Books Featuring Disability

Part 2 in a Series of Bingo Challenge Themed Reviews & Suggestion Lists – Full List of Squares and Introduction Available Here.

A SFF Novel Featuring a Character With a Disability – I think this one should be fairly self-explanatory. Anything considered a disability would count whether it’s a physical disability or a mental health disability.
HARD MODE: The character has to be a main protagonist, not a side character.
– Reddit r/Fantasy

This is such an interesting square! It’s often challenging to find novels that include protagonists who suffer from a disability. There are a wide variety of options here, ranging from something mild like anxiety or depression all the way up to a physical disability that severely impedes a normal life. It’s nice to see a focus on inclusion like this.

Mini Review #1 – Deerskin by Robin McKinley (Hard Mode)

McKinley is one of my favorite authors, whose books are typically whimsical and lighthearted, featuring gorgeous prose reminiscent of fairy tales. While Deerskin certainly has the prose, it is non-standard for McKinley in that it deals with some very dark and difficult themes, such as sexual abuse, rape, and the healing process after.

Mini Review #2 – AURORA by Kim Stanley Robinson (Hard Mode)

Do you like scifi? How about generation ship scifi? How about generation ship scifi as seen through the eyes of a high-functioning autistic protagonist? If so, AURORA might well be book for you for this square.

Mini Review #3 – The Broken Kingdoms (book #2, Inheritance Trilogy) by N. K. Jemisin (Hard Mode)

I’ll confess… it’s been a hot minute since I read this book, so we’re going to run into some generalities. I wanted to ensure to include at least one physically disabled protagonist, and I’ll confess: racking my brain for someone who fit has made me realize that I have been slacking where this is concerned. The Broken Kingdoms is the second book in Jemisin’s Inheritance Trilogy, and it features a blind protagonist. Oree is entirely unable to see, with one exception: she’s able to see magic. Oree is funny and sometimes headstrong, which colors the way she interacts with the mysterious magical man she’s encountered and dubbed “Shiny.” Like the rest of the Inheritance Trilogy, The Broken Kingdoms is heavy on prose and atmosphere. It’s a thoughtful and interesting novel.

List of Books Featuring a Disabled Character Suggestions

(personally read & verified)

Deerskin by Robin McKinley
AURORA by Kim Stanley Robinson
The Broken Kingdoms by N. K. Jemisin
The Monster Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson
Arm of the Sphinx by Josiah Bancroft
The Gray House by Mariam Petrosyan
An Alchemy of Masques and Mirrors by Curtis Craddock
City of Blades by Robert Jackson Bennett
Half a King by Joe Abercrombie
Game of Thrones by G. R. R. Martin
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes
Seize the Night by Dean Koontz
Hunters and Collectors by M Suddain

(aggregated from other recommendation threads)

Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo
Everfair by Nisi Shawl
Inda by Sherwood Smith
The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
The First Law by Joe Abercrombie
City of Lies by Sam Hawke
The Vorkisigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold
Borderline by Mishell Baker
A Study in Honor by Claire O’Dell
A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer
Starless by Jacqueline Carey
Planetfall by Emma Newman
Age of Assassins by R. J. Barker
The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
Into the Drowning Deep by Mira Grant
Brood of Bones by A.E. Marling
Flesh and Spirit by Carol Berg
Cinder by Marissa Meyer
The Golden Horn by Judith Tarr
Rolling in the Deep by Mira Grant
Silent Dances and Silent Songs by A.C. Crispin
The Heritage of Shannara by Terry Brooks
Ascension by Jacqueline Koyanagi
On the Edge of Gone by Corinne Duyvis
Otherbound by Corinne Duyvis
Traitor, Fugitive, Fury, The Demons We See, The Nightmare We Know, and the Spirit Caller series – all by Krista D. Ball
To Ride Hell’s Chasm by Janny Wurts
Wardens of Issalia by Jeffery Kohanek
Blood Price by Tanya Huff,
Iron and Magic by Ilona Andrews
Among Others by Jo Walton
When Demons Walk by Patricia Briggs
Hyperion by Dan Simmons
Earthquake Weather by Tim Powers
Mélusine by Sarah Monette
The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon
The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner
Blindness by Jose Saramago
Corum by Michael Moorcock
Black Dagger Brotherhood by J. R. Ward
Blackfish City by Sam J. Miller
The Boy on the Bridge by M.R. Carey
Stormlight Archive by Brandon Sanderson
Obernewtyn Chronicles by Isobelle Carmody
Aching God by Mike Shel
King of Foxes by Raymond E Feist
The Vagrant by Peter Newman
Lock In by John Scalzi
Heart’s Blood by J. Marillier
Seraphina’s Lament by Sarah Chorn