A recent read that inspired my sci-fi writing was Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir, a book about lesbian necromancers in space.

If that wasn’t reason enough, the protagonist brings a strong narrative voice to the scene. Though initially offputting because she is a self-declared asshole, Gideon quickly becomes quite endearing. In addition, I was quickly enamored with the story and its sequels because of two of Muir’s phenomonal writing skills:

1. Aesthetics
2. Hate-F*** Energy

As I read the book, questions kept occuring to me, like ‘why are they using swords in space?’ While most of the questions were eventually answered, this particular one was left with a simple unstated justification: because it’s cool.

And it is.

A lot of books and even more media does things ‘because it’s cool’, but this one pulls it off. The story and its sunglasses-wearing, face-paint-dripping, loveable-asshole protagonist uses both elegant and shockingly unique descriptions on a regular basis. I found it fresh and grounding both for the character’s voice and the setting in general. Every page adds to the semi-apocalyptic world that strives to be a haven for goth magicians and their noble duelists. Every fight scene was cinemagraphic. It was inspiring, and I hope to write a book drenched in as many engaging aesthetics as this one.

Then there’s the love-hate energy.

Everyone loves a good enemy-to-lovers plot, and this is no exception, though perhaps not as straight forward. The trope is becoming more commonplace, and sometimes the relationship can feel forced or outright ridiculous. Muir’s dialogue is particularly good as every line expresses an unquenchable hate on the surface but suggests at something more lying beneath. The feelings are palpable, and watching the characters fall in love without realizing it made me giddy.

At the end of the day, these two ideas boil down to simple setting and romance, but as with everything, the devil is in the details. They are the lifeblood of the story, and when they make the characters feel tangible despite the space-opera premise, you know the author is doing something right.