Trauma in SFF Blog
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Vespertine by Margaret Rogerson
Year published: 2021 Category: YA fantasy Summary: The dead of Loraille do not rest. Artemisia is training to be a Gray Sister, a nun who cleanses the bodies of the deceased so that their souls can pass on; otherwise, they will rise as spirits with a ravenous hunger for the living. She would rather deal with the… Continue reading
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All Systems Red by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries #1)
Year published: 2017 Category: Sci-fi novella Summary: In a corporate-dominated space-faring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. For their own safety, exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern. On a distant planet, a team… Continue reading
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Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi
Year published: 2011 Category: Litfic/magical realism Summary: It’s a bright afternoon in 1938 and Mary Foxe is in a confrontational mood. St John Fox, celebrated novelist, hasn’t seen her in six years. He’s unprepared for her afternoon visit, not least because she doesn’t exist. He’s infatuated with her. But he also made her up.“You’re a villain,” she… Continue reading
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Sandry’s Book by Tamora Pierce (Circle of Magic #1)
Year published: 1997 Category: Children’s fiction Summary: With her gift of weaving silk thread and creating light, Sandry is brought to the Winding Circle community. There she meets Briar, a former thief who has a way with plants; Daja, an outcast gifted at metalcraft; and Tris, whose connection with the weather unsettles everyone, including herself. At… Continue reading
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Black Water Sister by Zen Cho
“Women like the Black Water Sister became gods because their lives were so shitty, their deaths so hideous, that people prayed to them to avert their vengeance. Because they had died with all that fury left to spend.” Year published: 2021 Category: Fantasy/urban fantasy Representation: bisexual, main character and her partner Summary: Jessamyn Teoh is… Continue reading
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Where Oblivion Lives by T. Frohock (Los Nefilim #1)
Year published: 2019 Category: Historical fantasy Representation: m/m, protagonist and his partner, side characters Summary: A lyrical historical fantasy adventure, set in 1932 Spain and Germany, that brings to life the world of the novellas collected in Los Nefilim: Spanish Nephilim battling daimons in a supernatural war to save humankind. Born of daimon and angel, Diago Alvarez… Continue reading
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A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson
“People aren’t meant to live forever. I know that now.” Year published: 2021 Categories: Adult, horror, retelling (Dracula) LGBTQIA representation: F/F, M/M, and F/F/M, main character and her love interests Summary: Saved from the brink of death by a mysterious stranger, Constanta is transformed from a medieval peasant into a bride fit for an undying… Continue reading
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The Armless Maiden & Other Stories for Childhood’s Survivors edited by Terri Winding
Year published: 1995 Categories: Adult, short story collection, retelling (numerous fairy tales) Summary: The Armless Maiden is more than an extraordinary collection of original fiction and essays by many of fantasy’s finest writers. A groundbreaking work in the tradition of Joseph Campbell, Bruno Bettelheim and Robert Bly, this book explores the darker side of childhood–loss,… Continue reading
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Black Wine by Candas Jane Dorsey
“Women who transgress. Who don’t take from others and be slaves for it. Who stand up and say no.” Year published: 1996 Categories: Adult, fantasy, dystopian LGBTQIA representation: (F/M/M and F/F, main character, another perspective character and their partners) Summary: Why is there an old woman, in a hanging cage for punishment, keeping a journal… Continue reading
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The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold (World of the Five Gods #1)
“Events may be horrible or inescapable. Men have always a choice – if not whether, then how, they may endure.” Year published: 2001 Categories: Adult, fantasy LGBTQIA representation: M/M, side character Summary: A man broken in body and spirit, Cazaril, has returned to the noble household he once served as page, and is named, to… Continue reading
Charlotte Kersten 