Wizards Vs. Lesbians

So, what if the founder of the Ming Dynasty was a lesbian? That is the question this book dares to ask, and it does a really good job answering it. A rollicking, morally complex historical fantasy which is one of my favorite contemporary books we've read for this project.

A mainline wizards vs lesbians empire narrative, this one, set in fantasy South Asia. It's a long old read but the characters are good - particularly the colonial governor's wife, a hall of fame eminence gris.

It's our first ever bonus episode! This series was initially disqualified due to lack of lesbians but our guest, the author P.H. Lee, argues that the lesbianism is subtextual. Whether that's true or not, this is a classic SF series for a reason and contains both a bromance for the ages between our adventure librarian hero and her barbarian companion and some premium wizard behavior.

Retro episode! In this one we tackle a forgotten classic of 90s cyberpunk, recommended by a listener. It's insane and we had a tremendous amount of fun with it. (Thanks to Isaac's internet son Olive for providing the intro and inspiring him to make a busload of terrible techno jingles.)

This one's a hoot. A fast, funny, nasty book about interdimensional colonialism and structural inequality which manages to fold all manner of economic, racial and gender dynamics into a story which still manages to be a gripping tale of adventure featuring Evil Steve Jobs.

We journey to Fantasy Algeria for today's episode, where the Princess of Fantasy France has arrived to review her colony, only to have her life saved and (in due course) her heart stolen by a captain in her colonial guard. This one goes deep on the emotional consequences of empire and the conflicting loyalties that arise in conquered peoples, but maintains that focus by ignoring or eliding factors that are arguably just as central to those dynamics as race.

A strange book, this - tremendously awful things happen in it but one leaves with the impression that everything might turn out all right if we all just listen to each other. Comfortable, well-written, and features a magical giant blacksmith lesbian who talks to crows.

We're back to Teixcalaan for another dose of diplomatic/linguistic foofaraw. This is a very comfortable book, and we discuss how nice it is that the legacy of CJ Cherryh lives on, Except With Lesbians. I could read another fifty of these, honestly.

It's Alexander the Great, but in space, with lesbians! And she wins American Idol??

Fair warning: one of us really hated this book.

Here we have a book about being in love with a creep - same-sex attraction, it turns out, is not proof against such things - and about attempting to colonize a planet inimical to human life and the problems that arise therefrom. This is another bleak one, with the escape hatch at the end difficult to describe in real human terms, but it has its charms.