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Best Fantasy Books with Gay Main Characters
Fantasy books featuring gay main characters. Other "alternative" forms of sexuality are accepted, too.
Note: please add/vote books with male/self identified as male main characters only.
Goodreads similar themed groups: LGBT Fantasy Fiction
Note: please add/vote books with male/self identified as male main characters only.
Goodreads similar themed groups: LGBT Fantasy Fiction
Tags:
bisexual, fantasy, fiction, gay, genre-fiction, intersex, lgbtq, m-m, paranormal, queer, slash, supernatural, transgender
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Daria
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Nov 29, 2010 01:26PM
Harry Potter doesn't have any LGBT main characters
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LOL no kidding, and there are like 6 people who voted for Harry Potter!! What is up with that?!? These lists can be so crazy. There are a number of books on here that really don't belong at all (either no gay main characters or not fantasy).
Did you miss the big announcement that Dumbledore is gay?
Xenophon wrote: "Did you miss the big announcement that Dumbledore is gay?"What? I'm only up to Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Is he really?
Ms. Rowling announced it, but it never appears as a plot point in the books.
Ok that's ridiculous. If someone has to tell you that a character is gay, without it being apparent in the book or story itself, then I don't think it belongs on a list of "best fantasy featuring gay main characters." Having Harry Potter on this list implies that there is a gay lead character, and that his being gay is apparent and somehow a part of the story. Which is absolutely not the case. Maybe I have a theory that Dumbledore was really into BDSM in his spare time, but I'm not going to put Harry Potter on the "Best Gay BDSM" list, now am I?
It's not just anyone who said it; it's the author herself, so those putting Dumbledore on the list aren't wrong.
I think you're missing my point.This list is called "Best Fantasy Books with Gay Main Characters." To me, and I think to most people, that implies that the books on this list have at least one gay lead character, AND that his being gay is obvious and somehow a part of the story.
As far as I am concerned, there are no gay main characters in the Harry Potter series since it's never mentioned or really even implied in any way. It's simply not a part of the story, at all.
So what if the author claims that Dumbledore is gay AFTER she's finished writing the whole series? I mean, great, whatever, but it's still not a part of the actual written series whatsoever. I'm sure lots of authors imagine their characters in a certain way, perhaps imagine them in different situations or in various conversations with their other characters, etc etc. And J.K. Rowling imagined Dumbledore to be gay. Maybe she imagined him doing lots of things, but her imagination doesn't change the content of her written stories. And the content of Harry Potter doesn't include Dumbledore being gay.
I don't read Harry Potter, but my question is this: Just b/c someone is said to be gay, but there are no m/m scenes in a book, should that book be allowed on the list? I thought the list was for books with m/m characters, actually having m/m scenes in the book. Is that wrong to assume??
It says nothing like that in the description, and librarians are warned to be careful about what they delete.
Magnolia wrote: "I don't read Harry Potter, but my question is this: Just b/c someone is said to be gay, but there are no m/m scenes in a book, should that book be allowed on the list? I thought the list was for books with m/m characters, actually having m/m scenes in the book. Is that wrong to assume?? "This is exactly my point. I think most people WOULD assume that any list for "gay characters" means that there should be actual, obviously gay characters in the book.
Some books on this list may not have explicit m/m sex scenes (e.g. Scarlet and the White Wolf by Kirby Crow or the Nightrunner series by Lynn Flewelling) -- but these books definitely have gay main characters who are obviously gay and engage in m/m relationships (however implicit they might be).
There are no characters in Harry Potter that can be identified as gay by simply reading the book. Therefore, I don't think it belongs on this list. Believe it or not, but some people aren't actually familiar with the Harry Potter series, and it being on this list implies a certain type of content that simply isn't accurate.
One thing I do know about Happy Potter is that it has one of the highest ever amount of stories in fanfiction sites. Maybe that's why some people think of a gay character in Harry Potter. There sure as hell are enough stories going on around the web about it.I think the guidelines,rules, whatever need to be a little more specific when it comes to these lists. I for one, use the lists quite frequently when wanting to read a m/m story from a certain genre. To find out that all you need is a character that is "presumed" to be gay, no actual scenes, is disappointing to hear. And it leaves it all up to the person posting the book on the list to decide whether or not in their mind, the person is gay. It's all left up to their interpretation. My opinion? There needs to be actual scenes in the book between 2 men showing that this is a m/m book.
LOL...I forgot about all the Harry Potter slash fic out there...Is it just me, or does the term "Snarry" make anyone else giggle hysterically??
I totally agree with those of you that think the Harry Potter book does not belong on this list. If this were one of the lists that I had created, I would remove it. Someone added Twilight to my Best Gay Vampires list. They may think Edward is "gay" but that doesn't mean that Twilight belongs on the list. And if Stephenie Meyer suddenly announces that Edward is gay...Twilight is still not going on the list because it's not a book about a gay character.
In Twilight, the Volturi are gay, and Jasper is bisexual, so Twilight would belong on your Best Gay Vampires list.
Єmiℓy wrote: "In Twilight, the Volturi are gay, and Jasper is bisexual, so Twilight would belong on your Best Gay Vampires list."I just don't even know what you are talking about.
Єmiℓy wrote: "In Twilight, the Volturi are gay, and Jasper is bisexual, so Twilight would belong on your Best Gay Vampires list."There is no gay romance in any of the Twilight books. Maybe...and this is a big maybe...there was some innuendo that some of the characters were gay or bisexual but I think that's really stretching it. The book was put on the list because the person thought Edward was "gay" used in the derogatory sense of the word.
Moderatrix Lori wrote: "There is no gay romance in any of the Twilight books. Maybe...and this is a big maybe...there was some innuendo that some of the characters were gay or bisexual but I think that's really stretching it. The book was put on the list because the person thought Edward was "gay" used in the derogatory sense of the word." Well, then you would need to specify "gay main characters", because there are gay side characters in the Twilight series.
The Best Gay Vampire List, which is one of the lists I started, clearly says that it's for the "Best M/M romance featuring gay vampires" Twilight is not a M/M Romance book nor does it feature gay vampires.
I don't remember anyone being gay in the Twilight series. Not even "side characters" whoever those may be. LOL. (I can't help laughing b/c debating this topic is so ridiculous.)
Fine, you guys win :)Ravyn's right, debating this is a waste of time.
Some of the books on the list are not fantasy:1) A Strong and Sudden Thaw by R.W. Day is futuristic romance novel.
2) An Uncommon Whore by Belinda McBride is sci-fi
3) Spoils of War by Kari Gregg is a historical novel
4) The Lion of Kent by Aleksandr Voinov is a historical novel
The Gold Warrior by Clare London is also rather sci-fi/futuristic novel than fantasy.
Barbara, assigning a genre to a book is, in most cases, very subjective. I worked at a Borders that shelved The Sookie Stackhouse series in Romance, Paranormal and the Horror section. The books you mention all have "Fantasy" as the 2nd most popular shelf among GR members so they will remain on the list.
How is it possible that the Points series isn't on this list? Point of Hopes and Point of Dreams are big-time favorites of mine.
I would just like to say thank you, this list is very helpfull. I like a male character I can relate to and I am straight and a fan of dark, bloody and gritty characters, so I have a hard time relating to most gay males. This list helped me avoid books I would dissaprove of. Dont get me wrong I still got hold of 3 books that are on this list because they seem awsome, so I am not some anti-gay fiction nazi. Thanks again.
i don't get why u need a list to avoid books, it's not like they'll come to u and say 'read me'.
David wrote: "I would just like to say thank you, this list is very helpfull. I like a male character I can relate to and I am straight and a fan of dark, bloody and gritty characters, so I have a hard time relating to most gay males. This list helped me avoid books I would dissaprove of. Dont get me wrong I still got hold of 3 books that are on this list because they seem awsome, so I am not some anti-gay fiction nazi. Thanks again. "That's funny, I totally agree with you and I am gay!
Emily wrote: "Harry Potter doesn't have any LGBT main characters"Yes it does it's got twincest
Has anybody read the books set in the Realm of the Elderlings by Robin Hobb? I won't say it should be added to the list (I think it would cause quite a debate), but I'd like to recommend it to anyone reading this. The protagonist is called Fitz and while he is straight, his "best friend" (I'm being reductive) aka The Fool is in love with him. Now, nobody knows the Fool real gender, but most regard him as male. Fitz definitely does. (there are hints here and there in the books, but the underlying moral of the story is that "gender doesn't matter"). When he discovers the Fool's feelings for him he rejects him because "he's not gay" (rephrasing). Why would I recommend such a story? 1. It's beyong amazing. 2. It is angsty, but their relationship comes full circle (from 'no homo' to 'lets runaway on a unicorn' *cough*). There is romance, just nothing physical. (Do kisses count? They do kiss.) Fitz and the Fool are also bound by fate, as Catalyst and Prophet. Basically the whole plot revolves around the two and how they relate to each other and lots of pages (or books *cough* Golden Fool) are focused on what they feel for each other.Just a couple of quotes:
"But for here, for now, just between us two, and for no other reason save I am me and you are you, I tell you this. I am glad, glad that you are alive. To see you take breath puts the breath back in my lungs. If there must be another my fate is twined around, I am glad it is you."
and
«You said once that I might call you 'Beloved', if I no longer wished to call you Fool. Beloved, I have missed your company.»
In Robin Hobb's last additions to the Realm of the Elderlings, the Rain Wild Chronicles, there are five gay characters (+ sexy times yay), a good number of them main characters, present from book 1 to book 4 (final), and have considerable importance to the overall plot.
Ok, so, I didn't mean to write so long a post. Just throwing it out there. Check it out.
Half Way Home by Hugh Howey (number 290 at the time of my posting) is very much science fiction, not fantasy.
Ravyn wrote: "Ok that's ridiculous. If someone has to tell you that a character is gay, without it being apparent in the book or story itself, then I don't think it belongs on a list of "best fantasy featuring ..."Xenophon wrote: "Ms. Rowling announced it, but it never appears as a plot point in the books."
Yes, it does. It's never stated explicitly, but why else did Dumbledore follow (view spoiler) when he was so evil? He was in love with him. He was blinded by love. That is Dumbledore's biggest tragedy, and it's what makes him so amazing as a queer character. He is made a fool of by love, and, yet, still believes in its power.
I am gay, and I always liked Dumbledore because I felt like he maybe was gay, then I read the last book, my eyebrows raised even more in Dumbledore's direction, and then Rowling made her announcement, and it all clicked for me. As Rowling said, she thinks children will see a friendship and adult readers will see more. I was one of the adult readers who saw more, and I'm not at all about slash fan-fiction.
Being gay isn't about sex, people. Being gay is MORE than that. There are some gay people who don't have sex. Their representation is important, too, and the Harry Potter series represents a celibate gay man.
It also seems like a handful of you are only interested in M/M fiction. What I gather from some of these comments and the purpose of this list is to fetishize gay men which is both offensive and sick. My lived experiences are not for your consumption.
hello brandon. I guess what they mean here is that the main plot of the book shld involve the story of a male to male relationship, either sexual or platonic, so that the book to be put in this list. Obviously Harry Potter is not such a book although it has gay characters.
The aspect of Dumbledore being in love with Voldemort is just one tiny part in the whole series. If i were to be interested in reading about a homosexual romance book, i wouldn't read the whole Harry Potter series just because Dumbledore, by your interpretation, was in love with Voldemort. I would read the series because i am interested in finding about Harry Potter's life and adventures. Right?
You're taking this personally. Frankly i don't think anyone is trying to consume your lived experiences like you say. The books here are works of fantasy that we like to read about, cuz most of them are appealing to our sentimental side, there are few books here that i cried my eyes off.
You're being a bit cynical accusing the ppl that made this list of "fetishizing" gay men as being offensive and sick. If i were going by your thinking, i should accuse every single man that has a stash of prono of "fetishizing women, which is both offensive and sick". I, for one, don't go to pron sites and say you ppl are sick. There is a saying if you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything. And if you don't like what this list is about, nobody obliged you to read this convo or list.
BJ Hobbsen's Sex and Swords Godsteed trilogy has gay lead characters.
Yummy wrote: "The aspect of Dumbledore being in love with Voldemort is just one tiny part in the whole series."Uhm, excuse you but Voldemort and the one Dumbledore loves are two different people.
*
I don't think The Hundred Thousand Kingdoms, currently at #504, belong to this list. The truth is I suspect all three book in the Inheritance trilogy doesn't belong to this list. There's a male-male relationship between two male characters in the book, but it's just some sort of past relationship and I'm 100% sure they are not gay, because of on the obvious fact that they're love interest of the FMCs in book 1 and book 2 of the trilogy.
Ravyn wrote: "Ok that's ridiculous. If someone has to tell you that a character is gay, without it being apparent in the book or story itself, then I don't think it belongs on a list of "best fantasy featuring ..."Daria wrote: "Harry Potter doesn't have any LGBT main characters" 100% agree
Someone added all of Jay Bell's books. None of them belong here, except maybe Hell's Pawn... Also, should we differentiate between fantasy and paranormal in this list? There are lots of paranormal books on here...
Why isn't the Points series at the top of this list? (Other than the obvious, that for some reason it's never found the popularity it deserves.) By that, I mean: Point of Hopes, Point of Dreams, Point of Knives, and Fair's Point. The first two were written by Melissa Scott and her partner Lisa Barnett, but sadly the latter passed away, so the remaining two were written by Ms. Scott alone.Granted, the books aren't gay romance with a side of fantasy (don't get me wrong; I love those books too). This series is pure fantasy, a complex and fascinating alt-Renaissance Europe society where astrology is real and magic, ghosts, etc., are an everyday part of life. The relationship between the two main characters (Nico, a "pointsman" --i.e., police officer, and Philip, an out of work soldier) doesn't really even start to hint at a romantic connection until the end of the first book. Still, the world-building is incredible (and why wasn't I clever enough to write a fantasy historical mystery series with a romance between two males, which is a combination of basically EVERY genre of book I read).
Not Melissa Scott, nor do I play her on TV--just a fan who wants to make sure her books are popular enough for her to keep writing them!
Brandon wrote: It also seems like a handful of you are only interested in M/M fiction. What I gather from some of these comments and the purpose of this list is to fetishize gay men which is both offensive and sick. My lived experiences are not for your consumption.
So what? We can't control what other people are interested in. No one can. Also, these books are fiction and not about you. Maybe you see them as being about your lived experiences, but they're not. They're about someone else's fantasies, as is all fiction.
Six of Crows and Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo aren't on this list, but the series has 2 (possibly 3?) bisexual main characters, a gay character, and a male same-sex couple. Six of Crows is a heist novel set in a very grounded fantasy world, highly recommend!
What about Naruto?
Lori S. wrote: "Jay Bell's Something Like Summer is not fantasy. It's contemporary."What's the position # of the book?
Tamara wrote: "Lori S. wrote: "Jay Bell's Something Like Summer is not fantasy. It's contemporary."What's the position # of the book?"
Page 9 - #844
Lori S. wrote: "Tamara wrote: "Lori S. wrote: "Jay Bell's Something Like Summer is not fantasy. It's contemporary."What's the position # of the book?"
Page 9 - #844"
I removed it, thanks :)
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