#fantasy and scifi book recommendations

[midstpodcast]

In the Un, the Trust can make or break you…. ⚫ ⚫ ⚫

Delve into further comic tales from the MIDST Cosmos with MIDST: The Valorous Farmer from our friends at Dark Horse Comics - out TODAY! 🧡

FIND A COPY ⬇️ https://www.darkhorse.com/Comics/3013-739/Midst-The-Valorous-Farmer

[indyviree]

GUYS I FINISHED ARTEMIS FOWL TwT

I DONT KNOW WHAT TO READ NOWWW- I LOVE ARTY TOO MUCH

[dxmxuse]

Someone please give me good book recs to get my mind off of irl politics rn I’m absolutely devastated

[jessread-s]

Thanks to @chloegong and @sagapress for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review

Art torn with the permission of @artbysmashley

✩⛓️🕊️Review:

Seeking out the next fantasy book that will destroy you? Look no further! 

Picking up where “Immortal Longings” leaves off, “Vilest Things” follows Calla Tuoleimi as she serves as royal advisor to August Shenzhi, who has risen to the throne. Only Calla knows Anton took over August’s body to survive her betrayal. The two must set aside their conflicts when Otta Avia awakens and her secrets threaten the very fabric of the monarchy.  

This book outdoes its predecessor with more power (but in the wrong hands), more repercussions, more politics, more tension, and even more  betrayals. Gong truly has a knack for making her readers suffer and I’m not sure what this says about me, but I endured every cliffhanger, volatile exchange between Calla and Anton, and unanswered question happily. 

“Vilest Things” is told from multiple points-of-view and I was captivated by every single one. Gong makes each perspective necessary in advancing the plot forward and unraveling what larger is at stake. As a result, I was equally frustrated and excited to follow a different character at the start of each chapter and discover a new piece to the puzzle. 

I am obsessed with the world Gong creates in “Immortal Longings”, so I really enjoyed how she expands upon it in this book. Gong completely engrossed me in Calla and Anton’s journey beyond the walls surrounding San-Er and into the outer reaches of Talin. Each province they cross into is accompanied by descriptions of the region and its customs to make one distinctive from another. The secret that draws them out there in the first place adds an element of mystery relating to the kingdom and its history that kept me on the edge of my seat!

 Calla and Anton’s begrudging alliance on their travels had me in a chokehold! The events at the end of book one obliterate all trust established between the two of them, bringing their relationship right back to square one, and their toxicity festers because of that. Both still have residual feelings, but allow their stubbornness to keep them apart. Otta also serves as a source of tension for Calla and Anton’s relationship and nothing was more agonizing than watching Otta manipulate their perceptions of each other. The angst and mutual pining, however, makes it all worthwhile.

Fair warning: “Vilest Things” ends with the most brutal cliffhanger. I thought the end of “Immortal Longings” was soul-destroying…but this is a whole other level. I could do nothing but watch it play out and I fear I might be scarred for life. Chloe if you’re reading this, I’ll forgive you in exchange for book 3. 

Cross-posted to: Instagram | Amazon | Goodreads | StoryGraph

[b0rtney]

you want homosexuals in every conceivable scenario?

Boy oh boy do i have the substack for u: mine!

NO PLEASE LEMME TELL U THE STORIES BEFORE U LEAVE--

Current is Cinnamon Muffins. TLDR: Six queer boys in a homophobic tiny town in Iowa are trying to survive winter break dodging awful parents, social stigma, and mental health crises.

Next up is How to Get Away with Marriage. TLDR: Guy with awful, religious parents marries guy who is living paycheck to paycheck so they can both get all their younger sisters out of their shitty situations (but they fall in love ofc).

Longer desc of these plus the stories coming in the next months are below the cut! (Genres include fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian, mystery/thriller, coming-of-age)

Cinnamon Muffins centers on Taylor Macready, a homeless senior in high school holed up in a sleeping bag under a bridge after his parents kicked him out. He's fully ready to just accept death when it starts snowing on him while he's stargazing, but social outcast Wes Post is taking his nightly walk in a new direction and stumbles (literally) on his longtime crush, Taylor. Dragging Taylor home, Wes's parents prove themselves the only reasonable parents in this book by setting Taylor up on their pullout couch and nursing him back to health. Then Wes, whose closest school relationships include the kids who bully him for his anxiety-related speech impediment, has to get in touch with Taylor's friends to let them know the situation. Meanwhile, the mean girls of Swisher High School are starting a campaign to get homosexuality banned at school. Administratively, it gets nowhere, but it inspires several small-minded shitwads to take matters into their own hands. While Taylor is used to getting into fights, Wes isn't, but he'll have to sink or swim, because the teachers are not paid enough to care what happens in the hallways during lunchtime.

How to Get Away with Marriage opens with Luke Providence, son of a devoutly Baptist family in Nebraska, proposing to Patrick Demden, son of a recently-deceased alcoholic mechanic. The wealthy Providence parents have a longstanding agreement that once their children get married, they will receive a trust of $100,000 to use on the down-payment of a house and to start a life with their spouse. Patrick's younger sister tutors Luke's younger sister, but Patrick's sister is 16. This age gap doesn't matter much to the Providence parents, but it matters a lot to Luke, so he strikes a deal with Patrick: tell the parents he'll marry the sister, legally marry the brother, everyone gets to move to Colorado and escape abusive religious parents and crushing poverty. He needn't have done something so elaborate, Patrick would have married him for any reason at all. But the secret doesn't stay secret forever, and the Providence parents eventually come knocking, trying to recollect their children and their money.

Future stories I'll keep shorter, but feel free to ask about them either in the replies or my askbox and I'll elaborate!

Assassin x Demon King will be getting books 2 and 3! ADK is about an assassin and the king he was supposed to kill, both of whom have quit their jobs and started trying to save as many people as the assassin killed before he dies of a slow-acting poison in twelve months. Books 2 and 3 will have things getting awfully tragic and somewhat more horny than before! (No smut will make it into the print versions of these, that will remain on my substack alone)

How to Find Your Friends After the End of the World is a fantasy inspired by the isekai anime genre. Five friends in their 20s are on earth as it is wracked by a violent battle between the Heroine of the Gods and her Nemesis, and then, suddenly, they aren't. Earth has been destroyed and they are now on a new planet, in new (non-human) bodies, strewn across continents! On their new wrists, they have tattoos with each others' names, plus one (or two) new ones: their soulmates. Court politics and wastelands of monsters await them as they try desperately to reach each other, and their soulmates try desperately to reach them.

HtFYF will also have a prequel, focusing on the events that led to earth's destruction, and the battle between the Heroine of the Gods, a young woman, and her Nemesis, who seems to know more about the gods than she says. Why do the gods keep choosing such young heroes? What has the Nemesis done to put the world in such peril? Will the Heroine get to graduate on time despite the sleep she's been missing!?

The following do not yet have titles, but are fully fleshed out works ready to be thrown onto Substack:

A trilogy of eleven teens assisting in the fight against an agency that traffics, tortures, and then sells children with preternatural powers and abilities, and an exploration of the trauma those kids emerge with.

A murder mystery where a woman's sister dies, the police rule it suicide, and the woman enlists the help of a rumored contract killer to help her solve the murder-- but why does this rumored murderer-for-hire seem to know so much about her sister's death? And who was truly responsible?

A campy novel about a woman who graduates college, goes back to her hometown, and finds her highschool crush is still there, still single, and has since come out as gay. Of course, the only solution is to co-adopt an at-risk child from a neighbor.

This post will remain pinned on my profile, but for the next few days I'm having a sale on my substack tiers-- 20% off! That makes the cost to you just $8 per month to get a chapter every other day. 15 chapters for $8; that's a steal!

[noahhawthorneauthor]

I am finalizing Matsdotter and Adrastus this week! Which means I'll be pretty quiet, so to make up for it I present: 60 books which are organized by ✨vibes.✨

You've got tragic and messed up gays. (Red Rising isn't gay, but you can only hate him so much before it gets a little gay)

You've got the paranormal and/or mystery gay disasters.

You've got the I'm figuring things out queers.

You've got the what the f*ck did I just read horror babes. (Who are, you guessed it, queer)

You've got kids versus gender and/or neurodivergencies.

You've got queer witches finding themselves, and love.

You've got gorgeous worlds cheering on even more beautiful romances.

You've got people who will do anything for those they love, no matter the distance.

You've got epic stories with stabby characters, and a lot of sailing.

You've got the mutants, the weirdos who know they have to break things to truly fix them.

[bones-clouds]

favourite books of 2022:

“iron widow”

xiran jay zhao

[stargatelov3r]

*if you chose this you *HAVE* to tell me another book i should read now

[weaselle]

i'm not the kind of person who pays much attention to the personal lives of the artists i like

C. J. Cherryh has a large selection of sci-fi/fantasy to read from (she's been publishing books forever and she just had one come out this month (book number 22 in a series, out of 80 published books) and even though i've loved her work and been reading her books for years and years, i didn't know that much about her

but i just looked her up a little bit ago, and it turns out that she lives with her wife :) who is a sci-fi and fantasy artist with a few published books of her own! which really warms the heart.

She got her start writing fanfic of Flash Gordon as a young girl and was first published in the late seventies and i really like her as an author

Some books written by C. J. Cherryh that i particularly enjoy:

Cyteen and Regenesis

These two books together tell one story from her Alliance - Union universe, in which she has set 18 novels, so there will be interesting cross overs if reading the rest.

The story itself follows a girl in a big space lab that genetically designs humans, who discovers that not only is she the clone of the Top Lab Director Super Genius Lady, but TLDSG Lady's pet project is to recreate not just her own body but also her mind, by closely controlling how her clone is raised, trying to mimic the same basic childhood, matched to a computer tutor program written by her, so her clone can grow up to continue the super genius work of TLDSG Lady... but also, not everyone on the space lab is happy about the project, and there have been murders

i personally love this story even more than the other 18 Alliance - Union universe books, all of which are worth a read

The Morgaine Cycle, 4 books

Imagine if Sauron and the one ring never existed and Legolas and Aragorn were combined into one character who discovered his realm was one of many realms that were linked by a sort of Ancient Alien Stonehenge Star Gate system, because on the worst night of his life he meets a woman from the legends of his people riding out from the stones and acting as if the Big Battle she disappeared from happened only minutes before. Her armor is in the old style, her sword is deeply cursed, and he'll have to learn how to pronounce "laser pistol" because there's no translation for it in his language

chefs kiss

The Chanur Series, 5 books

listen to me very carefully:

Cat Alien Space Pirates

okay? but if you need more, it's told entirely from their point of view, and they find the only human anyone has ever seen

wait actually, i should tell you a small running gag that slowly becomes an examination of social themes is the human keeps thinking the cat aliens are "he" because they go shirtless and there's no obvious breasts, but they keep offhandedly correcting the human, telling him "she" because actually the cat alien men aren't legally allowed off planet at all because they are too emotional and prone to fits of rage, and generally thought to not be cut out for complex math. Also (because the cat aliens are based on lions) the cat alien men are alarmingly huge.

there is also a sort of gorilla alien species, but don't worry there are a few really wild and out there alien species too

read up friends!

[reaperlight]

I saw a meme that looked like fun so here it is...

9 books you've read in 2024 and 9 books you want to read in 2025

Books read in 2024:

(Partial) Reading List for 2025:

...Tagging anyone who wants to do it!

[jenyifer]

August September LGBTQIA book list.

Now quick disclaimer: I moved during this time. Very stressful. So maybe that’s why I have so many dropped and disliked books. I’m going to give these quick reviews in a specific order of would recommend to mehhh only if you are that type of person. I don’t give spoilers this is just a taste. I am lesbian who is 30 so that also colors my perception of these stories. Only going to include pics of the top 5 to drag you in for easy screenshotting.

Okay Let’s go.

1. Somewhere Beyond the Sea by Tj Klune 🏳️‍🌈👨🏼‍🍼👬🔥🏡⛓️‍💥 okay once again when I take over the world House in the Cerulean Sea and Somewhere Beyond the Sea will be required reading I didn’t think the follow up book to one of the best books in the modern age about feel good found family foster family could get any better. But I was proven wrong. The sequel gives you all you need. You can tell the author felt the pain of our world as he wrote this but the children and characters give those stories life. I cried I laughed. There is nothing quite like it.

2. The Spirit Bares It’s Teeth by Andrew Joseph White 🏳️‍⚧️💕😱🩸👁️🐰 You know what I am putting this one as 2 because despite it making me have countless panic attacks because I’m not fond of… gore? Horror? I adored this book still thinking about it. The romance is 10/10 T4T. I adored the mystery and intrigue. The main character is autistic and very anxiety ridden I can’t describe to you how this book will change you. Although approach with caution.

3. The Disabled Tyrant’s Beloved Pet Fish Vol2. 🏳️‍🌈🐟🤴🏻🤣 mild 🌶️ on a completely different note the “IS THAT MAN IN LOVE WITH A FISH” is a treat that always surprises me with the amount I love it. Maybe I am trash crazy but I find this funny easy to read and in this second book we got even more time with the fish and his prince actually in human shape. The miscommunication trope is strong with this one but so is consent and romance. Idk I just fucking love it. I want the prince to become emperor with his fishy lover haha.

4. The Name Bearer by Natalia Hernandez 💃💐🏳️‍🌈👩‍❤️‍👩💜💜 Okay quick disclaimer here the book is an classic style fantasy journey it is slow. However I really loved how beautifully thought out the universe was it’s a latinx woman forward book. The romance is not the point but it feels very natural which I appreciate. Main character might even be ace spec. There are great side characters. I really love the apprentice wizard but WARRIOR NUNS!!! Hehehe also things seem to be not what they seem which is always cool. I’d definitely suggest this to any fantasy lover.

5. Grandmaster of Demon Cultivation the comic vol 1-3 🏳️‍🌈👬🪄🪦💀🫏necromancer evil wizard is reincarnated into his nephew’s body years after his death. Or is he evil? Or is he 🏳️‍🌈? Hahah yes he is. Anyways in the present he’s finding the consequences of his actions while his…. Love interest is going to make sure nothing happens to this version of him. You slowly get the past. I find the comic is the easiest way to consume this fantasy story. Yes there is anime, book, and a Netflix series and a new Japanese manga is being released but I like this one. 🤷🏻‍♀️

6. Every Heart a Doorway by Seanan McGuire 💜🪦🚪 about a school for those who come back from other universes and long to go back. Main Character is probably ace spec. Very interesting fantasy book for someone who consumed a lot of fantasy as a child. Thought it was also very thoughtful book. I had fun it’s not super surprising or new ground but I enjoyed it for a quick read.

7. Spell Bound by FT Lukens 🏳️‍🌈🐈‍⬛🧙‍♀️🧑‍💻 well it’s YA. Out of the other FT Lukens books I semi enjoyed this one. The characters are still dumb as rocks and the setting could use some more fleshing. But it’s okay. For a fun quick read that semi reminds you of urban fantasy? It’s good. The side ship found family was a little forced but I enjoyed the side characters.

8. Psalm for the wild built 💜🍵🤖🏕️ it’s a chill cozy book for people who are over worked. I’d say if you want scifi it’s not. It’s closer to fantasy. Very short and preachy.

9. Casefile Compendium vol2 by Meatbun 🏳️‍🌈🩸🌶️🚩🔍🐉🥼 Danmei Murder mystery modern times age gap. Does have 2 chapters of non consent and absolutely off the wall opinions about the medical industry.

10. Otherworldly by FT Lukens 🧚‍♂️🏳️‍🌈🥶❄️ YA familiar escapes fairy world finds a skeptical person decides they’ll def fall in love and make a deal. I listened to 50% the characters are intensely idiotic and just…. So so so blind. I couldn’t do it. The skeptic is a person who moved to the city for their family but they do stuff for their family without really caring for them I’m just not buying it. The familiar is infact a psychopath or so low iq he doesn’t care to live or feel or observe anything in 5 years. So so so stupid. Omg.

I had several DNF

I made my parents listen to Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell in my mission to make my parents less homophobic. My mom enjoyed it. My dad said it was way too gay. 😩 man I wish it was way too gay.

What am I reading next? Hummm idk yet. Suggestions are always appreciated!!!

[holdy-caulfield]

My book review.

Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said by Phillip K. Dick

Contains one spoiler, which I’d say is minor, because it was for me obvious from the beginning.

Genre: Sci-fi, dystopia, psychedelic, cyberpunk, thriller

Pages: 231

Key words: celebrity culture, corruption, paranoia, intelligence, body modifications, persecution, self-identity, kindness, drugs, cruelty

TW: police cruelty, incest, p*dophilia, drug addiction & drug overdose

Highlights: characters, plot, atmosphere, dialogue

Downsides: unnecessary epilogue

Vibe/tone: realistic, paranoid, tense

This is the second novel I have read by Philip K. Dick and it left a strong impression.

The writer is a master at combining different themes that are worthy of separate novels, while avoiding the impression of the topic being undisclosed.

First plot: a celebrity wakes up in the world where he doesn’t exist.

Second: a dystopia where a police dictatorship reigns over a grim society (age of consent is lowered to 12, drugs are legalized, concentration camps, Afro-American community is almost completely erased).

There are also themes of identity, genetic modification, and even according to the author, biblical allusions (gotta love how there appears a religious character out of nowhere, the author in the real life says “he’s right” and does not elaborate) & obviously a critique on police cruelty and corruption. The world’s atmosphere and setting also reminded me of Blade Runner/Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep by the same author.

The world feels real. Characters are vividly portrayed, each leaving a mark, even if they don’t reappear. They play a role, but they live their own life, separate from the plot and the main character. I liked the approach of the secondary characters not always having an arc, while it is expected, although having a clear and interesting backstory.

There are two main characters.

Jason Taverner is a celebrity, popular with women, very smart, logical, and I would say, he is understandably selfish but… Kind. Maybe even sincere. Can be funny at times. Not inclined to violate other people’s boundaries. I would say charismatic.

Felix Backman is a policeman. A very ambiguous person. He understands that he lives in a very wrong system and tries to somehow fight for justice, but he is corrupt just like everyone else, hypocritical (admitting it), manipulating, cares mostly about his desires. I would say he is a coward… [SPOILER] And he is in romantic relationships with his sister (obviously, very uncomfortable to read, but it’s about hypocrisy and it’s dystopian, the book has a lot of screwed up moments) [/SPOILER].

It was interesting for me to read about both of them on the same level. I cared about both of them despite them not being positive characters.

The only critique from me is the epilogue. It broke the immersion. I would prefer Mr Dick either leaving the ending open or just write one phrase if he didn’t want to leave the readers in the dark regarding main character’s fate.

Highly recommended, though as stated above it contains unsettling, unpleasantly detailed scenes.

The book is quite unusual and I’ll be happy to read it again.

Below are the images that gave me off the vibe of the book in my opinion.

9/10

[shorlinesorrows]

I need more people in the stormweaver/iron prince fandom for so many reasons that I’ve compiled a list

The story is great and doesn’t get nearly enough attention Whatsoever

CADs??? They’re so cool??? Like “yes this is living evolving armor that grows with you and adjusts to your needs, there’s multiple weapon types/categories and they come in COOL COLORS like pink and black and blue and purple and green instead of just silver and they’re all individualized” seriously there’s a character whose professional fighter name is Stone Lily and she has bright pink and gray armor and absolutely Wrecked people in the SCTs (professional simulated fighting tournaments)

CADs can also get special abilities as they evolve and get more individual the higher their level

Anyways I need people who make self inserts and OCs and assign them CAD Types and design their armor because imo it’s much more interesting than Harry Potter houses (sorry not sorry)

the characters are Cool and I know people on here would go Feral for them

I know that someone (or multiple someones) on this website would probably imprint on Logan Grant the second he appeared on screen because he is an Asshole Pretty Boy with (spoilers) ………………………..a tragic backstory

Rei is The Best I Love Him and I want him to live his best life and Destroy People. He’s our MC and he’s got really fun to read characterization, is disabled, and kicks butt

There are multiple women with interesting, strong characters

one of the main characters (Viv) is openly bisexual and very clear that she has a preference for women but DOES like men and if you try to make her choose she will tell you to stick it where the sun don’t shine

Valera Dent could literally glare down her nose at me and I would thank her

As the books (2 out so far) go on there’s more and more casual queer characters that Exist like normal people

the world is pretty narrow focus right now because a lot of the setting is in just a few places but there’s a lot of potential for HUGE worldbuilding as our MCs get more powerful

theres more to this list but I’m posting it now because it’s getting long and I’ll forget otherwise

[thistle-nightshade]

Lovable Loudmouths

I love a snarky character. Did they put their foot in their mouth again? I eat that up. I humbly present my top 5 chaos muppets. Here’s to the ones who never know when to stop talking.

Remy from Silver Under Nightfall by Rin Chupeco

Remy has a habit of babbling during epic battles. A hoard of vampires out for death won’t stop him from running his mouth. He is, at least, self aware. “Take it from someone who talks to much—” *kills the guy currently monologuing* “—you talk too much.”

Riley from Strictly No Heroics by B.L. Radley

This book is chocked full of snarky one liners. Riley has a very distinct voice, and I love her for it. She’s just a queer normie trying to make her way in the world and she’s fed up with all the ways in which the world is shitty.

Tracker from Black Leopard Red Wolf by Marlon James

Tracker has the ability to follow a scent across anywhere. If he catches your scent, he can find you anywhere. This ability is well known. Tracker is also one snarky guy. The ongoing refrain in this book when he meets potential business partners and sticks his foot in his mouth is for them to say “I had heard you had a nose. No one told me you had a mouth.”

Nate from The Alpha’s Warlock (Mismatched Mates #1) by Eliot Grayson

Nate escapes halfway through a curse that leaves his magic seeping out to nowhere and threatening his life. To save his life, he ends up bonded to a werewolf who he’s pretty sure hates him. And this is not at all helped by the fact that Nate can’t stop himself from saying all the wrong things at all the worst times. These enemies do eventually become lovers, but Nate never outgrows his habit of expressing his disdain through strongly worded messages inked onto coffee mugs in permanent marker.

Gideon from Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir

Listen… If you’re partner is so worried about you saying the wrong thing that she makes to take a fake vow of silence… you’ve put your foot in your mouth one too many times. Never fear, however, Gideon finds plenty of ways to become a problem for Harrow even if she never opens her mouth. And she can back up her non-verbal communication with her sword.

[powells]

Powell's Best Books of 2023: Science Fiction & Fantasy

Bookseller Picks for Best Books of 2023: Science Fiction & Fantasy! Absolutely an excuse to run up to booksellers — street-interview style — and demand to know their favorite world-building, magic systems, and political messes (in SPACE!). On this year's list, look out for dragons and more dragons, love letters to books in cozy fantasy settings, unionized dolphins, cyberpunk thrillers about orbital elevators, series conclusions that stick the landing, pirates, supervillains, not-quite-robots, fairytales, and more. Read our list at the link in bio.

📚🔗: To the list

[neuronerdo]

Radiance by Catherynne M. Valente is my all-time favorite book that no one has every heard of. It's about space, but it's also about grief, and it's about cinema, but it's also just a father and a daughter and everything that could possibly go wrong in that equation. It's a murder (?) mystery in that someone has died, but the characters make it so the concept of "murder" goes a little bit fuzzy around the edges.

It's also, for what it's worth, batshit insane. I love the worldbuilding because it reeks of someone having a baffling idea and devoting their entire novel to it. Valente commits to the bit at every turn, leaving no moment untouched by creative decisions that should logically fail and yet never do. I think it has to do with her tone-- the whole book is written in such a "duh" voice. Of course the moon is the modern Hollywood. Of course there are kangaroos on Mars and whales (?) on Venus. Of course Pluto and Charon are linked in a celestial dance by an organic bridge of tree limbs and flowers. Of course, of course, of course.

It's also the type of book where every character talks circles around what they actually mean. Every page is a treasure hunt, and trust me when I say that the hunt is entirely map-less for the first two thirds. But who likes their quests easy? It's only satisfying if you work for it.

I suppose my main point is that you should read it. It is a book that makes me happy and I would regret it forever if I didn't give you the chance to read it too.