Currently reading a book with an action heroine?

[Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~*]

It does dosent it it R.H.? I heard about this book & finally got a very nice copy from online..you can get it from the library but only in HC here..just too big of a book! III have to dig into it soon and let you know. Another really good "Action Heroine" book I read & is on my keeper shelf The Light Bearer

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Well, I've finished the first 4 of the Honor Harrington series and like them very well. They all seem to hit a slow spot somewhere in the text when Weber waxes eloquent about something, but they seem to pick back up. So far I thought the 4th was the weakest, but plan to rate it four stars as it to picks back up after it threatened to descend into "soap-opera-hood"... I'm halfway through #5. I can see some similarities to Hornblower, even a few "hat tips" but I wouldn't call it Hornblower in space. There's not that much similarity. Hornblower starts as a Midshipman and goes through different trials (tough over the series I've seen a few near crossovers, but only near). Some of the ships have the same name, but the Star Kingdom of Manticore is obviously based on the British Empire so... I noted the "HMS Hotspur" showed up once.

[Werner]

I've heard mostly good things about this series, so I do hope to at least read the first one, one of these days! Since I've only ever read one Hornblower novel, I don't expect to be bothered by any similarity between the two series. (And it's been said that "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.")

[Mohammed]

"the "HMS Hotspur" showed up once"

Hehe thats funny.

[Werner]

I've just finished the pulp SF action-adventure yarn XERIA -- a short story by our fellow group member John Karr. (My five-star review will be posted this evening.) He's been too modest to toot his own horn in this group; but for action heroine fans, his title character is a sterling representative of the breed!

Smashwords posted a "parental guidance" warning on this story, advising that some content might not be suitable "for those under 17." Apparently, that just refers to some occasional rough language (but not obscenity) which most of us probably hear quite often anyway. (It might refer to one ultra-violent episode that's only a couple of sentences long, but most teens would eat that one up with a spoon. :-) ) If this doesn't bother you, though, and you're a fan of heroines of this type, you've got no excuse not to put this story on your to-read list right now, since John's made it available for FREE!

A minor caveat, though: at least in the "plain text" version, Smashwords garbles quotation marks and apostrophes, turning them into strings of nonsense characters. But that irritant obviously didn't keep me from enjoying the story. (I've observed the same kind of problem with stories Smashwords has printed for other people, including one of mine, which in at least one case didn't turn up in other venues; I'm pretty sure the problem was with Smashwords itself, not with the originals they received.) If you want to keep a "clean" hard copy, my suggestion would be to save the story from the Smashwords site on your hard drive or a memory stick, and then edit it yourself before printing it; that's what I plan to do.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

I'm reading (actually listening to as I got it on Audible) Divergent. It's a YA book, a dystopian Chicago where everybody is part of a specific "faction" based on a single overriding "virtue" or "factionless" which means poverty and hunger.

The protagonist is "Tris" a 16 year old girl from whose point of view the story is told.

It's almost impossible to escape a comparison with Hunger Games here (I wonder if the story might not have been inspired by that trilogy). I'm so far finding pluses and minuses in the book. I read Hunger Games and it's sequels some time ago and was badly disappointed by the last volume Mockingjay. The book here has some big problems but I admit to liking the main character far more than I did Katnis from that trilogy.

I'll see how it goes. I seem to feel a need to read a YA now and again. LOL

[Thad]

I'm currently reading Kat and Mouse, Guns For Hire by one of our own members, Abner Senires. (Actually, I'm reading the story collection intermittently on the website, rather than in the e-book version.) So far, I'm definitely enjoying what I'm reading!

[The Pirate Ghost]

I just finished book eight of the "Galaxy Unknown" series written by Thomas DePrima. It's Sci-fi with the main character, Janetta Carver, serving as a wonderfully intelligent Space Heroine.

I had my doubts and wonders during the first book where DePrima was going to go with this series, but by the end of the book he had things directed towards a healthy, exciting female character that is very capable, more than capable.

I'm not going to say that this is the best Sci-fi story I've ever read, but, I sure have enjoyed it. A good solid entertaining read. There may be nothing special about it, but, it's fun.

[Derrick]

I am currently reading Grimspace, the first book about SF heroine Sirantha Jax. I am not loving the book so far (about 1/3 finished), but she is a character with potential. Also reading Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, but I am not rushing because I saw the movie three times.

[Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~*]

I couldnt get into "Grimspace" thought it was just me since everyone has raved about it..may try later.

[Derrick]

Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~* wrote: "I couldnt get into "Grimspace" thought it was just me since everyone has raved about it..may try later."

That's about where I am. But I like Sirantha, so I am continuing through to the end.

[Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~*]

Derrick wrote: "Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~* wrote: "I couldnt get into "Grimspace" thought it was just me since everyone has raved about it..may try later."

That's about where I am. But I like Sirantha, so I am co..."

I found it very confussing,but I hear the 2nd book is better..and keeps getting better,I hope so I have the whole series! LOL!

[Mike (the Paladin)]

I have Grimspace on my shelf...along with a few hundred other to be read books...Hope I like it. :)

I just read a couple of the Jack Daniels books (Whiskey Sour and Bloody Mary). While they are pretty fair police books with a female lead and some action, I'm not sure I'd actually call them, "action adventure books".

Lots of details about the chosen serial killer/perverted maniac. There are assorted shootouts, crashes and so on. Anyone who's read them let me know if you'd call them action. I'm a bit picky about what's action I think.

My reviews of said books:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~*]

So gentlemen here.. if reading a "Action/Heroine story/plot..do you prefer with or without romance in it?

[Mike (the Paladin)]

I don't care for romance. I can manage some if it doesn't overwhelm the book. But I'm not a romance fan, no.

[Derrick]

Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~* wrote: "So gentlemen here.. if reading a "Action/Heroine story/plot..do you prefer with or without romance in it?"

I don't mind it, as long as it's well-written (but that's the rule about all novels, eh?). If it means the book turns into hardcore porn, then I am not down with it [see later Anita Blake]. And "epic romance" does not absolve bad characters and bad writing [see Twilight].

But I am fine with it. Sookie Stackhouse has plenty of sex and romance, and it doesn't bother me. I'm more patient than most straight guys when it comes to "chick lit" of all flavors, I have discovered. :-)

[Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~*]

I like a balance in my books..good story/romance or romantic "elements". Yes case in point "Anita Blake" started out good...now its no story..all sex. Havent tried Sookie Stackhouse yet,but have heard good things.I also like the female lead to have "emotions" otherwise she/the story becomes "dry". Dont much care for "killing-machine" type.

[Jim]

I wouldn't call the Anita Blake books hard core porn. She talks too damn much. I really liked that series until Hamilton went down that road &, because I still really like the characters & have hope, have continued to read them. I won't buy them new. The last one I read, #20, showed real promise of returning to the original.

I liked the Sookie series. There's some romance, sometimes a bit much, but it is secondary to the main plot. I don't like it when romance becomes the plot, but agree with Sandi that there has to be a balance.

I just finished reading Monster Hunter International. It was good, but a little too long for that sort of book for my taste. LOTS of kick-ass action. While the main character is male, there are several very strong women that are very important to the story, too.

My review is here:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

[Werner]

Mike, I haven't read any of the Jack Daniels books (serial killers aren't my thing, though that's just me); but I'm guessing that, for many readers, "the assorted shootouts, crashes, and so on" are what makes them "action adventure" books. Of course, since these are crime fiction novels, they'd be different from, say, an Indiana Jones type of book, which might be more the straight "action adventure" thing. You can have an action component (and an action heroine or hero, IMO) in books of a lot of different genres: crime fiction, historicals, fantasy, sci-fi, supernatural fiction, "thrillers," etc. --even in romances!

That segues into Sandi's question. I'm like some others here in that I'm okay with a romantic element, but I want some kind of serious story to go with it. For me, a plot that just consists of "boy meets girl, boy and girl dither for page after page about their feelings for each other in overblown prose, boy and girl finally get together to cosmic rejoicing" doesn't work for me, which is why I'm not usually a fan of the romance genre. (The few romance novels I've liked as an adult depart from that formula, which is why I liked them --actually, even the many Gothic romances I liked as a kid, when I'd read anything, departed from it, too.) And I don't go in at all for explicit sex; it makes me, and I think many male readers, feel like a peeping Tom! (Personally, I'll also give a literary couple high marks if they can resist temptation until after they marry, though I won't throw any rocks at them if they can't; but again that's just me.) I do like my action heroines fully-rounded, as people with values, feelings, and some depth to their character; like Sandi, I'm not really a fan of killing-machine types (male or female).

[Derrick]

Jim wrote: "I wouldn't call the Anita Blake books hard core porn. She talks too damn much. "

Nice. :-)

But it's clear that starting with book 8 or 9, the became more and more about Anita's ardeur -- which meant she just kept having more and more sexual partners. I lost sight of Badass!Anita that I loved from the early books. [also, she seemed to get more and more powers, which made her action bits less interesting -- so it's not just the rampant sex]

[Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~*]

Im totally with you Mike,I love "kick-ass" heroines,a romantic "element" to the story(dont mind a love scene thrown in) but please dont drag that out,nor have it the focus in the story. I want a STORY! I want my imagination to fly:)I love reads on Grace O'Malley,Mary Read, Anne Bonney.Now those were some "tough-cookies" but still kept their roles as "ladies" so to speak. Has anyone read ? Im up for a buddy read with this one.

[Derrick]

Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~* wrote: "Gladiatrix"

I like the look of it. A kick ass chick and ancient Rome? I'm in. I'll grab it on Nook and start it after I finish Grimspace later this week.

I don't know how buddy reads work, though. Never done one on GR.

[Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~*]

Derrick wrote: "Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~* wrote: "Gladiatrix"

I like the look of it. A kick ass chick and ancient Rome? I'm in. I'll grab it on Nook and start it after I finish Grimspace later this week.

I don'..."

A goodreads friend husband asked me if I would like to read this with him..its fun to do...maybe sometime set one up here in the group? and pick a book & the "buddies" read & discuss the book and this book also has a sequel

[Werner]

Derrick, I'd never heard of buddy reads until I joined Goodreads. But one of my Goodreads friends and I did a buddy read of Stephen Lawhead's Hood in 2010, and enjoyed it so much we wound up reading the whole trilogy that way, back to back! Now, we try to do one every year; we're currently planning to read Magic Bites, sometime this spring. The way they work is pretty simple: you each read the book, starting around the same time by prearrangement; it helps if you read at a similar pace, or, if one person is markedly slower, if the other one reads another book at intervals to let the slowpoke catch up (because of my scanty time for reading, I'm the slowpoke in our buddy reads :-) ). You can use the Goodreads feature of announcing what page of a book you're on to help keep track of this. Then you just message each other periodically to discuss your reactions to what you're reading, ask questions, share background information, etc. These can be a lot of fun!

I've just now set up a thread that anyone in the group can use anytime to post invitations for buddy reads and see who's interested. Sandi, we also have a thread for proposing group common reads (at least, I think we do --if we don't, we will in a few minutes!), which is where the whole group is invited to read a book together, and discuss it on the group discussion board. Was that more what you had in mind? (Buddy reads work ideally for just two people, because Goodreads' personal messaging program won't let you include multiple recipients on one message.)

Interestingly, Russell Whitfield, the author of Gladiatrix and Roma Victrix, is in this group. He'll be pleased to know that you two want to read his book!

[Derrick]

Werner wrote: "Interestingly, Russell Whitfield, the author of Gladiatrix and Roma Victrix, is in this group. He'll be pleased to know that you two want to read his book!"

Thx for the info about how the reads work. I'll keep an eye out for them.

Whitfield will be happy to hear I bought his book today, Gladiatrix #1. Impulse buy capability of e-books (Nook, in this case) is good for his bottom line.

[Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~*]

Thats great Werner! I have done both in my groups..I found the "buddy-read" works the best,I found on a group read everyone voted but didnt join in..so it ended being always a buddy read.Thanks so much for adding, as not all our friends read the same stuff..so I can come here & post a "Im going to read this" if anyone wants to join? And of course it will stay within the "Action Heroine Fan" read..look forward to it :D

[Werner]

You're welcome, Sandi! Yes, you can post an "I'm going to read this" there any time you want to; that's the idea.

[Derrick]

Finished Grimspace. I gave it ***.

I want to rate this book higher because I know a lot of people love it. I really like Sirantha, too, though she got a bit whiney at times.

But I docked some stars because the story moves along at a fairly slow pace throughout the novel, making it hard to stay interested. The characters needed some developing, too. I would have liked more Dina, for instance. The ending was rushed and pretty unbelievable, but it gets points for having those great scenes with the bounty hunter. I hope he turns up in later books.

Yes, I will read more eventually.

[Sandi *~The Pirate Wench~*]

Has anyone read the series"Dante Valentine" by Lilith Saintcrow I just finished the 1st book..oh my..what a kick-bad-ass Heroine this is! I loved her & the other characters..it kept me pulled in,the only thing Im not sure of is the "world" in which Dante resides..if anyone has read and your opinion?

[Marc]

After the final episode of Chuck aired, I was seized with an insane compulsion to write a Chuck fanfic, and once I did that I've been reading a lot of other people's Chuck fanfics. I think Sarah Walker is an action heroine but these are mostly about her softer side.

[Werner]

After having it on my to-read shelf forever, I'm finally reading Madeleine E. Robins' Point of Honour. Protagonist Sarah Tolerance definitely seems to be the sort of heroine our group focuses on, and I'm very much into the storyline already!

[H. E.]

I need to get back and finish the Green Rider series by Kristen Britain and in a few days the paperback of Rogue comes out by Trudi Canavan.

[David]

I'm currently reading Cuba Libre, by Elmore Leonard. No action-girls (a of yet).

BUT, I did recently read Mari Sandoz's bio of Crazy Horse. OK, non-fiction (though it reads like a novel) about an action-man. Thing is, Ms. Sandoz kind of qualifies as an action-heroine. She grew up on a hardscrabble Nebraska farm with an abusive father who hated reading, writing, and Mari. Despite the grim conditions (burlap sack clothes, no shoes, went snowblind rounding up cattle, and much worse), she persevered to become a successful & beloved writer, even earning the respect of her father.

Mari Sandoz, my hat is off to her memory, a true Western action-heroine.

[Derrick]

Well, I did just finish .

[Werner]

Here's the link to the Goodreads entry for Mari Sandoz (1896-1966), which lists all of her books that are in the Goodreads database; there may be more.
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...

Yes, even if she didn't wear a six-gun, she exemplified the guts, endurance and tough, indomitable spirit of the Western women who made a home out of a harsh environment. I join David in his hat tip!

[David]

Just finished Cuba Libre. Oh yes, there is definitely an action-heroine here! I have not read a whole lot of Elmore Leonard's books (a shameful oversight), but I am impressed with his female characters. They are distinct, with their own values, and their own approaches to life.

[Sadie]

I've just finsihed Jacques Antoine's Go No Sen and the sequel Sen No Sen. The main character, Emily, is a martial art prodigy and pretty darned action oriented.

I just noticed that Sen No Sen is on the kindle free list today (June 24).
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00860DGES/r...

[David]

Reading Flashman on the March. Ulibi-Wark is pretty much an action gal. The book is part Victorian men's adventure, part Real Housewives of Abyssinia. GMF has me laughing out loud.

[Danielle The Book Huntress]

I'm reading two books with 'action heroines', and .

The Rook starts with a very meek heroine, who finds the inner kickbutt heroine. I love it. Excellent British humor. Playing With Fire has an ordinary girl (with an attitude) who ends up becoming a superheroine who can control all four elements. It's very funny.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Rook is good.

[Werner]

Danielle, if those turn out to be as good as they sound, be sure to add them to our group bookshelf when you finish! (And that's a good general reminder for all of us, whenever we finish reading a good book with an action heroine.)

[Denise]

C. Cussler has the Bell and Fargo Adventures and they are pretty good I will be reading "The Tombs". Both Female characters are really good in the series along with treasure hunting and all of the electronic toys. I think my favorite of all time is JD Robbs' Det. Eve Dallas, yes I know it will be criticized but I do like the "Death" series; sex, crime and futuristic chaos....I dig it!

[Jim]

Guards of Haven: The Adventures of Hawk and Fisher by Simon R. Green were fun as I recall. There are several books with this dynamic duo. Hawk & Fisher are married, I think. Fisher is a bad-ass lady, one of the 'guards' or police force of a fantasy city with a lot of magic in it.

[Mike (the Paladin)]

Just read Magic Lost, Trouble Found and was pleasantly surprised. Just ordered the second from ABE Books (couldn't find it locally). Pretty good action and a female protagonist. The book also tells a good story and doesn't turn into PNR (I'd put off starting it because the cover looked like it might go that way).

[Danielle The Book Huntress]

Werner wrote: "Danielle, if those turn out to be as good as they sound, be sure to add them to our group bookshelf when you finish! (And that's a good general reminder for all of us, whenever we finish reading a..."

Will do!

[Danielle The Book Huntress]

Jim wrote: "Guards of Haven: The Adventures of Hawk and Fisher by Simon R. Green were fun as I recall. There are several books with this dynamic duo. Hawk & Fisher are married, I think. Fisher is a bad-ass ..."

Looking forward to reading this series. It's related to Blue Moon Rising, which I loved!

[Jim]

I think Fisher has an eye patch & is taller, too. Can't recall for sure, though.

[Zee]

Can't remember if I mentioned, but this one was a really good book with a kick-arse heroine :)

[Werner]

The late Marion Zimmer Bradley (who was a Jirel of Joiry fan as a girl) edited a whole series of original short story collections of mostly swords-and-sorcery fantasy titled Sword and Sorceress (the volumes after the first one are numbered with Roman numerals), featuring female protagonists. Not all these heroines are warrior types (sorceresses are featured, too), but many of them are. (This series is mentioned over in the Swordswomen of Literature thread.)

After the first volume, which I liked a lot, I hadn't read any of the later ones, but I picked up four of them at our local flea market a few years ago. (They can be read out of order.) Right now, I've just finished a book, and am waiting to start a common read in another group next month. At those times, I often turn to a short story collection to fill the gap. So, I've just started today, and I'm looking forward to a good read!

[Danielle The Book Huntress]

I have one of the Sword and Sorceress books, Werner. I also have a couple of the CL Moore collections. She's a good writer. Looking forward to reading her Jirel of Joiry stories.