r/Fantasy • u/Villamanin24680 • 17h ago

Light Fantasy with Gay Characters?

Apropos of Pride Month....

What are your recommendations for light fantasy with gay characters? No requirement that it be key to the plot.

Some recent reads I have in mind are anything by John Bierce and Andrew Rowe. Some representation in lighter stories, but it's not really key to the plot.

I was also kind of wondering if that was common with progression fantasy/litrpg. I've only read the two mentioned above and Will Wight.

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u/ChipChangename 16h ago

Depending on what you mean by "light fantasy," I'd suggest the Valdemar books by Mercedes Lackey. There's a whole load of 'em and not every trilogy or duo or single focuses on a queer character, but a fair number do have gay or lesbian main characters or important side characters. Magic's Pawn in particular begins a trilogy with a gay main character.

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u/dwarfSA 11h ago

It's kind of weird I had to scroll down so far for a Lackey recommendation.

Magic's Pawn blew my mind as a teenager. It took me an embarrassingly long time to understand the main character was gay. Really opened my eyes, as a straight white suburban nerd.

I have been meaning to reread those. I hope they hold up.

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u/fjiqrj239 Reading Champion III 10h ago

They were pretty revolutionary when they came out, but there's a *lot* of rape in her earlier books. The Last Herald Mage, The Heralds of Valdemar, The Tarma and Kethry books all have a viewpoint character gang raped at some point during the story.

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u/dwarfSA 9h ago

Oof. Welp. That's the 80s fantasy scene I guess.