@f0x

My current favorite in that niche is probably The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/22733729-the-long-way-to-a-small-angry-planet) and the corresponding series.

Worth noting is also basically anything by Elizabeth Bear, but I really enjoyed Ancestral Night (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26159745-ancestral-night).

There's a MN-local author named Lyda Morehouse that's written a very cool near-future, super cyberpunk-y, theocracy. The first novel is called Archangel protocol (https://wizardstowerpress.com/books-2/books-by-lyda-morehouse/archangel-protocol/) , and it's a five ish book series with truly stunning worldbuilding. The first book, IIRC, reads a bit like a trashy, straight romance/old-school detective pulp novel, but the latter ones feel pretty dang cool. If you can get through the straightness of book 1, there's some nice vintage (early 2000s) queer delight in here. Lesbian author, later published/re-published by a transwoman editor. Nice people.

For something a little more involved, I highly recommend Ninefox Gambit (https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/26118426-ninefox-gambit). This series is an absolute delight. I gotta go now, but it's sort of a blend between Korean culture and Texan culture and folks are homosexual by default. It's pretty rad.