By Else
It is June, it is Pride Month, and in light of current world events, it is even more important to celebrate this than ever.
That means I have a great reason to highlight one of my personal favorites: Space is Gay* (*LGBTQIA+).
If you’ve ever spoken to me about Science Fiction, you will probably have noticed I am passionate about Space being very, very gay. I’ve been asked why I am so loud and proud about wanting my space operas to be LGBTQIA+ inclusive. So, I am going to explain this to everyone and add a list of books that fit my personal definition of Space Is Gay* (*LGBTQIA+).
I love a good Space Opera, or anything set in space with spaceships, faster than light travel, aliens and whatnot. But what makes me instantly DNF (Did Not Finish) a book is if people are traveling faster than light, doing all kinds of weird and whacko stuff with relativity, using wormholes to travel, meeting aliens, but still they cannot fathom that there is more than just the gender binary, or straight people.
Like, hello, you are breaking the laws of physics, and you think aliens (and humans) can’t have more than two genders? That’s weird. We’re meeting all these cool and out-of-this-world new life forms, and you cannot fathom a relationship that is something other than a man and a woman? Okay, that’s very disturbing.
So, I will present you with a way too long list of Science Fiction books that are set in worlds that are queer norm. This does not mean a queer relationship is at the center; it means shit is going down in space and we don’t care about gender or sexual orientation.
Of all the genres I am going to highlight, this is probably the one from which I’ve read the most books. My initial list was 17 books, and I had read 11 of them, and four of them were right at the top of my TBR. So, when I say I love this subgenre, I mean, I love this subgenre, and I will die on the hill that space is gay. (Also, please let me know if you have more books that fit the bill; I need more of these books right into my veins.) I managed to whittle down my selection to 12 books, of which I’ve read 10, and they will be presented in two blog posts.
Today we present 4 titles, and the last 8 will be published tomorrow. So if you’d like to get the whole list, check the blog again tomorrow.
Hammajang Luck by Makana Yamamoto
This book is a fun, queer heist novel in space, with non-binary characters, sapphic romances and a lot of feel-good fun. I read this book at the start of the year, and read most of the book physically while also listening to the audiobook, which is a great reading experience in this case because the novel is mostly written in pidgin.
An ode to Hawaii, it is set in a space station not on earth—a bit of Ocean’s Eleven meets queer space. Edie has just been released from jail and wants to start life again, this time without getting involved in crime. But it turns out to be a lot harder than they anticipated, so they might try again for one last heist that should set them up for life. But they would have to work together with Angel, their previous best friend who is the reason they got sent to jail in the first place.
Unconquerable Sun by Kate Elliott
Kate Elliot is known for her epic fantasy series, but in this one, she expands her range into space. This is political, military space opera at its finest. The novel centers around a civilization that is ruled by a Queen Marshall (m/v/x) and is constantly struggling against far bigger and mightier civilizations while they try to carve out a space to live in themselves.
Sun is the heir of current Queen Marshall and has to build a reputation for herself to be able to hold on to her status as heir. She is surrounded by her closest companions, who try to help her succeed, while facing all kinds of hardships. Queer and polyamorous relationships are fine, but marrying for something other than strategical advantage is frowned upon for Sun… Political intrigue, queer normative world, spaceships and space battles, these books are a load of fun and I cannot wait for the third part, Lady Chaos, to be released.
The Long Way to a Small and Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Join the crew of the Wayfarer on their way to complete the job of a lifetime: punching a new portal to connect to the large infrastructure of wormholes and portals already connecting the galaxy. The crew is a motley one of humans and aliens, including Rosemary Harper, who is a new hire. And together, they go on a long, wormhole-less journey to a small and angry planet.
This book is basically ‘Cozy Science Fiction’: a crew of different personalities come together for a long journey and create a family away from home. Humanity is the latest addition to the alliance of aliens working together, and there are various types of genders, sexualities and just weird and wacky aliens to explore. It is all very inclusive. This is part of a series of four books, so far, but while they are all linked, they do not need to be read as a single story. Definitely a must-read if you want to feel welcomed and loved while exploring what it is to be human.
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
I recently reread the entire Imperial Radch Trilogy by Ann Leckie, and I can still confirm that I love these books.
In them, we follow the main character Breq/Justice of Toren, who is or was a military spaceship, and its ancillaries (human bodies controlled by the ship AI). Breq is the only remaining part of the Justice of Toren, and she is set on revenge towards the person who caused it to happen.
But she stumbles upon an old crew member from her past who she feels compelled to take with her. At the same time, we learn more about the events leading up to the destruction of the Justice of Toren and why Breq wants to take revenge.
All of this is set within a world in which the Radchaai is the dominant culture, and they have conquered large parts of human space. Gender is of no big concern within this culture, as they use she/her pronouns for everyone. Because of this, Breq struggles with different concepts of gender outside of the Radch space. Throughout the trilogy, we are confronted by what it is to be human, weird aliens and universe-altering events.
