Hello! I’m looking for sci-fi/ fantasy/ horror/ speculative fiction with sapphic and/ or queer themes. Im fine with YA or adult fiction. I’m in a reading slump and feel like I’ve read everything already. Any ideas are appreciated!
Books I’ve read and liked: the Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir, the Masquerade series by Seth Dickinson, the Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie, A Memory Called Empire series by Arkady Martine, the Murderbot Diaries, the Roots of Chaos series by Samantha Shannon, The Space between Worlds, Plain Bad Heroines, Wilder Girls, What Moves the Dead, This is How You Lose the Time War, House of Hunger, the Scapegracers series by HA Clarke, Crier’s War.
by blue-green-cloud
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Dead Space sexuality is not key to the story but Kali Wallace doesn’t treat it lightly either.
A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson comes to mind immediately.
Weirdly, so does Maevefly by C.J. Leede. I did NOT finish this as it was a bit much for me currently so I don’t know if it fits the sapphic request entirely. MC seems to be (to me anyways) *quite* enamored with her best friend/coworker. It was bizarre, fever dreamish and definitely has horror themes.
The Radiant Emperor Duology by Shelley Parker-Chan! It should be right up your alley on the basis of what you’ve enjoyed
A Fire Born of Exile by Aliette de Bodard is another great rec that comes to mind
Other books that might work are Our Wives Under the Sea (horror) and Some Desperate Glory (sci-fi)
*Into the Drowning Deep* by Mira Grant
*Sawkill Girls* by Claire Legrand
*The Red Tree* by Caitlin R. Kiernan
*The Vanished Birds* by Simon Jimenez
*The Once and Future Witches* by Alix E Harrow
*When Women Were Dragons* by Kelly Barnhill
*Witness for the Dead* and *The Grief of Stones* by Katherine Addison – these might make more sense if you’ve previously read *The Goblin Emperor* (for the overall world-building) but feature different characters, so can be read without that
*The Unbroken* and *The Faithless* by CL Clark – books 1 and 2 of a trilogy, think book 3 is out next year
*Silver in the Wood* and *Drowned Countr*y by Emily Tesh
Dominion of the Fallen trilogy by Aliette de Bodard, starts with *The House of Shattered Wings*. Also her novellas, *In the Vanisher’s Palace* and *Fireheart Tiger*.
You might like Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh. Queer themes, set in an offshoot extremist human space colony that wants to eradicate aliens. The MC is deep in having been raised by propaganda. The plot arc as she learns more was great to me.
There’s also the Sisters of the Vast Black and Sisters of the Forsaken Stars duology by Lina Rather. Space nuns bumping up against a corrupt government.
The Midnight Lie by Marie Rutkoski. It’s a fantasy book, YA I think. Really interesting world
For those who love fairy tales reimagined, ‘Uprooted’ by Naomi Novik is a novel I often recommend. It’s a captivating story inspired by Eastern European folklore, with a strong and relatable heroine who discovers her own power in a world filled with magic and danger.