The past few months I’ve been reading more queer SFF, with delight at seeing better representation for all sorts of LGBTQIA+ folks in stories both good and jawdroppingly amazing. In case you weren’t already aware of these, put them on your reading list immediately:
The Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells. Most of these are novella length but pack a hefty punch. The first book, All Systems Red, rightfully won the Hugo and Nebula awards for Best Novella and is a master class in story pacing. A self-aware security construct (SecUnit) hacks its own governor module and slowly begins to form friendships with humans it’s been assigned to protect. It’s explicitly agender and asexual and finds the very idea of human romance strange, but as the series progresses, it does form strong bonds with some people and even with a snarky ship’s AI that is all wonderful to watch develop. The series is set in the far-distant future, with human colonies scattered throughout the galaxy and megacorporations running most of known space. Most of the human characters are in polyamorous, bisexual relationships, and neopronouns are used for some, though any sex is only intimated, not on-page. Lots of BIPOC representation, as genes have mixed well over the centuries. The action is realistic and heartpounding, the snarky humor wonderful, and the characters absolutely delightful throughout.
HIGHLY recommended, and yes, read them in order because a lot happens in each story.
The Locked Tomb series by Tamsyn Muir. Though this is marketed as YA fiction, its events and themes are deeply felt and will resonate strongly with adults. It’s been glibly described as “lesbian necromancers in space,” and much the same as Firefly was “cowboys in space,” that fits but doesn’t explain just how wonderful and complex these books are. Again, any sex is off-page, but the protagonists of the first two books, Gideon the Ninth and Harrow the Ninth, are definitely lesbian (though one may be asexual), and there are bi and straight characters represented as well. I can’t say much without giving away the plots, but the characters are deep and wonderful and the worldbuilding amazing. With every few chapters my jaw hit the floor again. Muir is an astonishing writer, and this series will pull you in and hit you hard. If you like SFF based on character depth and intrigue, read these.
On a softer note, TJ Klune’s House in the Cerulean Sea is a sweet, humorous modern fantasy about a meek, proper British bureaucrat who works for an agency monitoring orphanages for magical beings in an otherwise human world. He’s sent to inspect an orphanage on a sunny island far from the dreary, rainy city, to see whether it’s being run according to code, and encounters children gnomes, a weredog, and the Antichrist in kid form, as well as their enigmatic director. The pace is slow and sweet, the humor delightfully Brit, and the growing attachment our protagonist feels for the unwanted children and their teacher causes him to question all the codes and orders he’s lived by for years. It’s a cozy, magical queer romantic fantasy, though again without anything more explicit than kissing, and a beautifully written antidote to rough days in the real world. Enjoy this one with a cup of tea in a quiet reading nook.
The Strangeworlds Travel Agency series by nonbinary author L.D. Lapinski. Very YA and very British in language and tone; the protagonists didn’t resonate as much with me, and I didn’t finish reading the first book. However, it’s well-done and gaining in popularity, with the final book in the series just released. Younger readers might well enjoy it. A tween girl and teen boy team up for adventures with magic suitcases that allow travel to other worlds, in the grand old explorer tradition, but get into more trouble than they expected. Not to my taste, but your mileage may vary, and I hear it does have good queer representation among the characters.
I’m currently reading The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers and really enjoying it as a change of pace. Very slow-building SF with a varied cast of characters aboard a ship that build stable wormholes for interstellar travel. Aliens and weirdness abound, and most of the book so far has been character-exploring interactions. Not much action, but the characters are so much fun I don’t at all mind. There are nonbinary, plural, and trans folks, all portrayed positively and empathetically. A young clerk signs aboard the ship to get away from a family scandal on Mars and ends up getting a crash course in multiple alien cultures, as the crew relationships drive the story. Looking forward to finishing and reading the next in the series.
Lastly, I’ll note that my own books feature LGBTQ+ and BIPOC characters in positive roles. My bloody, snarky horror comedy Wendigogo has Ojibwe and other First Nation folks and folklore, as well as bi supporting characters. Dark romantic fantasy Straw Song has gay supporting characters, and Scarecrow himself is a straw tangle of transmasc angst, as I realized when working on rewrites for it, and this theme will be emphasized more in the sequel I’m currently working on. While my light magical romance Straw Man doesn’t have LGBTQ+ characters directly involved, heroine Cassie is Black and this is a major plot point of the story as her new neighbors are distinctly unhappy about that fact. And yes, I have consulted sensitivity readers on all books for characters which don’t reflect my actual experience, which I feel makes the stories richer and much more well-rounded. You can buy signed copies of any of my books through
Graythorn Publishing, or from the ‘zon and other online sellers; I write as K.A. Silva.
Here’s to more queer rep in SFF! Even if you’re straight and cis, I think you’ll enjoy these books as much as I have or more. Check ‘em out!
