Five New Adult Science Fiction Books With Queer Protagonists
Science fiction has long offered room to imagine different bodies, relationships, families, and futures. For queer readers, that imaginative space can be especially powerful when a protagonist’s identity is treated as an ordinary part of their life rather than the sole source of conflict.
This guide gathers five new adult science fiction books with queer protagonists, ranging from intimate space romances to sweeping stories about artificial intelligence, music, empire, and survival. Some sit firmly in adult fiction, while others occupy the flexible space between upper YA and new adult, where many readers discover their first complex, grown-up speculative stories.
For Australian readers, these books are easy to approach through library apps, independent bookshops, online retailers, and the science fiction community around conventions such as Supanova and Continuum. They also suit different moods: some are tense and action-driven, while others are gentle, romantic, philosophical, or quietly strange.
How new adult science fiction makes room
“New adult” is often used for stories about characters leaving home, beginning university or work, navigating independence, or discovering what they want from relationships. In science fiction, those experiences can unfold aboard starships, on distant planets, or inside societies shaped by technology and political power.
The category is not always applied consistently by publishers. A novel may be shelved as adult science fiction in Australia while appealing strongly to upper-YA and new adult readers. The five selections here share emotional qualities associated with the category: protagonists making their own choices, building chosen families, and learning how freedom works when the stakes are enormous.
The Darkness Outside Us by Eliot Schrefer
Eliot Schrefer’s The Darkness Outside Us places two young men, Ambrose and Kodiak, on a mission to rescue the last survivor of a doomed colony. Their countries are enemies, and the two astronauts initially have every reason to distrust each other. Confined to a spaceship, however, they must cooperate while the mission grows more mysterious.
The romantic relationship develops alongside questions about memory, identity, sacrifice, and what makes a person real. Schrefer balances sharp tension with tenderness, giving the book the atmosphere of a claustrophobic thriller while still allowing space for humour and vulnerability. Its queer romance is central, yet the story also has plenty to offer readers who enjoy unreliable technology and unsettling revelations.
Bonds of Brass and the pull of chosen family
Emily Skrutskie’s Bonds of Brass begins with a classic space-opera setup: a talented pilot rescues his best friend, only to discover that the friend is the hidden heir to a powerful empire. Ettian’s loyalty to Gal is tested as political secrets emerge and their escape becomes increasingly dangerous.
The novel has the pace of a blockbuster adventure, with military training, interplanetary conflict, and close-quarters tension. It also understands the emotional weight of loving someone whose identity could change the fate of entire worlds. For readers who enjoy queer romance threaded through action rather than separated from it, this is an energetic choice with strong found-family appeal.
Five books at a glance
The selections differ in tone and setting, so the best starting point depends on whether a reader wants danger, romance, comfort, or big philosophical questions. They also vary in how prominently the queer relationship or identity shapes the main plot.
| Book | Queer representation | Science fiction appeal | Best for readers who want |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Darkness Outside Us | A developing romance between two young men | Space survival, secrets, artificial intelligence | Suspense and emotional twists |
| Bonds of Brass | Queer romance amid imperial conflict | Space opera, pilots, rebellion | Fast action and political stakes |
| Ocean’s Echo | A queer romance shaped by psychic connection | Mind-linked technology and military intrigue | Enemies-to-allies tension |
| Light from Uncommon Stars | A trans teenage musician at the heart of the story | Alien technology, demons, music, alternate realities | Lyrical genre blending |
| The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet | A bisexual protagonist and a diverse crew | Space travel, alien cultures, found family | Warmth, community, and reflection |
Ocean’s Echo by Everina Maxwell
In Ocean’s Echo, Everina Maxwell combines military science fiction with an intense, slow-building romance. Tennal is a reckless, gifted telepath whose abilities make him valuable to an authoritarian system. Surrounded by surveillance and political pressure, he is paired with Surit, a disciplined soldier whose own connection to the system is complicated.
The novel explores consent, bodily autonomy, institutional control, and the danger of treating extraordinary people as military resources. Tennal and Surit’s relationship is shaped by psychic intimacy, which gives the romance an unusual closeness while raising difficult questions about privacy and choice. Readers who liked the emotional tension of Winter’s Orbit may find a similar appeal here, though Ocean’s Echo leans further into espionage and mind-based technology.
Light from Uncommon Stars and complicated hope
Ryka Aoki’s Light from Uncommon Stars is a genre blend that refuses to stay in one lane. Katrina Nguyen is a talented trans violinist who has run away from an abusive home. Her life intersects with a famous violin teacher who has made a terrible bargain, an alien family running a doughnut shop, and a war involving music, souls, and survival.
Katrina’s journey is painful, funny, and deeply humane. The book recognises the exhaustion of being judged while still making room for joy, artistic ambition, friendship, and love. Its California setting and inventive mixture of cosmic fantasy, contemporary drama, and science fiction make it a particularly good choice for readers who want something emotionally rich rather than a straightforward starship adventure.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
Becky Chambers’s The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet follows Rosemary Harper, a young woman who joins the crew of the tunnelling ship Wayfarer. She is bisexual, private, and hoping to escape the past. Instead of focusing on one central battle, the novel builds its story through the everyday lives of a radically diverse crew travelling between worlds.
The book’s science fiction comes through alien cultures, interstellar infrastructure, language, ecology, and the practical work of keeping a ship running. Its queer representation is part of a wider vision in which difference is ordinary and community is built through care. It is an excellent pick for readers who prefer character-driven space fiction, found family, and the feeling of spending a long arvo with companions who gradually become home.
Finding these stories in the Australian market
Australian readers may encounter these novels in different sections depending on the shop. A large chain such as Dymocks might place them under science fiction or fantasy, while an independent shop in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, or Adelaide may shelve them by audience, romance, or LGBTQIA+ fiction. Checking the publisher’s edition is useful because Australian stock can include imports with different covers, prices, and release dates.
Libraries are another practical option, especially for readers in regional areas. BorrowBox and Libby availability varies by council and state library service, but queer speculative fiction has become increasingly visible in digital collections. Local book clubs can also make these novels easier to find, particularly when members use Australian retailers that support independent shops rather than relying only on overseas listings.
For reviews, author features, and further reading across fantasy, science fiction, horror, and related genres, Bookish Valhalla’s reviews provide a useful place to continue browsing. Independent Australian booksellers may also be able to order a title even when it is not displayed in the shop, so asking staff about special orders can uncover books that are absent from the main shelves.
Choosing the right starting point
Readers wanting a tightly plotted romantic thriller should begin with The Darkness Outside Us. Its confined setting and escalating secrets make it the most immediately tense selection. Bonds of Brass suits anyone looking for pilots, rebellion, imperial politics, and a relationship tested by divided loyalties.
Ocean’s Echo is the strongest choice for psychic intimacy and questions about consent. Light from Uncommon Stars is broader and more unusual, moving between music, trauma, alien life, and impossible bargains. For a gentler, more reflective experience, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet offers a welcoming crew and a future where queer lives belong naturally within the fabric of the universe.
