Hi folks
I’m looking to freshen up and diversify my usual go-to authors/reading lists and I’m curious what hidden gems are out there outside of the typical mainstream book recommendations. I’ve always loved the traditional magical realism genre authors such as Marquez, Allende, and Borges (but I’m out of touch of any newer contemporary L.American authors in this genre), and I ***REALLY*** dug Marlon James’ African fantasy series and Kuang’s Babel. They both awoke a hunger in me for more novels and stories from outside the usual white colonial cultures/settings/perspectives.
So, I’m curious if you have any recommendations for authors/series out there for someone who is a heavy reader who’s already devoured a lot of the typical mainstream authors in these genres and is looking to do a deeper dive/diversify his library.
# Tropes/Story Beats that I’ve traditionally been a sucker for (not necessary, but personal guilty pleasures)
* Bromance>Romance (power of friendship! Especially healthy male friendships like in Sullivan’s Riyera stories or the Snorri/Jalan relationship in Mark Lawrence’s trilogy. I don’t really enjoy sappy romance or the seemingly obligatory love-interest for every single main character that’s ever been created.)
* Boy and his dog types: (Farseer books, McCammon’s Boy’s Life, etc)
* LGBT issues/characters (so many extra bonus points for *any* good gay male representation)
* Stories that challenge/push my values/beliefs/perspectives. (Books that can change the way I think/view the world)
* Fantasy that can engage my geeky science brain (Don’t know how to describe it exactly but kind of like the Linguistics element in Babel, Economy/banking in the Dagger and Coin series, familial generations in 100 years of Solitude, or bonus points for anything dealing with fantasy wildlife/ecology in a mature/serious manner).
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It seems like I’m asking for a lot, but I figure if I’m going to be asking anyways I might as well as for it all. I appreciate hearing what thoughts or suggestions are out there! Cheers!
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by Cooleycotton