#ancillary series

[bronte-deserves-better]

an underrated part of my ancillary/common denominator series is that in common denominator it is in fact canon that tiergan was the first person sophie came out to. Which is incredibly sweet and shows a lot of trust on her part, but also intensely funny because it means that sophie, who didn't know anything about queerness in the lost cities and had never met an openly gay elf, absolutely clocked tiergan as the most likely to be queer of the trusted adults in her life and was absolutely correct.

[queereads-bracket]

SEMIFINALS: Queer Adult SFF Books Bracket

Book summaries and submitted endorsements below:

The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin

A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants spend most of their time without a gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters.

Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction.

Science fiction, classics, speculative fiction, anthropological science fiction, distant future, adult

Imperial Radch series (Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword, Ancillary Mercy, Provenance, Translation State, and other stories) by Ann Leckie

Endorsement from submitter: "Breq/Justice of Toren is a ship AI and doesn't have a gender. The Radchaai language only has one pronoun for people, so (almost) everyone in the empire is she/her, to the point that they're infamous for failing to correctly guess which pronoun to use with outsiders."

On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.

Once, she was the Justice of Toren - a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy.

Now, an act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with one fragile human body, unanswered questions, and a burning desire for vengeance.

Science fiction, space opera, far future, series, adult

[laurelnose]

I am currently being oppressed by the Libby holds queue for Translation State >:( have this Breq speedpaint from back when I finished Ancillary Sword

[a-side-character]

Imperial Radch as Things in my Phone pt. 6

Pt. 1, Pt. 2, Pt. 3, Pt. 4, Pt. 5, Pt. 7, Pt. 8

Lt. Tisarwat:

Sphene (the grandma):

Seivarden:

Breq's pep talk to Ekalu (you know the one):

Raughd and Fosyf Denche:

Annander Mianaai:

Breq:

Seivarden:

Sword of Atagaris:

✨️Bonus from Translation State✨️

Qven:

[gideonisms]

MY hot post-tlt book recs take is that recommending murderbot after tlt is doing murderbot a disservice. Almost completely dissimilar to tlt and imo even the sense of humor is much different. I guess they are both sci fi?

[iguessyouregonnamissthepantyraid]

character with authority over a bunch of people, after ordering those people to prioritize their own safety and not under any circumstances try to save their leader: well this is it... it's a shame i'm gonna die here... good thing i gave my crew explicit orders to save themselves though, so at least they'll be safe 😔🙏

me, giggling and kicking my feet: AHAHAHA YOU FOOL. YOU CLOWN. GET LOVED, IDIOT. GET ABSOLUTELY FUCKING CHERISHED

[reddy-reads]

Once again looking at this cover design and wondering what hack approved the Space Maxi Pad cover.

[beansoup3000]

The relationship between Breq, Seivarden, and Mercy of Kalr is so weird and beautiful and fucked up!!!

Breq, thinking that she's been presumptuous with Mercy of Kalr and potentially overstepped:

Ship responding:

Seivarden, talking to Basnaaid after she fails to kill Anaander Mianaai:

It's the way that Breq came to terms with her capacity for love when she loved Lieutenant Awn twenty years ago, but never even considered that anyone else could love her. You're not used to being loved!!! And the fact that it's Mercy of Kalr who tells her that, who probably feels the same way. Who learned what it was like to be loved bc Breq loved her. The way that Seivarden and Breq both feel undeserving of love for different reasons. The way Breq has never let Seivarden down!! The way Breq dragged Seivarden around a cold and snowy planet for months, at great cost, even though Seivarden was one of her least favorite lieutenants. The way Breq and Kalr found a kind of intimacy that restored a fraction of what each of them lost. The way Kalr sometimes speaks through Seivarden to Breq. The way these three are like the most intense queer platonic polycule you've ever seen. Bro I cannot handle it these characters are so delicious to think about

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

Books of 2023: IMPERIAL RADCH by Ann Leckie.

Up next! This came highly recommended by many friends (and also the internet at large when I asked for SFF revenge recs, so thanks!), and I have Tracked Down The Original Covers, so I'm ready to go.

[baejax-the-great]

Top five books this year? :3

I'm going to group series/authors together or else the list would be like 4 books by the same person.

Ancillary Justice series by Ann Leckie + Translation Slate. These books were really such a fun and satisfying read. I've read a few series recently that didn't/couldn't stick the landing, but I thought this one wrapped up really nicely.

First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers by Loung Ung. I'd been meaning to read this memoir for over ten years now (since I visited Cambodia), and I finally bought it for myself. The author was a young child when the events of this book happened, so it's a fairly easy read with the kind of descriptions you would expect from a child. It is a heart-wrenching story, and I spent a weekend just reading and crying.

Fitz and the Fool trilogy by Robin Hobb. I think everyone on tumblr has seen my reaction to these books 😭😭💕💕. This trilogy fucked me UP oh my god. Hobb is a freak, I'll never get over it, everyone should read these books, especially if you want to watch one character suffer constantly always for ever and ever and to think "I have no idea what the FUCK these two characters have going on but I'm obsessed with it."

Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik. This was my first finished book of the year! It's not perfect, but I really enjoyed the fairytale of it all and the mix of characters introduced. Publishing has such a hardon for series these days, and I appreciate a self-contained stand alone story.

Delusions of Gender: How Our Minds, Society, and Neurosexism Create Difference by Cordelia Fine. Another book I've been meaning to read for ten years and finally got around to. For a science book, it's very accessible to laypeople, and it addressed a lot of things that irritated me with my own education in neuroscience (imaging studies are stupid, and that one study where they gave monkeys various toys and the female monkeys liked playing with pots and pans showing that kitchen supplies are inherently and naturally feminine...???? Monkeys don't cook.... they don't know what they were for... what the fuck WAS that study and how did a professor tell it to me with a straight face...). It is over ten years old now so somewhat outdated, and I saw criticisms that there are some very similar studies done with regards to race that she doesn't cover, but I kind of think there is value in a researcher staying in one lane. I don't know, I flip flop back and forth on this, but the take downs of the shoddy studies remains valid and it was a satisfying read.

[hyperfocusedcloneshipper]

Are there any iterationship/selfcest pairings from other media you like or are interested in?

Ooooo this is such a fun question!

My favorite one is actually from a book series! The Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie creates an immersive universe set extremely far in a future in which AIs are fully cognizant, self aware and experience deep meaningful emotion. Some of these AIs have multiple human bodies that they control, meaning the AI can control and experience several (sometimes thousands) of individual perspectives at once.

There is a particular description of how comforting it is to sleep surrounded by yourself that I always find so tender. The idea of being embraced by yourself and feeling that mutual safety and comfort, knowing you are all experiencing it at the same time and sort of feeding those emotions back to one another strikes me as beautiful.

I won't spoil too much but much like in WOE.BEGONE there is significant exploration of identity and what makes an individual, as well as the ways in which identity can fracture and become something new.

I highly recommend listening to the audio books because the series is narrated by Adjoa Andoh and she does a phenomenal job.

[eskvar]

Not to brag but…. My friend nabbed these for me before they could get put on the shelves.

So good, im a sucker for color pop and geometric symbolism

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Adult SFF Books Bracket: Round 2

Book summaries and submitted endorsements below:

Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire (Wayward Children series)

Eleanor West’s Home for Wayward Children No Solicitations No Visitors No Guests

Children have always disappeared under the right conditions; slipping through the shadows under a bed or at the back of a wardrobe, tumbling down rabbit holes and into old wells, and emerging somewhere... else.

But magical lands have little need for used-up miracle children.

Nancy tumbled once, but now she’s back. The things she’s experienced... they change a person. The children under Miss West’s care understand all too well. And each of them is seeking a way back to their own fantasy world.

But Nancy’s arrival marks a change at the Home. There’s a darkness just around each corner, and when tragedy strikes, it’s up to Nancy and her new-found schoolmates to get to the heart of the matter.

No matter the cost.

Fantasy, portal fantasy, mystery, magical realism, boarding school, novella, series, adult

Imperial Radch series (Ancillary Justice, Ancillary Sword, Ancillary Mercy, Provenance, Translation State, and other stories) by Ann Leckie

Endorsement from submitter: "Breq/Justice of Toren is a ship AI and doesn't have a gender. The Radchaai language only has one pronoun for people, so (almost) everyone in the empire is she/her, to the point that they're infamous for failing to correctly guess which pronoun to use with outsiders."

On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.

Once, she was the Justice of Toren - a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy.

Now, an act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with one fragile human body, unanswered questions, and a burning desire for vengeance.

Science fiction, space opera, far future, series, adult

[meggannn]

in justice, breq says seivarden never abused any of justice of toren’s ancillaries. in sword, breq knows seivarden has had sex with ancillaries before, despite knowing little of her post-justice service, and brings it up unprompted. she explains ancillaries do have a range of bodily needs, some of which are sexual, and each body is different and will take care of needs on their own or with others. though seivarden was a jerk, treated ancillaries like tools at the time, and didn’t consider their needs a priority, breq doesn’t consider anything seivarden did to her ancillaries abusive or cruel, so seivarden apparently received consent from those ancillaries she did sleep with.

so this. i believe means breq and seivarden have already had consensual sex with presumably justice of toren kneeling to its lieutenant two thousand years ago. now over breakfast in sword, and then again in mercy’s first scene, seivarden offering to kneel to breq means she wants to flip the script and fill the position breq once filled for her, in more ways than one. hmm

[a-side-character]

I just finished my Imperial Radch reread, and I was thinking about Breq arriving at Athoek Station immediately setting up in the Undergarden, when it hit me.

Aside from the political advantages of having good relationships with the Undergarden residents and Station, plus her genuine desire to make life better for the people there, Breq did it because that's what Lieutenant Awn would have done.

Breq handled the situation on Athoek very much like Awn handled Ors, by "ignoring what anyone else would have seen as the natural local hierarchy" (Skaaiats words, bit still) and making alliances with the people who have the least amount of power, while maintaining a working but impersonal relationship with the others (think Breq with the likes of Hetnys or Lusulun, and Awn with Jen Shinnan).

I don't know, this may have been obvious to everyone else but it just hit me and I swear I almost started crying right then and there. She loved her so much it hurts

[ehyde]

More I learn about the history of Thomas the Tank Engine the more I do, in fact, want to gatekeep All Engines Go. The original author would've hated it at any rate.