What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
► Suggest books for me
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Books about: Space opera with other world stuff, posh space travel, plot driven, strong female lead
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Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold Shards of HonorBinti by Nnedi Okorafor Binti
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine A Memory Called Empire
Crystal Singer and its sequels by Anne McCaffrey Crystal Singer
The Ship Who Sang by Anne McCaffrey The Ship Who Sang
Newton's Wake by Ken MacLeod Newton's Wake
Note that all but the last book have female authors.
Ann Leckie, her Radch series starting with Ancillary Justice, she's written lots of wonderful science fictionAncillary Sword
Provenance
Ancillary - Mercy
David Weber's Honor Harington series that starts with On Basilisk Station has a strong female lead. It's possibly a bit more war than space exploration though and, of course, the author is male.Elizabeth Moon's Vatta's War series, starting Trading in Danger. Also, The Serrano Legacy, starting Hunting Party
Oh, it seems that I mostly read about female characters who also fight! Anne McCaffrey and Elizabeth Moon collaborated on Sassinak, the first book in the Planet Pirates series.
Just one more suggestion and then I'll stop as this one also has a military bias - Tanya Huff's Confederation series that starts with A Confederation of Valor - I haven't actually read this one but the reviews are good and I plan to read it soon.
Not to be rude... but roughly how old are you? There’s a great series about space, humans, aliens etc, but it’s ménage erotica. The first books very full on, the rest settle a bit. I tend to read ‘around’ the sex when I reread. The tail end of the series is a wasted by the writers, but there’s a good 13 or so books before.
MJ wrote: "Not to be rude... but roughly how old are you? There’s a great series about space, humans, aliens etc, but it’s ménage erotica. The first books very full on, the rest settle a bit. I tend to read ‘..."Thank you for the suggestion. At 33 I am well past the point in my life where smut makes me blush. I've mostly stopped reading YA, because it doesn't work for me anymore, but haven't really hit my stride yet with being a more mature reader.
Pamela wrote: "Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold Shards of HonorBinti by Nnedi Okorafor Binti
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine A Memory Called Empire..."
Thank you! I saw Binti come up on Goodreads recently and was thinking about looking into it.
Lol, just checking. Well I absolutely LOVE the world, characters and stories in this series. There are multiple authors, but all the characters and stories are interlinked.
As I said, first book (Mated) is a bit full on with 4 mates. The rest ease up a bit, but most are ménage of some variety (males, females, humans, aliens). The series does take a dive after the first dozen, IMO. Everything is still ‘there’, but the authors are wasting the stories by shoehorning them out. Still love the characters, and even the plots.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
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I am an avid fan of Star Trek, Stargate etc. and love the competent, swashbuckling, space-traversing heroine. All the following recommendations are sci-fi romances with maybe one or two light smexy scenes (that are very easy to skim over). Rules of Redemption by T.A. White is a chef's kiss to the genre. One of my all time favourites! A seemingly devil-may-care space scavenger rescues some alien children from a starship catastrophe, and ends up being chased down by their guardians. Turns out, she's actually part of their species from a long-lost stolen generation and they want her back –– whether she wants to go or not! But these aliens have bitten off more than they can chew because there is MUCH more to this woman than meets the eye!
Dark Horse by Michelle Diener is the start to a good series, but the first is by far my favourite. A human woman is stolen from earth and manages to form an unorthodox (and badass) alliance that allows her to have a seat at the table with the ruling alien counsel -- and not everyone is happy about it.
Sweep of the Blade by Ilona Andrews is riotous fun. This whole series is good, but this installment can be read alone and is set off-earth with many different alien species involved. This is my personal favourite. The heroine has been raised by 'innkeepers' – magical humans who run sentient inns for alien visitors to Earth, a planet situated at a busy galactic crossroads. Because off this upbringing, our heroine has mad skills dealing with different alien species, languages, diplomacy et cetera. She can also fight like a dervish. Both skillsets are on fabulous display here!
Polaris Rising by Jessie Mihalik is the first in a series of badass sisters. The books build upon each other – there's not heaps of different alien species or planet hopping, but the competence of these heroines is so darn satisfying. Reliably good reads. Jessie Mihalik's newest book Hunt the Stars is also great and about a trading vessel so this promises to be a more planet hopping series!
Enjoy!
I might suggest: The Commonwealth Saga by Peter F. Hamilton: This has 7 books overall within universe. Definite pace opera with constant travel to other planets via train lines running through interstellar wormhole network, features ongoing stories within an overarching plot plot, multiple strong female lead story lines (e.g. Paula Myo).
The Dread Empire series (two trilogies) + novella. First book in the first triloty is The Praxis by Walter Jon Williams. Space opera leaning heavily to the military sf side. Widespread interstellar travel. Very strong female co-lead MC (Lady Sula).
Every Science Fiction reader needs to read the Murderbot series by Martha Wells. It starts with All Systems Red, which is a novella. The basic plot revolves around "Murderbot" - a self-named, genderless android security person - finding itself rudely forced to do its job rather than getting to watch its favorite space opera in peace and quiet. VERY fun, sarcastic, etc...
I second the recommendation for A Memory Called Empire and also loved All Systems Red and Ancillary Justice (although for those two the protagonist isn't exactly female (although definitely not male either). I'd also add Babel-17, which I didn't personally enjoy quite as much the above books but definitely has a strong female protagonist, interesting world building and themes, and plenty of space travel.
What's the Name of That Book???
Books mentioned in this topic
A Memory Called Empire (other topics)Babel-17 (other topics)
All Systems Red (other topics)
Ancillary Justice (other topics)
The Commonwealth Saga (other topics)
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Authors mentioned in this topic
Walter Jon Williams (other topics)Peter F. Hamilton (other topics)
T.A. White (other topics)
Michelle Diener (other topics)
Ilona Andrews (other topics)
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I especially love space travel where the characters visit various other planets. Futuristic posh space travel is a bonus.
Some of the space operas that I've read that I loved are: Across the Universe series (especially the third book), Defy the Stars, and Fairest.
These are all YA books, but I read way less YA now. I prefer female authors. I don't like villain origin stories. I exclusively listen to books.