Hi–I’m briefly returning from my tumblr hiatus
out of spitebecause i’mlowkey saltydisappointed that every list I see recommending SFF novels with queer themes are just the same couple of books over and over again.Are those books good? Sure! But there’s so much more.
So here’s my list of lesser-known SFF novels with queer characters:
Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner: Originally published in 1987, this classic novel is set in a bisexual society and features political machinations, drama and intrigue, and lots and lots of swordfighting. This was the first novel with prominent LGBT themes that I ever read, and it aces the test of time.
Tremontaine by Ellen Kushner, Etc.: This is a serial novel and a prequel to Swordspoint, but they can be read independently of one another. Tremontaine has the benefit of being much longer, so there’s much more to enjoy, and has 100% more lesbians and PoC.
The Warrior’s Path by Catherine M Wilson: All I had to be told to be sold on this book was “historical fantasy based on the bronze age, with a matriarchal society and lots of lesbians.” These are more character-driven than plot-driven, which I think really, really works. Book 1 of 3.
The Stars Are Legion by Kameron Hurley: I would be remiss if I didn’t mention this book, even though Hurley’s work is consistently too biopunk squicky for me. This is a book about space warfare and intrigue, and there are absolutely zero male characters. It is. Very very icky, though. Lots of blood and viscera and other fluids.
Ninefox Gambit by Yoon Ha Lee: Military scifi. Super interesting technology all based on every world in the empire sticking to the same calendar (no really, but it works). To put down a calendrical rebellion, they turn to a disgraced (lesbian) soldier and an undead traitor (bisexual) general. The sequel, Raven Stratagem, has a trans man as one of the major PoV characters, and it’s worth noting that the author himself is also trans.
Fire Logic by Laurie J. Marks: This is a slow-paced character driven fantasy. A country has been overrun by invaders, and though there’s an active rebellion, the situation is desperate. It focuses on three very different (though equally queer) people, who, together, can change the course of history. The sequel, Earth Logic, is also fantastic. (There is a 3rd one but I haven’t read it yet)
Warchild by Karin Lowachee: This is a space opera, but also a portrait of the effects of PTSD on children. It’s also the book that convinced me that second-person narration is good, actually. There are several significant queer characters in this book, and the sequels, Burndive and Cagebird (PoV character in this one!), though the first book is my favorite. Major CW for child abuse, though.
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie: It’s no secret that I love this book and its sequels, Ancillary Sword and Ancillary Mercy. If you’re hoping for overt queer romance you’ll be disappointed, but if you’re interested in reading a quasi-military scifi series set in a space empire that has no concept of gender, you’ll love this. Every person in the Radch is referred to as “she,” regardless of what body parts they have or their presentation. The first book is about an AI who used to be a spaceship, on a mission to bring down the person who killed her favorite lieutenant.
Provenance by Ann Leckie: set in the same universe as the Ancillary trilogy, but can be read as a standalone. The planet that Provenance takes place on has three genders, and uses a neutral pronoun for the third gender. Additionally, children are viewed as genderless and choose their gender as part of becoming an adult. The book is about a young woman who comes up with an audacious plan to impress her mother–and how it all goes horribly wrong (and right, and wrong again, and right). She also gets a cute girlfriend along the way!
The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson: The titular character is from a small island where homosexuality and polyamory are widely accepted, but then the island is taken over by a deeply repressive and homophobic empire. This story is how Baru plots to take down the empire that destroys her homeland from the inside out. It’s dark but very very good (and yes the main character is a lesbian).
Dreaming the Eagle by Manda Scott: I confess I’ve only read the first book in this series, but I enjoyed it very much. This is a historical fantasy based on the Celtic queen Boudica, and it seems like almost everyone is bisexual.
The Scorpion Rules by Erin Bow: This book is divisive–people either seem to love it or hate it. It takes place in a near-ish-future Earth. An AI has taken over the world, and demands a royal hostage from the ruler of each country. If a country chooses to go to war, their heir is killed. The main character is one of these royal hostages, and her country is on the brink of war. There’s a pseudo love-triangle in this one (m/f/f), but it didn’t much bother me, honestly. I also greatly enjoyed the sequel, The Swan Riders (moreso than the first book actually)
The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers: This is a delightful, cheerful, and optimistic space opera. Reading this book is a lot like drinking a warm cup of cocoa on a chilly night–it’s just warm and comforting. The crew of the Wayfarer is diverse, loveable, and pretty queer, too. The standalone sequel, A Closed and Common Orbit, is also a wonderful book.
Planetfall by Emma Newman: This is… an interesting book. To be honest, I had mixed feelings about it. It has a plot, but it reads more as a character study on a mentally ill, grieving woman, who loved another woman so much she followed her to a new planet, and then had to learn to live without her.
HONORABLE MENTION TO…
Robin Hobb’s Realm of the Elderlings series: You know I can’t do a rec list without these. Though the PoV characters tend to be straight (with the exception of the Rain Wilds books), there are quite a few queer side characters. Most notable is one very important character throughout most of the books, who is nonbinary and (arguably) genderfluid. I’ve heard the Fitz books in this series described as “one man’s 60-year journey to realizing that gender is a social construct.” It can be frustrating, and heartbreaking, but these are genuinely the best books I’ve ever read.Thank you! I keep meaning to make a post like this, and several of the books on yours would have appeared on it. Here are a few additions that I’ve never seen on other lists (restricted to books with queer protagonists):
Mission Child by Maureen McHugh
This is a quiet character story about a nonbinary protagonist who wanders through a sci fi future trying to find a life and an identity for themself. It’s an unusual science fiction novel; you won’t find out very much about the larger world the protagonist lives in, since they don’t particularly care, and they don’t get involved in any kind of large-scale action. McHugh’s style probably isn’t for everyone, but I think she’s one of the best overlooked SF authors out there. Another novel of hers, China Mountain Zhang, has a gay male protagonist.
The Nemesis Series by April Daniels
A recent YA superhero duology (so far?) with a trans lesbian protagonist. I’m not usually into YA or superheroes, but I enjoyed these a lot. They’re well-written, fast-paced, and packed with both interesting action and really compelling character content. Warning that the main character faces a lot of intense transphobia.
Full Fathom Five by Max Gladstone
Gladstone’s Craft Sequence is probably my favorite contemporary fantasy series that I never hear anyone talk about. In this world, magic, religion, and economics all run on the same metaphysical system, and the characters range from priests to necromancer lawyers to lich CEOs. Colonialism and capitalism are major themes. The protagonist of Full Fathom Five is a trans woman, and the book can be read as a standalone, though I think the whole series is worth reading. There are several queer side characters throughout the other books.
The Quantum Thief by Hannu Rajaniemi
The first book in a science fiction trilogy that has so much going on that it’s a little hard to summarize. One of the two main characters is a lesbian whose pining for her lost love drives her. There are a huge number of interesting science fiction ideas, and there’s a lot of very visually interesting action, but I found it all a little much; it was too confusing and not cohesive enough for me, and I didn’t continue the series. It’s on this list because I think it’s a matter of taste; I’ve talked to some people who loved it.
The Terra Ignota series by Ada Palmer
The most interesting contemporary science fiction series being published, imo. This series is about (the breakdown of) humanity’s attempt at a utopia 400 years in the future. Major themes of religion and philosophy, with a lot of hard questions about both. It makes this list because one idea the series explores is the utopian society’s attempt (and failure) to abandon gender, and a lot of characters are what we would consider queer, though that isn’t really a meaningful concept in-universe. The reader is thrown into a very complex world with a huge number of characters and a lot of concepts that are only gradually explained, so I’d warn away people who don’t like that style of “sink or swim” SF writing.
Excellent additions; I hadn’t heard of most of these! Thanks!!
I’m back and I have a few more books!
The Tensorate by JY Yang: A series of novellas that draw from various Asian cultures, the people in these books are not assigned a gender at birth, but choose one as part of becoming an adult. The first two books follow a set of identical twins, children of the Protector, who come to see that their mother’s rule is corrupt and work to bring about change. These are short but expansive, and left me both satisfied and wanting more. Really looking forward to additional installments in the series.
A Matter of Oaths by Helen S Wright: So, confession, I’m still in the middle of reading this one, but I’m honestly shocked that it hasn’t become a beloved classic in the queer SFF community. Originally published in 1988, the book recently got another release, and now with a non-whitewashed cover! As I haven’t finished the book yet, I can’t reveal too much about the plot, but so far it seems to be focusing on a prestigious patrol ship who is taking a chance on a skilled young man with a mysterious past. Lots of people of color, breaking gender roles, and love that doesn’t depend on gender at all. I have a feeling this is going to be a favorite of mine.
An Accident of Stars by Foz Meadows: I loved portal fantasy as a kid, so this filled a niche I didn’t realize I’d been missing as an adult. Saffron Coulter, a young bisexual woman, follows a chance encounter into another, much more magical world, and has adventures there. But rather than being an idyllic fantastic romp, it realistically shows the effects of battle and trauma, and asks the question of what happens when you go home. I’m looking forward to picking up the sequel (which I haven’t read yet).
And a special shoutout to:
The Books of the Raksura by Martha Wells: These get a special shoutout because, while the protagonist’s main relationship is with a female character, pretty much the entire species is poly and bi, including the POV character. Also, the gender roles are so different among the Raksura compared to humans, I think that this is a series that would generally appeal to queer people. It’s not a main focus, but a nice background thing that was really refreshing. The first book is about an orphan who has spent most of his life alone, no idea what he is, who has given up on finding his people. Of course, this is when they find him. There are a lot of great found family feelings with this series, and also? Moon’s snark is to die for. He’s wonderful and overdramatic 110% of the time and I love him very much.
(via thedosianexplorer)
