The Locked Tomb
A friend talked me into trying the "Locked Tomb" series by Tamsyn Muir. I was a bit reluctant . . . "Lesbian Necromancers in Spaaaaace!" sounded more like sensationalism than literature. But the second book in the series did win the Hugo . . . So I started reading.
Now I'm through with that second book and getting into the third (a fourth is planned, too). And I'm having a great time. The necromancers and their sword-swinging cavaliers are a deep and nuanced spin on the traditional wizard-warrior relationship. The background is original – Goths in space, for sure, but not what I was expecting.
This isn't a true review; I haven't finished the series yet, and frankly there are things going on here that I'm going to have to read again. But it's definitely a recommendation. If you enjoy tightly written, emotionally and physically explosive, character-driven space fantasy, then read Gideon the Ninth, the first novel, and see where it takes you.