Fiction rec's, please?

[gaudior]

We do not live by Homestuck fic alone. Or, at least, we probably shouldn't. I mean, some of it isn't very good.

So... could you all help me find stuff that isn't Homestuck fic, but has the qualities it has that have kept me reading it for the past year and a half? I've narrowed them down to five:

1) Loads of queer characters.
2) Loads of interesting female characters.
3) Interesting multiperson relationships (I should note, interesting functional multiperson relationships, none of this "love triangle" bullshit.)
4) Interesting, complicated worldbuilding.
5) A snarky, irreverent sense of humor which works well with genuinely emotionally involving stories.


Having all of these would be best, but I could do with something that has most of them. I've been enjoying Steven Brust's Dragaeran series, which really only has three out of five, but I think three is the minimum.

Because my favorite Homestuck fic authors write fast (looking at you, Asuka!), but I read faster. So therefore.

Help?

--R

Reading: Steven Brust, Issola.

Comments

[genarti]

Have you read the Steerswoman series? If not, I will sing its praises to the heavens at the slightest opportunity, and it definitely has items 2-4 and a dry version of 5. Item 1, alas, not really -- the only canonical queer relationship I can think of is a long and happy one, but between very minor characters -- but mostly it's a series about friendship, and not about het romance either.

[gaudior]

Yes! I adore the Steerswoman series.

Um, I have read it, tho.

More suggestions?

[krinndnz]

Stumbling upon this entry much much later, I'd love to get your feedback on The Color Of Your Heart, which aims for four-out-of-five on your scale (it piggybacks on someone else's wordbuilding).