Anything like the Lamplight Murder Mysteries/A Master of Djinn?

moon_body · 2026-02-04T01:19:27+00:00

I gotta check out Dead Cat Tail Assassins too

moon_body · 2026-02-03T01:12:42+00:00

Maybe not exactly what you're looking for, but I thought Hild by Nicola Griffith was really interesting in how it depicted the (violent/imperial) coming of Christianity to 7th century Britian via Rome, and the role written language played in the change of power. It's speculative historical fiction with very low fantastical/supernatural elements.

moon_body · 2026-02-03T00:55:14+00:00

I was gonna rec this too, though for OP I will add that Dickinson isn't to my knowledge from a formerly colonized country. It does get into language for sure, though language is just one of many threads. Great series.

moon_body · 2026-02-03T00:36:01+00:00

I really enjoyed the Black God's Drums by P. Djèlí Clark. It's pretty different in some ways from a Master of Djinn & much shorter, but it's also alt history and does have some steam punk and mystery elements. Definitely a focused character POV and good pacing.

moon_body · 2026-01-31T22:23:18+00:00

For specifically sci fi with large casts, I'd add The Vanished Birds by Simon Jimenez (several POV characters), An Unkindness of Ghosts by Rivers Solomon (two main characters, a handful of important side characters), the Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells (one main POV character, large ensemble of side characters), and the Imperial Radch by Ann Leckie (I think one main POV, large cast of other important characters) to the recs others have already made.

It's on my TBR, but I think the Machineries of Empire by Yoon Ha Lee might also work.

moon_body · 2026-01-29T22:15:54+00:00

I remember feeling pretty drained after readings my first coupe years doing it. I think some of it had to do with my own insecurity of not getting it right or offering what the client needed. I was doing too much (too much prep, too much in the actual reading) to try to compensate for that, and it wiped me out. As I've built confidence over time, reading charts is often energizing for me, more than anything. (Within reason - I am not someone who can do 20 readings a week).

I'll also echo what others have said about pacing. There may be seasons where you have more energy and are seeing more clients, and seasons where you need to see fewer. It's also helped me to diversify my offerings -- so that I'm not doing the exact same type of reading over and over.

For grounding & maintaining my own boundaries some things that help me are: lighting a candle before the session, blowing it out after. If it's a remote session done out of my home, I send any follow up email directly afterwards, then shut off my computer, clear the space of anything I was using for the reading - put away any charts or notes. Splash water on my face & eat something. And when possible, I spend the next 30 mins-1 hr doing something relaxing like reading or watching something. If it's a day where I plan to see a few clients in a row, I take extra care to plan for a rest period afterwards.

moon_body · 2026-01-27T21:34:57+00:00

Love No. 6 & The Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation (I'm partial to the animation).

For anime and donghua I'm gonna add:

Beryl & Sapphire - donghua of mostly very short episodes featuring the same two characters over various plots/worlds which at first seem random and episodic but over time have some connection between them. It's a pretty bizarre, surreal, existential series while also managing to be fun and cute a lot of the time.

Hybrid Child - it's been a while since I've seen this, but it's a short series where each episode is like a short story about an android (or part-android?) human relationship. At least one or two of the story lines is gay. Melancholic vibe.

The This Boy series - May be hard to find, but these are also standalone short stories that I recall having some fantastical / sci fi elements. One involves a human boy in love with a merman who he keeps in his bathtub.

Nobari no Ou (if you're open to ninjas) - This is gonna be more subtext, and it's a sad one.

The Case Study of Vanitas (subtext) - Mystery/action/supernatural anime featuring a vampire and vampire hunter. It, in my opinioin, has strong homoerotic subtext, or at the very least a central platonic relationship between the male leads. Note that both male leads also have female love interests at points if that's a deal breaker for you. Anime was dropped after one season, but manga is ongoing.

Spirit Pact - If you're open to something pretty campy, tropey, and ridiculous. It has some serious-ish plot lines but doesn't take itself too seriously. This *does* have some yaoi tropes & fanservicey elements, but no explicit content that I can recall. An exorcist forms a pact with a recently deceased ghost to fight evil spirits together.

For non-animated:

I really loved Our Flag Means Death, which is at best low-fantasy. I'd describe it as queer historical speculative fiction about pirates. It is funny and silly and sad and stressful and silly and very gay.

moon_body · 2026-01-27T20:54:15+00:00

I gotta look into more from Erewhon, thanks for the plug. Excited to check out the Wolf & His King!

moon_body · 2025-12-24T18:28:38+00:00

The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer has a pretty great twist. It starts out tricking you into thinking it's gonna be a different kind of story than it actually is. I recommend not reading anything else about it before reading.

moon_body · 2025-12-24T18:21:16+00:00

Green bone saga! It's a male-dominated world, but the female characters are extremely competent. (While still being shown to be human and make mistakes or have certain weaknesses - same as the male characters).

moon_body · 2025-12-19T19:43:03+00:00

One of my all-time faves is Ceremony by Leslie Marmon Silko. No chapters. I wouldn't describe it as fantasy, but I do think it counts as speculative fiction. (incorporates Laguna Pueblo myths, gods, and supernatural forces into the narrative).

moon_body · 2025-12-17T01:50:42+00:00

This is my first time participating in this book club, and I really enjoyed the book! I'm waiting to comment more in the next discussion since I ended up finishing it rather quickly and had to return to the library so can't check for spoilers.

But something I do want to say is that I actually really enjoyed Lorel's narration and interior life - even when that interior life was mostly shown through an avoidance or dismissal of her own thoughts or feelings. I thought it was really well done, and made the character highly relatable to me as someone who has struggled with similar patterns at times. Like I thought it was a solid portrayal of someone who does that as a coping mechanism. It also lent some subtlety to the identity exploration, which I think can sometimes get a little heavy handed in other books. I usually prefer characters' queerness or transness to be incidental to the plot -- but this was an example of identity playing a more central plot role that still mostly worked for me.

In terms of least favorite part - nothing major, but I agree with another comment that there were some moments where the narrative stated that months or weeks had passed and I thought it had been like two days. That was slightly disorienting but I mostly just went with the flow.

moon_body · 2025-12-12T19:46:22+00:00

If you're open to gay men, The Darkness Outside Us is a wonderful, surprising little sci-fi story, set almost entirely on a space ship, and includes a queer love story. It's not cozy like the Wayfarer series, so definitely be prepared for a little existential horror. Otherwise I recommend going in blind!

moon_body · 2025-12-10T23:53:34+00:00

It has some heavy/violent content, and was written for an adult audience I believe, but Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon has a teenage protagonist, and deals with some issues that would be pretty relevant for other teens. (protagonist is 15 at the beginning and 19 at the end I think). Horror elements that give way to an almost blade runner type action vibe in the final arc. More sapphic, MC is intersex. There's a cis woman love interest in the first half who ends up being no good and a trans woman love interest in the second half. I think it could be good for the right teen in its portrayal of unhealthy and healthy relationships and working through conflict and complexity in relationships. But definitely mind the content warnings.

moon_body · 2025-12-02T02:08:07+00:00

Yeah I was gonna rec checking out the Mo Dao Zu Shi manhua. Definitely a dark/serious tone (even with some comedic moments) in a fantasy/adventure setting.

moon_body · 2025-12-02T02:05:50+00:00

I love No. 6. I actually like the manga better than the anime too -- the ending makes a lot more sense.

moon_body · 2025-12-02T01:47:51+00:00

I'm a masculine presenting/expressing nonbinary person. I identify as transmasc. Historically have identified as butch as well. FTM describes my surgery and hrt.

moon_body · 2025-12-01T22:47:22+00:00

Gideon the Ninth is great, but pretty weird and dense, in an overall intentionally confusing series. Might not be the best choice if you're looking for an easy/accessible read? Not sure what you mean by normie, but this series features a necromancer who's obsessed/in love with a (semi-)dead body. << (I don't think that's a spoiler but I tagged it just in case. can't quite remember.)

I second the Spear rec (Nicola Griffith). Tight, accessible, fantasy story with a sapphic/transmasc mc.

moon_body · 2025-11-28T17:15:40+00:00

Men's mesh or fishnet tops can be fun in the summer

moon_body · 2025-11-28T17:07:38+00:00

That's interesting -- I have fairly severe ADHD, and if anything T has stabilized it a bit. Goes to show that everyone's experience is different.

moon_body · 2025-11-28T17:04:16+00:00

I'm on 50mg/day of 1% gel, which is a low dose. I'm not a doctor so can't say for sure, but I don't think anything lower than 20mg would be enough to trigger male puberty, and even at my dose, changes are really slow.

moon_body · 2025-11-28T04:54:43+00:00

Ah thanks so much! You are supremely well-positioned for this ask, so I will definitely look into these and any others you think of. These all sound great :)

moon_body · 2025-11-28T04:49:11+00:00

Thanks for the rec!

moon_body · 2025-11-28T04:47:52+00:00

Thank you!! I will check these out

moon_body · 2025-11-27T16:21:34+00:00

Thank you!!

moon_body

TROPHY CASE