Tuesday, March 5, 2013

Seeking niches: M/M fantasy romance

Genres can be hazy things, as we all know. Niches can get very specific, and finding books in them can be tricky. So since I have been out there looking for M/M fantasy romance -- fully secondary-world fantasy (not urban fantasy, not portal fantasy), romance as a major plot element -- I thought I would assemble some of my findings for future reference. I've been tracking M/M fantasy down because of the ideas my creative gut foisted on me a while back.

I was specifically looking for books available electronically or through my library because my book budget is extremely limited. Some of these come from the Goodreads Best Gay Fantasy Romance list, some are recommendations from elsewhere.

#1 on the Goodreads list is Luck in the Shadows, by Lynn Flewelling, which is as it should be. I love it, I love the whole Nightrunner series, the books are on my shelf. Anxiously awaiting the last installment.

Mélusine was recommended to me while I was out searching. While there are homosexual men in the story, romance is not a major part of the plot. I was able to get it through inter-library loan and I enjoyed the book, but it doesn't really fit the genre.

Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner. Downloaded the sample, liked it, and I might buy the ebook. Or track it down in a library.

Prisoner by Megan Derr. The sample's all right, but the story seems to be a long string of dialogue with very little background, action, or anything else. Pass.

Counterpoint by Rachel Haimowitz. I downloaded the sample for it and was annoyed by the narrative inconsistencies. Not pursuing that one.

The Pedlar and the Bandit King by Kirby Crow. Another sample that didn't grab me.

Bloodraven by P.L. Nunn... was published on Lulu, doesn't have an ISBN (makes it hard to search for), doesn't seem to be available electronically. Out of the running on that basis.

Point of Dreams by Melissa Scott and Lisa A Barnett. The sample starts out with a detailed astrological reading, which was such an indigestible chunk of info-dump (astrology makes my eyes roll under the best of circumstances) that I almost deleted this one. But then the authors made a good recovery, so I'm willing to give it a chance.

Wicked Gentlemen by Ginn Hale. I liked the sample. And then I found out she has a series that starts with...

Lords of the White Hell by Ginn Hale. I got my hopes up... but no, it's not available electronically.

...BUT those last three books will be coming to me through out-of-state inter-library loan because PUBLIC LIBRARIES ARE AWESOME.

Then there's Truth in the Dark by Amy Lane. It was the last sample I read, and I thought I'd just glance at the first page before bed so I'd have something to say in this post. Well, I bet you know what happened. Got to bed a little late -- now that was a good sample. Straight to the top of the list.

Can you add to my list? Please do!

1 comment:

Crystal Collier said...

Goodness, I wish I could! Alas, my fantasy knowledge kind of cuts off at the early nineties. There are so many things I love about fantasy, but having ventured into some other genres, I'm no longer niche bound. I'm excited about your finds though, and look forward to your final thoughts on them.

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