tl;dr: something with the murderbot / hexarchate / locked-tomb kind of vibe
I’m after something sweet but astringent to bite down on; this is the general tone I’m almost always looking for, and I’ve mined out most of the obvious seams of the stuff.
I don’t mind whether it’s fantasy or SF, I just want a chunk of emotional intelligence mixed with harsh conflict - with a modern, progressive take if possible.
LGBTQ-themed stuff tends to be good at this in my experience, but I’m not fussed either way. I’m not after romance/smut for its own sake, but it’s fine as part of a bigger picture.
Suggestions?
I’m not sure that these are the best suggestions but I figure I can at least offer some that might fill that.
I’m not quite sure it meets your needs, but Fred the Vampire Accountant is kind of up this alley. I’ll warn you that the first little bit feels very much like vignettes, and the solutions are a little bit too convenient but that beginning pays off later in the book series.
Naomi Novik‘s Scholomance series has this.
The Library at Mount Char isn’t a series and there’s a little bit more WTF-energy, but it’s somewhat up this alley.
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This probably doesn’t actually match your needs because it’s not told in a very modern or progressive way. But The Stainless Steel Rat series is my go-to for cozy, and stabby.
The White Rat books by T. Kingfisher are a bit more romanticy, but they are pretty stabby and cozy too.
I can recommend the hyperion cantos by dan simmons. 4 books and a couple of short stories, so they will last for a while…
