#queer sff
Explore tagged Tumblr posts
Text
Queer Adult SFF Books Bracket: Round 4
Book summaries below:
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin (Hainish Cycle series)
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
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers series) by Becky Chambers
Rosemary Harper doesn’t expect much when she joins the crew of the aging Wayfarer. While the patched-up ship has seen better days, it offers her a bed, a chance to explore the far-off corners of the galaxy, and most importantly, some distance from her past. An introspective young woman who learned early to keep to herself, she’s never met anyone remotely like the ship’s diverse crew, including Sissix, the exotic reptilian pilot, chatty engineers Kizzy and Jenks who keep the ship running, and Ashby, their noble captain.
Life aboard the Wayfarer is chaotic and crazy—exactly what Rosemary wants. It’s also about to get extremely dangerous when the crew is offered the job of a lifetime. Tunneling wormholes through space to a distant planet is definitely lucrative and will keep them comfortable for years. But risking her life wasn’t part of the plan. In the far reaches of deep space, the tiny Wayfarer crew will confront a host of unexpected mishaps and thrilling adventures that force them to depend on each other. To survive, Rosemary’s got to learn how to rely on this assortment of oddballs—an experience that teaches her about love and trust, and that having a family isn’t necessarily the worst thing in the universe.
Science fiction, adventure, series, adult
#polls#queer adult sff#the left hand of darkness#ursula k le guin#ursula k. le guin#ursula le guin#the hainish cycle#the long way to a small angry planet#becky chambers#wayfarers#wayfarers series#a closed and common orbit#books#booklr#lgbtqia#tumblr polls#bookblr#book#lgbt books#queer books#poll#sff#sff books#queer sff#book polls#queer lit#queer literature
47 notes
·
View notes
Text
SFF Polyamory Recs Part 1
2024 seems to be the year of polyamory in literature and movies, and I've been wanting to read some books featuring polyamory lately, so here is a non-exhaustive list of sci-fi and fantasy books that feature polyamory!
Evocation, by S.T. Gibson - fantasy. first in a series. seems to be f/m/m
Running Close to the Wind, by Alex Rowland - fantasy. standalone. m/m/nb
Iron Widow, by Xiran Jay Zhao - sci-fi. first in a series. f/m/m
A Dowry of Blood, by S.T. Gibson - gothic fantasy. standalone. sapphic
Silver Under Nightfall, by Rin Chupeco - fantasy. first in a series. seems to feature f/m/m
In the Ravenous Dark, by A.M. Strickland - fantasy. standalone. seems to feature f/f/m
True Love Bites, by @joydemorra - fantasy. first in a series. seems to be f/m/m
To Be Taught, If Fortunate, by Becky Chambers - sci-fi. novella. pairing unknown
The Door Into Fire, by Diane Duane - fantasy. first in a series. pairing unknown
Heliacle Rising, by C.C. Davie - fantasy. first in a series. pairing unknown
#book recs#queer books#queer book recs#book list#polyamory books#fantasy books#fantasy book recs#scifi books#sff books#queer sff#queer fantasy#queer fantasy books#books#bookblr#out of the forest out of the brain#out of the queue i come
242 notes
·
View notes
Note
hi! sorry if you've already answered this, but i absolutely adore your tithenai chronicles, and was wondering if you had any favorite queer books to recommend/suggestions for what a fan of your work should read next :) before inevitably restarting my strange and stubborn endurance audiobook again <3 thank you!
Ahh, thank you so much! Regarding book recommendations, two of my all-time favourites are The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (along with the spin-off novella trilogy, The Cemeteries of Amalo, which consists of The Witness for the Dead, The Grief of Stones and the forthcoming The Tomb of Dragons), and The Books of the Raksura series by Martha Wells (which consists of seven books total: a trilogy, two short story anthologies, and then a final duology). However, I'd also like to recommend some works by authors that are less well-known than Addison and Wells, so! In no particular order:
The Bone Universe trilogy (Updraft, Cloudbound and Horizon) by Fran Wilde;
The Broken Trust quadrilogy (Mazes of Power, Transgressions of Power, Inheritors of Power and a still forthcoming title) by Juliette Wade;
The Titan's Forest trilogy (Crossroads of Canopy, Echoes of Understorey and Tides of the Titans) by Thoraiya Dyer; and
The Ascendant trilogy (The Tiger's Daughter, The Phoenix Empress and The Warrior Moon) by K. Arsenault Rivera. Happy reading! :D
#books#book recs#queer books#queer SFF#SFF#katherine addison#martha wells#fran wilde#juliette wade#thoraiya dyer#k. arsenault rivera
147 notes
·
View notes
Text
“It’s okay,” Saint told him, softer than he thought he knew how to be. He was a hard-nosed bastard with a thick skin and a thicker head, but Jal cried like he couldn’t breathe, like he was drowning under all that grief and fear and pain... - THAT SCENE from CASCADE FAILURE
massive thanks to @amikoroyaiart for the absolutely beautiful art!
#cascade failure#ambit's run#gravity lost#queer scifi#scifi books#scifi#sci fi and fantasy#sff books#queer books#queer sff#art commission
73 notes
·
View notes
Text
78 notes
·
View notes
Text
book 1 cover art by @staarcaake
Stardust is a queer, semi-experimental web serial that blends space opera, gothic horror, and dystopia into a color-coded mess of neuroses, hallucinations, teen angst, fucked up family relationships, Judaism, gun kinks, political assassinations, extradimensional tentacles, and bad sex. as of May 2024, we're exactly halfway through book 1, and it's a great time to get caught up!
it updates the 1st and 3rd Sunday of every month, and you can read it for free here. readers have suggested you might like it if you're a fan of Revolutionary Girl Utena, Homestuck, Battlestar Galactica (2003), The Locked Tomb, Fortiche's Arcane, Starship Troopers, and/or the music of Ada Rook. readers have also referred to it as "tired middle-aged man yaoi," "yuri shonen," and said they "want to chew on July like a squeaky toy."
#web serial#webnovel#horror#science fiction#web fiction#gothic horror#dystopia#writing#queer sff#stardust serial#writeblr#tell your friends but only if you're weird little freaks like me!
79 notes
·
View notes
Text
It's here!
It's queer!
196 notes
·
View notes
Text
hey there! I'm featured in Dudes Rock! An anthology about queer masculinities in speculative fiction that features, hunky demons, gender affirming werewolf bites, and a spaceship captain called Neptune <3
It's out on the January 10th 2025 and also features Chase Anderson, Johannes T. Evans, Oliver Fosten, Jonathan Freeman, Rick Hollon, Sam Inverts, S. C. Mills, Jay Kang Romanus, Aubrey Shaw, Simo Srinivas, Candy Tan, and Scott Vaughn!
preorder here!
#queer books#transmasc#queer masculinity#butch#trans books#nonbinary books#queer sff#anthology#writeblr#writerscommunity#indie author#booklr#bookblr
20 notes
·
View notes
Text
Tam Becket has hated Lord Lyford since they were boys. The fact that he’s also been sleeping with the man for the last ten years is irrelevant. When they were both nine years old, Lyford smashed Tam’s entry into the village’s vegetable competition. Nearly twenty years later, Tam hasn’t forgiven the bastard. No one understands how deeply he was hurt that day, how it set a pattern of small disappointments and misfortunes that would run through the rest of his life. Now Tam has reconciled himself to the fact that love and affection are for other people, that the gods don’t care and won’t answer any of his prayers (not even the one about afflicting Lyford with a case of flesh-eating spiders to chew off his privates), and that life is inherently mundane, joyless, and drab. And then, the very last straw: Tam discovers that Lyford (of all people!) bears the divine favor of Angarat, the goddess Tam feels most betrayed and abandoned by. In his hurt and anger, Tam packs up and prepares to leave the village for good. But the journey doesn’t take him far, and Tam soon finds himself set on a quest for the most difficult of all possible prizes: Self care, forgiveness, a second chance… and somehow the unbelievably precious knowledge that there is at least one person who loves Tam for exactly who he is—and always has.
"But if you want to be loved, really loved, first you have to be you."
Alexandra Rowland's Yield Under Great Persuasion is a cozy adventure of self-exploration, featuring an unlikable protagonist who becomes less unlikable as he starts working on himself and experiences love and acceptance. It's a soft story about second chances, coming to terms with all the ugly parts of you, and coming out willing to do the work to become the better version of yourself.
On the others side of the equation is Lyford, hopelessly in love with the main character, a paragon of understanding. He, too, learns something: to challenge the one you love and allow yourself to get angry sometimes and stand up for himself, and to stop just accepting whatever's sprouted at him. Together, the two will learn to complete each other and coexist, accept and challenge each other.
The worldbuilding is exquisite, featuring a meddling hearth goddess and her equally meddling siblings. Gods have people they favor, and they bestow upon them gifts that can help others; learning to navigate this favor and find community and acceptance is also a main theme of the book.
But most of all, this is a book about working on yourself and features therapy lingo very heavily.
Yield Under Great Persuasion will drag you to therapy kicking and screaming.
✨ 4 stars
[You can find more of my reviews about queer speculative fiction on my blog MISTY WORLD]
#alexandra rowland#yield under great persuasion#lgbtq books#queer lit#queer books#queer sff#queer speculative fiction#books#book reviews#reading#gealach reads#gealach writes
22 notes
·
View notes
Text
38 notes
·
View notes
Text
Spoiler-Free Advance Review:
Exordia by Seth Dickinson
I could not put this book down, my god. Staying up super late multiple nights because I couldn’t stop reading is such a great problem to have, and Exordia gave me that problem more than any book I’ve read in a few years.
This is a very different book than Baru, but Seth’s evocative prose and dark humor is familiar from page one, and the laser focus on defamiliarizing real world injustices is again the core of the work. Despite being far more immediate (Exordia is set during the Obama administration in our world, with an alternate history beginning from the moment the book starts), the heaviness of the topics never gets overwhelming. There’s some incredible (and extremely fitting) tonal dissonance here, with every perspective character having their own sense of disaffected humor about the apocalyptic situation they’ve been thrown into.
I described this to my friend after just starting as “if the Books of Sorrow were written with Gideon the Ninth’s tone and just straight up in our world,” and I think that remains true throughout. There’s a huge amount of references peppered in, and it helps maintain that lighter tone to balance the despair of what is essentially a doomsday clock ticking down throughout the book - and it helps keep things grounded, honestly. I never felt it took away from the gravity of things, or was unnatural - after all, if I, an early 21st century sci fi nerd, was thrown into some fucked up alien bioweapon mystery, it’s hard to say my first thought wouldn’t be “oh shit, this is just like the Andromeda Strain!”
Having seven (eight?) different protagonist (or deuteragonist, I don’t know which they qualify as) PoVs is pretty wild but works perfectly here. Every character has such a unique outlook that you can instantly figure out whose head you’ve popped into even before any identifying names or things are mentioned - Seth’s mastery of the tonally cohesive PoV shifts was something I had loved in Tyrant, especially, and they’re equally impressive here. The characters are lovable, hatable, and everything in between - and each as mentioned is so distinct and compelling that I can’t say there was a single character who I was unhappy to get into their head. And that’s saying something, given who some of these characters are, but I’ll leave the specifics a surprise. Predictably, my favorites were the dysfunctional autistic butch-femme lesbians, but I really loved all of them in the end.
The base premise is almost comical in how small it starts to how much it escalates - a cynical, disillusioned Kurdish genocide survivor, Anna Sinjari, meets a terrifying (and yes…very hot. I’m a simple woman) alien in Central Park, and this seemingly chance encounter sees her roped into a small group of scientists, soldiers, and her own mother in a desperate countdown to solve an otherworldly mystery and save their world. The twists and turns of the plot are intense, so engaging that I was bouncing up and down at times (there’s plenty of sci-fi insanity that I absolutely eat up), and tightly paced.
Seth seems to really enjoy writing ethical dilemmas to great effect, and Exordia is ruthless in that area, taking the base concept of the trolley problem and the moral justification for what someone would sacrifice for the greater good and carving it apart for narrative weight. What greater good does the sacrifice serve? Is it actually good? Who gets to make the choice, and do they have a choice but to make it? There’s a lot to dig into here, and Exordia is a four course meal.
One aspect of this simply taking place in our world, rather than being an alternate universe like Baru, is that the defamiliarized commentary is even more on the nose. Whereas Baru is a commentary on empire and homophobia as a whole, transparently pulling from primarily American history of genocide and imperialism to shape a culture unlike our own in many ways to defamiliarize this moral exploration, Exordia is just literally about real world American imperialism and enabling of genocide in the MENA region, primarily the ramifications of the military industrial complex’s usage of drone warfare and the extremist regimes armed and encouraged by “counterterrorism.”
All this sets the stage for the question of what happens when a bigger fish arrives, one just as hell bent on empire building and justifying its own atrocities. The sci-fi intervention into this banal evil is at the same time a reflection of that evil, and asking if the world has the capacity for resistance to both. Exordia’s answer is profound, and far from easy, but entirely fitting for the ethical dilemma that runs throughout the book, creeping up on you slowly as you start to recognize what shape it takes in this story.
The central material conflict of the book, a locked box mystery of sorts that you piece together with the characters, is fucked up and fun and scary, a reality shifting threat that treads the line between body horror, meta-narrative, and lovecraftian math. It’s extremely cool, and I think it’ll be right up the alley of fans of The Andromeda Strain, The Locked Tomb, The Books of Sorrow and other parts of Destiny lore, and a lot of other SFF stories where ethics, horror, and mystery mix together.
I don’t want to say too much about the climax and the ending - going into this book without knowing too much was an incredible experience that had me on the edge of my proverbial seat - but the ending left me asking myself some very similar questions as I had at the end of Traitor, and I cannot wait for a reread when the physical book is in my hands to see what little foreshadowed things I can pick up on.
I don’t think people are going to be quite as completely emotionally Destroyed at the ending of this one as Traitor, but…it is very much a Seth Dickinson book, and they have quite the talent for making every thread tie together at the end to make the reader feel every emotion at once and realize that this could never have gone any other way. I cried, I laughed, sometimes simultaneously, and a book that can do that to me is entirely worth the experience - and what an experience this was.
Absolutely fucking incredible, I want more of these characters and everything they’re wrapped up in, 10/10.
I received an ARC of this novel from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
80 notes
·
View notes
Text
Queer Adult SFF Books Bracket: Round 4
Book summaries and submitted endorsements below:
The Locked Tomb series (Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth, Nona the Ninth, and others) by Tamsyn Muir
Endorsement from submitter #1: "An extremely fun, humorous romp! A heart-breaking, soul crushing catharsis inducing tragedy! A thoughtful piece on imperial structures and trauma. On queerness, Muir flawlessly and without announcement, cracks gender open like an egg and spills its disproven guts across the page. The Locked Tomb does it all also bones, bitch."
Endorsement from submitter #2: "Lesbian necromancers in space. So many fascinating, sort of fucked up sapphic relationships going on."
The Emperor needs necromancers.
The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.
Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.
Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won't set her free without a service.
Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier.
Without Gideon's sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die. Of course, some things are better left dead.
Fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, humor, series, adult
Our Wives Under the Sea by Julia Armfield
Miri thinks she has got her wife back, when Leah finally returns after a deep-sea mission that ended in catastrophe. It soon becomes clear, though, that Leah is not the same. Whatever happened in that vessel, whatever it was they were supposed to be studying before they were stranded on the ocean floor, Leah has brought part of it back with her, onto dry land and into their home.
Moving through something that only resembles normal life, Miri comes to realize that the life that they had before might be gone. Though Leah is still there, Miri can feel the woman she loves slipping from her grasp.
Our Wives Under The Sea is the debut novel from Julia Armfield, the critically acclaimed author of Salt Slow. It’s a story of falling in love, loss, grief, and what life there is in the deep deep sea.
Horror, contemporary, literary fiction, science fiction, adult
#polls#queer adult sff#the locked tomb#tamsyn muir#tlt#our wives under the sea#julia armfield#gideon the ninth#harrow the ninth#nona the ninth#alecto the ninth#the locked tomb series#books#booklr#lgbtqia#tumblr polls#bookblr#book#lgbt books#queer books#poll#sff#sff books#queer sff#book polls#queer lit#queer literature
29 notes
·
View notes
Text
SFF Polyamory Recs Part 2
You can find Part 1 here.
Darker by Four, by June C.L. Tan - fantasy. first in a series. seems to be f/m/m
Godly Heathens, by H.E. Edgmon - fantasy. first in a series. seems to be f/nb/m
Death's Country, by R.M. Romero - fantasy. standalone. f/f/m
Thornfruit, by Felicia Davin - fantasy. first in a series. seems to be f/f/f
Little Heart of Stone, by Clio Evans - fantasy. standalone. f/f/m
A Rational Arrangement, by L. Rowyn - fantasy. first in a series. f/m/m
Strange Grace, by Tessa Gratton - fantasy. standalone. f/m/m
Road to Ruin, by Hana Lee - fantasy & sci-fi. first in a series. seems to be f/f/m
The Compass Rose, by Gail Dayton - fantasy. first in a series. pairing unknown
#book recs#queer books#queer book recs#polyamory books#fantasy books#fantasy book recs#scifi books#sff books#queer fantasy#queer sff#queer fantasy books#books#book list#bookblr#out of the forest out of the brain#out of the queue i come
67 notes
·
View notes
Note
Hi! I’m in the US right now and I’m not feeling so good. The Tithenai Chronicles are my favorite books. Can you share some happy fun facts about the characters to cheer me up?
Once they settle at Ravethae, Cae and Vel soon find themselves custodians to a litter of kittens sired by Son of Spoons. One kitten in particular becomes so enamoured of Cae that she starts using his braid as a ladder to climb up and sit on his head, clinging on contentedly for as long as he'll allow it or until she gets bored. For this feat, Vel names the kitten Chamois, after the silk chamois that scale cliffs in the mountains, and so it becomes a not-uncommon sight at Ravethae for Cae to be seen walking around with Chamois riding him like the tiny, furry captain of an ambulatory ship. Cae, in turn, makes a game of pretending the kitten isn't there, to the bafflement of adult guests and the particular delight of various children.
When Yasa Kithadi comes to visit them and asks, somewhat exasperatedly, why there's a kitten on Caethari's head, the whole estate holds its breath to see if the heir apparent will commit to the bit, or break character in the face of his grandmother's judgement.
"What kitten," Cae says blandly.
Outwardly, Yasa Kithadi appears unmoved. Inwardly, she's endeared. And if Chamois just so happens to acquire a fetching collar during the course of the yasa's visit courtesy of some anonymous donor - well. That's neither here nor there.
#a strange and stubborn endurance#all the hidden paths#tithenai chronicles#romantasy#queer romantasy#queer sff#lgbtq#caethari#velasin
57 notes
·
View notes
Text
Being aroace and wanting to see positive, non-tokenistic rep but only being into fantasy and sci-fi sucks ASS.
Elatsoe and Redeemed Villain Lilith Clawthorn are literally the the only surviving aroace sff characters in ANYTHING that looks even remotely interesting
29 notes
·
View notes
Text
Queer Normal-World in SFF Books
Here are five books where being queer is the norm, aka there is no homophobia or transphobia at all! Not all these books are fluffy though -- most of them have heavy conflicts and a bunch of shit going down, but at least no one has a problem with anyone being gay!
These are my favorite kind of books and I have so, so many recommendations, so let me know if you ever want more of these :) And I can also absolutely do only fluffy queer books, too!
The Genesis of Misery, by Neon Yang
Mx. Yang's books are perfect for this type of prompt. The Genesis of Misery is their most recent, and the premise is absolutely killer. It follows Misery Nomaki (she/they), who is haunted by an apparition of an angel. While she is convinced she is mentally ill like her mother, and that her visions are a symptom, people around her seem more and more certain that she is actually some sort of messiah.
I have my issues with The Genesis of Misery, but it’s a very creative sci-fi that’s worth the read. It includes mecha, interesting depictions of religion, which permeates the entire story, and, of course, excellent queer rep. We have characters who use neo-pronouns, a polyamory situationship and most characters are queer. Not to mention, it’s written by a queer and non-binary author, which is always a plus. It’s part of an on-going series, though, so be prepared to wait a little while for the sequel!
Plus, The Locked Tomb fans might be interested to know that there’s a very cavalier-necromancer dynamic in this, and that Rebecca Roanhorse (who wrote Black Sun) described it as Joan of Arc meets Gideon The Ninth.
Yep. You wanna read it, don’t you?
(Also, if for some reason you’re like: “gee, I really wish there was a black-and-white silent movie with a killer score that touched on these same themes”, then you should probably watch The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928). It’s not explicitly gay, but it is queer in my heart. And it rocks.)
The Locked Tomb Series, starting with Gideon The Ninth, by Tasmyn Muir
Since I mentioned it, I guess I might as well include The Locked Tomb in here! This is a Tumblr favorite, and with good reason, because The Locked Tomb fucking rocks. It’s hard to pitch it to someone without ruining the whole point of the series, but the first book follows a necromancer, Harrowhark and her sworn swords-woman, her cavalier, the butch-as-hell Gideon, as they’re summoned to the First House to compete to become Lyctors, the companions of God.
Yeah, I know that’s a lot, and, to be honest, it’s probably not gonna make much sense to you at many points throughout the story, but that’s the point of The Locked Tomb - everything is confusing, and it’s about sapphics in space!
The thing about this series is they’re the most unique books you’ll ever read. Every volume has a different approach to telling its story. There’s so many mysteries and it’s almost impossible to understand all the intricacies without sitting down and doing some work. The magic system is also the wonkiest, coolest thing - it involves eating people, sometimes, y’know. And, I promise, you’ll love every single second of it. Especially because there’s absolutely no homophobia or transphobia in any of it, and almost every character is queer as fuck - especially after the second book, when gender starts getting a little funky!
Winter’s Orbit, by Everina Maxwell
I love this book so much, and so know that it comes highly, highly recommended! I have a whole five star review on it you can check out here. (Do check trigger warnings, though! You should always, but especially for this one. I didn’t and they really got me!).
Winter’s Orbit features my absolutely favorite trope - queer arranged marriage. (Nothing better - those three words and you know it’s gonna be a queer normal world, have some politics and probably be really fucking sweet.) This one is probably one of only ones out of this list where the romance is very predominant and serves as an important B plot. It’s also a standalone, but has a companion book in the same universe, called Ocean’s Echo, which rocks, too!
This one follows Jainan, a recent widower who is rushed into an arranged marriage with Prince Kiem in order to keep the alliance between their homelands intact. Together, they must navigate court intrigue I’m trying my best not to spoil and investigate Jainan’s ex-husband’s death, which might not have been an accident, after all...
In this sci-fi fantasy world, being queer is completely normal, and their system when it comes to gender is absolutely fascinating. People will wear little gender signifiers, like a wodden token for female, for instance, so that others know how to refer to them. It’s super cool to see these kind of things incorporated into the world-building, and it’s something you really only get when queer authors are behind the helm.
(Also, this was originally written online, and it was actually picked up and traditionally published! Which is so cool! Queer fics becoming traditionally published books is so rare, it’s so nice to see it actually happen!)
The Teixcalaan Series, starting with A Memory Called Empire, by Arkady Martine
This is another one of my favorites! I read it last year and it blew me away - so much so that I’ve been itching to re-read it ever since I finished the second book.
The Teixcalaan Series is a political sci-fi duology focusing on the themes of language, empire and cultural domination through imperialism. It’s amazing, and I wrote about it in a full-length review, here, if you wanna take a look!
It follows Mahit Dzamare, from the tiny Lsel Station, who becomes the ambassador to the huge Teixcalaan Empire, whose culture she’s been in love with for ages. The problem? Something happened to the Lsel ambassador, and the Empire’s control over the Station has been growing ever bigger. To make matters worse, Mahit’s imago machine - the cerebral implant full of her predecessors memories and experiences - doesn’t seem to be working properly, leaving her with a ghost of her predecessor inside of her head...
With all the problems the Teixcalaan Empire has, it’s not homophobic or transphobic, which is a plus for us gays who want to read in peace. Mahit has a charged relationship with her cultural liason, Three Seagrass (yes, that’s her name; yes, there’s an in-world explanation; no, I won’t tell you what it is, you’ll have to read it and find out), not to mention all the hijinks she finds out her predecessor was up to. And none of it needs to be justified or explained at all - people are just gay, and that’s fine!
On A Sunbeam, by Tillie Walden
This graphic novel has a stunning art style, and, listen closely sapphics, absolutely no men at all. Yep. Literally there’s only women and non-binary people in this comic!
And guess what? It’s available to read for free, here. Thank you, Ms. Walden!
Here, romance is also an important plot point. On A Sunbeam follows Mia, who starts working for a crew of repair-people who rebuild broken down structures. In another timeline, we flashback to her experiences at her boarding school, and to her relationship with a new student.
What’s most unique about On A Sunbeam - apart from the fact that there are no men at all - is it’s unique version of outer space. It’s almost historical, with huge sprawling marble structures decaying, surronded by trees. The ships are shaped like huge fish. You can feel the whimsy in your bones from the colors and the art style that Ms. Walden uses, here.
This standalone is definitely worth a read. And if you like it, you should definitely check out the rest of Ms. Walden’s work - it’s all as beautiful as this is, if not more. Her The End of Summer was one of my favorite reads, last year.
That’s all I’ve got, guys, but lemme know if you want more of these - I have so many, I can definitely recommend you more! Drop me an ask if you have specifications, too - I’m always happy to do some digging :)
#booklr#book recommendations#book recs#queer books#sapphic books#lgbtq books#book review#queer sff#sff books#the locked tomb#the genesis of misery#neon yang#gideon the ninth#winters orbit#a memory called empire#teixcalaan#on a sunbeam#tillie walden
191 notes
·
View notes