2025 in Review: A Year 12 Years Long
by Cynthia Ward
I write up my pleasures as I experience them; now, as the year ends, I'm reviewing my selections, and it feels like I encountered my older reads a decade or more ago.
I can hardly wait to learn how the next three years will feel. On the plus side, we are now marked safe from Kpop demons.
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Like I'm born to be (Film/TV)
Kpop Demon Hunters – So I didn't see the breakout hit of the year (decade?) until a couple of days ago, but this anime movie did not only meet, it beat my elevated expectations (it's also a lot darker than I expected, given its explosive popularity).
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Yeongwonhi kkaejil su eomneun (Music)
"What It Sounds Like + Golden" by BABYMONSTER – Since you probably can't go anywhere without hearing the HUNTR/X (EJAE, Audrey Nuna, and Rei Ami) recording of "Golden" from Kpop Demon Hunters, here's a great cover by a smart band, whom I will be investigating further.
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Because you are alive, everything is possible (Books)
Nonfiction:
Ancient Christianities: The First Five Hundred Years by Paula Fredriksen – Well worth a read if you want to know how Christianity became the dominant world religion (and how it rather quickly departed from a focus on the ethical teachings of Jesus, which weren't anything that would have greatly surprised a Buddhist).
The Art of Power: A Zen Master's Guide to Redefining Power, Achieving True Freedom and Discovering Lasting Happiness in a Stressful World by Thích Nhất Hạnh – Very grounded and insightful, this book doesn't just suggest mindfulness and happiness amid a smog-burst of platitudes and warm fuzzies – it provides meaningful definitions and offers concrete ways to achieve these states and avoid their counterfeits.
The Good Heart by the Dalai Lama XIV and Robert Kiely – This book contains and elaborates upon a fascinating interfaith dialogue between the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism and a Catholic Benedictine Brother, among others; not surprisingly, they find a lot of common ground between the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama and those of Jesus (also not surprisingly, the speakers encounter significant disagreement, which the Dalai Lama reasonably urges people to maintain, on the grounds that different peoples have different spiritual needs).
How to Eat (Mindfulness Essentials Book 2) by Thích Nhất Hạnh – Due to a mystery digestive issue, I figured I'd better get back to the basics, and so I read this book...I didn't expect this Buddhist exploration of mindful eating to be so profound, or so completely devoid of references to the supernatural/divine/magical (a pleasant surprise for this atheist); nor did I expect it to be so helpful in calming my autistic mind chatter and anxiety spirals.
In My Own Words: An Introduction to My Teachings and Philosophy by the Dalai Lama XIV – Delivers just what the title says, plus discussion of Buddhism, and it's clear and cogent, too; assembled from his other writings, but smoothly so.
I've Always Kept a Unicorn: The Biography of Sandy Denny by Mick Houghton – A fantastic singer, the late Sandy Denny was a pioneer of English folk-rock (and folk-rock in general); this biography is very good, and, with its deep focus on her musical career, it does not particularly retread the earlier Denny bio, No More Sad Refrains.
I Hope We Choose Love: A Trans Girl’s Notes from the End of the World – This collection of thoughtful, candid, sometimes painful, and always nuanced essays by the trans Asian Canadian writer, activist, and trauma survivor/educator Kai Cheng Thom is as dark and hopeful as its title suggests (however, if you have triggers, proceed with caution).
Jesus Feminist: An Invitation to Revisit the Bible's View of Women by Sarah Bessey –There is some good information along the Pagels/Ehrman line of historical/Biblical scholarship, but mostly this book is aimed at helping evangelical women (and other Christians) to develop an open, thoughtful, and inclusive relationship with God, the Bible, and their faith; not an atheist's cup of tea, but probably very helpful in unclenching a rigid believer (if you can get them to read the book).
Living Buddha, Living Christ: 20th Anniversary Edition by Thích Nhất Hạnh – In this revised and updated release, Nhất Hạnh compares and contrasts the titular wisdom teachers.
Magical/Realism: Essays on Music, Memory, Fantasy, and Borders by Vanessa Angélica Villarreal – A sometimes harrowing but always gracefully written nonfiction collection on identity, immigration, magic, mental illness, divorce, queerness, fiction, and more (the book also cracked my nonbinary egg, but I can't guarantee that outcome for you).
McMindfulness: How Mindfulness Became the New Capitalist Spirituality by Ronald Purser – Oddly enough, mindfulness improves nothing if decontextualized and defanged to enhance corporate profits and suppress employee discontent.
Queering SF Comics: Readings by Ritch Calvin – Calvin's second volume of essays on queer science fiction focuses on sequential art; it's interesting and insightful, if a little too inclined to plot summarization for my tastes.
Shock and Awe: Glam Rock and Its Legacy, from the Seventies to the Twenty-First Century by Simon Reynolds – A gimlet-eyed overview of what we Yanks call glitter rock; I'm not knowledgeable enough to speak to the book's accuracy, but it's an impressively deep and literate dive into popular culture.
So Gay for You: Friendship, Found Family, and the Show That Started It by Leisha Hailey and Kate Moennig – I'm interested in nonfiction which explores friendship and found family, and this is an entertaining memoir told from the friends' alternating viewpoints, but I probably would have gotten more out of it if I were more familiar with the cable TV series The L Word or with Leisha Hailey's bands; I suspect I have lots of viewing and listening pleasure ahead.
Tiny But Mighty: Kitten Lady's Guide to Saving the Most Vulnerable Felines by Hannah Shaw – A thorough resource for anyone involved in cat rescue, or, for that matter, anyone with a kitten (and I do mean thorough: there are even directions on how to make tiny hats for your tiny cats).
Touching a Nerve: The Self as Brain by Dr. Patricia Churchland – It is not often I am blown away by a science book that is so heady, so lucidly written, and so fascinating; as an unintentionally timely bonus, one chapter goes into sexual attraction and gender identity at the considerable, biologically complicated length it requires.
We Were Made for These Times: Ten Lessons for Moving Through Change, Loss, and Disruption by Kaira Jewel Lingo – Written by a former Buddhist nun of the Plum Village lineage, this is not a text to read and put aside; it is a resource to consult as needed, and about as necessary and useful a book as you can imagine in our present circumstances.
Why Brains Need Friends: The Neuroscience of Social Connection by Ben Rei – A clear explication of why socialization is crucial to health.
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Fiction – Comics, Graphic Novels and Collections, and Serials:
Amethyst: Princess of Gemworld by Shannon Hale and Dean Hale – DC Comics de-ages its woman sword & sorcery hero to feature in a kids' graphic novel; fun, but ultimately rendered shallow by the need for everybody to be a Hollywood-movie wiseass (an approach which makes me appreciate K. O'Neill's gentle, quiet kids' graphic novels all the more).
Berlin by Jason Lutes – This graphic novel follows a group of artists and others through historical Weimar Berlin during the rise of Nazi Germany, and, somehow, it just seems to resonate more and more with our times.
Camelot 3000 by Mike W. Barr (writer) and Brian Bolland (artist) - So much is dated in this graphic novel, and so much is problematic, and yet, I'm greatly enjoying my first revisit since the release of the original 12-issue comics maxi-series in the '80s; this is probably the first "above-ground" comic (and arguably the first comic, period) to have a significant trans character, or at least a sympathetically portrayed one. Don't let anyone tell you "woke" comics are a recent phenomenon.
Cyclopedia Exotica by Aminder Dhaliwal – Through their exploration of the mythical Cyclopes as a stigmatized immigrant community, these deceptively simple slice-of-life tales of insensitivity, marginalization, and exploitation pack quite a punch.
Heathen Volume 1 by Natasha Alterici (author/illustrator) and Ashley A. Woods (illustrator) - This superior sword & sorcery adventure centers on a Viking's warrior daughter, who is exiled for kissing another girl; in response, she decides to rescue a Valkyrie cursed by the gods and overthrow Odin and the patriarchy.
Genderqueer: A Memoir Deluxe Edition by Maia Kobabe – Though labeled a graphic novel, this is the (gracefully written and illustrated) memoir of a young person growing up and sorting out eir sexuality and gender in a world in which e rarely fits.
The Goddamned #1 by Jason Aaron and R. M. Guera – This first issue of this grimdark spear & fang series has superb art (somewhat reminiscent of Mobius' Blueberry) and an intriguing concept (cursed by God, the immortal Cain wanders the wicked Antediluvian world) – the execution, however, is a very mixed bag (for example, Cain looks like an Aryan dreamboat and several evil men look Black, although the Bible implies race originated with Noah's sons).
Head Lopper #1 by Andrew MacLean (writer/artist) and Mike Spicer (colorist) – With stylized art reminiscent of Mike Mignola and Jeff Smith, this modern comic wears its S&S influences proudly on its sleeve, as the titular swordsman and one of comics' most imaginative sidekicks deal with monstrous beasts and men.
Murky World by Richard Corben – In this S&S one-shot from the legendary writer-artist, an aging warrior seeks his stolen horse, with himself serving as his biggest obstacle (the ending is a tad unresolved, to many readers' frustration; the satisfaction of genre expectations is not particularly Corben's goal here).
Parable of the Sower by Damian Duffy (writer) and John Jennings (artist) – The 2021 Hugo Award winner for best graphic novel, this is a faithful and powerful adaptation of the late Octavia E. Butler's brilliant novel.
A Song for You and I by K. O’Neill – At first I found this middle-grade cozy fantasy a little too desultory, but this gently paced tale of growing up, understanding oneself, and finding one's place (and also, perhaps, romance) builds powerfully; this 2025 title is one of the best graphic novels I read in 2025 (which isn't surprising, given its writer/artist is the creator of the terrific GNs Princess, Princess Ever After and The Tea Dragon Society).
Starslayer by Mike Grell – The elevator pitch could be Conan-as-a-space-pirate; it's fun, if underbaked.
Superman/Shazam!: First Thunder by Judd Winick (author) and Joshua Middleton (artist) – A gorgeously illustrated graphic novel about the titular superheroes' first meeting; it's a superheroic effort on the creators' part, but it's pretty much impossible to logically fit a superhero who's a little boy created originally for little-boy readers into the modern, adult-oriented DC Universe.
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Fiction – Anthologies, Collections, and other Short Fiction:
The Archer Files by Ross MacDonald –This volume collects all the known stories featuring MacDonald's most famous creation, the hardboiled private detective Lew Archer, who is probably best known today as the pivotal figure between Raymond Chandler's Philip Marlowe and modern fictional L.A. detectives like Kinsey Millhone and Easy Rawlins; MacDonald was an excellent writer and sympathetic to the marginalized, but I'm curious as to how well received (or comprehensible) his mid-century stories would be to someone born in the '90s or later.
The Darrell Schweitzer MEGAPACK: 25 Weird Tales of Fantasy and Horror by Darrell Schweitzer –A master of the genuinely Weird, Schweitzer is unjustly obscure now; these quiet, disquieting stories of dark fantasy and sword & sorcery deserve a much wider audience.
Goblins & Galaxies Magazine Issue #0 – This introductory installment of a new sword & sorcery magazine from the publisher of Cosmic Horror Monthly Magazine had a couple of stories I didn't care for, which equates to a high hit rate for my tastes; it helps that the staff has a fairly broad definition of S&S, so the stories aren't all warriors fighting demons (or all barbarian warriors fighting demons, or all male barbarian warriors...you get the picture) .
The History of Sound: Stories by Ben Shattuck – A subtle, unpredictable collection of indirectly linked literary shorts, set mostly in New England (and mostly not queer, despite the implication of its cover).
Old Moon Quarterly Issue #1 – Sword & sorcery is undergoing a Twenty-First Century revival, with an explosion of short fiction venues; the first issue of OMQ proves more inclined than average to publish S&S at the weirder edges of this darker and more intimate fantasy subgenre.
The Recital by Gregg Hurwitz – This short stand-alone eBook in the Orphan X series is a heart-warming tale of homicidal found family which introduced me to the concept of DEI thrillers about ex-government assassin/vigilantes who devote their psychopathy to taking out villains in the service of victims; it's an involving, morally gray, snappily told page-turner, if you're looking for an alternative to Parker, Jack Reacher, or Dexter.
Sealed with a Kiss: A Silk and Steel Short Story by Ariana Nash – An angsty, steamy MM fantasy short in which an elvish warrior discovers he's attracted to other men, and how! – unfortunately, the author's references to "the male" in lieu of "the man" were disruptive to the reading experience.
Tales from a Magical Teashop by Casey Blair – It's a diverting collection of shorts if you've read the cozy fantasy trilogy The Tea Princess Chronicles, although somewhat of a spoiler if you haven't.
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Fiction – Novels and Novellas:
Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce – First published in 1983, the opening book of the classic YA/MG fantasy series the Song of the Lioness is quite engrossing as it follows the adventures of a girl who cross-dresses as her brother so she can train as a knight.
Among the Gray Lords (Indrajit & Fix Book 3) by D.J. Butler – Fix loses the woman he loves, and the possibility of bringing her back to life drives Fix and his companions into increasingly horrifying situations, even as it drives Fix into increasingly obsessed derangement; a quite strong novel of sword & sorcery or sword & planet, depending on how you define the magic/technology.
At First Spite by Olivia Dade – The first novel in the Harlot's Bay romance series, this curvy-girl enemies-to-lovers MF romance is sharp and sometimes dark; as a pleasant bonus, most everyone on stage besides the woman and two potential love interests is queer.
A Bánh Mì for Two by Trinity Nguyen – In this stand-alone, sweet, contemporary sapphic romance, a pair of college-age women – a Việt Namese American student and a Việt Namese food blogger/vendor – bond over Sài Gòn street food (you may end the novel very satisfied by the romance, but very hungry for the cuisine).
Between Princess and Other Jobs (Indrajit & Fix Book 2) by D.J. Butler – A superior collection of recent, rather old-school-style fantasy buddy adventures which may or may not be sword and sorcery, depending on how you define magic (a definitional debate in which the characters themselves engage).
Camber of Culdi by Katherine Kurtz - The opening volume of the long-running Deryni series is very strong but also decidedly problematic (for example, the future Saint Camber is quite a manipulative guy); I do like the author's thorough grasp of medieval thought and faith, and the avoidance of stereotypes about priests and believers.
The Chronicles of Brother Cadfael Books 1-6 by Ellis Peters – A former crusader and sailor, the Welshman Cadfael is an herbalist and an older monk among the younger, Norman Benedictine monastics of Twelfth Century Shrewsbury; the characters are well-rounded, the history is accurate, stereotypes are avoided, and the good brother, calm and shrewd and compassionate, is restful company.
The Chronicles of the Deryni Books 1-3 (Deryni Rising, Deryni Checkmate, and High Deryni) by Katherine Kurtz – Revisiting this trilogy fave of my '70s teen years, I'm more conscious of the problematic elements (such as the Moors being villain's tools and most of the few female characters being either evil, idiotic, doomed, or utterly wrong-headed), but as an alternate-Celtic Catholic Middle Ages fantasy, it's a pleasure in its familiarity with history.
The City of Marble and Blood (Chronicles of Hanuvar Book 2) by Howard Andrew Jones – The second novel in the Hanuvar series by the late, much-missed Howard Andrew Jones is highly recommended for anyone who appreciates sword & sorcery, sword & sandal, or alternate history (the character Hanuvar is inspired by the Carthaginian general Hannibal).
Copper Script by KJ Charles – This 1920s MM romance finds an honest policeman and a possibly flimflamming disabled veteran caught between criminal gangs and corrupt cops; Charles is at her best when she presses her characters in a vise very nearly unbearable for the reader.
The Craft of Love by EE Ottoman – A transman silversmith and a ciswoman quilter experience growing attraction amidst the struggle for workers' rights in late Nineteenth-Century New York; a historical romance novella of gentle, respectful love, and another sign that I need to read more books by EE Ottoman.
Cyrion by Tanith Lee – In this essential S&S collection, Cyrion is a man of action, a man of intellect, a solver of mysteries, and, sometimes, a real asshole.
The Doxies Penalty (Sarah Tolerance Book 4) by Madeleine E. Robins – Miss Tolerance is a sometimes-crossdressing Fallen swordswoman and agent of inquiry (private detective) operating in an alternate Regency era, and the new novel (2025) and the overall series are great stuff (if the crossdressing suggests loads of queerness, queer characters are few and clearly genderqueer identities are absent).
Dreadnought by April Daniels – Witnessing a metahuman murder, a high school girl is bequeathed the victim's Superman-esque powers, a transfer which alters her body and outs her as trans, and wow; I've been reading comics since the mid-'60s, and this is top-tier superhero fiction.
Dulhaniyaa: A Desi Lesbian Romance by Talia Bhatt – This sapphic East Indian cis/trans romance novel was a little wobbly until it kicked into gear, then OMG! (This should be a Bollywood movie.)
Eat Slay Love by Julie Mae Cohen – Patriarchy is horrible, sisterhood is powerful, and murder is quite the self-esteem builder.
Follow Her Home (Juniper Song Mysteries Book 1) by Steph Cha – A young Korean American Angeleno, adrift in the wake of a family tragedy and wishing she were a private detective like Philip Marlowe, finds herself violently enmeshed in crime; this razor-keen contemporary mystery novel is wise-cracking and wise, but I don't know as I'd call it escapist, given the prominent roles of "yellow fever," suicide, and the sexual exploitation of minors.
Freelancers of Neptune by Jacob Holo – This hard-SF novel is set in a far future in which Earth is a disputed rumor, and a motley spaceship crew stands to make mucho dinero if they can gain a relic of the long-lost AI which remodeled the Solar System – elements of Star Wars, Guardians of the Galaxy, anime, and the Rediscovery of Man are discernable; the worldbuilding is impressive; and the novel is a diverting page-turner (if you can [a] get past someone 53,000+ years in the future bearing the name Nathanael Kade and [b] get past the general obliviousness to queer and genderqueer existence).
Goodbye, My Princess by Fei Wo Si Cun, translated by Tianshu - Apparently the inspiration for a Chinese TV series, this Chinese romantic (MF) historical fantasy novel is strong, in places even lyrical; there are triggers galore, so if you want to read something which has zero concern for modern Western reader expectations, this should fit the bill.
Here We Go Again by Alison Cochrun – This Lambda Award-winning writer's recent romance (2024) is friends-to-enemies-to-lovers, as a pair of neurodiverse thirtysomething women must unite to drive their dying mentor/friend/former teacher from Oregon to Maine; they pretty much only ever go to places I've been, which was a pleasant coincidence, although I'd say Mount Desert Island was not a first-hand auctorial experience.
Him by Geoff Ryman – If you want to read a novel that will get under multiple layers of your skin and stay there for days, then the brilliant Canadian author's genre-blending novel of a trans Christ is the book for you (and one I'm surprised isn't embroiled in a multitude of controversies).
The Honey Witch by Sydney J. Shields – I stalled out on this solid sapphic alt.historical romantasy novel because I'm pretty burned out on the Regency-esque trope of "it's so horrible that I have to go to the ball and land a husband" (what if someone was actually looking forward to these things when they had a romantic surprise?).
In the Palace of Shadow and Joy (Indrajit & Fix Book 1) by D.J. Butler – This recent yet old-school fantasy buddy novel (clearly inspired by Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser and Jack Vance's Dying Earth series, with perhaps a soupçon of Thieves' World and Lin Carter's World's End mixed in) has action aplenty and a ferocious number of caper-ish plot twists; it’s worth checking out if you like action/adventure spec-fic and don’t mind a perception of gender and orientation that seems rather anachronistically '90s.
The King Must Die by Mary Renault - This classic rationalized retelling of the (early part of the) legend of Theseus is essential for fans of fiction set in the ancient Mediterranean.
The King's Peace by Jo Walton – The opener of the alternate-Arthurian King's Peace trilogy is an ambitious, satisfying fantasy novel about a woman warrior; I plan to read the rest of the series, although the characters (and world) posit the divine selection of kings – not unreasonable in this time and place, but I'm an anti-monarchial atheist, so that began to wear a bit on my nerves.
A Kiss at Midwinter: A Brothers Sinister Holiday Novella by Courtney Milan – A possibly neurodivergent English doctor's hopes of matrimony come a cropper when the eleventh most attractive woman in town – an unrecognized former patient and sexual abuse survivor – remembers her physician's original assistant all too well.
Lady Eve's Last Con by Rebecca Fraimow – In this romantic SF caper novel, a spacelanes grifter seeks revenge on the loved-my-sister-and-left-her billionaire, but keeps getting distracted by his sexier and smarter sister.
The Longest Night by EE Ottoman – As the winter solstice nears, I make a point of reading this gentle romance novella, in which a pair of isolated trans men find one another in early Twentieth-Century New York.
Lord of a Shattered Land (Chronicles of Hanuvar Book 1) by Howard Andrew Jones – I wish I had read this sword & sorcery novel earlier, not only because it's so good, but because I could have told the author how good it is; Jones – whose influence on modern S&S as writer, editor, critic, and mentor is incalculable – passed away in early 2025, far too soon.
Mr Collins in Love by Lee Welch – This alt.historical MM romance sympathetically explores the life of one of the less-likeable characters in Pride and Prejudice, and leaves you unexpectedly rooting for his happiness.
Magpie Murders: A Novel by Anthony Horowitz – A metafictional novel in which a mystery is contained within a mystery – kind of annoying at first, but then it sucked me in; I especially appreciated that a certain amateur sleuth was quite realistically and self-destructively terrible at amateur sleuthing.
Manhunt by Gretchen Felker-Martin – In this very dark and disturbing novel, a virus converts everyone with sufficient levels of testosterone into a literal mindless animal, and civilization is more or less in a state of collapse; granted, I am not extraordinarily up to date on this genre, but, to my experience, Felker-Martin is the best and potentially the most transformative writer of horror to come along since Stephen King.
The Matter of the Secret Bride by Darcie Wilde (who also writes as Sarah Zettel) – The latest novel (2024) in the Regency-set, Austen-inspired Useful Woman romantic mystery series pursues the twisty disappearance of King George IV’s secret wife's marriage certificate.
The (Most Unusual) Haunting of Edgar Lovejoy by Roan Parrish – 2025 brings another contemporary queer Halloween romance from Parrish, this one set in New Orleans and beset with ghosts; it restfully avoids the typical paranormal and romantasy gambits, while portraying neurodiversity and gender diversity with sympathy and insight.
Mistletoe Mistress by Nicola Davidson – I very much prefer balance or femdom over maledom in erotic MF reads, but Davidson's strong development of and insight into her leads left me no choice but to submit to this stand-alone, Christmas-themed Regency novella.
Murder by Memory by Olivia Waite – In her debut Tor novella, the well-regarded historical queer romance author turns to SF with a twisty, tricksy (and queer) mystery which rings several fresh changes on the tropes of generation ships and up/downloadable minds.
Night's Master by Tanith Lee – The first novel in the Tales of the Flat Earth series is beautiful and queernormative and disturbing and unpredictable and glorious and troubling – in other words, it’s vintage Tanith Lee.
Our Big White Lie by L.A. Witt writing as Lauren Gallagher – In Witt's new (2025) contemporary FF romance novel, a pair of best friends decide to fake-wed so one friend's dying mother can have her mother-of-the-bride dream come true; relationship-complications ensue which perhaps are not entirely surprising, but they're enjoyable.
Parable of the Sower (Earthseed Book 1) by Octavia E. Butler – Nothing like re-reading the late, much-lamented author's Nebula Award finalist novel from 1993 while living through the times it warned us against.
Point of Hearts by Melissa Scott - The latest in the essential Astreiant series of alt.Renaissance fantasy may be the tensest volume yet in the always-riveting adventures of Adjutant Point (law officer) Nicolas Rathe and mercenary/City Guard captain Philip Eslingen, lovers whose roles sometimes put them at dangerous cross purposes.
The Potency of Ungovernable Impulses (The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti Book 3) by Malka Older – The latest title (2025) in the superior Mossa and Pleiti series (a sapphic, romantic, quasi-near-future SF series inspired by Holmes/Watson) opens with a trope I really don't like, and carries it to about the halfway point of the novel, but then redeems the trope by intensely exploring its repercussions in the second half.
A Rare Benedictine: The Advent of Brother Cadfael by Ellis Peters – This is a pleasing (if too-brief) collection of three mystery stories presenting the Twelfth Century monk/sleuth's path to the contemplative life and to crime-solving.
A Rare Find by Joanna Lowell – I liked the co-leads and I appreciated some recognizable elements of myself in the nonbinary character in this historical F/NB romance, though the novel felt too long for the contents.
Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chambers - I sometimes see the Wayfarers series criticized for being antireligious, but in fact it is engaged (intelligently) in extrapolating a secular far future, a pursuit which is no more automatically hateful than extrapolating a nonsecular future.
Royal Tea Service (Tea Princess Chronicles Book 3) by Casey Blair – The third book in Blair's Asian-inspired romantic cozy fantasy series of impending supernatural doom continues to crank up its mannerpunk cred, with a level of political savvy that left this autistic reader dazed with admiration.
Sabella by Tanith Lee – This slim dark-SF novel from 1980 is a very different take on the vampire (but of course to say "very different" and "Tanith Lee" is to repeat myself); I'm not sure what I think about it, and may never be sure, but you may be sure that this equates to a very high recommendation.
Shadow of the Smoking Mountain (Chronicles of Hanuvar Book 3) by Howard Andrew Jones – Sad to think this may be the last novel we will see from the late author, who reinvigorated and reinvented S&S for the Twenty-First Century.
Shapechangers (Chronicles of the Cheysuli Book 1) by Jennifer Roberson – After waiting decades to try this classic S&S series, I found the first book rather rougher and more simple of characterization than Roberson's Del and Tiger series, although still a page-turner; I also found it a time capsule, in that a modern reader would probably be quite impatient with the rapey, patriarchal love interests (or, for that matter, with how thoughtless and selfish the young female protagonist can be).
She Who Became the Sun (The Radiant Emperor Duology Book 1) by Shelley Parker-Chan – An alternate history which smartly and queerly reimagines the origin of the Ming Dynasty.
She Whom I Love (Treading the Boards Book 2) by Tess Bowery – The poly (FFM), erotic Regency romance novel is a bit draggy in the middle, but certainly has an action-packed climax.
A Shore Thing: A Novel by Joanna Lowell – A fun if sometimes slow novel of bicycling, career challenges for the marginalized, and trans/cis romance in Victorian Cornwall; it's better to read this book on a sunny summer beach, I suspect, than while pushing a chilly Yuletide deadline.
Sir Callie and the Champions of Helston by Esme Symes-Smith – In this MG/YA fantasy novel, our young nonbinary protagonist wishes to become a squire and knight, but their obstacles are only beginning with the mother who wants to force them into daughterhood.
The Sitcom Star (Chu's Restaurant Book 1) by Jackie Lau – In this contemporary Asian Canadian MF romance novella, a long-separated pair of childhood friends run into each other literally, and slow-burn romance ensues; a bit underdeveloped, but low-key, feminist, and enjoyable.
Smilla's Sense of Snow by Peter Høeg, translated by Tiina Nunnally – This brilliant, sometimes disturbing mystery/thriller about a biracial Danish woman scientist investigating an Inuit child's suspicious death is a rare example of a novel that is very long, but not padded by so much as one excess word; an essential read if you like Nordic noir, or even if you don't.
Something Spectacular (Something Fabulous Book 2) by Alexis Hall – I don't think I've run into a romance that's NB/NB before; whatever the case, this novel is fine, and sometimes almost unbearably good (although I should have started the trilogy with the first book, because Book 2 guaranteed many spoilers for the prequel).
Stag Dance: A Novel & Stories by Torrey Peters – With apparent effortlessness, Torrey Peters ranges beautifully across genres and times, and ventures deeply into the tangled, daunting mess of gender identity and the human heart.
The Steel Remains by Richard Morgan – This gripping, genre-ambiguous novel (S&S? SF? grimdark?) is very dark and gritty, with loads and loads of potential triggers (they make sense in the context of the brutally patriarchal, homophobic, and imperialist societies, but knowing this doesn't make them less disturbing).
Swordcrossed by Freya Marske – This fantasy novel reads a lot like Marske was influenced by Melissa Scott's Astreiant series and Ellen Kushner's Swordspoint (which is no bad thing).
Talk Before Sleep by Elizabeth Berg – A '90s novel about women's friendships which is, in fact, about women's friendships, instead of their relationships with husbands and lovers and families; and a wise and heartbreaking book, too.
Tempted by the Bollywood Star by Sophia Singh Sasson – It's a hopeful sign when Harlequin not only publishes an erotic sapphic romance, but one which sympathizes with the PoC character's challenges in Hollywood and in an interracial relationship; if sometimes underdeveloped, the novel is astute and involving.
To Love a Hellion (The London Lords Book 1) by Nicola Davidson – Absorbing enemies-to-lovers MF Regency romance with a mystery at its core.
The Underground Man (Lew Archer Book 16) by Ross Macdonald – I've seen this classic detective novel (1971) described as the best mystery novel ever written, and while you may well have a different candidate, this mid-Century-penned and -set hardboiled murder mystery is very strong (and also perfectly aware of the stupidity of allowing development in California's fire-prone wilderness-urban interfaces).
Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata, translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori – In one of the strangest and most disturbing novels I've ever read, artificial insemination has led to a Japan (or, it's implied, a world) in which sex is dying out, and possibly the family with it; if you're thinking "well, of course that's strange and disturbing," you haven't guessed a tenth of it.
A Visit from the Goon Squad by Jennifer Egan – As an old punk, I was looking forward to reading this Pulitzer Prize-winning literary novel about a couple of '70s punks, but it has such a slow, boring, punk-free opening that I quickly ditched it.
Cynthia Ward has published stories in Analog, Asimov's, Dracula Beyond Stoker, Nightmare, Weird Tales, and elsewhere. She edited the anthologies Lost Trails: Forgotten Tales of the Weird West Volumes 1-2 and, with Charles G. Waugh and Jeffrey A. Linscott, Weird Trails. With fellow Aqueductista Nisi Shawl, Cynthia coauthored the Locus Award winning fiction-writing guide, Writing the Other: A Practical Approach. In 2021, Aqueduct Press released the concluding novella in her Bloody-Thirsty Agent series, The Adventure of the Golden Woman.
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