A lot of the LGBT fiction I’ve read has been centered entirely on the main character being gay, their love life, and their somewhat stereotypical lifestyle. That or they’re about women, which is fantastic but not what I’m looking for.
I’m looking for books with gay/bi male characters, either as the protagonist or otherwise, that have personality and a life outside of their sexuality; books where you could feasibly describe the plot without mentioning LGBT.
Some fiction off the top of my head that fits this description:
* Cell by Stephen King (Stephen King does this well in general, actually)
* Mordred, Bastard Son by Douglas Clegg (Kind of romance focused, but a strong plot outside of that following Arthurian myth)
* Stranger Things (TV show, but still,>! blink and you’ll miss it but it’s a main character!<)
* The Pern series by Anne McCaffrey
* The Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice
* Star Wars: Aftermath by Chuck Wendig
* Stephen Universe, She-Ra and The Dragon Prince do this well as far as cartoons go, though they’re mostly focused on women.
Some fiction I didn’t like:
* “Yaoi”, all of it.
* Peter Darling by Austin Chant (Strongly recommended to me but it read like a fanfic from 2016 tumblr)
* The herald mage series by Mercedes Lackey IYKYK
I have no genre preferences. I prefer fantasy elements, and the further from modern realism the better, but I’ll take what I can get.
by HumbleAd3804
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Secret Dinner by Raphael Montes
Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith (from the 50s so its highly subtextual tho)
Hap and Leonard Book Series by Joe R. Lansdale. Start with Savage Season. These are some of my favorites; hope you enjoy!
The Blade Between by Sam Miller
The Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
The City We Became by N.K Jemisin
Song of Achilles
“Legends and Lattes” by Travis Baldree
“Small Angels” by Lauren Owen–a horror story about these woods.
“Sorrowland” by Rivers Solomon–I only liked the first half of this book, but it fits the bill.
“The Buried and Bound” by Rochelle Hassen
House In the Cerulean Sea by TJ Klune
Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune
Several books in the Wayfarer’s series by Becky Chambers big they’re all great regardless
Dark Rise by C.S. Pacat
The Heart’s Invsisible Furies by John Boyne (not fantasy, but still amazing)
The Raven Cycle by Maggie Stiefvater (not eaxctly my favourite, but wildly popular, so you might enjoy it more than i did lol)
The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt
The Five Wounds by Kirstin Valdez Quade
As Meat Loves Salt – historical about the English revolution but is quite violent and written with the same blunt quality Stephen King has
The Half Life of Valery K – 1960s Soviet nuclear power plant thriller/mystery following an scientist who’s been let out of the gulag to investigate strange happenings
The Darkness Outside Us – “locked room” sci fi thriller that follows two men hurtling through space on a mission, but things aren’t adding up, and there’s more mysteries on the ship than answers. (FYI the darkness outside us was horribly mismarketed; it’s brilliant it’s a really mind-bendy thriller and probably should’ve been shelved with adult based on the plot and romance elements, but bc it has a gay main character who’s 19 it was slated as YA)
{{The Starless Sea}} by Erin Morgenstern
{{I’ll Give You the Sun}} by Jandy Nelson
I’m going to say In Search of Lost Time, the sexuality of one of the main characters is very relevant, but not the main point, and there are many gay characters that are not defined by that aspect of their life.
But I always try to recommend In Search…
I’m going to say In Search of Lost Time, the sexuality of one of the main characters is very relevant, but not the main point, and there are many gay characters that are not defined by that aspect of their life.
But I always try to recommend In Search…
The Broken Earth trilogy by NK Jemisin
The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
Not a book sadly but Omar in the Wire is wonderful.
Definitely Victoria Goddard!