10 Best LGBTQ Science Fiction Books in 2022 (April Daniels, Becky Chambers, and More)

Fleeing her past life, Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, an aging ship manned by an oddball assortment of characters. There's Sissix, the reptilian pilot, engineers Kizzy and Jenks, and Ashby, the captain.

When they're offered a job tunneling wormholes through space, it's not exactly what Rosemary had in mind. The job comes with plenty of money but also plenty of risks. As they travel into the depths of space, the crew of the Wayfarer encounters unexpected obstacles and adventures that ultimately bring them closer together.

The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet is the first of four books in the Hugo Award-winning Wayfarers series. Some reviewers said that this book contained a lot of exposition, and took too long to get to the action. Others didn't find the characters engaging. 

However, many reviewers thought this book and series were wonderful, praising the author's world-building skills. They also loved watching the characters and their relationships develop throughout the story. Readers agreed that this book is an easy and fun read.

An Unkindness of Ghosts is a story that is both agonizing and beautiful. It follows Aster, who lives on the ship Matilda, which is on its way to a mythical Promised Land. The ship is organized much like an antebellum plantation, with the wealthy white people on the upper decks and the black and brown people laboring below. 

Aster is queer and neuroatypical - an outsider within her own class. When she discovers a possible connection between the ailing leader of the ship and her mother's suicide decades ago, she devotes herself to uncovering the secret. 

Some reviewers struggled with the context of technology in this book, noting that much of it seemed to be regressive rather than futuristic. Others found that the narration jumped around too much between characters.

However, the reviewers who liked this book heaped praise upon it. They found the characters to be compelling and relatable and thought the premise was unique and intriguing. Many of them felt drawn into the story in a very visceral way, and more than a few said it was the best book they've read all year.

A Hugo and Nebula Award-winner originally published in 1969, The Left Hand of Darkness has been hailed as a groundbreaking work of science fiction. This classic follows the story of Genly Ai, a human who is sent to the planet Gethen as an ambassador.

Genly's goal is to persuade Gethen to join a confederation of planets, but in order to do so, he has to bridge a wide cultural divide. Gethen is a planet inhabited by ambisexual individuals and at first, Genly struggles to reconcile his own views with this different world.

This book is definitely one of the more challenging reads on our list. Some reviewers said that while the concept was interesting, the book itself was difficult to get through, with a lot of talking and not much action. Others described it as "tedious."

However, many reviewers praised this book, saying its status as a classic is well-deserved. They thought the world-building was impeccable, with so much depth and detail it felt real. And they said this book made them confront many difficult questions about patriotism, gender, society, and culture.

Do you believe soulmates exist? They do in The One, and all it takes to find your perfect partner is a simple DNA test. But what does this mean for romance, dating, and society as a whole?

This novel takes place in the near future and follows five people who have received their match. Their stories are separate, told in alternating chapters. From a wealthy business owner to an engaged couple to a character with a very dark secret, The One explores how the idea of soulmates may be quite different from reality.

Some reviewers thought there were too many characters and had a hard time keeping track. Others didn't like that the book was focused more on relationship drama and less on character development. 

Reviewers who enjoyed the book praised its pacing and suspenseful writing, saying it was addictive and difficult to put down. They also thought the premise was thought-provoking and that the author did a great job illustrating the positive and negative impacts on the individuals and their relationships.

Danny is a 15-year old transgender girl living as a boy out of fear of her unsupportive family. But when the superhero Dreadnought falls from the sky and dies at her feet, he passes his powers on to her. Not only does she inherit his super strength and ability to fly, but her body is also transformed into the one she's always identified as.

Her father is less than happy about this change, her best friend becomes problematic, and her new superhero colleagues aren't very helpful. But she's a superhero now, and she'll have to overcome these obstacles as well as fight the bad guys that are threatening her town.

Some readers thought that this book went too far in detailing the suffering and torture Danny had to endure. Others wished the world was more fully fleshed-out and thought that some of the secondary characters lacked depth.

However, many reviewers thought this book was the perfect combination of superhero action and coming-of-age themes. They praised the author's nuance in capturing the difficulty of being trans in high school. And they loved watching Danny take charge of her own identity and power.

Red and Blue are rival agents in a time war that spans thousands of past and future realities. Red belongs to the Agency, a technological utopia. Blue belongs to Garden, a universal organic consciousness. 

Their relationship begins with a letter found in the ashes of a dying planet, that says, "Burn Before Reading." But instead of burning it, Red reads the letter. This sets off a rivalry that slowly blossoms into a romance.

Some reviewers felt that the concept of the book got in the way of the plot and character development and thought that the story was too convoluted. Others said that the prose was too flowery for their liking.

However, many reviewers praised the writing, saying that it was poetic and nuanced. They also loved the authors' creativity, especially apparent in the various methods of communication Red and Blue use to send their love letters across time and space.

The first novel in the Imperial Radch trilogy, Ancillary Justice is the beginning of a military space opera set thousands of years in the future. It follows Breq, the sole survivor of a destroyed starship and the human vessel of the ship's artificial consciousness. 

In a two-stranded narrative, we follow Breq's quest for vengeance in the present and answers in the past, encountering questions of culture, colonization, and power along the way. Breq's home tongue uses only the pronoun "she," creating a disconnect and reinforcing her outsider status as she navigates a warring universe.

The main complaint reviewers had about this book is its cumbersome language. There are many made-up words and names, which some reviewers said they were never able to get the hang of. Others felt that the use of only "she/her" pronouns made everything more confusing.

However, other reviewers thought the author's use of pronouns was interesting and made them think about gender in a new way. Many reviewers who loved the book praised the way it weaves together different themes like man versus machine, good versus evil, and haves versus have-nots. 

It's 1995, and Nate Cartwright is adrift. He's been fired from his job as a journalist, and his father has just passed away, leaving him only a truck and a family cabin in Oregon. With nothing better to do, Nate packs his bags and drives out to the cabin.

When he arrives, he discovers that people are already there: a man named Alex and a curious girl who calls herself Artemis Darth Vader. Soon, they're all on the run together, and Nate begins to discover that there's more to Artemis than meets the eye.

Some reviewers were disappointed that this book didn't contain more romance. While a relationship does develop between Nate and Alex, it is not the main focus of the story. 

However, other reviewers found the book to be full of emotional weight in other ways, especially in its depiction of loss. They praised Klune's vivid imagery and complex characters and said the book combined the best elements of thriller, sci-fi, and romance in one.

If you could stop the world from ending, would you? The answer seems like a simple yes, but for Henry Denton, it's not so easy. For years, Henry has been periodically abducted by aliens. They've told him that the world will end in 144 days and he can stop it all by pushing a big red button.

Henry's life hasn't been easy. He's just a teenager, but already he's experienced his boyfriend being taken by suicide, bullying at school, and a rocky family situation. He's not sure he even wants the world to continue. But time is running out, and Henry must decide whether to save everyone or let the Earth (and his friends and family) be destroyed.

Some reviewers felt that the book was too long - it became repetitive and wished for more action. Others found the book difficult to read because of its dark and heavy subject matter; the story features suicide, mental illness, and sexual assault.

However, other reviewers found the story to be extremely compelling and emotionally touching. They thought Henry was a brilliantly-written character and loved that his sexuality was presented as just one facet of his complex identity. 

In the far future, society is run by six massive corporations. When a mysterious incident called "The Blink" occurs, wiping out millions of people on Earth, it's blamed on colonists from Mars and an interplanetary war breaks out. 

In this vision of the future, soldiers can be turned into light and beamed down onto other planets, but it's not always successful. The story follows Dietz, a fresh recruit who begins to experience combat missions that don't seem to align with what she's being told by those above her.

Some reviewers found The Light Brigade to be a tedious read, saying that the anti-capitalist themes became repetitive. Others felt that it lost momentum halfway through and didn't keep them interested.

However, many reviewers thoroughly enjoyed the story, saying it was action-packed, gritty, and realistic. They appreciated the social and political commentary in the context of a warring future. They also thought the writing itself was poetic and evocative.