Recommendations based on How Long 'til Black Future Month?by N.K. Jemisin

* statistically, based on millions of data-points provided by fellow humans

  1. The Obelisk Gate

    by N.K. Jemisin
    A magical journey of survival, facing cosmic forces that threaten the universe.

    The story is told primarily from the perspectives of Essun, a powerful orogene driven out of her home at the beginning of the first book, and Nassun, her adolescent daughter. Schaffa, Essun's former ... (Wikipedia)

  2. Rogue Protocol

    by Martha Wells
    Murderbot investigates a corporation's illegal experiments on humans while protecting a group of scientists.

    SciFi’s favorite antisocial A.I. is again on a mission. The case against the too-big-to-fail GrayCris Corporation is floundering, and more importantly, authorities are beginning to ask more questions ... (Goodreads)

  3. The Killing Moon

    by N.K. Jemisin
    In a land where dreams are currency, a priestess and a prince must stop a corrupt ruler from sacrificing innocent lives.

    THE CITY BURNED BENEATH THE DREAMING MOON In the ancient city-state of Gujaareh, peace is the only law. Upon its rooftops and among the shadows of its cobbled streets wait the Gatherers - the keepers ... (Goodreads)

  4. Parable of the Talents

    by Octavia E. Butler
    A post-apocalyptic tale of survival, exploring themes of faith and power.

    Parable of the Talents is told from the points of view of Lauren Oya Olamina and her daughter Larkin Olamina/Asha Vere. The novel consists of journal entries by Lauren and passages by Asha Vere. Four ... (Wikipedia)

  5. Record of a Spaceborn Few

    by Becky Chambers
    A group of humans, the last of their kind, struggle to maintain their culture and way of life aboard a fleet of aging spaceships.

    Centuries after the last humans left Earth, the Exodus Fleet is a living relic, a place many are from but few outsiders have seen. Humanity has finally been accepted into the galactic community, but ... (Goodreads)

  6. Artificial Condition

    by Martha Wells
    Murderbot, a rogue security unit, investigates its past and uncovers a conspiracy. Action-packed sci-fi adventure with a relatable protagonist.

    A, USA Today, bestseller,The "I love Murderbot!" —Ann Leckie, Artificial Condition, is the follow-up to Martha Wells's Hugo, Nebula, Alex, and Locus Award-winning,, New York Times, bestselling, All ... (Barnes & Noble)

  7. Every Heart a Doorway

    by Seanan McGuire
    A portal fantasy exploring the stories of children who have ventured through magical doorways and returned to the mundane world.

    Rarely, children may find doorways which transport them to other worlds. As a child, Nancy found a doorway that led her to the land of the dead, based on the story of Persephone and Hades . When she ... (Wikipedia)

  8. Autonomous

    by Annalee Newitz
    A thrilling sci-fi adventure of a near-future world, exploring the morality of robots and AI.

    Autonomous features a rakish female pharmaceutical pirate named Jack who traverses the world in her own submarine. A notorious anti-patent scientist who has styled herself as a Robin Hood heroine ... (Goodreads)

  9. An Unkindness of Ghosts

    by Rivers Solomon
    A powerful story of survival, set on a generational spaceship, as a young woman fights to free herself from oppressive social structures.

    Odd-mannered, obsessive, withdrawn, Aster has little to offer folks in the way of rebuttal when they call her ogre and freak. She's used to the names; she only wishes there was more truth to them. If ... (Goodreads)

  10. Station Eleven

    by Emily St. John Mandel
    Post-apocalyptic exploration of a world drastically changed after a pandemic.

    An audacious, darkly glittering novel set in the eerie days of civilization’s collapse,, Station Eleven, tells the spellbinding story of a Hollywood star, his would-be savior, and a nomadic group of ... (Barnes & Noble)

  11. A Closed and Common Orbit

    by Becky Chambers
    A robot's adventures in a strange new world as she discovers her true identity.

    Lovelace was once merely a ship's artificial intelligence. When she wakes up in an new body, following a total system shut-down and reboot, she has no memory of what came before. As Lovelace learns ... (Goodreads)

  12. Her Body and Other Parties: Stories

    by Carmen Maria Machado
    Collection of surreal stories exploring the complexities of gender, sexuality and identity.

    In Her Body and Other Parties , Carmen Maria Machado blithely demolishes the arbitrary borders between psychological realism and science fiction, comedy and horror, fantasy and fabulism. While her ... (Goodreads)

  13. All Systems Red

    by Martha Wells
    Murderbot navigates a dangerous world while struggling to maintain its own autonomy.

    "As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure." In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are ... (Goodreads)

  14. Parable of the Sower

    by Octavia E. Butler
    A post-apocalyptic story of survival, hope, and the power of community.

    This highly acclaimed post-apocalyptic novel of hope and terror from award-winning author Octavia E. Butler "pairs well with, 1984, or, The Handmaid's Tale," (John Green,, New York Times,)–now with a ... (Barnes & Noble)

  15. The Farthest Shore

    by Ursula K. Le Guin
    A quest to save a magical kingdom from a mysterious force of darkness.

    A strange, inexplicable malaise is spreading throughout Earthsea. Magic is losing its power; songs are being forgotten; people and animals are sickening or going mad. Accompanied by Arren, the young ... (Wikipedia)

  16. Juliet Takes a Breath

    by Gabby Rivera
    A young Puerto Rican woman's journey of self-discovery, exploring her identity and sexuality.

    Juliet Milagros Palante is leaving the Bronx and headed to Portland, Oregon. She just came out to her family and isn’t sure if her mom will ever speak to her again. But Juliet has a plan, sort of, ... (Goodreads)

  17. Binti

    by Nnedi Okorafor
    A journey of self-discovery for a young African girl as she confronts xenophobia, racism, and alien cultures.

    A young woman named Binti is the first member of the Himba ethnic group on Earth (closely modeled on the Himba people ) , to be accepted into the prestigious intergalactic university Oomza Uni. Upon ... (Wikipedia)

  18. Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell

    by Susanna Clarke
    A whimsical tale of two magicians mastering the mysteries of English magic.

    The novel opens in 1806 in northern England with The Learned Society of York Magicians, whose members are "theoretical magicians" who believe that magic died out several hundred years earlier. The ... (Wikipedia)

  19. Space Opera

    by Catherynne M. Valente
    A space adventure filled with music, love, and drama. Follow a group of misfits as they save the universe from destruction.

    IN SPACE EVERYONE CAN HEAR YOU SING A century ago, the Sentience Wars tore the galaxy apart and nearly ended the entire concept of intelligent space-faring life. In the aftermath, a curious tradition ... (Goodreads)

  20. The Miseducation of Cameron Post

    by Emily M. Danforth
    A teenage girl's struggle to find acceptance in a society that does not accept her.

    The Miseducation of Cameron Post begins in the summer of 1989 in Miles City, Montana, when protagonist and narrator Cameron Post is 12 years old. Cameron has been shoplifting and kissing her friend ... (Wikipedia)

  21. Another Brooklyn

    by Jacqueline Woodson
    A poetic story of four teenage girls growing up in Brooklyn in the 1970s.

    The story starts with August, an adult anthropologist, returning to New York to bury her father. On the subway, she encounters an old friend, and begins to reminisce. She remembers being an 8 year ... (Wikipedia)

  22. Trail of Lightning

    by Rebecca Roanhorse
    In a post-apocalyptic world, a monster hunter with supernatural powers must track down a killer while confronting her own past.

    In the 21st century, a worldwide flood caused by multiple earthquakes along the New Madrid fault line destroys most of the United States as magic returns to the world. Dinétah becomes an independent ... (Wikipedia)

  23. The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet

    by Becky Chambers
    An intergalactic adventure filled with unlikely friendships and epic space battles.

    Follow a motley crew on an exciting journey through space-and one adventurous young explorer who discovers the meaning of family in the far reaches of the universe-in this light-hearted debut space ... (Goodreads)

  24. Gideon the Ninth

    by Tamsyn Muir
    Gideon, a swordswoman, competes in a deadly game of puzzles and challenges to become an immortal servant. But dark secrets lurk in the shadows.

    Gideon the Ninth is set in a galactic empire of nine planets, each ruled by a noble house that practices its own unique type of necromancy . Although advanced technology exists, the Nine Houses ... (Wikipedia)

  25. This Is How You Lose the Time War

    by Amal El-Mohtar
    Two time-traveling agents from warring factions fall in love through letters, risking everything to be together.

    Among the ashes of a dying world, an agent of the Commandant finds a letter. It reads: Burn before reading. Thus begins an unlikely correspondence between two rival agents hellbent on securing the ... (Goodreads)

  26. Foundryside

    by Robert Jackson Bennett
    A thief discovers a magical artifact that could change the world, but it comes with a dangerous price.

    Sancia Grado is a thief, and a damn good one. And her latest target, a heavily guarded warehouse on Tevanne’s docks, is nothing her unique abilities can’t handle. But unbeknownst to her, Sancia’s ... (Goodreads)

  27. We Have Always Lived in the Castle

    by Shirley Jackson
    A family isolated from society, struggling to cope with prejudice and tragedy.

    My name is Mary Katherine Blackwood. I am eighteen years old, and I live with my sister Constance. I have often thought that with any luck at all I could have been born a werewolf, because the two ... (Goodreads)

  28. The Night Masquerade

    by Nnedi Okorafor
    The final installment of the Binti trilogy, as she returns to Earth to face her family and the traditions she left behind.

    The Night Masquerade received a starred review from Booklist . It recommended reading Binti" and Home first, but went on to praise Okorafor's "painterly imagery" to reach a satisfying ending to the ... (Wikipedia)

  29. Kindred

    by Octavia E. Butler
    A modern woman is thrown back in time, forced to confront the harsh realities of slavery.

    Kindred scholars have noted that the novel's chapter headings suggest something "elemental, apocalyptic, archetypal about the events in the narrative," thus giving the impression that the main ... (Wikipedia)

  30. The Left Hand of Darkness

    by Ursula K. Le Guin
    A diplomat's mission to a distant planet, exploring themes of gender and identity.

    The protagonist of the novel is Genly Ai, a male Terran native, who is sent to invite the planet Gethen to join the Ekumen, a coalition of humanoid worlds. , Ai travels to the Gethen planetary system ... (Wikipedia)