#author: Indra Das

[haveyoureadthispoll]

On a cool evening in Kolkata, India, beneath a full moon, as the whirling rhythms of traveling musicians fill the night, college professor Alok encounters a mysterious stranger with a bizarre confession and an extraordinary story. Tantalized by the man’s unfinished tale, Alok will do anything to hear its completion. So Alok agrees, at the stranger’s behest, to transcribe a collection of battered notebooks, weathered parchments, and once-living skins. From these documents spills the chronicle of a race of people at once more than human yet kin to beasts, ruled by instincts and desires blood-deep and ages-old. The tale features a rough wanderer in seventeenth-century Mughal India who finds himself irrevocably drawn to a defiant woman—and destined to be torn asunder by two clashing worlds. With every passing chapter of beauty and brutality, Alok’s interest in the stranger grows and evolves into something darker and more urgent.

[notjanine]

3, 4, 6

3. What were your top five books of the year?

(I will restrict this list to recreational reading only, bc tbh most of my top five would actually be good stuff i read for work!)

The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle- i think this was the first one i read in january (it was a christmas gift from Books, back when i wasn't sure if this thing was real yet). it's one of those books that feels so familiar and whole that you can't believe it hasn't been part of your life before. it's just such a perfect little high fantasy story- not too serious, but not too simple, not bloated with unnecessary worldbuilding details, but still feels very lived-in. i loved it so much and i know it's one i will return to many times more.

The Devourers by Indra Das- a journey! i'm a slut for stories about shapeshifters, and i really liked what this book did with that. it's tense and sexy, and the perfect length for the story it's trying to tell. lots of sensory detail made it feel wonderfully immersive. it's not like anything else i've ever read.

The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia- it's definitely got flaws, but it's an interesting fantasy medical mystery, and i was surprised how much i liked it. i'm not usually one to get attached to a protagonist, but i really enjoyed this one.

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky- human space exploration drama plus super-intelligent giant spider society bullshit. fun. the protag didn't sit well with me, but he's so boring and such a non-entity that it barely affected my enjoyment of the book. i took issue with some of the gender politics (i love when men write matriarchal societies that are just genderswapped patriarchy without being thoughtful about why that phenomena would arise in the first place 🙄 this one is more thoughtful than some i've seen, but there were still a few eye roll moments). all that being said, it is a very compelling, crunchy sci-fi novel that i would recommend.

Love after the End edited by Joshua Whitehead- a great collection of queer and two-spirit indigenous speculative short stories, some of which have realllly stuck with me!

bonus bonus can't not mention it!: Cosmoknights vol. 1 (reread) and vol. 2 (new!) by Hannah Templer- i just fucking love these space lesbians so much!

4. Did you discover any new authors that you love this year?

i'm down hard for the aforementioned Naseem Jamnia! Zin E. Rocklyn's Flowers for the Sea didn't make it into my top five, but i will definitely keep an eye out for anything they do next. i'm in the middle of Out There Screaming, and so far Cadwell Turnbull and Lesley Nneka Arimah are new-to-me authors i'm def gonna get more into. there were also a few authors in Love after the End that i want more of, but i've added their books to my goodreads want to read and forgotten their names since i returned that book to the library.

6. Was there anything you meant to read, but never got to?

tons! here's all my fun books (i.e., books that are not 100% directly related to work) that i have yet to read

[evenaturtleduck]

I had hoped to read 50 books this year. Instead I've read 180. That is to say, in May I finished only one book and in September I read forty-two (I must have been some particularly awful combination of bored and stressed that month), and every other month was somewhere in between. So rather than list everything I read this year (note to self: next year maybe do something like a monthly summary? that would probably be a smart idea) I'll just list the books/series/authors this year that most thoroughly got in my head/captured my imagination/fucked me up.

With the one obvious exception, you can also imagine all of these comments followed by me waving my hands and shrieking 'I just loved this book so much oh my god.'

A Strange and Stubborn Endurance by Foz Meadows--like one of those chocolate bars where the chocolate's not too sweet or too bitter and it's got just the right amount of crunchy salty bits in it and it's just the most perfectly craveable thing I've ever eaten.

The Binding by Bridget Collins--it took me several days to read because I wasn't sure how I felt about it for the first half or so and I kept setting the book in my lap to just stare at the wall because the world of the book was so completely immersive, and when I went to bed I kept dreaming about it (I did end up deciding I loved it).

The Daevabad trilogy + River of Silver by S.A. Chakraborty--the whole universe of these books is A+ worldbuilding goals--history, culture, religion, language--it's amazing. Also I love all the characters so much. Even the villains--they're all so interesting and complex (villains don't have to be sympathetic to be good villains of course but sometimes you want to cheer for the doomed girlboss who's actually so right except for the genocide).

Deep Secret by Diana Wynne Jones--a reread of a middle school favorite (I assume I was in middle school when I first read it because I remember thinking Nick was practically an adult and then I reread it and realized he's only 14). This was one of the first books I ever checked out from the adult side of the library and to this day I compare all fictional multiverses to Diana Wynne Jones's (and they never live up to it). Most of it takes place at a fantasy con where, among other things, there is a centaur, a UFO, an orgy, and a scene based on DWJ's real life con experience with Neil Gaiman. Basically everything about this book is amazing and permanently defined good speculative fiction for me.

The Devourers by Indra Das--this one made it onto the list even though I didn't actually enjoy it. It was just very effective at whateverthefuck it was. It's like if Kristeva's Powers of Horror wrote a fucked up novel with Cohen's Monster Theory. It was like that time when I was a little kid that my grandpa was watching a thing on TV about David Koresh and I kept creeping into the room to watch even though I was terrified of whatever was happening and was baffled and haunted for months afterwards every time I went to bed. I hated it and I couldn't stop reading it and if that sounds appealing to you then you should absolutely read it.

Busman's Honeymoon and Gaudy Night by Dorothy L. Sayers--rereads of grad school-era favorites, but they're just so perfect in every way. They're billed as mystery novels but they're also about a couple who're deeply in love while trying to parse out the potentially toxic power dynamics in their relationship, figure out the best way to support each other when they're both super stressed out and kind of traumatized, AND also being extremely nerdy together about literature and history and politics. It's just. I love Peter and Harriet, and I love their friends and family (except Helen. Helen can fuck right off). Usually if I want a love story with characters discussing how gender is going to affect their sexual and romantic relationships and overall agency and identity I have to go to, say, Alexis Hall or Cat Sebastian, but back in the 1930s Dorothy Sayers was already on it (and not even just with the two protagonists--there's a whole college of female academics hotly--and potentially murderously--debating the issue over dinner)

For Real by Alexis Hall--the most emotions per sex scene I think I've ever experienced.

The Half Life of Valery K, The Lost Future of Pepperharrow, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street by Natasha Pulley--everything by Pulley, but these three in particular, just goes right to my heart and aches very gently. Like, when it's sad it's hopeful, and when it's happy it's wistful.

His Majesty's Dragon by Naomi Novik (and the other Temeraire books I read)--yes it would have been improved by more scenes involving Laurence being trapped in a room full of assertive woman in pants while he politely panics, but the whole concept and the worldbuilding of this dragon-filled alternate history and TEMERAIRE MY BELOVED and Laurence you sweet honorable angry himbo <3 I get annoyed by alternate histories in which everything ends up panning out the same way, just with different flavoring, so I really love how Novik put so much thought into how her dragons would change the state of the world in so many different aspects.

The Hollow Places by T. Kingfisher--I didn't realize I liked horror until I read this one.

A Lady for a Duke by Alexis Hall--the best take on a Regency romance.

Loki: Agent of Asgard--Spouse commented that I spent more time per page on this graphic novel than I did on the traditional kind, because I loved getting lost in the art. It was just really funny and beautiful and thoughtful.

A Marvelous Light by Freya Marske--Edwin cradling the snowflake to show Robin is such a perfect moment <3

Nettle and Bone by T. Kingfisher--I am fascinated by how these characters are so clear about how they are definitely not in a fairy tale, but they are 100% down to borrow fairy tale logic and tools when they're useful, and then discard them as soon as they're not (like the dustwife and her three impossible tasks).

Noor by Nnedi Okorafor--I don't think I can adequately describe how fascinating this solarpunk world is (people complain about solarpunk being an oxymoron because like the solar implies a clean and environmentally healthy context while the punk is a rebellion against a toxic status quo but that's because they apparently haven't read this book yet). Also I love AO and DNA <3

Paladin's Grace by T. Kingfisher--I cannot overstate how much it means to me that his god literally died and he's still over here doing his best.

Paris Daillencourt Is About To Crumble by Alexis Hall--looks fluffy, but is actually really painful in a good way.

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke--extremely weird in all the best ways. It's this slow unfolding of the character and the space into a gorgeous and contemplative piece of art.

Ring Shout by P. Djèlí Clark--fucking badass and extremely satisfying. If you've ever wanted to see a black woman with a magic sword and her heavily-armed besties obliterate a bunch of Klan members then I have the book for you.

The Sandman vol 1 by Neil Gaiman--I don't even know where to start with this one.

The Scholomance Trilogy by Naomi Novik--I had to stop twice to read different, super fluffy, books because I couldn't think about it after dark. You know how everything seems more stressful after the sun sets and 'it's after 9pm I cannot trust the horrors'? These books are full of horrors and during the day it's like 'oh very cool statement on capitalism' and at night it's 'oh god these poor children'.

The Serpent Gates books by A.K. Lakewood--flying whales! There is so much that's so gorgeous about these books but the whales soaring above the uncanny and terrifyingly deep forest ocean thing will live in my imagination forever.

This is how you lose the time war by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone--So many gorgeous little moments and images--more like a poetry collection than a novel. And I got to the end and I was like 'Ooohhhhh! I recognize this imagery!!!' I love borrowing from fairy tales to make them new.

To be taught, if fortunate by Becky Chambers--I am still not over this.

Uprooted by Naomi Novik--another staring-at-the-wall kind of story. Spinning Silver was also excellent and did some really cool things with interlocking fairy tales, but Uprooted was just so much of a seamless piece that it completely absorbed me.

Waiting for the Flood by Alexis Hall--a perfect little jewel of a story.

The Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers--the galaxy-building!!! All of these books made me cry--sometimes in a 'oh god this hurts so much' way, but by the end of every book I always felt joyful about the whole existence of sentient life in the universe.

Winter's Orbit by Everina Maxwell--another of those books that scratched a very particular itch in my brain in a very satisfying way--like yes, it had all the favorite tropes AND it had the really excellent character development and fascinating plottiness and interesting world building and all that good stuff. (Ocean's Echo was also fantastic! I'm a sucker for super-lawful-and-honorable military guys who discover they can't actually change the system from within and have to Do A Treason in order to live up to their own moral and ethical code--see also: Captain William Laurence)

When Women Were Dragons by Kelly Barnhill--another one where I cried. So much rage and longing in the first half, so much joy at the end.

THIS IS NOT ALL THE BOOKS I LOVED OR THAT AFFECTED ME THIS YEAR. These are just the books that made the most obvious impressions on my brain.

[night-dark-woods]

current to-read list in no particular order (asterisked are bc seth dickinson mentions them in the reddit ama...)

haunting of hill house

left hand of darkness (reread)

eros the bittersweet - anne carson

autobiography of red - anne carson

antigone & antigonick - anne carson (first is a translation, as much as any of her work can be considered strictly such, second is a version)

(i also have the greek but thats. a long term project.)

grief lessons - anne carson

the illiad: a new translation by caroline alexander

*authority & acceptance (books 2 and 3 of the southern reach trilogy after annihilation)

*blindsight - peter watts

*the luminous dead - caitlin starling

*the devourers - indra das

*the cartographers - peng shepherd (seth mentions a different book, but i wasnt grabbed by the premise, but this one sounds rly cool)

*downbelow station - cj cherryh

*ninefox gambit - yoon ha lee

three body problem - liu cixin (even tho i keep trying to read the beginning at the bookstore and not getting sucked in)

a broken blade - melissa blair (ya book for fun)

broken earth series - n k jemison

how to hide an empire: a history of the greater united states - daniel immerwahr

the bright ages: a new history of medieval europe

on looking: eleven walks with expert eyes - alexandra horowitz

ancillary justice - ann leckie (finally lol)

why fish don't exist - lulu miller

caliban's war - james s a corey (maybe. the first book was. predictable and tropey in a very fun way BUT so clearly SciFi Written By A Man)(two men, in fact)

gardens of the moon - steven erikson (fourth(???) time's the charm to actually read the full series?)

assassin's quest - robin hobb (maybe. i may give up and dnf this book about the whiniest protag since holden caulfield)

what moves the dead - t kingfisher

too like the lightning - ada palmer

[writerlunawinters]

Title: The Devourers

Author: Indra Das

Genre: Fantasy, Horror

Published: July 12, 2016

My Thoughts: I hated this, then thought it okay, then hated it, then loved it.

In Kolkata, India, college professor Alok encounters a mysterious stranger with an extraordinary story. He agrees to transcribe a collection of notebooks, parchments, and skins, telling the story of a race ruled by instincts and desires. The story follows a wanderer in seventeenth-century Mughal India who is drawn to a defiant woman and is torn between two clashing worlds. Alok's interest in the stranger grows as the story unfolds.

This book is such an odd one for me to review properly. With a little over 300 pages, it seems wrong to say that I liked it, knowing I didn’t feel that way until after the 30% mark.

I’m usually not one to say you have to get through the muck to enjoy a story. You either enjoy it, or you don’t. But this book is somehow my exception. I hated the beginning. It got a little better, then bad again, then I devoured the rest of the book (pun intended).

This book is not lighthearted. There are definite trigger warnings to look at before picking it up. I would recommend it to readers who enjoy mythology and darker fantasy stories.

[ankhisms]

2, 4, 11, 14!

2. did you reread anything?

well im going to count rereading and then finishing mushishi! i was really happy to find the translations for the final chapters which i never got to read before and it was really nice to revisit the chapters of mushishi that ive already read before i love mushishi a lot :)

4. did you discover any new authors that you love this year

hmmm i didnt have any that came right to mind at first but then i looked at my storygraph to jog my memory and yoko ogawa and ruth ozeki are both authors i discovered this year whos books i really enjoyed!

11. favorite book thats been out for a while but that you just read

sweet bean paste by durian sukegawa and the devourers by indra das!

14. what book do you want to finish before the year is over

im really trying to finish voices from chernobyl because ive been working through it since the spring, its a pretty heavy book made up of translated interviews of people impacted by the chernobyl disaster and its been a very good book but its also one that ive had to take breaks from because of how heavy it is. a lighter book that im hoping to finish soon is the cat who saved books by sosuke natsukawa which ive been enjoying :)

[dionetaofavalon]

Book review: The Devourers

I recently finished The Devourers by Indra Das. It’s a good book, it deserves an audience, and I’m pretty sure a huge chunk of that audience hangs out on Tumblr.

Here’s the summary on the back of the book:

“On a cool evening in Kolkata, India, college professor Alok encounters a mysterious stranger who reveals part of an extraordinary story. Tantalized by the man’s unfinished tale, Alok will do anything to hear its conclusion. So Alok agrees, at the stranger’s behest, to transcribe a collection of battered notebooks, weathered parchments, and once-living skins. From these documents spills the chronicle of a race of people at once more than human yet kin to beasts, ruled by instincts and desires blood-deep and ages-old---and the lone woman who dares defy them.”

cw: rape

And if we were to tag it: #Indian author; #India Indian; #folklore; #myth; #Indian folklore; #Norse folklore; #shape-shifters; #werewolves; #but not really; #soul eaters; #potential cannibalism; #depending on how you want to define things; #tw:rape; #m/m sex; #bisexual characters; #non-binary characters; #gender-bending; #genre bending; #fiction; #fantasy; #dark fantasy; #horror; #can go in any one; #interesting story; #well-wrought; #good book

 The more thorough review is under the cut---spoiler alert:

The book begins outside a Baul performance in Kolkata, where Alok stands, observing. A stranger walks up, and after a few cursory pleasantries, announces he’s half-werewolf. Then he immerses Alok in a story.

The way the stranger relates the story, and a second one, is literally mesmerizing---Alok feels as though he’s experiencing it first hand. He also feels as if he’s coming off a high, of sorts, once the story ends. Partly to re-experience this sensation, partly out of boredom and loneliness, and partly because he’s kind of attracted to the stranger, Alok agrees to transcribe some notebooks.

The notebooks come in two sets: one a male narrator, Fenris, and one a female narrator, Cyrah. It’s immediately obvious how these two relate to each other (Fenris dedicates his scroll to Cyrah, for one), but how the first two oral stories fit in becomes apparent only later.

The stranger does not entirely lie when he says he’s half-werewolf, but the term is so inaccurate that it might as well be a falsehood. The stranger is the product of Fenris, a shape-shifter, and Cyrah, a human, via rape.

And the book itself never wavers on that point, though Fenris does. He wants to create a baby, and he’s chosen Cyrah. He will impregnate her whether she likes it or not. She ‘agrees’ in that she chooses not to get beaten, and she demands payment (she’s a prostitute, which the book treats simply as being the way she’s played the cards she’s been dealt). That she ‘agrees’ and he pays her confuses Fenris, but the book is clear: it’s rape.

Fenris’s tale is rather short, but Cyrah’s is much longer, comprising a good third of the book. She relates her version of her first encounter with Fenris, as well as the rape, but continues much further than that: Fenris had arrived with two companions, Makedon and Gevaudan (a Northman, a Greek, and a Frenchman), but Makedon objected to Fenris’s actions and motives regarding Cyrah, leading Gevaudan to kill Makedon. Fenris and Gevaudan split up, though Gevaudan, being in love with Fenris, didn’t really want to. Cyrah meets Gevaudan, and together they track down Fenris, Gevaudan withholding his motives and Cyrah not entirely sure about hers.

Cyrah and Gevaudan become friends, which marks Gevaudan as a pariah. Not that it makes much difference to him, since falling in love is also taboo among their kind. 

The way The Devourers deals with shapeshifting creatures is about as original as you can get. They have two souls; they feed off the souls and bodies of humans; they live extremely long lives; they can molt into a different human body if they wish---so they’re shape-changers in that respect too; and their beast form is its own thing. Their second selves, as they call them, are animalistic, but not ‘wolf’ or ‘tiger’ or whatever else. Their second selves are huge, hermaphroditic, fast, terrifying, and have incredible senses.

However, there isn’t one form taken by second selves. Fenris is wolf-like, but some shape-shifters from the Sundarbans are more tiger-like. Broadly speaking. Some discussion in the book itself wonders whether human mythologies arose due to encounters with shape-shifters, or if shape-shifters adjusted their forms to align with the cultural beliefs of local humans. Fenris thinks human beliefs influenced beast-forms, but during the Durga Puja, the stranger points out art of mythic stories and concludes that Indian gods and demons must have been shapeshifters, and humans invented divine and/or supernatural beings to explain them.

(Das, being Indian, spends most of his time with Indian myths, legends, and beliefs, though he dips into Norse stuff---some of it obscure---and a little Greek.)

Additionally, the depictions of same-sex attraction are well-executed. Alok is definitely not straight, nor is the stranger, but the book eschews labels. A lot of times that annoys me: I’m bisexual and I like words that tell the world---if there’s a word for you, then you’re real, and so often ‘no labels’ is used to efface. In this book’s case, it works. One, no one has to say Alok is bi/pansexual, as it’s clearly shown in between the lines, especially in his interactions with the stranger. Two, Alok seems to have a traditional family, and you find out his fiancee had issues with some of the things he liked and wanted---rejection can make coming to terms with yourself difficult, and part of this story is about Alok finding his comfort zone regarding his own sense of self. Three, how humans see sex and relationships is different from how shapeshifters see sex and relationships, so human terms don’t really apply (even with Gevaudan, whom it’s tempting to label straight-up gay). 

Also, Alok and the stranger have sex. I’m more forgiving of ‘no labels’ when you actually show what may-or-may-not need the label.

The book deals with gender, too. As stated above, the shapeshifters are hermaphroditic in their second selves. And since they can molt, they can change the gender of their human self. The stranger admits that his final molt will probably take the form of Cyrah. With Alok, one of his fiancee’s problems was that she didn’t like that he wanted to wear lipstick. More than that, he wants to wear women’s clothes. I didn’t get the sense that he’s transgender (at no point did ‘he’ seems an inappropriate pronoun), but he’d rather have a sari.

The Devourers is well-written, with a developed style---although this is Das’s debut novel, he’s obviously been writing for a while (I’m a snob when it comes to technique, sue me). Characterization is good, especially with characters like Fenris, who’s ‘empathetic’ in the story-telling sense of three-dimensional, with clear, understandable motives; but he’s not sympathetic.

I mentioned this was the spoiler-review, by which I meant I discuss details, but I haven’t summarized the story anymore than the back of the book does---there’s plenty to discover for any interested reader. As I said initially, this is a good book, and it deserves an audience.

[bangchansrailway]

Hello, I saw in a comment section you were offering to make a rec list of queer adult fantasy. Any chance you happen to have that list handy? If not no worries, and thank you for your time

YOU GOT IT

Contemporary Adult Queer Fantasy

Kalyna the Soothsayer by Elijah Kinch Spector Monster of Elendhaven by Jennifer Geisbrecht (we do not talk about this book enough it's so good!! Read if you love Hannibal or Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell) Priory of the Orange Tree by Samantha Shannon The Unbroken by CL Clark (ft. Sexy butch protagonist) The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri Master of Djinn by P Djeli Clark (+ his Djinn in Cairo novella series) Black Leopard, Red Wolf by Marlon James Silver in the Wood by Emily Tesh (read if you love Hozier) The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V.E. Schwab Dead Collections by Isaac Fellman (ft. Trans vampire protagonist) The City of Dusk by Tara Sim Burning Roses by S.L. Huang The Starless Sea by Erin Morgenstern Wild and Wicked Things by Francesca May Her Body & Other Parties by Carmen Maria Machado Wrath Goddess Sing by Maya Deane (ft trans Achilles!) The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia (ft. Aroace protagonist) Spear by Nicola Griffith (Authuriana) Witchmark by C.L. Polk, or anything by C.L. Polk The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner Fireheart Tiger by Aliette de Bodard (or anything by Aliette de Bodard) Sarahland by Sam Cohen House in the Cerulean Sea and Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune Lady Hotspur by Tessa Gratton Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliot (Alexander the Great retelling) The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart Hollow Empire by Sam Hawke K.A. Doore's Chronicles of Ghadid series The Deep by Rivers Solomon Jenn Lyons' A Chorus of Dragons series Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse The Founders Trilogy by Robert Jackson Bennett The Tiger's Daughter by K. Arsenault Rivera The Devourers by Indra Das (Indian shapeshifters!) The Once and Future Witches by Alix E Harrow The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo (queer Gatsby retelling)

Adult Queer Fantasy that I know specifically feature on-page boning: Siren Queen by Nghi Vo (please read anything & everything by Nghi Vo) A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske A Taste of Gold and Iron by Alexandra Rowland She Who Became the Sun by Shelly Parker-Chan The Mercenary Librarians series by Kit Rocha (dystopian) KJ Charles' Magpie Lord series

Not fantasy but you should still read them: Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin (horror, trans cast, firmly anti-TERF) Light From Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki (science-fantasy, objectively a perfect novel) Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo (horror, gay yearning) The Seep by Chana Porter Genesis of Misery by Neon Yang (sci-fi Joan of Arc) Everything by Becky Chambers Everything by Rivers Solomon Arkady Martine's A Memory Called Empire

ALSO: author K.A. Doore keeps a running list of queer adult SFF published every year. I highly recommend going through those archives, which you can find here: https://kadoore.com/2022/05/23/2022-queer-adult-science-fiction-fantasy-books/

Tl;dr: SFF is extremely gay, almost everyone writing contemporary SFF is queer in some way, we are truly blessed and I don't want to hear anyone complaining about not being able to find stuff ever again, I love you all.

[sofipitch]

Can you recommend me some literature other than the vampire chronicles?

Oh man I could give book opinions and recommendations all day so this almost feels too broad of an ask so I'm going to narrow it a little by recommending books that are similar enough to VC that I think VC fans will like. I'll try and remember to say what it is I think the book has in common with VC. But if you want recommendations for other genres just say the word!

I'm also gonna do contemporary books because I feel like most people have already discussed the parallel between VC and lots of classics, but for good measure my top choices would be: Wuthering Heights, The Picture of Dorian Gray, and Giovanni's Room

The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue by V. E. Schwab: This was a recent read and so so good. The hype is real. In this story a 17th century preasant girl makes a deal with a forest god that allows her to live forever. However the catch is no one can ever remember her. She goes through life meeting all kinds of people, but if they leave the room and come back it'll be like they never met. There is an aching loneliness this concept and book. I think in general this book has a really reflection from it's characters and other than the immortality aspect that is what I think makes this book like VC is the existentialism and yet lust for life that carries throughout. Because while Addie is often very lonely, she is also so in love with the world and people. I also really liked the character of the god who cursed her, he returns to taunt her regularly and their relationship is really fun (what tik tok teens would call "enemies to lovers"). Addie and some other characters are also queer which is a +

Certain Dark Things by Silvia Moreno Garcia: A you a fan of vampires? This book is a really creative take on vampire, more creative than a lot of contemporary reimaginings. Humans have known about vampires since the 1960s and vampires also come in different species, endemic to different regions, which would explain why some vampire lore may be contradictory. Why can some eat food and others can't? Different species. Atl is a vampire hiding from a different vampire clan in Mexico City, a city supposed to be free from vampires. She gets a homeless garbage collector named Domingo to help her avoid being caught by both the police and other vampires while trying to escape the city. Atl and Domingo have very Armand and Daniel in The Devil's Minion vibe. He's a human guy just fascinated by this cool vampire and hey, the extra cash isn't bad. But things get dangerous fast.

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno Garcia: Same author as previous (I really like her if you can't tell). This book is meant to be a take on the gothic genre, if you can't tell by the title. Noemi's cousin who has been recently married sends her a letter asking her to come rescue her. Noemi then goes to the her in-laws family home, a decrepit Victorian mansion, with an equally eerie family. I don't want to say too much but I think this one is a great gothic horror. It both does the tropes and reinvents them

My Heart is a Chainsaw by Stephen Graham Jones: This one is more straight up horror. Jade is a teen horror junkie who loves slashers. So when people start turning up dead in town she thinks she knows exactly what's going on and as a social outcast, this is everytging she has been waiting for, she hates the people of her town and wants them dead. Jade reminds me a bit of Lestat, not a ton in character but there is a deeply personal narration style and the fact that you can tell Jade is masking some massive insecurities she doesn't want to reveal to the audience. I also recommend this author's writing in general, they make my head go brrr

The Devourers by Indra Das: This is a werewolf book and starts off a LOT like IWTV. A history professor meets a man who claims to be half-werewolf. Despite being unsure if he believes him the man asks him to transcribe some historical documents, which tell the story (sst during the reign of Shah Jahan in India) of a werewolf and a human woman. This story is similar to IWTV in how it uses it's monsters as a reflection of humanity, they are both very human and unsettlingly inhuman. This book does have a hard plot so much as a charactrler exploration, and of course the mystery of the characters themselves. This is also a story where monsters are used to explore queer sexuality and gender and it's SO well done. However, since it is kind of a big part of the book, it's not described in detail but mentioned repeatedly, tw for rape

[marxandangels]

re: "Pharmakon" actually I'm not done yet, "the wrongness is familiar [...] a relief" is still giving me a shrimp emotion how dare you, but also I love the philosophy quotes u chose, super interesting and draw interesting connections to Chuck's narrative and storytelling and the whole "who gives a story meaning, the author or you" of the show, and also I just love the format of this piece like what medium?? do you call this?? is this a comic a collage a poem a graphic a fanfic DUNNO but it's RAD

!! thank you again! And yes! The quotes were supposed to be about Chuck/the narrative so I’m glad that worked. My answer to that meaning question in this piece (and Derrida’s, to whatever extent he ever actually answers any question) is that the meaning of the story belongs to the text itself. The author and the reader are a part of that text, but there is no authority except for the words themselves. And how do we access this meaning? our dear friend Derrida  would say deconstruction: Taking things (words, ideas, connotations, emotion, everything you can find in a pierce of writing) apart while simultaneously putting them together and rearranging in infinite patterns. Applied to spn and Cas specifically: Cas himself is the source of meaning in the narrative. He’s the source of the deconstruction of the narrative. As much as the pharmakon is being enacted upon Cas, he is the pharmakon himself. 

I could define the format in a lot of ways! All of those terms you used work! The most specific way would be “ergodic literature” which is an annoying new age literary term for fiction where 1) the medium is integral to the meaning 2) it carries meaning that can’t be conveyed with words 3) it requires effort beyond understanding the definitions and relationships between words. The most obvious/well known example of ergodic lit is Mark Danielewski’s House of Leaves. Ergodic lit and Derrida’s work are very aligned with and connected to each other (Danielewski specifically has talked about being inspired by Derrida.) My fave novel, The Raw Shark Texts, is also kind of ergodic lit? I don’t know if it quite fits into that category but if you like my writing you’d love RST, I am always trying to write like Stephen Hall lol. I was also thinking about embedded/non linear narrative works while making this like The Blind Assassin by Margaret Atwood (which I wrote my undergrad thesis about lol) or The Devourers by Indra Das. 

okay okay i will stop now thank you thank you thank you for your lovely thoughtful feedback

[batmanisagatewaydrug]

2020 reading roundup

feat: every book I read this year!

Favorite fiction:

Witchmark (C.L. Polk) 

Kindred (Octavia E. Butler) 

Fledgling (Octavia E. Butler)

The Killing Moon (N.K. Jemisin)

The Shadowed Sun (N.K. Jemisin) 

Circe (Madeline Miller) 

Freshwater (Akwaeke Emezi) 

The House in the Cerulean Sea (T.J. Klune) 

My Sister, the Serial Killer (Oyinkan Braithwaite) 

The Affair of the Mysterious Letter (Alexis Hall) 

Gideon the Ninth (Tamsyn Muir) 

The Traitor Baru Cormorant (Seth Dickinson)

Further fun/fabulous/fruity fiction:

The Beautiful Ones (Silvia Moreno-Garcia)

Stormsong (C.L. Polk)

The Faceless Old Woman Who Secretly Lives In Your Home (Joseph Fink and Jeffrey Cranor)  

Rat Queens, vol. 1-4 (Kurtis J. Wiebe)

The Deep (Rivers Solomon)  

The Song of Achilles (Madeline Miller) 

Gods of Jade and Shadow (Silvia Moreno-Garcia) 

Books that left me furious at death for taking Octavia Butler before she could write another sequel and tell us just what the hell Earthseed was getting up to out there in space:

Parable of the Talents (Octavia E. Butler)

Books that gave me a new appreciation for the short story as an art form:

Falling In Love with Hominids (Nalo Hopkinson)

Books that I didn’t get into right away but then they REALLY picked up and by the time the Big Reveal happened I was screaming like a howler monkey and feeling like a fool for not catching on sooner:

The City We Became (N.K. Jemisin)

Novellas that made me cry in record time, which is entirely unsurprising given the author:

To Be Taught, If Fortune (Becky Chambers) 

Books that frankly took me by surprise and made me think I should be reading more horror, or at least more Stephen Graham Jones:

The Only Good Indians (Stephen Graham Jones) 

Sequels that were good but also made my head hurt because Jesus Christ, oh my god, WHAT is going on:

Harrow the Ninth (Tamsyn Muir)

Books that I LIKED but wanted to like more than I actually did:

The Taste of Marrow (Sarah Gailey)

The Ballad of Black Tom (Victor LaValle) 

In the Vanishers’ Palace (Aliette de Bodard) 

Upright Women Wanted (Sarah Gailey)

The Devourers (Indra Das) 

Sister Mine (Nalo Hopkinson) 

Mexican Gothic (Silvia Moreno-Garcia) 

Axiom’s End (Lindsay Ellis)

Totally respectable literary fiction that I cannot in good conscience lump into literally any other category:

Real Life (Brandon Taylor)

It was fine and I feel bad for not having anything particularly positive or negative or interesting at all to say about it, but it really and truly was just kind of alright:

My Lady’s Choosing: An Interactive Romance Novel (Kitty Curran and Larissa Zageris)

Favorite nonfiction:

In the Dream House (Carmen Maria Machado)

How We Fight for Our Lives (Saeed Jones)

An Autobiography (Angela Y. Davis)

Feed (Tommy Pico)

Ace: What Aseuxality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex (Angela Chen)

Black Women, Black Love: America’s War on African American Marriage (Dianne M. Stewart)

Heavy: An American Memoir (Kiese Laymon)

Notable nifty nonfictions: 

The Dark Fantastic: Race and Imagination from Harry Potter to the Hunger Games (Ebony Elizabeth Thomas) 

Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death (Caitlin Doughty)

So You Want to Talk About Race (Ijeoma Oluo)

A Curious History of Sex (Kate Lister)

Republic of Lies: American Conspiracy Theorists and Their Surprising Rise to Power (Anna Merlan) 

Pleasure in the News: African American Readership and Sexuality in the Black Press (Kim T. Gallon) 

Hood Feminism: Notes from the Women White Feminists Forgot (Mikki Kendall) 

Eloquent Rage: A Black Feminist Discovers Her Superpower (Brittney Cooper) 

The Tragedy of Heterosexuality (Jane Ward)

Other people’s lives that I happily devoured:

Dear America: Notes From an Undocumented Citizen (Jose Antonio Vargas)  

Wow, No Thank You (Samantha Irby)  

I’m Afraid of Men (Vivek Shraya)

The Collected Schizophrenias: Essays (Esmé Weijun Wang) 

Uncomfortable Labels: My Life as a Gay Autistic Trans Woman (Laura Kate Dale) 

Brown Girl Dreaming (Jacqueline Woodson)

When They Call You A Terrorist: A Black Lives Matter Memoir (Patrisse Khan-Cullors) 

Poetry & personal essays that I wanted to Get but didn’t quite:

Homie (Danez Smith)

Something That May Shock and Discredit You (Daniel M. Lavery)  

More Than Organs (Kay Ulanday Barrett) 

Junk (Tommy Pico)

Nonfiction that was interesting but also incomprehensible in many places because I don’t have a degree in biology, which I guess is my bad:

Dr. Tatiana’s Sex Advice to All Creation (Olivia Judson) 

Nonfiction that was interesting but also felt lacking in its analysis, perhaps as an inevitable side effect of trying to publish it quickly enough to stay topical:

Rage Becomes Her: The Power of Women’s Anger (Soraya Chemaly) 

Good and Mad: The Revolutionary Power of Women’s Anger (Rebecca Traister)

Sweet graphic novels:

The Prince and the Dressmaker (Jen Wang) 

Shadow of the Batgirl (Sarah Kuhn)

Books that are significant for various reasons and good to read but sort of felt like homework:

Stone Butch Blues (Leslie Feinberg) 

Are Prisons Obsolete? (Angela Y. Davis)

Books I reread during quarantine even though I am not generally much of a rereader:

Her Body and Other Parties (Carmen Maria Machado)

Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen) 

A Small Place (Jamaica Kincaid)

Books that weren’t really for me but probably would have rocked my socks if I read them when I was like 14:

Internment (Samira Ahmed) 

The Seven Necessary Sins for Women and Girls (Mona Eltahawy) 

Periods Gone Public: Taking a Stand for Menstrual Equity (Jennifer Weiss-Wolf) 

The Bone Witch (Rin Chupeco) 

Pet (Akwaeke Emezi) 

[hotniatheron]

What is some actually gay media you'd recommend? I haven't watched/read literally anything in the last year and a half, so the only things I see are on tumblr and most of it is not compelling enough to make me make time to watch/read them

Also, is our flag means death any good?

Listen. This website is really weird about certain media which is deeply funny to me because Taika Waititi loves to make fun of fandoms and this show is definitely taking the piss out of Black Sails specifically (in a decidedly VERY funny way) and othe pirate media. Anyways I'm sure it's plenty funny and I do plan on watching it, but when this website has moved past it. Because I can't go thru what this website did to the WWDITS tag again 😩

Anyways. I have my own book sommeliers in the form of a few trusted friends but I've also followed authors I already like on their social media. I've found a lot of good reads this way. Movies and TV on the other hand I think you have to browse for yourself 🤔. Like for instance one episode of Move to Heaven (a kdrama) has a very sad but very well handled episode about a gay couple. The show itself is not "queer media" but I think it's good. Same with Mad for Each Other. Black Sails obviously but some people can't handle the violence/sexual violence in the first season. And Then We Danced was another excellent movie but again, it's hard for me to rec movies and TV bc like. Something good won't necessarily be strictly gay media 🤷‍♀️ this probably isn't helpful but like. I think you just kind of have to actually watch stuff.

Sorry, here are some books that I enjoyed off the top of my head, some of which are "queer books" and some of which are good and had queer characters. I think it's also important to note that lots of "gay books" might not be written for that single purpose either. So they might not be listed under a LGBT section at a book store, whatever that means:

Less - Andrew Sean Greer

30 Names of Night - Zayn Joukhadar

The Vanished Birds - Simon Jimenez

Lot - Bryan Washington

The Devourers - Indra Das

The Starless Sea - Erin Morgenstern

AND! I do actually have a YA recommendation because I know people do like to read that and I enjoyed this one. I found it really sweet and also fun and like. Well handled for YA:

The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue - Mackenzie Lee

[infinitetbrshelf]

Episode 4: (What's a Gyarados?) Show Notes:

You can listen to episode four on any major podcast provider HERE and on Apple Podcasts HERE.

This is a long one--we covered a lot of ground in episode four! And as Gabi mentioned at the beginning, we did a silly thing and recorded it in front of an open window. That resulted in about four brief moments where there's a weird, unpleasant reverb sound and we're awfully sorry about that. (We learned our lesson, though! It won't happen again.)

Books Discussed:

The Beast Player by Nahoko Uehashi, translated by Cathy Hirano

Anxious People by Fredrik Backman, translated by Neil Smith

Simon Snow trilogy by Rainbow Rowell (Carry On, Wayward Son, and Any Way the Wind Blows)

Arsène Lupin Gentleman Thief by Maurice LeBlanc, translated by Alexander Teixeira de Mattos

Whipping Girl by Julia Serano

Minor Feelings: An Asian American Reckoning by Cathy Park Hong

Empire of Wild by Cherie Dimaline

The 2021 Rhysling Anthology edited by Alessandro Manzetti

They Made My Face by Sara Backer (https://www.silverblade.net/2020/08/they-made-my-face/)

Sealskin Reclaimed by Alison Bainbridge (link unfortunately unavailable; it was probably originally published in a print journal)

Kings and Queens of Narnia by Meep Matsushima (https://microverses.net/archives/285)

The Ruthless Lady's Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner

Other Books Mentioned:

Cherie Priest (title unmentioned, but the book Smack referred to is called Grave Reservations)

Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall

The Wood Wife by Terri Windling

A Fire Upon the Deep by Vernor Vinge

Among Others by Jo Walton

Dog Songs by Mary Oliver

Upstream: Selected Essays by Mary Oliver

Strongmen: Mussolini to the Present by Ruth Ben-Ghiat

On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century by Timothy D. Snyder

The Robber Girl by Franny Billingsley

Chime by Franny Billingsley

The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen

Chime by Franny Billingsley

Agrippina: The Most Extraordinary Woman in the Roman World by Emma Southon

The Amazons: Lives and Legends of Warrior Women across the Ancient World by Adrienne Mayor (cover below, since we mentioned how pretty it was during the unboxing)

The Beast Warrior by Nahoko Uehashi translated by Cathy Hirano

Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones

The Devourers by Indra Das

The Deficit Myth: Modern Monetary Theory and How to Build a Better Economy by Stephanie Kelton

Unnatural Magic by C.M. Waggoner

The Corpse Queen by Heather Herrman

Lumberjanes Vol 7: A Bird’s Eye View by Shannon Watters (Author), Kat Leyh (Author), Noelle Stevenson (Creator), Grace Ellis (Creator), Brooke Allen (Creator), Maarta Laiho Carey Pietsch (Illustrator), Ayme Sotuyo (Illustrator)

Snapdragon by Kat Leyh

Giant Days by John Allison and Lissa Treiman

And finally, this is a gyarados:

[princelymlm]

Gotta Be LGBT+

This is a list of just some of the LGBT+ content out there. Anything on this list was contains LGBT+ characters or was made by LGBT+ creators. All entries on this list were sent in by followers and have not been confirmed by the mod. (Entries with ‘rep not given’ next to them mean that the suggestion did not include what kind of representation is in the content)

Put everything under the cut since this list started getting really long

Books/Comics

They Both Die At The End - Adam Silvera (mlm)

Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe - Benjamin Alire-Saénz (mlm)

Symptoms of Being Human (genderfluid)

Lily and Dunkin - Donna Gephart (trans/trans woman)

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo - Taylor Jenkins Reid (wlw/bi)

The Gentleman’s Guide To Vice and Virtue - Mackenzie Lee (mlm/gay/bi)

Been Here All Along - Sandy Hall (gay/bi)

History Is All You Left Me - Adam Silvera (mlm/gay)

Blue Is The Warmest Color - Julie Maroh (wlw/bi/lesbian)

Mask of Shadows - Linsey Miller (bi/genderfluid)

Once and Future - Cori McCarthy (wlw/mlm/gay/bi/nonbinary)

Simon vs the Homosapiens Agenda - Beck Albertalli (mlm/gay)

Leah on the Offbeat - Becky Albertalli (wlw/bi)

Grasshopper Jungle - Andrew Smith (questioning/mlm)

The Rest of Us Just Live Here - Patrick Ness (mlm/gay)

Flying Tips For Flightless Birds - Kelly McCaughrain (mlm/gay)

I’ll Give You The Sun - Jandy Nelson (mlm)

Point Pleasant - Jen Archer Wood (mlm) 

True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys - Gerard Way (mlm/wlw)

The Wayfarers Series - Becky Chambers (wlw/aro/trans man/nonbinary/genderfluid)

Vesuvius Club - Mark Gatiss (bi)

The Song of Achilles - Madeline Miller (mlm)

Radio Silence - Alice Oseman (bi/mlm/demi/gay/pan/wlw/lesbian)

Of Fire and Stars - Audrey Coulthurst (wlw/lesbian)

Magnus Chase Series - Rick Riordan (genderfluid)

Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan (gay)

This Is Kind of An Epic Love Story - Kheyrn Callender (mlm/wlw)

Gracefully Grayson - Ami Polonsky (trans woman)

If I Was Your Girl - Meredith Russon (trans woman)

Call Me By Your Name - Andre Aciman (mlm)

Red, White, and Royal Blue - Casey McQuinston (mlm)

I Wish You All The Best - Mason Deaver (nonbinary)

Dreadnaught + Sovereign - April Daniels (wlw/trans woman)

The Art of Being Normal - Lisa Williamson (trans)

The Gone Series - Michael Grant (mlm/wlw)

One Of Us Is Lying - Karen McManus (mlm)

Six Of Crows - Leigh Bardugo (mlm)

Crooked Kingdom - Leigh Bardugo (rep not given)

The Last Sun - Author Not Provided (rep not given)

Romeo and/or Juliet - Ryan North (rep not given)

American Gods - Neil Gaiman (mlm/gay/bi) 

The Mage Wars Series - Mercedes Lackey (gay)

Scott Pilgrim vs The World - Bryan Lee O’Malley (mlm/gay/wlw)

Boyfriends With Girlfriends - Alex Sánchez (mlm/wlw/bi/gay)

Will Grayson, Will Grayson - David Levithan & John Green (mlm)

This Is Where It Ends -Marieke Nijkamp (lesbian/wlw)

Carry On - Rainbow Rowell (mlm)

Stranger Than Fanfiction - Chris Colfer (mlm/trans man/gay)

The Reader Trilogy (The Reader, The Speaker, The Storyteller) - Traci Chee (mlm/wlw/nonbinary)

I Was Born For This - Alice Oseman (trans)

Heartstopper - Alice Oseman (mlm)

The Broken Earth Trilogy - MK Jemisin (trans woman/poly/pan/mlm

A Boy Worth Knowing - Jennifer Cosgrove (mlm/bi/gay)

The Rifter - Author Not Provided (mlm)

Snapdragon - Author Not Provided (wlw/ trans woman)

The Priory of the Orange Tree - Samantha Shannon (wlw/lesbian/mlm/gay)

Tipping the Velvet - Sarah Waters (wlw/lesbian)

Fingersmith - Sarah Waters (wlw/lesbian)

The Paying Guests - Sarah Waters (wlw/lesbian)

I Am J - Cris Beam (trans man)

Little And Lion - Brandy Colbert (bi)

Autoboyography - Christina Lauren (bi)

Felix Ever After - Kacen Callender (trans)

Birthday - Meredith Russo (trans)

Stay Gold - Tobly McSmith (trans)

You Should See Me In A Crown - Leah Johnson (lesbian)

Girls of Paper and Fire - Natasha Ngan (lesbian)

The Henna Wars - Adiba Jaigirdar (lesbian)

Let's Talk About Love - Claire Kann (ace)

The Lady's Guide To Petticoats and Piracy - Mackenzi Lee (ace/aro)

The Vanishers' Place - Aliette De Bodard (wlw)

Ash - Malinda Lo (wlw/bi)

The Little Homo Sapiens Scientist - S. L. Huang (wlw)

Everfair - Nisi Shawl (wlw)

Dread Nation: Risse Up - Justina Ireland (wlw/bi/ace)

The Gilda Stories - Jewelle Gomez (wlw/lesbian)

The True Queen - Zen Cho (wlw)

The Devourers - Indra Das (genderfluid/bi)

We Set The Dark On Fire - Tehlor Kay Mejia (wlw)

Smoketown - Tenea D. Johnson (wlw/lesbian)

Falling In Love With Hominids - Nalo Hopkinson (wlw)

The Fox’s Tower and Other Tales - Yoon Ha Lee (nonbinary)

Her Body and Other Parties - Carmen Maria Machado (wlw)

Beneath the Citadel - Destiny Soria (mlm/gay/bi/ace)

Witchmark - C.L Polk (mlm/gay)

The Prey of Gods - Nicky Drayden (trans/bi)

An Unkindness of Ghosts - Rivers Solomon (wlw/trans/nonbinary/intersex)

The Root - Na’amen Gobert Tilahun (mlm/gay)

Gods & Monsters: Snake Eyes - Hillary Monohan (wlw)

Labyrinth Lost - Zoraida Cordova (wlw/bi)

The Winged Histories - Sofia Samatar (wlw)

The Weight of Stars - K. Ancrum (wlw)

Huntress - Malinda Lo (wlw)

Will Do Magic For Small Change - Andrea Hairston (bi/pan/nonbinary)

The Last Chronomancer - Reilyn J Hardy (aro/ace/genderfluid/lesbian)

A Taste of Honey - Kai Ashante Wilson (mlm/bi)

Deadline - Stephanie Ahn (wlw/lesbian)

The Read Threads of Fortune - JY Yang (wlw/bi)

Not Your Sidekick - C.B. Lee (wlw/bi)

Timekeeper - Tara Sim (mlm)

Ascension - Jacqueline Koyangi (wlw)

When The Moon Was Ours - Anna-Marie McLemore (trans)

Amberlough - Lara Elena Donnelly (mlm/gay)

The Perfect Assassin - K.A Doore (gay/ace/mlm)

Afterparty - Daryl Gregory (wlw/lesbian)

Borderline - Mishell Baker (wlw/bi)

The Cloud Roads - Martha Wells (bi)

An Accident of Stars - Foz Meadows (wlw/bi/aro/trans)

The Last 8 - Laura Pohl (aro/bi)

Failure to Communicate - Kaia Sonderby (wlw/bi)

The Luminous Dead - Caitlin Starling (wlw)

The Wrong Stars - Tim Pratt (wlw)

Full Fathom Five - Max Gladstone (trans)

A Memory Called Empire - Arkady Martine (wlw)

Silver In the Wood - Emily Tesh (mlm)

The Raven Tower - Ann Leckie (mlm/bi/trans)

Ariah - B.R. Sanders (mlm/bi/nonbinary)

The Raven and the Reindeer - T. Kingfisher (wlw)

Planetfall - Emma Newman (bi)

Black Wings Beating - Alex London (ace/gay/mlm)

The Scorpion Rule - Erin Bow (bi)

Inkmistress - Audrey Coulthurst (bi)

Into the Drowning Deep - Mira Grant (wlw/bi/lesbian)

Vengeful - V.E Schwab (ace)

Blackfish City - Sam J Miller (nonbinary)

Daughter of Mystery - Heather Rose Jones (wlw/lesbian)

Stranger Grace - Tessa Gratton (bi/pan)

The Brilliant Death - Amy Rose Capetta (nonbinary)

Chameleon Moon - RoAnna Sylver (wlw/trans/ace)

19 Love Stories - David Levithan (trans/queer)

It’s Not Like It’s A Secret - Author Not Given (wlw)

Picture Us In The Light - Author Not Given (mlm)

Two Can Keep A Secret - Author Not Given (mlm/bi)

Death Sets Sail - Author Not Given (wlw)

Becoming Dinah - Author Not Given (rep not provided)

Witch Wolf series - Winter Pennington (wlw, lesbian, bisexual)

Underrealm series - Garrett Robinson (wlw, mlm, nonbinary, trans man trans woman, trans, pansexual, bisexual)

A Cloak of Red - Brenna Gawain (wlw, lesbian)

 Blood Canticles - Naomi Clark (wlw)

Podcasts

Welcome to Night Vale (mlm/gay/wlw/nonbinary)

Dreamboy (mlm/gay)

Alice Isn’t Dead (wlw/lesbian)

The Penumbra Podcast (mlm/bi/genderfluid/nonbinary)

My Favorite Podcast (trans men)

Within the Wires (wlw)

The Adventure Zone (mlm/wlw/trans/gnc/nonbinary)

Limetown (wlw/lesbian)

Getting Curious With Jonathan Van Ness (nblm/nonbinary)

Friends at the Table (mlm/wlw/nonbinary)

LezHangOut (wlw)

Bright Sessions (mlm/demi/ace)

Queer As Fact (historical lgbt)

History Is Gay (historical lgbt)

Always Here (historical lgbt)

And That’s Why We Drink (nonbinary)

Magnus Archives (mlm/ace)

The Two Princes (mlm/gay/bi)

Girl-ish (trans women)

The Bright Sessions (gay/ace)

TV Shows/Movies/ETC

One Day At A Time (Remake) (wlw/lesbian/nonbinary)

Love, Simon (mlm/gay)

A Single Man (mlm/gay)

Brokeback Mountain (mlm/gay)

In The Flesh (mlm/gay)

Weekend (mlm)

RWBY (wlw/trans)

Jessica Jones (wlw/lesbian)

Critical Role (mlm/gay/bi/wlw/lesbian/nonbinary/genderfluid)

Pose (trans women/gay)

Schitt’s Creek (pan/mlm)

White Collar (wlw)

Lucifer (bi)

Umbrella Academy (mlm/wlw)

Call Me By Your Name (mlm)

Brooklyn Nine Nine (mlm/gay/bi)

Steven Universe (nonbinary)

Sailor Moon (wlw)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer (wlw)

Sense8 (mlm/gay/wlw/lesbian/trans woman)

Doom Patrol (?/rep not given)

Good Omens (nonbinary)

Gentleman Jack (wlw)

American Gods (mlm/gay/bi/two-spirit)

Orange Is The New Black (wlw/trans)

Blue Is The Warmest Color (wlw)

Shameless (mlm/trans)

Euphoria (wlw/trans woman)

Modern Family (mlm/gay)

Daisy Brown ARG (wlw/lesbian)

Deadpool (pan)

Deadpool 2 (pan/wlw)

Alex Strangelove (mlm/gay)

Wynonna Earp (lesbian/gay/wlw)

She-Ra (wlw/mlm/gay/bi/lesbian/nonbinary/trans man)

SKAM (rep not provided)

Gotham (bi)

The Haunting of Hill House (wlw)

The Haunting of Bly Manor (wlw)

Kipo and the Wonderbeasts (mlm/gay/nonbinary)

Billie and Emma (wlw)

Carmen & Lola (wlw)

Carol (wlw)

Disobedience (wlw)

Elisa & Marcela (wlw)

Good Manners (wlw)

The Handmaiden (wlw)

Heart Beat Loud (wlw)

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (wlw)

Rafiki (wlw)

Stranger Things (wlw)

Handsome Devil (mlm)

Pride (wlw/mlm)

Musicals

The Prom (wlw/lesbian)

Be More Chill (mlm/bi)

Fun Home (wlw)

Spring Awakening (mlm)

A New Brain (mlm)

Falsettos (mlm/wlw)

Rent (mlm/wlw)

Firebringer (wlw/bi)

A Very Potter Musical (mlm/gay)

The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals (wlw)

Bare: A Pop Opera (mlm)

Everybody’s Talking About Jaime (mlm/gay)

Yank! The Musical (mlm)

Octet (wlw)

Ghost Quartet (wlw)

Spies Are Forever (mlm/gay)

Willow: A New Musical (wlw)

Over And Out: A New Musical (nblw/nonbinary)

Video Games

Fallout: New Vegas (mlm/gay/wlw/lesbian)

When The Night Comes (mlm/nonbinary)

The Arcana (nonbinary)

Dream Daddy (mlm/gay/bi/pan/trans)

Dragon Age (mlm/wlw/gay/lesbian/trans/pan/bi)

Smile For Me (wlw)

Undertale (trans/nonbinary/wlw/mlm)

Monster Prom (nonbinary)

Cookie Run (nonbinary/mlm/wlw/bi/pan)

The Missing (wlw/trans woman)

Fable 2 & 3 (wlw/mlm)

Borderlands 2 (mlm/wlw/bi/gay/lesbian)

Gone Home (wlw)

Prey (wlw)

Dishonored 2 (nonbinary/wlw)

Deus Ex Mankind Divided System Rift (rep not given)

Assassins Creed Series (mlm/wlw/gay/lesbian/trans)

The Last of Us (wlw/lesbian) 

Mass Effect Series (mlm/wlw/gay/lesbian/bi)

Life Is Strange (wlw)

Overwatch (mlm/gay/wlw/lesbian)

Animal Crossing (pan)

Night In The Woods (pan/mlm/trans woman)

The Elder Scrolls (trans/wlw/lesbian)

Dreamfall Chapters (mlm/gay)

Dishonored: Death of the Outsider (wlw)

In the Outer Worlds (wlw/ace)

Elder Scrolls: Skyrim (mlm/wlw)

Fallout 4 (wlw/mlm)

Hades (mlm/bi)

Obviously this list is far from complete so feel free to add to it or let me know of anything else and I’ll edit the post to add it as long as you include the category it belongs to! Be sure to include what representation it has though otherwise I can’t add it!

[mediaevalmusereads]

The Devourers. By Indra Das. New York: Del Rey, 2015.

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Genre: dark fantasy

Part of a Series? No

Summary: On a cool evening in Kolkata, India, beneath a full moon, as the whirling rhythms of traveling musicians fill the night, college professor Alok encounters a mysterious stranger with a bizarre confession and an extraordinary story. Tantalized by the man’s unfinished tale, Alok will do anything to hear its completion. So Alok agrees, at the stranger’s behest, to transcribe a collection of battered notebooks, weathered parchments, and once-living skins. From these documents spills the chronicle of a race of people at once more than human yet kin to beasts, ruled by instincts and desires blood-deep and ages-old. The tale features a rough wanderer in seventeenth-century Mughal India who finds himself irrevocably drawn to a defiant woman—and destined to be torn asunder by two clashing worlds. With every passing chapter of beauty and brutality, Alok’s interest in the stranger grows and evolves into something darker and more urgent.

***Full review under the cut.***

Content Warnings: rape, gore, violence, sexual content, scatalogical imagery

Overview: I was honestly surprised by how much I loved this book. I went into it expecting a dark fantasy or horror tale, but what I got instead was a visceral, sensual, lyrical meditation on gender, love, humanity, and embodiedness that absolutely refused to let me go once I turned the last page. Some readers, admittedly, may struggle with this - not only is rape an integral part of the plot, but there is a lot of gore and scatalogical imagery that may be off-putting. However, I think these things added to the theme of embodiness, so while some images aren’t pleasant, I think, literarily, they are important. I can’t remember the last time I felt so utterly consumed by a story, and for this reason, I’m giving The Devourers 4.5-5 stars.

Writing: Das’s prose is very descriptive, but I think the author walks the line between being dense and being poetic. I never got the sense that the pace was weighed down by descriptions, and everything was straight-forward enough where I wouldn’t call the prose purple.

I also think Das is a master at using language to evoke strong emotions, whether that be anger, longing, or disgust. Multiple times throughout the novel, I would read a description of dirt or bodily fluids, juxtaposed with an image of ecstasy or loneliness or something else that seemed to contradict the revulsion I felt, and I think such contradictions enhanced the strangeness of the shape-shifter world. To put it more succinctly, this book is gross and primal, but through the gross imagery, it arrives at something more interesting, rather than being gross for shock value.

Plot: This book tells a couple of different stories using Alok’s transcription process and relationship with the stranger as a frame. Thus, there are three fairly distinct threads: Alok’s tale, Fenrir’s tale, and Cyrah’s tale.

Alok’s tale is primarily about alleviating loneliness by finding companionship and learning about the supernatural world. I’ve put it rather bluntly, but it’s more sensual than that. There’s not much that actually happens aside from a series of encounters between Alok and the stranger, but I think these interactions tell the reader a lot about making connections across time and across cultures.

One of the manuscripts that Alok is asked to translate is the brief account of Fenrir’s attraction to Cyrah. Fenrir is the name given to a centuries-old male shapeshifter who has an inexplicable desire to be more human and create life (something that is forbidden among their kind). He finds himself drawn to a human woman named Cyrah, who he rapes and impregnates. What I appreciated about this story was the lack of sympathy it gets from all characters (Alok, Cyrah, Gevaudan, the stranger), so I felt like it was included less as a way to excuse rape and more of a way to understand Fenrir’s motivations. While some may argue we don’t need to understand, I think it ultimately has literary value.

The other manuscript is Cyrah’s account, which made me less angry at the inclusion of Fenrir’s. Cyrah describes her anger at being raped and resolves to confront Fenrir, hoping to make him get rid of the child inside her. To find him, she seeks the help of Gevaudan, Fenrir’s onetime companion. I really loved the story of their journey together and the relationship they formed, which was less romantic and more of a deep, emotional bond that transcended divisions such as predator/prey, shapeshifter/human, and old/young. I also really loved Cyrah’s speeches about how men use women and how Fenrir’s desire to be human is rooted in the basest of human behavior (one might argue it’s even animal behavior). For me, Cyrah’s was the most engaging story of the three, and the most emotionally heart-wrenching, but I could be biased.

Characters: Alok, our primary protagonist (if one could call him that) is a queer man who harbors a deep loneliness following a broken engagement and the lack of family acceptance due to his attraction to men. I really loved Alok’s interest in the stranger and his desire to be close to someone who offered him solace through stories. His longing for more information about the supernatural world mirrored my own interest as a reader, and I think Das did a good job of making Alok relatable enough to serve as the frame but unique enough to not feel like a blank avatar. I also liked how his (their?) exploration with gender at the end mirrored the changing bodies of the shapeshifters.

The stranger, who is mostly nameless, also got more interesting the more I read. At first, he just kind of showed up and spoke in vague puzzles, but the more his story unfolded, the more understandable his mysteriousness became. I liked that Das eventually explained his reasons for choosing Alok and why he withholds information, such as his name; I’m not a huge fan of random mysterious figures, so I appreciated the fact that this character was more than that.

Cyrah is perhaps the most interesting character in that she too provides a frame for the reader. As a human woman, she is also a stranger to the world of the shapeshifters, but she also provides the sole female perspective in the novel. I really liked that she was brave and insistent, not letting men scare her into silence, and I loved the points she made about humanity and gender throughout the book. She also is honest about her feelings about motherhood, which I appreciated, and I think she brings to light several class issues that showcase why it’s not reasonable to expect her to just move on with her life.

My favorite part of this book was Cyrah’s relationship with Gevaudan. Gevaudan is a shapeshifter who considers humans to be solely prey until he gets to know Cyrah (and even then, Cyrah is special - his attitudes as a whole don’t change, but it was interesting to see his relationship with Cyrah evolve). He initially agrees to help her find Fenrir because he wants to reunite with his companion, and he thinks if he is with Cyrah, Fenrir will be less likely to harm him (for reasons explained in the novel). Gevaudan’s emotional relationship with Fenrir is incredibly complicated and queer, and I liked that there was so much tension between the three characters in terms of who had relationships with who. I loved that Gevaudan’s feelings for Cyrah are never portrayed as romantic, but something deeper than friendship that challenges a lot of the beliefs he has about whether or not his kind can feel love.

Fenrir, despite being a rapist, is also interesting for his flawed idea of what humanity means. Although I hated that he raped Cyrah, I appreciated the role he had in the novel and the way he brought out Cyrah’s indignation. I also liked the relationship he had with Gevaudan and the contrast he provided, which prompted questions about the nature of monstrosity.

TL;DR: Told through multiple perspectives using evocative (and often revolting) imagery, The Devourers is a stunning debut of a novel that interrogates the nature of monstrosity and identity, using shapeshifters to challenge (hetero?) normative states of embodiedness, sexuality, and gender.

[longsightmyth]

The Devourers by Indra das is a fantasy book set in India by an Indian author. There’s also gay rep in it!

$8.99 on kindle!