Sci-Fi & Fantasy Girlz discussion
Bookshelf Suggestions
Le Guin's stuff seems like a no-brainer, and all the ladies on the recent poll seem to be as well.I'd throw in Barbara Hambly. It's been a very long time since I read anything by her,and I wouldn't hold her stuff up as high literature, but she's been around a long time and she turns in steady, SF/F nerdy stuff....
I really liked The Stone Gods by Jeanette Winterson. That one is SF, though she's certainly not a SF/F author normally, so maybe something of a dark horse for this group.
Thanks, I'll add those!No need for the authors to be strictly SF/F authors and as long as it is scifi-ish/fantasy-ish I don't want to exclude authors. The same about not being high lit, as long as some people have enjoyed it then maybe others will come to enjoying them.
Kate Wilhelm (Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang)Joanna Russ
Catherynne M. Valente
Zenna Henderson
James Tiptree, Jr. (Alice B. Sheldon)
Would Margaret Atwood count for "The Handmaid's Tale," or has that become too close to non-fiction?
Cool suggestions! I'll get right on to adding them. Thanks!
Gary wrote: "What about Anne McCaffrey?"While not wholly Pernicious, I found that some of her later work did tend to dragon interminably. Perhaps Lessa problem than one might think, though. :) (Just kidding. I like McCaffrey.)
Mark wrote: "While not wholly Pernicious, I found that some of her later work did tend to dragon interminably. Perhaps Lessa problem than one might think, though. :) (Just kidding. I like McCaffrey.)"I can see Weyr you could get that idea. But we should face Fax: she Klah'd her way into the industry when it was mostly Fellis, and that's Impress-ive, so she may deserve her own Thread.
And... uh, let me see. Ramoth!
OK, I might be out of Pern puns. I probably went too F'lar.
Haha!! That's hilarious! I wish I was that clever.
I exist for your amusement, ladymen and gentlepeople.I'm friending up everybody in the group so far, BTW. Feel free to ignore my requests as you like, but if I miss anybody please feel equally free to tag me first.
I have a friend who's a sci-fi writer, a woman, and actively uses GLBT themes in her work. However, I can't seem to convince her that her work is worthy of being indie published, but I shall continue to try! But, she did recommend Cathy Pegau, who writes in much the same way.She recommended Caught in Amber and Rulebreaker, though Deep Deception also comes highly rated.
Gary wrote: "I exist for your amusement, ladymen and gentlepeople..."Ra moth it be. Nicely played (on a harp). I think I may rua tha day I started this, but I suppose Prideth goeth before Threadfall (not to mention prejudice). :)
(We're here all week. Try the veal.)
Those are great recommendations (and she should share her stuff)! But I get the nervousness, in my fanfiction days I knew what I wrote was crap but so many people still praised and read my work that it became hard to trust anyone to be real. Maybe you could convince her to join us... we are very LGBT friendly (and I always put the lesbians first in that acronym!). :)
Another author C.J. CherryhCyteen might be her major work? My sister knows more than I do on C.J. Cherryh
On mine above. Sorry, I've found the bookshelf now and see she's there already with a couple.
Bryn wrote: "On mine above. Sorry, I've found the bookshelf now and see she's there already with a couple."I should be more familiar with that one... so it's worth doubling down on IMO.
Everything by Lynn Flewelling. She writes fantasy stories with strong female characters. :) So far only books about her 'nightrunner' world but well ... It's an interesting place.
Thanks for the great recommendations! No problem if its already on the bookshelf, easy enough to check for me. :)Keep them coming!
(and if you have any GR friends you think may be interested in the group, invite them here)
The Essential Bordertown by Terri WindlingPsion by Joan D. Vinge
St. Lucy's Home for Girls Raised by Wolves by Karen Russell
Obernewtyn by Isobelle Carmody
Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
Stardoc by S.L. Viehl
Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan
(her short story collections are excellent too!)
These are fantasy, but fall into the realm of romance too:
Archangel by Sharon Shinn
Trash, Sex, Magic by Jennifer Stevenson
Thanks Nancy! It may take me a day or two to add those (work is crazy) but they are awesome suggestions!
Nancy's recommendations have been added to the bookshelf.
Thanks Yoly!! You are awesome!
The Enchantment Emporium by Tanya HuffThe next in this series is out in a couple of days: The Wild Ways
A Madness of AngelsThe Midnight Mayor
The Neon Court
The Minority Council
Stray Souls
The Glass God
all by author Kate Griffin (who also writes YA, I believe, although I haven't read any of it)
Mercedes Lackey's urban fantasy series staring Dianna Tregarde, witch and romance author. :D
There's one Andre Norton on the bookshelf, but she was pretty amazingly prolific (and important) so it is probably worth getting Witch World on there too.
Oh, I forgot about Carol Berg.I really liked her 'Rai-Kirah' novels:
Transformation
Revelation
Restoration
Also a bit surprised no one said Diana Wynne Jones. I can't say I read lots of her books but I especially loved these two:
Howl's Moving Castle
The Dark Lord of Derkholm
Thank you all!! Added those to the shelf (at least the first in a series, if there is a series I'll only be adding the first... I figure if someone finds a book they love in the first they'll track down the additional ones themselves).And to those that added to links to the books, thank you, they were helpful!
Keep them coming, adding even more books shows just how many great women authors there are in sci fi and fantasy (especially in sci fi since that is generally seen as the "guy" genre).
Do we have Elizabeth A. Lynn? Can The Northern Girl represent her in fantasy? It's a #3 but I read it as a standalone and it sticks.
In sci fi she might be best known for A Different Light
For history's sake C. L. MooreI have Black Gods and Scarlet Dreams that collects tales of Jirel of Joiry and Northwest Smith.
Has anyone mentioned Pat Cadigan? I was just perusing the cyberpunk literature out of general curiosity, and came across her as a major name in the genre. I never knew this before, and consider myself to be pretty well versed in cyberpunk. And yet, the only big names that come to mind for me are William Gibson, Bruce Sterling, and Greg Bear.It struck me how oddly appropriate that was to our discussions. Why do the women who make a big difference so often get overlooked? I may be repeating what someone else has said already, but if it hasn't already been suggested, can we read something by her after we finish with Ursula K. Le Guin?
I've only read her short stories, not Synners or Fools, which I think she's best known for, so I'd be up for that!
Cadigan's stuff does look intriguing....
That's two votes for Cadigan! Alicja, how's our fearless leader feel about that suggestion?
Sorry I haven't been keeping up with this thread. Yes, E.J. we'd love to add your book. Promotion is not a bad thing as long as authors don't spam. If you'd like to do something to promote in in group, message me and we'll talk about it. Matthew, I'll add her to our list for now. I'll add her to our next poll, let me know which book of hers you'd like to discuss. We'll make the category Cyberpunk and if anyone else has any suggestions I'll open a thread when its time for that poll. No worries, I want us to read what we want to read. :)
I think you'll like these, if I do say so myself:Zollocco: A Novel of Another Universe
The Romance of the Unicorn
New Myths of the Feminine Divine
and in a few days, Foreshadow: Book One of the Saga of the Dragon-Born.
Oh and you might want to add Frankenstein's Monster by Mary Shelley.
Most of Jasper FForde's books feature women protagonists, and he is a sensational writer. His Thursday Next series are really funny.
Here's an oldie but goodie. Dione Fortune's fantasy books are great. I especially love her collection of short stories. I really love books with long sentences and multi-syllabic words so I tend to prefer older literature. Another huge favorite of mine is The Good Fairies of New York which is a contemporary one. It is screamingly funny. And I love Christopher Moore's books which I consider fantasy, Coyote Blue and You Suck two of my favorites of his. I hope you will all be pointing me in the direction of women writers. I tend to happen accidently on authors so I don't have a good idea what's out there. Oh, The Radioactive Woman (to have that title right) is a great, zani read.
EEEEEKKKKKK! I see above I have a subject and verb that do not agree. If you did not notice it I surely am not going to point it out. For those who did, be assured I don't make such lamentable errors in books. I post off-the-cuff for fun as a reward for working hard on my books. You'll probably have to do a lot of interpreting when you read my posts. ("What the h*ll is she saying?")
Cynthia, you can edit your posts and then no one would know. :PI am currently reading two female authored fantasies and I like both so far. The Deed of Paksenarrion starting with the Sheepfarmer's Daughter, the first in the series written by Elizabeth Moon. She does military sci fi and fantasy. And Assassin's Apprentice, it has a bit of a YA feel especially since the main character starts at the age of 6 and halfway through the book is 13 but it has great characters and amazing world development. The writing is also very good, just not too complex but not simplistic either and I love the way she phrases stuff.
Oh, and you can explore our group bookshelf. Lots of great suggestions in there. I tried categorizing them by genres and sub-genres the best I could so you can search for specific stuff you like.
If you don't mind suggestions from authors (sorry!) -- please consider my novel Irradiated. I'm a male author (again, sorry!) but my novel is about two sisters, living in post-apocalyptic Australia. I really worked hard to create complex, well developed female protagonists as I feel that science fiction stories are far too male-dominated.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy Girlz
Books mentioned in this topic
Gifts of Wandering Ice - Book Two (other topics)Cold Obsidian (other topics)
Gifts of Wandering Ice - Book One (other topics)
Kiran: The Warrior's Daughter (other topics)
Binti (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Lina J. Potter (other topics)Louise Lawrence (other topics)
Erin Morgenstern (other topics)
Helene Wecker (other topics)
Karen Lord (other topics)
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Anything goes, from mainstream authors to independent and self-published. So get your brains working and maybe you'll find something new you haven't read before.