#Diverse SFF

[prince-liest]

I’m reading Witch King by Martha Wells, and now that I have read more than one (1) series by this author, I have been suddenly brained with a two-by-four sharpied over with “realizing that I really enjoy novels by Martha Wells because they live in the specific niche created by the intersection of casually and thoroughly queer casts and non-romance storylines”

I am as ever a sucker for non-human main characters struggling with their very human feelings, which is why I jumped on Witch King the moment I saw “the author of Murderbot wrote another book with a main character that’s non-human,” but I live in this dichotomy where I can really enjoy reading queer romances but I don’t really identify with non-ace characters (which is not actually something I figured out how to differentiate until I was Last Week Years Old). so there are lots of books out there that I enjoy reading but it’s comparatively rare for me to read something that feels like it was written For Me and Martha Wells does that very well

anyway, give me more ace it-pronouns human-spliced robot main characters and people-eating demons who consider rank over gender when finding new bodies to inhabit

[bookishfeylin]

Are you going to be reading House of Flame and Shadow, if only to keep up with what’s happening in ACOTAR now that there's a crossover?

No I’m much more interested in reading this:

[alvoskia]

 “Do you know what an Infran is?”  “Of course I do,” Ally bristled. You couldn’t live in Alvoskia and not know. There were eight different kinds and all of them were famous. The old ones were dead now and had been for a while. The cycle would start all over again soon. “Alright, then. What does an Infran do?” Gisenburg challenged her. Ally thought of the murals at weekly prayers, the sickle-shaped hole in the stone to let the moonlight through. Stories of saints who could walk on water; people who could turn into dragons, although that one was probably a myth. “God things,” she said as confidently as she could. Gisenburg’s lips twitched but it didn’t reach her strange, grey eyes, like she’d asked this question before and hadn’t liked the answer. “Well, Ally—have you ever wanted to be a god?”

—ALVOSKIA: Call of the Infrans

[scholar-of-yemdresh]

It's frustrating being a person who's really only interested in diverse adult science fiction and fantasy books and has no interest in YA/kidlit or romance.

Frustrating because on one side the people who are into primarily adult sff are only talking about the generic medieval euro cishet mantasy slop; the Wheel of Dragon song light storms by Brandon Mcwhite dude, then the other side is primarily only about YA or "NA" romantasy.

I'm stuck between a rock and a hard place. It's near impossible to find diverse adult sff book people that aren't like 90% into YA/ YA books masquerading as adult with majority of the adult books they read are romantasy smut 💀

So as relatively romance/sex repulsed asexual and someone who doesn't care for narratives centering teens/kids, I'm just in my lonely little SFF corner. I can't interact with the broader book fandoms because both sides of it don't interest me much

It's the same issue I have with anime/manga fandom which is 99% about infantile battle shonen and then Berserk as the token adult manga. For God's sake where are the grown adults interested in adult stories where the only thing that marks them as adult is smut?

I like to read about adults with adult problems I also like to read about queers & POC in Interesting fantasy/sci-fi worlds

[2percentsugar]

>read book by man hailed as the best spec fic writer working today

>its mid

>express confusion that it is so well known on reddit

>"oh dude thats his worst book, read this one instead"

>read it

>its worse

[literaryelise]

“Do not tell me what you should feel. Tell me what is true.”

The Jasad Heir, Sara Hashem

[cruelsister-moved2]

soooo patronising whn people talk about like “making an effort to read more books by women/BIPOC” like its a chore & those reading challenges where the other entries are like an actual feature of the book and then its “read something by an AOC (author of colour)” and like “read something not published in the US” idk chief if reading interesting novels with fresh perspectives is like a challenge to you that you have to labour through so u can make a patronising tweet abt it and get back to reading branderson sanderson’s 980th book youre the weakest link to me

[sparkofthetelling]

Tagged by @mirastudiesphysics I'm physically exhausted and idk why, so I'm answering this to make myself feel better, and I'll try to get back around to it to maintain the spirit of community. Relationship status: Single (I label as aroace, but it's eternally complicated) Favorite color (right now): Carmine/#960018

(The physical dye color I believe is made from cochineal beetle husks!) Song stuck in my head: Free - Live from MSG by Florence + TM Last song I listened to: Nueva York Train Chase (from the Across the Spiderverse Score) Last thing I googled: significance of cloth color for headpieces in Sikhi/Sikh culture Dream trip: Either like, a cross-country train trip or drive with my mother (Canada, US, Ireland, Norway/Sweden/Finland, doesn't really matter) or to go spend like a month at Gran Sasso doing research without being worked to the brink because of cost Anything I want right now: another no contrast cardiac fMRI and my omnibuses I ordered to arrive. Other people: Later

[lilareviewsbooks]

May Reading Wrap-Up: 8 SFF Books :)

Hey guys! Happy Pride Month! I have my reading month to share with you all - it's the first month of summer and so things are picking up here on the reading end. And honestly, I couldn't be more excited and happy to be reading :) Let's see what I read!

Lagoon, by Nnedi Okorafor

no rating | 306 pages | queer main characters!

This was the last book I finished before leaving school and coming home! I took a super cool sci-fi class last semester and read all sorts of books from all over the world - this was my professor's pick for Nigeria! I haven't rated it since I read under circumstances that bias me towards rating it lower than I should - aka class.

Regardless, I'll tell you my thoughts: this book tells the stories of a series of interconnected people living in Lagos, and how their lives are affected by the arrival of aliens. I love a good first contact story, so I was excited! But unfortuantely I didn't find myself liking this book too much.

The problem I have with Ms. Okorafur's writing is her pacing. I find things move too quickly to my liking, and too much attention is spared for the things I am not concerned about, while major events feel glossed-over. I had much the same feelings as I had with her Binti trilogy: I think the plot is fun, and I'm intrigued, but the writing turns me off completely. This time, I was even more into it, as Ms. Okorafur was focused on the arrival of aliens in the third world, and that was a lot more realistic, fun and unique than our typical narratives of first-contact-in-the-US - especially for a fellow third world-er.

Overall, I don't not recommend it. Give it a try! But if Binti felt rushed for you, I don't think this one will be your cup of tea, either.

The Dallergut Dream Department Store, by Lee Mi-Ye

2.5 stars | 306 pages | no queer rep :(

Oh, The Dallergut Dream Department Store... I wrote a full review on this one, so I won't dally too much, but suffice it to say it wasn't that enjoyable of an experience! The story follows Penny as she begins to work at a Dream Store people visit while they sleep.

Although definitely cozy, I thought the story really lacked direction. There's no over-arching plot, and everything feels like a sequence of short stories. At the end, the author seems to realize her mistake and attempt to insert some semblance of a plot, but it falls completely through given that it's so close to the finish line. The main character is also dreadful, with no personality, no agency, and basically no point to existing besides asking the right questions at the right times. Other characters were plenty more enjoyable and could've been amazing main characters.

Some of the vignettes were fun, but it just made me wish more and more that an editor had looked at this one more time. It has potential, but it feels like a rough draft. After a semester spent workshopping scripts, I couldn't help feeling like this was one of fellow classmates' drafts, and that I needed to help them improve. Overall, I wouldn't recommend!

A Taste of Gold and Iron, by Alexandra Rowland

4 stars | 512 pages | MLM main couple

Okay, so. I don't usually read speculative romance, and I guess I should make it clear, as it means I'm not thaaat good of a judge on the genre. But I wanted something that would make me gush, and didn't have the brain power for anything like the more complicated political fantasies I'm usually into. So was born my era of queer romantasy, which is already continuing into June.

Help. I've become quite addicted.

A Taste of Gold and Iron is, as far as I'm concerned, a delightful example of the genre. It follows a shy, anxious prince and his new bodyguard (who might resent him just the tinniest bit). They are thrust into a mystery they must unravel, as well as deal with their own personal afflictions, and - of course - navigate their feelings towards each other.

I thought the two main characters, particularly Kadou, the prince, were very well constructed. Their dynamic - "sworn to protect the prince" and "the prince" - is also treated very well throughout the book, as both of them address the implications of this particular relationship. And their relationship is so good, that it had an - uncharacteristic, let me add - effect on me: I sat up on my bed and squealed.

So, yeah! This is a good one! I will caution people who, like me, are coming from non-romance fantasy, that the main plotline outside of the relationship is very simple and silly at times. (It was comped with The Goblin Emperor, which is simply not true and a comparison I resent very much). I didn't mind it though, involved as I was with their love for each other! Highly recommend!

The Last Binding Trilogy [A Marvellous Light; A Restless Truth & A Power Unbound], by Freya Marske

3 stars (as a whole) | 400ish pages | MLM & WLW rep :)

This was my first endeavor into my search for queer Bridgerton, which has not yet proven a 100% successful, but will definitely have its own post!! Anyway, this a series set in magical Edwardian England, where a group of gays finds each other and get embroiled into a mysterious plot. Each book follows a different couple, which is a good gimmick, but there's also an over-arching plot, so you do need to read them in order.

I found myself having fun with the romances, but not impressed in the least by the plot. I found it dull, unoriginal and full of mustache-twirling villains - which is the worst offense, in my opinion. Nuance is mandatory in my favorite characters! I found the last book to be the worst offender, which is why I rated it the lowest.

I have a longer review in which I get into the nitty-gritty of this topic in particular, but also found it extremely disappointing that racism or the trans-atlantic slave trade's consequences in general were not explored at all in the books. This was worsened by the fact that other social prejudices are plenty explored - in fact, it's practically one by book: homophobia in the first, sexism in the second, and classism in the third. And although I have no expectations that all books explore all topics, given the importance and the relevance of this debate to the time period and the fact that other prejudices were unpacked, it definitely left a gapping hole.

A Natural History of Dragons, by Marie Brennan

4 stars | 334 pages | no queer rep!

In my desperate need for historical speculative fiction, as well as my attempts to read as many books as possible for my r/Fantasy Bingo card, I ended up with the Memoirs of Lady Trent series. It has long been in my TBR and so I was very excited!

It definitely fulfilled my expectations! The series chronicles the life of Isabella, or Lady Trent, a gentlewoman in "Victorian England" - it's not England and it's not Victorian, it's a made-up country, but let's leave it at that - who has an obsession with dragons (who exist, in this world!). Fighting against sexist prejudices, Isabella eventually becomes one of the major specialists in dragons of her time, and the series chronicles her various expeditions and experiences.

The novel is certainly slow, told in the more subdued voice that readers of Isabella's time period would find suitable. But this doesn't make it less exciting! I found myself particularly compelled by the exploration, however slight, of what it means to be a stranger in a place. To be visiting, and living in other peoples' houses, and exploring their culture and nature for science. Of the particular awkwardness that brings, but also of the joys, when a cross-cultural connection is made.

I'm excited to continue on with the series - I'm about halfway through book two and loving it just as much, so I expect it'll be a lot of fun for me :)

The Hatmakers, by Tamzin Merchant

4 stars | 368 pages | very minor queer side characters, but they do have a moment to shine and it's pretty cute!

Apart from historical fantasy, I also had a craving for middle grade! I loooove reading middle grade stories, and so hunted the internet for recommendations until I found this one! It's delightful: it tells the story of Cordelia, a girl whose family are magical hatmakers. One day, while out searching for ingredients to make even cooler hats, Cordelia's father is lost at sea, and Cordelia is the only one who believes he's still alive...

And imagine my delight when I found out this was set in the Regency period! It was a crazy coincidence, but it definitely helped my enjoyment. I thought the world building was nice, even if we didn't get too deep into it for this first book, and there's some politics here, too, which was fun!

My main complaints are that the book tied too many loose ends to make me compelled to read this as series. I'll definitely want to pick up book two, just 'cause, but I wonder if it wasn't best to have a bit more of a cliff-hanger with the plot points that are important in the second-half of the book. I also don't know if I agree with the way the book is approaching Cordelia's grief for her father, but I obviously haven't read the whole series, and so can't speak on the project as a whole.

Apart from this, I found the story charming, the characters delightful, and the magic system interesting, even if a little funky. I'm excited to read more in this world and from this author!

That's it for my month! I'd love to hear from you, so please let me know what you're reading, too, if you'd like, or disagree with me and we can discuss these books :)

[cmrosens]

The Dangers of Blue Beards (in Books)

Bluebeard Retellings and Reimaginings As I’m sure you all know I’m not a folklorist or anything like that, but I LOVE folktales and stories, and I think in worldbuilding one of the best and most fun ways to get to grips with a culture is by imagining what stories people tell about themselves and their world. In The Crows I made up local legends and sayings, and put out a little eBook collection…

[veliseraptor]

re: that post i just reblogged about 'cozy horror'...i know better than to expect anything approaching decent commentary from the mary sue these days but this article really is just. sending me this morning. (thank you for sharing, @bereft-of-frogs! this was a good diversion from being angry about work stuff to being angry about something else.) starting off strong with:

local writer has been introduced to novel concept of broader horror genre!

ah yeah that instantly makes sense to me particularly as a segue after mentioning midsommar and the witch, two movies that i would definitely describe as "cozy"

the cozy horror novels of t. kingfisher, like the one with the description of an animated deer skull hovering outside a window at night that still freaks me out to remember? those ones?

my favorite part though might be the author's confident assertion that this is all about gender really:

because boys like icky bad horror that's difficult and intense and girls like nice cozy horror with happy endings and low stakes. ah yes. feminism!

if this becomes a thing i am going to perish. isn't taking over the sff environment with cozy feel good fluff enough, must the world take this from me too, it's hard enough to find horror i like already

[bookishfeylin]

Black Fantasy TBR Part 1

It's taking so long to compile all my books that I might as well release my tbr one portion at a time. This isn't really that organized, but here's the first part of my fantasy (and a little bit of scifi) tbr listed out for people who are curious and/or want to see more fantasy books with Black protagonists:

The Queens of Innis Lear by Tessa Gratton

Nubia: The Awakening by Omar Epps and Clarence A. Haynes

A Song Below Water by Bethany C. Morrow

Abengoni: First Calling by Charles R. Saunders

Across the Broken Tide by Lakase Cousino

Iron Cast by Destiny Soria

That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams

Kingdom of Feathers by Deborah Grace White

Priestess of nKu by Milton J Davis

Promise of Shadows by Justina Ireland

The Summer Prince by Alaya Dawn Johnson

Queen of Zazzau by J.S. Emuakpor

Elysium by Nora Sakavic

Daughters of Jubilation by Kara Lee Corthron

Zahrah the Windseeker by Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu

Dream Country by Ashaye Brown

The Reluctant Sacrifice by Kerr-Ann Dempster

She Steals Justice by J. Clark

Skin of the Sea by Natasha Bowen

Queen of the Conquered by Kacen Callender

The Hope of Aferi: The Wolf Queen by Cerece Rennie Murphy

A River of Royal Blood by Amanda Joy

The Blazing Star by Imani Josey

A Song of Wraiths and Ruin by Roseanne Brown

Bones to the Wind by Tatiana Obey

Treachery of Water by Angela J. Ford

Wings of Ebony by J. Elle

Beautiful Nightmare by L.C. Son

Conquest by Celeste Harte

Blood Scion by Deborah Falaye

The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin

Magic Dark, Magic Divine by A.J. Locke

Shadow's Dissident by Ariel Paiement

War Girls by Tochi Onyebuchi

Mirage by Somaiya Daud

A Conspiracy of Stars by Olivia A. Cole

This was mostly stand-alones and duologies, so the next part of my tbr should be mostly trilogies and longer series.

[alvoskia]

You and your friends will be called to a much greater destiny...

Jamie wants revenge. Flames wants redemption. And Ally? She just wants her powers back. When the latest generation of Infrans, unique magic users in the land of Alvoskia, are summoned earlier than expected to fulfil their duties, Infran of Life Ally Hatten flounders without the powers she's been trying to get back for the past seven years. But with her sister's past as a child soldier, and her one sided rival's quest for redemption in the land of their enemies, she'll soon have bigger problems on her hands - all out war notwithstanding.

artwork (c) @imminent-danger-came

Alvoskia / Infrans FAQ here <3

[inkcurlsandknives]

The next man to derisively refer to Romantasy as "fairy smut" is gonna have me tearing their throat out with my teeth. Just heard a dripping with condescension NPR bit on Romantasy being the most popular fiction genre. NPR is failing me as my calm car listening station 😔

What an exhausting way to live. Just let people like entertainment, be happy people are reading longform media, enjoy the fact that the fantasy target audience is growing and gaining new readers!

Traditional hero's journey fantasy and SFF in general has been a near impossible to break into oversaturated market with an audience that mostly started reading SFF under the age of 15. This has been the case for years, despite the massive popularity of SFF TV shows and movies, it just wasn't translating into people becoming SFF readers if they weren't already. That means by and large authors were not attracting new adult readers only readers who'd already been reading SFF. As literacy and reading rates among kids plummets that's CONCERNING

The move towards romantasy and cozy fantasy in books has opened up the market, and demand for new and diverse stories. We're getting readers who've never touched SFF before! That's excellent news!

[souldagger]

hey, mar! what would *you* like to see more of in the next 10 years in sff literature?

GOOD QUESTION... i shared the amal el-mohtar quote precisely bc she hit the nail on the 'big' things i'd most like to see more of (SFF getting WEIRD with it, 'queer as a verb', diversity beyond 'box-checking', both genre-fuckery/blurring of lines btwn genres and maximalist quintessential fully-and-unapologetically-in-love-with-the-genre books). BUT if i may also be self-indulgent a little bit, some more specific things i personally would love to see more of:

sff centering a sense of wonder and/or existential dread!!! some of my favourite works of SFF are ones that tap into those specific feelings, i'd love to see more of either, or both - especially since the line between the two is rather thin

kind of relatedly - not to sound like a snob but i LOVE when scifi gets philosophical with it. like make me question the fundamental subjectivity of our experience and the transience of our existence! more of that! sickos hahaha yes!!!

if i can get into the weeds of specific tropes: i'd love more xenoarchaeology and Big Dumb Objects in particular <3 (both of which tie into the wonder/existential dread thing for me)

hard scifi - i'm always down for more hard scifi - but specifically hard scifi with a focus on sciences other than just physics

also, more books playing with the form - by which i mean not just nonlinear/nonsequential fiction, but also messing with the physical format itself - the layout, the typography, etc. (yes this is the graphic designer in me speaking)

illustrations also… like i think they could really add SO much to the experience of speculative fiction in particular, it's such a pity how rare illustrations are in SFF, esp adult SFF. case in point: look at Leviathan by Scott Westerfeld (YA, but still) or Walking Practice by Dolki Min and tell me the illustrations do not elevate the text to a new level!