There are no stars at all for some of us

[sovay]

Hey! Internet! I've just been talking about how much it sucks when a novel kills off its queer characters. Especially when there's, like, one of them and they're the one who doesn't make it. Can someone point me toward a list of books where that doesn't happen? Spoilers, whatever.

Comments

[sovay]

Since I haven't seen them here Black Wine and A Paradigm of Earth by Candas Jane Dorsey both feature queer characters who have various foibles and follies but live and die the same as other people (one of them is an accident heavy book, the other one has a serial killer tucked into its folds).

I have never read either of those, or even heard of the latter. Thank you!

Gwyneth Jones has a series starting with Bold as Love that has a variety of characters with gender fluidity and features a trio of bisexual polyamorous heroes who go through a ton of bad shit, but don't die for being queer. Also, it's an Arthur pastiche set against the backdrop of British Green politics and folk festivals.

You know, I own a British paperback of Bold as Love, but can't remember what I thought of it and never read past it in any case. I should do that. I have her Aleutian trilogy, which I like.

[ashlyme.livejournal.com]

Since you've mentioned Gwyneth Jones, then also her early novel "Kairos"; there are two gay couples at the heart of it - one female, one male (though if I remember rightly, one of the men is killed and possibly resurrected, so). It's been years since I've read it, but it's important to me because I read it and thought: "oh, I'm queer too. Well then."

There's also Tanith Lee's Lethe collection, "Disturbed By Her Song". The queer women tend to get the better stories in it. Apart from some lazy exoticisation of a black British character in one tale it's a pretty strong book.

[nineweaving.livejournal.com]

Both those Candas Jane Dorsey books are strange and excellent. Grim but even-handed.

Nine