Graphic by Audrey Hanan ’28
BY QUILL NISHI-LEONARD ’27
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
It’s midterm season, and I don’t know about you, but I’ve been desperately searching for an escape from the tragicomedy that is my life on this campus. While I’ve yet to find a proper excuse to avoid studying for my impending exams — I’m personally still holding out hope for an intergalactic quest of some sort — I have found respite in queer science fiction. Some novels, like Ryka Aoki’s “Light from Uncommon Stars” have helped me remember what hope feels like. Others, like Rivers Solomon’s “An Unkindness of Ghosts” have helped me find catharsis.
If you’re in the same situation as me, don’t worry, just start reading! These are three of my favorite novels, so you too can briefly forget about your unfortunate present circumstances. All of these are also available via Mount Holyoke College’s Williston Library, so you can enjoy some great queer sci-fi without breaking the bank.
“Gideon the Ninth” by Tamsyn Muir
For fans of mysteries, the necromantic arts, swordfighting, sarcasm and/or lesbianism, I recommend “Gideon the Ninth.” I’m honestly not quite sure how to describe “Gideon the Ninth,” but I think it’s the kind of book people either love or hate.
The novel is narrated by teenaged swordfighter Gideon Nav, who imbues the text with equal parts humor, heart and immaturity. Gideon is summoned, alongside her childhood nemesis Harrowhark Nonagesimus, to another planet, where they undergo a series of trials for the alleged betterment of their empire.
Gideon and Harrowhark’s relationship was one of my favorite parts of the story. I genuinely enjoyed watching their relationship with one another unfold over the course of the novel, which is rare; I typically don’t care for romance. To me, “Gideon the Ninth” is just as much a love story as it is a sci-fi mystery.
I know some readers didn’t enjoy Gideon’s narration, but I personally found her wit to be endearing and enjoyable. Gideon might be the indentured swordswoman of the Ninth House, but she’s also 18 years old. Muir doesn’t shy away from this in the same way that other writers sometimes do.
I’m currently a little over halfway through the sequel, “Harrow the Ninth,” and while there is a change in both the narrator and tone — spoiler: “Harrow” is narrated by Harrowhark — the plot, characterization, worldbuilding and prose are just as enthralling as they were in “Gideon.”
A physical copy of “Gideon the Ninth” can be borrowed from the Mount Holyoke College library. Mount Holyoke students who read “Gideon the Ninth” and find themselves enjoying it enough to want more are also in luck; it’s the first book of the “Locked Tomb” series, and the two subsequent books — “Harrow the Ninth” and “Nona the Ninth” — are also carried by the College’s library.
“An Unkindness of Ghosts” by Rivers Solomon
“An Unkindness of Ghosts” by Rivers Solomon is one of my favorite books, full-stop. This standalone novel takes place on the HSS Matilda, a generation ship all of the characters were born and raised on. Nobody is quite sure how long they’ve collectively been on the Matilda, and nobody is quite sure when they’ll be able to disembark. Most expect to spend their entire lives on it, and for many it is a wretched, unjust place.
The Matilda’s name was chosen intentionally by Solomon to reflect the real-life Clotilda, which was the last-known ship to set sail from Africa to the United States with African captives, trafficking 110 enslaved people to the shores of America.
The novel’s setting is heavily spatially stratified; the uppermost decks are primarily inhabited by a white, or white-passing, upper class, while the lowermost decks are populated by Black and dark-skinned people who often do the most strenuous and dangerous work in the worst conditions. The ghosts of slavery, racism, and just about every other system of oppression have survived on board the Matilda, but so too have the ghosts of the ancestors who resisted.
Aster is a healer, a gardener, a resident of the lower decks and the protagonist of the novel. When she and her sister, Giselle, discover the writings of their dead mother, they are driven to search for answers and a way to create a better life for those who live on the Matilda’s lower decks.
Solomon’s writing style is intricate, intense and heart-wrenching. It wasn’t something I was able to devour in just one sitting. The narrative is permeated by descriptions of violence that can make it difficult to digest at the best of times. But Solomon doesn’t let that violence characterize the novel, or the characters within it; hope, love and resistance are at the forefront of the narrative, more often than not.
The connections the characters have and cultivate between one another, between the past and the present, and between parts of themselves push them forward and enable them to continue fighting against a system of oppression that is quite literally baked into the architecture of their home. Every member of the main cast is a survivor of violence in one way or another, but Solomon’s deliberate and mindful prose maintains their agency and dignity. The violence was incredibly — and I cannot stress this enough — graphic, but it never felt gratuitous to me.
Solomon also isn’t afraid to play with gender, sex, and sexuality: the characters’ identities are all informed by — and sometimes in spite of — the futuristic and dystopian environment of the Matilda, where being gender-diverse is common on the lower decks and heavily stigmatized on the upper decks. When Aster says “I am a boy and a girl and a witch all wrapped into one very strange, flimsy, indecisive body,” she’s connecting with another character, but it felt in that moment as if she had stepped outside of the book to address me as well.
I have never felt more seen, nor more frightened, while reading a novel. I genuinely cannot recommend “An Unkindness of Ghosts” enough.
While the College doesn’t have a physical copy of “An Unkindness of Ghosts” available, it does have it on offer as an e-book! Students can search up “An Unkindness of Ghosts” on the LITS website, similarly to how you would search for an academic article or journal, click “Mount Holyoke: Link to resource” and access the book from ProQuest Ebook Central. For those who would prefer a physical copy, Amherst College has one that Mount Holyoke students can place a request to borrow, also by searching for it on LITS’ website.
“Light from Uncommon Stars” by Ryka Aoki
I went into “Light from Uncommon Stars” not knowing the premise of the story, and it took me about 50 pages to start piecing together what the novel was actually about. Despite the somewhat confusing start, it only took me the first few chapters to fall in love with the novel. I won’t spoil the plot too much here — I think similarly to “Gideon the Ninth,” the less you know, the better — so I’ll keep this review restricted to just the basics.
“Light from Uncommon Stars” is told from the perspective of many different characters, all from vastly different backgrounds, identities and outlooks on life. Katrina Nguyen, a transgender girl, begins the story journeying to the San Gabriel Valley in search of a better life, away from her abusive biological family. She is a talented young violinist, and she quickly garners the attention of Shizuka Satomi, a famous violin teacher who many know as the “Queen of Hell.” A donut shop run by Lan Tran — refugee mother, certified badass and my favorite character — also comes into play. All of them are united by their relative alienness, and their search for friendship, love and acceptance.
For me, the novel felt like a love story to the greater Los Angeles area and the immigrant, queer and queer immigrant families who have made it their home. Growing up outside of Los Angeles, “Light” was an incredibly nostalgic read. Aoki understands the area and has managed to capture it in a way that very few authors are able to. Nothing has made me yearn to be back in California as much as this book has.
While the book does sometimes delve into darker and more uncomfortable subject matter, it is nowhere near as graphic as “An Unkindness of Ghosts,” and is overall a pretty light and fun read. Immersing myself in the simultaneously fantastical and mundane world of “Light” after class was calming and rejuvenating. This book is the equivalent of a kind hug and a reminder that life is worth living. If you’re looking for a warm respite from the current state of affairs, “Light” might be what you’re looking for.
“Light from Uncommon Stars,” like “Gideon the Ninth,” is available at Mount Holyoke College’s library as a physical book.
Karishma Ramkarran ’27, Leah Dutcher ’28, and Whitney White ’28 contributed fact-checking.
