SOLVED. Fantasy book read in 1990s with magical race that switches gender

[Raz]

Not a lot to go on I know. I was thinking of a book which I read sometime in the 90s. It was a high-fantasy novel with magic, may have been part of a series. The protagonist, who I think was a man, spent some time at a city or castle or something with magic users who may have been wise and there to offer him advice on his quest, or to help with it. I seem to recall a large table and a feast and I think he just stopped at the castle/city/place on his quest. His friend, who he initially thought of as male (I think) switches genders and becomes female and says this is something all of them can do. I think the main character found this strange. I remember being disappointed by what happens to this secondary character, I think they either die, or they just disappear.

This is definitely not by Ursula LeGuin and is definitely not The Left Hand of Darkness. I likely borrowed it from my local library from either the teenage section, or from the sci-fi/fantasy section.

EDIT: I'm wondering if it's possibly a Tanith Lee book. My library no longer has any of her books though so I can't check and it's so long ago I can't remember all those I've read.

[LauraW]

There is a science fiction book, The Mote in God's Eye, where the aliens change gender as part of their life cycle, but it doesn't sound like it is the book you are looking for.

[Raz]

Thanks for the suggestion. It's a fantasy book I'm looking for not sci-fi. It's definitely not that book but it's a theme I'm interested in so I'll definitely have a look at The Mote in God's Eye.

[Lou]

There's some sort of gender switching going on in Storm Constantine's Wraeththu. I don't remember any details, though.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

The World Wreckers could possibly be it. It was the book I thought of first. While nominally sci-fi (it's set in the future) it is also mostly fantasy, as are the rest of the Darkover series by Marion Zimmer Bradley.

[Raz]

It's definitely not the Wraeththu trilogy, although I have read the books.

And it's not The World Wreckers since the only fiction by Marion Zimmer Bradley which I'd read in the 90s was the Lythande short story collection. (Which it also isn't.)

On the plus side I do now have some more books to look out. Thanks for the suggestions.

[Pamela]

Could it be Moonstar Odyssey by David Gerrold? It's been a long time since I read it, but it has gender switching.

[Cheryl]

Moonstar Odyssey for the link. Gerrold has written some interesting books; I'll have to investigate this one myself.

[Raz]

I want to say I don't think it's Moonstar Odyssey since the name sounds sci-fi. I can't seem to find any sort of synopsis or reviews for the book though.

[Cheryl]

Well, there's this description amazon:

She was born in the moonstar's shadow when the storms of Satlik raged their worst. Because of this Jobe was different. the family never spoke of it but everyone knew Jobe was special. So Jobe came to know if it too. She had a destiny beyond that of Choice, beyond that moment when she must finally decide for Reethe, Mother of the World, or for Dakka, Father, Son and Lover. For the others it was easy, but not for her, not for Jobe. So she was sent to Option, the island of learning, to make her choice and become who she must be.

[Krazykiwi]

I think this is a longshot, but Golden Witchbreed has an ambassador from earth on a non-technological planet which has a pretty high fantasy feel about it (lords and ladies and sword fights and the like, although not precisely "magic"). One of the races is androgynous until adulthood (or maybe puberty, is very long since I read it) and at one point a character that the MC assumed to be male turns out to not be, and shrugs it off as normal.

[Raz]

I already checked out Amazon, Cheryl but thanks. I didn't find it in depth enough to work out if it was the right book. I know a lot of people don't check though so thanks for sharing the link just in case.

Golden Witchbreed's an interesting suggestion. I actually owned a copy of Golden Witchbreed. I found it when I was packing all my books into storage boxes in celebration of my new Kindle. It was a surprise since I didn't remember buying it or reading it. It may be in one of my many storage boxes or it may have been one of the few books I donated. I'll see if I can find it.

[Raz]

Definitely not Golden Witchbreed, and I worked out why I didn't read it. I've a feeling that this mention of gender-switching was far less prominent in the book. I think it was just a small thing and it was magical.

[Slinkyboy]

This sounds like something that occurs in the Swords of Raemlynn series by Robert E. Vardeman. I don't remember which book it's in, but I think it happens in book 5, The Beasts of the Mist.

The main protagonist's friend and traveling companion is a shape-shifter from another world, somehow trapped in this one and unable to change shape. At some point he experiences something that allows him to change shape again and changes from a man to a woman. The main protagonist has a hard time dealing with this, but his friend can’t understand why it’s such a big deal because everyone can do it where s/he is from.

[Melanti]

Well, based on your summary, I don't think this is the correct book, but it looks like you've read other books by Lackey, so it's possible, I suppose.

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17...

Main character is female - not male.
The gender changer is a incubus/succubus who switches back and forth between genders during orgasm -- and it's more of a side-plot, not very prominent.
Feasts do play a part, since the main character has to conjure them often.
(It's a very silly book - more typical of Anthony than of Lackey.)

[Cheryl]

Raz, are you still looking for this book?

A very long shot, but worth mentioning anyway because it's a good book and you might like it anyway, would be Commitment Hour.

[Raz]

Yep still looking for it.

Thanks for the suggestion, Cheryl. I don't think it's that one but I'll try and remember to put it on my to read list.

I wish I could get my hands on The Beasts of the Mists, or at least a decent review of it, in order to eliminate it or figure out if it's the right book.

[Kate]

Here is a book that posits there are five genders, and on one of the worlds, people have to choose once and for all which of two genders they will be: Shadow Man

[Cheryl]

You'll have better luck finding your book, Raz, if you come back every couple of months and 'bump' this thread. Simply add another comment, and we'll all keep wracking our brains... ;)

[Raz]

I'm still looking for this one.

I've not been bumping it since I've had nothing new to add.

The gender-switching is not a huge part of the book. I think it's an isolated incident, although something all of the magic-people can do. It strikes the hero as odd, I think he requests that his friend switches back, or at least he's uncomfortable enough with it. I definitely think it's only at the feast in the castle place where the friend is female, the rest of the time they're male.

I think the magic-ish people weren't human, but human-esque.

Strangely, I'm thinking there was a journey along a river in the book, or through snow where the 'friend' disappeared. (Definitely not Left Hand of Darkness or Ice Song though.) I do remember strongly thinking that this friend just disappeared, either being forgotten by the author, or left behind, or possibly died.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Raz, you can still bump it even if you have no new information. That way people who just joined the group, or joined in the past few months, will see your thread.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Marion Zimmer Bradley has a series called Darkover where the native to the planet species is like this.

Some of what you talk about happens in several different books. The Forbidden Tower is, I think the more likely one. But you can also check out The World Wreckers as I think that this one has one of the Natives of Darkover switch genders. But you can check out some of the others as well.

[Raz]

Does The Forbidden Tower have a character that switches genders in it?

I didn't think I'd actually read any of Marion Zimmer Bradley's novels. By and large I've found her longer stories unreadable, I made belated starts on a few so I suppose it is a possibility that I read a section without the whole book and got it confused with some other things.

Since I became aware of the court records about her I've completely avoided her books. But it does sound like a possibility so I'll do some digging.

Thanks for the suggestion.

[Kitty]

Biting the Sun

[Michele]

Not Biting the Sun, that's scifi YA and about a girl. Good story though.

[Ket]

I'm reading this book right now and remembered this post, wondered if you'd looked into it maybe being Imajica by Clive Barker:

Imajica

I haven't finished the book yet, but it seems to match your description. The secondary character is a magical being (mystif) at first perceived by the main character as a male, but later is defined as kind of non-gendered, which is normal for mystifs, and is later perceived as female. Not a huge plot-point, but definitely memorable. Would have been in the sci fi/fantasy section - has elements of the modern day, but half the book is taking place in another magical realm. Where I'm reading, the primary and secondary character just stopped to eat with a family, and the mystif was perceived as female and the head of the house made advances towards him/her, and the protagonist got peeved about it. In this book most of the magical realm characters are only human-esque. The two main characters are plodding through the snow in a perilous journey over a mountaintop right now in my reading in much the same way that the characters in Left Hand of Darkness traveled together. I don't know what happens to the secondary character, yet! But it was matching many other points so I wanted to put it out there. Also, it was published in 1991.

[Raz]

Thanks for the suggestion Tana. It's definitely not this. The plot description on wikipedia doesn't sound at all familiar, and the book is far more adult than any I read in the 90s.

[Raz]

Bump.

I'm still none the wiser as to what this book is. Only that it's not been any of the suggestions.

[Raz]

Bump!

I'm currently wondering if it was something by Tanith Lee. I know she's got a character that switches genders in one of her Flat Earth books. (It's not that one I don't think)

I'm wondering if she has a similar character in any of her other books. Unfortunately I don't particularly want to start buying all of her books to check.

[Kris]

Some Tanith Lee books that include gender switching/reversal - according to at least one Goodreads member (this list is not complete):
Biting the Sun?
East of Midnight?
The Book of the Damned - Secret Books of Paradys series?

Are there creatures such as dragons in the story?

[Aerulan]

Kris wrote: "Some Tanith Lee books that include gender switching/reversal - according to at least one Goodreads member (this list is not complete):
Biting the Sun?
[book:East of Midn..."

Biting the Sun definitely has gender switching, but none of the other details match the OP. It is an excellent book though.

[Raz]

Thanks for those books, Kris. I don't think it's any of those.

And no, I can't recall if there are any dragons or not in the story.

Thanks for the confirmation Aerulan.

[Aerulan]

Almost certainly not it since the main character is female and other details don't fit either, so probably not very helpful, but If I Pay Thee Not in Gold by Piers Anthony and Mercedes Lackey has a secondary character -a demon- who's people switch gender, including him/her. Thought I'd mention it just in case.

[Raz]

Thanks Aerulan. The reviews of that book are certainly interesting, and Piers Anthony's comments on writing the book likewise. I certainly think I'd remember reading it though and nothing's ringing any bells.

I'll see if I can dig and find out more but I suspect it isn't that one.

[Aileen]

Raz wrote: "Yep still looking for it.

Thanks for the suggestion, Cheryl. I don't think it's that one but I'll try and remember to put it on my to read list.

I wish I could get my hands on The Beasts of the ..."

Check this out. A very small description, but an online chapter sample. Maybe it will jog your memory.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/beast...

[Raz]

Aileen, thanks so much for that link.

That's helped to confirm that it's definitely not Beasts of the Mist, or any other books in that series.

[Mr. Lange]

I believe the books you are referring to are The swords of raemllyn series specifically a yoke of magic by robert e. vardeman. In the book, the character Goran One-eye is revealed to be a changeling who can switch genders. The first book in the series is To Demons Bound.

[Rainbowheart]

A Yoke of Magic for the link.

[Raz]

Thanks Shayne it's definitely not that.

Mr Lange, I seem to have already checked out that book series to see if it was that and came up with it's definitely not. But thank you.

[Jose]

Ket wrote: "I'm reading this book right now and remembered this post, wondered if you'd looked into it maybe being Imajica by Clive Barker:

Imajica

I haven't finished the book yet, but it seem..."

OMIGOSH Google and Goodreads is amazing. Thanks for this!

I believe this is exactly the book the original poster was looking for back in 2013 (I'm not him, I just stumbled across this thread by accident).

I've been trying to remember this book's title and author for YEARS but all I remembered was the gender changing character.

As soon as I read your post it hit me - Clive Barker's IMAJICA... you clued me in... very belated but heartfelt thanks!

[Leah]

Okay I’m so excited because I found this post in my hunt for a book that fit the description and I was so disappointed to discover that no one had found it. It was driving me crazy and I spent hours trying to find it and I found the one I was looking for! I just spent like 10 minutes trying to find this post again to see if it was the book you were also looking for!

Is it:
River of the Dancing Gods by Jack Chalker. It’s the first book in a trilogy.

[Kris]

Amazon's preview of The River of Dancing Gods by Jack L. Chalker - Leah's suggestion:

- https://www.amazon.com/River-Dancing-...
- There are different cover images.

[Kris]

Raz says her book is The Rotting Land (book 12 of the Legends of Lone Wolf series) by Joe Dever.