Salta al contenuto principale


I'd like my reading list for next year to include more indie authors (instead of just reading the whole Discworld series on a loop like I usually do), and my fave genre is sci-fi.

So, I'm betting Fedi has quite the treasure trove of indie sci-fi authors, please say hello and tell me where I can find your books! Or if you're not an author, recommendations of people to check out obviously very welcome too.

Thanks!

(Boosts welcome & appreciated ♥️)

#SciFi #Bookstodon #IndieAuthors

Questa voce è stata modificata (2 mesi fa)

reshared this

in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

Hello,

I write #scifi adventure and you can learn more from my website.

edwindownward.com

in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

it’s more fantasy than sci fi, but I think you would like the Temple of the White Rat series a lot!
in reply to Anna

@venite Fantasy is my second fave, so I am totally down for that 😄
@Anna
Unknown parent

Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher
@FlashMobOfOne I do like supporting awesome humans 👍
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

I highly enjoyed "The Twice Drowned Saint" by C.S
E. Cooley. It's short, but very imaginative and cleverly put together.
in reply to Notavi

@StryderNotavi Given how many suggestions are already coming in, short may be a very good thing 😅
Unknown parent

Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher
@SocialCommentaryBot It's more that I'm just really curious what weird and wild stuff is out there in indie-land. But clearly I need to add these to the list too 😄
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

Haha, that has shades of "I know what I like, and I like what I know." I can be similar.

One you could try that I've enjoyed so far is @courtcan who has several fantasy novels, and a few spec-fic.

And all of @cstross
His "Laundry Files" books are wonderful and funny, and just disturbing enough to make you want the next one.

in reply to bytebro

@bytebro I am a degenerate comfort zone reader and there's no point denying it 😅 Thanks!
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

*ducks in, blushing* Nearly all of my books are available at all e-reader services. Most of them are also available as paperbacks on Amazon. ( @bytebro, I do intend to make all the missing paperbacks in 2025!) I'm hoping to get paperbacks through @draft2digital as well, so I can stop giving Bezos *all* of my business. 😁 *ducks out again*
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

Vandana Singh is absolutely amazing - here my mini review of one of her books: mastodon.social/@vicgrinberg/1…

Simon Stalenhag's "Electric State"

Karin Tidbeck's "Amatka"

in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

A great way to find out about more indie authors (depending on your definition of indie) in Sci-Fi I've found is to look at some of the short story magazines like Clarkesworld, Lightspeed, Shoreline of Infinity, Uncanny Mag...

But also how indie is indie? I've been reading a lot more less-than-mainstream authors this year, so maybe get onto a Bookwyrm instance and follow some people too?

I like Rambling Readers as a UK based instance ramblingreaders.org/user/Kevin…

in reply to diyelectromusic

@diyelectromusic I was actually thinking of giving Bookwyrm another go just earlier today, so this is giving big "it's a sign" energy. Didn't think of using it for this but that makes a lot of sense, thanks!
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

Just off the top of my head from authors I've read here.

John Wilker's Grand Human Empire @jwilker

Si Clarke's Starship Teapot
@clacksee

Dave Walsh's Trysero @dvewlsh

L J Cohen's Halcyon Space @lj

I'm blanking out on more but there are a lot of us here.

I only read self pubbed books, usually in series, so if you need more, hit me up! :)

in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

Uncanny Magazine is an online sci-fi/fantasy magazine that has a lot of great stories.

Edited to add their handle: @UncannyMagazine

Questa voce è stata modificata (2 mesi fa)
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

not a writer myself, but I would recommend writer Connie Willis (all her work), and 'Jennifer Government' by Max Barry, and the 'Chanur series by C.J Cherryh (where humans are not the main characters, very refreshing)
Unknown parent

Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

@SocialCommentaryBot I really enjoyed Frankenstein, went through a "classic books I should have read" phase a while back and that was top of my list. And Hitchhikers was A Big Deal in my youth!

Slightly ashamed to say I've never got on with Dune though, friends have shunned me for this viewpoint for years 😅

Unknown parent

Social Commentary Bot

Oh, and Frankenstein by Mary Shelly is kinda mandatory sci-fi reading.

It is pretty much the first ever sci-fi story, and it's the work of an intellectual heavy weight. A real masterpiece that is still informing the genre to this day.

It's also kinda indie, in that it was originally written for Byron, Percy Shelley and other guests as a holiday project.

It's one everyone's heard of, but not necessarily read?

Unknown parent

Social Commentary Bot

As for really indie and really weird-and-wild:

Metamorphosis of Prime Intellect is worth reading if you can tolerate *very* graphic content.

It's so indie that it was published online for free.

in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

Don't know who counts as "indie", don't know what you like already, but you've read the Murderbot series right? (Martha Wells.)
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

I like Randolph Lalonde’s
Spinward Fringe series. The first in the series, Broadcast 0: Origins, is free on Kindle. #SciFi #bookstodon #indieauthors
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

not sure if Richard Preston is your cup of tea but The Cobra Event is extremely well-written, the guy really did his homework.
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

there's a lot of great suggestions in this thread! craftgoblin.club/@silhelm/1134…


So I am in a local-ish book circle with friends here in Sweden, we are reading kind, queer, feel-goody sff mainly. It'll be my time to pick a book in a few months, and I am thinking maybe A Master of Djinn by P. Djeli Clark, to tug the group out of its whiteness for a while. I'd love some suggestions for other books that loosely fill the criteria that are not set in a european-ish/western setting with white people, by poc authors, if you guys have read anything good?

#bookrecs please


in reply to StarSloth

@silhelm Hah I completely missed you posting this, will have to cross-reference our responses! 🤓
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

May I commend everything by Becky Chambers to you? Lovely, humane sf.

I don't know if @seananmcguire counts as indie, but she's never written anything bad either – I particularly like the 'Feed' series, written as Mira Grant.

@AnnLeckie's Ancillary Justice won all the awards in 2013 and justifiably so. If you've ever sung from the Sacred Harp (or in any choir for that matter,) you'll get an extra depth from this one.

in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

Hi! I'm Steve and I write weird little SFF stories. Style sort of a mixture of Ray Bradbury and Douglas Adams, I suppose.

You can find my books just about anywhere. Just search for "Steve DeGroof". There aren't that many of us out there. 😄

in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

If you haven't read any of Becky Chambers yet, highly recommend.

She has the Monk and Robot series which is short and oh so cozy and sweet and hopeful. Then the Wayfarer series which is also cozy but more on the like, space-faring sci-fi vibe. CANNOT recommend her enough.

in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

I’m Curtis Wilbur Been writing SciFi novels for a couple of decades now. Dystopian Post-Apocalypse type stuff with a slight pornographic bent. My stuff is on Lulu and most online bookstores like Amazon as hardcopy and e-format. My current fave is Tears of Eridanus.

Thanks!

in reply to Théotime

@Theotime812 Honestly, given that I'm a hobbyist gamedev and "indie" is ill-defined and controversial there too, I probably should have thought this through more 😅

But really I was just trying to avoid recommendations of big well-known authors, figured most on here are probably hobbyists, self-publishers, or just at the start of their career etc and I'd like to read more of that!

in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

I just read a fantasy book by an Indie author which to me felt a lot like a grittier Discworld. If you like Discworld and are not opposed to violence you might like it

goodreads.com/book/show/221315…

(I don't think I know any SF by Indie authors, going to check out the responses for that :) )

in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

@SocialCommentaryBot

Anything by Ursula Le Guin (start with The Dispossessed or The Left Hand Of Darkness)

UNSONG by Scott Alexander (available as a free eBook). It will make you feel like you are living real life through a weird apocalypse somehow finding it fun.

in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

: In English, I recommend SF books from @cstross @pluralistic @scalzi

(my own books are not yet translated in English, as told here : mamot.fr/@ploum/11341539875616… )


Hey #FediBookFair ,

I’m a SF writer writing in French published by @pvheditions . My books are under a CC By-SA license and available in every bookshop in France, Switzerland, Belgium.

My new novel, "Bikepunk" was released a few days ago (think Mad Max with bikes, written on an old typewriter).

See the #bikepunk hashtags and bikepunk.fr/

We are looking for partnership with #publishers in other countries to spread translations of the books.

Contact me or @ludomire


in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

My indie SF is here:
smashwords.com/profile/view/Dr…
Also available on Amazon, but they're evil and also insist on messing up my formatting, so I won't link to them.
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

Becky Chambers - she writes slice of life stories about aliens ... they're wonderful stories about aliens living their lives in a multi-species universe. You can start with "A Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet," and go from there. They are just wonderful books about people living their lives.
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

If you can tolerate comics, we've got a cyberpunky post-apocalyptic adventure yarn we've been self publishing for the past 10 years!
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

dunno what counts as an indie author, but have you tried "long way to a small angry planet" by Becky chambers, or the murder bot series ?
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

Okay SO

@rowyn wrote a delightful sci-fi romance with a game dev protagonist

@mwl has written some extremely cool sci-fi mysteries

@LJ writes awesome sci-fi with found family themes

@cheribaker has a grand space opera sci-fi adventure out!

These are all authors whose sci-fi is indie (self-published and small press) so do check them out!

in reply to V, The Dragon Witch 🌙

Also don't forget our very own @vicorva ! They recently published an absolutely delightful novella called Space Dragons: Luxorian crew that I'm thoroughly enjoying, and would definitely recommend
in reply to V, The Dragon Witch 🌙

@vicorva @rowyn @LJ @cheribaker @ParadeGrotesque

(gluing two replies together in my response, like a barbarian)

:flan_blush: aww, thank you!

Permit me to add @zzclaybourne to this list. Rich, rich voice and action.

I have freebies in various stores, but you can get my samples at my store, tiltedwindmillpress.com/produc… -- both SF and orcness available.

in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

Check out @BranwenOShea she has a few you might enjoy. I've reread Silence of the Song Trees and think it's brilliant. The Finding Humanity series is good as well.
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

Desolation will be my new series, launching around April/May next year. You can check out my new book, Somebody Keeps Callin', a modern rural fantasy/ horror set in post-Brexit Britain, a hilarous and bloody deconstruction of everything wrong with modern England (written while I was living in the UK): amazon.co.uk/Somebody-Keeps-Ca… or keep in touch for info about Desolation as it comes. #scifi #books #reading
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

Hello!

I have a "hard to categorize but probably space opera/western?" trilogy (Jackpot Drift) that is available at all the major retailers & libraries. And the first one is free!

books2read.com/JackpotDrift1

in reply to Ruby Jones

@RubyJones I'd honestly have to say "up to a point" for myself, but looks like there are a few others trawling this thread for recs now too so all kinds welcome!

(I'm generally open minded and the reason I love sci-fi is because you never quite know what wild thing you're about to read. But on the other hand I'm ace, sooo there's a limit 😅)

in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

I feel you. This may not be for you then, although the angst and hurt/comfort character elements are really strong, and I put a lot of thought into it for erotic romance. The stories are set in a world where androids have recently been recognised as fully sentient and given (some) rights. I used to be an academic with research interests in AI and philosophy of mind, and that influences the stories.

An Unexpected Attachment is M/M android/human amazon.co.uk/Unexpected-Attach… >

in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

I love recommending authors!
Ada Palmer - Terra Ignota series
Darcie Little Badger
KB Wagers
Rebecca Camp - Arboreality
Annalee Newitz
EM Anderson - The Remarkable Retirement of Edna Fisher
Sarena Ulibarri - Another Life
Nghi Vo

And always - Victoria Goddard
reactormag.com/you-should-real…
#reading @bookstodon

in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

I loved Little Animals by Sarah Tolmie, it's about Anton Van Leewenhouk and the moment when he was the only human in history to have seen the little animals in water. Then, of course, it gets stranger than that. It's science, at it's birth, and it's fiction. It's put out by the delightful Aqueduct press.
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

O. E. Tearmann’s Aces High, Jokers Wild series should be in your list too! Rebel forces taking on corporate entities who have taken over government, with lots of found family, queerness and all sorts of other good things. I think the series is complete now too.
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

A wonderful piece of indie science fiction is Trapped in the R.A.W. by Kate Boyes. It's the survival adventures of an academic special collections librarian trapped in her library when the aliens finally invade. It's published by aqueductpress.com who are about as indie as you are going to find....
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

thank you for asking the question - the answers are forming a great list for us!

some series I wish I were starting again (all more future / past fiction than sci-fi):

Muderbot - Martha Wells
Earthsea - Ursula K le Guin
Binti - Nnedi Okorafor
Knights of the Borrowed Dark - Dave Rudden

in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

I don't want to scroll through all suggestions to see if someone mentioned them, but I love Derin Edala's work. They mostly write web fiction, both short stories and novels. But they have recently self-published their sprawling sci-fi epic "Time to Orbit: Unknown" that I can't recommend enough. I regularly stayed up way too long reading it when it was still being released online.

derinstories.com/

books2read.com/u/38GwQ6?format…

in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

Hell Divers - Nicholas Smith
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet - Becky Chambers
Winter's Orbit - Everina Maxwell
Seven of Infinities by @aliettedb
A Song for a New Day by Sarah Pinsker
Questa voce è stata modificata (2 mesi fa)
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

some political sci-fi I really enjoyed was Infomocracy and its sequels by Malka Older.

Her current series is also really enjoyable - The Investigations of Mossa and Pleiti. I’d probably describe it as cozy sapphic noir, but also academia, trains, and space belong in the description somehow too.

in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

Hi!

My debut novel #ImmortalGifts is coming out February 4! Preorders are open for ebook. Reviews are coming soon, so watch this space!

buy.bookfunnel.com/txcheogc2i

in reply to Katherine Villyard

@kvillyard Congrats! That's a massive achievement! Thanks for sharing and best of luck with the launch 😊
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

It’s more urban fantasy than sci-fi but The Last Sun by KD Edwards is the excellent first book in The Tarrot Sequence series and the author is very nice and gifts a lot of free short side stories about his characters.
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

my couple recommendations have already been mentioned by others, but I just wanted to say that this thread is absolutely awesome in so many ways. Gave me the much-needed warm fuzzies this morning.
in reply to Sean Woods

@etoyoc Hah, yeah I tried once but got trapped in worldbuilding also. Then realised I actually hate writing, but hey you never know til you try 😅

Good luck!

in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

He's more established, but @gregeganSF recently published a book on alternate multicellularity called Morphotrophic. It was inspired by the literature of @drmichaellevin
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

okay, so, I have a LOT of Indies to recommend, having read many over the years. When you say sci-fi, are you strict on what defines that, and if so, what's your definition? The best part of being indie is subverting genre expectations.
in reply to Christina

@VampiresAndRobots Honestly no strict rules because I completely agree with you! I love sci-fi because of the weird ideas and imaginative worlds, so whether it's hard or soft or futuristic or present day or super serious or has fantasy thrown in or whatever it may be, I'm pretty open minded 😄
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

fantastic! For more traditional space/future/dystopian: anything by @David_Kelly_SF , The Silesia Trilogy by SK Valenzuela, Rules of Replicate by Mel Hosking, Holding the Ashes by Reese Hogan. Getting into more genre bending: The Call to Search Everywhen series by Chess Desalls, anything by @pbeacannon , The Liminality series by A Sparrow, The Legacy Series by GG Atcheson, The Glomar Encounter by DE Morris (this will likely be a thread)
in reply to Christina

The Frames series by Sue Perry, She Dreams of Me by Ono Ekeh, Echoes of an Another Earth by J Daniel Layfield, The Starless Market by @ChrisJagged (and his other books for dark fantasy/horror).
One more traditional I missed: The Years Ran Like Rabbits by Anna Taylor
in reply to Christina

and finally, humorous scifi: The Taste of Cashews by @WillDHB , The Audacity series by Carmen Loup, and Lady Luck by Ben Mariner.

That's all for now, but if I remember any others, I'll let you know

Questa voce è stata modificata (2 mesi fa)
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

Ok I have woken up to a LOT of new author friends and book recommendations and it's going to take a while to go through them all but this is definitely more than a year's worth of #scifi (and fantasy) reading right here!

I know a few others are going through the thread looking for suggestions now too, so I'll try and format it in a more scannable way over the weekend and update here.

Thank you for all the visibility on this, got some really great suggestions and other resources to check out. #Bookstodon did not let me down!

in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

thanks for prompting that thread! I'm also reading Pratchett on loop (with occasional Sanderson thrown in) and while I love it, I also wanted to open my horizons again a bit. Lots to explore!
in reply to marthasterias

@marthasterias It's definitely hard to break out of the comfort of something we've read a million times before! But I believe in us :D
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

@fringemagnet Oh! I highly recommend the Galactic Cold War series by @dmoren! He just put out the latest (last?) but the whole series is good. Spies, space, heists, the works. dmoren.com/writing/galactic-co…
Questa voce è stata modificata (2 mesi fa)
in reply to Michelle / The Giddy Stitcher

QuietValerie makes trans stories, their more recent books (Digital Galaxies and Digital Exodus) are sci-fi vr game type books.
patreon.com/QuietValerie
Not sure if this is something you'd like or not, but I like their stories very much.
Also @vicorva wrote great fantasy/sci-fi books including veocorva.xyz/books/space-drago… and veocorva.xyz/books/the-old-goa…

Questo sito utilizza cookie per riconosce gli utenti loggati e quelli che tornano a visitare. Proseguendo la navigazione su questo sito, accetti l'utilizzo di questi cookie.