‘Assassin’s Creed: Syndicate’ will include the long-running series’ first transgender character. The character – Ned Wynert – is a trans male and one of several supporting characters that act as quest givers for the game’s protagonists. Developers Ubisoft have also updated Assassin’s Creed’s opening statement for the first time since the first game’s release in 2007. See the Full Story at Pink News
In honor of Bisexual Awareness Week, we have a topic from QSFer Freddy MacKay: From a reader perspective, if an author’s character is bi, and actively dates both sexes during a series, but ends up with an opposite sex partner, how would that make you feel? Why? It’s an interesting question – whatever your orientation, there’s a natural desire to see things work out the way you hope they would in your own life. But we also open ourselves up to the experiences of others. As a gay man, I’ve been exposed to heterosexual romance my entire life – and … Read more
Genre: Lesbian Paranormal Mystery/Thriller Length: Novel MINNESOTAN POLICE officer, Erin Ericsson, travels to Canada to catch a criminal that fell through US cracks. Lily is a killer who is just getting started in her killing career—she’s only a teenager. Besides her trusty knife, the same one she stole from her dead mother who died of suspicious circumstances, Lily uses fire to wreck havoc, and instill terror in her victims. No one is safe. Not Erin or Erin’s loved ones. Not her own family. Not even her friends, including the girl she meets in school, and her family. She’s a … Read more
Welcome to the third monthly celebration of F/F fiction! F/F, by the way, stands for Female/Female (not Fan Fiction) pairings that may or may not be romantic. Today I’d like to kindly ask you to refrain from promoting your own books, friend’s books, publisher, or other services. The goal for today’s discussion is to establish a common ground for future F/F discussions and give new readers a place to start. What was the first F/F speculative fiction book you ever read? Or what was the most influential, and why? Please, as always, keep the discussion focused on F/F only. Also … Read more
Gomen nasai! I’m Jim Comer and I read, edit, and post on QueerSF. This is the third of an irregular series of dispatches from the front: I read very widely across the fields of history, science, language and religion, and want to make sure that the QUILTBAGs back home are suitably informed. For writers and readers, here is the third in a series of book reviews, on tales of same-sex love (“nanshoku”) in Japan. I hope that you enjoy it. Reflections on The Great Mirror of Male Love, by Ihara Saikaku J. Comer Reading a text from another place, and … Read more
We’re thrilled to have Vance Bastian contributing a post for our discussion today: Bisexual characters bring a very dynamic element to a story. Writers who challenge themselves to go beyond the stereotype of wanton promiscuity, abuse, or mental disorders find their stories wrapping around this individual who is a living catalyst. At their hearts, a bisexual character can be attracted to either gender. That does not mean the character wants to have sex with anything that moves. In fact, how open-hearted and rich is a bisexual character who wants a family, but sees the beauty in everyone? How complex is … Read more
Penguin Random House announced Wednesday that the digital edition of the 1969 novel will be on sale July 15. Le Guin, 85, has written more than 20 books and last fall received an honorary National Book Award. “The Left Hand of Darkness,” a gender-defying tale set in the distant future on the planet Winter, has been widely praised for its insights about feminism and sociology. About The Left Hand of Darkness Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Awards A groundbreaking work of science fiction, The Left Hand of Darkness tells the story of a lone human emissary to Winter, an … Read more
Article: Celebrate Marriage Equality with these 12 Beloved LGBT Characters from Geek Culture Sci-fi tends to explore themes of identity, tolerance of differences, and true expression of the self, so many stories have served as allegories for the oppression of homosexuals in society, most notably X-Men. But in spite of this, geek culture hasn’t historically been the most diverse, with sci-fi TV and comics just recently taking some baby steps towards representation (there are no sci-fi movie franchises on this list). And the real world is catching up, as SCOTUS just ruled that gay marriage is legal in all 50 … Read more
I tripped across this quick article on The LGBT Update regarding the new show Sense8. The article highlights the queer characters and shares a promo video: SENSE8 – A Sci-Fi Series With Leading LGBT Characters (Netflix) Known for their science fiction blockbusters (The Matrix franchise, Cloud Atlas, Jupiter Ascending, etc..), The Wachowski siblings are now taking their epic filmmaking talents to Netflix, in their highly anticipated new sci-fi series Sense8. The global concept of this groundbreaking series surrounds eight strangers, who mysteriously become mentally and physically connected, while being hunted by a unknown organization (which all sounds pretty awesome). Yet … Read more
QSFer R.C. Ethan has a new fantasy book out: Meet Iris. An introverted, enamoured and bullied girl. That is until a school trip to the town’s aquarium changes everything about her and her life. A duckling turned temptress finds herself entangled in oceanic mysteries, serial murders, famiy secrets and a love rectangle that will test who she is and what she’s made of. Mild language and violence. Contains Bisexual characters and situations. Excerpt Buy Links Swoon Reads (Free): Click Here Author Bio Rhys Christopher Ethan is by no means a scientist, but he is an architect of his own fantasy … Read more