Queer SFF reading recommendations

We love discovering new books at Orbit HQ and this Pride month we asked some of our authors to tell us what their three favourite queer SFF reads are. Find out more below –

 

Francesca May author of Wild and Wicked Things:

 

House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson

A sapphic fantasy-horror inspired by tales of the Blood Countess – bloody, lush and irresistibly dark.

 

A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske

This Edwardian mlm romp is somehow both charming and *incredibly* sexy. The first in a trilogy too (and the second book is sapphic!)

 

A Day of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

The prequel to Priory of the Orange Tree is a standout for me, featuring not one but two sapphic pairings – my favourite of the two being between an established couple who have been together for thirty years and have known each other for half a century. It’s so joyful to see a variety of queer couples in fantasy lit!

 

 

Annalee Newitz author of The Terraformers

 

The Red Scholar’s Wake by Aliette De Bodard

This is an achingly beautiful, swashbuckling tale of the arranged (queer) marriage between a brilliant engineer and a sentient pirate spaceship who can take human form.

 

Witchmark by C. L. Polk

Hot hookups and class warfare come together in this novel (the first in a trilogy) about a family of messy gay witches struggling to deal with the legacy of their aristocratic family in a 1920s-esque fantasy world still reeling from a terrible war.

 

Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo

A brutal, sexy, Southern gothic tale of a trans graduate student in Appalachia who sees ghosts, loves fast cars and street racing, and is trying to figure out who (or what) killed his boyfriend.

 

 

C. L. Clark author of The Faithless

 

Spear by Nicola Griffith

One of my all-time favourite Arthurian tales, Spear is a beautiful story about becoming yourself with a gender-swapped Percival.

 

In Memoriam by Alice Winn

In Memoriam is a heart-wrenching story of two men struggling with their love in the hopelessness of World War I; I especially loved the use of newspapers and letters that pulled us even deeper into the story.

 

Among Thieves by M. J. Kuhn

First in a duology, this dark heist novel had me laughing out loud at the antics of a found family that is just as likely to stab each other in the back as work together.

 

Tasha Suri author of The Oleander Sword

 

Witch King by Martha Wells

I’m obsessed with the way this book wove intimate depictions of grief and warmth with a vast queernorm world and epic stakes. Also, it has demons. Who doesn’t love demons?

 

Malice by Heather Walter

This sapphic retelling of Sleeping Beauty from the villain’s perspective is romantic and rich and so satisfying. A must-read for sapphic or lesbian fantasy romance fans.

 

The Final Strife by Saara El-Arifi

How could I not love a book that combines queernorm worldbuilding with a brutal empire, a chosen who missed her calling, and a romance you can’t help but root for?

 

S. T. Gibson author of A Dowry of Blood

 

The Monster Of Elendhaven by Jennifer Giesbrecht

A deliciously toxic queer revenge narrative with a plot as tangled and frayed as decaying lace, shot through with aching desire.

 

The Fae Queen’s Captive by Sierra Simone

A love letter to living life hungry for enchantment and passion, this sapphic romance novella melds beautiful prose with scorching heat and magical political machinations perfectly.

 

Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey

An exquisitely beautiful and mind-bogglingly smart high fantasy awash in spycraft, sex, tangled allegiances, and of course, queernormativity. It’s a classic for a reason.

 

Honourable mentions form S. T. Gibson: House of Hunger by Alexis Henderson and A Marvellous Light by Freya Marske.