Armed with a master’s degree in English studies, a thesis on the merits of speculative fiction, and a chronic illness that showed me what I needed to fight for in life, I write character-driven, diverse, and hopeful science-fiction. I think one of sci-fi’s finest jobs is to open minds and show the world how it could be, for better or worse. My books have protagonists of multiple ethnicities, sexualities, and genders, some of them with physical or mental challenges. Because representation is important. My recommendations for you are sci-fi books with characters whose queerness is commonly accepted and unproblematic within their universes.
In the distant future when Tuscany is a desolate wasteland, the wanderer Renn struggles to find shelter from a dust storm and accidentally awakens a dormant creature resembling the legendary maddened Moon servants. A teenage survivor of the lost civilization is scavenging long-forgotten technology while keeping an eye on the one remaining great city, Florence. And a Florentine restoration worker is determined to help the impoverished denizens in the city’s slums, though this means going against her own father and the ideology of the ruling class.
As tensions mount in Florence, Renn and an unlikely new traveling companion are drawn toward the city. But it is going to take more than luck to avoid suspicious settlers and survive the perilous journey.
Like all Becky Chambers’ books, this one is touching and honest, and all the characters feel so alive and real. The cast consists of several species and characters of various sexualities and genders, all thrown together on a dingy spaceship. It’s not an epic tale, but a deeply personal one with a strong feeling of connection. The Long Way makes you cry and laugh and deeply care and really warms your heart. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys quirky stories of found families.
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILEY'S WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION
'A quietly profound, humane tour de force' Guardian
The beloved debut novel that will restore your faith in humanity
#SmallAngryPlanet
When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The ship, which has seen better days, offers her everything she could possibly want: a small, quiet spot to call home for a while, adventure in far-off corners of the galaxy, and distance from her troubled past.
But Rosemary gets more than she bargained for with the Wayfarer. The crew is a mishmash of species and personalities, from Sissix,…
The first volume of the Murderbot Diaries is a quick and fast-paced read with lots of well-written action scenes about a part human/part machine construct trying to keep a bunch of humans safe. But more than that, the novella manages to tackle social anxiety and depression in a realistic way. It also asks questions about ethics, and it has a wonderfully diverse cast, ethnically as well as in terms of LGBTQ+ representation. And on top of that, it is hilarious. The unreliable narrator, who sarcastically calls itself Murderbot, is full of wit and dry humor, and I’m not sure it’s at all possible not to love it. I recommend this book if you want more ace protagonists, parodies of soap operas, and extremely human non-humans.
All Systems Red by Martha Wells begins The Murderbot Diaries, a new science fiction action and adventure series that tackles questions of the ethics of sentient robotics. It appeals to fans of Westworld, Ex Machina, Ann Leckie's Imperial Raadch series, or lain M. Banks' Culture novels. The main character is a deadly security droid that has bucked its restrictive programming and is balanced between contemplative self discovery and an idle instinct to kill all humans. In a corporate dominated s pa cef a ring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by…
Take a deep dive into a universe where calendars and math are key to power. Does it feel surreal and confusing at first? Yes, but that is all part of the new and innovative charm that does away with traditional military sci-fi and reinvents the genre. While the worldbuilding is amazing and mind-boggling, this is a novel driven by its characters. The cast is big and diverse, sporting main characters who are gay, bi and ace, transgender and nonbinary. If you long for a new take on sci-fi, morally ambiguous characters, and kick-ass queers, I recommend this book to you.
New York Times Best-Selling Author - Nominated for the 2019 Hugo Award for Best Series - Winner of the 2016 Locus Award - Nominated for the Hugo, Nebula and Arthur C. Clarke Awards
When Captain Kel Cheris of the hexarchate is disgraced for her unconventional tactics, Kel Command gives her a chance to redeem herself, by retaking the Fortress of Scattered Needles from the heretics. Cheris's career isn't the only thing at stake: if the fortress falls, the hexarchate itself might be next.
Cheris's best hope is to ally with the undead tactician Shuos Jedao. The good news is that…
In one word, this book is beautiful. In several more words, it is an enemies-to-lovers story about two time-traveling agents on a backdrop of history and future, yo-yo-ing up and down the timeline. It is a challenging, intricate read that alternates between the two narrators as their relationship unfolds in secrecy. I recommend this book to you if you like breathtakingly poetic prose, high stakes, and a whole new kind of romance.
WINNER OF The Hugo and Nebula Awards for Best Novella, the Reddit Stabby Award for Best Novella AND The British Science Fiction Association Award for Best Novella
SHORTLISTED FOR 2020 Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award The Ray Bradbury Prize Kitschies Red Tentacle Award Kitschies Inky Tentacle Brave New Words Award
'A fireworks display from two very talented storytellers' Madeline Miller, author of Circe
Co-written by two award-winning writers, This Is How You Lose the Time War is an epic love story spanning time and space.
Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It…
Sci-fi is cool. So is necromancy. This is a combination of the two, with a good portion of comedy and horror tossed into the blend. And it works superbly. It has murder mysteries and macabre scenes and fighting that reads as super realistic. And everything is delivered in the snarky, charismatic voice of badass cavalier Gideon who has a love/hate relationship with her necromancer boss. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys tough female protagonists, subtle love stories, and skeletons.
15+ pages of new, original content, including a glossary of terms, in-universe writings, and more!
A USA Today Best-Selling Novel!
"Unlike anything I've ever read. " --V.E. Schwab
"Lesbian necromancers explore a haunted gothic palace in space!" --Charles Stross
"Brilliantly original, messy and weird straight through." --NPR
The Emperor needs necromancers.
The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.
Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead nonsense.
Tamsyn Muir's Gideon the Ninth, first in The Locked Tomb Trilogy, unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as…
Cleo Cooper, a cross-cultural psychology professor, is living the dream on the Big Island of Hawaii. With ocean-dipping weekends, she enjoys her dog, her job, and her boyfriend Ben - until the day she’s on a research vessel and a dead body is caught in the dragline.
The police determine it is murder and set their sights on a gentle former student, Kai. It doesn’t take much urging from Kai’s auntie for Cleo to investigate. But Ben grows distant, and Cleo’s dog grows ill. A couple of accidental deaths later, and someone makes an attempt on her life.
What happened to Cleo’s life in paradise? Can she discover the true killer? Can she stop the killer before the killer stops her?
Paradise is shaken when the body of a young woman is dragged onto a university research vessel during a class outing in Hilo Bay. Cleo Cooper is shaken when she finds her favorite student is on the hook for the murder. Danger lurks on land and sea as Cleo and her friends are enticed to search for the true killer. In between paddling, swimming, and arguing with her boyfriend, Cleo discovers all is not what it seems on the Big Island of Hawaii. But will she figure out the truth before she becomes the next victim?
