funwithchickenjane

[funwithchickenjane]

did someone say speculative wlw !!

Amatka - Karin Tidbeck: a bizarre, poetic swedish dystopian where the heart of the novel is a heartbreakingly beautiful romance between two housemates.

Fractured Fairy Tales - Alix E Harrow: what if you were sleeping beauty and the evil queen was a milf? silly style but heartfelt fairy tale retellings. (series of novellas)

Jane Unlimited - Kristin Cashore: in an ode to creepy classic lit, one bisexual will face several speculative iterations of a mystery in a mansion. imagine glass onion with more dimensions.

Kissing the Witch - Emma Donoghue: lesbian fairy tale retellings, but this time it's a little sexier and a little more grim(m).

Our Lady of Endless Worlds - Lina Rather: lesbian nuns in space 2, but more the vibes of the nuns in the sound of music breaking the nazi cars. (series of novellas)

The Singing Hills Cycle - Nghi Vo : one (1) nonbinary monk collects the stories of the hottest, gayest women to walk the face of the (kind of?) jianghu. (series of novellas)

Siren Queen - Nghi Vo: evelyn hugo adjacent, but with like 300% more monsters, magic, and literal devil deals. exquisite vibes.

Small Game - Blair Braverman: horror/survival lesbians in a survival reality show gone wrong. not very super spec fic, but. i love them.

The Space Between Worlds - Micaiah Johnson: parallel universe exploration workplace lesbians. takes a long stroll through some very fun genres while uncovering the truth of their world.

Spear - Nicola Griffith: arthurian lesbians.

also, not strictly wlw (not suggesting nonbinary characters are women lite) but playing around in the gender and sexuality are complex sandbox in a way some lesbians (me) might enjoy:

Upright Women Wanted - Sarah Gailey: lesbian! librarian! cowboys!! in a wild west dystopia!!

The Salt Grows Heavy - Cassandra Khaw: very dark little mermaid retelling that digs with both hands into the body horror and weird fiction pit.

Litenverse - Nino Cipri : what if ikea contained portals to another world. and what if your coworker was your very recent ex. (series of novellas)

I feel like I’ve been able to read so many speculative fiction wlw books in the past few years that I get a little frustrated when ppl complain that wlw relationships are always sidelined in stories. So I’m just gonna make a list of the ones I’ve completed, for posterity. There are so many interesting books out there and all of these deserve more attention.

To reiterate, this is speculative fiction (sci-if/fantasy) where the primary relationship is wlw.

Ash: Chinese and fae influenced retelling of Cinderella (+Huntress, a prequel)

A Restless Truth: historical magical murder mystery set on a Titanic sister-ship. This is the second book in a series but my favorite so far

Burning Roses: European fairy-tale/Chinese legend mashup featuring older ladies

Cinderella is Dead: YA fairy tale dystopia

Crier’s War: human x android enemies to lovers political intrigue

Even Though I Knew the End: supernatural detective noir, super quick and super fun

In the Vanisher’s Palace: Viet influenced Beauty and the Beast where the Beast is a dragon lady

Juniper Harvey and the Vanishing Kingdom: middle school age mythological fantasy adventure, I wish I had this growing up

Labyrinth Lost: bruja fantasy underworld adventure

Legends and Lattes: Simple and sweet DND inspired cafe AU

Once and Future: King Arthur but in space with ladies. Wish this one had been poly

Roots of Chaos series: high fantasy with dragons and so many queers.

Strictly No Heroics: the struggles of villain henchmen

The Abyss Surrounds us/The Edge of the Abyss: kaiju pirates, enemies to lovers

The Locked Tomb: wlw necromancers in space. Enemies to ???

The Luminous Dead: spelunking thriller set on another planet—this one is fucky everyone should read it

The Memory Librarian: short stories set in Janelle Monae’s android world

The Red Scholar’s Wake: space pirates, enemies to lovers, human x spaceship

The Space Between Worlds: inter dimensional corporate exploitation, handler x agent mutual pining, this one is so underappreciated

The Witch and the Vampire: YA vampire x vampire hunter

This is How You Lose the Time War: everyone knows this one

If you have any others please add, I’m always looking to grow my reading list

[funwithchickenjane]

Book Review: System Collapse by Martha Wells [ARC]

System Collapse picks up where Network Effect left off—with Preservation Alliance and Pansystem University of Mihara and New Tideland working together to prevent the planet from falling into Barish-Estranza's control (and the surviving colonists from a fate of indentured 'employment'). Faced with distrustful, fractional colonists with little knowledge of the Corporation Rim, the team needs to find a way to show the truth behind B-E's corporate propaganda. And to top it all of, Murderbot isn't doing so great...

In this installment, Wells takes a closer look at the persuasive tools of the Corporation Rim and how disinformation and desperation erode fundamental rights to autonomy. While the narrative climax can feel somewhat corny, Murderbot's pessimism and dry commentary balances the message, allowing for a explosive and entertaining finale without flattening the politics. The highlight of the novel is Murderbot's relatable and darkly funny struggle with declining mental health. As always, Wells handles this topic deftly—giving an accurate and empathetic depiction that doesn't bog down the narrative by wallowing in trauma.

Verdict? In the immortal words of Ann Leckie: "I love Murderbot!" Fans will love the opportunity to get to know the PUMNT crew better—with one especially interesting introduction.

[funwithchickenjane]

"there is nothing like the locked tomb..."

reading slumps suck. so i wanted to take a crack at recommending some specific read-a-likes that i've enjoyed over the years. without further ado...

"i really wish more books had..."

big-ass bone construct battles > the archive undying by emma meiko candon

this novel follows sunai, a man who cannot die, cannot age, cannot escape his past, and tries to solve most problems with gay sex. you will find familiar themes of chronic physical and mental illness, unreliable narrators losing their minds, body-swapping/mind-sharing, and monsters of bone and flesh slamming into each other.

whatever 'as yet unsent' had going on > witch king by martha wells

several people, some with history, some without, most grieving, all gay. and you guessed it--they're on a dangerous mission tangential to a rebellion plot! this novel best captures that energy of "the battle has happened, and now what?" as well as the impact of personal relationships on peoples political convictions. and yes, one of them is an anal-retentive lesbian cop.

labyrinthine houses of mystery > piranesi by susanna clarke

a weird one! piranesi follows piranesi, a odd little man living in a infinite house(?) with endless corridors and rooms. he knows only himself and The Other, until one day a third person shows up. here, you will also find themes of chronic illness and insanity. it also has guys who maybe shouldn't be god, houses of mystery, and a dark-academia-adjacent mystery. sadly, i don't think there were any cows.

fucked up old people threesomes the broken earth - n.k. jemisin

this a pretty grim fantasy series about a version of earth with fifth, extreme, seasons and people with geologic magic. alongside familiar themes of imperialism, oppression, and rebellion, this novel features one of my other favorite trios that messed up the world with a baby and a bomb. it does capture some of that retelling of the end of the earth vibes from nona. the use of names and identity is also quite interesting.

nona's genuine love for earth and its people > 17776 and 20020 by jon bois

stay with me through the football beginning. if you've come from the homestuck, you will appreciate these webcomics about three space satellites and the immortal, utopian earth that has nothing left to do aside from playing football. i think it is the only other thing i've read that captures both the human spirit and the horrors of immortality in quite the same way. (yes, it's still gay).

lesbians lesbians yuri lesbians yuri > kissing the witch by emma donoghue

this novel reimagines and connects thirteen fairytales into a tapestry of different (frequently lesbian) relationships and experiences. this book is one of my favorites when "two young adult lesbians who fall in love" is a little stifling and you want a larger cast of characters. (milfs, i mean when you want a book with milfs)

epic queer love story with necromancy > mo dao zu shi by mo xiang tong xiu

listen. i know that in the queer novel/ship tournaments the tensions were high. i know we're trying to focus on lesbians here. but i need you all to know in your heart of hearts that every bit of propaganda in the great 'wangxian v griddlehark (v old people)'-off of 2023... applied to both books. highly, highly recommend.

lesbian nuns... in space! > our lady of endless worlds by lina rather

this series of novellas tracks an order of nuns on a living spaceship serving in the outer colonies. faced with new orders from the church and a the distress call from a new colony, the order begins to question the version of history they were taught and the validity of their mission. (i have seen this promoted as 'camp', but personally, i find the themes to be much more serious/genuine than that).