Starting with the usual bit of context: the topic is from the Weekly Blogging Challenge over at Long and Short Reviews. Hit their homepage to see the current week's responses, and add a link to your own if you're so inclined.
This week's challenge is Books I've Recommended & Why.
I feel compelled to point out that over the course of this weekly challenge, I have already recommended an awful lot of books... So for today I'm going to point out three titles that I know I haven't mentioned so far. (Well, I haven't mentioned them here on the Blog o' Doom, anyway. I have recommended them to people in person; otherwise they wouldn't qualify for today's prompt! But I digress...)
First up: Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather. So why am I recommending it? Well, for starters: nuns in space! Nuns in space making difficult choices, both personal and moral! Nuns in space in a living spaceship! Nuns in space with a decidedly ambivalent attitude about the mother church back on Earth! Nuns in... well, nuns in a very enjoyable story about different kinds of and approaches to faith, flavored with elements of adventure and danger, and several very nicely-crafted storytelling moments which I won't talk about until you've also had a chance to read it. It's a relatively short novel featuring a very unusual and well-done take on a number of classic science fiction elements.
Next: The Outside by Ada Hoffman. Why this one? Well... Lesbian conjurors in space! Reality-bending eldritch monsters! Cybernetic angels! AI gods! Mad science! Own-voice Autism representation! Conflicting loyalties! This one is longer than the previous book, taking the time to fill in a much larger world and slowly unveil its mysteries and its horrors. It mixes science fiction and cosmic horror and makes the combination work -- and it has a good time doing it.
Finally: Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir. Why? Well, you may notice a pattern here, but: lesbian necromancers in space! A derelict gothic palace holding an arcane mystery that could unlock untold power! Magic! Sword fights! Murder! Enemies to friends to lovers! A series of deadly tests! Ancient secrets! This book is just... it's a whole world of its own. Easily the longest of the three, but it's worth every minute.
I just requested all of these books from my local library, so thanks for the recommendations and for stopping by my site :)
ReplyDeleteYay! Hope you enjoy them as much as I did!
DeleteAn interesting list for sure. Enjoy space tales. Thanks for sharing. Here's mine. https://www.tenastetler.com/lsrs-wednesdays-blog-challenge-11-6-19-books-ive-recommended-why/
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed looking at your selections, too.
DeleteThanks for stopping by earlier... and yep, there is definitely a theme going on with you today :-) They sound interesting for sure!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteLesbian nuns in space. That's the next theme. :-) I like the list. Good one. I'll have to check these out.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed all three of them; despite the common theme, they are very different books.
DeleteYou had me at "Nuns in space!" ... lol!!!
ReplyDeleteI know, right?
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