What is this site about?
This is a list of science fiction books with lesbian characters or by lesbian authors. I use the term lesbian loosely here. The terms "lesbian," "bi," "gay," etc. are only relevant in this cultural moment. In science fiction, which often refers to far futures or alien worlds where cultural norms are different, such terms don't necessarily apply. I use these words as shorthand to refer to characters who either only have sexual relationships with members of their own sex (regardless of species), or who have sexual relationships with members of their own sex and any other sex (there might be more than two). You may notice I'm not mentioning the word fantasy here. That's because the focus of this listing is science fiction. I also don't have any horror or vampire books in the list.
How the books are rated
The books are rated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being terrible and 5 being awesome. Just remember that everyone likes books for different reasons and I may hate one of your all-time favorites, or vice versa. I base my ratings on a number of factors, including:
My personal system is just that, personal. I highly recommend that you check the ratings on other sites for any books you are interested in. The main reason to share my ratings is in case you discover that they are similar to your own, which would mean you might feel safe using my ratings as a guide.
5 Stars = A+ = “Totally Awesome!”
This is a book that I couldn’t stop thinking about while reading it, and still think about years later. I’ll probably read it again, and I send copies to my friends as gifts. When I see it on my bookshelf, I think, “That was a great book!” Excellent writing, characterization, plot, message, and coolness.
4 Stars = A/B+ = “I liked it a lot”
I was thoroughly engrossed in the book. I can remember parts of it after a few years. I may reread it. I recommend it to my friends. When I see it on my bookshelf, I think, “I really liked that book.” Writing, characterization, plot, message, and coolness are either excellent or very good.
3 Stars = B = “Pretty good”
I definitely enjoyed reading the book, but I may not remember much about it after a few months. I probably won’t reread it. I recommend it to people who I know have an interest in the subject matter. When I see it on my bookshelf, I may not remember what it was about. Writing, characterization, and plot are very good or good. The message and coolness were probably good or OK.
2 Stars = C = “OK”
The book was unremarkable. I probably won’t remember much about it after a few weeks, and probably won’t recommend it to anyone. The only reason it is on my bookshelf is that it is in my lesbian science fiction collection. Just an average book.
1 Star = D = “I didn’t like it”
I did not enjoy reading it and I would not recommend it to anyone. When I see it on my bookshelf, I wish that it didn’t belong in my collection. Sometimes these are not-well-written books, but often I just don’t like the politics or message.
0 Stars = F = “Terrible, awful, blech!”
I usually don’t even finish reading a 0 star book. I can think of at least one 0 star book that technically belonged in my collection, but that I refused to add because it was so bad. Poorly written books or those with stupid plots, one-dimensional characters, or bad science fall into this category.
Where do I find the books?
The books on this list are usually books that I've encountered by chance, not because I thought or knew they had lesbian content. The vast majority are regular science fiction books from mainstream presses that happen to have lesbian content.
This list is by no means exhaustive, and you are welcome to submit suggestions (click the Contact link). When making a suggestion, remember that this list is focused on science fiction, not fantasy or horror.
I have started including books that I may not have read yet.
How do I assess the lesbian content?
How accurate are my assessments of the lesbian content? If I have personally read the book, I know for sure that the characters are "lesbian" or "bi." However, I don't always know for sure about an author's sexuality. I only identify an author as a lesbian if I am confident that she is. The information I use to make this judgement comes from various sources, including published interviews with the author, author bios in anthologies, and information from the author's website. Usually, however, I am only able to say that I think an author might be a lesbian. Clues that make me suspicious include: a bio that mentions a "partner" instead of a husband (e.g. Susan R. Matthews), a photo in which she "looks" like a lesbian (e.g. Carolyn Ives Gilman), or just the fact that she always includes queer characters in her books (e.g. Joan Slonczewski and Anne Harris, though I have recently discovered that both of them are married to men, though Anne Harris is reported to be bi).
The "reviews"
I hate writing synopses. My sources for the stolen ones were the book jackets and reviews on amazon.com. Opinions however, are my own.
This is a list of science fiction books with lesbian characters or by lesbian authors. I use the term lesbian loosely here. The terms "lesbian," "bi," "gay," etc. are only relevant in this cultural moment. In science fiction, which often refers to far futures or alien worlds where cultural norms are different, such terms don't necessarily apply. I use these words as shorthand to refer to characters who either only have sexual relationships with members of their own sex (regardless of species), or who have sexual relationships with members of their own sex and any other sex (there might be more than two). You may notice I'm not mentioning the word fantasy here. That's because the focus of this listing is science fiction. I also don't have any horror or vampire books in the list.
- Lesbian Authors: Books by avowedly lesbian authors, whether or not there are any lesbian characters, and books by women that I think might be lesbians, usually because of what their "About the Author" blurb says or because they always have gay or lesbian characters in their books.
- Lesbian Characters: These are marked as having either main, major, or minor lesbian or bi characters.
- Female-Dominant Worlds: These may or may not have lesbian characters. Some of them aren't necessarily even positive about homosexuality. However, I feel that they belong in the collection anyway.
- GBTQ Characters: Gay, Bi, Trans, or just queer characters.
- Badass Straight Women: It shouldn't matter who you sleep with, right? So, I'm adding this category of badass straight women. They take risks, they know how to fight, they can endure extreme hardship, and they don't give up. This type only shows up if none of the other categories fit.
How the books are rated
The books are rated on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being terrible and 5 being awesome. Just remember that everyone likes books for different reasons and I may hate one of your all-time favorites, or vice versa. I base my ratings on a number of factors, including:
- Quality of the writing
- Whether the characters are believable
- How compelling the plot is
- Whether or not I like the “message” of the book
- The “coolness” of the ideas
My personal system is just that, personal. I highly recommend that you check the ratings on other sites for any books you are interested in. The main reason to share my ratings is in case you discover that they are similar to your own, which would mean you might feel safe using my ratings as a guide.
5 Stars = A+ = “Totally Awesome!”
This is a book that I couldn’t stop thinking about while reading it, and still think about years later. I’ll probably read it again, and I send copies to my friends as gifts. When I see it on my bookshelf, I think, “That was a great book!” Excellent writing, characterization, plot, message, and coolness.
4 Stars = A/B+ = “I liked it a lot”
I was thoroughly engrossed in the book. I can remember parts of it after a few years. I may reread it. I recommend it to my friends. When I see it on my bookshelf, I think, “I really liked that book.” Writing, characterization, plot, message, and coolness are either excellent or very good.
3 Stars = B = “Pretty good”
I definitely enjoyed reading the book, but I may not remember much about it after a few months. I probably won’t reread it. I recommend it to people who I know have an interest in the subject matter. When I see it on my bookshelf, I may not remember what it was about. Writing, characterization, and plot are very good or good. The message and coolness were probably good or OK.
2 Stars = C = “OK”
The book was unremarkable. I probably won’t remember much about it after a few weeks, and probably won’t recommend it to anyone. The only reason it is on my bookshelf is that it is in my lesbian science fiction collection. Just an average book.
1 Star = D = “I didn’t like it”
I did not enjoy reading it and I would not recommend it to anyone. When I see it on my bookshelf, I wish that it didn’t belong in my collection. Sometimes these are not-well-written books, but often I just don’t like the politics or message.
0 Stars = F = “Terrible, awful, blech!”
I usually don’t even finish reading a 0 star book. I can think of at least one 0 star book that technically belonged in my collection, but that I refused to add because it was so bad. Poorly written books or those with stupid plots, one-dimensional characters, or bad science fall into this category.
Where do I find the books?
The books on this list are usually books that I've encountered by chance, not because I thought or knew they had lesbian content. The vast majority are regular science fiction books from mainstream presses that happen to have lesbian content.
This list is by no means exhaustive, and you are welcome to submit suggestions (click the Contact link). When making a suggestion, remember that this list is focused on science fiction, not fantasy or horror.
I have started including books that I may not have read yet.
How do I assess the lesbian content?
How accurate are my assessments of the lesbian content? If I have personally read the book, I know for sure that the characters are "lesbian" or "bi." However, I don't always know for sure about an author's sexuality. I only identify an author as a lesbian if I am confident that she is. The information I use to make this judgement comes from various sources, including published interviews with the author, author bios in anthologies, and information from the author's website. Usually, however, I am only able to say that I think an author might be a lesbian. Clues that make me suspicious include: a bio that mentions a "partner" instead of a husband (e.g. Susan R. Matthews), a photo in which she "looks" like a lesbian (e.g. Carolyn Ives Gilman), or just the fact that she always includes queer characters in her books (e.g. Joan Slonczewski and Anne Harris, though I have recently discovered that both of them are married to men, though Anne Harris is reported to be bi).
The "reviews"
I hate writing synopses. My sources for the stolen ones were the book jackets and reviews on amazon.com. Opinions however, are my own.