The 2020s have been a Golden Age of Gay. The current political situation aside, there has been an outpouring of queerness across the culture. Chappell Roan, I Saw The TV Glow, literally every character in Baldur’s Gate 3, queerness is alive and thriving in music, movies and video games. And when it comes to books? Don’t even get me started. There has been a deluge of queer literature flooding the market, with queer fantasy surging to the top. If you’re a connoisseur of the decade’s finest queer art, you can’t miss 10 best queer fantasy books of the 2020s (so far).
She Who Became The Sun
A historical fantasy novel set in Imperial China, Shelley Parker Chan’s She Who Became The Sun is a queer reimagining of the rise of one of the nation’s most famous royals: the Hongwu Emperor. The founder of the Ming Dynasty, he’s one of the most influential figures in Chinese history – and according to Shelley Parker Chan, one of its most important queer figures. The story begins with a young girl’s decision to take on the identity and destiny of a dead brother, Zhu Chongba. Newly rechristened, Zhu joins up with a rebel group to stick it to the invading Mongolians – establishing themself as a respected military figure. After ascending into the halls of power, Zhu begins a relationship with a noblewoman, who helps them navigate the intricacies of politics. It’s a sweeping novel about a person who refuses to let adversity, circumstance, violence, or gender roles bar them from the height of their ambition, which, in this case, is to rule China entirely. Dream big, y’all.
The House In The Cerulean Sea
T.J. Klune’s The House In The Cerulean Sea is the ultimate queer cozy beach read, just as the title suggests. It’s about Linus Baker, a caseworker for the Department In Charge of Magical Youth. While the job sounds fulfilling on paper, it’s mostly just boring paperwork – that is until Linus’s superiors assign him to monitor a seaside orphanage where a group of magic kids live with their mysterious caretaker. Ever the bureaucrat, Linus goes to the house in order to find policy discrepancies, but ends up walking away with a found family instead. If you’re looking for a slow burn gay romance about a man learning to come out of his shell, this is your novel. You may find yourself quitting your boring job because of it – that’s exactly what Linus and his newfound family would want for you.
Light From Uncommon Stars
Ryka Aoki’s Light From Uncommon Stars is 50% fantasy, 50% sci-fi, 100% queer af. It’s about acclaimed violin teacher Shizuka Satomi, who has entered a Faustian bargain with the devil. She’s furnished Hell with the souls of six violin prodigies so far, and after a trans runaway violinist stumbles into her life, she thinks she’s found the seventh and final soul she owes. Shizuka also happens to bump into an alien spaceship captain hiding out in a donut shop, and the pair are now slowly falling in love. Demons, extraterrestrials, robots, and a trio of queer woman are all woven together into a sci-fi fantasy tapestry as beautiful as the starry skies above – with just as must existential wonder.
Harrow The Ninth
Following up on the goth necromancer lesbian murder mystery space opera that was Gideon The Ninth, Tamsyn Muir returns with a cerebral sequel. Picking up where the first novel left off, Harrow The Ninth follows Harrowhark Nonagesimus on her quest to help an intergalactic space emperor defeat the angry ghost of a dead planet. Yes, really. I can’t go too far into the bonkers plot without giving away massive spoilers for the first book, but trust me, this mind-bender novel has more twists and turns than a country railroad. And despite its strange second person narration style, the story somehow manages to stay on track. Harrow The Ninth reads somewhat like Dark Souls plays – you won’t get the whole plot on the first go-around, but you’ll be too enthralled by the dark fantasy vibes to care.
The Spear Cuts Through Water
The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez is a story within a story – like The Princess Bride! Told by a grandmother to her grandchild, the tale takes place in a fantastical kingdom known ruled by the tyrannical Moon Emperor and his three monstrous sons. In order to assert his rule, the emperor married and imprisoned the moon goddess deep within his palace, but lucky for her, two queer men are prepared to bust her out. On the run with a dying goddess, a royal guard and a runaway prince form the fantasy odd couple that will liberate a nation – and fall in love with one another in the process. It’s a lyrical story that unfolds with storybook whimsy, rich and timeless as a legend of old – but not just about straight people, like most legends of old are.
The Unspoken Name
The Unspoken Name by A.K. Larkwood is about Csorwe, young woman who spent her life preparing to be sacrificed to the dark patron deity of a creepy cult – and is totally oaky with it! That is, until a traveling wizard offered her another option: serve him in his quest to return to home. Beats getting murdered! While Csorwe may have found a way to cheat death this time, the former sacrifice soon learns that accepting an apprenticeship to a sorcerer with a shady past isn’t a surefire way to keep your head attached to your shoulders. Things get morally greyer when the wizard starts training Csorwe in the art of assassination in order to help him get his hands on an ancient magical artifact. But hey, being a wizard’s hit-woman has its perks, one of which is that you get to meet peers your age – and convince them to leave the weird cults they’ve sworn allegiance to and become your sapphic lover. Ex-Catholics, ex-mormons, ex-anythings will love this one.
A Dowry of Blood
As the title suggests, A Dowry of Blood by S.T. Gibson is a dark romance about one of fantasy’s oldest characters: Dracula. Specifically, Dracula and his relationship to his first wife. Constanta was the first of Dracula’s “brides” and has seen the vamp through the centuries – navigating her love for her husband and her complicated relationship with the women who share his affections. While Constanta and Dracula’s other consorts got off to an unsurprisingly rocky start, the primary bride soon finds solace in the arms of her romantic rivals. It’s a deeply sexy book about cheating on your husband with the people that he’s cheating on you with, and then forming a polycule with the people you thought were your competition. Is a roadmap for healthy relationships? Absolutely not. Is it a hot and heavy work of queer dark fiction that will have you sweating blood? Absolutely yes.
The Empress of Salt and Fortune
Set in a mythical world inspired by Imperial China, Nghi Vo’s The Empress of Salt and Fortune is the story of a captured princess’s rise to the heights of imperial power. Recorded by a non-binary monk and recounted by her former lover, the titular empress’s quest to liberate the realm from her tyrant husband feels like the stuff of ancient legend. With the help of her handmaiden-turned-partner Rabbit, princess In-yo is able to politically outmaneuver her husband and establish a new era of peace and prosperity. Rebellious, feminist, and achingly queer, The Empress of Salt and Fortune is required reading on the gay fantasy syllabus.
The Oleander Sword
The second installment of The Burning Kingdoms trilogy, Tasha Suri’s The Oleander Sword a continuation of exiled princess Malini’s quest to overthrow her tyrant brother. With the help of a priestess whose blood thrums with an ancient magic, Malini is determined to liberate the nation of Parijatdvipa in fulfillment of a forgotten god’s prophecy. How? With lots and lots of swords – Oleander and otherwise. Much like The Two Towers, this mid-trilogy novel burns with the unquenchable fires of war. Malini must lead an army against her brother, while priestess Priya attempts to rid the land of a magical rot that is infecting every living thing – all while maintaining their budding sapphic relationship with one another. The course of true love never did run smooth, sometimes leaves a few bloody bodies in the road.
A Marvelous Light
What do you get when you combine murder mystery, magic, and MLM romance? You get Freya Marske’s A Marvelous Light. Set in an alternative version of Edwardian England, the story follows Robin Blyth – a low ranking noble who signs up for a government job, unaware that his new position will require him to serve as a liaison to England’s magical underground. Considering that his predecessor vanished without a trace, Robin may be in over his aristocratic head. He’ll have to rely on the help of his bureaucratic coworker Edwin Courcey if he’s going to survive and thrive in this business – and get to the bottom of nefarious plot that threatens the lives of magicians everywhere. It’s basically Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell if they were actually gay for one another – headcanons don’t count.
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