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C.L. Clark's Recommendations for LGBTQ+ Speculative Fiction

Posted by Sharon on June 1, 2021
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Author C.L. Clark is no newcomer to the sci-fi and fantasy scene. Though she just published her first novel, ,Ìýearlier this year, Clark has been a longtime reader, writer, and editor of speculative fiction. HerÌýwork has appeared in FIYAH, PodCastle, Uncanny, and Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and she recently racked up Hugo and IGNYTE Award nominations (and a British Fantasy Award win) for her work as a co-editor on PodCastle, a fantasy fiction podcast. She is also the guest editor for the anthologyÌý, forthcoming from Neon Hemlock Press.

To celebrate Pride Month, Clark shared her recommendations forÌýrecent LGBTQ+ adult sci-fi and fantasy books that she's loved or, in a couple of cases, is looking forward to reading.

The UnbrokenÌýis available now in U.S. stores.

I wrote my first fantasy short story when I was in eighth grade. Unsurprisingly, there was a girl with some cool magic fire powers and a sword. There was, of course, a girl best friend (who was fated to die) and a boy the heroine had a crush on. I thought I was writing everything I wanted fantasy to be: cool powers, fighting prowess, and a future lover, all accessible for young women.

I’d spent so much of my young life up to that point craving powerful sword-swinging women in fantasy who didn’t fall into the traditional feminine roles and expectations I was trying to escape in my real life. I sought out the kinds of characters who fled the quiet life in search of the adventures that the boy heroes got to have. It was hard to find that in fantasy, though, even though the worlds were supposed to be magical, disruptive, out of the ordinary. There are still a couple characters who stand out in my memory: Kitiara, from the Dragonlance Chronicles by Tracy Hickman and Margaret Weis, Alanna from The Song of the Lioness by Tamora Pierce. I loved them. They were the closest things to what I sought, but there was something about them that still left me unsatisfied.
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Then—and I remember this moment with crystal clarity—I had the flu. I spent it reading the entire Rainbow Road series by Alex Sanchez. For the first time, I realized that I could write stories with gay characters in them. Which meant...lesbians in fantasy.
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In my fugue state, my fevered little self took that short story and swapped the best friend and the boyfriend, and I wrote my first gay kiss. I haven’t looked back since.
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Luckily, and so thrillingly, I did not end up having to populate the entirety of LGBTQIA+ science fiction and fantasy. Over the last decade, the amount of queer adult SFF has rocketed (haha) upward, and I’ve enjoyed every minute of it, as a reader and a writer.

I’m not as alone as I thought I was, and the reception by the wider world has also been reassuring—queer stories are having a positive impact on readers. The list below includes books from the last few years. I’ve included a mix of big productions and small, and left off some of the more well-known queer SFF novels (sorry, Gideon the Ninth, I still love you!) to leave some room to bring others to light. While the list below is certainly incomplete and doesn’t cover nearly every identity in the queer family, I hope you find something here that makes you feel less alone, too.

If there are any LGBTQIA+ science fiction and fantasy books that made you feel seen, or that you love, share them in the comments—you never know who else they might help.

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First, even though it was published in 2016, I’m including this novelÌýbecause it’s one of my favorite books of all time, queer or otherwise. InÌýfour parts from four points of view, Ìýtells the story of a war and its impact with the kind of careful tenderness you expect from her work and her gorgeous writing. I have entire passages memorized from the poet’s point of view, and when you finish, you’ll want to weep with the beauty of it all.


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Another one of my favorites, picks apart colonialism, and we get to see a character really struggle with what choices she has to make if she remains a part of the empire. This one is full of devastating twists, and the series continues with The Monster Baru Cormorant and The Tyrant Baru Cormorant, which just came out last year. This series is for those who don’t mind a little pain.


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On the lighter side, we have , which promises to be as heartwarming and delightful a read as the rest of the books in � Alpennia series. The series is set in an imaginary European country in an approximately Napoleonic time frame, in a world with magic and magical relics, so it’ll scratch the itch if you want a queer Regency-era fantasy.


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Mythologies collide in a tense and wonderful way in ’s Dominion of the Fallen series. is the third novelÌýin this world where fallen angels have divided Paris into Houses but the Dragon Court rules beneath the Seine. (The first in the series is The House of Shattered Wings.)


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The first thing that draws me to this book is the gorgeous cover. Second, the tagline: “There is no consent under capitalism.� It’s about a man who sells himself as a Docile to pay off his family’s debts, and it only gets more complicated from there. I’m excited to read it because I love a story that makes us ask where desire fits within unjust systems. It will probably be a challenging one, but I’m looking forward to it.


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I have on my list because I’ve been craving a return to the thick fantasy books with deeply immersive secondary worlds, epic battles, and—of course—dragons. It’s got multiple queer main characters, dragon knights, and a not-simply-binary pronoun system that I’m eager to check out.


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is the sequel to the award-winning A Memory Called Empire. The Teixcalaan series is another set of books that digs deep into the mechanics of colonialism from the point of view of a colonized agent of the empire. One thing I love is that the relationship between the protagonist and her imperial handler is explored thoroughly across the two books, with all of the thorny misunderstandings that come from their backgrounds. I also love the use of letters, speeches, and even graphic novels in the world!


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is one of my favorite novellas ever. It’s perfectly paced and you’re given just enough information to put the pieces together so that, when you turn the last page, you sit in stunned silence. This is another one where the prose is handled with just the right amount of restraint—and if you’re having a hard time reading because of the world outside, it’s short enough that it might break the spell. The sequel, When the Tiger Came Down the Mountain,Ìýjust came out last autumn.


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This is actually the fourth book in a series, but bear with me—remember when I said above that there were few books that showed me another possibility? Well, Fire Logic, the first of this quartet, gave me my first taste of lesbian relationships in fantasy. Beyond that personal touch, though, the series shines in the elemental magic system and the bonds between the found family with Karis at the center.


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Another excellent science fiction story, captured me immediately with its disenchanted heroine who is doing her best to survive in an unjust system that exploits her unique labor. There was something that felt comfortably familiar about the relationships between Cara and her family (and her rivals), even in the ways they clashed with each other.


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Despite the often serious gravitas surrounding harder science fiction, I found easy to sink into and even easier to let it carry me away. Though this book was published a few years ago, it does what the best of science fiction does: Eerily prescient, it asks relevant questions about who owns ideas, since the main hero is an anti-drug-patent pharmaceutical pirate. One of the other interesting aspects is the relationship that grows between the military agent who is chasing the drug pirate and his robotic companion. The whole book asks stirring questions about sexuality, personhood, and global health.


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I’m looking forward to reading because I know ’s short stories. They’re quiet and beautiful works and tend to bring great casts of queer characters together. Also, a rarity within the fantasy genre, this novella is full of people in their middle age, giving the story a depth of reflection.


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If you remember from above that I mentioned my first short story was about a girl with a sword and some magic powers, then this selection won’t surprise you. It’s about three Lady Knights, best friends and lovers, whose fates spin them against each other. Their kingdoms and the magic of the earth and stars hang in the balance. It’s lushly written and takes me back to those days I spent searching for something that came even close to how I felt—only this book leaves me satisfied.


Which of these books will you add to your Want to Read shelf? And what LGBTQ+ sci-fi and fantasy books would you recommend to your fellow readers? Let's talk books in the comments!

Check out more recent articles:
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Comments Showing 1-23 of 23 (23 new)

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message 1: by Robbie (new)

Robbie I'm not sure if it counts as 'queer fiction' specifically, but Derek Landy's amazing 'Skulduggery Pleasant' series features a variety of queer characters, particularly in the latest novels which introduce new characters, including a genderfluid character called 'Never'. I just think it's so cool that Landy incorporates queer people in to the series, especially since he explicitly states in the books that they are queer instead of deciding afterwards like some well-known authors of magical book series.


message 2: by Tameka (new)

Tameka Fleming I already read Empress of Salt and Fortune but The Space Between Worlds is on my physical tbr. I have not heard of the others but I may look into them once of read more from my growing tbr.


message 3: by Lois (new)

Lois The Space Between Worlds was amazing. Adding most of these to my list!


message 4: by Luciana (new)

Luciana Great list! I want to read “A Memory Called Empire� and “A Desolation Called Peace� so badly!
I also would like to mention “The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet� and “This Is How You Lose The Time War� as being on my top 10 sci-fi books, everyone should give it a go


message 5: by mykittyquest17 (new)

mykittyquest17 The teiccalaan series (A memory called empire and a desolation called peace) is the best science-fiction I have ever had the pleasure to read and I recommend that everyone gives it a read.

Two more really good LGBTQIA FASTAYS AND SCI-FI reads are the priory of the orange tree and on a sunbeam.


message 6: by Danny (new)

Danny Loved Docile. Really want to read The Space Between Worlds.


message 7: by Chinyere (new)

Chinyere Ezie Don’t sleep on Hank Green’s novels. Great queer protagonists and a thoughtful discussion about bisexuality


message 8: by Ed (new)

Ed Hilliard Great list! Another enjoyable one I found recently is The Disasters by M.K. England. Fun, light hearted sci-fi with very diverse characters.


message 9: by Lorraine (new)

Lorraine The Tarot Sequence by K.D. Edwards (The Last Sun, The Hanged Man) is amazing. They have a great cast of queer characters, wonderful found family, and are really fun to read!


message 10: by Hazel (new)

Hazel Robin wrote: "I'm not sure if it counts as 'queer fiction' specifically, but Derek Landy's amazing 'Skulduggery Pleasant' series features a variety of queer characters, particularly in the latest novels which in..."

another one of his series (called Demon Road) has a lesbian main character and lots of other LGBTQ+ side characters. I really enjoyed Valkyrie being bisexual in the second part of Skulduggery Pleasant, I think it was a great decision that Landy made.


message 11: by Kali (new)

Kali Luciana wrote: "Great list! I want to read “A Memory Called Empire� and “A Desolation Called Peace� so badly!
I also would like to mention “The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet� and “This Is How You Lose The Time..."


You might like the Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells -- I say that because I've read all of the books you mentioned above and liked them, too. Murderbot is one of my all-time favorite characters!


message 12: by Nirkatze (new)

Nirkatze Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch universe (starting with Ancillary Justice) has an empire which only has one pronoun. Reading it really brings into focus how gender identity frames thought. The side-book Provenance has an at least three-pronoun system with a main character who is non-binary. Finally, her novel Raven Tower has a trans main character and talks about gender and orientation.


message 13: by Henriette (new)

Henriette I really like the Alsean series by Fletcher Delancey, esp. the Producers Challenge.


message 14: by Micha (last edited Jul 02, 2021 08:37AM) (new)

Micha Excellent list, I added all of them (and more) to my to-read lists!
I'll absolutely add Thornfruit by Felicia Davin.
I bought the first one for free, not knowing it had any LGBTQ+ in it. Immediately upon finishing it, I went and purchased the next two, then straight away recommended the series to all my queer-friendly friends and family as an immediate to-read!
Finding lesbian, trans and gay characters in this trilogy made me so happy.


Me, My Shelf, & I So excited to see someone mention the Elemental Logic Series by Laurie J Marks! It's been a favourite of mine since high school and so under-appreciated!!

Also The Space Between Worlds is in the running to be my fav read of the year!


message 16: by Cathypurplee (new)

Cathypurplee Once & Future (Once & Future #1) by A.R. Capetta Sword in the Stars (Once & Future #2) by A.R. Capetta Once and Future / Sword in the Stars by Amy Rose Capetta & Cori McCarthy: Arthurian legend in the form of SUPER gay space opera? I'm here for it!
The Brilliant Death (The Brilliant Death, #1) by A.R. Capetta The Storm of Life (The Brilliant Death, #2) by A.R. Capetta The Brilliant Death / The Storm of Life by Amy Rose Capetta: The sheer amount of gender fluidity...

Nearly every novel by Anna-Marie McLemore features a trans and/or NB character, and they're so compassionately and beautifully done. All that in the context of magical realism, my genre weakness.


message 17: by Talenyn (new)

Talenyn Master of One by Danielle Bennett and Jaida Jones is one of those "heist of a lifetime" YA novels. Its done beautifully with compelling queer and disabled characters that take center stage (rather than languishing as side-kicks).


message 18: by [deleted user] (new)

I haven't read any of these authors (I'm still getting caught up on the last 30 years of sf & f), so I will have to have a look at some of them. I would like to give props to the Amberlough trilogy by Laura Elena Donnelly. I don't know if it counts as speculative because it's more like a political thriller set in the thirties, but it's set in an alternate world reminiscent of the Weimar Republic.

And Ann Leckie's books are indeed excellent.


message 19: by Jay (new)

Jay Cannon Try my book. A sci-fi journey that shows what happens when Earthlings come in contact with a gender-neutral race of aliens.

/book/show/5...


message 20: by Penny (new)

Penny Nirkatze wrote: "Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch universe (starting with Ancillary Justice) has an empire which only has one pronoun. Reading it really brings into focus how gender identity frames thought. The side-boo..."

"gender identity frames thought" /exactly! Thanks for mentioning Ann Leckie's work.


message 21: by Julia (new)

Julia This is How You Lose the Time War!!!!!!!


message 22: by Contrarius (new)

Contrarius Lorraine wrote: "The Tarot Sequence by K.D. Edwards (The Last Sun, The Hanged Man) is amazing. They have a great cast of queer characters, wonderful found family, and are really fun to read!"

I've enjoyed those too. :-)


message 23: by Contrarius (new)

Contrarius Julia wrote: "This is How You Lose the Time War!!!!!!!"

Yes -- knocked my socks clean off. :-)


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