Picture me doing a Scooby Doo “Hnnnnnhhhr??“ when I spotted this on Insta, from a local small NFP press.
“An Unexpected Party is a queer speculative YA fiction anthology [...] From fantastical realms to real-world struggles, dive deep into the stories that involve magic, paranormal beings and adventure highlighting queer protagonists.“
*smashes pre-order button* #sf #australia #lgbtqia+
so-soThis was me giving Django Wexler a second chance. It went better than the first, but not by much. The non-action parts were enjoyable, but whenever the action started, my brain turned off. Too much visuals and too little everything else, perhaps? I don‘t have complete aphantasia, but it‘s close—if there‘s nothing but eye input in a book, I‘m unable to really enjoy it 😞
3.0/5
#sf #lgbtq #lgbtqsf #wlw #onedayread #smallbooks
so-soGood thing this #sf #novella isn‘t long; otherwise, I wouldn‘t be able to handle the unlikeability of the characters. Surprisingly though, packed in this short action flick, it mostly works. The bad guys are also kind of flat, but the rest of the worldbuilding is decent—especially the half-built, half-bioengineered space stations and ships. Overall, it has potential on which it doesn‘t really deliver.
2.75/5
#smallbooks #onedayread #lgbtq
pickImagine a #sf #cyberpunk #spaceopera told from the perspectives of an evil admiral of a mercenary fleet and her faithful lieutenant/wife. It‘s a rare unicorn: a dark #powercouple in a long-established #lgbtq relationship. Sex, death, echos of betrayal, and whimsical AIs of uncertain allegiances abound.
Previous volumes were each more of a standalone story; this one capitalizes on them.
4.5/5
#sfwrittenbyawoman #series #onedayread #smallbooks
so-soWeird little thing—with interesting worldbuilding—that in the end didn‘t really know what it wanted to be. It ended so abruptly.
The ecologic disaster #postapocalypse plot is a bit similar to Valente‘s The Past is Red—except Valente does it better (if with fewer droids).
3.0/5
#sf #audiobook #onedayread #smallbooks #standalone
pickFraming device: Canterbury tales.
Some women meet in Hell‘s Kitchen (the actual Hell‘s actual Kitchen). There‘s a refrigerator looming in the corner, and in the women‘s lives, there were once #superheroes.
One more thing our “heroines” have in common: their inferior #shortstories have turned them bitter.
Audiobook recommended, and (this time) +5 for Valente.
#anthology #feminism #sf #sfwrittenbyawoman
pickWhat is a game, and what is reality? How much does it matter? What reality would an AI even want? What does it mean to be someone's God?
“You made me in your image, and now I will remake you in mine.”
I haven‘t realized how much I needed a nice #sf #thriller #shortstory / #novella about the dangers of #artificialintelligence. Great palate cleanser.
4.5/5
#smallbooks #onedayread
pickA #shortstory in the Machine Mandate #series. The Alabaster Admiral Anoushka, with her wife Numadesi, infiltrates a coven of religious fanatics. The story is told from the POV of a young sister. In an attempt to convert her, the coven stripped her of everything—her childhood, her memories, even her name. Dark, futuristic, and gay—what‘s not to like?
(A bit too short, tho.)
3.5/5
#sf #sfwrittenbyawoman #lgbtq #smallbooks #onedayread
