list of sorrow

[kindkit]

Because of reasons, I thought it might be interesting to create a list of relatively recent (published 2000 or later) science fiction and/or fantasy novels with no canonical lesbian, gay, or bisexual characters. Not even, say, Bruce the sassy hairdresser who appears in one paragraph. They don't exactly have to take place in the universe without LGB people--if there are no named LGB characters, they qualify, even if the existence of homosexuality is mentioned.

I'll start us off. I'm working from memory here, so corrections are welcome. I'll be adding others' contributions to the list as we go along.

Jonathan Barnes, Domino Men
Suzanne Collins, the Hunger Games series
Ally Condie, Matched
Neil Gaiman, Anansi Boys
Shannon Hale, Goose Girl
Scott Lynch, The Lies of Lock Lamora
China Mieville, The City and the City
China Mieville, Kraken
Naomi Novik, the whole Temeraire series (Apparently a character was finally acknowledged to be gay in the latest one.)
Tim Powers, Declare (I think Guy Burgess may get a mention but he's not really in it)
Terry Pratchett, most of them except Unseen Academicals
J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter books 4-7 ("Word of God" doesn't count if it's not in the books themselves, and the first three are exluded because they're before the cutoff date)
Thomas E. Sniegoski, the Remy Chandler series
Jeff VanderMeer, Finch
Ysabeau Wilce, Flora Segunda and Flora's Dare (a tricky case, because there's a character in the books, which are YA, who in a related non-YA story is presented as being gay, but that's unmentioned in the Flora novels)


While we're at it, let's have a special Dishonorable Mention category for books where the only LGB characters are villains.

Kate Griffin, A Madness of Angels (as I recall, the rest of the Matthew Swift series has no LGB characters at all).


What are your additions to the list?

Comments

[lilacsigil]

Novik has a gay character in the latest Temeraire book.

[naraht]

It's very interesting that she hasn't included a queer character until now (if that's true--I haven't read any of the books), given her level of involvement in slash fandom.

[liviapenn]

John Granby, the character in question, has been a major character since book one. He just didn't come out to *Lawrence*, the POV character of the novels, until the latest book.

[lilacsigil]

Yes, the character has been there since the start, though I'm finding the POV increasingly limiting of the story, not just for this reason.

[kindkit]

And considering Novik writes slash in her fannish life, it makes me angry that it took her, what, six books before she was willing to make one single character canonically queer?