Matt's Picks
Matt is the Assistant Manager here at Far From The Madding Crowd. He can often be found trying to make our website behave, so please ask him for help to free him from that Herculean task! He loves fantasy, sci-fi, mythological retellings, and the occasional queer romance. Here are some of his current recommendations:
Some Body Like Me : A story of unexpected love at the end of the world
Author: Lucy Lapinska
As the world falls apart around them, piece by piece, Abigail Fuller spends humanity's final days looking after her husband David. But that's not true, not really. Abigail isn't David's wife. She's not even human. She's a replacement, built in the image of the real Abigail, who died sixteen years ago. And in three weeks, when the law changes, Abigail will no longer have to do anything David says. She'll be free to go where she likes, do whatever she wants to do. But having never lived for herself, Abigail now faces profound questions about what she is, how she wants to live, and who she wants to love. Perhaps she should start with herself.
Some Body Like Me absolutely blew me away when I read it! It's tender, beautiful, and powerfully written. Lapinska explores sexuality, love, what it means to be human, and does it all with such skill that you can't help but fall fully into the world. This one is perfect for fans of Kazuo Ishiguro, Becky Chambers, or the video game Detroit: Become Human!
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The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet : the most hopeful, charming and cosy novel to curl up with
Author: Becky Chambers
When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The ship, which has seen better days, offers her everything she could possibly want: a small, quiet spot to call home for a while, adventure in far-off corners of the galaxy, and distance from her troubled past. But Rosemary gets more than she bargained for with the Wayfarer. The crew is a mishmash of species and personalities, from Sissix, the friendly reptillian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the constantly sparring engineers who keep the ship running. Life on board is chaotic, but more or less peaceful - exactly what Rosemary wants. Until the crew are offered the job of a lifetime: the chance to build a hyperspace tunnel to a distant planet. They'll earn enough money to live comfortably for years... if they survive the long trip through war-torn interstellar space without endangering any of the fragile alliances that keep the galaxy peaceful. But Rosemary isn't the only person on board with secrets to hide, and the crew will soon discover that space may be vast, but spaceships are very small indeed.
I adore Becky Chambers' writing. She hasn't failed me yet, and I suspect she never will. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is the first in her Wayfarers series of books, which are all beautiful sci-fi stories set in the same universe and sharing some characters but with their own unique stories to tell. It's a lovely read, full of humanity and hope and beauty, and I cannot recommend it enough!
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Frontier : the stunning heartfelt science fiction debut
Author: Grace Curtis
In the distant future, climate change has reduced Earth to a hard-scrabble wasteland. Saints and sinners, lawmakers and sheriffs, gunslingers and horse thieves abound. Folk are as diverse and divided as they've ever been - except in their shared suspicions when a stranger comes to town. One night a ship falls from the sky, bringing the planet's first visitor in three hundred years. She's armed, she's scared... and she's looking for someone.
How was I meant to resist a queer sci-fi western described as "perfect for fans of Becky Chambers"? And oh boy did this deliver. I loved the way the main character isn't named for most of the book and instead ends up described in various ways by each of the different characters she meets along the way, it feels very western-y to have your protagonist simply be referred to as "The Stranger" or "The Stowaway".
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The Pairing
Author: Casey McQuiston
Two bisexual exes, one unforgettably hot summer...
Theo and Kit have been childhood best friends, crushes, lovers and, after a brutal breakup four years ago, estranged exes. It’s not until Theo and Kit are trapped on board a tour bus that they discover that they’ve each had the same idea: to take their dream European food and wine tour – alone. And now they’re stuck with each other for three weeks of the most romantic sights and sensuous flavours of France, Spain, and Italy. But it’ll be fine. They’re absolutely over each other. So, when Theo suggests a friendly wager to see who can sleep with their hot Italian tour guide first, Kit is game. In fact, why stop there? Why not a full-on European hookup competition? But sometimes a taste of everything only makes you crave what you can’t have.
The Pairing is probably the hottest queer rom-com I've read, and I loved every moment! The food descriptions are mouth-watering, the second-chance romance is adorable, and the settings are so well-written that it feels like you're right there! It's also a really beautiful story of love and intimacy, but fair warning: it's pretty spicy!
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Gideon the Ninth
Author: Tamsyn Muir
Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won't set her free without a service. Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will be become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon's sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die. Of course, some things are better left dead.
Gideon The Ninth is absolutely worth all the hype it gets! A book about necromancers and their loyal warrior bodyguards exploring an ancient space palace full of dark experiments? Brilliant. With a lovable main character, a wonderful sense of humour, and a heart-breakingly perfect ending, there's a lot to love about this book! Read it! It's so good!
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Legends & Lattes
Author: Travis Baldree
After decades of adventuring, Viv the orc barbarian is finally hanging up her sword for good. Now she sets her sights on a new dream - for she plans to open the first coffee shop in the city of Thune. Even though no one there knows what coffee actually is. If Viv wants to put the past behind her, she can't go it alone. And help might arrive from unexpected quarters. Yet old rivals and new stand in the way of success. And Thune's shady underbelly could make it all too easy for Viv to take up the blade once more. But the true reward of the uncharted path is the travellers you meet along the way. Whether bound by ancient magic, delicious pastries or a freshly brewed cup, they may become something deeper than Viv ever could have imagined.
Legends & Lattes is the cosy fantasy novel we all need. The whole thing just absolutely has the vibe of sitting in a nice cosy coffee shop with a warm cup of coffee and a good book, and I love it so much. So rest assured it is absolutely worth the hype. It's such a lovely and wholesome story, with low stakes and good vibes. The romance is super cute, the whole concept of a retiring adventurer opening up a cosy coffee shop is incredible, and the found family vibes are immaculate.
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Stone Blind : longlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2023
Author: Natalie Haynes
Medusa is the sole mortal in a family of gods. Growing up with her Gorgon sisters, she begins to realize that she is the only one who experiences change, the only one who can be hurt. And her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her family will never know. When the sea god Poseidon commits an unforgivable act in the temple of Athene, the goddess takes her revenge where she can - and Medusa is changed forever. Writhing snakes replace her hair, and her gaze now turns any living creature to stone. The power cannot be controlled: Medusa can look at nothing without destroying it. She is condemned to a life of shadows and darkness. Until Perseus embarks upon a quest to fetch the head of a Gorgon...
Stone Blind is an incredibly powerful book. With Haynes’ trademark wit, and some absolutely beautiful writing, Medusa’s story is explored in a new light. Haynes doesn’t hold back at all in Stone Blind, and the brutal honesty with which she handles characters often considered “heroic” (I’m looking at you, Perseus) is brilliant. With a core theme of what it means to be a “monster” and what it means to be “beautiful”, Stone Blind is gripping from beginning to end and might just be Haynes’ best work yet.
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Children of Time : Winner of the 2016 Arthur C. Clarke Award
Author: Adrian Tchaikovsky
The last remnants of the human race have left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age – a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But all is not right in this new Eden. In the long years since the planet was abandoned, its new occupiers have turned it from a refuge into mankind's worst nightmare. Now two civilizations are on a collision course, both testing the boundaries of what they will do to survive. As the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, who will emerge as the rightful heirs of this new Earth?
Children of Time might just be the most original sci-fi book I've ever read! It is absolutely mind-blowingly good, and truly unique. I loved the evolutionary storytelling in particular, no wonder I've heard so much about Adrian Tchaikovsky! If you like fantasy, I also really recommend his Shadows of the Apt series, starting with Empire in Black and Gold! It's proper classic chunky fantasy, so if that's your thing then don't skip it!
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