Ice Planet Barbarians-esque
December 28, 2021 7:06 AM Subscribe
If you had told me a month ago that I would have plowed through a 22 book alien romance/erotica series (plus 15 book spin-off series), I would not have believed you. But here I am, having finished Ruby Dixon’s Ice Planet Barbarians and Icehome series, and wanting more. The romance stuff is beside the point: what I love about the series is that it shows a tight knit community, its trials and tribulations, from multiple perspectives, and how it changes over time. What other series can I read that scratches that itch?
Hm, you might like Lois McMaster Nujold's The Sharing Knife series. It's four books (I think only four?) but it lives very much in that intersection of spec-fic and romance where the worldbuilding and community structure is as important as the one-to-one relationships.
posted by restless_nomad at 7:53 AM on December 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by restless_nomad at 7:53 AM on December 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
I've heard that the Murderbot books scratch this same itch (though I'm still awaiting the first one via my library's hold system).
posted by BlahLaLa at 10:01 AM on December 28, 2021
posted by BlahLaLa at 10:01 AM on December 28, 2021
Seanan McGuire/Mira Grant writes spectacular family relationships in all of her universes, but in particular in her Incryptid universe, which also rotates narrators between books and short stories, really relies on the familial and community relationships and how those relationships change over time.
posted by joycehealy at 10:34 AM on December 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by joycehealy at 10:34 AM on December 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Well, there’s Pern.
Possibly the source of my desire for such books. I was obsessed with Pern at 13.
posted by ocherdraco at 11:44 AM on December 28, 2021
Possibly the source of my desire for such books. I was obsessed with Pern at 13.
posted by ocherdraco at 11:44 AM on December 28, 2021
I’ll second Lois McMaster Bujold (although I prefer her VorKosigan series or Penric & Desdemona series).
Becky Chambers is a newer favorite of mine - I think she’s great at close knit alien communities.
Maybe also the Binti series by Nnendi Okorafor.
I’m not sure how these compare because I haven’t read Ruby Dixon (but now I’m going to check her out!).
posted by Kriesa at 11:56 AM on December 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
Becky Chambers is a newer favorite of mine - I think she’s great at close knit alien communities.
Maybe also the Binti series by Nnendi Okorafor.
I’m not sure how these compare because I haven’t read Ruby Dixon (but now I’m going to check her out!).
posted by Kriesa at 11:56 AM on December 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
Cherryh’s Chanur series, although you’ve probably read them. Many of her long series, now that I think of it - Foreigner &ff. is well over a dozen novels now. Also it centers diplomacy rather than war, which I appreciate.
posted by clew at 12:31 PM on December 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by clew at 12:31 PM on December 28, 2021 [1 favorite]
Response by poster: Ooh! I actually haven’t read any Cherryh!
I will also note for anyone thinking of checking out IPB or Ruby Dixon in general: it is unabashedly smut, and very hetero focused (she’s got a niche and it involves blue alien himbos with thorough descriptions of anatomy and how it is used). Also the first IPB book has rape as an early plot point. However! As a sexual assault survivor myself, I actually really appreciated that some of her heroines are survivors and go on to have relationships on their own terms.
posted by ocherdraco at 1:39 PM on December 28, 2021
I will also note for anyone thinking of checking out IPB or Ruby Dixon in general: it is unabashedly smut, and very hetero focused (she’s got a niche and it involves blue alien himbos with thorough descriptions of anatomy and how it is used). Also the first IPB book has rape as an early plot point. However! As a sexual assault survivor myself, I actually really appreciated that some of her heroines are survivors and go on to have relationships on their own terms.
posted by ocherdraco at 1:39 PM on December 28, 2021
Cj Cherryh is a fantastic writer in my opinion
posted by Jacen at 10:37 PM on December 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Jacen at 10:37 PM on December 28, 2021 [3 favorites]
The Shannara series isn't about a community exactly, but tracks the world through a lot of changes and rebuilding, in a similar way to some of Feist's work
posted by Jacen at 1:43 AM on December 29, 2021
posted by Jacen at 1:43 AM on December 29, 2021
Response by poster: I found this thread on Smart Bitches Trashy Books that’s looking for something similar and thought I’d leave it here for others. The phrase they use is “community based series.”
posted by ocherdraco at 1:05 PM on January 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
posted by ocherdraco at 1:05 PM on January 19, 2022 [1 favorite]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by ocherdraco at 7:07 AM on December 28, 2021