Here’s a bugbear of mine about the bookish internet: many times, people will call a book “underrated” or “little known” when they’re one of the most-read books in the world. There is an unfathomable amount of literature being put out every year, and most of it gets very little attention. So many incredible books don’t get the readership they deserve. So, if you’re going to claim to be recommending hidden gem titles, you better deliver. That’s why I started The Best Books You’ve Never Heard Of series.
All of the titles I’ve highlighted in this list have under 1,000 Goodreads ratings. Most have under 500. They’re all personal favorites of mine, and they include sci-fi/fantasy, memoirs, short stories, graphic novels, history, manga, and more.
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Awakened by A.E. Osworth
To be fair, this book hasn’t been out for long, so I’m hoping it will find its audience. When I heard that Awakened was about a coven of trans witches that fight an evil AI, it immediately rose to the top of my most-anticipated list. I’m happy to say it lived up to those expectations, from its dedication—”For everyone who feels betrayed by J.K. Rowling”—to its final page. The whimsical narrator makes for a fun contrast to the cynical main character, reluctantly adjusting to their new powers. Each of the members of this coven is complex and multifaceted, making their slow progression into a chosen family feel satisfying and realistic. Yes, this is a fantastic read for ex-Harry Potter fans, but it’s so much more than that.
The Black Fantastic: 20 Afrofuturist Stories edited André M. Carrington
There’s so much variety in this collection, with many different takes on speculative fiction. The introduction talks about the significance of Afrofuturism, and how it’s about not just escapism, but imagining new possibilities.
It also talks about how the authors in this collection have won “virtually every prize conferred in the genre fiction community: the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, Shirley Jackson, Bram Stoker, Tiptree/Otherwise, and World Fantasy Awards.” There are vampires, superheroes, aliens, sentient orbs, and so much more. Some stories are dark, while others are humorous, like a game of baseball against aliens deciding the fate of humanity. I recommend this to any SFF reader.
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The Black Period: On Personhood, Race, and Origin by Hafizah Augustus Geter
I read this 2022 release as a judge for the Lambda Literary Awards, and it absolutely blew my mind. This is a poet’s memoir, which is always a good sign, and it also includes 70+ paintings and illustrations by the author’s father. This book weaves together personal writing and political, historical reflections. It traces back her experiences, including with racism and homophobia, to their roots, showing how they are inextricably tied to the bloody history of the United States. I truly don’t feel like I can do this book about living as a queer, Black, Muslim, disabled person in America justice talking about it, but it’s thought-provoking and beautifully written. I expected it to get a ton of critical attention, so I’m disappointed that it’s flown under the radar.
Buffalo Is the New Buffalo by Chelsea Vowel
This is a collection of Métis futurism stories that rejects the concept that “education is the new buffalo” and instead imagines how Métis worldviews have survived colonialism in the past and present, and how they can influence the future. Each of them is accompanied by an essay that explains the author’s writing process and research behind them. This is one of the most thought-provoking collections I’ve ever read, and I will pick up anything Vowel writes next.
Crip Kinship: The Disability Justice & Art Activism of Sins Invalid by Shayda Kafai
Sins Invalid, is a disability justice performance project founded in 2006 in San Francisco that pushes back against disability spaces that centre white, straight, and cisgender people. Performances celebrate the sexuality of queer, trans, fat, and BIPOC bodies. This book offers an example of how to organize in a way that considers all people’s needs and accessibility while recognizing how messy that process is. Part history, part manifesto, this is a must read.
Matchmaker by Cam Marshall
If you love Heartstopper but would like to read a story about queer love and friendship following characters in their twenties instead of teens, you need to pick up Matchmaker. It follows Kimmy, a genderfluid trans lesbian, and their roommate Mason, a cis gay guy. Kimmy is an unforgettable character: they’re bubbly and supportive, trying to set up Mason after his boyfriend dumps him. This is a slice-of-life comic that has such a great queer friendship group, as well as a cute friends-to-lovers romance.
The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle: Vol. 1 by Kent Monkman and Gisele Gordon
This two-volume story is a queer, Cree telling of the history of Turtle Island, especially “Canada.” It’s funny, heartbreaking, and educational, packed full of citations but told through the fictional figure of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle, a shapeshifting queer form who guides us through this history. Interspersed are paintings by Kent Monkman, like the one on the cover. Sure, it’s particularly of interest to Canadians, but I’d recommend it to anyone.
Soara and the House of Monsters, Vol. 1 by Hidenori Yamaji
Do you remember those kids’ books with the cutaway illustrations, like Stephen Biesty’s Incredible Cross-Sections? This manga series uses that style to explore fantasy architecture. Don’t expect all coziness, though: the main character was trained from childhood to be a ruthless soldier in the war with monsters, only to graduate into a world that just declared peace. She falls in with a group of dwarf architects building homes for monsters, and she slowly begins to unlearn what she’s been taught about “the enemy”.
Thyme Travellers: An Anthology of Palestinian Speculative Fiction edited by Sonia Sulaiman
This is a timely collection of speculative fiction stories by Palestinian authors that explores the reality of Israel’s military control over Palestine—though these stories were all written before the summer of 2023. This is not only a relevant read that offers a different way into Palestinian literature, though: it’s also a stunning speculative short story collection in its own right. Some stories act as metaphor, others dive into sci-fi and fantasy. One story about being an NPC in someone else simulation has one of the most memorable and effective scenes I’ve ever read in a short story. I can’t believe this doesn’t have more readers.
Looking for more little-known gems? Check out the previous editions of The Best Books You’ve Never Heard Of!
English (US) · 