Diversity in the Honors Series

With the semester wrapping up, I want to end in a bang. This is now my favorite series of all time, and also the most diverse I’ve encountered.

The Honors series is by Rachel Caine and Ann Aguirre and consists of three books: Honor Among Thieves, Honor Bound, and Honor Lost. It takes place in 2142. Society has discovered aliens called Leviathan--giant living spaceships that have given humankind technology to prevent society from destroying itself. Every year, 100 people are selected for the Honors program to go on a year-long journey with the Leviathan. Zara Cole, a girl living on the fringes of society, doing what she has to to get by, is chosen for the Honors program. She accepts because people on Earth are hunting her, as she stole something very important--she’s not sure what. She bonds deeply with her Leviathan, Nadim, as well as her human companion, Beatriz, and what follows is a blinding series of space fights, literal aliens, and self-discovery.

The Honors series normalizes sets of pronouns other than he/him and she/her. Early on, it is made clear that Nadim uses any pronouns: “He is fine, since that is how I register to you. I have no preference. But I appreciate you for asking.” In the second book, Honor Bound, two more differing pronoun sets are introduced: Starcurrent, who uses ze/zim, and Bacia, who uses they/them. Characters talk about pronouns like it’s a completely normal thing and a part of human decency to use the correct pronouns, because it is. The book doesn’t make it a big deal that some characters use different pronouns, they just refer to them by the correct sets, and I deeply appreciate it. Because I use neopronouns as well as all pronouns, reading about characters similar to me made me extremely happy.

In addition to diversity in identity, the Honors series has plenty of diversity in race. The protagonist is a Black girl, and her co-star is a girl from Brazil. Other supporting characters include a Chinese girl, another Black guy, and numerous aliens. In addition, both queer and polyamorous relationships are    explored and treated like completely normal relationships. The love described isn’t stereotypical, unrealistic romantic love; instead, it’s a beautiful mix of romantic, platonic, and something more. There’s no stigma, no discrimination, just exploration of relationships.

All in all, the Honors series are the best science fiction books I’ve ever read. Diversity, representation, space fights, and love--what more could you want?

With love,
Emily

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