For Pride Month this June, Erin Cassidy, the Reference Librarian at Brewerton, presents a list of fantasy and sci-fi books from the NOPL collections with queer leads.
Queer fantasy and sci-fi has become very prevalent in the teen fiction and graphic novel world. However, it can be harder to find titles with queer leads in adult fiction as they are less common. Luckily, every year we get new releases and there are some great, current series to drive into… and eagerly anticipate the next release when you have blown through the available titles (I did that with the Locked Tomb and Roots of Chaos series so I can hardly pass judgement). At the end of this article, I have provided a list of one-off novels if you would rather dip your toe in instead of jumping in head-first. I wouldn’t blame anyone for keeping your options open.
Titles that are linked below are in the NOPL collections; titles with a hold link after them are in the OCPL collection and can be placed on hold by following the links. These titles may feature adult themes and situations including violence, trauma, peril, and horror.
Titles with a ★ are Erin’s not-to-be-missed selections!
FANTASY: (the powerful and powered)
Series:
Alamaxa Duology by Hadeer Elsbai
#1 The Daughters of Izdihar
#2 The Weavers of Alamaxa (coming in 2024)
Between Earth & Sky Series by Rebecca Roanhorse
#1 Black Sun
#2 Fevered Star
Burning Kingdoms Series by Tasha Suri
#1 The Jasmine Throne
#2 The Oleander Sword
Dark Gods Series by Tara Sim
#1 The City of Dusk
#2 The Midnight Kingdom (August 2023)
Dark Star Trilogy by Marlon James
#1 Black Leopard, Red Wolf
#2 Moon Witch, Spider King
The Dragon Heart Legacy by Nora Roberts
#1 The Awakening
#2 The Becoming
#3 The Choice
Fractured Fables by Alix E Harrow
#1 A Spindle Splintered
#2 A Mirror Mended
Last Binding Series by Freya Marske
#1 A Marvelous Light
#2 A Restless Truth
#3 A Power Unbound (November 2023)
Magic of the Lost Series by C. L. Clark
#1 The Unbroken
#2 The Faithless
Radiant Emperor Series by Shelley Parker-Chan
#1 She Who Became the Sun
#2 He Who Drowned the World (August 2023)
Roots of Chaos Series by Samantha Shannon
#1 The Priory of the Orange Tree ★
Prequel: A Day of Fallen Night
Serpent Gates Series by A. K. Larkwood
#1 The Unspoken Name ★
#2 The Thousand Eyes (hold)
Tomes & Tea Cozy Fantasies by Rebecca Thorne
#1 Can’t Spell Treason Without Tea
#2 A Pirate’s Life for Tea
Vagrant Gods Series by David Dalglish
#1 The Bladed Faith
#2 The Sapphire Altar
Wayward Children Series by Seanan McGuire
#1 Every Heart a Doorway
#2 Down Among the Sticks and Bones (eAudio)
#3 Beneath the Sugar Sky
#4 In an Absent Dream (eAudio)
#5 Come Tumbling Down (eAudio)
#6 Across the Green Grass Fields (eAudio)
#7 Where the Drowned Girls Go (eBook)
#8 Lost in the Moment and Found (hold)
Wind-Up Garden Series by Rory Power
#1 In a Garden Burning Gold
#2 In an Orchard Grown from Ash (May 2023)
eContent Series:
Captive Prince Trilogy by C. S. Pacat
#1 Captive Prince
#2 Prince’s Gambit (hold)
#3 King’s Rising (hold)
Chorus of Dragons Series by Jenn Lyons
#1 The Ruin of Kings
#2 The Name of All Things
#3 The Memory of Souls (hold)
#4 The House of Always (hold)
#5 The Discord of Gods (hold)
Night and its Moon Series by Piper C.J.
#1 The Night and Its Moon
#2 The Sun and Its Shade
#3 The Gloom Between Stars (July 2023)
Valdemar: Last Herald Mage Trilogy by Mercedes Lackey
#1 Magic’s Pawn
#2 Magic’s Promise
#3 Magic’s Price
Singles:
The Atlas Six
by Olivie Blake (scholarly fantasy)
The Chosen and the Beautiful
by Nghi Vo (20s fantasy)
The Empress of Salt and Fortune
by Nghi Vo (political fantasy)
The House in the Cerulean Sea
by TJ Klune (fantasy)
Kaikeyi
by Vaishnavi Patel (mythic fantasy)
Light from Uncommon Stars
by Ryka Aoki (faustian fantasy)
The Raven Tower
by Ann Leckie (political fantasy)
The Ruthless Lady’s Guide to Wizardry
by C M Waggoner (historical fantasy)
Spear
by Nicola Griffith (fantasy)
A Strange and Stubborn Endurance
by Foz Meadows (political fantasy)
Wrath Goddess Sing
By Maya Deane (mythic fantasy)
eContent Singles:
Bruising of Qilwa
by Naseem Jamina (political fantasy)
The Four Profound Weaves
By R. B. Lemberg (identity fantasy)
Servant Mage
by Kate Elliott (fantasy)
Feed Them Silence
Lee Mandelo (fantasy with wolves)
SCIENCE FICTION: (space, stars, and strategery)
Series:
The Graven Series by Essa Hansen
#1 Nophek Gloss
#2 Azura Ghost (hold)
Hainish Series by Ursula K. LeGuin
#6 The Left hand of Darkness
The Locked Tomb Series by Tamsyn Muir
#1 Gideon the Ninth ★
#2 Harrow the Ninth
#3 Nona the Ninth
#4 Alecto the Ninth (fall 2023)
Monk & Robot Series by Becky Chambers
#1 A Psalm for the Wild-Built ★
#2 A Prayer for the Crown-Shy
Tiexcalaan Series by Arkady Martine
#1 A Memory Called Empire
#2 A Desolation Called Peace (hold)
Wayfarers Series by Becky Chambers
#1 The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
#2 A Closed and Common Orbit
#3 Record of a Spaceborn Few
#4 The Galaxy, and the Ground Within
eContent Series:
Chilling Effect Series by Valerie Valdes
#1 Chilling Effect
#2 Prime Deceptions
#3 Fault Tolerance (hold)
Galactic Captains Series by Harry F. Rey
#1 Siege Weapons
#2 Forbidden Pursuits
#3 Horizon Points
#4 Destructive Forces
#5 Altered Ties
#6 Returning Heroes
The Great Cities Trilogy by NK Jemisin
#1 The City We Became
#2 The World We Make
LitenVerse Series by Nino Cipri
#1 Finna
#2 Defekt
Machineries Of Empire trilogy by Yoon Ha Lee
#1 Ninefox Gambit
#2 Raven Stratagem
#3 Revenant Gun
Masquerade Series by Seth Dickinson
#1 The Traitor Baru Cormorant
#2 The Monster Baru Cormorant
#3 The Tyrant Baru Cormorant
Salvagers Series by Alex White
#1 A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe
#2 A Bad Deal for the Whole Galaxy
#3 The Worst of All Possible Worlds
Singles:
Empire of Light
by Alex Harrow (political dystopian sci-fi)
The Fox’s Tower and Other Tales
by Yoon Ha Lee (mythic sci-fi)
Loki’s Ring
by Stina Leicht (space opera thriller)
Manhunt
by Gretchen Felker-Martin (dystopian sci-fi)
The Mimicking of Known Successes ★
by Malka Older (cozy mystery sci-fi)
Persephone Station
by Stina Leicht (space mercenaries)
Some Desperate Glory
by Emily Tesh (space opera)
The Stars Are Legion
by Kameron Hurley (space opera)
The Stars Undying
by Emery Robin (political sci-fi)
This Is How You Lose the Time War
by Amal El-Mohtar & Max Gladstone
(time travel sci-fi)
Upright Women Wanted
by Sarah Gailey (western sci-fi)
Winter’s Orbit
by Everina Maxwell (science fantasy)
by Chana Porter (encounter sci-fi)
by Lucy A. Snyder (horror sci-fi)
by Becky Chambers (science fantasy)
eContent Singles:
Battle of the Linguist Mages
by Scotto Moore (RPG adventure sci-fi)
Future Feeling
by Joss Lake (comedy sci-fi)
In the Watchful City
by S. Qiouyi Lu (encounter sci-fi)
Light Years from Home
by Mike Chen (family sci-fi)
