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Currently reading a book with an action heroine?
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Jon
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Jul 18, 2015 07:00AM
Thanks Werner for bringing The Strong One by David Wittlinger to my attention and to you David for writing. I've downloaded the sample.
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Werner, that certainly sounds promising.
Jon, you're welcome! Charles, I thought it sounded intriguing enough to take a chance on; and I'm pleased with it so far. (I don't endorse all of Brianna's lifestyle choices and vocabulary, but I'm definitely rooting for her!)
Anyone read anything by Brandon Sanderson other than the Wheel of Time ending?I was reading about Cosmere and found this link interesting.
http://www.tor.com/2015/05/11/where-t...
Angela, Sanderson is consistently a good writer. I'd recommend the Mistborn Mistborn Trilogy Boxed Set (I read or listened to them individually) and his Elantris series. I wan't aware of the Cosmere book linking the universe together.
Good, I haven't read in a month and I am excited to start a good book series.
Werner, I'm pretty certain that this book won't be your next read (which is ok; for example, I read Amish-theme romances which most guys would probably die before admitting), but others might like:Candace Blevins's Only Human. It is a paranormal, two-worlds plot. The heroine is a "only human" female who is an active single parent, with a full time day job, who battles with evil things from a different world who cross over into this one. She uses weapons when she has to, but prefers to send the monsters back to their world rather than kill them.
It is also an erotica genre book, with some bdsm. She is submissive, but very definitely only in the bedroom. So it is not a book for every taste.
Jon wrote: "Werner, I'm pretty certain that this book won't be your next read (which is ok; for example, I read Amish-theme romances which most guys would probably die before admitting), but others might like:..."Jon, you're correct in that surmise; I definitely don't get into the bdsm thing. (I don't read Amish romances either --or very much in the romance genre at all, though I've read and liked a few things in that line-- but I'd pick one up much faster than I would anything of this sort! :-) ) However, there are members of this group who might be interested.
Angela wrote: "Anyone read anything by Brandon Sanderson other than the Wheel of Time ending?I was reading about Cosmere and found this link interesting.
http://www.tor.com/2015/05/11/where-t......"
I liked the Mistborn trilogy quote a bit - even if the ending is almost literaly a deus ex machina. It's good stuff, the magic worldbuilding is fascinating, and the heroine is a badass.
Jon wrote: "Werner, I'm pretty certain that this book won't be your next read (which is ok; for example, I read Amish-theme romances which most guys would probably die before admitting), but others might like:..."That plotline is so bizarre that, even though I normally wouldn't read fantasy, I may give it a go. :)
David wrote: That plotline is so bizarre that, even though I normally wouldn't read fantasy, I may give it a go. :) David, I definitely do recommend Only Human
by Candace Blevins. if but only if reading erotic content is acceptable. There are subjects I don't read; I'm not dissing anyone's reading choices. Life is too short to go there. I've read a couple of the follow up books which are good but not up to the level of Only Human IMHO.
Derrick wrote: "On the edge of "action", but I am currently reading Northanger Abbey and loving the heck out of it. Just about every page makes me laugh. I saw the movie starring Felicity Jones awhile back. I re..."
Aside -> Felicity Jones is to star in the big screen adaptation of Dan Brown's 'Inferno'.
I recently read Code Name: Papa, which is a romantic suspense novel with a very strong female lead. Readers who like the TV show "Alias" and the movie "The Long Kiss Goodnight" would probably enjoy this book.
I've been reading Mistborn and I really like it. I'm almost onto book 3. Thanks for the recommendation.
Lady Gone Bad
by Sabine Starr is a romance about a woman saloon singer in the West in the 1880's. She's been done wrong and she's using her wiles (but not actual sex) to track down a special horse as part of her quest to get revenge. There is a reward for her capture and a lawman - a Ranger- comes to the saloon where she is singing to arrest her.He fails spectacularly, she gets away and the plot is on. Warning for those of you who need it. There is some erotic play.
What makes this book better than average, besides the great word play, is the historical research that Ms. Sabine did to get the locations exactly right.
The book my wife Barb and I just finished reading as our "car book," Operation Chaos by Poul Anderson, is an adventurous fantasy set in an alternate mid-20th-century U.S. where magic works, and featuring a good-guy werewolf and a white witch. Having read the book, I think the latter character, Ginny, deserves the accolade of action heroine status. She acquits herself well in wartime combat, and in even more hair-raising jeopardies and physical challenges that demand a lot, both physically and mentally.Our new "car book" is definitely in action heroine territory: it's
. This volume and the companion one (
) that completes Les Savage Jr.'s corpus of 1945-49 stories about his female outlaw (but not villainess!) heroine was an anniversary present to her from me this weekend. If we like the first book, we'll read the second, too.
Unfortunately Werner, Operation Chaos doesn't seem to be available for kindle so I'm going to have to track it down on paper. Imagine that!If you can overlook or skip past the erotic content in Lady Goes Bad (it is confined and doesn't fill too much of the book) you two might enjoy it. The heroine is very resourceful. I'd be pleased to lend it to you on kindle if you wish.
Jon, thanks for the offer. I'm guessing that the erotic content might not differ much from what's in
, which we both liked. But Barb doesn't read on Kindle, and I don't read on my Kindle app for PC much (I prefer paper). For reading in the car, of course, we also need a paper book (though this is probably something we'd be more apt to read separately). I'll keep an eye out for it in paper format, as a potential "maybe to read."
Over the last several days, Jon and I got involved in a longish, serious discussion about explicit sex in romance/erotica novels (many of which, nowadays, do have combat-capable heroines). It didn't strictly fit this thread (I was the one who got us started down that rabbit trail --mea culpa!); but it's a really worthwhile discussion, IMO, which can fit into the parameters of the "Action heroine fiction/drama/iconography --sexual exploitation of women?" thread: https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/... . So I've just moved all of those posts to that thread (hurray for the "cut and paste" function!), and will delete them here. They're not being lost --just moved, and moved to a thread where they'll be less intrusive, more easy for interested readers to find, and more inviting for others to join in what I hope will be a continuing discussion!
I just finished Fat Assassins. I'd never heard of the book or the writer, so in case others haven't thought I'd mention it. It's a comic/action book about 2 women and I found it laugh out loud funny.
Mike, I just added it to our bookshelf. Thanks for the post!
I grabbed The Decoy Princess by Dawn Cook aka Kim Harrison as a cheap listen on Audible last week. It is the story of a woman, switched with the real princess at age 3 months, who grows to maturity (20) thinking she is indeed the royal princess. Why the decoy? A prophesy that the princess will be assassinated and real attempts on the decoy during her childhood. Along the way her tutor, the King's chancellor, teaches her some odd skills, such as how to use hair pins tipped with poison or wield a whip. A plucky lass indeed. My review, when I get to write it, will be quite favorable.
I hope there are some lurkers out there who would be willing to contribute a couple of book suggestions. Please.Here are two more:
Christopher Nuttall, now a veteran space opera writer whose several existing series were getting staler with each succeeding book, has launched a new series:
. It is as taut as his original Empire's Corp book.While I haven't yet read it, Josie Brown has written the humorous The Housewife Assassin series, of which
was recently available at a low price.
Angela wrote: "Anyone read anything by Brandon Sanderson other than the Wheel of Time ending?I was reading about Cosmere and found this link interesting.
http://www.tor.com/2015/05/11/where-t......"
Since posting this I have read the first three books and just started the 4th of the Mistborn series. I loved them! I started Alloy of Law and am trying to get into it. The main character is not a female and everyone from the first three books has long since died since it has been 300 hundred years. I do love the new God that was created in the end of book 3. It is interesting to see how the different types of gifts have evolved over the generations from book 3. I will keep reading and have already prepaid for book 5.
I really enjoyed Starshine. The lead is female and she definitely has agency. The second book Vertigo was a bit if a leap but if you can suspend all logic and just immerse yourself in the sci-fi, you will enjoy it as much as I did. I am hoping for another book to be added to this series.
Love those books, Angela! The third book Transcendence, is available too, and I think it's my favorite of the three. The first book of the second trilogy will also be released soon. So fear not - there's much more to come!
Angela, thank you. I clicked through to Starshine on kindle and found that it is currently free on KU. I got it immediately.Fans of Tanya Huff: The newest book in the saga of Gunny Sgt. Tori Kerr / Valor will find a new book just published: An Ancient Peace
Jon wrote: "Fans of Tanya Huff: The newest book in the saga of Gunny Sgt. Tori Kerr / Valor will find a new book just published: An Ancient Peace"I am a fan of her work but lately I've seen just too much of the one-sentence paragraph construction in her work, which makes it very unpleasant to read. Every sentence cannot have a paragraph's worth of impact. I hope she'll take up the Enchantment Emporium series again.
I know nothing about the book, but the title sounds appropriate: The Warrior's Path. aka: When Women Were Warriors.
It is FREE today - Columbus Day - on Amazon/kindle.
G. S. Jennsen's Starshine: Aurora Rising Book One and
Restless: An Aurora Rising Short Story are both free on Kindle or KU. I recommend both; the short story is just that: short.
E.J. wrote: "Love those books, Angela! The third book Transcendence, is available too, and I think it's my favorite of the three. The first book of the second trilogy will also be released soon...."I just finished the 3rd book. It was a great ending to the Aurora Rising series. Now what? I need another book series to delve into...
When was the last time that you read the first book in a series and thought it was so good that you immediately purchased the second one? Kept reading all day and when that second installment of the saga ended, you went out and purchased the third?I did this over the weekend, neglecting a couple of important projects. I started with group member Alison Morton's first tale of Nova Roma, an imaginary but thoroughly drawn modern country that descended directly from the ancient Roman Empire, about the size and somewhat in the location of Switzerland with a most distinguishing feature. Government, influence and family names pass through women from one generation to the next although men and their roles are central to the survival of the nation.
I highly recommend Inceptio
and the other three volumes in the series. They do not end with cliffhangers and may be read as standalones, but you'd enjoy them much more if read in order.
Jon wrote: "When was the last time that you read the first book in a series and thought it was so good that you immediately purchased the second one?"This series looks delicious. I can't wait to get started on it. I'm dying for another series to sink my teeth into.
I just finished reading
By Adrian D. Roberts, and
by Brian Dorsey. Both series have great action heroines and were good reads. I'm also in agreement with you, Jon, about the Roma Nova series by Alison Morton. Another great read!
Sarah wrote: "I'm also in agreement with you, Jon, about the Roma Nova series by Alison Morton. Another great read!"I am in love with Roma Nova already. I'm about a third through the first book. I like that there isn't a lot of smut but you still get that spark from the characters. I'm enjoying reading how Karen (Carina) starts to come into her own.
Glad you are enjoying it, Sarah! Working on Book 5 in the series at the moment. ;-)
Maria V Snyder's Healer series features a young woman trained with what we might call magical powers to heal. When a plague causes the populace to kill healers, she (apparently) is the last survivor. Using her healing (just a bit), her significant ability to throw a knife (a fair amount), and her wits (repeatedly), she has adventures trying to defeat a tyrant with slightly different magical powers. An adventure story, not a magic fantasy per se.Touch of Power
is the first book in the series.
Both the movie Willow and its novelization by Canadian writer Wayland Drew (
) have been mentioned before in this group. I'm planning to review the book for the Girls With Guns webpage (also mentioned before); but it's been over 20 years since I read it, so I realized I've forgotten a lot of detail. In order to write a serious review, I'm reading it a second time; and I also hope to watch the movie again over Thanksgiving break.
Earlier on this thread (back in March of 2012), I mentioned that I was reading the first volume of Madeleine E. Robins' Sarah Tolerance series,
. That proved to be a 5-star read in my estimation; and now, I've finally gotten around to starting the second book of the series,
. I've been trying, lately, to be a bit more focused about following up on series that I've started!
This is a whine. Werner mentions the Sarah Tolerance book. I go to take a look on kindle. Eight bucks. Well, 7.99. By contrast, I can get a used copy, including postage, for $4. Then, I'll be able to gift it forward. What gives with publishers setting back-list prices so high? The costs of setting up an electronic version of a book are very low. I will not be buying the electronic book. If the sample is ok, I'll buy it used and the publisher will get zip. I just received a similar book, priced too high electronically, in the mail yesterday.
I generally buy paperback copies if they're available (ABE Books can usually come up with a paperback copy very reasonably [as you said, including shipping]). I find that I don't really enjoy reading my Kindle anyway.
Jon wrote: "What gives with publishers setting back-list prices so high? The costs of setting up an electronic version of a book are very low. ..."I think of it as a convenience fee. I just recently purchased Kindle Unlimited. I've read two books on it so far this week because I find myself reading more often. It is right on my phone and so easy.
My predilection for print books has been stated before, so most people who follow my comments very closely are probably already aware of it. I don't doubt that Amazon and the publishers engage in as much price-gouging on their Kindle products as they can get away with; but I only read freebies on Kindle, so it doesn't really affect me. Where paper books are concerned, I try to buy a couple of brand new ones every year to support the local bookstore; but otherwise, I buy used ones (or get them for free from BookMooch, as I was lucky enough to do with Petty Treason).
I sort of buy what I can find in a lot of cases. I suppose I buy more from Audible than anyone else lately.
Werner wrote: "I don't doubt that Amazon and the publishers engage in as much price-gouging on their Kindle products as they can get away with..."The legacy publishers are notorious for setting ebook prices way too high, probably so they don't completely kill their mass-market paperback sales. They have every reason to try to hold back e-reader adoption; once reading ebooks becomes the norm, they've lost control of the sales channel, which is about all they have left now.
Amazon can't afford to price-gouge until the last bricks-and-mortar bookstore closes. If those overpriced trad-pub ebooks get discounted, it's because of the 'Zon, not the publishers.
Lance wrote: Amazon can't afford to price-gouge until the last brick-and-mortar bookstore closes." Good point, Lance --and another good reason for smart readers to make sure that never happens! (Monopoly is fun as a board game; but real-life monopolies hurt everybody except the monopolists.)
Girl From Above: Trapped probably qualifies for an action heroine mention. There are 5 or 6 books in the series. In general, the plot is about a machine that has some human essence left in it - how much and what that means - are the background to the adventures. These books have some mild erotic content, easily skipped without harm to the plot.All of Maria V Snyder's series feature women who know how to wield a knife or sword or other edged weapon when needed and who, more important, make things happen. No R or X material.
I get the 'point' of your comment, Mike. ^.^
Action Heroine Fans
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