Trying to find six sci-fi and fantasy novels with enby characters and i had it in my head to find three and three but dang there's a lot more of us in spaceships than there are casting spells :) anyone got any suggestions ?

[baronesswinter@beige.party]

@snosrapkungfu I'm desperately trying to remember a novel I read a few years ago which had a group of nomadic people whose society had three genders. It was based on African mythology and had flavorful, non-Euro magic; one of the main characters gets corrupted by his power and one of his eyes continually leaks as a sign of that corruption. The overall main theme, as I recall, was attempting to stop desertification of the land, with the desert growing from the east. I can't find it on the internet this morning for the life of me; I thought it was by Nnedi Okorafor, but looking at her titles, none of them seem to be the right one. I'll keep looking and get back to you if I find it.

[scholar_farmer@zirk.us]

@snosrapkungfu T. Kingfisher's Swordheart series and Becky Chambers' Wayfarer series (e.g. The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet) both have strong enby characters. And Martha Wells Murderbot Diaries -- it was a shock to me when Apple TV gendered the main character

[aram@aoir.social]

@snosrapkungfu oooh, I wrote one!

Amazon.com

(www.amazon.com)

[willyyam@mastodon.social]

@snosrapkungfu I don't have them in front of me, but @annaleen wrote The Terraformers, which I think has some enby characters. I think it's a good sign that I remember the characters, but not their genders.

Also, I have a similar thought. about @r_emrys The Half-Built Garden.

[brainwane@social.coop]

@snosrapkungfu I'm reasonably sure several works on the Otherwise Award lists (that have received the award or been on the honor lists or long lists) https://otherwiseaward.org/award#previous-awards fit your criteria!

[msbellows@c.im]

@snosrapkungfu "Monk & Robot" belongs on your list. I'll call it "soft sf"?

[eruonna@lgbtqia.space]

@snosrapkungfu
I recently read Parksville Community Witch, which is probably more romance than fantasy, but the main character is a nonbinary witch

[adrianh@mastodon.social]

@snosrapkungfu Maybe Alex Easton in Kingfisher's Sworn Soldier series? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/What_Moves_the_Dead

[jmarkockerbloom@mastodon.social]

@snosrapkungfu I think of the Sworn Soldier series of novellas by T. Kingfisher more as horror than fantasy, but the publisher classifies them as fantasy: https://us.macmillan.com/series/swornsoldier _What Moves the Dead_ is the first in the series. They're all inspired by various classic horror stories, and the "sworn soldier" gender of the main character is one of seven that are socially and linguistically recognized in the character's home country.

[bikil@mastoart.social]

@snosrapkungfu I recommend @vicorva 's Non Player Character which is a beautiful cozy fantasy book with a nonbinary protagonist and lots of diversity throughout!

[caitelatte@cloudisland.nz]

@snosrapkungfu Vi Corva's books are really lovely, Non-Player Character for sure! A ttrpg isekai with thought put into folks' upkeep medications.
Becky Chambers' Monk & Robot series has a really well-treated nonbinary main character (though after writing this I remembered it's more on the sci-fi side of the aisle).
Casey Blair's Tea Princess Chronicles has a nonbinary side character introduced in the second book (and a trans man from the first).
T Kingfisher's had some great characters, the white rat lawyer is so nice.
Olivia Atwater has genderfluid/agender angels in Small Miracles which was a delight.

[caitelatte@cloudisland.nz]

@snosrapkungfu Also, Rebecca Thorne's Tomes & Tea series has a great nonbinary side character (who's getting their own novella soon!)

[gaditb@icosahedron.website]

@snosrapkungfu Children's magical-world fantasy like Wonderland and Oz rather than high fantasy, so not casting spells, but
Chick The Cherub of "John Dough and the Cherub" (1906).

[glenatron@dice.camp]

@snosrapkungfu there's a non-binary lawyer-priest in T Kingfisher's Swordheart and I think they show up in other World of the White Rat books.

Pretty sure one of the POV characters in Mike Brooks' Black Coast and sequels is NB but it's a fantasy society with five standard genders so I may be misremembering. Outstanding modern epic fantasy either way.

[kathmandu@stranger.social]

@scholar_farmer @snosrapkungfu

If I recall correctly, T.Kingfisher's "What Moves the Dead" / Sworn Soldier series also has a non-binary or at least gender-neutral protagonist.

[jessmahler@indiepocalypse.social]

@snosrapkungfu
My novel, Planting Life in a Dying City, has an entire city of nonbinary folks -- the culture doesn't recognize gender.

IIRC @Rowyn has several books with enby characters. The ones I remember are side characters, don't know if that makes a difference.

I see someone mentioned @vicorva

I believe @andyb has several enby characters in Harmony of Falling Snow, but it's been a while since I read it and not recalling specifics.

[rootwyrm@weird.autos]

@snosrapkungfu ah! I see you have found RootWyrm's Theory of Modern LGBTQIA+ Fantasy Writing! (or is it a law? Either way.)

To wit: when your characters have access to magic, nobody has to worry about 'passing' or transitioning. They can just do it.

(This is not necessarily a bad thing.)

[snosrapkungfu@mastodon.social]

my goodness you all are so amazing

[mighty_orbot@retro.pizza]

@snosrapkungfu This doesn’t actually fit what you asked for, but I’m pleased that John Scalzi’s recent books are often told in first-person with a non-gendered narrator character. (Example: Jamie Gray in “The Kaiju Preservation Society”)

[andyb@writing.exchange]

@JessMahler @snosrapkungfu @Rowyn @vicorva

Harmony of Falling Snow has an enby side character and a few enbies seen in passing. And all children are considered agender. The 3rd book in the series will have an enby love interest and ze's slated to be a lead in Book 4. But I wouldn't put Harmony on the list myself as the POV characters aren't enby.

Note: I'm enby, so feel like I should have more enby characters, but there we are... (Also, my more active account is @andy_the_frazzled )