Do you have any book recommendations? I've been reading alot lately and I'm looking for things to put on the list
oh boy. long post warning
tl;dr: book list
Cosmere - Brandon Sanderson [fantasy]
The Murderbot Diaries - Martha Wells [sci-fi]
Wayfarers - Becky Chambers [sci-fi]
The Locked Tomb - Tamsyn Muir [sci-fi/fantasy]
Zeroes - Scott Westerfeld [superpowers]
Discworld - Terry Prachet [fantasy]
This is How You Lose the Time War - Amal El-Mohtar [sci-fi]
Fence - C. S. Pacat [comic/sports drama]
Animorphs - Katherine Applegate [sci-fi... ?]
paragraphs talking about each recommendation below.
1 - Cosmere
Cosmere is a huge literary universe written by brandon sanderson that has a bunch of books and series set within it. it follows a unique magic system that has rules, logic, and is extremely fun in multiple different ways.
the main appeal of the Cosmere is that most of the stories are self-contained but contain minor references to each other. the novels are readable on their own and the series work just fine without context. additionally, each book has a different genre.
if you want a whimsical pirate adventure, read Tress of the Emerald Sea. if you want an east-asian inspired cyberpunk time-fuckery book, check out Yumi and the Nightmare Painter. want intense magic systems and fictional politics? read Elantris! thinking about a vast war epic with physics-based magic in a world based entirely on SEAsia and Pacifika? read The Stormlight Archive. if you want a classic YA tale with a scrappy teenage protagonist fighting against an evil empire, try Mistborn.
basically, Cosmere has it all. highly recommend it if you have the time! once you start, you're not going to want to stop.
2 - The Murderbot Diaries
i'm decently sure you've already read this, but i'll mention it again just in case you haven't. TMBD is one of my favorite sci-fi series because it explores parts of speculative science fiction that i feel like most media doesn't.
TMBD centers around Murderbot, a human/robot construct who works in security and is decidedly not under governor module control. it has a strong character voice and is incredibly fun to read the narration of. the story follows its adventures as it struggles with the capitalistic Corporation Rim and attempts to save its humans from killing themselves in horrible ways.
also you know agender aromantic asexual autistic rep. yes it's from a non-human character but Murderbot is still awesome
3 - Wayfarers
kind of similar vibe to TMBD, Wayfarers has a lot more focus on aliens and intergalactic politics. if you like the vibe of TMBD but love the speculative astrobiology of Project Hail Mary, i definitely recommend Wayfarers. the first book follows a cargo crew made of a motley of different species as they travel together in space. super fun characters, lots of awesome worldbuilding.
4 - The Locked Tomb
this is another one you've probably already read because it's quite popular on Tumblr, but i'll mention it again because this series is so good. it's ostensibly fantasy, but objectively science fiction. it's gothic horror in space. big for lesbianism, undying loyalty, and fans of knights (which i know you are).
it mostly follows an undying Empire and several noble houses that fight for power amongst it other at the behest of their eternal god-emperor. lots of skeletons and swords and vague reminders that this is supposed to be set in space.
5 - Zeroes
okay just to break of the flow of good recommendations this one is actually a dogshit series that i like because i think bad media is good if you ignore everything bad about it. yes it sucks yes the characters are written poorly yes the finale was disappointing. however. its good if you ignore all of that.
zeroes is about a group of teenagers in 2016 with awful superpowers having to work together despite all of their misgivings. it's mostly about what happens when the friend group breaks apart and then has to continue seeing each other even though there was crazy drama. but also everyone has superpowers. great if you want to go insane about bad media.
6 - Discworld
okay back to good media. read Discworld. do it.
another vast and expansive series where you can jump in anywhere. whimsical fantastical adventures with literally the best writing style ever. also good political commentary.
7 - This is How You Lose the Time War
I LOVE THIS BOOK !!!!! it's got weird formatting, writing style that hurts your brain, and also lesbianism.
this book follows letters written to each other from two members of opposite sides of the time war. Red and Blue continue to meet* each other across time across battlefields, each leaving letters as they cross paths. incredibly beautiful book. read it.
8 - Fence
okay back to bad media. this series is single-handedly the reason that i wrote 30k words about fencing. it's technically a comic book series, but it also has some novels that expand on the world. it's all M/M with some F/F if you squint, but it's a good mindless read if you're up for Sports. you will end up learning more than you should about fencing though.
another one of those series that's good if you ignore everything bad about it.
9 - Animorphs
i could talk about animorphs for actual hours to be honest. nothing i can say would give it justice though. it's a 90s scholastic serial written for kids during senseless war and violence. it's about shapeshifting kids. it's about body-snatching aliens. it's about the cruel violence of war and how it changes you. it's about the lengths that you will go to save your life, your family, your country, your planet. it's about transgenderism.
technically it's written for kids, so all of the 60+ books are really short but the writing is easy and the plot is very deep. it's one of those series that you could read as a kid and enjoy, then read as an adult and actually understand the harrowing effect of what the characters are going through.
it's gorilla warfare. sorry, i meant. guerilla warfare. with gorillas.
