i’m looking for adult fiction that features prominent queer characters/storylines, while being set in either the medieval period or in a medieval-inspired fantasy setting. i would ideally like things to be as historically accurate (or like… well-researched and internally consistent, for fantasy) as possible, but i’m willing to sacrifice that to an extent for a good story.
i’m open to a lot, so feel free to suggest things that don’t fit this, but i do have some preferences. i enjoy rich, descriptive detail, especially of the world, items, and daily life of the characters. being able to visually picture the world and understand the ways in which society runs and functions is one of the most fun parts of fantasy and historical fiction, to me. i also enjoy stories that focus on multiple different cultures, and the ways in which the people of said cultures interact and live together. i also deeply appreciate feminist themes and explorations of gender immensely in all media, but especially in historical/fantasy fiction. i like characters that are kind of mean and awful to be around, and i also enjoy codependent, unhealthy relationship dynamics (in all forms! platonic, familial, romantic, incestuous, even) and characters who have devoted theirselves completely to someone/something.
i don’t have very many hard nos, and i enjoy darker themes including most common triggers. my main request here is that things stay in the adult genre, and not the YA one. i also am not looking for romantasy/romance novels here, (i do also read and enjoy romance, so this isn’t a diss!) but books with a major romance subplot are completely fine and even encouraged. of course, books without any romance at all are also completely fine.
by cryerin25
2 Comments
Richard K. Morgan’s “A Land Fit For Heroes” trilogy is really great! He’s best known for the Takeshi Kovacs (Altered Carbon) novels, which are amazing, also, but ALFFH might be exactly what you are looking for.
The book of Koli
It’s not a prominent theme but it’s there and it’s very entertaining.
It definitely checks a lot of your likes.