake or if I’ve forgotten specific rep/tw mentions.

All of these are books that I’ve read and enjoyed (by enjoyed I mean anything from 3 stars and above), but if anyone wants to add titles please feel free to do so!!

YA:

The Star-Touched Queen by Roshani Chokshi: beautifully written, fairytale-like story rich in mythology (inspired by several Hindu myths. There’s a full list on goodreads indicated by the author herself). Roshani’s prose is gorgeous.

A Crown of Wishes by Roshani Chokshi: it’s a companion novel to The Star-Touched Queen, but both can be read as a standalone. I liked this one more than its companion and I particularly loved how the romance was written (slow burn, but specifically, the author really highlights the mutual respect between the characters, we love to see it).

The Young Elites by Marie Lu: fantasy trilogy set in a world inspired by Renaissance Italy, in which children who survived a mysterious and deadly illness ended up with strange and dangerous powers. Secret societies and a female villain!

The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu: historical fantasy following Mozart’s sister, Nannerl, a girl as talented as her brother, but afraid of being forgotten because of the lack of opportunities she has to be seen and heard. Nuanced sibling relationship, no romance.  

The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski: fantasy f/f romance! Both a coming of age story set in a society with a rigid class system and a slow burn f/f romance with a lot of banter. TW: abuse.

The Weight of Feathers by Anna-Marie McLemore: magical realism. The book follows two families of traveling performers that have been locked in a feud for over a generation. This was the author’s debut and I remember getting an arc of it and being impressed by both the prose and how the forbidden love trope was handled.

When the Moon was Ours by Anna-Marie McLemore: another magical realism novel. One of the main characters is a trans boy and the book focuses on issues of racism and gender. One of my favorite YA!

Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton: fantasy romance set in a village that periodically sacrifices a young man in order to keep a deal with the devil that ensures their prosperity. Also, polyamorous and non-binary rep.

The Rise of Kyoshi by F.C. Yee: first book in a duology following avatar Kyoshi’s life. It explores the political and cultural aspect of the Earth Kingdom and Kyoshi’s past. Bisexual rep.

Descendant of the Crane by Joan He: sort of a murder mystery fantasy, as the main character finds herself suddenly thrust into power once her father has been murdered. The story has a slow build up to a last part full of twists and machinations and it features lots of court intrigue. Warning: the ending is quite open and afaik there isn’t a sequel planned as of now.

The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd-Jones: a quite unique take on zombies influenced by Welsh mythology (it’s super cool). The novel follows Ryn and their siblings, as they try to get by after their parents’ death by working as gravediggers. Only well, the dead don’t always stay dead. The characters read a bit younger than they are imo. There is chronic pain rep.

The Magnolia Sword by Sherry Thomas: retelling of the original ballad of Mulan. The book follows Mulan, who’s trained her whole life to win a duel for a priceless heirloom, as she joins the army. There’s a lot of political and historical details, which I really appreciated. Do not go into it expecting a fun adventure though. The descriptions of war aren’t extremely graphic, but be aware of the fact that most of the book is set during a conflict.

The Candle and The Flame by Nafiza Azad: standalone fantasy set in a city on the Silk Road! It’s a quite slow-paced tale about love, family and politics. It has lush descriptions of landscapes and cultures (and FOOD, there are some really great descriptions of food). It’s a very atmospheric book and while I struggled a bit with the pace I’d still recommend it.

Forest of a Thousand Lanters by Julie C. Dao: sort of an East Asian inspired retelling of Snow White, but following the Evil Queen before she became Snow White’s stepmother. I honestly haven’t read its sequel (which should focus on Snow White herself), but I do think this can be read and enjoyed as a standalone too.

The Queen’s Thief series by Megan Whalen Turner: it’s hard to point out exactly what this series is about because it has evolved so much with time. It starts out as classic quest/adventure series with The Thief (which may seem a classic and simple book, but is actually full of foreshadowing and has a really clever set up), but develops into a complex and intriguing political fantasy in The Queen of Attolia and The King of Attolia (and then goes back to the quest theme in book 5, Thick as Thieves).

Adult:

A Fist of Permutations in Lightning and Wildflowers by Alyssa Wong: I’m cheating with this one because it’s technically a short story but I love Alyssa Wong’s stories so I’m putting it here anyway. It can be read for free and you should just...read it.

The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang: grimdark fantasy (TW: abuse, self harm, rape, drug abuse), inspired by Chinese history. It’s adult, but follows younger MCs and the unique blend of different historical periods/inspirations makes it extremely interesting. The characters are extremely fucked up in the best possible way, plus the use of shamanism is awesome. Please make sure you check all the TW before reading.

The Sword of Kaigen by M.L. Wang: a Japanese-inspired militaristic fantasy, with elemental magic, a badass housewife dealing with her past and hiding a sword in her kitchen’s floor. It has interesting and nuanced family dynamics and a great reflection on propaganda and the use of narratives.

Empire of Sand by Tasha Suri: first book in an epic fantasy duology inspired by Mughal India (TW: abuse, slavery). I really liked both Empire of Sand and its companion and I find them pretty underrated. Both books have great slow burn romance (with a focus on mutual trust and respect) and focus on culture, religion, self acceptance and politics.

Gods of Jade and Shadow by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: a fantasy bildungsroman set in Mexico during the Jazz age. It’s a great approach to adult SFF as it follows a young girl on a life changing adventure. It features Mayan mythology and a god slowly becoming human (this trope is everything!).

The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden: a coming of age story inspired by Russian folklore. The trilogy as a whole has one of the best arcs I’ve ever seen: each book is perfectly self-contained and has its own arc, but also fits perfectly in the bigger picture of the trilogy. The atmosphere is amazing, the cast of characters is extremely well developed. Also frost demons are better than men.

The Binding by Bridget Collins: historical fantasy, but with very minimal fantasy elements. It’s set in a world vaguely reminiscent of 19th century England. I’d say this book is about humans and self discovery. It’s about cowardice and the lies we tell ourselves and those we wish we could tell ourselves. Gay rep. (TW: abuse, sexual assault, pretty graphic suicide scene).

The Divine Cities trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett: starting with City of Stairs, it follows a female diplomat and spymaster(!!). The whole trilogy features an interesting discussion about godhood, religion, fanatism, politics, without ever being boring or preachy. It has complex and rich world building and a pretty compelling mystery.

Foundryside by Robert Jackson Bennett: heist fantasy following a thief as she’s hired to steal a powerful artifact that may change magical technology as she knows it. Set in a Venice-like merchant city. Also, slow burn f/f romance.

Jade City by Fonda Lee: sort of a gangster urban fantasy, heavily inspired by wuxia and set in an Asian-inspired metropolis. It follows a pretty big cast of characters, each with their own journey and development. It features nuanced family dynamics and a lot of political and economical subplots. Not extremely prominent, but book 2 features m/m side rep.

Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse: inspired by Native American culture and specifically by the idea of subsequent worlds. It has a kickass MC and a good mix of original elements and typical UF tropes. TW: the book isn’t extremely violent but there is death and some gore.

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine: space opera inspired by the Mexica and middle period Byzantium. It focuses on topics like colonialism and the power of narratives and language. It has one of the best descriptions of what it’s like to live in between spaces I’ve ever read. Also very interesting political intrigue and has a slow burn f/f romance (and a poly relationship recalled through flashbacks). I ranted a lot about it already.

Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee: a Korean-inspired space opera with a magic system based on math. It’s honestly quite convoluted and difficult to follow, but it also features some of the best political intrigue I’ve ever read. Plenty of lying, backstabbing and mind games. It also features lesbian and bisexual rep and an aroace side character (TW: mass shooting, sexual assault, abuse). I also really recommend Yoon Ha Lee’s short-story collection Conservation of Shadows.

The long way to a small angry planet by Becky Chambers: character driven space opera featuring a found family journeying through space. A fun read, that also deals with topics such as sexuality and race. Quite easy to go through, as the world building and plot aren’t particularly complex themselves. f/f romance.  

The Empress of Salt and Fortune by Nghi Vo: an Asian-inspired fantasy novella that gives a voice to people usually silenced by history. It follows a cleric (non binary rep) as they chronicle the story of the late empress, retold through objects that she used in her life. It focuses on bonds between women and the power that lies in being unnoticed. f/f side rep.

The Black God’s Drums by P. Djèlí Clark: an urban fantasy novella, based on Orisha mythology and set in an alternate, sort of steampunk, New Orleans. I really like how creative Clark’s worlds are and how good he is at writing female characters (which rarely happens with male authors).

The haunting of tram car 015 by P. Djèlí Clark: novella set in an alternate steampunk Cairo populated by supernatural entities. It’s set in the same world of a Dead Djinn in Cairo, which is a short story you can read for free.

This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone: epistolary novella set during a time-travel war. It has gorgeous writing and an amazing f/f romance. As a novella, it’s quite short but it’s beautifully crafted and so complex for such a short book!

The Citadel of Weeping Pearls by Aliette de Bodard: a novella set in the Xuya universe (a series of novellas/short stories set in a timeline where Asia became dominant, and where the space age has empires of Vietnamese and Chinese inspiration), but can be read as a standalone. It’s a space opera featuring a disappeared citadel and the complex relationship between the empress and her daughter as war threatens her empire.

One for My Enemy by Olivie Blake: self-published urban fantasy following two rival families in New York. Sort of a Romeo and Juliette retelling but with gangster families and magic. Honestly recommend all of her books, I love how Olivie writes and especially how she writes female characters.

[bunnieplott]

Voltron and LGBT+ rep.

So I am one of those people who jumped for joy when the news came out (lol) that SHIRO was our LGBT+ rep. This made me happy on so many levels!! As well as kinda worried for how the show’s going to continue in varying levels of awesome. All below the cut cause... this got long.

Things that made me HAPPY!!

1) That they actually followed through a gave us a rep at all! And not a side character!

2) That it’s SHIRO! Shiro. The poc, ptsd, superman-ly, everyone looks up to him Leader of Voltron who could be said is the driving force behind the vast majority of the plot. SO Many things happen in this show because of him. The only other person who could pull as much “main character”ness is probably PRINCESS Allura.

3) That and, according to the few clips I’ve seen from s7e1, they actually manage to bring his sexuality up in a really organic way. Again going off clips here, but it really looks like they manage to go for a show not tell approach. Everyone is talking about going back to earth. This leads Shiro to think about things that happened before he left, which brings us to Adam. Then through their conversation we see that Adam and Shiro are together.... and breaking up... but! They had a romantic relationship nonetheless.

This took 7 seasons to come up and honestly it times out perfectly. This is the first time since the beginning that the Paladins have really talked about earth. Likely story is that they’ve been trying really hard to avoid even thinking about their home, knowing that they might not ever get back.

Now they’re headed back, and are all probably thinking about their families. We just SEE Shiro doing it.

4) .......This honestly surprised me. I totally thought our LGBT+ rep was going to be Keith. Though I did have the head canon that they were going to get back to earth, Keith was going to see a male former classmate and go “Quiznack that’s my ex! Hide ME!!” and be all awkward. ...... So I was kinda right? In a way?

So yes very happy! But kinda worried about how it’s going to play out going forward....

Awesomeness levels of LGBT+ness of possible future events as predicted by Bunnie! (DISCLAIMER!; I order ships in levels of probability according to MY own thoughts. Please don’t take offense)

Great) Shiro is obviously still gay, still has interactions with his former boyfriend Adam. (This is all pretty much a given considering spoilers given by the cast/reviewers) However, they either don’t get back together or worse one of them dies.... anyway they don’t actually continue their relationship on screen. This is kinda the level most progressive shows are at right now. They either have LGBT+ character who’s out and proud in some way but not in a relationship, or they get two characters of the same gender together.... at the very end of the show and we don’t actually see the gay. So great! but not yet awesome.

Awesome) Adashi/Shadam do get back together, we have excellent, real on screen interactions of the romantic kind. Definitely a kiss, maybe a wedding..... This does rank kinda low, though, ‘cause it would mean that though a main character is LGBT+, they got him with a guy who was kinda.... invented to be the gay lover? I mean I’m sure that Adam will wind up playing a larger roll than that but... this is how he’s introduced.

REALLY AWESOME) They don’t get Adam and Shiro back together.... HERE ME OUT! They don’t get back together BUT, Shiro does get into a relationship with one of the other male main characters. Probability levels go Keith>Lance>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Hunk (really don’t see much of possiblity of that last one sorry Shunk shippers). Not including Coran cause..... that pings my ick senses a little. (again sorry to anyone who does ship them)

Keith and Shiro are one kiss away from going from “family of choice,” to “family cause we’re married.” (Really strange how those two things are REALLY different feelings but look so similar from the outside....) Lance was really broken up at the end of season 6 about almost losing Shiro, referred to him as his hero on more than one occasion and is in that picture with Shiro’s arm around him as they hold up the LGBT+ sign. ....... Can’t really think of anything for Hunk.

This would mean that not one but TWO of our beloved main cast are in fact LGBT+. Bonus point’s if it’s Lance cause he would most definitely be Bi where Shiro has been revealed (I think) to be Gay. That’s two characters and two letters of the alphabet soup of pride.

MEGA AWESOME!!!!!!!) They do get the Shadam going again it’s as beautiful as we hoped AND two of the other main characters are ALSO in a LGBT+ relationship!! So this would mean 3!! main characters are LGBT+. 

Now possibilities for this would likely include Lance as he’s the character who has been talked about the most for having a romantic endgame. Soooo.... Klance>Hance>Plance with Pidge being Trans and/or Ace. Non Lance ships.... kinda swim around on similar levels of probability for me. Romelle or Krolia in any LGBT+ ship would kinda be a step down in awesome simply because of when they were introduced, they’d fall close in line with Adam for the “introduced nearly entirely for this purpose”ness....

MIND BLOWN IN A RAINBOW EXPLOSION OF SHEER AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!) Everyone is LGBT+!!!!! Personal preferences of most awesome include. Gay!Shiro+Gay!Adam, Gay!Keith+Bi!Lance, Bi!Allura+Lesbian!Romelle, Pan!Hunk+NonBinary!AlienYetToBeInroduced,  Ace!Pidge+technology and finally past Coran+Alfor+Allura’sMom as a wonderful poly!ship.

......Unfortunately the likely hood of being cannon is inversely proportionate to awesomeness level.... This is a cartoon made to be child friendly. A scifi space adventure which is traditionally content aimed at a masculine audience.  From a LGBT+ standpoint it’s already great, and can very easily be awesome. Don’t give up hope on it being even more though. And Hey, even if it doesn’t reach peak awesome levels...... that’s what fanfiction is for. =P

[moiraineswife]

What is black sails?

OH FRIEND :D I AM SO PLEASED YOU ASKED. 

The Serious Answer to this question is: Black Sails is a Starz show which ended earlier this year. There are four seasons out, all of which are available on Amazon Prime I believe. 

The premise outlined Black Sails as a prequel to Treasure Island, with a blend of historical pirates thrown in for good measure (eg Anne Bonny, Charles Vane, Jack Rackham etc, etc, etc) it’s about pirates, okay, you can’t go wrong with pirates. 

But it’s a more serious/historically accurate take on the golden age of piracy than the various other things that have been released over the years. And it is CRIMINALLY underrated (genuinely). 

The acting is SUPERB (why doesn’t Toby Stephens have 19 awards rn!? Why don’t they all).

 The writing and storytelling are nuanced, intelligent, exciting, and compelling. All of the characters have incredible arcs over the four seasons. From the pilot to the finale, they’re all pretty unrecognisable, but you can track their growth throughout the seasons so easily. It feels natural, and it’s incredibly well-done as a result of the writing/actor involvement in their characters. 

The cinematography/scenery is utterly GORGEOUS (and this is coming from someone who knows....absolutely NOTHING about this world, but knows enough to appreciate a masterpiece when they see one). 

You’re literally tripping over representation in every episode. There are ladies in positions of power. Queer ladies in positions of power. WOC in positions of power. Queer WOC in positions of power. Gay characters, bi characters, whose relationships are, legitimately, the focus and driving force of the entire narrative. Healthy, nuanced, complex and canon poly relationships. A complex, empathetic story that deals with homophobia in the period in a poignant, respectful, meaningful way. A plotline that deals with slavery in the period with, again, empathy and respect (I’m white, so someone please correct me if I’m wrong here, but I haven’t seen any criticism of the representation of poc characters in the show to my knowledge). Representation for disabled characters, including physical disabilities, as well as exploring depression, anxiety, ptsd, and grief in a raw, realistic way, that doesn’t gloss over the difficult aspects of each of these things. 

THE MUSIC. Must give mention to the music, must mention Bear McCreary, and his goddamn fucking beautiful score that tips already emotionally charged, compellingly written, wonderfully acted scenes over the edge of reason and leaves all viewers sobbing heaps on the ground (in a good way, promise, totally good way) 

This show genuinely gets better and better and better and better with every single episode. The first season is NOT the best piece of television in history, but it does kind of what it needs to establish itself. It’s got some sticky moments that I wish weren’t there, though it just about gets away with most of them, and it’s BEYOND worth it for the following three seasons, because I think it’s possible to see the potential in that scene.  

And it doesn’t escalate the same way Game of Thrones does (the fact that this show isn’t as popular/more so than the travesty that GoT has become is honestly....There is no justice in this world. None.) It doesn’t just, welp, let’s throw in some more explosions and cheap shock value shots! It gets deeper. It gets richer. The world is expanded, the characters are fleshed out. It actually relies LESS on the showy violence and digs more deeply into the characters, their relationships, the politics and morality and of this world and these situations. 

Speaking of morality, all of the characters are deeply complex, and genuinely grey characters. (I feel like this is something that gets thrown around a lot, but often doesn’t have the proper substance or emotional weight required to make it work. It works on this show. It works incredibly well.) Because grey characters means that they’ve all done bad shit, they’ve all done good shit, they’ve all pushed themselves to the limits, and beyond, of what they’re capable of for the things that they believe are right. It’s possible for all of the characters to see themselves as heroes, while being seen by others as villains. But the truly remarkable thing, I think, is that it’s possible for an AUDIENCE to see this too. Both sides of each of these characters is explored, and the nuance, and the complexity, and the balance that’s struck between that thin line of hero and villain, and good and evil, and how it has you walk along it the entire season, condemning a characters’ actions, but empathising far too strongly with their ideals, and with them for you to ever hate them or simply paint them as a monster (the nuanced discussion of this in-world is fascinating, and could legitimately be the subject for dissertations tbh) 

The cast are all....Genuinely wonderful human beings tbh. And however much u love this show...u will never love it as much as they do. Never. It’s beautiful.  

Thomas Hamilton requires a bullet point all of his own as a Reason To Watch This Show. 

So does Max. 

So does Anne. 

So does Eleanor. 

So does Miranda. 

So does Madi. 

:) PLS WATCH THIS SHOW THE LADIES. P L E A S E.  

Funnily enough, the Lauren Answer to this question is exactly the same as the TL;DR: 

PLEASE FUCKING WATCH THIS SHOW. 

THERE ARE ONLY FOUR SEASONS. EACH SEASON HAS, AT MOST, 10 EPISODES IN IT. IT IS COMPLETE. IT HAS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL ENDING IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNIVERSE THAT MADE ME CRY LEGITIMATE, FULL-FLOWING HAPPY TEARS BECAUSE OF ITS PERFECTION. THE ENDING WILL NOT DISAPPOINT YOU, OKAY. NONE OF IT WILL DISAPPOINT YOU. THERE IS REP. THERE IS ALL THE REP, OKAY. THERE IS GOOD WRITING. THERE IS GOOD STORYTELLING. THERE IS GOOD CINEMATOGRAPHY. THERE IS GOOD MUSIC. THERE IS GOOD CHARACTERS. THERE IS GOOD CHARACTER ARCS. THERE IS ALL THE COMPLEX, NUANCED EXPLORATION OF MORALITY THIS SITE IS ALWAYS BEGGING FOR. THERE IS GOOD EVERYTHING OKAY JUST FUCKING WATCH IT. I AM A STEP AWAY FROM CRAWLING TO YOUR HOUSES ON MY KNEES AND BANGING ON THE DOOR AND BEGGING YOU. WATCH. THE. THING. and then come thank me for introducing it to you :) 

Content/Trigger warnings: This show IS good, but I’m also aware it’s pretty visceral in some places, so know your triggers: heavy/graphic rape trigger warning for several episodes of the first season. There’s graphic violence/blood/gore trigger warnings for every season. Sex and nudity is fairly prevalent in all four seasons, too, most heavily in the first, but it gets less and less as the seasons go on, though it never fully disappears. So please be aware of those things before you give it a try. And do try and persevere if you get a little stuck with the first season/if you’re on the fence at all KEEP GOING. I PROMISE IT’S WORTH IT. 

Also if other folk have reasons for watching this show/can explain more eloquently than my incoherent yelling: pls feel free to add on to this.