Oh my paws and whiskers it's time for another recommendation masterpost!!
By the way - if you send in a rec, we seem enthusiastic, and then nothing happens? That doesn't necessarily mean we're not going to cover it! We have an episode on The Child Garden coming up, a book which someone recommended over a year go. The process can be arcane.
On with the stuff:
tormentedbyvisions asked: Have you heard of The Blacktongue Thief? Thieves’ Guild (evil wizards) vs lesbian knight trying to save the queen she’s in love with. The main character is a cishet dude, but he’s one of those main characters who is not really the central driver of the plot (he doesn’t really know what is going on). It’s a really incredible, funny, fast paced novel that I think fits the wizards vs lesbians bill perfectly
Hmm. Taken under advisement!
Anonymous asked: Since you're both Cherryh fans, have you considered covering her other big work that definitely influenced the subgenre, Cyteen? WizLez OGs Arkady Martine and Yoon Ha Lee both list it as one of their favorite novels and a big influence on their writing. And have written fic for it. Lacking in lesbians, but heavily features maybe the only(?) #canon Cherryh gays. Dares to ask questions like "What if the manipulative older woman was ALSO the wizard and ALSO yourself!?" Can confirm that the audiobook narration is excellent!
We would in fact consider doing Cyteen - we've both read it. Might be one of those things where we'd need to find the right guest.
seiya234 asked: I've got a ton of book recs for y'all from my latest batch of library books- though my apologies if i've goofed and rec something I've recced before. "Humboldt Cut" by Allison Mick. Okay so like there's less a lesbian in here and more 'former female bff's with a Very Charged Relationship With Undertones" but y'all are getting expansive so! Has what I think is maybe the next cannibalism, fungi, as a nurse returns to her hometown in the redwoods of California for a funeral, and then shenanigans ensue. Anyway, if I had a nickel for every book with a monstrous girl and the hometown she has a complicated relationship with and also symbiotic ties with i'd have two nickels! "Apparently Sir Cameron Needs to Die" by Greer Strothers. This book is very tumblr, but in this case this is meant with love and positivity. Anyway Sir Cameron is the wettest, saddest, scrungliest little cat stuffed inside the body of a traditionally hot man, who meets an evil wizard and has a sexual awakening. Shenanigans ensue. A lot of fun, 12/10. "As Many Souls as Stars," by Natasha Siegel. Lesbian Faust. That's it, that's the tweet. "Colin Gets Promoted and Dooms the World" by Mark Waddell. Colin works for an Evul Magic Corporation, and makes a wish with a demon for a small, reasonable promotion. This does not go well. Normally I don't rec books that I think both of you wouldn't like but I am so fascinated by the editorial choices in here that I just need to throw it at y'all. Like the author heard the term "no ethical consumption under late stage capitalism" and then decided to write a book about that but everyone in here is super chill with colin working at the evil corporation and like?! i both enjoyed reading it- it was a fun and fast read- but if i sit down and think about the implications for more than ten minutes my head hurts. alright i think that's all i got for now, happy 5 years of wizarding and lesbianing
American publishers are finally catching up with Japan re: light novel titles, huh
I feel like I still want this podcast to mostly be about books with lesbians, on account of what we're called and such. That being said, thanks as always for keeping us abreast of the latest trends in the nightmare clown world that is pop SF publishing!
yevie asked: Have y'all read Island of the Silver Sea by Tasha Suri? I'm reading through it and it seems very WizLes. Not a full hearted recommendation. The book seems to occasionally try and be 'good rep' in ways that don't fully gel with the setting its established (more with the language characters use and cultural attitudes they have than anything else) and doesn't seem to fully trust the audience to get what its saying without hand holding... but thematically it fits right in and it DOES have a very charming butch knight.
Tasha Suri is definitely a core wizlez author. I was mixed on The Jasmine Throne, which is the last book of hers we covered for the podcast - Alexis was slightly more enthusiastic and we'll talk about its world again whenever we do the "Alexis explains sequels of books Isaac didn't like" episode we've been thinking about. This one is likely already on Alexis' list of things to consider.
Anonymous asked: Loved your episodes on the most recent ann leckie books and your episode with her as a guest! Would you ever consider doing an episode on the first imperial radch book? It's my favorite of her works and I'd love to hear you guys talk about it. I've seen some other book podcasts cover it, but many of them don't seem to be picking up on what she's doing with gender and I trust your takes on the matter
We would consider doing that! And, coincidentally,
annleckie asked: Hey, I wanted to suggest some books, but not necessarily books I want to come on and talk about. Have y'all read A.S. Byatt's Possession? I think it might almost be actual wizlez. There is definitely a wizard, and there are lesbians (and bisexual women) and they are in conflict. Also the book is really really good. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Possession_(Byatt_novel) I also wanted to suggest Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker, which is wizlez if a corporation counts as a wizard. Which it might not! But it's also a good book. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Song_for_a_New_Day Hope you're both/all keeping safe and well!
Hi, Ann! Thanks, we'll put these on the to-read list.
So I have two recommendations I've been meaning to make. The first is for John C. "Wildbow" McCrae's Worm, the other serialized web original from the early 2010s that broke containment. It's a superhero story that's very interested in digging into and taking apart superhero stories, which naturally means that there are wizards upon wizards upon wizards. (Ironically, the one superhero who made "wizard" his cape persona is one of the least important characters in the story.) As for lesbians, they come in three varieties - intentional (alright), unintentional (very compelling), and Amy Dallon (oh dear God). We also have mountains of terrible parents, scores of monstrous children, and a few characters who manage to be both at the same time. Unfortunately, the story is about as long as the entirety of ASOIAF put together, so there's no way you'll ever be able to cover it on the podcast. On top of that, while Wildbow has returned to the wizlez well multiple times in his subsequent projects, all of those are as long - if not significantly longer - than Worm. All the same, his work is definitely work reading. https://parahumans.wordpress.com/ My next recommendation is something more manageable: MANCHUKUO 1987 by "yoshimi red" from just last year. In an alternate world where WW2 never happened, the Japanese Empire has staggered on into the late 1980s, where it is finally facing liberalization at home and decolonization abroad. In a coastal village in Japanese-controlled Manchuria, a veteran serving as a detective in the Kempetai is tasked by his superior to discreetly investigate a sensitive crime and avoid increasing tensions between the long-suppressed Chinese majority and the increasingly anxious ruling class of Japanese settlers who fear their days are numbered. Naturally, nothing goes smoothly, and all sorts of unwanted secrets come to light, including the detective's own role in the violent crackdown of a communist uprising some twenty years before. One of the viewpoint characters is a lesbian, described by the author as "combining the repression of a Mishima protagonist with the pathetic political rebellion of Orwell's Winston Smith", with the mannerisms of Kobeni from Chainsaw Man thrown in for good measure. As for wizards, there's a case to be made that the true wizards were the people who conquered Manchuria in the 1930s, and the story takes place in the aftermath of their reign. To quote the author again, MANCHUKUO 1987's fundamental question is "what if the worst people who ever lived got away with it, and left a bunch of hapless settlers squatting on bloodstained land to face the music?" (The novel is also a metaphor for the end of the British Empire.) https://yoshimired.itch.io/manchukuo-1987
With all the love in my heart - as you correctly surmise, we are never going to cover Worm. That is simply not a thing that is going to happen.
Manchukuo 1987 sounds like a really bad time! The "what if" you posit there makes me think "yeah, what if that, I could just read the news", so. I imagine if we're going to cover an edgy, depressing political novel it would be Sacred and Terrible Air, but we do like talking about China.
moonmilk asked: A tentative book recommendation: Lolly Willowes or the Loving Huntsman (1926) by Sylvia Townsend Warner. Are there wizards? Well, there's Laura ("Lolly")'s male relatives who completely control her life. Also there's literal witches and warlocks but I don't think they count. The second person mentioned in the title is totally some kind of wizard. Are there lesbians? We aren't shown that Laura has any sexuality at all until the red haired girl's hair brushes her face, and then we get about 3 seconds of unfulfilled longing, that's all. Do they fight? ...sort of? Also the book is short and funny, which is nice
I have no idea what this book is about, based on your description, but you had me at "1926" (and cemented it with "short.") I think we're more likely than not to give this a look.