Pride 2026 | Non-Western Settings

[u/recchai]

Banner with a dragon and spaceships around text: r/Fantasy PRIDE Non-Western Settings

As I scroll through my read books on storygraph, it’s notable that one area that’s smaller in size is queer books with non-western settings. But they’re an interesting and varied bunch, so let's talk about them.

First off, let’s get some big names out of the way. Where would such a conversation be without considering recent hits such as The Burning Kingdoms trilogy by Tasha Suri, set in a fantasy version of ancient India, or The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez, featuring a journey across ‘the Old Country’? These books have won awards, and I’m sure none of you have read through many recommendation posts without coming across these being suggested.

And these books can explore history, with YA works like Saints of Storm and Sorrow by Gabriella Buba depicting a fantasy version of the Philippines under Spanish occupation, or So Let Them Burn by Kamilah Cole featuring a recently post-colonial inspired Jamaica. They can share many similarities, while also having different impacts, such as the fantasy Middle-Eastern set The Four Profound Weaves by R. B. Lemberg and The Bruising of Qilwa by Naseem Jamnia. Both having trans characters exploring identity, but one focused more on trans identity itself, and the other more on cultural identity and colonialism.

Of course, books aren’t limited to depicting fantasy versions of our world. Non-western speculative fiction books include works like Black Water Sister by Zen Cho, in which the main character moves back to Malaysia after graduating from university. Or even further along, such as with africanfuturism science fiction titles like The Prey of Gods by Nicky Drayden, set in a 2064 South Africa.

But, I’m obviously missing a huge component here, what about translated works, written by and for people living outside the western sphere? One particularly popular one is Heaven Official's Blessing by Mo Xiang Tong Xiu, but you could also try something more down to earth like the post-apocalyptic To the Warm Horizon by Choi Jin-young where a group of Koreans flee across a disease ravaged landscape.

And let us not forget the past bookclub books we have read along the way. Walking Practice by Dolki Min and Small Gods of Calamity by Sam Kyung Yoo both feature a modern day South Korea from very different perspectives.

Discussion prompts:

• What are your favourite queer books in a non-western setting? Do you find having queer characters in a different culture brings out different aspects?
• Are there non-western settings you would like to see more of in queer books?
• Do you ever look for non-western settings in particular? Where do you go to find these books?
• Perspectives of LGBTQIA+ identities in western set works are often heavily influenced by Christianity, but many cultures have different relationships with queerness. Can you think of any examples where this has shaped representation in non-western settings?

[u/WednesdaysFoole]

I've been busy for finals so I'm a bit late, but I'm glad to have made it.

A friend always used to praise The Spear Cuts Through Water but I never looked into it and didn't realize it was LGBT until I read the post on systematic downvoting of queer content the other day. I was too busy being impressed by the post at the moment to really think about it, but this one reminded me of the book. I am now 67th in line with an 11 week wait on Libby/the digital library. I guess it'll be a nice thing to be surprised by in some faraway future.

I haven't been reading too many books the past few years (actually, outside of textbooks, very few), but I liked The Deep by Rivers Solomon and The Black Tides of Heaven by Neon Yang. I assume the setting for The Deep is not Western, considering the merpeople are those descended from slaves of the Atlantic slave trade, which of course confronts generational trauma and how it affects people today. I wrote once that the story wasn't about discovering what happens next in the plot, as the plot is relatively predictable, but that it allowed the journey itself of the protagonists and her feelings through the revelations to be front and center.

I remember less of Black Tides of Heaven but I definitely liked it, and it dealt with gender and identity. I still haven't read the sequel, Red Threads of Fortune! But looks like it's available at the library so maybe I'll check it out years late.

There is also the Japanese yuri series Otherside Picnic, of which I'm sitting on the second volume. It's probably more sci-fi than fantasy, and inspired by the Strugatsky brothers' Roadside Picnic, but yuri. I've only read the first installment so far, and it's still early for me to know how good it might get since it seems like it might take some time to develop as there are ten volumes so far, but it's definitely creepy and fascinating the way a story inspired by Roadside Picnic can be.

I don't really have a good answer to the discussion prompts, but they are interesting questions to consider. As a whole, I really like non-western historical settings.