Friday 8 July 2011

SFF GLBTQ Reading List

I did a shorter list a few months ago and here's the promised expansion.  While I've added a teen section, it's still not a comprehensive list and in several cases the authors have other books with GLTBQ characters.  If you want more titles, check out the Lambda and Gaylactic Spectrum award winners for the past few years.  I've included their winners for 2011, 2010 and 2009, but both awards go back further.  

I also got titles for this list from several TOR.com Querring SFF articles.  

Titles with *s are ones I've either read or know for a fact have GLBTQ content.  While most of the books on this list come from reliable sources, mistakes do happen, so if you know one of the books here doesn't belong, tell me and I'll remove it.  Conversely, if you want titles added, post a comment and I'll add the books to the list.  Because I haven't read all of the books I didn't separate out the books with GLBTQ protagonists vs ones with supporting characters.  For the ones I do know, I've put supporting in brackets beside them, and left the ones with protagonists blank.

ETA: SF Signal had a fantastic guest post with a lot of great suggestions.

Fantasy/Urban Fantasy/Horror
Flowers of Edo – Nene Adams
By the Mountain Bound, Seven for a Secret – Elizabeth Bear
Cat in the Cradle – Jay Bell 
Wilde Stories 2010 – Steve Berman, Ed.
 * Mooncalled – Patricia Briggs (supporting)
Pumpkin Teeth - Tom Cardomone
Santa Olivia, Naamah's Kiss – Jacqueline Carey
* Changeless, Blameless - Gail Carriger (supporting)
Fist of the Spider Woman - Amber Dawn
Drowning City – Amanda Downum
Velum, Ink – Hal Duncan
* A Book of Tongues, Rope of Thorns – Gemma Files
The Exile and the Sorcerer, Wolfsbane Winter – Jane Fletcher
Luck in the Shadows, Stalking the Darkness, Traitor's Moon, Shadow's Return – Lynn Flewelling
Daughters of an Emerald Dusk – Katherine Forrest
* Of Saints and Shadows – Christopher Golden
* Stepsister Scheme, Mermaid's Madness, Red Hood's Revenge – Jim Hines (supporting)
The Enchantment Emporium – Tanya Huff
* Already Dead - Charlie Huston
* Havemercy, Shadow Magic, Dragon Soul – Jaida Jones & Danielle Bennett
The Red Tree – Caitlin Kiernan
* Swordspoint, The Privilege of the Sword – Ellen Kushner
* Magic's Pawn, Magic's Promise, Magic's Price – Mercedes Lackey (plus a lot of other books)
* Green – Jay Lake
Strange Fortune – Josh Lanyon
Disturbed by her Song – Tanith Lee
Shadow's Daughter - Shirley Meier (suggested by Shandra)
Shadow's Son - Shirley Meier, S. M. Stirling & Karen Wehrstein (suggested by Shandra)
A Companion to Wolves – Sarah Monette & Elizabeth Bear
The Steel Remains – Richard Morgan
* Kafka on the Shore - Haruki Murakami (supporting)
Nights of Villjamur – Mark Charan Newton
Centuries Ago and Very Fast – Rebecca Ore
The Chosen, The Standing Dead, The Third God – Ricardo Pinto
* Black Blade Blues – J. A. Pitts
Blue Moon Cafe – Rick Reed
City of Strangers – Diana Rivers
The Called – Warren Rochelle
* All Men of Genius - Lev Rosen (supporting)
Inda – Sherwood Smith
Saber & Shadow, The Cage - S. M. Stirling & Shirley Meier (suggested by Shandra)
In the Closet, Under the Bed - Lee Thomas
Nightlife, Moonshine, Madhouse, Deathwish – Rob Thurman (supporting)
Animythical Tales – Sarah Totten
Palimpsest – Catherynne Valente
Lion's Heart, Lion's Soul - Karen Wehrstein (suggested by Shandra)

Science Fiction
Ethan of Athos, Cordelia's Honor – Lois McMaster Bujold
* Homecoming series - Orson Scott Card (supporting character, Zdorab.  I can't quite remember but I think he's in books 2-4)
Dhalgren – Samuel Delany
Slow River – Nicola Griffith
* The Left Hand of Darkness – Ursula K. Le Guin
The Chronicles of Ratha: Children of the Noorthi – Erica Lawson
Diana Comet and Other Stories – Sandra McDonald
China Mountain Zhang – Maureen McHugh
* Woman on the Edge of Time – Marge Piercy (supporting)
* All Men of Genius - Lev A. C. Rosen (supporting)
The Child Garden – Geoff Ryman
* Trouble and Her Friends – Melissa Scott
Contraband – Charlie Vazquez
Zorn: A Legend of the Days to Come – Graham Wothington

Teen
Tales of Modern Faerie – Holly Black
* A Great and Terrible Beauty, Rebel Angels, The Sweet Far Thing – Libba Bray (don't find out supporting character's orientation until last book)
City of Bones, City of Ashes, City of Glass – Cassandra Clare (supporting)
* Mordred, Bastard Son – Douglas Clegg
* Eon, Eona – Alison Goodman (supporting)
* Unnatural – Michael Griffo
* Shadow Walkers – Brent Hartinger
* Ash, Huntress – Malinda Lo
The Demon's Lexicon, The Demon's Covenant, The Demon's Surrender – Sarah Brennan Rees (supporting)

Bonus book: if you like mysteries, try Edward O. Phillips' Buried on Sunday.  I loved it.

3 comments:

Sandra, your tropical tour guide said...

Great list! Thank you for putting it together and including my book.

Shandra said...

Shirley Meier, S. M. Stirling and Karen Wehrstein's shared universe Fifth Millenium series (Shadow's Daughter, Saber and Shadow, The Cage, Shadow's Son, Lion's Heart and Lion's Soul)should have won an LGBT book award or three long ago.

Jessica Strider said...

@ Sandra - you're welcome.

@ Shandra - Thanks for the suggestions. I've added them to the list.