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hexmixnot sure if i want to call this a reclist exactly, as i haven't read some of these books in 20+ years, so maybe ref-list is more accurate, as in: a list to reference if you'd like to see which books have queer protagonists (that dreamwidth user hexmix has knowledge of, anyway).
anyway, been wanting to do something like this for a long, long while, as there are many of these books that i never see included in similar lists, likely bc they are SO OLD. my criteria for the books included here are very simple: 1) at least one of the principle (as in, point of view) characters is queer. that's it. most of them i have read, but there are some included in a mini-list at the bottom which i have not but which ARE on my to-read list, so sharing them as well.
the list is divided by genre, and organized alphabetically by author, though i list book titles first. as a little treat/mini-game for myself i'm including with each the thing that sticks with me the most/i remember the most clearly from each book.
IMPORTANT NOTE: i have not included content warnings for any of these bc i sadly cannot remember many of them in enough detail to provide comprehensive warnings. however, there are several which contain non-con and other dark themes. please look into any of the books listed beforehand if you're worried about specific content.
will be adding on to this periodically!
that being said,
FANTASY
Beyond the Pale [Last Rune series] by Mark Anthony
they isekai the knight from the fantasy isekai into the oldy time wild west IT'S GREAT
Peter Darling by Austin Chant
it's enemies-to-lovers Peter Pan/Captain Hook so mostly that's what i remember lmao
Black Wine by Candas Jane Dorsey
at one point a character ends up in a polyamorous relationship and the locals refer to such relationships as "hands," with each member being a part of a whole that works together, and i always thought that was pretty cute. (most of this novel is brutal tho lmfao)
Luck in the Shadows [Nightrunner series] by Lynn Flewelling
otter
The God Eaters by Jesse Hajicek
i remember.........prison
Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale
i only remember that it's steampunk, alas
The Fire's Stone by Tanya Huff
i don't remember anything except that i don't think i liked this one lmao
Melusine [Doctrine of Labyrinths series] by Sarah Monette aka Katherine Addison
it's a toss-up between SPOILERS, Felix being insane almost the entirety of the first novel, Mildmay's whole being, and the oops-almost-an-incest scene. also yes this is where i got the username hocus from.
A Companion to Wolves [Iskryne series] by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear
ngl i don't even remember if the main character is actually attracted to men or if he just spends the whole novel getting dubcon'd, i just remember there's a real ridic setup where he has to bang dudes bc of wolf bond nonsense.
Captive Prince [series of the same name] by C.S. Pacat
my main memory relating to this one is reading it on LJ. that and Bad Things Happen So Much.
SCI-FI
Mind Fuck [Administration series] by Manna Francis
it's been so long i remember almost nothing except that it's a dystopia and there's bdsm
Gideon the Ninth [The Locked Tomb series] by Tamsyn Muir
the pool scene hahah;;;; i mean actually probably the ending; that entire sequence is so tense and horrible and narratively satisfying. (haven't read Nona yet but #1 book 2 memory: soup.)
Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather (review here)
i just finished reading this one so it's all pretty vivid lol but i'd say probably the descriptions of the ship. particularly in wondering the whole time how sticky everyone was. are they all covered in goo all the time? are they all damp? possibly! (the ships are really fukcign rad tho)
The Merro Tree by Katie Waitman
the LI is an alien snake man (i mean also TRIAL)
All Systems Red [Murderbot Diaries series] by Martha Wells
Murderbot blair witching in the corner is a great image ngl. relatable.
HISTORICAL FICTION
Brethren [Raised by Wolves series] by W.A. Hoffman
so much happens in this series but what has stuck with me YEARS later is one character describing anal sex to another.
As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann
it's a tie between the very graphic tooth-pulling scene (and blood-puking follow-up) and the scene where the dude jacks it over his dead wife's wedding dress.
POST-APOCALYPTIC
The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit [Wraeththu series] by Storm Constantine
non-human genitalia. fetuses being called "pearls."
URBAN FANTASY/PARANORMAL
Smoke and Shadows [Smoke trilogy] by Tanya Huff
the entire cast and crew of a paranormal tv series gets stuck in an actual haunted house in the second book
Irregulars by Nicole Kimberling, Josh Lanyon, Astrid Amara, and Ginn Hale
gonna be honest i don't remember anything about this one. i think there are demons??
Among the Living [Psycop series] by Jordan Castillo Price
feel like i tried to reread this 2-3 years back and couldn't get into it, so i just remember the opening scene with the fishing. vague "man sees ghosts in his daily life and it sucks" memories. pretty sure there's an ominous evil school masquerading as a lab at some point?
LITERARY FICTION
Strange Fire by Melvin Jules Bukiet
i reread this one recently bc i couldn't remember the author's politics so my focus was very, very different, but what i most easily recalled from the first time i read it was the two instances of torture.
Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig
mostly now i think of William Hurt bc of the movie but the use of footnotes to tell another narrative really sticks out with this one.
The Route of Ice and Salt by José Luis Zárate
the ending tbh. [this is a retelling of Dracula btw]
ALTERNATE HISTORY/HISTORICAL FANTASY
River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey [this one has a sequel as well]
the hippos lol.
A Book of Tongues [Hexslinger series] by Gemma Files (review here)
the part where Morrow finally learns what the prostate is
CRIME DRAMA/HEIST
Shadow of the Templar by M. Chandler
i have vague memories of the ops team and a heist??? it's been so long orz
Zero at the Bone by Jane Seville
i don't really remember this one, only the name and that there's a hitman
Houseboat on the Nile [Spy vs Spook series] by Tinnean
only remember vague spy v spy antics and reading this on what i believe was Tinnean's personal website a billion years ago. there's a second series on Tinnean's goodreads page, "Mann of My Dreams," which involves the same characters and i'm pretty sure that's what i knew the series by, but it was ages ago that i read this so WHO KNOWS REALLY.
MILITARY FICTION
Soldiers [Special Forces series] by Aleksandr Voinov (Vashtan) and Marquesate
i'm gonna be real with y'all i mostly remember the fisting lmao. and the noncon. and the pov shifting with every paragraph (i think it's only like that the first book and gets better later but BOY did i have to get used to that.)
SPORTS
The Foxhole Court [All for the Game series] by Nora Sakavic
i remember nothing about this series except that the school is very obviously based on the school where i did my undergrad lol
DISHONORABLE MENTION
this one's down here bc years ago i found out this dude had defended some of jkr's terf bs and i never checked back in on him after that. idk if he's ever apologized for that or if he's still a fucking terf, but maybe if you check this book/series out don't pay for it:
The Steel Remains [A Land Fit For Heroes series] by Richard K. Morgan
this shit is grimdark so most of what i remember is horrible violence.
WAIT I REMEMBERED ANOTHER DISHONORABLE MENTION
actually glad i was reminded of this one (thanks V!) bc it really illustrates how slim pickins were Back in the Day. this book and its sequel appeared on a lot of lists of original m/m romance despite the fact that there isn't any romance and the m/m is a technicality.
the reason it made it on these lists? the main character has a magical ability that he can only use as long as he remains a virgin. however, he's able to fool around with his male best friend bc i guess that doesn't count as "real" sex. (neat!! rad!!!!!!) but that's it. there's not even any explicit scenes, all fade-to-black stuff. and it's framed as morally wrong in the sense that the main character, at that point in the story, is hugely selfish and just an absolute piece of shit, and him fucking his bestie is portrayed as yet another selfish act/as a character flaw. so that's neat. (i will say that it's implied that the friend does love the MC, and i very much read him as being in love with him, but he also disappears in like the third chapter or something and doesn't come back until the end of the second book lol, so fuck me and everyone else who read this book bc it showed up on original m/m romance lists i guess.)
anyway, that aside, props to this book for having the single best character development i've ever seen. genuinely. a great book if you like seeing viscerally despicable people actually growing for once.
The Still [and its sequel The King] by David Feintuch
aside from the rant above what i remember most is Roderigo's conversations with his mom, and his decision at the end of the second book; it feels genuinely weighty and has stuck with me for years.
TO-READ
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Thornfruit by Felicia Davin
A Strong and Sudden Thaw by R.W. Day
The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar
A Book of Tongues by Gemma Files
Knives in Your Eyes by M. Loyd Gohty/Roofiction
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
Creatures of Will and Temper by Molly Tanzer
Unnatural Magic by C.M. Waggoner
anyway, been wanting to do something like this for a long, long while, as there are many of these books that i never see included in similar lists, likely bc they are SO OLD. my criteria for the books included here are very simple: 1) at least one of the principle (as in, point of view) characters is queer. that's it. most of them i have read, but there are some included in a mini-list at the bottom which i have not but which ARE on my to-read list, so sharing them as well.
the list is divided by genre, and organized alphabetically by author, though i list book titles first. as a little treat/mini-game for myself i'm including with each the thing that sticks with me the most/i remember the most clearly from each book.
IMPORTANT NOTE: i have not included content warnings for any of these bc i sadly cannot remember many of them in enough detail to provide comprehensive warnings. however, there are several which contain non-con and other dark themes. please look into any of the books listed beforehand if you're worried about specific content.
will be adding on to this periodically!
that being said,
FANTASY
Beyond the Pale [Last Rune series] by Mark Anthony
they isekai the knight from the fantasy isekai into the oldy time wild west IT'S GREAT
Peter Darling by Austin Chant
it's enemies-to-lovers Peter Pan/Captain Hook so mostly that's what i remember lmao
Black Wine by Candas Jane Dorsey
at one point a character ends up in a polyamorous relationship and the locals refer to such relationships as "hands," with each member being a part of a whole that works together, and i always thought that was pretty cute. (most of this novel is brutal tho lmfao)
Luck in the Shadows [Nightrunner series] by Lynn Flewelling
otter
The God Eaters by Jesse Hajicek
i remember.........prison
Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale
i only remember that it's steampunk, alas
The Fire's Stone by Tanya Huff
i don't remember anything except that i don't think i liked this one lmao
Melusine [Doctrine of Labyrinths series] by Sarah Monette aka Katherine Addison
it's a toss-up between SPOILERS, Felix being insane almost the entirety of the first novel, Mildmay's whole being, and the oops-almost-an-incest scene. also yes this is where i got the username hocus from.
A Companion to Wolves [Iskryne series] by Sarah Monette and Elizabeth Bear
ngl i don't even remember if the main character is actually attracted to men or if he just spends the whole novel getting dubcon'd, i just remember there's a real ridic setup where he has to bang dudes bc of wolf bond nonsense.
Captive Prince [series of the same name] by C.S. Pacat
my main memory relating to this one is reading it on LJ. that and Bad Things Happen So Much.
SCI-FI
Mind Fuck [Administration series] by Manna Francis
it's been so long i remember almost nothing except that it's a dystopia and there's bdsm
Gideon the Ninth [The Locked Tomb series] by Tamsyn Muir
the pool scene hahah;;;; i mean actually probably the ending; that entire sequence is so tense and horrible and narratively satisfying. (haven't read Nona yet but #1 book 2 memory: soup.)
Sisters of the Vast Black by Lina Rather (review here)
i just finished reading this one so it's all pretty vivid lol but i'd say probably the descriptions of the ship. particularly in wondering the whole time how sticky everyone was. are they all covered in goo all the time? are they all damp? possibly! (the ships are really fukcign rad tho)
The Merro Tree by Katie Waitman
the LI is an alien snake man (i mean also TRIAL)
All Systems Red [Murderbot Diaries series] by Martha Wells
Murderbot blair witching in the corner is a great image ngl. relatable.
HISTORICAL FICTION
Brethren [Raised by Wolves series] by W.A. Hoffman
so much happens in this series but what has stuck with me YEARS later is one character describing anal sex to another.
As Meat Loves Salt by Maria McCann
it's a tie between the very graphic tooth-pulling scene (and blood-puking follow-up) and the scene where the dude jacks it over his dead wife's wedding dress.
POST-APOCALYPTIC
The Enchantments of Flesh and Spirit [Wraeththu series] by Storm Constantine
non-human genitalia. fetuses being called "pearls."
URBAN FANTASY/PARANORMAL
Smoke and Shadows [Smoke trilogy] by Tanya Huff
the entire cast and crew of a paranormal tv series gets stuck in an actual haunted house in the second book
Irregulars by Nicole Kimberling, Josh Lanyon, Astrid Amara, and Ginn Hale
gonna be honest i don't remember anything about this one. i think there are demons??
Among the Living [Psycop series] by Jordan Castillo Price
feel like i tried to reread this 2-3 years back and couldn't get into it, so i just remember the opening scene with the fishing. vague "man sees ghosts in his daily life and it sucks" memories. pretty sure there's an ominous evil school masquerading as a lab at some point?
LITERARY FICTION
Strange Fire by Melvin Jules Bukiet
i reread this one recently bc i couldn't remember the author's politics so my focus was very, very different, but what i most easily recalled from the first time i read it was the two instances of torture.
Kiss of the Spider Woman by Manuel Puig
mostly now i think of William Hurt bc of the movie but the use of footnotes to tell another narrative really sticks out with this one.
The Route of Ice and Salt by José Luis Zárate
the ending tbh. [this is a retelling of Dracula btw]
ALTERNATE HISTORY/HISTORICAL FANTASY
River of Teeth by Sarah Gailey [this one has a sequel as well]
the hippos lol.
A Book of Tongues [Hexslinger series] by Gemma Files (review here)
the part where Morrow finally learns what the prostate is
CRIME DRAMA/HEIST
Shadow of the Templar by M. Chandler
i have vague memories of the ops team and a heist??? it's been so long orz
Zero at the Bone by Jane Seville
i don't really remember this one, only the name and that there's a hitman
Houseboat on the Nile [Spy vs Spook series] by Tinnean
only remember vague spy v spy antics and reading this on what i believe was Tinnean's personal website a billion years ago. there's a second series on Tinnean's goodreads page, "Mann of My Dreams," which involves the same characters and i'm pretty sure that's what i knew the series by, but it was ages ago that i read this so WHO KNOWS REALLY.
MILITARY FICTION
Soldiers [Special Forces series] by Aleksandr Voinov (Vashtan) and Marquesate
i'm gonna be real with y'all i mostly remember the fisting lmao. and the noncon. and the pov shifting with every paragraph (i think it's only like that the first book and gets better later but BOY did i have to get used to that.)
SPORTS
The Foxhole Court [All for the Game series] by Nora Sakavic
i remember nothing about this series except that the school is very obviously based on the school where i did my undergrad lol
DISHONORABLE MENTION
this one's down here bc years ago i found out this dude had defended some of jkr's terf bs and i never checked back in on him after that. idk if he's ever apologized for that or if he's still a fucking terf, but maybe if you check this book/series out don't pay for it:
The Steel Remains [A Land Fit For Heroes series] by Richard K. Morgan
this shit is grimdark so most of what i remember is horrible violence.
WAIT I REMEMBERED ANOTHER DISHONORABLE MENTION
actually glad i was reminded of this one (thanks V!) bc it really illustrates how slim pickins were Back in the Day. this book and its sequel appeared on a lot of lists of original m/m romance despite the fact that there isn't any romance and the m/m is a technicality.
the reason it made it on these lists? the main character has a magical ability that he can only use as long as he remains a virgin. however, he's able to fool around with his male best friend bc i guess that doesn't count as "real" sex. (neat!! rad!!!!!!) but that's it. there's not even any explicit scenes, all fade-to-black stuff. and it's framed as morally wrong in the sense that the main character, at that point in the story, is hugely selfish and just an absolute piece of shit, and him fucking his bestie is portrayed as yet another selfish act/as a character flaw. so that's neat. (i will say that it's implied that the friend does love the MC, and i very much read him as being in love with him, but he also disappears in like the third chapter or something and doesn't come back until the end of the second book lol, so fuck me and everyone else who read this book bc it showed up on original m/m romance lists i guess.)
anyway, that aside, props to this book for having the single best character development i've ever seen. genuinely. a great book if you like seeing viscerally despicable people actually growing for once.
The Still [and its sequel The King] by David Feintuch
aside from the rant above what i remember most is Roderigo's conversations with his mom, and his decision at the end of the second book; it feels genuinely weighty and has stuck with me for years.
TO-READ
Light from Uncommon Stars by Ryka Aoki
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers
Thornfruit by Felicia Davin
A Strong and Sudden Thaw by R.W. Day
The Traitor Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
This is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar
Knives in Your Eyes by M. Loyd Gohty/Roofiction
What Moves the Dead by T. Kingfisher
In the Lives of Puppets by TJ Klune
Creatures of Will and Temper by Molly Tanzer
Unnatural Magic by C.M. Waggoner
