Cover | Title and Author | Summary (Scroll) | Reasons (Scroll) | Tags | Date | Audience |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Magic’s Pawn by Mercedes Lackey Series: The Last Herald-Mage (Valdemar) Book 1 of 3 |
Vanyel prefers music to fighting and he dreams of being a Bard, but his father, Lord Ashkevron, wants the boy to be a proper man in his image. Fed up with Vanyel, his father sends him to Valdemar's capital city of Haven to learn from his aunt Savil, one of the Heralds Chosen by magical Companions to bring law to the land. Savil sees that Vanyel has been mistreated, but she can't help him in his dream, because he doesn't have the magic Bardic Gift. Tylendel, Savil's openly-gay student, brings Vanyel out of his despair, and the two soon fall in love. But then a series of tragic disasters awaken in Vanyel magical powers he must learn to control, or risk destroying himself and far more. |
gay protagonist, visits culture where same-sex pairings are normal |
gay, multiple culture | 1989 | Adult | |
Delan the Mislaid by Laurie J Marks Series: Children of the Triad Book 1 of 3 |
To the Walkers, Delan was a monstrosity, big and clumsy with odd growths sticking out of ids back. Controlled by a cruel master, a sorcerer who practices dark magic to keep Delan his slave, Delan discovers new hope when, aided by Eia the Aeyrie, id goes through a metamorphosis that transforms idre into the beautiful, winged being id was always meant to be. Learning the truth of ids heritage may not be enough to save Delan – and the entire Aeyrie race – from Teksan and his diabolical plans for conquest. |
genderless species, same-sex couples, minor poly, id/idre/ids as pronouns |
nonbinary, alien, queered culture, pronouns, poly, intersex, | 1989 | Adult | |
Akata Witch by Nnedi Okorafor |
Twelve-year-old Sunny lives in Nigeria, but she was born American. Her features are African, but she's albino. She’s a terrific athlete, but can’t go out into the sun to play soccer. There seems to be no place where she fits. And then she discovers something amazing—she is a “free agent,” with latent magical power. Soon she’s part of a quartet of magic students, studying the visible and invisible, learning to change reality. But will it be enough to help them when they are asked to catch a career criminal who knows magic too? |
Kids with magic powers in Nigeria |
setting, disability,, race African, West Africa, Genetic | 2011 | MG | |
Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi |
Alana Quick is the best damned sky surgeon in Heliodor City, but repairing starship engines barely pays the bills. When the desperate crew of a cargo vessel stops by her shipyard looking for her spiritually advanced sister Nova, Alana stows away. Maybe her boldness will land her a long-term gig on the crew. But the Tangled Axon proves to be more than star-watching and plasma coils. The chief engineer thinks he's a wolf. The pilot fades in and out of existence. The captain is all blond hair, boots, and ego . . . and Alana can't keep her eyes off her. But there's little time for romance: Nova's in danger and someone will do anything--even destroying planets--to get their hands on her |
gay black woman with chronic disease, woman with prosthetic leg |
lesbian, race, disability, poly, class, Black, Chronic_Illness | 2013 | Adult | |
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie Series: Imperial Radch Book 1 of 3 |
On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.
Once, she was the Justice of Toren - a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy.
Now, an act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with one fragile human body, unanswered questions, and a burning desire for vengeance. |
Narrator confused by gendered language, she’s asexual/aromantic, cultures have different views of gender. Many human characters are dark-skinned |
asexual, pronouns, queered culture, aromantic, race FPOC | 2013 | Adult | |
Silent Dances by A C Crispin & Kathleen O’Malley Series: Starbridge Book 2 of 7 |
Book 2 of Starbridge. Deaf since birth, Tesa is the perfect ambassador to the alien Grus, whose sonic cries can shatter human ears. But her mission is harder than it looks. The Grus are not alone on their world. They have deadly enemies, both natural and otherwise. And if Tesa is to save all life on the planet, she will have to make peace with not one alien species... but -two-. |
Deaf Sioux Native American woman, aliens who use sign language, racially diverse cast, this and rest of series have a few alien characters who use neutral pronouns |
disability, race, pronouns, multiple culture, Native American, Deaf | 1990 | Adult | |
Throne of the Crescent Moon by Saladin Ahmed |
The Crescent Moon Kingdoms, home to djenn and ghuls, holy warriors and heretics, are at the boiling point of a power struggle between the iron-fisted Khalif and the mysterious master thief known as the Falcon Prince. In the midst of this brewing rebellion a series of brutal supernatural murders strikes at the heart of the Kingdoms. It is up to a handful of heroes to learn the truth behind these killings. |
Middle East world |
setting,, race Middle Eastern, Muslim | 2012 | Adult | |
A Door Into Ocean by Joan Slonczewski Series: Elysium Cycle Book 1 of 3 |
A Door into Ocean is the novel upon which the author's reputation as an important SF writer principally rests. A ground-breaking work both of feminist SF and of world-building hard SF, it concerns the Sharers of Shora, a nation of women on a distant moon in the far future who are pacifists, highly advanced in biological sciences, and who reproduce by parthenogenesis--there are no males--and tells of the conflicts that erupt when a neighboring civilization decides to develop their ocean world, and send in an army. |
all-female world |
lesbian, alien, all-female, queered culture | 1986 | Adult | |
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K Le Guin |
A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an alien world whose inhabitants can choose -and change - their gender. His goal is to facilitate Winter's inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the completely dissimilar culture that he encounters.
Embracing the aspects of psychology, society, and human emotion on an alien world, The Left Hand of Darkness stands as a landmark achievement in the annals of intellectual science fiction. |
Species that changes sex and is normally gender-neutral. Black protagonist |
genderqueer, alien, queered culture, intersex,race FPOC | 1969 | Adult | |
Griots by Milton J Davis (editor) Series: Griots Book 1 of 2 |
Magic. Myth. Warfare. Wonder. Beauty. Bravery. Glamour. Gore. Sorcery. Sensuality. These and many more elements of fantasy await you in the pages of Griots, which brings you the latest stories of the new genre called Sword and Soul.The tales told in Griots are the annals of the Africa that was, as well as Africas that never were, may have been, or should have been. They are the legends of a continent and people emerging from shadows thrust upon them in the past. They are the sagas sung by the modern heirs of the African story-tellers known by many names - including griots.Here, you will meet mighty warriors, seductive sorceresses, ambitious monarchs, and cunning courtesans. Here, you will journey through the vast variety of settings Africa offers, and inspires. Here, you will savor what the writings of the modern-day griots have to offer: journeys through limitless vistas of the imagination, with a touch of color and a taste of soul. |
anthology of black sword/sorcery |
race, setting, ANTHOLOGY,, race African | 2011 | Adult | |
The Future is Queer by Richard Labonté (editor) |
In a world increasingly complicated by questionable technologies and factional politics, what does the future hold for gays, lesbians, and transgender people? In this anthology, the first of its kind in over ten years, provocative stories and comics posit a queer future of limitless possibilities, covering issues like cloning, gene manipulation, and gender assignment. It includes contributions from best-selling author and comic book creator Neil Gaiman (Anansi Boys, The Sandman), World Fantasy Award-winner Rachel Pollack, and cult UK comic artist Bryan Talbot. |
anthology of queer scifi |
bisexual, lesbian, gay, transgender | 2006 | Adult | |
Kaleidoscope by Alisa Krasnostein |
What do a disabled superhero, a time-traveling Chinese-American figure skater, and a transgendered animal shifter have in common? They're all stars of Kaleidoscope stories! Kaleidoscope collects fun, edgy, meditative, and hopeful YA science fiction and fantasy with diverse leads. These twenty original stories tell of scary futures, magical adventures, and the joys and heartbreaks of teenage life. Featuring New York Times bestselling and award winning authors along with newer voices: Garth Nix, Sofia Samatar, William Alexander, Karen Healey, E.C. Myers, Tansy Rayner Roberts, Ken Liu, Vylar Kaftan, Sean Williams, Amal El-Mohtar, Jim C. Hines, Faith Mudge, John Chu, Alena McNamara, Tim Susman, Gabriela Lee, Dirk Flinthart, Holly Kench, Sean Eads, and Shveta Thakrar |
anthology of diverse YA SFF |
transgender, disability, gay, lesbian, race, MULTIPLE, Unspecified, Unspecified_Disability | 2014 | YA | |
Fire Logic by Laurie J Marks Series: Elemental Logic Book 1 of 4 |
Earth * Air * Water * Fire
These elements have sustained the peaceful people of Shaftal for generations, with their subtle powers of healing, truth, joy, and intuition.
But now, Shaftal is dying.
The earth witch who ruled Shaftal is dead, leaving no heir. Shaftal's ruling house has been scattered by the invading Sainnites. The Shaftali have mobilized a guerrilla army against these marauders, but every year the cost of resistance grows, leaving Shaftal's fate in the hands of three people: Emil, scholar and reluctant warrior; Zanja, the sole survivor of a slaughtered tribe; and Karis the metalsmith, a half-blood giant whose earth powers can heal, but only when she can muster the strength to hold off her addiction to a deadly drug.
Separately, all they can do is watch as Shaftal falls from prosperity into lawlessness and famine. But if they can find a way to work together, they just may change the course of history. |
Multiple cultures, queer-normative culture |
lesbian, setting, multiple culture, queered culture, race FPOC, MULTIPLE, Unspecified | 2002 | Adult | |
Pantomime by Laura Lam Series: Micah Grey Book 1 of 2 |
R. H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass—remnants of a mysterious civilization long gone—are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic and knowledge of the vanished Chimaera is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide.
Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star.
But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that could unlock the mysteries of Ellada. |
Genderqueer and bisexual character |
genderqueer, bisexual, transgender, intersex, | 2013 | YA | |
Illario: The Lion's Eye by Mary Gentle Series: A Story of the First History Book 1 of 2 |
Born a true hermaphrodite, Ilario has lived as the king's freak in the Iberian kingdom of Tarraconensis. All Ilario wants is to be one of the first - and best - Renaissance painters. In order to do so, Ilario must embark on a quest to escape the wrath of the court. |
intersex protagonist |
nonbinary, genderqueer, transgender, intersex, | 2006 | Adult | |
Otherbound by Corrine Duyvis |
Amara is never alone. Not when she's protecting the cursed princess she unwillingly serves. Not when they're fleeing across dunes and islands and seas to stay alive. Not when she's punished, ordered around, or neglected.
She can't be alone, because a boy from another world experiences all that alongside her, looking through her eyes.
Nolan longs for a life uninterrupted. Every time he blinks, he's yanked from his Arizona town into Amara's mind, a world away, which makes even simple things like hobbies and homework impossible. He's spent years as a powerless observer of Amara's life. Amara has no idea . . . until he learns to control her, and they communicate for the first time. Amara is terrified. Then, she's furious.
All Amara and Nolan want is to be free of each other. But Nolan's breakthrough has dangerous consequences. Now, they'll have to work together to survive--and discover the truth about their connection. |
lot of diversity |
class, race, gay, lesbian, bisexual, nonbinary, disability FPOC, Hispanic, Unspecified, Epilepsy | 2014 | YA | |
Beyond Binary by Brit Mandelo (editor) |
Speculative fiction is the literature of questions, of challenges and imagination, and what better to question than the ways in which gender and sexuality have been rigidly defined, partitioned off, put in little boxes? These seventeen stories explore the ways in which identity can go beyond binary from space colonies to small college towns, from angels to androids, and from a magical past to other worlds entirely, the authors in this collection have brought to life wonderful tales starring people who proudly define (and redefine) their own genders, sexualities, identities, and so much else in between. |
short stories with non-traditional genders |
nonbinary, genderqueer, transgender, intersex, poly, asexual | 2012 | Adult | |
The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley |
On the eve of a recurring catastrophic event known to extinguish nations and reshape continents, a troubled orphan evades death and slavery to uncover her own bloody past… while a world goes to war with itself.
In the frozen kingdom of Saiduan, invaders from another realm are decimating whole cities, leaving behind nothing but ash and ruin.
As the dark star of the cataclysm rises, an illegitimate ruler is tasked with holding together a country fractured by civil war, a precocious young fighter is asked to betray his family and a half-Dhai general must choose between the eradication of her father’s people or loyalty to her alien Empress.
Through tense alliances and devastating betrayal, the Dhai and their allies attempt to hold against a seemingly unstoppable force as enemy nations prepare for a coming together of worlds as old as the universe itself.
In the end, one world will rise – and many will perish. |
Bi and poly-normative cultures with several systems of multiple genders |
nonbinary, class, bisexual, poly, genderqueer, multiple culture, queered culture, pronouns | 2014 | Adult | |
The Bone Doll's Twin by Lynn Flewelling Series: Tamir Triad Book 1 of 3 |
For three centuries a divine prophecy and a line of warrior queens protected Skala. But the people grew complacent and Erius, a usurper king, claimed his young half sister’s throne. Now plague and drought stalk the land, war with Skala’s ancient rival Plenimar drains the country’s lifeblood, and to be born female into the royal line has become a death sentence as the king fights to ensure the succession of his only heir, a son. For King Erius the greatest threat comes from his own line — and from Illior’s faithful, who spread the Oracle’s words to a doubting populace. As noblewomen young and old perish mysteriously, the king’s nephew — his sister’s only child — grows toward manhood. But unbeknownst to the king or the boy, strange, haunted Tobin is the princess’s daughter, given male form by a dark magic to protect her until she can claim her rightful destiny. Only Tobin’s noble father, two wizards of Illior, and an outlawed forest witch know the truth. Only they can protect young Tobin from a king’s wrath, a mother’s madness, and the terrifying rage of her brother’s demon spirit, determined to avenge his brutal murder.... |
Princess raised magically as male until adulthood |
genderqueer | 2009 | Adult | |
The Butterfly and the Flame by Dana De Young |
"There's something you need to know about Emily..."
In the year 2404, America is no more. In a land ruled by the oppressive theocracy known as the Dominion of Divinity, being gay is a capital offense, adultery is punished with the lash, women are forbidden to work, and forced marriages are common.
Fifteen-year-old Emily La Rouche faces an impossible choice. On her sixteenth birthday, she will be forced to marry Jonathan Marsh, the son of her landlord. If she refuses, her family will lose everything. If she takes his hand, it is certain that her life will end by a hangman's noose in front of an angry mob. All because Emily has been hiding an enormous secret for years-she was born a boy. As the wedding approaches, Emily's parents realize the only way that she will be safe is if she is to escape the Dominion.
With her brother Aaron at her side, Emily flees across post-apocalyptic America in search for a new home. With vile bounty hunters on her trail, only time will tell if Emily will ever find a place where she can live and breathe free as the person she was always meant to be |
Trans protagonist |
transgender | 2011 | Adult | |
Shadow Man by Melissa Scott |
Five human sexual identities are spread throughout the galaxy, and humanity has adjusted to this new culture. Except on Hara--there everyone must choose to be a man or a woman and that decision is final. Warreven, a Haran man, could have married the son of the ruler of the planet--if he had chosen to be a woman. The result of the conflict is one of the most bizarre identity crises in science fiction. |
Future culture with five genders, use of nb pronouns, other cultures and systems of gender |
genderqueer, pronouns, nonbinary, transgender, queered culture | 1995 | Adult | |
Trouble on Triton by Samuel R Delany |
In a story as exciting as any science fiction adventure written, Samuel R. Delany's 1976 SF novel, originally published as Triton, takes us on a tour of a utopian society at war with . . . our own Earth! High wit in this future comedy of manners allows Delany to question gender roles and sexual expectations at a level that, 20 years after it was written, still make it a coruscating portrait of "the happily reasonable man," Bron Helstrom -- an immigrant to the embattled world of Triton, whose troubles become more and more complex, till there is nothing left for him to do but become a woman. Against a background of high adventure, this minuet of a novel dances from the farthest limits of the solar system to Earth's own Outer Mongolia. Alternately funny and moving, it is a wide-ranging tale in which character after character turns out not to be what he -- or she -- seems. |
Gender-changing and gay characters |
gay, genderqueer, queered culture | 1976 | Adult | |
Brown Girl In The Ring by Nalo Hopkinson |
The rich and privileged have fled the city, barricaded it behind roadblocks, and left it to crumble. The inner city has had to rediscover old ways-farming, barter, herb lore. But now the monied need a harvest of bodies, and so they prey upon the helpless of the streets. With nowhere to turn, a young woman must open herself to ancient truths, eternal powers, and the tragic mystery surrounding her mother and grandmother.
She must bargain with gods, and give birth to new legends. |
African characters, class issues |
race, class, Black, African | 1998 | Adult | |
Apex Book of World SF by Lavie Tidhar (editor) Series: Apex World SF Book 1 of 3 |
The world of speculative fiction is expansive; it covers more than one country, one continent, one culture. Collected here are sixteen stories penned by authors from Thailand, the Philippines, China, Israel, Pakistan, Serbia, Croatia, Malaysia, and other countries across the globe. Each one tells a tale breathtakingly vast and varied, whether caught in the ghosts of the past or entangled in a postmodern age. Among the spirits, technology, and deep recesses of the human mind, stories abound. Kites sail to the stars, technology transcends physics, and wheels cry out in the night. Memories come and go like fading echoes and a train carries its passengers through more than simple space and time. Dark and bright, beautiful and haunting, the stories herein represent speculative fiction from a sampling of the finest authors from around the world. |
Diverse SF short stories |
race, setting, class, , race MULTIPLE, Unspecified | 2009 | Adult | |
The James Tiptree Award Anthology 1 by Karen Jo Fowler (editor) Series: James Tiptree Jr Anthology Book 1 of 3 |
This debut anthology features short fiction, novel excerpts, and essays that have won the James Tiptree, Jr. Award. Created in 1991 to honor the innovative fiction of Alice Bradley Sheldon (who wrote under the pen name James Tiptree), the Tiptree Award is presented to speculative fiction that explores and expands gender roles—and in the process touches on the most fundamental of human desires: the need for sex, for love, and for acceptance. This collection includes thought-provoking essays by Suzy McKee Charnas, Karen Joy Fowler, Ursula K. Le Guin, Pat Murphy, and Joanna Russ. |
Genderqueer short stories |
genderqueer, nonbinary, transgender, | 2004 | Adult | |
The Bone Palace by Amanda Downum Series: The Necromancer Chronicles Book 2 of 3 |
Death is no stranger in the city of Erisín-- but some deaths attract more attention than others.
When a prostitute dies carrying a royal signet, Isyllt Iskaldur, necromancer and agent of the Crown, is called to investigate. Her search leads to desecrated tombs below the palace, and the lightless vaults of the vampiric vrykoloi deep beneath the city. But worse things than vampires are plotting in Erisín...
As a sorcerous plague sweeps the city and demons stalk the streets, Isyllt must decide who she's prepared to betray, before the city built on bones falls into blood and fire. |
Trans women, queer society, diverse cast |
transgender, queered culture, race, class, poly, Middle Eastern, QUESTION, Unspecified | 2010 | Adult | |
Steelhands by Jadia Jones and Danielle Bennett Series: Havemercy Book 4 of 4 |
In the Volstov capital of Thremedon, Owen Adamo, the hard-as-nails ex–Chief Sergeant of the Dragon Corps, learns that Volstov’s ruler, the Esar, has been secretly pursuing the possibility of resurrecting magically powered sentient robot dragons—even at the risk of igniting another war. That Adamo will not allow. Though he is not without friends—Royston, a powerful magician, and Balfour, a former corpsman—there is only so much Adamo and his allies can do. Adamo has been put out to pasture, given a professorship at the University. Royston, already exiled once, dares not risk the Esar’s wrath a second time. And Balfour, who lost both hands in the climactic battle of the war, is now a diplomat who spends most of his time trying to master his new hands—metal replacements that operate on the same magical principles as the dragons and have earned him an assortment of nicknames of which “Steelhands” is the least offensive.
But sometimes help comes where you least expect it. In this case, from two first-year university students freshly arrived in Thremedon from the country: Laurence, a feisty young woman whose father raised her to be the son he never had, and Toverre, her fiancé, a brilliant if neurotic dandy who would sooner share his wife-to-be’s clothes than her bed. When a mysterious illness strikes the first-year students, Laurence takes her suspicions to Adamo—and unwittingly sets in motion events that will change Volstov forever. |
Gay characters, character with prosthetic hands, genderqueer characters |
gay, disability, genderqueer Amputee | 2011 | Adult | |
Lauriat by Charles Tan (editor) |
Filipinos and Chinese have a rich, vibrant literature when it comes to speculative fiction. But what about the fiction of the Filipino-Chinese, who draw their roots from both cultures? This is what this anthology attempts to answer. Featuring stories that deal with voyeur ghosts, taboo lovers, a town that cannot sleep, the Chinese zodiac, and an exile that finally comes home, Lauriat: A Filipino-Chinese Speculative Fiction Anthology covers a diverse selection of narratives from fresh, Southeast Asian voices.
|
Filipino and Chinese spec fic |
setting, , race East Asian, Southeast Asian | 2012 | Adult | |
People of the Book by Rachel Swirsky (editor) |
From Sholom Aleichem to Avram Davidson, Isaac Bashevis Singer to Tony Kushner, the Jewish literary tradition has always been one rich in the supernatural and the fantastic. In these pages, gathered from the best short fiction of the last ten years, twenty authors prove that their heritage is alive and well - in the spaces between stars that an alphabet can bridge, folklore come to life and histories become stories, and all the places where old worlds and new collide and change. |
Jewish scifi and fantasy |
race, Jewish | 2010 | Adult | |
Bone Dance by Emma Bull |
Sparrow’s my name. Trader. Deal-maker. Hustler, some call me. I work the Night Fair circuit, buying and selling pre-nuke videos from the world before. I know how to get a high price, especially on Big Bang collectibles. But the hottest ticket of all is information on the Horsemen—the mind-control weapons that tilted the balance in the war between the Americas. That’s the prize I’m after.
But it seems I’m having trouble controlling my own mind.
The Horsemen are coming. |
Agender protagonist |
nonbinary, genderqueer, intersex, | 1991 | Adult | |
Fledgling by Octavia Butler |
Fledgling, Octavia Butler's new novel after a seven year break, is the story of an apparently young, amnesiac girl whose alarmingly inhuman needs and abilities lead her to a startling conclusion: She is in fact a genetically modified, 53-year-old vampire. Forced to discover what she can about her stolen former life, she must at the same time learn who wanted--and still wants--to destroy her and those she cares for and how she can save herself. Fledgling is a captivating novel that tests the limits of "otherness" and questions what it means to be truly human. |
Bi black vampire girl |
race, class, bisexual, Black, African | 2005 | Adult | |
Love in the Time of Global Warming by Francesca Lia Block Series: Love in the Time of Global Warming Book 1 of 2 |
Her life by the sea in ruins, Pen has lost everything in the Earth Shaker that all but destroyed the city of Los Angeles. She sets out into the wasteland to search for her family, her journey guided by a tattered copy of Homer’s Odyssey. Soon she begins to realize her own abilities and strength as she faces false promises of safety, the cloned giants who feast on humans, and a madman who wishes her dead. On her voyage, Pen learns to tell stories that reflect her strange visions, while she and her fellow survivors navigate the dangers that lie in wait. In her signature style, Francesca Lia Block has created a world that is beautiful in its destruction and as frightening as it is lovely. At the helm is Pen, a strong heroine who holds hope and love in her hands and refuses to be defeated. |
Diverse and queer cast, bisexual, lesbian, and trans protagonists. |
gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, genderqueer, race, multiple culture, QUESTION, MULTIPLE, Unspecified | 2013 | YA | |
China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F McHugh |
With this groundbreaking novel, Maureen F. McHugh established herself as one of the decade's best science fiction writers. In its pages, we enter a postrevolution America, moving from the hyperurbanized eastern seaboard to the Arctic bleakness of Baffin Island; from the new Imperial City to an agricultural commune on Mars. The overlapping lives of cyberkite fliers, lonely colonists, illicit neural-pressball players, and organic engineers blend into a powerful, taut story of a young man's journey of discovery. This is a macroscopic world of microscopic intensity, one of the most brilliant visions of modern SF. |
Tiptree and Lambda Award winner. Gay characters. |
gay, genderqueer, setting, , race East Asian | 1992 | Adult | |
Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction by Grace L Dillon (editor) |
In this first-ever anthology of Indigenous science fiction Grace Dillon collects some of the finest examples of the craft with contributions by Native American, First Nations, Aboriginal Australian, and New Zealand Maori authors. The collection includes seminal authors such as Gerald Vizenor, historically important contributions often categorized as "magical realism" by authors like Leslie Marmon Silko and Sherman Alexie, and authors more recognizable to science fiction fans like William Sanders and Stephen Graham Jones. Dillon's engaging introduction situates the pieces in the larger context of science fiction and its conventions.
Organized by sub-genre, the book starts with Native slipstream, stories infused with time travel, alternate realities and alternative history like Vizenor's "Custer on the Slipstream." Next up are stories about contact with other beings featuring, among others, an excerpt from Gerry William's The Black Ship. Dillon includes stories that highlight Indigenous science like a piece from Archie Weller's Land of the Golden Clouds, asserting that one of the roles of Native science fiction is to disentangle that science from notions of "primitive" knowledge and myth. The fourth section calls out stories of apocalypse like William Sanders' "When This World Is All on Fire" and a piece from Zainab Amadahy's The Moons of Palmares. The anthology closes with examples of biskaabiiyang, or "returning to ourselves," bringing together stories like Eden Robinson's "Terminal Avenue" and a piece from Robert Sullivan's Star Waka.
An essential book for readers and students of both Native literature and science fiction, Walking the Clouds is an invaluable collection. It brings together not only great examples of Native science fiction from an internationally-known cast of authors, but Dillon's insightful scholarship sheds new light on the traditions of imagining an Indigenous future. |
Indigenous science fiction, on trans list |
race, setting, transgender,, race Indigenous, Native American, Unspecified, MULTIPLE | 2012 | Adult | |
Prosperity by Alexis Hall |
A breathtaking tale of passion and adventure in the untamed skies!
Prosperity, 1863: a lawless skytown where varlets, chancers, and ne’er-do-wells risk everything to chase a fortune in the clouds, and where a Gaslight guttersnipe named Piccadilly is about to cheat the wrong man. This mistake will endanger his life . . . and his heart.
Thrill! As our hero battles dreadful kraken above Prosperity. Gasp! As the miracles of clockwork engineering allow a dead man to wreak his vengeance upon the living. Marvel! At the aerial escapades of the aethership, Shadowless.
Beware! The licentious and unchristian example set by the opium-addled navigatress, Miss Grey. Disapprove Strongly! Of the utter moral iniquity of the dastardly crime prince, Milord. Swoon! At the dashing skycaptain, Byron Kae. Swoon Again! At the tormented clergyman, Ruben Crowe.
This volume (available in print, and for the first time on mechanical book-reading devices) contains the complete original text of Piccadilly’s memoirs as first serialised in All the Year Round. Some passages may prove unsettling to unmarried gentlemen of a sensitive disposition. |
Gay characters, genderless character, diverse cast. Author has also written a series of short stories in the same world. |
gay, nonbinary, genderqueer, race, Black, MULTIPLE, Unspecified | 2014 | Adult | |
Mission Child by Maureen F McHugh |
Mission Child is an expansion of Maureen McHugh's "The Cost to Be Wise," a fascinating novella from the original anthology Starlight 1.
Janna's world was colonized long ago by Earth and then left on its own for centuries. When "offworlders" return, their superior technology upsets the balance of a developing civilization.
Mission Child follows the journeys of Janna after she and her young partner escape marauders who attack their hometown. The girl, fast becoming mature beyond her years, sets off across the planet on an odyssey of adventure, poverty, hard work, war, famine, and rebirth. Janna uses her meager skills to eke out a living in a changing world; she gains and loses a husband, a child, friends, jobs, and more.
McHugh weaves together anthropology, sociology, psychology, and gender relations in this wondrous journey. Janna assumes the guise of a boy for protection, but eventually becomes "Jan" to herself as well as others. Reminiscent of Ursula K. Le Guin's insightful works set in the Hainish universe, Mission Child will doubtless be nominated for a Tiptree Award for its exploration of Janna's gender identity. --Bonnie Bouman |
Nonbinary trans character |
transgender, nonbinary, | 1998 | Adult |