Appreciate an Author

[sartorias]

There's been a lot of stuff said about the Hugo ballot controversy, with the inevitably angry and hurt and divisive fallout, so the suggestion of taking today to appreciate an author sounded like a great idea. Except who

Comments

[elialshadowpine]

I remember liking Ross's Darkover work much better than some of the ghostwriters that MZB had before she passed. I'm blanking on the author name, but the author who did the Shadow Matrix set was dreadful, IMO; it was so very, very different from MZB's style that, at the time, I wondered if it was written by someone else (turns out I was accurate there.). Ross's tone and cadence is much closer to MZB's, while being modernized (for instance, a lot of MZB's work is 3rd person omniscient; Ross doesn't do omniscient).

I still have mixed feelings because I don't know how much of the royalties Ross gets, and how much the estate gets, and given that the estate beneficiary is MZB's ex-lover, who helped to cover up a lot of the child abuse going on, I'd rather not give them money. Which kinda sucks, because I would like to catch up on Ross's Darkover books but... yeeargh. First world problems? (Edit: I should add, I have a very hard time reading physical books because of arthritis. My RA has thankfully backed off a lot so I can read physical books easier than before, but some are still difficult. *eyes doorstoppers*)

My recommendation: Kameron Hurley's Bell Dame series. The heroine is a bitter older mercenary; the story is set on an Islamic-based colony world, and there's all sorts of shades of grey characters. And bug magic, which I thought I would be grossed out by, but is incredibly cool. Not to mention the cast is pretty diverse; the heroine is bisexual, and she's not the only queer character. Because of the setting, most of the characters are POC, and it's commented on if they're not. Also, werewolves and evil gods and all sorts of fun stuff. It does, however, fall into grimdark category, but differently from male grimdark writers. It's one of my favorite trilogies ever, because it's so different and refreshing. (I need to get around to reading the first book in her new epic fantasy series.)

Love Minus Eighty is also a really awesome SF novel. It's set in a future where cryogenics are a thing, and it really explores the darker side of that. It's very cyberpunk, in a way, and there are queer characters, which is yay.

Frostflower and Thorn by Phyllis Ann Karr. Reprinted from the early 80s. Excellent sword and sorcery focusing on the non-sexual but incredibly intimate relationship between two women. If you liked the general style of 70s/80s feminist sword & sorcery, definitely pick this up. (I realize there's a good chance you've already read it, but I mention for other people too, because it's a damn fine duology. I hope she decides to write more in the setting.

Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi is awesome, and diverse in just about every way possible. POC, queer characters, disabled characters, poly, non-standard religions, characters on the autism spectrum, etc. It's really, really good, even though the last quarter of the book made my brain hurt. I'm sad to see that she hasn't had anything out since (though I just sent her a tweet asking if she had anything new in the works; she's pretty open about her disabilities so IDK if it's medical issues or publisher issues).

There, three recc's, and I could seriously keep going on. There are a lot of authors I love!

[sartorias]

Kameron Hurley's first was way too grimdark for me, but these other new ones look awesome! (I remember fondly Frostflower and Thorn from way back.)

Thanks for the recess!

[elialshadowpine]

Yeah, I personally love certain types of grimdark, although they are all written by women. Anne Bishop's Black Jewels is pretty grimdark, but it's actually comfort reading for me. I suppose it goes with the whole goth thing... *g*

I will give other recommendations, then!

Heart of Iron by Ekaterina Sedia. It's steampunk, set in Russia, where the heroine is a noblewoman who gets into university in a time where her professors are teaching racist and sexist BS. Her best friend is a Chinese man who came to the country to study. There's intrigue, politics, high speed train chases, disguising as military, and all sorts of fun adventure stuff. (I'd recommend anything by Sedia, really, but this is probably my favorite. Alchemy of Stone comes next, which is about a sentient wind-up automaton who is an inventor, ends up involved in a rebellion, and an ongoing storyline is to get her key -- and autonomy -- back.)

The Onyx Noon books by Jill Archer are good. They've an UF feel to them, but it's a secondary world involving dark magic and demons and necromancy taught at a sort of boarding school. There's a lot of complexities and adventures and it's very cool.

The necromancer books by Amanda Downum are excellent, as well. The first book is a little difficult to get into, but they stand alone. I would actually suggest starting with The Bone Palace, because there are a lot of visible queer characters, and there are really two equally important plots going on. MC1, the necromancer, is investigating a crime, and MC2 is a trans woman who is the consort of the Prince, and her story is equally important. The way LGBT people are treated in the setting is interesting; LGB is considered not unusual, but trans people are considered a third gender... sorta like the hijira in India. There's also a lovely poly romance where the trans woman falls for her Prince's wife, and it ends up with a HEA for them. (I know that's a spoiler but I mention it because it is SO RARE to see a trans person, and especially a queer trans person, to get a happy ending.)

Chronicles of the Necromancer by Gail Z. Martin are also good, albeit doorstoppers. They're well worth reading, though; the characters are memorable and I adore the way that the necromancer hero is portrayed. He's more an emissary to the dead than what you think of as a necromancer. There's also lots of powerful female characters, as well. The necromancer prince is betrothed to the princess of another country, and when it turns out her father is too ill to rule, she returns to take over rule because there's enough animosity between the two countries that a foreign king would be perceived as a direct threat. There's also a badass healer, and the concept of a sort of medium sex worker. She can channel the souls of those departed for partners, to give them a last chance to say goodbye. It's strikingly well done, and she ends up being very important to the plot. Fair warning, there is one quartet, and then a sequel duology, Lots of reading material! (Looking it up, apparently she's also written some shorts based on one of the more popular characters.)

There! Hopefully some of these are ones you haven't read. :)

[sartorias]

Thank you for these suggestions! Even though I am familiar with a couple of them, they are here for others to discover.