#lina rather

[queereads-bracket]

Queer Fiction Free-for-All Book Bracket Tournament: Round 1C

Choose a book:

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (The Broken Earth series)

A Season of Monstrous Conceptions by Lina Rather

Voting ended onMar 1, 2025

Book summaries below:

The Fifth Season by N.K. Jemisin (The Broken Earth series)

This is the way the world ends. Again.

Three terrible things happen in a single day. Essun, a woman living an ordinary life in a small town, comes home to find that her husband has brutally murdered their son and kidnapped their daughter. Meanwhile, mighty Sanze—the world-spanning empire whose innovations have been civilization's bedrock for a thousand years—collapses as most of its citizens are murdered to serve a madman's vengeance. And worst of all, across the heart of the vast continent known as the Stillness, a great red rift has been torn into the heart of the earth, spewing ash enough to darken the sky for years. Or centuries.

Now Essun must pursue the wreckage of her family through a deadly, dying land. Without sunlight, clean water, or arable land, and with limited stockpiles of supplies, there will be war all across the Stillness: a battle royale of nations not for power or territory, but simply for the basic resources necessary to get through the long dark night. Essun does not care if the world falls apart around her. She'll break it herself, if she must, to save her daughter.

Fantasy, speculative fiction, science fantasy, dystopia, apocalyptic, series, adult

A Season of Monstrous Conceptions by Lina Rather

In 17th-century London, unnatural babies are being born, with eyes made for the dark and webbed digits suited to the sea.

Sarah Davis is intimately familiar with such strangeness―having hidden her uncanny nature all her life and fled to London under suspicious circumstances, Sarah starts over as a midwife’s apprentice to a member of the illegal Worshipful Company of Midwives, hoping to carve out for herself an independent life. But with each new unnatural birth, the fear in London grows of the Devil's work.

When the wealthy Lady Wren hires her to see her through her pregnancy, Sarah quickly becomes a favorite of her husband, the famous architect Lord Christopher Wren, whose interest in the uncanny borders on obsession. Sarah soon finds herself caught in a web of magic and intrigue created by those who want to use her power for themselves, and whose pursuits threaten to unmake the earth itself.

Historical fiction, horror, cosmic horror, fantasy, alternate history, 1670s, novella, adult

[books]

Writer Spotlight: Lina Rather

Lina Rather is a speculative fiction author from Michigan now living in Washington, D.C. Her stories have appeared in various publications, including Shimmer, Flash Fiction Online, and Lightspeed.

Her current work, Our Lady of Endless Worlds, is a space opera about faith and duty, redemption and revelation, and nuns in a giant slug in outer space. The first book in the series, Sisters of the Vast Black, won the Golden Crown Literary Society Goldie award and was shortlisted for the Theodore Sturgeon Memorial Award. Its sequel, Sisters of the Forsaken Stars, is now out to all the places that sell good books—possibly interrupting Lina’s non-writing pursuits of cooking overly elaborate recipes, reading history, and collecting cool rocks and terrible 90s comic books.

Click through to read more about squishy technology, advice for burgeoning SFF authors, and some amazing SFF litfic reading recs!

How would you describe Sisters of the Forsaken Stars to someone new to your work?

Sisters of the Forsaken Stars is the sequel to Sisters of the Vast Black (definitely start there!) and follows an order of interplanetary nuns as they travel in their living slug-ship between worlds in need of charity or medical help. In the second book, the Sisters are on their own, cast out of the Church after uncovering a terrible conspiracy—the whole foundation of their lives has changed. They have to deal with that grief and trauma while also choosing what role they will play in a war that is surely coming.

SOTFS is the second novella in your space opera series. Did you always envision a series?

Not initially, but by the time I finished the first book, I knew I wanted to spend more time with the women aboard the ship, Our Lady of Impossible Constellations. Each of them is a little bit of me in a different way, and I loved following them as they found their way down new paths in the wake of the first book.

The Sisters in SOTFS all have very different personalities. How do you approach writing different personalities’ coping mechanisms?

Each of the Sisters has something they truly cherish in life. Whether that’s faith, stability, or community, the events of the previous book have shaken those tenets. I focused on each of those things—what does it feel like for each of them to lose their grounding? What will they do to regain it? What happens if they can’t?

There are several intricate and complex bonds between characters in SOTFS—for example, a romantic lesbian relationship that’s refreshing in that it isn’t a focal point of the story and gets to just be quiet and tender. Did you enjoy writing that relationship?

I did! With Gemma, I wanted to write about someone who is going through a new “coming-of-age” later in life and having to learn who she is and how to be part of a relationship. I think many queer people, myself included, are familiar with feeling like they’re stumbling through another adolescence after coming out or leaving home. Too often, starting a relationship is the end of a story, but so often, that’s just the beginning—Gemma may love Vauca, but at the start of SOTFS, she doesn’t know how to do the work of that.

The living ships are such a brilliant element in the series, bringing up questions of agency and validity of the more-than-human. What first drew you to blur the lines between technology and animals?

I love organic technology—the squishier, the better! And because so much of the Sisters’ vocation is about care and community, it seemed natural that their ship should also be a member of their community, one they have to care for. It’s been really interesting to see different readers’ perspectives on the ship and its relative level of sentience and autonomy.

You have reworked your stories for audio; what’s that process like? Have you written for radio from scratch before?

I’ve only done a little bit of adaption for audio—mostly smoothing out things that look good on paper but sound funny narrated. For the most part, my stories have appeared in audio after appearing in print, so changes have to be small. I would love to write for a narrative mystery or horror podcast, though. I’m a huge fan of the genre (shoutout to Arden, Magnus Archives, Passenger List, The Last Movie…)!

Does your approach differ according to the format you’re working with (short story vs. novella, for instance)?

I tend to have the same process for most of my work—I’m a very methodical writer, and by the time I start a draft, I generally have a beginning, an ending, and the general feeling of the story in between. On the upside, that means I usually only write one (very, very slow) draft that is very close to the final product. On the downside, it means a lot more fallow time. SOTFS was a little different because I had an external timeline. I ended up writing all of the big scenes out of order, then fitting them together like puzzle pieces and filling in the connective tissue.

Do you have any advice for writers starting in SFF and hoping to make a career out of their writing?

Take risks—write that oddball story—and make friends! Writing is a lot more fun when you have a group of people pursuing the same goals (whether in real life, on a forum, or social media). Writing can be a weird and insular world.

What’s next for you?

I just sold the last short story I had in the archive (about an old cheesemaker and the king of death, forthcoming in Lightspeed soon-ish), so I would love to take some time to play in that sandbox again. Between the Order of Endless Worlds books and general life in the pandemic, it’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to. But I really enjoy the short form, and you can try out weird and wacky ideas that can’t sustain a longer work (maybe I will finally finish my “talking goat goes to see the world’s largest rubber band ball” story).

Do you have any hopes for the future of the SFF genre? What would you like to see more of?

I would love to see more slipstream and litfic-y SFF coming out. Some of my favorite books are speculative fiction published by non-SFF publishers (let me drop a plug for the very weird Secret Lives of the Monster Dogs and Famous Men Who Never Lived here). I also want to see a new venue for this kind of short fiction crop up—this corner of the market has really suffered in the past few years with the loss of Liminal, Shimmer, and now Lackington’s. I adore this subgenre, and it deserves more appreciation!

Thanks to Lina for her brilliant answers! Sisters of The Forsaken Stars is out now!

[lgbtqreads]

Happy Friday the 13th!

Yes, I made up an excuse to post about a whole bunch of Spooky Season-appropriate books at once. Sue me.  Middle Grade Gallowgate by K.R. Alexander Sebastian Wight is cursed. As a boy with the forbidden ability to traverse the lands of the dead, he must not only harness his newfound powers to fight the monster that stalks him, but also to navigate a creepy world of hunting ghosts and ghouls with…

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[torpublishinggroup]

Release Roundup - 10.31.23

halloween and new books on the same day? whoa.

👇title info below👇

Tor Books

The Wolfe at the Door by Gene Wolfe

TorDotCom Publishing

A Season of Monstrous Conceptions by Lina Rather

Nightfire

Nestlings by Nat Cassidy

[lilareviewsbooks]

More Short SFF Books!

Guys! Thank you so much for the love on my post on short SFF books! It was a lot for a tiny little blog like me lmao, and it made me feel very appreciated - thank you, again! 

I thought that because of all that love, this deserved a second edition. So, since short SFF is definitely my specialty, and I won't stop reading these novellas any time soon, here's some other SFF short books I think might be worth your time!

Also, check out part one of this list if you’d like some more books in this vein :)

The Monk and Robot Duology, starting with A Psalm For The Wild-Built, by Becky Chambers

152 to 160 pages

duology (so far!! I'm hoping and praying, Ms. Chambers!)

queer rep of all kinds, but our protagonist is non-binary! 

If you know me, then it's a surprise this didn't make it into the first edition of this list. I love Monk and Robot! They're My Favorite Books, so rest assured that they come very highly recommended!

This one follows Sibling Dex, a disciple of Allae, the god of small comforts, as they decide to change the course of their professional life and become a travelling tea monk. Along the way, they meet Mosscap, a very friendly robot, with one question - "what do humans need?" There's just one problem: robots have been living in the wild for generations, and they haven't interacted with humans since they gained consciousness. Can Sibling Dex handle this responsibility?

I hardly have the words to describe this one. This is a sci-fi, I guess, but it feels like a fantasy -- it's just so atmospheric and draws you into this utopian and equitable world full of nature and community. Monk and Robot really emphasizes the best parts of life, the best parts of humanity. It will warm your heart because you will see your life in it - in all it's smallness and its gorgeousness. It's perfect if you want something that's short, sweet, and with a conflict that doesn't span the whole entire world, but is focused instead on two people - or, I guess, on one person and a robot. 

Mandatory reading for everyone! Get your hands on a copy, you won't regret it!

Our Lady of Endless Worlds Duology, starting with Sisters of the Vast Black, by Lina Rather

176 to 192 pages

duology

sapphic rep

We're staying on theme here, with another religious-y pick. I give you: Sisters of the Vast Black! This one is about nuns! In space!

Some time into the future, the Catholic Church is alive and well. The sisters of the Order of Saint Rita live on their (get this) living ship, a gigantic animal they use to navigate between space stations and planets. I think this one is worth it just for that concept, I fell in love with it!

This book follows the Sisters as they receive a distress call from a colony, and find out that the Church's means might be more nefarious than they seem. But, mostly, it's about the sisters themselves, as they grapple with their faith, the ever-changing universe and the questionable morality of the Church. 

I loved this one! Not only are the characters very compelling, the setting is just so cool. This concept of the living space ship is so fucking neat, and the duology gets down to the nitty-gritty of it. Not to mention, the idea of religion, and contemporary religion in particular, surviving mostly unchanged into the future is so interesting! I don't know if it's me being nerdy, but I just found the concept here so, so compelling, I couldn't resist bringing these books home with me!

The Seventh Perfection, by Daniel Polansky

176 pages

standalone

I don't remember it being queer, but I could be wrong??

I guess this is also kind of religious in a way lmao. The Seventh Perfection follows Manet as she searches for someone for the God-King, who runs the kingdom she lives in, using her perfect dominion over the seven perfections to help her.

The unique thing about this book, though, is how the story is told. Instead of following Manet's perspective as she goes through her city, interviewing people, we only see one side of her dialogue. As Manet speaks to a shopkeeper, for example, we are only treated to his answers. In this manner, its up to the reader to put some pieces together.

Although it is nothing too complicated, - especially for veterans of books such as The Locked Tomb or fantasy behemoths like A Song of Ice and Fire, with their crazy amount of characters - the structure is pretty unique. Like Esme N pointed out in her Good Reads review of this one, it kind of reads as if you're a POV character in a videogame, going NPC to NPC. I'd say this one is for the anyone who likes different approaches to stories in SFF, and enjoys being a little bit confused!

Elder Race, by Adrian Tchaikovsky 

201 pages

standalone

no queer rep that I remember, either

Elder Race is an interesting one, as well. This one is definitely for fans of books with almost anthropological approaches to culture, such as The Left Hand of Darkness and A Memory Called Empire. Elder Nyr is a scientist, sent to another planet in order to explore it, who lives in his space ship. Except that, for the locals, that space ship is a giant tower, and Nyr is its mysterious sorceror of legend. Now, Lynesse comes to search for him so that he can help her deal with the threat of demon.

The result of the interaction between Lynesse and Nyr, and the fact that each of them have POV chapters, means that this reads as almost two separate books. One of them is a sci-fi, and that's Nyr's perspective, who is from a society with very high-end technology, and sees all problems as matters of science. Meanwhile, Lynesse sees everything as magical, so hers reads almost like a fantasy. It makes for such an interesting experience!

I think about this book constantly, and have been wanting to reread it for ages. I quite liked this particular approach, not to mention the concept! Plus, I love books that go deep into culture like this one. And, of course, it's from prolific and famous author Adrian Tchaikovsky, who wrote the Children of Time series, and although I haven't read the rest of his work, I've heard this is a good starting off point in case you want to get into his other books.

Princess Floralinda And The Forty-Flight Tower, by Tasmyn Muir

146 pages

standalone

non-binary rep

I'm always singing Ms. Muir praise, and that's for a reason! This one follows Princess Floralinda, who is locked up in a (guess!) forty-flight tower by an evil witch. She has placed one monster at every floor, and no prince has managed to get through the first one, let alone trudge up the stairs to rescue Floralinda.

With impeccable sense of humor, which is a trademark of Ms. Muir's fiction, we follow Floralinda's plight as she waits for someone to come rescue her - and then eventually notices no-one might be coming, after all. Her character development is astounding, and it's so satisfying to follow her. It's also just so impressive that so much can be packed into so little pages when it comes to her arc. 

And I forgot to mention - there's a fun fairy character who will help Floralinda on her way! I think it's worth reading just for that!

[prideplus]

With Gemma, I wanted to write about someone who is going through a new “coming-of-age” later in life and having to learn who she is and how to be part of a relationship. I think many queer people, myself included, are familiar with feeling like they’re stumbling through another adolescence after coming out or leaving home. Too often, starting a relationship is the end of a story, but so often, that’s just the beginning—Gemma may love Vauca, but at the start of SOTFS, she doesn’t know how to do the work of that.

—Lina Rather on Sisters of the Forsaken Stars

Read more...

[sapphicbookoftheday]

Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather

Today's sapphic book of the day is Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather!

Summary: "Years ago, Old Earth sent forth sisters and brothers into the vast dark of the prodigal colonies armed only with crucifixes and iron faith. Now, the sisters of the Order of Saint Rita are on an interstellar mission of mercy aboard Our Lady of Impossible Constellations, a living, breathing ship which seems determined to develop a will of its own. When the order receives a distress call from a newly-formed colony, the sisters discover that the bodies and souls in their care—and that of the galactic diaspora—are in danger. And not from void beyond, but from the nascent Central Governance and the Church itself."

[hungryblueghost]

"We shouldn't be brutal just because the universe is." —Lina Rather, Sisters of the Vast Black