Comps have been one of my big struggles for my query, so I'm hoping someone here might have some ideas. My book is, as my post title suggests, a science fantasy. Readers have definitely gotten a space vibe from it, but I always want to keep leaning toward the fantasy side of things. Basically, humans can use magic airships to enter the void between the worlds and travel between them; functionally this comes off a lot like spaceships traveling through space to different planets. But, other than magic ships, technology is more along the lines of late 1800s/early 1900s analogues. Furthermore, because of exposure to the void, rare people have been born with magic abilities. The ability to actually navigate the void is one, but there's also things like manipulating light/darkness/heat/cold, perfect memory, no need to sleep. Oh, and the void is populated by Lovecraftian monsters. The heroine is the captain of a ship with her three dearest friends as the crew.
I've been using The Aeronaut's Windlass by Jim Butcher as my main comp, because it has magic airships and people living populations that are only able to interact because of said airships, with monsters in between, but there are days when that feels strenuous. I've also looked at Brandon Sanderson's Wax and Wayne series because that has people born with abilities in a society at a similar tech level. But those have never felt perfect and Windlass is getting old for a comp at this point (2015), so I'm hoping for fresh ideas. A couple readers have also made comparisons to the TV show Firefly, which is flattering, but for various obvious reasons not a good comp.
Any suggestions are welcome, and the connection doesn't have to be strong for you to bring it up. Honestly, I've noticed with most of my writing recently that I'm really gravitating to writing stories with magic + setting based off anything from, oh, 1860s to 1940s (so basically magic with guns, trains, maybe automobiles, but not computers -- and not where the tech is based off the magic, where the two just happen to coexist). So even if you suggest something in that vein, it might not end up being a comp for my current project, but it could end up being a comp for another project one day.
Thanks!
Oh, and my query, if that helps at all:
It shouldn’t be Lara Kavarin’s responsibility to save the worlds, just because she’s one of the rare people with the ability to pilot an airship through the void between them.
It’s not that Lara’s afraid to stick her neck out. It’s part of her job to cross the void, a kaleidoscopic realm where time is inconsistent and physical distance doesn’t exist, and she’d die before letting her friends come to harm in there. But usually that job means trading jokes with her close-knit crew as they scavenge back-worlds for lost artifacts.
And Lara sure as hell doesn’t want to get involved with the Coalition, the worlds’ authoritarian governing body. But politics be damned right now, because it’s help them or watch millions die.
One of the Coalition’s captains, Amerlaine Silver, has gone rogue. For reasons unknown, she stole a ship and slaughtered the other void pilots—all of them. If Lara doesn’t stop her, Amerlaine is going to open the void to the worlds, loosing immortal, eldritch monsters and time-warps that lock innocent victims in perpetual loops.
Lara’s got three days to chase down Amerlaine, infiltrate her ship, and save the worlds. And the void is waiting.