I read a lot of random cyberpunk novels from the kindle store and I’m always on the lookout for more. Cyberpunk novels are annoyingly difficult to find since the “cyberpunk” category on amazon is nothing but LitRPG, but that’s a different rant altogether.

Anyway, I don’t actively try to find trans characters in literature (I’m not trans) but I don’t avoid books that have trans characters. I figure trans characters actually fit pretty well into cyberpunk universes. So for anyone who is interested in reading cyberpunk stories with trans characters, here are the ones I’ve read:

Escapology by Ren Warom - The main character is trans but is post-transition so the fact that he’s trans isn’t even mentioned until ~80% into the book. And it’s really only revealed so the villain can make trans-based insults about the main character just to get him riled up. Given that the character is post-transition, I liked the fact that being trans didn’t define who he was, it was just something from his past that he didn’t really think about anymore. Of course, this also means the reveal of being trans almost felt tacked-on and an after-thought. But in the sequel, Virology, everyone’s cyberspace avatars are visible in the real world and the main character has a theory that being trans affected how his avatar behaves. So being trans does eventually have an effect and doesn’t feel tacked-on anymore.

The Chimera Code by Wayne Santos - This novel is about a mercenary crew where each person has their role (the leader, the hacker, the muscle, etc.). Their hacker dies so they need to recruit a new one (they even load up the old hacker’s consciousness like Dixie Flatline to train the new hacker, so that’s fun). Anyway, the new hacker they find is non-binary. This is handled pretty well where every time a new character meets this hacker they ask for the hacker’s pronouns. The hacker tells them, and they move on with the story. So the hacker being non-binary is handled throughout the book but it’s never a main theme of the story. The plot continues to drive forward regardless of the hacker’s gender.

Bang Bang Bodhisattva by Aubrey Wood - This novel is about two characters trying to solve a murder mystery. One acts like he’s a hard-boiled detective in a film noir while the other is trans and mid-transition. Now, given that the trans character is mid-transition I’m sure this makes sense, but being trans is a constant topic of discussion. It’s like having a character who’s vegan constantly telling you they’re vegan. Again, I’m not trans, so I don’t doubt that someone who is mid-transition constantly has it on their mind. But as a reader, yeah, I get it, she’s trans. She’s also pansexual and in a polyamorous relationship. I feel like this is more of the focus of the story than the murder mystery. I do like that the author changes writing styles depending on which character is the POV of the chapter, so the detective character always has short, terse sentences while the trans character has more free-flowing sentences. But this is the only novel in the list where I went “ok, this novel isn’t meant for me.” It feels more like a novel for trans people than just including trans people.

And that’s it. Those are the cyberpunk novels I’ve read with trans characters. I find it interesting how it spans from “almost feels like an after-thought” to “handled, and not a factor” to “ok, I get it, stop talking about it”. Honestly, I’m not sure what the “right” way is to handle trans characters so I figure it’s good to cover this whole spectrum.

  • LucyLastic@beehaw.org
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    1 year ago

    This is a thoughtful list, and an interesting thing to think about!

    I had a trans girlfriend and through her transition it was indeed on her mind a lot. Once she was settled and just being herself it basically became no issue at all.

    On a related issue, have you got any good book recommendations for cyberpunk that features other members of the Alphabet Mafia?

    • identity-disc@lemmy.villa-straylight.socialOP
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      1 year ago

      On a related issue, have you got any good book recommendations for cyberpunk that features other members of the Alphabet Mafia?

      Off the top of my head, I can’t think of many. The best recommendation I can give would probably be the classic cyberpunk novel Trouble and Her Friends by Melissa Scott. It was written in 1994 and being lesbian in the 90s is a major theme. But I haven’t actually read it myself, I’m just aware of it.

      I can’t think of any other specific novels where being gay is actually a theme or a major plot-point and not just something mentioned in passing. I mean, in Necrotech, the main character is trying to find her girlfriend but since the whole story is about the shenanigans she gets caught up in on that journey, you could replace the word “girlfriend” with “best friend” and it wouldn’t change a single thing in the story. In fact, I think that character may actually be bi; that’s how little it impacts the plot, I don’t even remember.

      • LucyLastic@beehaw.org
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        1 year ago

        Thank you, I’ll take a look at those two :-) Necrotech was already on my list, but that was just because of the cover, lol

    • JacobCoffinWrites@slrpnk.net
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      1 year ago

      The Murderbot books feature a pretty diverse spread of characters, gay, nonbinary, and also people in polyamorous relationships, though that stuff usually doesn’t impact the main plot. Murderbot itself is about as asexual as it’s possible to get which probably explains that a bit. Their tone isn’t super cyberpunk but the themes and concepts very much are.