Queer characters have gotten more and more visibility in media, and it’s about time, too. But they can still be hard to find, especially if you’re in a relatively unknown part of the rainbow like nonbinary or aromantic/asexual. So, these are my favorite sci-fi/fantasy books with queer rep to make that search just a little bit easier.

This list is very incomplete, as they are simply books that I have read and that I have personally enjoyed. Also—hi! I’m not the Biblio Nerd Chris, but a different Chris. I’m C. M. Alongi, sci-fi/fantasy author and content creator. I’m turning my (queer) urban fantasy TikTok series CaFae Latte into a book, and Chris was kind enough to let me take over his blog for the day to talk about other queer fantasy stories.

Now a note on definitions: when I say “queer” sci-fi/fantasy, I mean the book has a major or main LGBTQ+ character. They’re not pushed off to the wings for token parts, they are doing stuff “on screen” so to speak for at least 60% of the story. And they’re queer canonically, none of that baiting bullshit. However, the story itself may not necessarily be about the “queer experience,” so to speak. It may focus entirely on surviving a Civil War-Era zombie apocalypse, and the major character just happen to be bisexual while doing it.

Cool? Cool. Let’s get started! In no particular order:

Sawkill Girls by Claire Legrand

Three girls become superheroes to fight a flesh-eating, woman-hunting, shapeshifting monster. …that’s it. It’s great. Trigger warning for this one, as there are themes of domestic violence. However, I think it’s handled quite well, especially when it comes to the struggle of breaking the cycle of abuse.

Witchmark Trilogy by C. L. Polk

Most of us have heard of Polk’s bestseller Midnight Bargain. I haven’t read that one, but I have read her Witchmark Trilogy, and oh boy, is it good. I can’t go into depth because of spoilers, but basically we have a fantasy-version of Edwardian/Victorian England where magic is considered too dangerous. Those born with magic are locked away in asylums…if they’re poor. The rich, of course, run the place, hiding in plain sight. If you’re born rich with storm magic, awesome. If not, then you’re essentially chained/enslaved to storm magic-users so they can use you as a battery pack. The protagonist of book one fakes his death to escape such a situation.

Also themes of domestic violence in this one, too. And classism.

Dread Nation and its sequel Deathless Divide, by Justina Ireland

This one’s great if you want queer people of color—specifically Black. Dread Nation takes place twenty years after zombies first rise during the Battle of Gettysburg. Slavery is gone, but the Reconstruction Era isn’t exactly known for great tolerance (it is, in fact, when the KKK was formed).

The main character Jane is a young black woman who’s training to be a zombie-fighting specialist, which white women can hire as bodyguards. But she realizes very quickly that something rotten is going on in her city and sets out to find it. Hopefully without become undead in the process.

Her frenemy Katherine is, to date, the best representation of an aroace character I’ve ever seen.

The Mermaids of Eriana Kwai Trilogy by Tiana Warner

This is basically lesbian Romeo & Juliet, but with flesh-eating mermaids. And also some indigenous rep—although the island and culture is largely fictional.

The island, home to a small human community, is slowly starving as mermaids fish out the waters—and also kill anyone who gets too close to shore. Every year, the island sends out a ship full of young men to kill as many mermaids as possible. Few ever return, largely because the mermaids have a siren-song effect that hypnotizes men. Until finally the island’s like, “Fine! We’ll go woke and send out girls!”

Only problem: one of those girls falls in love with a mermaid.

Warner also has a few other fantasy and contemporary stories out there, most if not all of them sapphic.

The City in the Middle of the Night by Charlie Jane Anders

…I have a lot of sapphic reps, don’t I? Ironically, I’m not a lesbian. I’m aroace. But I’m also a woman, which means I tend to be drawn toward stories with major femme characters. Sorry, not sorry.

Anywhoo: this one takes place on a tidally locked planet. That is, a planet where one side permanently faces the sun while the other faces away, leaving a single thin habitable layer in between. The main character explores three cities: a tyrannical one that tries to execute her for stealing a few bucks, a laissez-fare one that’s all party all the time (but no law and order, and certainly no support for its poorer population), and the alien-run City in the Middle of the Night.

This one’s really hard to describe, mostly because the prose is so unique and also so good.

The Invisible Life of Addie La Rue by V. E. Schwab

I hesitate to add this to the list, simply because while both main characters are plainly stated as bi (or maybe pan? Hard to tell sometimes), all of the more explicit parts are cishet. Having said that, it’s a really good book, you’re still bi/pan even if you’re in a “straight” relationship, and rules are dumb.

This one took over TikTok and Instagram for a little bit, and for good reason. The main character, Addie, was born in 18th Century France. Why is she running around 21st Century New York? Well, she made a deal with a basically-devil who made her immortal. Only problem: nobody remembers her. If they walk out of the room, they instantly forget ever meeting her. She is unable to leave her mark, not in people’s memories, or paper, or stone, nothing.

Until one day Addie meets a man who remembers her.

This is another “yeah, the plot and characters are great, but oh my god the P R O S E!”

Everything by Rick Riordan starting from Magnus Chase and the Trials of Apollo series

You know who this is.

Heart of Iron by C. M. Alongi

Jennifer Charles (JC) is fresh out of prison and rehab, hoping to turn their life around and stay out of trouble. And they seem to be in luck, as they land a baking job at CaFae Latte, owned by the mysterious and powerful fairy known to her community as Violet.

However, JC soon learns that their dark, trauma-filled past has nothing on Violet’s, and soon, her enemies capture her with the intention of dragging her back to the Fae Realm for capital punishment. And to make matters worse, they frame JC for the crime, forcing them to team up with the knife-happy Cyrus and the witch Nicole to save their reputation and chance at a new life.

Of course, Violet’s no sitting damsel, and spends much of her time reminding her captors of why she was one called the Iron Witch, or “she with a heart of iron.”

But they all have a bigger problem: this book isn’t out yet! In fact, it hasn’t even been edited. I am self-publishing this novel, and to make sure I deliver a quality product (with full edits, audiobook narration and production, decent cover art, etc.), I am running a Kickstarter to raise the funds needed to do so. Check out the link here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cmalongi/heart-of-iron-a-cafae-latte-novel