Alternative Sexuality in Science Fiction and Fantasy
Explore groundbreaking science fiction and fantasy books featuring alternative sexuality. Discover LGBTQ+, polyamorous, and non-binary narratives in speculative fiction's most daring works.
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Wraeththu
by Storm Constantine
Here at last in a single volume are all three of Constantine's Wraeththu trilogy: The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit, The Bewitchments of Love and Hate, and The Fulfilments of Fate and Desire. In this powerful and elegant story set in a future Earth very different from our own, a new kind of human has evolved to challenge the dominion of Homo sapiens. This new breed is stronger, smarter, and far more beautiful than their parent race, and are endowed with psychic as well as physical gifts. They are destined to supplant humanity as we know it, but humanity won't die without a struggle.
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The Wraiths of Will and Pleasure
by Storm Constantine
With "The Wraiths of Will and Pleasure, " Constantine returns once again to the saga of the Wraeththu with a new epic that reveals previously unknown truths about the origins of these remarkable beings.
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Storm Constantine's Wraeththu Mythos 'Breeding Discontent'
by Wendy Darling
A dark tale set in Megalithica, Breeding Discontent tells the story of Lisia, a hostling in a secret Varrish breeding facility, completely isolated from society and forced to make pearls - new life - on demand by the military.After defeating Varrish rule, the Gelaming uncover the hidden facility, which has been abandoned by its administrators. Only a group of struggling survivors remain, Lisia and nearly two hundred juveniles.Lisia, suspicious and confused by these unfamiliar hara, is fearful of being evicted from the only home and lifestyle he has ever known, as well as losing custody of his charges. Warily, he forms an alliance with the young Lord Swift Parasiel, newly placed in power, and his illustrious hostling, Cobweb. Together these hara work to correct old wrongs, secure new rights, and challenge a liberation that at times feels more like conquest. The past and the present begin to overlap, as Lisia's chilling history is told through the pages of his diary and he struggles to fight for his future, and the welfare of those in his care.
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Science Fiction
by Nicola Griffith
Edited by world-renowned lesbian fantasy author Nicola Griffith and fantasy publisher Stephen Pagel, this groundbreaking anthology of stories brings together some of mainstream's and sci-fi's most notable writers--gay and straight--creating worlds where time and place and sexuality are alternative to the empirical environment.
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Luck in the Shadows
by Lynn Flewelling
"A new star is rising in the fantasy firmament...teems with magic and spine-chilling amounts of skullduggery."–Dave Duncan, author of The Great Game When young Alec of Kerry is taken prisoner for a crime he didn’t commit, he is certain that his life is at an end. But one thing he never expected was his cellmate. Spy, rogue, thief, and noble, Seregil of Rhiminee is many things–none of them predictable. And when he offers to take on Alec as his apprentice, things may never be the same for either of them. Soon Alec is traveling roads he never knew existed, toward a war he never suspected was brewing. Before long he and Seregil are embroiled in a sinister plot that runs deeper than either can imagine, and that may cost them far more than their lives if they fail. But fortune is as unpredictable as Alec’s new mentor, and this time there just might be…Luck in the Shadows.
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Stalking Darkness
by Lynn Flewelling
With the Leran threat laid to rest, Alec and Seregil are now able to turn their attention to the ancient evil which threatens their land. The Plenimarans, at war with Skalans, have decided to defeat their ancient enemy by raising up the Dead God, Seriamaius. The early attempts at this reincarnation--masterminded by the sinister Duke Mardus and his sorcerous minion Vargul Ashnazai--once left Seregil in a sorcerous coma. Now, an ancient prophecy points to his continuing role in the quest to stop Mardus in his dread purpose. Seregil's friend and Mentor, the wizard Nysander, has long been the guardian of a deadly secret. In a secret, silver-lined room hidden well beneath the Oreska, he has served for most of his 300 years as the keeper of a nondescript clay cup. But this cup, combined with a crystal crown and some wooden disks, forms the Helm of Seriamaius, and any mortal donning the reconstructed Helm will become the incarnation of the god on earth. Nysander holds the cup and Mardus the wooden disks--one of which was responsible for Seregil's coma--but the crown must still be located. Threatened under pain of death by Nysander to keep his quest a secret even from his loyal companion, Alec, Seregil is dispatched to find the last missing piece of the Helm so that he and Nysander can destroy it. But this is only the beginning of one of his deadliest journeys ever, for the prophecy also holds that four will come together in a time of darkness, and gradually all that Seregil values is placed at risk as he, Alec, Nysander and Micum are drawn into a deadly web of terror and intrigue.
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Traitor's Moon
by Lynn Flewelling
Master spies Seregil and Alec are no strangers to peril. Their assignments, nightrunning for wizards and nobles, have led them into many deadly situations. But sometimes the greatest danger can lurk beneath a Traitor's Moon. . . . Wounded heroes of a cataclysmic battle, Seregil and Alec have spent the past two years in self-imposed exile, far from their adopted homeland, Skala, and the bitter memories there. But as the war rages on, their time of peace is shattered by a desperate summons from Queen Idralain, asking them to aid her daughter on a mission to Aurënen, the very land from which Seregil was exiled in his youth. Here, in this fabled realm of magic and honor, he must at last confront the demons of his dark past, even as Alec discovers an unimagined heritage. And caught between Skala's desperate need and the ancient intrigues of the Aurënfaie, they soon find themselves snared in a growing web of treachery and betrayal.
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Trysts
by Steve Berman
Steve Berman has assembled thirteen of his most evocative stories, all of which revolve around the central theme of the assignation or 'tryst.' But these passionate hookups and romantic encounters range from the eerie to the horrifying to the wondrous. Trysts offers readers dark and quirky tales from a distinctive new voice in gay fiction.
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The Chosen
by Ricardo Pinto
Young Carnelian has spent his entire life alone with his father, who years ago rejected the savage cruelty of the Masters of Osrakum and was sent into exile. But now a ship has come flying through the winter gales to shatter his quiet world. Three Masters disembark, and as they remove their masks of gold, Carnelian is awed by the light that seems to radiate from their skin. In formal conclave they beg Carnelian's father to return with them to Osrakum to oversee the election of a new God Emperor. And so Carnelian begins to fulfill his destiny. Along his perilous journey to the Osrakum, he is forced to learn bitter lessons in bloodshed, power, intrigue, love, and treachery--and sets in motion the concluding events in a story four thousand years old.
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The Standing Dead
by Ricardo Pinto
At the heart of The Three Lands, there is a paradise, filled with beauty and wonders of all kinds. A lush and vibrant place, it stands in sharp contrast to the baseness and squalor of the world outside the walls of Osrakum. But this beauty comes at a cost. The Masters who rule the world are driven by sadistic dreams and mythic charms. They use their vast powers to leech the resources of the world unto themselves, to create an artificial haven where they play out twisted games of power amid a decadent splendor. Within the inner circle of power lies a glittering court where the royal houses plot vile atrocities, and madness and bestiality hold sway. The Masters are nothing less than gods in this realm and their plans (or whims) can bring either perfect pleasure... or death. Young Carnelian has spent his entire life in exile with his father, a nobleman who rejected the evil ways of his people and fled to the ends of the known world. But forces conspired to change all that, and Carnelian returned to his homeland. He is a sheep among wolves, and it has taken every ounce of his strength to resist the temptations of power that threaten to seduce his very soul. What Carnelian could never have imagined was that he would fall in love with none other than Osidian, one of the twin Gods, ruler of his world--or that forces far darker than he thought possible would use him as a weapon. When the young lovers are kidnapped by the Empress Ykoriana and forced from the safety of the empire, it appears that their lives are forfeit. But Carnelian and Osidian fall into the hands of barbarians from the southern plain they call the Undersky. These raiders manage to elude the legions of the Masters, and after enduring terrible hardships, they succeed in bringing their prizes home to their tribe. Carnelian comes to realize that the world is much more bizarre than he could ever imagine, that love can sometimes blind you to things that may destroy you, that the simple things the heart can teach you will prove to be the most true.... And that he holds in his hands the potential to save or doom all of his world. The Standing Dead is the powerful sequel to Ricardo Pinto's first novel The Chosen, and it continues this unique fantasy series about power, eros, and madness...and the depths a man will go to for love. It is the second volume in The Stone Dance of the Chameleon series, and he is currently at work on the third. Ricardo Pinto resides in Edinburgh, Scotland.
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The Left Hand of Darkness
by Ursula K. Le Guin
50TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION—WITH A NEW INTRODUCTION BY DAVID MITCHELL AND A NEW AFTERWORD BY CHARLIE JANE ANDERS Ursula K. Le Guin’s groundbreaking work of science fiction—winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards. A lone human ambassador is sent to the icebound planet of Winter, a world without sexual prejudice, where the inhabitants’ gender is fluid. 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 strange, intriguing culture 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.
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Shadow Man
by Melissa Scott
Living on a planet where one's sex is a matter of choice, Warreven, whose decision to be a man precluded his marriage to the planet's prince, suffers a bizarre identity crisis. By the author of Trouble and Her Friends.
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The Crown of Silence
by Storm Constantine
When Shan was fifteen years old, dark soldiers came out of the west, like a cloud of evil boiling over the soft hills of his homeland. They commanded terrible beasts, which killed with hook claws like scythes and cold eyes that dripped icy fire. The soldiers wore helmets that looked like fiends, tusked and snarling and sneering. The terrible consequences of war have left the boy Shan wounded in body and mind by the invading army of Magravandias. He's taken from his devastated village by the magus Taropat, chosen by the master's mysterious impulse to become the wizard's pupil, and a weapon against the invading empire.
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Stealing Sacred Fire
by Storm Constantine
Who alone can master the millennial power? In book three of The Grigori Trilogy: Stealing Sacred Fire Peverel Othman has come home, though not as himself. Through the old magic of the Grigori he is now once again Shemyaza, an angel of awesome power who led the rebellion of angles to mate with and enslave humans. Now as this millennium draws to a close Shemyaza calls his followers to him for the final battle to decide who controls the fate of humanity. Answering his call are: his six Grigori brothers and sisters who once again want to rule humanity for their own pleasure, Daniel his once human vizier who is now also becoming Grigori, and the Yarasadi freedom-fighters who will stop at nothing to see their culture recreated to be the new Eden on earth. As the final battle unfolds to decide the fate of humanity, can Daniel remember what it is to be human and convince Shemyaza that humans can share equally in the new millennium, with the Grigori before it is too late and we become their slaves forever?
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The Monstrous Regiment
by Storm Constantine
On the planet Artemis, populated by militant feminists, Corinna shelters a runaway rebel who is being chased by Carmenya, a general in the army of the Dominatrix. This act leads her to the city of Silven Crescent in the service of Carmenya.
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Aleph
by Storm Constantine
Corinna Trotgarden, her family and friends have left the marsh in the aftermath of The Monstrous Regiment. Travelling north and settling in an area they name Freespace, they are unaware that Artemis has been in contact with the rest of human space...
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The Shades of Time and Memory
by Storm Constantine
Hailed as "a literary fantasist of outstanding power and originality" by Michael Moorcock and "a mythmaking Gothic queen" by Neil Gaiman, Storm Constantine is one of the most exciting and innovative fantasy writers of her generation. The author of many acclaimed works of science fiction and fantasy, she is best known for her daring, stylish and provocative "Wraeththu" trilogy (The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit , The Bewitchments of Love and Hate, The Fulfilments of Fate and Desire). The series, which chronicled the rise of a new race of seductive androgynous beings, with awesome powers, was hailed as a modern fantasy masterpiece, winning an avid international following of devoted readers. In her current series of work, Constantine has returned to the world of the Wraeththu, and the history of the first ruling dynasty in Immanion. Shades of Time and Memory continues the story of the emotional struggle between the triad of Pellaz, the Tigron of all the Wraeththu; Caeru, the Tigrina chosen for him by Thiede, and hostling of Pellaz's heir; and Calanthe, the Tigrina of Pellaz' heart -- Cal who incepted Pellaz, murdered Thiede, and whose wild seductive nature captivates all who know him. But while these three struggle for mortal political power, others are discovering that the psychic abilities of the Wraeththu and their sisters, the Kamagrian, are far greater, and far stranger, than any of them had ever supposed.