The best sci-fi and speculative stories depicting queer lives

Though gender fluidity has been a part of Becky Chambers’s work since her debut, this nonbinary giant was especially struck by her 2021 novel, A Psalm for the Wild-Built. It’s a thoughtful, witty, meditative story set in a distant eco-utopia where gender variance is simply part of the norm, with characters naturally identifying as she, he, or they without any kind of fanfare. It may not be the most dramatic read, but seeing as we live in a world where people are killed for not conforming to a gender binary, weaving this quiet acceptance into an optimistic vision for the future truly gives me hope. Oh, and there are sentient robots. Did I mention the robots?

Melissa Scott takes worldbuilding to fascinating extremes in her 1995 novel, Shadow Man. Due to changes in human biology, there are five recognised sexes in Scott’s far-flung society, with man and woman joined by fem, herm, and mem – yet despite the variety in body types, the isolated and backward planet of Hara forces its residents to choose between a simple binary. With its bold depictions of gender discrimination and violence, Shadow Man is relevant to our own social battles while also indulging in a fast-paced plot and thought-provoking speculation, all while being just different enough from our own world that it scratches that escapist itch.

So far this list has explored worlds that are quietly optimistic and imaginatively dark – while You Sexy Thing by Cat Rambo is resolutely neither. Rambo’s novel is a playful and exhilarating romp through space with a diverse cast of characters, from human to intelligent apes, and its genders and sexualities are just as varied. There’s seemingly no limit to the plurality of beings populating this delightful space opera, and my absolute favourite has to be Skidoo: a connection-seeking squid-being who craves affection and empathic touch. I never thought I’d relate so hard to a cephalopod.

Presenting one of the darkest futures I’ve ever read, The Offset plunges us into a neo-medieval world ravaged by climate destruction. The debut novel of writing duo Natasha C. Calder and Emma Szewczak, The Offset is set in a sinister, depopulated London which murders people for reproducing, yet it also weaves in a strange social acceptance. As with Becky Chambers’s A Psalm for the Wild-Built, queer and nonbinary people are completely and unquestioningly accepted – yet though the latter takes place in a quiet utopia, while here we’re dealing with a dramatic dystopia. This tolerance adds depth and nuance to an otherwise bleak setting, and it’s not just relegated to the background: The central protagonists form a queer family, one threatened by the omnipresent cruelties of a decaying future.

Of course, any list wouldn't be complete without mentioning Le Guin. The Left Hand of Darkness is one of the most well-known works of queer speculation, and for good reason: reprinted dozens of times over the decades since it was originally published in 1969, the story centres around the ‘ambisexual’ inhabitants of Gethen, the androgynous population of a planet settled many centuries into the future. Yet it’s not just the social setting that makes The Left Hand of Darkness a compelling read, but the central relationship between the native Estraven and ambassador Ai – whose bond carries the novel’s central emotional appeal. Thought-provoking, tragic, and far ahead of its time, it’s one of the many stories that cemented Le Guin’s status as a speculative legend.