November is Native American Heritage Month! I realize it’s also Sci-Fi month, and I would have loved to do a post dedicated just to Native American Science Fiction, but sadly I could only find a couple of authors, so I am broadening this to include Fantasy.
I do plan to read a couple books this month by Native American authors- and I wanted to share some of the ones on my TBR, and a couple books I’ve already read, in case anyone else is planning on checking out some Native American authors also.
Storm of Locusts by Rebecca Roanhorse – This is the second book in Roanhorse’s Sixth World series. I did struggle a bit with Trail of Lightning, there were some things I wanted explained a little better and the plot was more loose than I would have liked, but the world building and mythology were all really cool! Maggie Hoskie is a monster hunter in a post apocalyptic world. I would like to continue the series some time. I do suggest everyone check out Roanhorse’s short story, Welcome to Your Authentic Indian Experience, which is one of the more brilliant works of short fiction I’ve read in the past couple years.
Love Beyond Body, Space & Time Edited by Hope Nichols – This is an anthology about Native American two-spirit characters. I will be honest and say I’m not sure if 100% of the stories are #ownvoices, but I believe at least one of them is. It was put up for a couple of literary awards last year, which is how it made it on to my radar.
The Marrow Thieves by Cherie Dimaline – This has also been on my radar for a year or so. It’s a YA novel set in a future world ravaged by climate change. Everyone with the exception of Native Americans have lost the ability to dream, and their marrow holds the cure for the non-dreamers. Now they are being hunted down and made into unwilling marrow donors. I think I’ve been putting it off, because it sounds really dark, but it’s fairly highly rated on GoodReads, and has won several literary awards.
Future Home of the Living God by Louise Erdrich – Another #ownvoices book about a world where babies are stillborn due to genetic deformities making them very large and difficult to birth. The term the book used is “reverse evolution”. We are shown the story of Cedar Hawk Songmaker as she is pregnant, and must hide it from the wider world, lest she be abducted and her (hopefully healthy) baby stolen. Unfortunately, this wasn’t a good book for me, because the ending was largely ambiguous, which I dislike, but I wanted to share because it has the potential to be an excellent book for someone else.
Almanac of the Dead by Leslie Marmon Silko – This is also #ownvoices! I have no excuse for not having read it yet, since I actually do own this one. This is a fantasy retelling of the history of Native American people told from the POV of Native people.
Mapping the Interior by Stephen Graham Jones – Stephen Graham Jones has been popping up on my radar quite a bit with his upcoming release: The Only Good Indians (which looks amazing!). In the meantime, I plan to read this novella about a boy haunted by the ghost of his father.
Flight by Sherman Alexie – About a young boy of Native American heritage that is flung backward through time as he is about to commit an act of violence. I am hoping to get to this sometime this month, along with a couple others mentioned above.
Are you planning on reading any of these? Do you have any other Native American authors to recommend?
Wow, so many new books to check out! I really like the sound of Marrow Thieves. The concept is interesting and I’d love to see what the ending is like 😊 awesome list Sarah!! Jen
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The Marrow Thieves does sound awesome and has very positive reviews. I’m hoping to check it out soon so I’ll let you know if the ending is decent!
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Thank you!! I’ll keep an eye out for your review 😀
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I didn’t know this was Native American Heritage Month! I’m not sure I would be able to come up with a list even half this size, which is a shame. Ooh how about Alexie’s The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian? That is supposed to be amazing, and also won some awards.
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It is a shame there aren’t more Native American authors out there. I have been meaning to try Alexie for awhile so I will definitely check that one out! I wasn’t originally planning on reading Flight this month but in putting this list together, it’s only 170 pages or so so I think I’ll try to sneak it in. I think it even counts for SF month since it’s time travel!
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Very nice list! I’ve also been meaning to continue on with Rebecca Roanhorse’s series; I really liked the urban fantasy vibe the first book gave off.
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Yes- the vibes were good. I think for me I just wanted a tighter plot. I felt like there were a few threads that didn’t lead anywhere. Maybe they’ll turn up in book two!
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I own but haven’t yet read Trail of Lightning, but I hope to get to it soon. And I loved Roanhorse’s Welcome To Your Authentic Indian Experience! So well written.
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I agree! I absolutely fell in love with that story when I read it. Very meta. At least I think that’s what that word means. I’m probably using it wrong. lol
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Lovely post matey. I haven’t read any of Roanhorse’s work yet but I mean too. I will add the short story to the list too. Thanks!
x The Captain
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Thank you! I hope you do get a chance to check out the story, it really was awesome. I was less excited about Trail of Lightning, and it was even more disappointing after finding out what she was capable of doing with short fiction, but I’m trying to remain optimistic about Storm of Locusts. I’ve heard it gets better.
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Good luck with your TBR! I have only heard amazing things about Love Beyond Body, Space & Time as well, and I did really like one of the stories I was able to find published somewhere else online (Né łe! by Darcie Little Badger, a cute f/f romance in space).
I hope Storm of Locusts ends up being good – I plan to read the first book this month and I honestly don’t know what to expect, I don’t have much experience with anything post-apocalyptic.
And I hadn’t heard about Mapping the Interior, but it sounds so intriguing.
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Trail of Lightning was one of my best recent discoveries, and the focus on Native American culture ended up being one of the most fascinating themes of the story. Having added Storm of Locusts to my TBR recently, I quite look forward to seeing how the story progresses 🙂
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I’m glad you enjoyed it! I am hopeful for Storm of Locusts. I’ve heard it’s quicker paced and more tightly written than Trail of Lightning.
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Love this list, Sarah! I only really had Mapping the Interior on my list, I believe, and it was because of another ex-blogger (Danielle from Books, Vertigo and Tea, if you know her). The rest sounds just as interesting.
I feel like I have a duty of reading books with Native Americans considering their history with Canadians hahah
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I definitely understand! I hope you get a chance to check out one or two of them! In putting this list together I was saddened there weren’t many books/authors out there to choose from. I also realized later that I left out one other: Daniel H. Wilson’s Robopocalypse. I don’t know how you’d feel about that one, but figured I’d leave it here in case you wanted to check his stuff out too!
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