Tag Archives: Sci-Fi

Fave Five: Demisexual YA SFF

The Spy With the Red Balloon by Katherine Locke

The Sound of Stars by Alechia Dow

Foul Lady Fortune by Chloe Gong

Little Thieves by Margaret Owen

Scavenge the Stars by Tara Sim

Exclusive Cover Reveal: Monstersona by Chloe Spencer

Today on the site I’m delighted to reveal the cover of Monstersona by Chloe Spencer, a double-bi f/f YA sci-fi romance releasing February 14, 2023 from Tiny Ghost Press! Here’s the story:

There’s a little monster in all of us.

After her parents’ divorce, 16 year old Riley Grishin is forced to move from Portland, Oregon all the way to Little Brook, Maine, a small town that serves as the headquarters for Titan Technologies, an international tech laboratory. Having left her friends and father behind, Riley spends most of her days running through the woods with her dog Tigger, and eavesdropping on her classmates—in particular, the gorgeous, but very strange, Aspen Montehugh.

On the night of the homecoming game, Riley wakes up to find her town on fire, terrorized by an unseen monster. With flames spreading rapidly, Riley and Tigger have no choice but to pile into her beat-up pickup truck and flee. Speeding out of town, they come across the only other survivor: Aspen.

When Riley and Aspen finally reach safety, they realize something far more sinister is afoot. According to the news, all other Titan Tech laboratories on the East Coast have been attacked. And even worse, they’re being followed by an SUV with blacked out windows. With all air travel grounded, Riley has no way to fly back to her dad, so she and Aspen embark on a cross country road trip, all the while pursued by men with guns, mad scientists, and the monstrous truth. Slowly, Riley realizes something’s not quite right with Aspen, which puts her feelings for her—and her own humanity—to the ultimate test.

Thelma and Louise meet Godzilla in this queer sci-fi adventure, that will appeal to fans of Erik. J Brown’s All That’s Left In The World and Charlotte Nicole Davies’ The Good Luck Girls.

And here’s the striking cover by Alex Moore!

Buy it: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository

Minnesota native Chloe Spencer is an award winning writer, indie gamedev, and filmmaker. She enjoys writing sci-fi/fantasy, horror, and romance. In her spare time she enjoys playing video games, trying her best at Pilates, and cuddling with her cat. She holds a BA in Journalism from the University of Oregon and an MFA in Film and Television from SCAD Atlanta.

 

Exclusive Cover Reveal: Born Andromeda by K.M. Watts

Today on the site we’re revealing the cover of Born Andromeda by K.M. Watts, a space-pirate adventure YA romance releasing from Interlude Press on November 15, 2022! Here’s the story:

She was destined for a royal life—until galactic pirates changed her destiny.

Being eighteen is difficult, especially when you’re a cyborg and heir to the entire kingdom of the Moon. Disillusioned with royal life, Princess Andromeda dreams of nothing but freedom and adventure outside the protective dome of royalty. But when her parents arrange her marriage to an Earthen prince, she is forced to put her kingdom before her dreams of independence.

While traveling to Earth, Andromeda’s ship is attacked by galactic pirates led by her father’s sworn enemy, the Lord Captain Bran. Taken prisoner, Andromeda realizes that her captors are unaware of her true identity and sees an opportunity: To best her enemies, she may have to join them.

And here’s the luminous cover, designed by C.B. Messer!


Preorder: Interlude Press | Amazon | B&N | Kobo | Bookshop | IndieBound

K.M. Watts is a debut novelist who first dreamed of becoming an author when she won her school’s Young Author Award at the age of five. She enjoys reading and writing YA fantasy and sci-fi, though she also dabbles with YA romantic thrillers. In her free time, she enjoys canyon hiking in her home state of Arizona.

Under the Gaydar: YA Sci-Fi

“Under the Gaydar” features books you might not realize have queer content but do! And definitely belong on your radar.

This edition is dedication to YA Sci-Fi, so buckle in, yank on those space helmets, and come find some great books that are safe to bring to unsafe spaces, or just that you just might not have known were rocking the rainbow!

Proxy by Alex London – I know, it’s a little weird to be kicking off with one of the first major gay YA sci-fi titles, but! It fits! And even its sequel, Guardian, fits! So if you haven’t already devoured this action-packed sci-fi thriller duo, now’s the time!

The Disasters by M.K. England – And speaking of m/m sci-fi, this wildly fun space opera helmed by bi boy Nax and his new fellow flight school reject friend group is another safe bet in more ways than one.

Crownchasers by Rebecca Coffindaffer And speaking of wildly fun space operas, here’s we’ve got one of the very few in YA narrated by a panThe Dis girl, the delightfully bold and brash (and pan) Alyssa Farshot. If you love books full of competition, banter, betrayal, and an understated but excellent romance, this will extremely be your jam.

Sound by Alexandra Duncan A standalone companion to Salvage, this slightly older title (2015) stars Miyole, a research assistant on her first space voyage who gets into trouble when her ship saves a rover that’s been attacked by criminals.

That Inevitable Victorian Thing by EK Johnston – a near-future thriller with loads of rep (intersex! bisexual! polyam!) that explores what the world would look like if the British Empire never fell and the crown princess did fall…in love… (Johnston’s got more where that came from, so do check out her other work, including her Star Wars stuff!)

The Sound of Stars and The Kindred by Alechia Dow – both standalone titles, these sci-fi romances both have demisexual main characters, and the latter has a bi boy as well. Clearly your perfect go-to author for under-the-gaydar demi sci-fi!

Fave Five: LGBTQ YA Featuring Time Travel

Yesterday is History by Kosoko Jackson

The Last Beginning by Lauren James

The Unintentional Time Traveler by Everett Maroon

A Darkly Beating Heart by Lindsay Smith

Spin Me Right Round by David Valdes

Exclusive Cover Reveal: The Circus Infinite by Khan Wong

Today on the site I’m delighted to be revealing the cover of The Circus Infinite by Khan Wong, a found family story with an asexual protagonist releasing from Angry Robot on March 8, 2022! Here’s the story:

A circus takes down a crime-boss on the galaxy’s infamous pleasure moon!

Hunted by those who want to study his gravity powers, Jes makes his way to the best place for a mixed-species fugitive to blend in: the pleasure moon where everyone just wants to be lost in the party. It doesn’t take long for him to catch the attention of the crime boss who owns the resort-casino where he lands a circus job, and when the boss gets wind of the bounty on Jes’ head, he makes an offer: do anything and everything asked of him or face vivisection.

With no other options, Jes fulfills the requests: espionage, torture, demolition. But when the boss sets the circus up to take the fall for his about-to-get-busted narcotics operation, Jes and his friends decide to bring the mobster down. And if Jes can also avoid going back to being the prize subject of a scientist who can’t wait to dissect him? Even better.

And here’s the incandescent cover, designed by Kieryn Tyler!

Preorder: Amazon US | Amazon UK | B&N | Target | Angry Robot

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Khan Wong has published poetry, played cello in an earnest folk-rock duo, and been an internationally known hula hoop teacher and performer. He’s toured with a circus and produced circus arts shows in San Francisco, where he also worked as a grantmaker with a public sector arts funding agency.

Reading and Writing Dark LGBTQ Fiction: a Guest Post by Breeder Author Honni van Rijswijk

Today on the site we’re welcoming Honni van Rijswijk, author of dystopian thriller Breeder, which just released on Tuesday from Blackstone publishing! Honni’s here to talk about the writing process for their novel, the “dark/bleak” elements that dominate it, and why such fiction can be kinda cheering, actually, regarding both their queer sexuality and nonbinary identity. But before we get to that, here’s a little more on the book:

Will Meadows is a seemingly average fifteen-year-old Westie, who lives and works in Zone F, the run-down outermost ring of the Corporation. In the future state of the Corp, a person’s value comes down to productivity: the right actions win units, the wrong ones lose them. If Will is unlucky and goes into unit debt, there’s only one place to go: the Rator. But for Zone F Breeders, things are much worse–they’re born into debt and can only accrue units through reproduction.

Every day in Zone F is a struggle, especially for Will who is fighting against time for access to an illegal medical drug, Crystal 8. Under the cover of night, Will travels to the Gray Zone, where life is less regulated and drugs–and people–are exchanged for gold. There, Will meets Rob, a corrupt member of the Corporation running a Breeder smuggling operation. Will also meets Alex, another teen whom he quickly recognizes as a Breeder in disguise.

Suddenly, Will has an illicit job and money, access to Crystal, and a real friend. As the pair grows closer, Alex shares her secret: she is part of the Response, an uprising to overthrow the Corporation. Caught up in the new friendship, Will and Alex become careless as the two covertly travel into Zone B for a day of adventure. Nothing goes as planned and Will’s greatest fear is realized. Will his true identity be revealed?

Buy it: Bookshop | Amazon | B&N

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And here’s the post!

My novel Breeder is set in a bleak world. It takes place after a catastrophic environmental apocalypse, where an avaricious corporation has taken control of all resources, and treats all people (except its shareholders) as resources to be used and then discarded. Part of its violence involves the ways it controls people through rigid gender norms–boys/men are only used for labor, and girls/women are only used for reproduction. The main character, a 15-year-old called Will, has to navigate this extreme world and readers witness Will doing so in ways that are often ethically problematic. Why did I want to set up this world, as an author, and what do we gain, as readers, from bleak possibilities and morally gray characters?

I’ve always been drawn to “dark” novels and films–horror, sci-fi, and extreme realism. As readers, we gain a lot from these bleak worlds. Samara Morgan, the vengeful ghost/demon in the horror story THE RING helps us understand the brutal possibilities of the mother/daughter relationship. Serena Joy’s callous upholding of religious and gender norms in The Handmaid’s Tale reveals white women’s complicity in historical oppression. The devastating realist trauma represented in Stone Butch Blues brings home the violence experienced by gender queer people. As a nonbinary person brought up as a girl, I’ve experienced violence based on gender identity and sexuality, and I needed these dark tales as catharsis, recognition and articulation. It has always been a relief to me to see violence I’ve experienced told back to me as stories. Why is this the case? Because these bleak tales offer frameworks of recognition from places that sometimes haven’t been recognised before. They provide us a language of trauma, and also languages of responsibility and accountability–once we have these languages, we can recognise and speak to each other, we can speak back to power. These stories provide ways to call for justice, through the frameworks of revenge, tragedy and revolution.

In Breeder, the main character, Will, is nonbinary, trying to navigate a world that refuses any possibility of gender fluidity and, indeed, any lived experience outside that of being a productive cog within the Corporation. I wanted to explore this extreme world as a way to explore our current world–where we’re absolutely facing environmental collapse, hyper-capitalism and conservative backlash on reproductive freedom as well as LGBTQI rights. Through the character of Will, I wanted to explore what a young person at the intersections of these crisis might do. Will is at the bottom of the class order in the Corp; they are nonbinary, assigned AFAB, and they have no legacy Units. Structurally, everything is against them. I wanted to explore what moral choices a character might make in that situation–will they conform or will they rebel? Will they create alliances with other excluded people, or will they try to make the best of their difficult situation? In Breeder, I set up extreme versions of choices that I, and many LGBTQI people, have had to make throughout our lives. We might not always agree with the choices that Will makes, but hopefully people can empathise with why Will might make these choices. For me, as both a reader and a writer, it’s only in these extreme and bleak worlds that I see versions of my own experience reflected and so I will always seek them out!

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Want your own copy of Breeder? The author is giving away two copies, and yes, this giveaway is international! Just comment below with what kind of fiction you gravitate toward for comfort and/or catharsis and we’ll pick two winners on Friday, July 23rd!

Honni van Rijswijk is a writer, lawyer, and academic. Breeder is their debut novel. Their fiction has appeared in Southerly and was short-listed for Zoetrope: All-Story. They are a Senior Lecturer in the Faculty of Law at the University of Technology Sydney, where their research focuses on intersections between law, technology, and culture. They live in Sydney, Australia, with their partner and daughter.

Exclusive Cover Reveal: Survive the Dome by Kosoko Jackson

Welcome to part two of the Kosoko Jackson Cover Reveal Extravaganza here on LGBTQReads! (If you missed the reveal for I’m So (Not) Over You, it’s time to remedy that immediately!) In the space of approximately no time, Jackson is jumping from contemporary adult romance to YA sci-fi thriller, and I know everyone’s along for the ride, so let’s get to showing off Survive the Dome, which releases March 1, 2022 from Sourcebooks Fire!

The Hate U Give meets Internment in this pulse-pounding thriller about an impenetrable dome around Baltimore that is keeping the residents in and information from going out during a city-wide protest.

Jamal Lawson just wanted to be a part of something. As an aspiring journalist, he packs up his camera and heads to Baltimore to document a rally protesting police brutality after another Black man is murdered.

But before it even really begins, the city implements a new safety protocol…the Dome. The Dome surrounds the city, forcing those within to subscribe to a total militarized shutdown. No one can get in, and no one can get out.

Alone in a strange place, Jamal doesn’t know where to turn…until he meets hacker Marco, who knows more than he lets on, and Catherine, an AWOL basic-training-graduate, whose parents helped build the initial plans for the Dome.

As unrest inside of Baltimore grows throughout the days-long lockdown, Marco, Catherine, and Jamal take the fight directly to the chief of police. But the city is corrupt from the inside out, and it’s going to take everything they have to survive.

And here’s the powerful cover, with art by Jeff Manning!

Preorder: Amazon | IndieBound

Kosoko Jackson is a digital media specialist, focusing on digital storytelling, email, social and SMS marketing, and a freelance political journalist. Occasionally, his personal essays and short stories have been featured on Medium, Thought Catalog, The Advocate, and some literary magazines. When not writing YA novels that champion holistic representation of black queer youth across genres, he can be found obsessing over movies, drinking his (umpteenth) London Fog, or spending far too much time on Twitter.

Backlist Book of the Month: Failure to Communicate by Kaia Sønderby

However you refer to the month of April (and I’m digging seeing Autism Pride Month start to catch on), there’s no question it’s a good time for some queer autistic rep! Failure to Communicate by Kaia Sønderby has a bi autistic protag, a spaceship, and aliens, so let’s all strap in for a good time, shall we?? (Plus the ebook is $2.99…)

As one of the only remaining autistics in the universe, Xandri Corelel has faced a lot of hardship, and she’s earned her place as the head of Xeno-Liaisons aboard the first contact ship Carpathia. But her skill at negotiating with alien species is about to be put to the ultimate test.

The Anmerilli, a notoriously reticent and xenophobic people, have invented a powerful weapon that will irrevocably change the face of space combat. Now the Starsystems Alliance has called in Xandri and the crew of the Carpathia to mediate. The Alliance won’t risk the weapon falling into enemy hands, and if Xandri can’t bring the Anmerilli into the fold, the consequences will be dire.

Amidst sabotage, assassination attempts, and rampant cronyism, Xandri struggles to convince the doubtful and ornery Anmerilli. Worse, she’s beginning to suspect that not everyone on her side is really working to make the alliance a success. As tensions rise and tempers threaten to boil over, Xandri must focus all her energy into understanding the one species that has always been beyond her: her own.

Buy it: Amazon | Gumroad | Book Depository

Book Giveaway: The Teixcalaan Duology by Arkady Martine

Today on the site, we’re doing a killer giveaway in partnership with Tor Books to celebrate the March 2nd release of A Desolation Called Peace, the second book in Arkady Martine’s Teixcalaan series! Tor is giving away five sets of both books in the space opera duology, so even if you haven’t yet read A Memory Called Empire, you’re totally covered!

A Memory Called Empire (Book One):

Winner of the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novel
A Locus, and Nebula Award nominee for 2019
A Best Book of 2019: Library Journal, Polygon, Den of Geek
An NPR Favorite Book of 2019
A Guardian Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Book of 2019 and “Not the Booker Prize” Nominee
A Goodreads Biggest SFF Book of 2019 and Goodreads Choice Awards Nominee

A Memory Called Empire perfectly balances action and intrigue with matters of empire and identity. All around brilliant space opera, I absolutely love it.” —Ann Leckie, author of Ancillary Justice

Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire only to discover that her predecessor, the previous ambassador from their small but fiercely independent mining Station, has died. But no one will admit that his death wasn’t an accident—or that Mahit might be next to die, during a time of political instability in the highest echelons of the imperial court.Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her Station from Teixcalaan’s unceasing expansion—all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her own, and hiding a deadly technological secret—one that might spell the end of her Station and her way of life—or rescue it from annihilation.

A fascinating space opera debut novel, Arkady Martine’s A Memory Called Empire is an interstellar mystery adventure.

Buy it: Bookshop | Macmillan

 A Desolation Called Peace (Book Two):

A Desolation Called Peace is the spectacular space opera sequel to Arkady Martine’s genre-reinventing, Hugo Award–winning debut, A Memory Called Empire.

An alien armada lurks on the edges of Teixcalaanli space. No one can communicate with it, no one can destroy it, and Fleet Captain Nine Hibiscus is running out of options.

In a desperate attempt at diplomacy with the mysterious invaders, the fleet captain has sent for a diplomatic envoy. Now Mahit Dzmare and Three Seagrass—still reeling from the recent upheaval in the Empire—face the impossible task of trying to communicate with a hostile entity.

Their failure will guarantee millions of deaths in an endless war. Their success might prevent Teixcalaan’s destruction—and allow the empire to continue its rapacious expansion.

Or it might create something far stranger…

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No purchase necessary. The giveaway is open to residents of the United States and Canada (excluding Quebec) 18 and older. Entry period begins at 12:00 p.m. EST on 3/1/21 and ends at 11:59 p.m. EST on 3/7/21. Void where prohibited.

To enter, tell us your favorite queer sci-fi novel in the comments! Winners will be notified on Monday, March 8th!