Some of the Science Fiction/Fantasy that Shaped Me
Joan Slonczewski, A Door Into Ocean
A young man from the stratified society of Valedon leaves his home to join the post-human Sharers of the ocean world of Shora. The people of Valedon live with wealth and gender inequality. The people of Shora are all women and practice strict nonviolence and anarchism. The Sharers resist efforts to bring the planet under patriarchal control.
Lessons: Door Into Ocean was among the first books that reflected my views on spirituality, anarchism, nonviolence, and ecofeminism.
Ursula le Guin, Lathe of Heaven
George Orr is a man whose dreams can shape reality. Orr comes under the care of Dr. William Haber, who tries to manipulate Orr's powers to create the perfect world. Haber's attempts to change reality at a large scale create dystopian worlds shaped by plagues, eugenics, and loss of individual freedoms.
Lessons: I read Lathe as a bit like A Wizard of Earthsea for adults. It's a great meditation on the consequences of action without understanding.
Becky Chambers, A Closed and Common Orbit
This immediately follows the events of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet. The rebooted AI, Lovelace, has lost all memories of her crew and her human lover. To ease their grief, she consents to being transferred to an illegal android body, takes the name Sidra, and explores a new way of being under the guidance of her guardian, Pepper.
In the past, a young labor clone named Jane escapes from captivity into a junkyard. She finds a scrapped shuttle, befriends its AI and tries to repair it to escape the planet.
Lessons: This book came about the time I seriously started questioning my own neurodivergence and relationship with my body. Sidra struggles with the limits of her android senses, while Pepper/Jane are shaped by trauma and hyperfocus. Sidra is forced to mask as a human in order to avoid deactivation. Many of these themes are explored in The Murderbot Diaries, but Closed and Common Orbit is lower in tension and closer to my heart. Speaking of androids...
Janelle Monáe, "Many Moons" and Dirty Computer
Lessons: "Many Moons" was an audacious first look at a talented artist who could combine science fiction, dance, and a half-dozen musical styles. And yes, many of us saw the queer subtext that Monáe wasn't ready to openly express at the time.
Dirty Computer pulls many of the Archandroid themes together, contrasting the dystopian social control against a utopian queer underground that's diverse and deeply spiritual.
Star Trek
I've been a Star Trek fan since I was around 5 years old. I've not been able to watch every iteration as it came out, but I have watched and rewatched most eventually. I even started a relationship by talking Trek with someone at a gay bar. Star Trek a big enough adventure to offer new ideas as I've grown. These days my favorite character arcs involve Seven of Nine and Dax.
The Problematic Ones
There are some authors who were important to my growth at one time, but I've grown away from them over time. Sheri Tepper was important for getting me into feminist science fiction, especially Raising the Stones, and Sideshow. However she comes with strong elements of biological essentialism and eugenics that I can't ignore.
Neil Gaiman's Sandman is possibly the most important example for me. Sandman was important for my transition from mainstream comics with inconsistent plot development and frequent retcons and resets. Two stories within the series, Calliope and August were especially important for me as a sexual assault provider. Allegations against Gaiman are significant enough to be taken seriously, and I've not been able to engage with those works.
For other people the Harry Potter series is a line due to the author's continued support of anti-trans politics in the UK. I've never had a strong relationship with the Potter franchise, which is why it's not listed here.