LGBTQ Characters in SF/F

It’s Pride Month, and I thought I’d do a round-up of some of my favorite LGBTQ characters in science fiction and fantasy. I have a few in my own work; in the Blade Hunt Chronicles, my half-demon Camille is pansexual. My thief-witch Ben, who appears in Night Blade (Book 2), is gay, and so is his crewmate Lix.

YA fiction is probably a good place to start if you’re looking for LGBTQ characters. One of my current darlings is sharpshooter and thief Jesper Fahey, from the Six of Crows duology by Leigh Bardugo. Jesper is bisexual (and a terrible flirt, too), and his romance with Wylan Van Eck is absolutely adorable.

Another YA character that I adore is Pen Khan from the Skyscraper Throne trilogy by Tom Pollock. In Book 2, The Glass Republic, Pen travels to London-Under-Glass and meets Espel; the two girls team up to save mirror London and steal each other’s hearts along the way.

I’m a huge fan of the Raven Cycle series by Maggie Stiefvater, and Ronan Lynch was my top character from the start. I loved his slow-burn romance with Adam Parrish (oh, the pining!!!), and I’m so happy that Stiefvater is working on a new Ronan-based trilogy.

Moving away from YA, a great fantasy read from an indie press is The Art of Forgetting duology by Joanne Hall. In the first book, Rider, we meet Rhodri and watch him fall in love with one of his fellow soldiers. In the sequel, Nomad, Rhodri meets and marries a woman from a distant nomadic nation. His bisexuality is nicely handled, and his marriage does not in any way erase the legitimacy of his first relationship in the narrative.

How about love in space? One of my fave characters in Jo Zebedee’s Inheritance Trilogy is the main protagonist’s brother-in-law, Lichio le Payne. Even in space, it isn’t easy being bisexual while having an important military role, and Zebedee does a good job of helping us understand what Lichio goes through.

There are a lot of other great LGBTQ characters around in speculative fiction; Rhy Maresh, a bisexual prince in V.E. Schwab’s Shades of Magic trilogy comes to mind, as well as Rick Riordan’s genderfluid character Alex Fierro from the Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard books. Why not share some of your own personal favorites in the comments?

*The awesome Blade Hunt Chronicles character art is by Corinna Marie. She takes commissions and is a lovely person!