Reading order
| # | Title | Published | Author | Buy on Amazon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Passing Strange | 2017 | Ellen Klages | Buy |
Ellen Klages’s standalone work includes Passing Strange, published in 2017. The novella is set in 1940s San Francisco and follows women navigating the city’s queer community with a thread of fantasy woven through the story. It was a finalist for the Nebula and World Fantasy Awards.
The San Francisco setting is central to the story. Klages captures the city’s Chinatown, its bars, and its artistic circles during a period when queer women had to be careful about who they trusted. The fantasy element is subtle and tied to art and transformation rather than swords or spells.
Passing Strange was published by Tor.com as part of their novella line, which has produced some of the best speculative fiction of the past decade. At novella length, it is a quick read that packs considerable emotional weight into a small space. Readers who enjoy Sarah Waters’s historical fiction or the queer speculative fiction of Kai Ashante Wilson will find something to appreciate here.