I read fantasy almost exclusively, and in the last few years I’ve decided to mostly read fantasy with queer characters (I still read a few mainstream fantasy things, but at this point very few). I’m gay, so yes, a lot of the books I like to read feature gay male protagonists, but like my own books, some on this list strive to represent a much bigger audience. Many of these authors are themselves LGBTQ+, including trans and non-binary authors.
These are all books I’ve read and liked, and of course, there are many more books I’ve read that I’m not including here. The books and authors on this list are all also, in their own ways, influences shaping my own writing.
Mercedes Lackey’s Last Herald Mage Series (gay fantasy): gay MC, tragic love story, ultimately beautiful storytelling that eventually lets its MC have a happily every after, if in an unexpected way. This is one of the first fantasy books ever written with a gay MC. It’s old, and as such, there are few things readers might find “problematic” from a contemporary perspective- but for those of us who lived in the “before” times, when there was literally almost *no* LGBTQ media, this book series changed everything. I cried my eyes out the first time I read it. It is still deeply meaningful to me. The follow-up series, Mage Winds, has the MC from Last Herald Mage, and his husband, show up (again in unexpected ways), and also has secondary gay characters who play a main role in the plot.
Lynn Flewelling’s Nighrunner Series (gay fantasy): gay MCs, beautiful (and decidedly not tragic) MM relationship at the heart of it, lots of spying, intrigue, and magic. It’s awesome.
Sarah Monette: Melusine. This series is very good- magic system, high fantasy, gay MC, but does also have some potentially triggering scenes (the MC is raped at one point).
Best Gay Fantasy (Fantasy writing first and foremost, but with romance thrown in sometimes):
KD Edwards: The Tarot Sequence series, starting with The Last Sun. Urban fantasy centered around a magical society organized around great houses, each of which one of the major arcana of the Tarot. The MC is gay, the last scion of a fallen house (House Sun), fighting to restore his house and understand what happened the night it fell- the night his father, Lord Sun, was murdered. It’s awesome. The whole series is lit.
Gideon the Ninth by Tasmyn Muir. Lesbian necromancers in space. It’s fucking awesome. How could you not want to read that? The sequel, Harrow the Ninth, is very much a mindfuck. It’s mostly all about Harrow dealing with some deep trauma from book 1, and Gideon doesn’t show up until nearly 2/3 through the book (but Gideon does show up- and when she does, it is so, so worth it).
Ginn Hale’s Cadeleonian Series, starting with Lord of the White Hell. I can’t say enough about this series. Hale is one of the best LGBTQ writers in the game. The second series is called Champion of the Scarlet Wolf, followed by Master of Restless Shadows. The first two series retain romance as a key element of the storytelling, but in Master of Restless Shadows (which still follows many of the same group of characters) the plot seems much less about relationships and more about unraveling the huge conspiracy threatening to set loose the destruction of the entire world. . .
Ginn Hale has another series I want to mention- because it is an astounding feat that is not read nearly enough. The Rifter Series. It was written as a serial (so shorter installments, but more books), featuring a gay man transported to a parallel world where he turns out to be the incarnation of their god- a literal messiah. They call this messiah “the Rifter”- and he wields the destructive powers of their god. There is a love story at the heart here- but it unfolds slowly, agonizingly at time, and when it finally comes to fruition it is so achingly tender and beautiful that you will cry for ages. The story itself is so complex, weaving across timelines, that at first you will be confused- then the pieces will start to slot together in your head, and then all of the sudden, the whole image of what has happened and how will come together in your head and it will shatter your entire freaking mind. And you will bow down in awe at the feet of the great Ginn Hale.
Nazri Noor: Nazri has quite a few series out- the first one, Darkling Mage, has a gay MC, although romance/relationship isn’t a big part of the story. It’s got gods, supernaturals, magic, and cosmic threats- as well as massive snark from the MC, Dustin. I love it. The follow-up series, set in the same world, are all very good. My favorite is the Arcane Hearts series, which features a gay couple as the main protagonists of the story (and which Nazri bills as being more romance- but truthfully, all of his books are very magic/action oriented, whether they have romance in them or not).
Michael Taggart: Misfit Mage series. Is this series “good?” Frankly, I think some younger gay readers will think it is cringe (the author is an older gay man, and there are moments where I can really see reflection of an earlier version of gay culture that in many ways, no longer exists). But I really, really enjoy reading it, and will keep reading it as he puts out more books. The MC is a gay guy who nearly dies, and awakens as a supernatural being able to do magic. Lots of the story involves problem-solving with magic, thinking through complex ways to condense energy, and other kinds of procedural magic type things. There is an element of progression fantasy here too, as the character gets increasingly more powerful as he figures things out. There’s a gay incubus who becomes his lover- but it’s not nearly as bad as it sounds. It’s actually sort of sweet, and I end up liking his boyfriend quite a lot. And it’s not a huge part of the book- it’s just there, while lots of magic stuff, and fighting against a bad group mages trying to kill them all, takes center stage. Award winning fiction? No. But a fun way to kill some time.
Meraki P. Lyhne: The Vargr Series. This is an odd one- it’s werewolf shifter fantasy, but set in Denmark (and written by a Danish author). The MC is gay, a young American who finds out his Danish father who he thought was dead, is actually not dead- and is a werewolf in a huge family-like pack of Vargr, or Norse werewolves. The storytelling is distinct in that it is slower- while there is an overarching plot that unfolds through the series, the focus of most chapters is on the MC and his development as a person, as an Alpha werewolf, and as a member of this strange community of werewolves. It’s fun reading, but the “flavor” of this series is very different than most American-written fantasy.
MM/Gay Fantasy/Paranormal Romance (as in, fantasy and romance are balanced evenly in the plot)
Jordan L. Hawk: The Whyborne and Griffin is a historical and paranormal fantasy series is set in the 1800′s, and is a twist on Lovecraftian mythos (done in a way Lovecraft would have hated, but which you will love). It’s got magic, love, horrors from the outside, elder gods, you know, all the good stuff. The SPECTR series is also very good (more urban fantasy).
Sheena Jolie (formerly SJ Himes): The Beacon Hill Sorcerer series, starting with the Necromancer’s Dance. Fantastic series. Urban fantasy, magical battles, and falling in love with a vampire. What’s not to like? Really great series.
Hailey Turner’s Soulbound Series, starting with A Ferry of Bones and Gold. A special forces combat mage with a dark history gets thrown into world-ending plots, gets harassed by gods, and manages to fall in love. Vampires, werewolves, gods, just about everything you could ask for. One of the best Urban Fantasy/Romance series- well, written, and best of all, the series is finished. Block of a couple weeks, and have at it!
Megan Derr: Black Magic. This is another “necromancer falls in love with a knight” story- but it’s a really, really good one. Megan Derr writes LGBTQ romance and fantasy in worlds that are inclusive- including at times protagonists that are non-binary, trans, etc.
M.A. Grant: Prince of Air and Darkness, the Darkest Court series.
Sam Burns and W.M. Fawkes: Anything they’ve written together is pure gold. Try Fire and Valor, Book 1: The King’s Dragon.
Kai Butler: San Amaro Investigations (Book One: Wormwood Summer). Urban fantasy involving the Fae, and lots of Fae shenanigans. But also a fun, interesting world, and a developed Fae mythology and history.
MM/Gay Romance (as in, the romance is the driving plot of the book)
CS Pacat: The Captive Prince. This series is. . . well, it’s complicated, and potentially triggering. A prince gets overthrown, and secretly sold into slavery to the neighboring country (who are his enemies), and ends up serving the prince of that country. Of course, it’s not an accident. It’s revenge. And it gets brutal at times- the MC is whipped nearly to death in one scene (by the other MC). And yet, as their relationship unfolds, they become literally the most dramatic and well-done example of enemies to lovers I’ve ever read. This series is beloved by gay romance readers, but we also all get how problematic it is. And yes, we read it anyway.
A.H. Lee: The Knight and the Necromancer. This series is incredible- the plot is actually very deep and well developed, and the story really sustains three books. Plus, the love story that unfolds is pretty great. This is my favorite gay romance fantasy of all time.
Lee Welch: Salt Magic, Skin Magic. Victorian era MM romance with paranormal elements. MC is being held captive by his father by means he can’t explain and doesn’t understand-- all he knows is, he is trapped on their remote estate.
Michelle Notaro: The Ellewood Chronicles, starting with the Enchanter’s Flame. Is this series “good”? This is pretty much the prime example of sometimes cringe is exactly what you want. It’s sappy. The plots are there, but the found family trope, the relationships, and the romance are absolutely the formula for this series. And yet, I read every single one of them. They made me feel good. They made me happy. They let me live in the fantasy of being in a LGBTQ family full of magic, safety, and love-- while the monsters of the world are held at bay by the wards surrounding the Ellewood lands. Sometimes you don’t want heavy, you just want to read and be happy. This series is that.
AJ Sherwood and Jocelyn Drake: Their Scales and Spells series is wonderfully fun to read (dragonshifters falling in love with mages, lots of gay and non-binary characters). Both authors have a lot of gay romance titles out- all with fun elements in them. I’ve enjoyed everything I’ve read from both of them. Jocelyn Drake has a series coming out now that is her take on Final Fantasy XV-type story telling called the Godstone Saga- it’s an original story, but if you read it, you’ll see the FFXV influence on it. It’s nice.
Kiki Clark: The Kincaid Pack series is fun.
Mainstream Fantasy with big LGBTQ representation or storylines:
Andrew Rowe: The main character of his Arcane Ascension series is gay, although the text seems to imply that he is a homo-romantic ace, or at least demi.
John Bierce: The Mage Errant series has excellent LGBTQ representation, including both gay and lesbian side characters. The MC is not gay, but the world and the series as a whole feels very welcoming and inclusive.
Shami Stovall: The Frith Chronicles. The MC is straight, but lots of major side characters are LGBTQ+. Fantastic series, following an underdog MC who bonds with a supernatural being to get fantastic powers- the way all “arcanists” or magic-wielders are created in this world. He joins the Frith Guild, a group of famous adventurers he’s looked up to his whole life, to learn and advance, and eventually find his way to being a master arcanist- but somebody is trying to remake the world, and not in a good way. Begin with Knightmare Arcanist.
Melissa McPhail: The Pattern of Shadow and Light series, starting with Cephrael’s Hand, is one of the most complex, amazing, well-crafted fantasy series I’ve ever read. In the beginning, first book or two, it will feel like the only LGBTQ rep you see is in the form of a villain (Darshan), who is pretty literally trying to destroy the world and all living things (so, not great, yeah?). But as the story unfolds, McPhail introduces a gay love story that she takes the time to develop, and it’s fucking beautiful and heartbreaking. And then even Darshan seems to find a chance at redemption. It’s a long series... and the LGBTQ rep gets better and better as it goes on. Melissa McPhail died unexpectedly from late-stage cancer that was found too late. She still had the final two books in the series unpublished, but they were *mostly* done. Her family intends to publish what she finished. And this series is so good, so mindblowingly amazing, that it’s worth reading.
Not LGBTQ at all, but still really fucking good books:
Will Wight’s Travelers Gate series, starting with House of Blades.
Will Wight’s Cradle series. Each book gets better and better (progression fantasy). Probably the best progression fantasy ever written.
Michael Manning: Mageborn series, most of the stuff he’s written. Art of the Adept is also a good series. He has one series, Embers of Illeniel, which I do *not* recommend- it’s full of triggering stuff (rape, genocide, casual murder and mayhem... the MC is not a good guy), and is generally really dark (which the author admits to). But I enjoyed everything else he’s written.
Edward W. Robertson: most everything he’s written. I love his books. Start with The White Tree (Cycle of Arawn Book 1).
Patrick Rothfuss: The Name of the Wind. What I really want to recommend here is The Slow Regard of Silent Things, which is a transformative book to read- the MC is a person who lives in an underground labyrinth beneath a school, who is neuro-atypical, and who interacts with and sees the world in a wholely unique way. Reading the book is like a meditation, deeply moving and profound. But to make sense of it, you sort of need to understand the bigger world it is set in, which is from the Name of the Wind.
Michael Miller: The Songs of Chaos series. Dragonrider fantasy, sort of like Dragonriders of Pern. A slow start- the first few chapters were very much lowly pot boy in the presence of arrogant dragon riders and nobles who barely notice him. Once you get past that initial stage, however, the story picks up and the storytelling gets much better. The lowly pot-boy steals a dragon egg... and you can guess where it goes from there.
Brandon Sanderson. If you read fantasy, surely you have already read him.
