classic scifi novels by men r always like. page 1 here’s a cool scifi idea i had. page 2 i hate women so much it’s unreal
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guys if one more person leaves a tag like this on my post im gonna lose my mind. There Are Science Fiction Authors Who Are Not Misogynistic Men
ok i’ve gotten one too many ‘this is why i don’t read sci-fi’ comments so here’s a rec list for the people convinced all science fiction is bad and misogynistic (with something for everyone, hopefully!):
(also, btw, the book links are to the Storygraph, which includes content warnings for each one!)
- smth funny and lighthearted about a security robot who’d rather watch TV then do its job? all systems red by martha wells (first novella in the The Murderbot Diaries series, 6 books, ongoing)
- a complex, intricate political space opera following a warship AI who’s lost (almost) everything? ancillary justice by ann leckie (first in the Imperial Radch trilogy) (fun fact! bc of space linguistics reasons, all characters in this series are referred to with she/her pronouns, making gender a non-factor - it’s really cool!)
- a dark story about travelling between parallel universes and a woman who is dead in almost every single one? the space between worlds by micaiah johnson (standalone) (SO good, i don’t get to recommend it often enough!!!)
- a story about grief and letting go, and a unique take on alien invasion? the seep by chana porter (standalone novella)
- hey, how abt some dystopian YA, for old times sake? specifically, one with sapphics and sick mechas? try gearbreakers by zoe hana mikuta (first in duology)
- or, if you’d prefer something a bit less angsty, YA about a ragtag group of teens and a space heist? the disasters by m. k. england (standalone)
- alternate history steampunk that blurs the line btwn science fiction and fantasy? the black god’s drums by p. djeli clark (standalone, novella)
- a dark gone girl-esque thriller about clones? the echo wife by sarah gailey (standalone)
- poetic sapphic romance and time travel? this is how you lose the time war by max gladstone and amal el-mohtar (standalone)
- a hopeful utopian future and a human-robot friendship? a psalm for the wild-built by becky chambers (novella, first out of two) (this author’s got a whole bunch of hopepunk sci-fi novels in general, if that’s smth you’re looking for!)
- africanfuturism, coming-of-age, and cool jellyfish aliens? binti by nnedi okorafor (novella, first in trilogy)
- spicy lesbian cyborgs? and shall machines surrender my benjanun sriduangkaew (novella, first in the Machine Mandate series, 6 books)
- cosmic horror with an autistic scientist, cyborg angels and AI gods? the outside by ada hoffmann (first in trilogy, 2 books are out)
- also, if you’re a fan of Janelle Monáe, may i draw your attention to the fact that they’ve recently come out with a Dirty Computer short story collection, each story co-written with a diff writer?
this list is long enough, but have some more authors (who are not cis men) also worth checking out: rivers solomon, yoon ha lee, charlie jane anders, aliette de bodard, xiran jay zhao, mary robinette kowal, corinne duyvis
and finally, not all older/classic scifi is written by crusty old white guys who hate women!!! some iconic authors i’d particularly recommend looking into are ursula k. le guin, octavia e. butler, samuel r. delany and vonda n. mcintyre 🥰
Also!
- The Archive Undying by Emma Mieko Candon
- Teixcalaan Duology by Arkady Martine
- Broken Earth series by N.K. Jemisin
- Deep Wheel Orcadia by Harry Josephine Giles
- Sea of Tranquility by Emily St. John Mandel
- Chain Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brunyah
- One Last Stop by Casey McQuiston
- The Sudden Appearance of Hope by Claire North
- The End of the Day by Claire North
Also!
- Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
- Cyber Mage by Saad Z. Hossain
- How High We Go in the Dark by Sequoia Nagamatsu
- The Light Pirate by Lily Brooks-Dalton
- Severance by Ling Ma
- Axiom’s End by Lindsay Ellis
- The Peripheral by William Gibson
- Finna by Nino Cipri
- The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders
- Point B by Drew Magary
- The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
- Reincarnation Blues by Michael Poore
- Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller
- An Absolutely Remarkable Thing and A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor by Hank Green
- Noor by Nnedi Okorafor
- The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir
Another rec: Frontier by Grace Curtis. A standalone sci-fi novel with a lesbian MC and an incredibly unique and fun narration style!