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#fallforbooksmugglers Day 13: SFF Must Read Oh look, I'm cheating again! 4 for the price of one here. Yes, I know I already mentioned The Black Gods Drums by P Djeli Clark, but here's why it's a Must Read: it's a New Orleans based steampunk-ish alternate history featuring 2 female leads - Creeper, a teenager who lives on the streets, has an old god in her head, and dreams of flying away in an airship, and Captain Ann-Marie, a disabled airship captain, who also has an old god in her head! There are several other female characters with different skills and backgrounds as well. Next up is Barsk: The Elephant's Graveyard by Lawrence M Schoen is far-future SF in which humans no longer exist, and planets across the distant star systems are inhabited by animals who are sentient beings who walk and talk and science and explore. (They're the descendants of animals experimented on by human beings.) This is not your usual space opera, especially as one of the protagonists is neuro-atypical and considered by many to be an abomination. Thirdly, When the Letter Comes by Sara Fox is a terrific short story about what happens when you are the one left behind when your sibling goes off to Magic school. Henry is a trans character who's lived her whole life waiting for her letter inviting her to attend magic school, but when it arrives it's not addressed to her. This is such a beautiful, gripping, and thought-provoking tale. Finally I want to recommend Small Gods by Terry Pratchett, which is a great stand-alone entry point for Discworld, especially for those who are intimidated by the sheer number of books Pterry wrote! It's about religion, faith (not at all the same thing), philosophy, revolution, and totalitarianism. But it also has humour and heart, and is a great, thought-provoking read. #bookstagram #terrypratchett #sarafox #lawrencemschoen #pdjeliclark https://www.instagram.com/p/Bo3JXVnhxD5/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1rbek02wp2j2d