Rant/Complain Thread: u mad?

[noodles]

[Kinokokao]

I've just read what I've read, not many/pretty much none of what I would call the classic/staples of the genre (Brooks, Eddings, Martin, Weir, McCaffery, etc). I always tended to just pull random shit off the shelves at the library and read them, so while I've read very few classics or, it always seems, shit that other people have read, I discovered numerous lesser-known gems that I love. Honestly the mainstream and classic fantasy tends to bore me.

Oh, and I tend to hunt down queer fantasy since it's my crack, so I have quite the collection of it.

[Twat]

I'd love some queer fantasy. Truly. If you could be bothered throwing me some recommendations I'd consider them. Fantasy in general lacks compelling romance. It's kind of like the romance you'd find in genres like Sci Fi, in that they have their prerequisite romantic relationship just for the sake of having them. You don't find enough fantasy stories that have real romance to them. I know fantasy does not emphasize suspension of belief but it is still important when it comes to certain characters and character interactions.

[noodles]

[Twat]

[Kimiko]

Lysie-sama - You could try the Elemental Logic series by . They're pretty good.

[Twat]

Thanks Kino, Kimiko. I've put them on a list for the next time I go book shopping. :)

[Kinokokao]

LET ME JOURNEY TO MY BEDROOM WHERE I KEEP THE CRACK:

Tamir Tryad by Lynn Flewelling:

3 books (The Bone Doll's Twin, Hidden Warrior and The Oracle's Queen). Takes place in a land historically ruled by Queens ever since a prophecy which declared that so long as a daughter of the bloodline ruled, no harm should befall the country. In the wake of a Mad Queen, her son has claimed the throne and silently killed all the females of the bloodline so as to strengthen his claim. His sister, Ariana, is pregnant with twins; a girl and a boy. In accordance with a prophetic calling, a wizard convinces Ariana and her husband that they must kill the boy-child and use forbidden blood-magic to disguise the girl-child as a boy until it is safe for her, the true Queen, to claim the throne. The story follows Tobin, as the child is called, from childhood to womanhood; Tobin doesn't know that he is really a she. Highly recommended! There's a romance between Tobin/Tamir and his/her childhood friend/loyal squire.

The Nighrunner Series by Lynn Flewelling:

2 book duology, 1 book stands alone, 2 book duology just released last year. (First two books stand on their own, and are highly recommended: Luck in the Shadows and Stalking Darkness).
Alec of Kerry is a young man from the deep country that falls into an apprenticeship with handsome Seregil a sometimes thief, noble, rogue and spy for the Queen. Alec finds himself caught up in a world of noble intrigue, wizards and, ultimately, evil necromancy. The plot builds wonderfully over the two books, and the romance between the two leads is second-fiddle (sadly) to the deep and engrossing plot. It's delicious, but Flewelling weaves her tale as secondary to the emotions lurking between the two. There's enough here to make you sigh with happiness, though.

Doctrine of Labyrinths by Sarah Monette
(4 books: Melusine, Virtu, Mirador, Corambis)
I've raved about this throughout the actual book thread. Mildmay is a thief and assassin who lurks the deepest corners of the Lower City of Melusine, which is ruled by a Cabal of Wizards who cloister up in the looming fortress of the Mirador. Felix Harrowgate is one of those wizards, but when his evil ex-master/lover/teacher breaks his mind and his magic to break the powerful Virtu, a magical artifact that protects and binds the Cabal together, Felix is ousted from his once-haughty position in the Mirador. The two characters end up together as they struggle to fix the Virtu and fix themselves. Felix is gay, openly, proudly, obviously whereas Mildmay is straight. It's a slight-spoiler to say anything major, but I wouldn't call romance the primary selling point of the series. It's fucking exquisite and my new favorite thing ever, though, so I recommend it.

The Fire's Stone by Tanya Huff
(one book)
My traditional favorite book and the first queer fantasy I ever read. It's not very original -- a Prince, Thief and Wizard set out to recover a stolen magical artifact -- but it's a cute, short read with a wonderfully crafted romance between the wastrel prince and desolate thief. The wizard is the prince's fiancée of an arranged marriage who originally sets out to convince the prince they shouldn't marry, because marriage would take away from her wizardly studies. It's cute but clichéd.

Smoke and... by Tanya Huff
(3 books: Smoke and Shadows, Smoke and Mirrors, Smoke and Ashes)
Actually a spin-off series from her better-known horror/vampire Blood series. Stars Tony, ex-lover of Henry Fitzroy (vampire) and ex-street kid who found a job in TV production working on, ironically, a show about a vampire PI who works with a human side-kick to solve cases. He has a terrible unrequited crush on Lee, the actor playing the human side-kick, who is a ladies heart-throb sort of man. He discovers that the studios special effects wizard is actually an honest-to-god wizard from another demension who fled after world after it was destroyed by an evil power... which is now attempting to take over Vancouver! That's the first book, at least. They're cute, funny, and Tony is a riot as a main character. The romance between him and Lee builds slowly, but there's plenty to sigh about and these are some really fun books (plus, hey, it's set in Canada!)

--cont--

[noodles]

combo breaker

[Twat]

You're not funny.

So far:
SO MANY WIZARDS

The Fire's Stone sounds like a good entry to it all if it's going to be a short read. Smoke and series sounds very amusing. The others sound juicy, especially Tamir Tryad.

[Kinokokao]

--cont--

The Last Herald-Mage by Mercedes Lackey
(3 books: Magic's Pawn, Magic's Promise, Magic's Price)
I better mention these since they're staple queerfantasy by a mainstream author but, honestly, I don't like them that much. Lackey is a terrible author, IMO, whose characters are melodramatic Mary Sues. Of course, it isn't like queerfantasy has a lot of room for complaints, and there's certainly plenty of over-the-top romantic drama to keep you drooling.
The premise the spoilt, vain peacock of a lordling Vanyel is sent to study under his aunt, a Herald-Mage, at the Herald Academy (ie: Magic school) even though he lacks the talent necessary to be a Herald. Underneath his spoiled, arrogant exterior is a sorrowfully sad and lonely boy who struggles with being a disappointment to his manly father (ie: Vanyel is a prissy gay boy and that's not okay with his manly country lord father). Vanyel ends up in bed with Tylendel, his aunt's flamboyantly gay student, but their mushy-mushy love affair is cut short with tragedy. Vanyel ends up with superpowerful magic and, as the title implies, becomes the Last Herald-Mage eventually. There's a second romance in the third book (the second is just Vanyel being like OH WOE IS ME I AM POWERFUL BUT LONELY). As you can tell, I didn't really like them, but I read them and own them and I remember entrance just fucking entranced by them when I was 16 god I was so young and foolish.

The Stone Prince by Fiona Patton
(1 book, series of 4 but they aren't connected)
I'm only mentioning this for completion and, like I said, there isn't much in the queerfantasy realm so I gotta mention it. Incidentally, Fiona Patton is the partner of Tanya Huff, which is why I bought this book to begin with. She must have a great personality, because Tanya certainly isn't into her for her writing talent. Romance between a prince and his Companion, a sort of... bed warmer/servant/adviser sort. Terrible book. I regret reading it and owning it. ;__; Why did I even mention it?!

Transformation by Carol Berg
You might find this mentioned as queer/slash fantasy, but it's not. Mentioning it for the sake of completion and as a warning: It. Isn't. Slash. Dammit~

The Angel Within by Kracken
Good luck finding it, by the way, but this is one of my favorite 1x2 fanfic author's first major book release, and I bought it like the day it came out. Dark take of Sunnie, a cheerful (gay) young man raised in a terribly strict religious community (like Amish, basically, but it's SciFi so it's not). When he fails to consummate his marriage and shames his family, Sunnie ends up sold to a seemingly nice man (whose name I forget and don't feel like looking up, so I will call him Master) who turns out to be a sexual sadist who brutally uses Sunnie. Sunnie runs into a kind Doctor, who wishes to help Sunnie escape his Master but, of course, Sunnie but learn to save himself and accept who he is. Full of sex. Like, ridiculously full of sex and sadism and all sorts of dark, angsty shit that I fucking love because, yeah, that's what Kracken writes. You can still get it from Amazon, I think, but I'd doubt a library would have it.

Hand of Prophecy by Severna Park
I haven't read this one in a while, so all the character names slip my mind, so let me just throw out some keywords at you: Science Fiction, slaves kept young, fit and beautiful by a virus which, after 20 year, causes them to die a terrible death. Main character, a woman, ends up as the doctor at an arena in which slaves fight, sometimes to the death, in spectator matches. Main character has seen how to survive the failure of the virus, and thinks she can replicate its effects. Two major lesbian sex scenes, by the way, and some decent romantic angles. Dark, original stuff. Read it in, like, junior high and it blew my goddamn mind. Recommended.

That's all I have for the moment since I'm sleepy. Hope that helps!

[noodles]

no I thought she was gonna make a second post, looking at the "--cont--"

and then it would have been hilarious

maybe?

EDIT: YES IT IS HILARIOUS

please don't dislike me lysie ;-;

[Kinokokao]

@Tanya Huff

like everything she writes has genderqueer in it (exception: her very earliest stuff), the Smoke series is just adorable, truly. The second book is set in a Haunted House, and the third involves a sex demon. Tony is sarcastically witty and pokes fun at the situations. Also, he gains wizard powers.

(I'm sorry I love gay wizards a ridiculous amount)

[Twat]

Thank you! Thank you!

So what I've done is I tiered your recommendations to set priorities on what I should try to find. Ones that didn't have an entirely positive note will be kind of a last ditch if I either can't find the others or it catches on and I'm desperate to read more. :P

I'll also weigh it on price tags of course.

Thanks again! <3

[Kinokokao]