We’re so happy you’ve come to us for a recommendation! The Imaginaries live and breathe sff, so we go through a lot of it and have some pretty strong opinions about it. Please enjoy these lists of our favorites, whether you’re looking for something to read or you want to see what we love best.
This page is new (as of mid-2022) and updates regularly! If you’re looking for a particular area to explore but we don’t have anything below, please let us know — we may add it.
Novels of All Sorts
Wonderfully Queer Recommendations
Looking for a queer take on families and family structures?
Whether you’re looking for a deconstruction of the whole concept of a family, or you just want a decidedly queer take on what a family is, give these a try.
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
The Unraveling by Benjamin Rosenbaum
The House in the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Every Heart a Doorway, and the entire Wayward Children series, by Seanan McGuire
How about a queer novella?
These short volumes will satisfy your queer sff craving more quickly than a big novel.
Stone and Steel by Eboni Dunbar
River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey (and its sequel, Taste of Marrow, which are also collected together in American Hippo)
Queens of Noise by Leigh Harlan
Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather (and its sequel, Sisters of the Forsaken Stars)
Perhaps a queer romance between women?
Each of these uses sff as its primary mode, but also provides a beautiful romance between women-identified characters.
The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood
The Future of Another Timeline by Annalee Newitz
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry by C.M. Waggoner
Not Necessarily Queer, But Still Wonderful Recommendations
Take a look at the ending of empires.
Whether you’re in the mood for fantastical collapse, or you’re looking for a guide to our own ongoing collapse(s), these are what you’re looking for.
The Unbroken by C.L. Clark
A Conspiracy of Truths by Alexandra Rowland
City of Illusions by Ursula K. Le Guin
The Collapsing Empire by John Scalzi (and the rest of his Interdependency series)
What reader doesn’t love the library?
These sff books pay homage to the library, and whether their major characters are themselves librarians, there’s plenty of book-action here.
Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey
The Library of the Dead by T.L. Huchu
The Library of the Unwritten by A.J. Hackwith
The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman
Who doesn’t want to learn a little magic?
The magical school is one of our favorite fantasy conceits, but there’s way more to it than a certain boy wizard.
A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik (and the rest of the Scholomance series)
Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor (and the rest of The Nsibidi Scripts series)
The Philosopher’s Flight by Tom Miller
Vita Nostra by Marina and Sergey Dyachenko
Rotherweird by Andrew Caldecott
Isle of Blood and Stone by Makiia Lucier
A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula K. Le Guin
Music can be difficult to incorporate into written works…
…but these books do so, and they do it very well.
The Kingdom of Back by Marie Lu
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
Speaker of Bones by Ken Liu (the fourth and final book in his Dandelion Dynasty series)
A River Enchanted by Rebecca Ross
In the mood for challenging colonialism?
These books will help you out.
The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
The Poppy War by R.F. Kuang (and the rest of the Poppy War trilogy)
The Unbroken by C.L. Clark
Landscape with Invisible Hand by M.T. Anderson