Begin your year with revolution! Or at least that’s what I thought when I picked up Suzan Palumbo’s Countess. The novella invokes the anti-colonialist spirit so desperately needed in 2026, and it opens with an inscription that acknowledges the crater of its impact: There is horror here, but there is also always hope. We meet our protagonist,Read More
Queer Bandits Fight Back: The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang Review
The Water Outlaws by S.L. Huang is an action-packed, genderbent homage to a work of classic Chinese literature, but you don’t have to have prior knowledge of the source material to have a good time with these bandits. In Liangshan, a large group of bandits, mostly women, are forced to live outside the bounds ofRead More
A Lush and Lesbian Political Fantasy: The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
In honor of The Lotus Empire being released on November 12th, I decided to reread The Jasmine Throne and actually continue with the series past the first book. I first read it back in 2021 when it came out and I remember enjoying it, but aside from that, not much stuck in my head. I never got around toRead More
A Queer, Anti-Colonial Sci-Fi Novella: Countess by Suzan Palumbo
This review contains spoilers. Countess by Suzan Palumbo is a short science fiction novel that is a love story to the West Indies and its people even lightyears and generations away from the islands of Earth. It follows Virika Sameroo, a soldier for the Æcerbot Empire that controls and subjugates people like Virika just as theRead More
A Sapphic Space Opera of Smoldering Obsession: These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs
Buy this from Bookshop.org to support local bookstores and the Lesbrary! If you’re looking for a queer space opera chock full of complex politics, smoldering obsession, and ever escalating revenge, These Burning Stars by Bethany Jacobs is a worthy entry into the field. Renowned hacker Jun “Sunstep” Ironway has gotten her hands on a piece ofRead More
An Anti-Capitalist Murder Mystery in Space: Stars, Hide Your Fires by Jessica Mary Best
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link You ever read something that you really really want to love but can’t? That was Stars, Hide Your Fires for me. I’m a huge sucker for political sci-fi/fantasy, and while I more often read heftier adult novels, I do occasionally browse the young adult section of my local bookstore. From the back-cover blurb toRead More
Empire for Beginners: The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link The Splinter in the Sky by Kemi Ashing-Giwa is a debut science fiction story about Enitan, a teamaker and scribe who finds herself thrust into the heart of the empire that controls the moon village Koriko after her sibling Xiang disappears. Her on-again-off-again girlfriend, the governor of Koriko, turns up dead while attemptingRead More
Court Intrigue at the Heart of an Interstellar Empire: A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine is an elegant space opera that artfully ties together themes of empire, identity, and cultural dominance. It makes you consider all of these while drawing you into the characters and the complex political intrigues. The book follows Mahit Dzmare, a newly appointed ambassador to theRead More
An Anti-Fascist Queer Space Opera: Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh
Bookshop.org Affiliate Link Some Desperate Glory by Emily Tesh is one of the most powerful science fiction books I have ever read. I have not been able to read another book because I keep wondering where the main character Kyr has gone. I look for her in everything. She is such a well-rounded, complicated character (the best kind),Read More