I try to read 100 pages a day, spread across several books at a time across a mix of lengths from short stories to 600+ page novels. Somehow, this has averaged in me reading approximately a book a day this year so far.
Also I read a decent amount of adult-only material, so while I don’t say anything explicit here, this post references stories that aren’t appropriate for non-adults.
The Stand-Out
The Dragonfly Gambit by A.D. Sui is a scifi novella about revenge? I really don’t know how to describe it because it confuses me. The characters are all far TOO realistic. They are constant contradictions in actions, feelings, and thoughts. They feel like real people, not characters. This book wastes no time introducing its world and the political situation. Instead you are thrust directly into a complex interpersonal conflict at the core of a sadistic empire’s slow demise. You just have to figure out what’s going on as you go. No hand-holding.
Alien
Alien as in very different or strange, not “from another world” or non-human.
- (military scifi, alt reality) Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee: A tech/magic culture with corruption and revolt. I started reading this in 2022, and only finished it this year. It’s deeply strange. (This is the first book in a series.)
- (fantasy smut, alt reality) DRAGONS! DRAGONS! DRAGONS! by Dragon Cobolt: A world where everything is dragons. Absurdist and horny. The world-building alone is insanity. (I also just read The Happiest Apocalypse, which is set on our world after the LHC accidentally grants everyone’s wish in an instant. Absurdist, less horny, but somehow more sex scenes.)
- (scifi, non-human) Sheffali’s Caravan by Burnt Redstone: Exposition-heavy, slow start. An alien refugee is the secret member of a successful trading family on a backwater world within a bigoted empire. (It isn’t erotica or smut, despite being published on a website exclusively for those things.)
- (scifi, near future) Xenocide by Orson Scott Card: I reread the third book of Ender’s Saga. When I was younger, I didn’t recognize the implicit support of eugenics within. I think this story is good despite that. The question of how to co-exist between completely alien species is important (human groups already struggle to co-exist).
Series in Progress
- (scifi, modern day) Expeditionary Force by Craig Alanson: I’ve read the first two books of this series this year. There are like 14 books I think, and a spin-off series. A small band trying to keep Earth safe after being plunged into a multi-species interstellar conflict is a neat premise, and the macguffin of the first book is a continuing source of humor and intrigue. 😀
- (scifi, near-future, post-human) Bobiverse by Dennis E. Taylor: I’d previously read the first 4 books, and couldn’t get Not Till We Are Lost until this year. I think the series is falling off, but still enjoyable. I read this through an audiobook, which I think made it better. I do not share that opinion on the previous books in the series – they all work great as text.
- (fantasy erotica, modern day) Satyr Play by Burnt Redstone: A 4-part series. The first part introduces a well-developed world and stakes. The second and third parts really up the ante. I’m still reading the fourth part, which starts much slower than the others. The sex scenes were best nearer to the beginning, and get annoying at times. Fortunately, their frequency reduces over time.
- (military scifi, near future) Halo: I read The Flood (book 2) and First Strike (book 3) this year. Skip The Flood if you’ve played the first game. First Strike was more interesting, but filler-y. The Fall of Reach (book 1) is very good, and I’m reading Ghosts of Onyx (book 4) now, which seems good so far (I’m 33% through it).
- (scifi, futuristic) Culture by Iain M. Banks: I read Use of Weapons this year. I’m not sure I fully understood it, and like the other 2 novels of the Culture I’ve read so far, it was completely unlike the other novels in this series. I highly recommend The Player of Games, and Consider Phlebas only if you want your heart ripped out.
- (scifi, alt realities) Pandominion by M.R. Carey: I read the first book last year, and the second book this year. The first book was faster-paced and better written, but the conclusion in the second book is satisfying. I don’t like that it feels like one book that was stretched into two books, with filler being shoved into the second, but it’s good regardless.
- (fantasy erotica, medieval) Toofy by shakna (Toofyverse): I’ve read only the main story so far, and while it starts out with a lot of sex scenes and explicit fetish material, the story shifts to political intrigue quite quickly, and stays there. A slave catgirl wants an empire, and she gets what she wants.
Anthologies, Short Stories, Other
- (scifi, near future) The Temporary Murder of Thomas Monroe by Tia Tashiro: Short Story. In a future where people have backups..
- (fantasy smut, medieval) Blood of Dragons by OneEyedRoyal: Anthology. Cool magic (and sex) abounds when you interact with the blood of dragons. These all have interesting stories around the smut.
- (scifi thriller, near future) Star Splitter by Matthew J. Kirby: A reluctant teenager joins her parents on a distant outpost, being transferred by mind-copy and body printing. Except, she wakes up on a crash site.. with herself.
- (nonfiction, AI) The Big Nine by Amy Webb: I have many thoughts about this book. I think it’s pretty good, but gives a free pass to malicious ignorance in decisions by large companies, and doesn’t challenge deeper issues that exacerbate problems around AI.
Romance vs Erotica vs Smut
I use these terms very specifically. Romance contains little or no explicit sex or eroticism, but focuses on desire/attraction/relationships. Erotica has sex scenes or explicit material, but has significant story around those scenes. It can be read for carnal urges, an interesting story, or both. Smut is written porn. The focus is on titillating, and story takes a backseat or is not really extant.