Guest post written by Redsight author Meredith Mooring
Meredith Mooring is a science fiction, fantasy, and horror writer based in North Carolina. Her work examines disability and sexual orientation through fiction. She loves writing “what if” scenarios that explore science and history. Mooring has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a juris doctorate in law. By day she is an employment attorney and the owner of her own law practice. She serves on the board of directors for the Mira Foundation, USA, a non-profit that pairs guide dogs with blind children.
Releasing on February 27th 2024, Redsight is an imaginative new space opera for fans of Gideon the Ninth filled with sapphic romance, space pirates, a blind witch and powerful priestesses
Like the novels on this list, my science-fantasy debut Redsight has sapphic romance in a queernorm setting. Here are some stand-out sapphic couples from the past few years, featuring Arthurian legend, time wars, orcs, and near-future dystopias.
This is How You Lose the Time War by Max Gladstone and Amal El-Mohtar
This book has so much hype for a reason. For such a short novel, it packs in compelling characters, an original world, and lyrical prose. Red and Blue are the two point of view characters, with the story alternating back and forth between them as they write secret letters to each other across time and space.
The characters initially meet as agents on opposite sides of a time war, and they encounter each other over and over again in different settings and times. While actively fighting each other, they discover new sides to their political enemy through gorgeous letters filled with longing and heart-felt emotion. This story is incredibly character-focused, and if you’re favorite part of romance is slow-burn pining, this is the perfect book for you. Each point of view character is written by a different author and somehow they blend seamlessly together.
The Jasmine Throne by Tasha Suri
This novel is a true fantasy epic with over five POV characters, but the heart of the story focuses on Priya and Malini, the two main characters. Both women come from opposite social classes, with Priya working as a servant and Malini growing up as a princess. Even with a large cast of characters, the relationship between Priya and Malini grounds the story. I wouldn’t describe this novel as fast-paced. As the first book in a trilogy, it has the breathing room to establish a lot of worldbuilding, even while the two main characters spend most of their time confined to a magical temple.
Their isolation together amplifies the uncertainty, tension, and attraction between Priya and Malini. There are quite a few supporting POVs, but I found myself wanting to return to the two main characters even if the rest of the story is necessary in a world this large.
Wilder Girls by Rory Power
A re-telling of Lord of the Flies from a feminist perspective, Wilder Girls features three teenage girls at a boarding school on an island that’s suffering from a viral outbreak. The virus causes the characters to develop anthropomorphic or biological mutations—think fish scales instead of skin, or vines consuming someone. Hetty, Byatt, and Reese cling to their friendship during the dystopian chaos, but their relationships with one another always carried a romantic note for me as a reader.
I loved the juxtaposition between the queer, romantic subtext in Hetty’s friendships with the loss of control over her physical body. As the virus worsened for each of the characters, we learned more and more about the girls’ feelings for one another. This is a YA novel, and the experience of losing control over your appearance and your feelings is a relatable one, especially through a queer lens. The story gets shelved as horror or dystopia, but I think it also qualifies as near-future science fiction.
The Unspoken Name by A. K. Larkwood
Orc romance, undead revenants, sorcerers who share one mind, airships, and gates to different parts of space and time—this inventive combination of genre elements is so fresh and engaging. The Unspoken Name is one of my favorite fantasy books, and it follows Csorwe, an orc-jock who was meant to be a human sacrifice, and Shuthmili, a sorceress who avoids becoming part a magical hivemind to protect her empire. The two characters encounter each other near an ancient tomb, and their friendship gradually becomes romantic as the story progresses.
This book is perfect for anyone looking for a queer, imaginative take on high fantasy. If you enjoy queernorm settings with romance as a supporting plot, you’ll enjoy this series. I’ve read the story more than once and recommended it to countless people because it’s just so different from most contemporary fantasy while still incorporating familiar genre elements like mages, necromancy, and dragons.
Spear by Nicola Griffith
This novella is a queer retelling of Arthurian Legend like you’ve never read before, specifically the story of Percival the Knight. The author has such masterful use of language, I found myself pausing to read sentences over again because I loved how the story was expressed. If you’re thinking: how can Arthurian legend be done in an interesting way? It’s been told so many times—I’ve got to stop you right there. The story brings so much depth to the retelling and imagines Percival as a young gender non-conforming woman traveling as a man.
There’s even a queer, witchy romance between Perceval and Nimwe, the Lady of the Lake. Well known characters like Merlin make an appearance, but Welsh names are used for all the characters. It’s clear that the author did extensive research on the original legends. You don’t have to be familiar with the original stories to enjoy Spear; it can be read fully on its own.
Want more recommendations?
If you want to find even more sapphic couples, I discovered this fantastic list on TikTok from book reviewer @libbysfiction. Libby is actively tracking every sapphic fantasy and science fiction book, including upcoming releases. You can view the whole list here.
