The Unbalancing

The Unbalancing is a 2022 LGBT+ fantasy novel by R. B. Lemberg, set in their secondary world, Birdverse. It covers the attempts to save, and ultimate destruction of, the islands of Gelle-Geu due to the increasing instability of the magical Star of the Tides, which resides beneath the waves just off the coast of the archipelago. It includes discussion of gender and sexuality, grief, community, and consent, as well as drawing parallels between inaction surrounding the increasing instability of the Star and inaction on climate change here on Earth. Comparisons have also been drawn between the fall of Gelle-Geu and the fall of Atlantis or the destruction of Pompei. The novel is an expansion of the story originally referenced in the poem "Ranra's Unbalancing", first published in Strange Horizons magazine. The novel was well received by critics and was included on a list of science fiction and fantasy novels by trans and non-binary authors on BuzzFeed.