Asexual Characters - Masterthread

[Rafiah Tajudeen]

On 2/24/2020 at 3:42 PM, bakers_dozen said:

Have you come across Summer Bird Blue? I can't remember specifically if the protagonist was aromantic as well as asexual, she might have been... Anyway, I enjoyed it, it was the first book featuring an asexual character I read and it was refreshing and comforting to have her put some things into words.

Summer Bird Blue is a YA or Teen novel about an aro ace girl finding her identity. She’s going through grief because ger sister died in a car crash.

 

https://www.amazon.com/Summer-Bird-Blue-Akemi-Bowman/dp/1481487760/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=

[TheNostalgicAce]

Late in the game here, sorry. I personally have enjoyed Upside Down by N R Walker. It is a homoromantic asexual romance !

[Black Husky]

Hey everyone.

Do any of have any recommendations for aromantic fantasy books? I really like fantasy, but I hate that there's always love involved, it mostly just feels forced and often doesn't quit fit in the story for me. It would also be great if it isn't too sexual, I don't mind if it happens once or twice, but the whole book shouldn't be about it (I always find myself getting angry when on of the characters is being sexualised or when someone is always checking out others😅).

Thank you.

[- Saph -]

It has been published a very long time ago but I enjoyed the Royal Assassin series. It showed really strong platonic relationships.

[Black Husky]

27 minutes ago, Saphoune said:

It has been published a very long time ago but I enjoyed the Royal Assassin series. It showed really strong platonic relationships.

Sounds good! Thanks ^.^

[Guest]

https://acesandaros.org/resources/fiction-books

[flying girl]

1 hour ago, Georgi said:

https://acesandaros.org/resources/fiction-books

wow that's coooool

[mercaesan]

I love the Protector of the Small series by Tamora Pierce! The main character Kel is aro and ace. It's also about a girl breaking traditional gender roles and becoming a knight. It's definitely a YA book, but I still like it a lot now.

[SugarButterFlour]

I enjoy the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire. The asexual character is in the first book and briefly in another one I can’t remember which. It does have a bit of romance sometimes but it’s mostly adventure.

[Black Husky]

7 hours ago, mercaesan said:

I love the Protector of the Small series by Tamora Pierce! The main character Kel is aro and ace. It's also about a girl breaking traditional gender roles and becoming a knight. It's definitely a YA book, but I still like it a lot now.

Sounds really cool! I love when typical gender roles are being brokem.

[Black Husky]

6 hours ago, SugarButterFlour said:

I enjoy the Wayward Children series by Seanan McGuire. The asexual character is in the first book and briefly in another one I can’t remember which. It does have a bit of romance sometimes but it’s mostly adventure.

Sounds interesting ^.^

[Let Them Beet Cake]

The Obsidian Tower by Melissa Caruso.  I haven't read it myself but I heard an interview with the author on the A OK podcast and it sounded interesting.  The podcast has sadly ended but you can still catch the old episodes on Stitcher.

[KayleeK]

I dont know many that are specifically about an asexual character, but there are fantasy books where sex/ relationships hardly feature at all .

I know of one with an asexual main character called Every Heart a doorway - i havent read it yet but going to. 

Well there's good old classics like Lord of the Rings. Not about an asexual character specifically, but theres very little romance. I mean alot of it is centred around the friendship of the Hobbit characters - no sex stuff at all ! 

Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials series is really good - there's barely any romance in that until the end (the original 3 books - the new ones his written arent so great in my opinion!) The Earthsea trilogy - Ursula le Guin? Chronicles of Narnia ?

 

I dont mind some romance, but yeah i get annoyed with some YF books when the main female character just automatically falls madly in love with the first guy that comes along even though sometimes they're kinda annoying jerks 😝 

 

[Skittles87]

Common Bonds isn't out yet but it is available for pre-order. It's a fantasy/sci-fi short story anthology, focusing on aromantic characters and platonic relationships. I know this because I wrote one of the stories. 😁

15 minutes ago, KayleeK said:

Well there's good old classics like Lord of the Rings. Not about an asexual character specifically, but theres very little romance. I mean alot of it is centred around the friendship of the Hobbit characters - no sex stuff at all ! 

I second this! I'm currently reading LOTR for the first time, and though I don't love it (it's a bit slow), I'm finding it very  ace and aro-friendly. Lots of focus on friendship, and characters are allowed to stay single and adopt an heir at the age of 99 if they like!

[KayleeK]

1 hour ago, Skittles87 said:

second this! I'm currently reading LOTR for the first time, and though I don't love it (it's a bit slow), I'm finding it very  ace and aro-friendly. Lots of focus on friendship, and characters are allowed to stay single and adopt an heir at the age of 99 if they i

Its a great story, but yeah the writing style is a bit old fashioned and slow in parts, and there is a lack of female characters. But yes lots of single characters who are friends and have adventures without having to get them all paired up with a romantic partner. I think it was written so that children could enjoy it also

[ElloryJaye]

A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking, by T. Kingfisher.  The protagonist is fourteen, and I can't remember any mention of romance or sex over the course of the book.  (It may help that most of the other characters are really unlikely objects for romance.)

 

 

[_Neon_]

On 11/26/2020 at 7:59 PM, mercaesan said:

I love the Protector of the Small series by Tamora Pierce! The main character Kel is aro and ace. It's also about a girl breaking traditional gender roles and becoming a knight. It's definitely a YA book, but I still like it a lot now.

Wait a second...Kel is aroace? Somehow I like that series even more now! I've read it 3 times and I didn't even realize she didn't get with anyone. This makes me so happy that I can't think of words to express it.

[mercaesan]

7 hours ago, Neon Green Packing Peanut said:

Wait a second...Kel is aroace? Somehow I like that series even more now! I've read it 3 times and I didn't even realize she didn't get with anyone. This makes me so happy that I can't think of words to express it.

Tamora Pierce said it on her website! http://www.tamora-pierce.net/series-extra/tortall-faq/#kelsexuality

Yeah I recently found that out, and now I'm looking forward to reading the series again!

[SamiLynn]

I believe The Lady's Guide to Petticoats and Piracy by Mackenzi Lee has an Ace character in it also the first book The Gentleman's Guide to Vice and Virtue has loads of LGBTQ+ rep in it I believe there are more books too I believe it's called Montague Siblings Series

[Aiv]

On 11/28/2020 at 1:11 PM, KayleeK said:

I dont know many that are specifically about an asexual character, but there are fantasy books where sex/ relationships hardly feature at all .

I know of one with an asexual main character called Every Heart a doorway - i havent read it yet but going to. 

Well there's good old classics like Lord of the Rings. Not about an asexual character specifically, but theres very little romance. I mean alot of it is centred around the friendship of the Hobbit characters - no sex stuff at all ! 

Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials series is really good - there's barely any romance in that until the end (the original 3 books - the new ones his written arent so great in my opinion!) The Earthsea trilogy - Ursula le Guin? Chronicles of Narnia ?

 

I dont mind some romance, but yeah i get annoyed with some YF books when the main female character just automatically falls madly in love with the first guy that comes along even though sometimes they're kinda annoying jerks 😝 

 

Yes, the end of Amber Spyglass they have to go and ruin it!😞

I think it's the worst when they go along for a little while without bringing any sign of the character being alloromantic/sexual and let you get your hopes up. If they bring it up right away at least you know what you're getting into. Unfortunately I can't think of any books myself that legitimately count. But i am so looking into all of these!

[puffin74656]

Seconding (or whatever number this is) The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien and the Protector of the Small Quartet by Tamora Pierce.

 

My other suggestion is The Raven Tower by Ann Leckie. It doesn't have any aromantic characters or asexual characters, but it is a fantasy novel with no sexual or romantic relations to speak of that I very much enjoyed recently. If you like science fiction (though I know the question was specifically for fantasy books), Ann Leckie's other books are also very good and don't have strong relationships.

 

The Raven Tower is about two characters, one a god who is narrating both his story since he became self aware millennia ago and the main character's story, and the "main character" who is an assistant to the land's prince, together they get drawn into power struggles involving both gods and humans, and the story ties both the characters' stories together. (Sorry that is not a good summary.)

 

On 11/28/2020 at 3:11 PM, KayleeK said:

I dont mind some romance, but yeah i get annoyed with some YF books when the main female character just automatically falls madly in love with the first guy that comes along even though sometimes they're kinda annoying jerks 😝

Totally agreed. I don't mind some romance, but it is way nicer when there just isn't any. Sometimes I get way to committed to the obvious pairing not getting together. (Me re-reading book 1 in a series, not remembering that the main characters got together. Later beginning to read book 2, and being disappointed that they had in book one, and then excited when they took a break, and then disappointed again when they got back together.)

[KayleeK]

1 hour ago, puffin74656 said:

Totally agreed. I don't mind some romance, but it is way nicer when there just isn't any. Sometimes I get way to committed to the obvious pairing not getting together.

Yes i like it when the obvious 2 dont get to together, a bit more interesting. Theres a great book by a japanese author called Convenience Store Woman where the main character is obviously asexual. Its not fantasy, but still a good read because a guy character comes along and the woman lets him stay in her apartment, but they're not interested in eachother. Her family/friends though think she has a boyfriend finally and are so happy! Its quite funny

I like scifi too because even though there is often a pair that get together, it isnt usually the main focus of the story. 

[KayleeK]

2 hours ago, an~imperial~votress said:

Yes, the end of Amber Spyglass they have to go and ruin it!😞

I think it's the worst when they go along for a little while without bringing any sign of the character being alloromantic/sexual and let you get your hopes up. If they bring it up right away at least you know what you're getting into. Unfortunately I can't think of any books myself that legitimately count. But i am so looking into all of these!

Yes I just remember thinking at the end "they're too young for that kissing stuff!" But they're a boy and girl the same age together for a big part of the story, so yes of course they have to be in love by the end 😝

Same with Hunger Games. I soooo much wanted Katniss to just run away into the wilderness and live on her own and not end up with Peter 😫

 

[dreamfae]

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison is an amazing fantasy novel with no real romance; it's mostly about the protagonist unexpectedly inheriting the imperial throne and trying to figure out how to be emperor while still being himself.  He has an arranged betrothal, and by the end of the book he and his fiancee are starting to become close, but there's more focus on his relationships with the main members of his retinue and some of his relatives.

 

Katherine Addison's most recent book, The Angel of the Crows, might also qualify.  It's a sort of sideways Sherlock Holmes retelling, where the Holmes figure is an angel named Crow and supernatural creatures like vampires and hellhounds are a normal part of society.  Crow and Doyle (the narrator/Watson figure) develop a close relationship that's explicitly platonic. 

[WoodwindWhistler]

It's funny because both of my current stories read kind of like a romance- an ace and allo get involved, and in another a demi/gray and an allo that isn't sure about his attractions. So, probably you wouldn't like them because the relationship is the focus, still, even though it's through a very ace lens. 

[Black Husky]

On 12/4/2020 at 10:50 PM, dreamfae said:

The Goblin Emperor by Katherine Addison is an amazing fantasy novel with no real romance; it's mostly about the protagonist unexpectedly inheriting the imperial throne and trying to figure out how to be emperor while still being himself.  He has an arranged betrothal, and by the end of the book he and his fiancee are starting to become close, but there's more focus on his relationships with the main members of his retinue and some of his relatives.

 

Katherine Addison's most recent book, The Angel of the Crows, might also qualify.  It's a sort of sideways Sherlock Holmes retelling, where the Holmes figure is an angel named Crow and supernatural creatures like vampires and hellhounds are a normal part of society.  Crow and Doyle (the narrator/Watson figure) develop a close relationship that's explicitly platonic. 

They both sound like I would enjoy reading them. I'll put them on my tbr list

[Black Husky]

17 hours ago, WoodwindWhistler said:

It's funny because both of my current stories read kind of like a romance- an ace and allo get involved, and in another a demi/gray and an allo that isn't sure about his attractions. So, probably you wouldn't like them because the relationship is the focus, still, even though it's through a very ace lens. 

Don't get me wrong. Sometimes I like to read about romance, but it often feels forced. Like the author just shoved a romance into the storyline just so there is a romance (if that makes sense?). A forced romance really gets on my nerves, it even ruins stories compmetely for me sometimes.

 

If the romance plays a huge role or does at least not feel forced, then I mostly don't mind it.

Maybe it is because I'm demiromantic (or at least somewhere on spectrum) but I don't like romance without the two partners getting to know each other first. It's even worse when there is a love triangle, I feel like it's always the same and it's just boring and annoying.

 

If there is something sex related in a book it's mostly not too detailed and just mentioned briefly, that's why I mostly don't mind sexual encounters (even though I would not say no to an ace maincharacter :D).

[WoodwindWhistler]

26 minutes ago, Black Husky said:

Maybe it is because I'm demiromantic (or at least somewhere on spectrum) but I don't like romance without the two partners getting to know each other first.

 

If there is something sex related in a book it's mostly not too detailed and just mentioned briefly, that's why I mostly don't mind sexual encounters (even though I would not say no to an ace maincharacter :D).

Well in one of my stories the characters have known each other for hundreds of years, so it's pretty safe to say I don't like the love at first sight thing either. 

 

(that's the one with the ace)

 

The second story, the allo literally says the lines:

 

"So. I may not be, you know head over heels for you. No offense! You're great. And, like I told B.C. when he brought it up with me, that could easily change, the more time we spend together." 

And I guess it would also be kind of a misnomer to call the other one demi, too, (they're really both more complex people than just those two terms) because:

"After all, I haven't been actively courting anyone since you both got here, or a little before that, either."

"So nothing to do with me?" 

 

"Heh, unfortunately not. I've experienced 'love at first sight,' before, but for your particular case, it crept up slower. Sometimes that's just how it is." 

 

[Black Husky]

1 hour ago, WoodwindWhistler said:

Well in one of my stories the characters have known each other for hundreds of years, so it's pretty safe to say I don't like the love at first sight thing either. 

 

(that's the one with the ace)

 

The second story, the allo literally says the lines:

 

"So. I may not be, you know head over heels for you. No offense! You're great. And, like I told B.C. when he brought it up with me, that could easily change, the more time we spend together." 

And I guess it would also be kind of a misnomer to call the other one demi, too, (they're really both more complex people than just those two terms) because:

"After all, I haven't been actively courting anyone since you both got here, or a little before that, either."

"So nothing to do with me?" 

 

"Heh, unfortunately not. I've experienced 'love at first sight,' before, but for your particular case, it crept up slower. Sometimes that's just how it is." 

 

Love at first sight just sounds so absurd and bizarre to me. Like you just met someone a week or so ago and are already ready to give up your whole life for them? That sounds so stupid!

 

If they, like in your story, knew each other for a long period of time and formed a strong emotional bond, than I wouldn't mind a relationship forming between both of them.

 

What is your story about, if I may ask?

[WoodwindWhistler]

2 hours ago, Black Husky said:

Love at first sight just sounds so absurd and bizarre to me. Like you just met someone a week or so ago and are already ready to give up your whole life for them? That sounds so stupid!

 

If they, like in your story, knew each other for a long period of time and formed a strong emotional bond, than I wouldn't mind a relationship forming between both of them.

 

What is your story about, if I may ask?

Well one segment of it is just . . . these talking animals all trying to exist together and it's very tense. 

 

And another segment of it is elemental magic and how it can be pretty dangerous, but also interesting because it results in beings that don't have a mind tied to a body. 

And the second one deals a lot with the social relations between magical people and non-magical people, and there are power differences between magic wielders too, so the worldbuilding gets pretty dense.