#the light brigade
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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.
#nella talks books#the light brigade#a psalm for the wild built#meet me in another life#the archive undying#the paradox hotel#fracture infinity#bridge#the long way to a small angry planet#an unkindness of ghosts#ninefox gambit#the left hand of darkness#terra ignota#the stars are legion#the luminous dead#escaping exodus#the doors of eden#the outside#xenogenesis#remnant#the scorpion rules#iron widow#survival instincts#these burning stars#everfair
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Book Recs for Science Fiction and Fantasy books with little to no romance. Because I'm tired.
(if you've got more recommendations, PLEASE share)
Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher.
The main character Marra is the youngest of three daughters, a princess from a tiny, perilously placed kingdom who was sent to a convent when she was 15. It's been just as long since then, and recently she found out her older sister has for years now been abused by the prince she's married to. A prince protected by both his position and the magic of his Godmother's christening gift.
The book is about Marra going on a quest to kill the prince and save her sister.
It also contains a lot of death magic, spirits, terrible curses, impossible tasks, bone dogs, dust wives, godmothers and goblin markets. It's written like a novel but constructed like a fairytale.
Main character is neither thin nor 'pretty', which makes for a nice change of pace. Does contain a smidgen of romance but it's barely there, mostly background and never the focus, so it just doesn't get a chance to get obnoxious.
It does however get rather dark in places (think Gideon the Ninth levels).
The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley.
A heavy read about the horrors of war, the ugliness of a world where capitalism and corporate monopolies have been allowed to run without opposition, and the lies those in power feed to their soldiers and civilians to make them think the atrocities justified.
The story follows Dietz, an infantry soldier who has a strange reaction to the technology that allows soldiers to be sent through insane distances by being transformed into light. It becomes quickly apparent that Dietz is experiencing the war vastly out of order, especially when Dietz starts seeing friends die before meeting them.
Very hard to read but full of impactful moments. I'd recommend listening to the audiobook if possible, it's voiced by Cara Gee (who plays Camina Drummer in The Expanse) and she does a FANTASTIC job bringing the story to life.
Characters have a lot of sex (not sex scenes as such though), but basically nearly zero romance (it's more: relieving the stress and having a human connection in the middle of war kinda deal). I do say 'nearly' zero, because the main character (who is bisexual btw) does occasionally think about an ex.
All Systems Red (and all following Murderbot books) by Martha Wells.
Probably everyone and their roomba knows about this one but it would be a crime not to mention it.
Books follow Murderbot, a Rogue SecUnit who has hacked its government module (a thing that when intact, and working, would fry Murderbot's brain if it failed to follow an order). The expected result in Rogue SecUnits would be to go on a wild murder spree, but once free Murderbot discovers it can download vast amounts of TV, books, movies, music and other such stuff, it decides to consume the media instead.
'As a heartless killing machine, [it's] a terrible failure.'
Other characters around it might maybe be having romances (Murderbot isn't paying attention and it's not relevant) but if someone mentioned it having one, it would stare at them with a face drawn in horror, and probably never talk to them again.
The voice of Murderbot is humorous and awesome. Recommend these books to EVERYONE. Absolutely everyone.
Sisters of the Vast Black (and the book following) by Lina Rather.
Follows the Sisters of the Order of Saint Rita. The setting is a future where people have expanded far into the galaxy, some decades after the last time the Central Governance tried to keep power over the colonies.
The Sisters in question travel in a living ship (the absolute coolest ship I've seen in quite a while), and go where they're needed. Technically still under the power of the Church, but not really being affected all that much by its edicts when they're so far away from Earth. Unfortunately the Church is trying to regain its control over 'the flock' recently and sends them a very obnoxious priest who just doesn't understand the realities of life in the black (he's very early-season-Wesley-Wyndam-Pryce about it).
Then they receive a distress call from a newly-formed colony though, and the Sisters will have to make a choice between following orders from the Church and doing the right thing.
One of the Sisters does have a romantic connection with a woman she met before the start of the story (but the romance itself is nearly absent and more focuses on her struggle to choose between love and her faith (would like to add that the problem is the fact that she's a nun not that she has feelings for a woman)).
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And other books that I have enjoyed, that don't contain overpowering amounts of romance.
Discworld novels by Terry Pratchett (always a safe bet and absolutely worth all its hype, especially the ones following the witches (Granny Weatherwax is the greatest character ever)), A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking by T. Kingfisher (middle grade book that's fun to read but also contains adult themes and in my opinion is enjoyable whatever your age), Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (a fun read, which gave me an extreme soft spot for the... character the main character ends up meeting), Imperial Radch trilogy by Ann Leckie (from the POV of the only surviving Ancillary of a ship whose AI once had hundreds of bodies, she starts out on a revenge mission against the leader of the Empire), The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison (deals with a very kind-hearted half-elven/half-goblin son of the Emperor who has just been given the throne, very blatant racism allegory shown in the story, but it's also not trying to hide it (elves being fair skinned and goblins having dark skin), some romance but the 'arranged marriage' kind and not the focus).
Seriously if you have recs, please share.
#nettle and bone#the light brigade#the murderbot diaries#sisters of the vast black#book recs#terapsina rambles#fantasy books#science fiction books#book rec#terapsina's book rambles#terapsina's murderbot rambles#terapsina's nettle and bone rambles#terapsina's the light brigade rambles#terapsina's oloew rambles
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vote yes if you have finished the entire book.
vote no if you have not finished the entire book.
(faq · submit a book)
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Sometimes in life you have to be insane for a weird as fuck gay as hell gross as shit fucked up space book that no one else has read and accept that no one else is gonna care.
#the stars are legion#the light brigade#this is how you lose the time war#am I talking about one? psych I’m talking about all of them#just not Gideon the ninth plenty of you like that too and it’s like…fine
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Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX - Duel Box 7: Booklet Lineart 3
- Four Monarchs Iwamaru (Light Brigade T-Bone)
- Granmarg the Rock Monarch / Demiurge Ema
- Four Monarchs Honōmaru (Light Brigade Blaze)
- Sho Car / Kenzaurus
#yugioh gx#yugioh#gx scans#my scans#four monarchs#the light brigade#shou marufuji#syrus truesdale#Tyranno Kenzan#tyranno hassleberry
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Top 5 Best Books of 2023
Because I smh read 106 books this year and I need to scream about this.
1. Words of Radiance by Brandon Sanderson
Do I even need to explain? It’s the Stormlight Archive. It’s Kaladin.
2. The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley
Omg. Oh. My. God. This book was made for me. Time travel shenanigans? Check. Non-linear narration? Check. Assembling the story piece by piece until you realise that everything you’ve been told is a lie? Check! And off course a casually queer protagonist. What else could you possibly want.
3. Vicious by V. E. Schwab
The atmosphere was immaculate. The characters absolutely unhinged. I have a couple of complaints about the sequel, but this first book was exactly what I want from a story about villains. Does anyone want to experiment on ourselves in the name of science and then go absolutely batshit crazy and try to murder each other? No?
4. Red, White and Royal Blue by Casey McQuiston
I really wasn’t expecting to like this book so much. I’m not usually one for romance, but this hit me like a bag of bricks. I wanna have what they have (politically, that is).
5. The King of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
My favourite book in the series, thought I haven’t finished Return of the Thief yet. As a big lover of the POV Outsider tag on ao3, The Queen’s Thief books give me so much joy.
Honorary mentions: Nettle & Bone by T. Kingfisher, The Divide series by J.S. Dewes, Первая Печать by Natalia Osoianu, Le Comte de Monte-Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
#booktumblr#red white and royal blue#the light brigade#queen’s thief#king of attolia#vicious#villains#words of radiance#the stormlight archive
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I joined up because the aliens were ruining the world. I joined up because I thought I was the good guy.
We're the good guys.
We're made of light.
I wish I was as stupid as I used to be.
#tre reads#meet me in the future#kameron hurley#the light brigade#quotes#((honestly can't remember if the mc ever gets a name here...))
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#Kameron Hurley#N.K. Jemisin#R.F. Kuang#The Fifth Season#The Light Brigade#The Poppy War#Love That? Read This!
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The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley
Today's sapphic book of the day is The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley!
Summary: "The Light Brigade: it’s what soldiers fighting the war against Mars call the ones who come back…different. Grunts in the corporate corps get busted down into light to travel to and from interplanetary battlefronts. Everyone is changed by what the corps must do in order to break them down into light. Those who survive learn to stick to the mission brief—no matter what actually happens during combat.
Dietz, a fresh recruit in the infantry, begins to experience combat drops that don’t sync up with the platoon’s. And Dietz’s bad drops tell a story of the war that’s not at all what the corporate brass want the soldiers to think is going on.
Is Dietz really experiencing the war differently, or is it combat madness? Trying to untangle memory from mission brief and survive with sanity intact, Dietz is ready to become a hero—or maybe a villain; in war it’s hard to tell the difference."
#bisexual#bi#sapphic#queer#lgbtqia#lgbtq#lgbt#books#book recs#booklr#book recommendations#science fiction#scifi#sci fi#speculative fiction#the light brigade#kameron hurley
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《The Light Brigade》全新大型免費更新：Meta Quest 2 + Pro震撼登場！
《The Light Brigade》全新大型免費更新：Meta Quest 2 + Pro震撼登場！
A new big free update for The Light Brigade: Meta Quest 2 + Pro is here!
迎來《The Light Brigade》全新重大更新，Meta Quest 2 + Pro版本震撼登場！這次的更新可不僅僅是一般的小改動，它完全改寫了遊戲體驗，引入了豐富多彩的內容，為Roguelike愛好者們帶來更加深入的遊玩樂趣，每一次的新遊戲都充滿了更多的可能性。
開發商Funktronic Labs類別動作、射擊玩家人數單人
從發布以來，開發團隊充分聆聽了玩家們的意見，現在，我們帶來了戰爭記憶的全新更新，包括嶄新的可玩士兵職業、武器種類、物品和充滿魅力的新區域。讓我們深入看看這次的內容。
嶄新職業、武器與無人機操作
引入兩個全新的可玩職業：工程師與破壞者…
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Title: The Light Brigade | Author: Kameron Hurley | Publisher: Saga Press (2019)
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The Light Brigade - Announcement Trailer | Meta Quest 2
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Tout savoir sur le Playstation VR2 date,Prix,Jeux
#PSVR2 #PS5 #FR #2023 #jeuxvideos #money #fevrier
Playstation aura mis du temps à communiquer sur son PS VR2 mais malheureusement cela ne va pas plaire à tout le monde! En effet, pour pouvoir essayer cette nouvelle technologie il va falloir attendre début 2023 et économiser un peu…
Un prix qui pique!
Réservable à partir du 15 novembre sur la boutique officielle de Playstation, il va falloir patienter jusqu’au 22 février 2023 pour essayer ce…
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#2023#After The fall#Cities VR#Cosmonious High#Crossfire#Hello Neighbor#horizon call of the moutain#Jurassic World Aftermath#Pisto Whip VR#ps5#PSVR2#Tentacular#The dark Pictures#The light brigade#Zenith
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Authors love to oversell the importance of stories and fiction. “It can change the world” and all that. “More important now than ever.” And sure, I’ll include myself in that number. The board in my own eye and all that. So hopefully it’s somewhat credible when I say that A LOT of purported antifascist and anticapitalist modern fiction is liberal nothing.
And hopefully that, in turn, lends some credibility to the following statement: The Light Brigade by Kameron Hurley is the only modern fiction I would legit call honestly and openly antifascist.
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Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters GX - Duel Box 7: Booklet Lineart 2
- Four Monarchs Ikazuchimaru (Light Brigade Thunder)
- Zaborg the Thunder Monarch / Thunder Knight
- Four Monarchs Koorimaru (Light Brigade Frost)
- Mobius the Frost Monarch / Ice Knight
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