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nellasbookplanet · 1 year ago

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Book recs: Queer science fiction, part 1

There is a lot of queer sf out there, and I read a lot of sf. When I started working on this list, I quickly realized it was impossible to include all that I've read and enjoyed in one single rec post. Thus, this is the first of so far three queer sci-fi book rec posts.

A note: queer here does not necessarily mean "guarantee of an f/f or m/m ship with a happy ending", but rather simply a significant presence of queerness. Some of the books feature no romance but has a same gender attracted/trans/a-spectrum lead, or features an m/f relationship with bisexual, trans or aro/ace characters, or simply features a world-building which is heavily queer inclusive in ways that don't always compare to our own ideas of sexuality and gender. I have however disqualified works where the only queer presence is along the lines of "gay best friend" or a blink and you'll miss it confirmation that never comes up again.

Previous book rec posts:

Really cool fantasy worldbuilding, really cool sci-fi worldbuilding, dark sapphic romances, mermaid books, vampire books, many worlds: portal fantasies, many worlds: alternate timelines, robots and artificial intelligences, post- and transhumanism, alien intelligences

For more details on the books, continue under the readmore. Titles marked with * are my personal favorites. And as always, feel free to share your own recs in the notes!

The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley*

Dietz is a soldier in the war between Earth and Mars - to travel to the battle front, she and her fellow soldiers are broken down into light to be able to quickly travel across space. But something keeps going wrong with Dietz's travels; her memories don't match up with the mission briefs, as she experiences time itself turning in on itself. Is she going mad? Or are the things she's learning skipping through time the truth - and the war that's stealing her life the lie? A mindfuck of a book that's scathing in its critique of fascism and war. Features a sapphic lead but no romance.

A Psalm for the Wild-Built (Monk and Robot duology) by Becky Chambers

Novella. Long ago, robots, upon gaining sentience, simply laid down their work and walked into the wilderness. Long after, a tea monk looking for purpose follows after them into the wilds, where they come across one of the robots seeking its own sort of answers. While not plotless, this story focuses more on character and vibes over plot. Also has a nonbinary main character and features conversations on gender between human and robot.

Meet Me In Another Life by Catriona Silvey*

Thora and Santi are strangers, brought together by a coincidence and torn apart just as abruptly when tragedy strikes. But this is neither the first nor the last time they meet - again and again they encounter each other, as friends, lovers, enemies, family, every time recognizing in each other a familiarity no one else carries. But with every new life, a mysterious danger grows ever closer, forcing them to find out the truth of their connection. This is a puzzle-box of a story that goes some entirely unexpected places in a very wild ride, featuring a bisexual co-lead.

The Archive Undying (The Downworld Sequence) by Emma Mieko Candon

In a world where AI gods sometimes lose their minds and take entire populations down with them, Sunai was the only survivor when his god went down. In the 17 years since, he has wandered on his own, unable to either die or age, drowning his sorrows in drink and men. But his attempts to flee his past comes to a stop as he is forced back into the struggle between man and machine. Featuring some pretty wild world building and narrative techniques, this book will definitely confuse you, but it is worth the experience.

The Paradox Hotel by Rob Hart

January Cole works security at the Paradox Hotel, last stop for tourists heading for the timeport, which allows them to travel to and witness any moment in time. But years of proximity to the timeport has left its damage on January, making her unstuck in time, letting her relive memories of her dead lover even as her sanity slips away bit by bit. As she starts witnessing proof of a horrible crime in the hotel that no one else can see, January must race against her own mind, a killer, and time itself to solve it before it's too late.

A Fractured Infinity by Nathan Tavares

Hayes Figueiredo is a struggling film-maker who wants to finish his documentary, whose life gets turned upside down when handsome physicist Yusuf Hassan enters his life, claiming an alternate version of him is a great inventor who’s sent a mysterious device to their universe. As Hayes gets drawn deeper into the conspiracy - and his feelings for Yusuf intensify - he has to decide just how far he’s prepared to go to win the life and the love he wants. Featuring a very gay and very morally dubious lead, this is a creative and strange read.

Bridge by Lauren Beukes

When she was little, Bridge and her mother Jo used to play a game - one where they traveled to other worlds, inhabiting the bodies of their other selves. Now Jo is dead, and as Bridge is cleaning out her apartment she finds a strange device: a dreamworm, the very thing that supposedly makes inter-dimensional travel possible. Suddenly faced with the possibility that multiverse travel is real, Bridge is struck by a different question: could her mother still be alive? Scifi spiced with a healthy dose of body horror and some absolutely wild twists, Bridge also features a bisexual lead (however this is a blink and you’ll miss it moment) and a nonbinary co-narrator.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (Wayfarers series) by Becky Chambers

Rosemary Harper just got a job on the motley crew of the Wayfarer, a spaceship that works with tunneling new wormholes through space. With a past she wants to leave behind, Rosemary is happy to travel the far reaches of the universe with the chaotic crew, but when they land the job of a life time, things suddenly get a lot more dangerous. A bit of a tumblr classic in its day, this is a cozy space opera with an episodic feel and vividly realized characters and cultures. While pretty light on romance and focusing found family, there is a main f/f relationship.

An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon

Life on the lower decks of the generation ship HSS Matilda is hard for Aster, an outcast even among outcasts, trying to survive in a system not dissimilar to the old antebellum South. The ship's leaders have imposed harsh restrictions on their darker skinned people, using them as an oppressed work force as they travel toward their supposed Promised Land. But as Aster finds a link between the death of the ship's sovereign and the suicide of her own mother, she realizes there may be a way off the ship.

Ninefox Gambit (The Machineries of Empire trilogy) by Yoon Ha Lee*

Military space opera where belief and culture shape the laws of reality, causing all kinds of atrocities as empires do everything in their power to force as many people as possible to conform to their way of life to strengthen their technology and weapons. It’s also very queer, with gay, lesbian and trans major characters, albeit little to no romance.

The Left Hand of Darkness (Hainish Cycle) by Ursula K. Le Guin

1969 classic. Genly Ai is an emissary sent to the planet of Winter, meant to help facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But he's unprepared for Winter's citizens, who spend much of their time genderless or switching between genders, making for a culture wildly different from that Genly is used to.

Too Like the Lightning (Terra Ignota series) by Ada Palmer*

Centuries in the future, humanity has deliberatly engineered society to be as utopian as possible, politically, socially, sexually, religiously. Written in an enlightenment style and featuring questions of human nature and whether it’s possible to change it, and what price we’re prepared to pay for peace, this book is simultaneously very heavy and very funny, and written in a very unique style. While still human, the society presented often feels starkly alien.

The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley

This book fucked me up when I read it. It’s weird, it’s gross, there’s So Much Viscera, there are literally no men, it has living spaceships and biotech but in the most horrific way imaginable. Had I to categorize it I would call it grimdark military sf. It’s an experience but not necessarily a pleasant one.

The Luminous Dead by Caitlin Starling*

Possibly one of the most unsettling books I’ve ever read, and definitely the most claustrophobic. Gyre, a caver on an alien planet, ventures into the dark and dangerous underground, guided only by a woman who has no compunctions on using and manipulating Gyre as she sees fit to obtain her secretive goals down in the caves.

Escaping Exodus (Escaping Exodus series) by Nicky Drayden

While my feelings on Escaping Exodus were mixed, it cannot be denied that the dynamic between the two leads and the way they go from childhood best friends to enemies on different sides of a class and power struggle is very delicious. It also features some really cool worldbuilding of living, alien generation spaceships and the human culture that has developed inside them.

The Doors of Eden by Adrian Tchaikovsky*

The Doors of Eden is something of an experiment in speculative biology, featuring versions of Earth in which various different species were the one to rise to sentience, from dinosaurs to neanderthals. Now, something is threatening the existence of all timelines, dragging multiple different people and species into the struggle, among those a pair of cryptid hunting girlfriends and a transgender scientist.

Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi

Ascension follows Alana Quick, an expert Sky Surgeon who stows away on a spaceship in hopes of landing herself a job. But the ship and its crew are in deeper waters than she expected, facing threats emerging from a whole other universe, all of them searching for the same person: Alana’s spiritually enlightened sister. Undeniably a bit of an odd read, Ascension is also very creative and features polyamorous lesbian relationship.

Contagion (Contagion duology) by Erin Bowman*

Young adult. After receiving an SOS, a small crew is sent on a standard search-and-rescue mission. But what they find are not survivors awaiting help, but an abandoned site, full of dead bodies and crawling with something... monstrous. No romance, but features one sapphic co-lead and one who can easily be read as demisexual (however this doesn't show up until book two, which has more romance).

A Memory Called Empire (Texicalaan duology) by Arkady Martine

Mahit Dzmare is an ambassador sent to the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire, where she discovers that her predecessor has died. Trying to protect her home, an independent mining station, from being taken over by the empire, Mahit struggles to find out the truth of her predecessor's death while carrying the voice of his ghost in her head, guiding her as best he can. Light on the romance but does feature a sapphic relationship.

The Outside (The Outside trilogy) by Ada Hoffman*

AKA the book the put me in an existenial crisis. Souls are real, and they are used to feed AI gods in this lovecraftian inspired scifi where reality is warped and artifical gods stand against real, unfathomable ones. Autistic scientist Yasira is accused of heresy and, to save her eternal soul, is recruited by post-human cybernetic ‘angels’ to help hunt down her own former mentor, who is threatening to tear reality itself apart. Sapphic main character.

Dawn (Xenogenesis trilogy) by Octavia E. Butler*

After a devestating war leaves humanity on the brink of extinction, survivor Lilith finds herself waking up naked and alone in a strange room. She’s been rescued by the Oankali, who have arrived just in time to save the human race. But there’s a price to survival, and it might be humanity itself. Absolutely fucked up I love it I once had to drop the book mid read to stare at the ceiling and exclaim in horror at what was going on. Queer in the sense that the Oankali doesn't follow human ideas of gender and relationships, which is mirrored in their romantic relationships with humans. It is, however, pretty dark, with examinations of agency and consent, so enter with caution.

Remnant by Kate Genet

One day, Cass wakes up and finds everyone else is gone. Not dead, just gone, leaving her in a world which nature starts taking back with a dangerous, unnatural speed. But as she tries to survive this new normal, Cass realizes she may not be alone after all - but who else is out there, and are they a threat?

The Scorpion Rules (Prisoners of Peace duology) by Erin Bow*

Young Adult. Featuring a dystopian future in which an AI forcibly keeps world peace by holding the children of world leaders hostage. If anyone attempts to start a war, their child will be executed. Greta is one of these children, kept in a school with others like her. But things start to change one day when a new, less obedient hostage arrives. A unique, slowburn take on the YA dystopian craze, also featuring a bisexual love triangle.

Iron Widow (Iron Widow series) by Xiran Jay Zhao

Young adult. Zetian is a citizen of Huaxia, where mecha aliens are constantly trying to breach the Great Wall. To keep them at bay, couples of men and women pilot so called Chrysalises, giant transforming robots. But the pilots are not equal - the women almost always die, sucked dry by their co-pilots. When Zetian sets herself up to become a concubine-pilot, she does so with the plan to assassinate the male pilot who caused her sister's death. Features a polyamorous main relationship.

Bonus AKA I haven't read these yet but they seem really cool:

Survival Instincts by May Dawney

Lynn Tanner has been surviving the post-apocalypse alone with only her dog for a long time, trusting no one. But when she's forced to travel the dangerous remains of New York City alongside another woman, her priorities are challenged. Is staying alone really the best way to stay alive?

These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs

When con-artist Jun Ironway gets her hands on possible proof of the powerful Nightfoot family, controllers of interplanetary travel, committing genocide, she has in her hands a chance of taking them and their monopoly down. But the family and their allies won't go down easily, and sends two brutal clerics to stop her.

Everfair by Nisi Shawl

A neo-victorian alternate history, in which a part of Congo was kept safe from colonisation, becoming Everfair, a safe haven for both the people of Congo and former slaves returning from America. Here they must struggle to keep this home safe for them all.

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bleedingichorhearts · 3 months ago

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𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞

“This is just my imagine for the Legion of The Damned in the Husbandry Sentience Universe. This is not a true appearance unless @/kit-willams claims so or approves of it as I do not like to taint boundaries. So, again, this is not true unless stated otherwise. This is just my opinion. Anyways, would this be considered an type of isekai?” - Ichor

Summary - "You get offered a game from a Thousand Son by the name of "Onuphrius" and bring it home to try it out. Not even questioning how he got the right disk for your console, and how the game freaks out here and there, but you have grown the love it… at a price."

“@kit-williams, @egrets-not-regrets, @bispecsual, @gallifreyianrosearkytiorsusan, @sleepyfan-blog.”

“+@c-u-c-koo-4-40k, @marcela2000.” - Tagged

TW: None, I Think? Well, Maybe Yandere-Ish.

|°𝕄𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕃𝕚𝕤𝕥°|

You're not sure when the game has started to freak out on you, but you didn't think of it too much. More so, you were more frustrated on trying to defeat the boss inside of the game. Your determination to kill the last boss of the game going through your veins like the fires of hell as you have been stuck on this boss for quite a while, the Astartes' of fire frustrating you to no end.

You have tried every single strategy and class in order to defeat this god damned boss, but nothing seems to work very well to get him barely under half health until he absolutely rocks your shit with a super nova you can't avoid, you have to tank it. There was nothing in the area that you could take cover behind besides your own shield or magic barrier (depending on what class you are,) but even then, your own protection breaks, and you have to play without it until you die again or finally defeat the Ghostrider-looking Astartes' to gain it back.

You figure it was something in the game that was just inevitable. That it was some type of rule that your character has to tank such a devastating hit. You figured that out on your... what? 50th time of trying to kill the dude? After dying again and again to the damn attack on your fullest health and lowest health? Yeah, it wasn't fun for your brain as the boss gave you such a migraine after each fight you go through with him, but you were quite persistent yourself. Trying to push yourself through the headache and defeat the guy already. Even getting on the game after work just to endure more stress the game would most definitely give you.

Hell, the boss: Nephilim, Lord of Inferno even haunts you in your sleep. His phantom-like laughs that come from the game echoing through your dreamscape. You swear you had a bad dream about him too, but you can't really remember anything of the dream besides the heat of his fire flickering along your body. That you also didn't put much though on as it was rather common to have dreams of fictional people or even Astarte's.

You really should have though.

You really should have taken note of the current game you have “Legion of Fire” was not for sale or even known in the world. It wasn’t able to be acquired from a simple, sweaty GameStop. It was like it didn’t exist, but did you pay enough attention to that? No, the in-game boss was giving you a hard time and haunting your dreams. Why would- should your attention be taken away from the game?

Also, anytime that you even tried to switch games to try and relax yourself after the frustrating boss… All your other games flicker and glitch before crashing. Saying “Unexpected Error,” and you suppose it was alright? In a way? You only really use the console for entertainment… You’re lucky YouTube, Amazon and Spotify were the only few that were still on there. You might have just trashed it or given the console to someone to fix if you were suddenly revoked of those.

“I, Lord of Inferno shall cast, you, down!” The boss suddenly roars out, pulling you back into the game. The fire on the characters head changing; growing to a dangerous black color, the flickering embers turning whiter. Your fingers making quick work on your controller to use every protective shield and barrier you can to prepare yourself for the supernova. Your new build being a little mix, but more on the combat side rather than magic.

Your screen suddenly turns black then a blinding white. A vibration going through your controller as you can hear the magic barrier break immediately. An echoing shatter sounding out despite the raging fire that threatens to consume your character whole. Your health bar immediately sliding down to a quarter with such smoothness that it would scare a speed-runner.

“Foolish, little maiden…” The boss speaks again, somehow huffing and puffing out smoke from between his huge saber-like maw with a soft chitter. His armored body rising up and down as if he needed to breathe for looking like a type of lich creature. “You still stand from where you are supposed to fall?”

That was a bit different dialogue, but you didn’t pay attention to it too much. Your focus was just trying to destroy the boss as he gave you such a hard time, and you weren’t one to pass down an opportunity after such grueling grinding. Your fingers moving quickly to throw an extra shield at him. Something you really shouldn’t have carried cause of the weight it could have given your character, but you did. You were desperate to finally finish him off in any way possible.

The boss seems almost surprised by the suddenness of the thrown shield before simply backhanding it away. His form shaking once again with his phantom-like laughter echoing around the flaming ruins of the realm. Having his little moment of as a villain of the game.

“You amused me, my little bride.” He speaks again, his voice deep, sounding more like wisps. The glowing white slits in his eye sockets staring down your character while you controlled it to circle him as he follows along. “Yet I admire your dedication.”

Your character doesn't speak, it wasn't one of the things the character could do besides collecting items and battling the fire creatures of them game. Your character is simply a blank slate, but you? Up above his world? Staring him down with such fealty? You were not.

"Such a strange creature you are," He deeply rumbles, the sound of his voice echoing through out the flames that cover the area before giving off another laugh. Seemingly amused with the situation. "Fighting me every day, after your duties to try and defeat me. So, let me put it simply, you can't. You cannot kill what is already dead."

Again, you don't put much thought into his dialogue. Your weapon thrusting forward. Believing it just how he was programmed; to try and make you second guess yourself. Try and make you faulter from pattering down his move set.

"Well, aren't you oblivious, my bride." He scoffs, amused. Blocking your attack with his gauntlets before coming forward to overpower your character. Grasping at their shoulders and opening their boned mouth as you could only sigh out in your world in despair: another 5 hours wasted on this boss. Another blinding black then white exploding on your tv as he feeds your character his own fire.

You rub your temples to try and relax them after trying to power through yet another migraine. You controller tossed onto the coffee table in front of you with a concerning crack. Your brain going a bit heavy with fatigue as the area around you seems a bit... hefty than usual.

"Little Bride~" A deep, phantom voice sings. Shocking you to quickly look up to find the source of it clambering out of your tv. There black and bone covered gauntlet settling on the coffee table and breaking it with ease as they crawl out, flames melting the sides of your tv. Your body quickly shuffling up on the back of the couch while your heart skyrockets to the fucking moon. This... this wasn't real, was it? This is just your... headache, right? Your own playing games with you?

"I see your devotion to me, let me return it, my little bride." The... the lich? Keeps speaking at you. His armored body halfway through the tv, completely melting it. His flames turning to a mix of deep blue and cyan. The area feeling a bit colder when it was just absolutely baking. His form ever slowly inching forward out of your melted tv.

A yelp suddenly slips through your lips while you fall of the back of your couch. A harsh thud shaking the ground while a phantom laugh echos out in your own home. The flaming being amusingly introducing himself properly.

"I am the Lord of Inferno. I am Nephilim Zachariah Nero, and you? You are my long-waited bride."