Important books stick with you. It’s not just about the story or the characters (although they clearly matter), but about who you were when you first read the story. I’m not talking about 5-star, perfectly written, critically acclaimed works, but those that wowed me, entertained me, and (most importantly) made me feel seen.
As the first adult fantasy novel with a trans woman main character, written by a trans woman author, to be published by a mainstream press in the US, Stealing Thunder is a book I feel like I’d been waiting my entire life to read. It was absolutely amazing – and the sequel’s take on gender and the portrayal of transgender lives was even more exquisite.
14 years ago, I was very much in a transition phase. I didn’t know who I was or how I identified, but I was actively exploring.
And along came The Secret Self. I identified with Adam/Eve, with their desires, their wants, and their confusion. Through Christina’s eyes, I felt as if I had a chance to explore who I could be, who I might be, and being invited to do so openly was a pivotal experience.
I know the term is taboo for some, but Futanari Loves Octogirl is a beautiful trilogy about outcasts and monsters. Yes, it’s explicitly sexual and full of intense fetishes, but it is the characters (and the romance between them) who make it such a compelling read. The imagination behind gender, gender roles, and gender expectations is second-to-none.
Silver is a book that came my way back when I was an editor for Frock Magazine. It’s a big, intricate, plot-driven work of science fiction, complete with a diverse cast of well-developed characters, and (yes) a whole lot of kinky sex, the humanotic genderfluid sex goddess, that I will never forget.
The Tamir Triad isn’t necessarily a transgender story, but it is a story of gender, transition, and coming out. It was also the mass market fantasy novel I’d ever encountered that made me feel seen, one that hit me so hard, I still remember how a pivotal moment left me shaking.
For a sweet, happily-ever-after romance, For the Love of April French hit me hard. Beneath the romance, the power-exchange erotica, and the questions of privilege and prejudice, there’s an exploration of self-esteem and self-acceptance that resonated with me – and absolutely gutted me.
In terms of gender, gender roles, and sexuality, The Worldbreaker Saga is the most diverse epic fantasy I have ever encountered. Here, gender is as much about roles as it is biology, with both passive and assertive males and females, as well as truly genderfluid individuals. Outstanding in every respect.
Oh boy, does A Chorus of Dragons play with gender! We have the Joratese, a culture driven by horse-based gender roles of stallion, mare, gelding, and foal that have nothing to do with biology; races such as the voramer and morgage, who are born male but become female later in life; and the magically gifted vane, who can alter their gender and appearance over time.
The Jinx Ballou books are a series of kickass thrillers about a trans bounty hunter, written by a trans author, and one that just keeps getting deeper and better with each new installment. If TERF Wars doesn’t get under your skin or in your head, much less wrapped around your heart, then I daresay you may be part of the problem that makes a story like this so necessary.
Meanwhile, Elsewhere is, in a word, brilliant. You want other words? Okay, how about fantastic, original, engaging, wondrous, amusing, exciting, arousing, and intellectually stimulating (okay, so that last one was two words, but it needed to be said). This is, perhaps, the best collection of transgender fiction I have ever had the pleasure of reading.
S.B. Milne 
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