The Extra-Planetary Majority
sci-fi visions of BIPOC cultures on other planets or in space. recommendations always welcome!
created by kishmish
last updated May, 2026
Comments
I feel like some of Le Guins Hainish cycle would belong on here! Love this list đ„°đ„°
kishmishOP
Thanks! Yes, I think youâre right about that. Do you know which ones would fit best? Iâve only read The Dispossessed and that was quite a while ago. đ
If I remember correctly, her collection Five Ways to Forgiveness primarily follows the descendants of slaves and slave owners on two planets, and it is a very hard hitting collection
kishmishOP
Thank you so much for the recommendation! I want to read so much more LeGuin than I have. Adding this one đ«¶đœ It makes me a little nervous to hear about this topic from a white womanâs perspective, but it makes me feel a lot better to hear that it worked for you.
Absolutely! Itâs a very tricky line to walk, but for me, I never felt like she overly sensationalized any of the horrors she was depicting, and that it was all very grounded in the world and the characters. Itâs still a very tough read emotionally though, but it can be satisfying as characters from one story eventually appear in later stories
I love this list! đđȘ© (ps. Whenever I see the word Planetary, I think of the song Supernova Girl.)
kishmishOP
thank you! đ (need to remember to listen to this tomorrow!)
(Alt text: Gif of Proto Zoa the band dancing on stage, with the lyrics, âZoom zoom zoom, make my heart go boom boom,â along the bottom of the image.â)
Can Gideon the Ninth be added to this?
kishmishOP
Yes! đ I had to look because at first I was likeâŠbut itâs not BIPOC? But apparently most of the characters are MÄori! Do you know if Tamsyn Muir is MÄori too? The internet confused me about this.
I mean ive seen pictures and she looks pretty white but maybe she's just white passing?
There are also black characters in GtN. Marta Dyas and Judith Deteros are black. And Judith plays a pretty significant part later on. The whole character list is full of PoC
I DON'T HAVE THE CAPACITY TO ADD MORE TO MY TBR AND YOU CAN'T MAKE ME....
đ
OH can I also nominate The Space Between Worlds
kishmishOP
Oooh, this sounds so good! Thank you! đ«¶đœ
It lives rent free in my head since I read it this past summer
Awesome!! Thank you for putting together this exciting list đđœ If you're okay with adding a MG graphic novel, Lunar Boy by Jes & Cin Wibowo would fit this theme for Indonesian/Southeast Asians in space đ
kishmishOP
I absolutely love graphic novels, and the MG ones have an extra special place in my heart for how they support literacy in young people. đ Thank you so much for the suggestion (and the kind words!) Adding now!
this is awesome! thank u for creating and sharing đââïžđ
kishmishOP
đ«¶đœ thank you for appreciating and commenting!
oh I love love love this idea so much!! definitely want to read a lot more sci-fi in 2026 so this is going to be a big help!
kishmishOP
thank you! đ me too!
Obsessed with this list!
what an amazing list Kishmish!! thank you for creating it đ€©
kishmishOP
đ thank you, day! I hope you find reads you enjoy!
