Paranormal Romance & Urban Fantasy discussion
SF/Futuristic Romance
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Futuristic Romance Recommendations

I haven't heard of Kinsman's Oath - what's it about? Haven't heard of Liz Maverick either!
Kinsman's Oath is... well, it's kind of convoluted. I'm in the middle at the moment, and the plot's just now coming out. Basically, there are two races sharing an area of space: humans and shaauri, catlike beings. They're (of course) hostile to each other, after having two huge wars and setting up a blockade that keeps humans from reaching their far-flung systems.
Cynara is the captain of a special, secret human ship with an engine that allows them to basically sneak through shaauri space. She picks up a human in shaauri territory who was about to be blown up by the aliens; he was captured by the shaauri when he was a child and was raised by them (though not allowed to be one of them; he's an outcast). She thinks he's trustworthy and just wants to get back to his fellow humans, but he may or may not have ulterior motives.
And that's as far as I've gotten. :D The writing is very good, which is what's kept me going through the plot tangles and slow start. Susan Krinard has a wonderful way with words.
I've only read Wired by Liz Maverick. It's a time-travel book reminiscent of Bladerunner and cyberpunk. Very interesting. I've got another of her books waiting in the wings; i can't for the life of me remember the title at the moment, but I'll probably read it after i finish Kinsman's Oath.
Cynara is the captain of a special, secret human ship with an engine that allows them to basically sneak through shaauri space. She picks up a human in shaauri territory who was about to be blown up by the aliens; he was captured by the shaauri when he was a child and was raised by them (though not allowed to be one of them; he's an outcast). She thinks he's trustworthy and just wants to get back to his fellow humans, but he may or may not have ulterior motives.
And that's as far as I've gotten. :D The writing is very good, which is what's kept me going through the plot tangles and slow start. Susan Krinard has a wonderful way with words.
I've only read Wired by Liz Maverick. It's a time-travel book reminiscent of Bladerunner and cyberpunk. Very interesting. I've got another of her books waiting in the wings; i can't for the life of me remember the title at the moment, but I'll probably read it after i finish Kinsman's Oath.

Resurrecting an old topic!
I'm currently reading Unmasked by C.J. Barry; it's another spacefaring romance, this time dealing with slave trade and shipping. Wow, I just made that sound really boring, ha! It's pretty good so far; I'll comment on it more once I finish it.
I also picked up Driven by Eve Kenin, Shadow Fires by Catherine Spangler, and True Blood by Patricia Waddell at my favorite used bookstore. I'm really digging the blend of science fiction and romance.
I'm currently reading Unmasked by C.J. Barry; it's another spacefaring romance, this time dealing with slave trade and shipping. Wow, I just made that sound really boring, ha! It's pretty good so far; I'll comment on it more once I finish it.
I also picked up Driven by Eve Kenin, Shadow Fires by Catherine Spangler, and True Blood by Patricia Waddell at my favorite used bookstore. I'm really digging the blend of science fiction and romance.

They are all a blend of Romance and FFP or SFR
http://www.rowenacherry.com/downloads...
Feel free to share the url/pdf/download if you find it useful.
Rowena Cherry

Still it kept my attention through this one time only read.

Lois McMaster Bujold writes good sci-fi romance. Shards of Honor and Barrayar are sci-fi with a strong romance. They are the first two books chronologically (although not first in publication) of her excellent Vorkosigan series.
I just finished reading Unmasked by C.J. Barry, and thought it was pretty good overall. It deals with slavery, both legal and illegal, and a pirate who's made it his life's mission to free and help as many slaves recover as he can. The main character is the youngest child and only daughter in a family that runs a huge shipping business, and she gets involved with the pirate after he raids her ship. The romance didn't seem forced or rushed; the characters had great chemistry, and I believed that they'd fall for each other quickly. The villain was a bit of a caricature; his motive could have been believable, but instead it was turned into his being completely batshit insane, which weakened his motive, IMO.
But I enjoyed it. Barry created an interesting science fiction setting with some fun variations on familiar themes, such as Nod, the overly helpful lightball robot. The smut wasn't too shabby, either. ;)
But I enjoyed it. Barry created an interesting science fiction setting with some fun variations on familiar themes, such as Nod, the overly helpful lightball robot. The smut wasn't too shabby, either. ;)

Try Insufficient Mating Material by Rowena Cherry. And no, she didn't pay me to say it. lol Here's my review:
Insufficient Mating Material
Rowena Cherry
LoveSpell
ISBN: 0-505-52711-1
We drooled over Prince Djetthro-Jason before and now Rowena Cherry has written his story--one that was definitely worth the wait! In her typical fashion, Ms. Cherry combines sex, action, love, and adventure into one terrific story. Did I say sex? Whoowee!
Princess Martia-Djulia is overlooked, underrated, but not underfed. Commander Jason has captured her heart and she refuses to give in to Emperor Tarrant-Arragon's demand that she marry Prince Djetthro-Jason. Meantime, Djetth, having had wild and crazy sex with her as Jason, is quite amenable to at least the bedsport part of the deal. Her curves drive him absolutely mad with desire. But he has to be patient--not his long suit.
Patience isn't the princess's brother's long suit, either. When Djetth doesn't make progress convincing the princess to mate with him, the emperor decides to shoot the two wayward lovers down on a deserted island. The couple has to resort to surviving on their wits--which is hard since they're both at their wits' end.
Insufficient Mating Material is a sexy, funny adventure story, and informative, too. I had a great time reading this book. Ms. Cherry has written a great follow-up to Forced Mate and Mating Net that won't disappoint either her fans or her new readers. IMM is a stand-alone book. You don't have to read the previous book and novella to have a great reading experience. But I'll bet you'll want to read her other books once you've read this one.


Others (some already noted) who write in SFR/RSF/Futuristics:
Susan Grant
Robin D Owens (Heart series)
CJ Barry
Patti O'Shea
Colby Hodge
Liz Maverick
Eve Kenin
Susan Kearney
Stacey Klemstein
Isabo Kelly
me (Linnea Sinclair)
Patricia Waddell
JD Robb (LOVE Roarke! love love love!)
Catherine Asaro
S L Viehl
Lois McMaster Bujold
Barbara Hambly
The thing with this genre/sub genre is that some of the authors write more toward the romance angle, some more toward the SF. Some readers like the more romance, some don't. It really depends on what you're in the mood for.
Hope this helps! ~Linnea

I have to confess that I haven't read your books yet. My daughter loved Games of Command and sent it to me for Christmas, but alas and alack, I've been under deadline, plus distracted with other things (such as getting flooded, then getting the flu), so I haven't even finished the book I started reading in November. I'm certainly looking forward to reading your books, though.



~Linnea

I spent half my childhood in Florida (Cocoa, then Orlando), so the setting was very nostalgic for me. I'm surprised you didn't mention bugs and lizards running around!
You actually explained everything very well in the book, so I don't really have any questions :) I must say I was really surprised that I didn't "look at my watch" (translation: check what page I was on and how many were left) a single time during such a long book. As a budding novelist, I must ask: What's your secret? :)

For me, the key to any good read (or to writing a book) is conflict. Read Deb Dixon's GMC (Goal, Motivation and Conflict). Also check out the worldcrafter's guild (free) on www.simegen.com . Long time SF author, Jacqueline Lichtenberg, has some terrific advice on writing conflict. ~Linnea

C.J. Barry
Rowena Cherry
Susan Grant
Susan Kearney
Catherine Spangler
Linnea Sinclair
Patricia Waddell
And these sci fi authors write romantic stories with female leads:
Catherine Asaro: Skolian Empire series
Lois McMaster Bujold: Miles Vorkosigan series
Elizabeth Moon: Heris Serrano series and Vatta’s War series
Mike Shepherd: Kris Longknife series
David Weber: Honor Harrington series



http://thegalaxyexpress.blogspot.com/
You'll find lots of recommendations, information, opinion, and just plain fun. Plus links to other sites and list upon list of authors, old and new.

Judi McCoy has a series where alien women come to earth to get pregnant because their men are infertile, but the women keep falling for the humans. Light reading, but fun!
Linnea, I just picked up a copy of Gabriel's Ghost, but unfortunately I have no time to read it! I'm thinking about skipping this composition theory stuff for class and reading anyway, haha.


I can't speak to the plot, as I think I am probably pretty easy to please plotwise. I think her plots are a lot of fun and well developed, but I am no expert. What I can tell you is that Gabriel's Ghost is tons of fun!
I haven't had a chance to read Gabriel's Ghost yet! I'm kind of between two houses right now, and most of my books are at the house that I'm not living in, d'oh! I'll have to snag it next time I head back.


I have sneak peeks on my site. FYI. I also have reviews and comments on the books posted there if you need to get a feel as to what they're like. Oh, book videos too. You can get a quick idea of the stories from them, I think (except for the FOLLY video which I'm still working on.)
Thanks again, ~Linnea
http://www.linneasinclair.com

I concur with the Crystal Singer books, they are so very good.
There's also a few that I would recommend: The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip, The Blue Sword by Robin McKinley, Star Commandos by P.M. Griffin with 12 books in the series. These books are like J.D. Robb's in that she has a recurring couple throughout the 12 novels who are married. Very good stuff.
Karen
I just finished the 2nd book in Deidre Knight's Midnight Warriors series, Parallel Heat. The first book is called Parallel Attraction.
I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed reading these first two books and is looking forward to the rest of the series.
I find the plot pretty complex, but well-written that I was basically glued to the book. The characters are endearing and sympathetic, and I would love to read more about them.
I'm just wondering if any in the group have read these books and what do you think of the series?
I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed reading these first two books and is looking forward to the rest of the series.
I find the plot pretty complex, but well-written that I was basically glued to the book. The characters are endearing and sympathetic, and I would love to read more about them.
I'm just wondering if any in the group have read these books and what do you think of the series?

I love Nalini Singh's Psy/Changeling books. I am more of a fantasy girl than sci-fi but she makes the science fiction aspects interesting and digestible instead of dry.
Gatadelafuente,
I just finished reading the first two books of Nalini Singh's Psy/Changeling series, and I like it very much. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the next book.
I have to say I'm not into sci-fi myself, since I'm really more into PNR than anything, but Deidre Knight's scifi series really surprised me on how I enjoyed her writing and her characters. I highly recommend them..even though I've only read the first two books so far.
I just finished reading the first two books of Nalini Singh's Psy/Changeling series, and I like it very much. I'm looking forward to getting my hands on the next book.
I have to say I'm not into sci-fi myself, since I'm really more into PNR than anything, but Deidre Knight's scifi series really surprised me on how I enjoyed her writing and her characters. I highly recommend them..even though I've only read the first two books so far.
I loves me some good space opera, anybody read any SF/Futuristic by Angela Knight? She has several short stories that are my favs of her books.
Linnea Sinclair is awesome.
Kinsman's Oath is my favorite Susan Krinard book.
Some of the Skolian Empire books by Catherine Asaro are very intense, like The Moon's Shadow or The Last Hawk.
For erotic kinky space opera, try Morgan Hawke's Interstellar Discipline series.
If it doesn't have to be romance, Warchild by Karin Lowachee is wonderful. One of my all-time favorites.
Linnea Sinclair is awesome.
Kinsman's Oath is my favorite Susan Krinard book.
Some of the Skolian Empire books by Catherine Asaro are very intense, like The Moon's Shadow or The Last Hawk.
For erotic kinky space opera, try Morgan Hawke's Interstellar Discipline series.
If it doesn't have to be romance, Warchild by Karin Lowachee is wonderful. One of my all-time favorites.

Some of these actually go back and forth in time...and be warned, some of Knight's stuff could be classified as erotica.

Also, just read Beneath the Thirteen Moons, which certainly fits. Very cool world building on that one.



Fangirl, I read UNMASKED several years ago and have to agree with your comments. I liked the book very much. I only wish that C.J.'s publisher could be convinced to have her write more Science Fiction Romance. I had read some of her earlier books and felt that she was getting better with each one. I am convinced that she could become a star were she to resume her SFR writings.

Frances
Writing Science Fiction Romance
Real Love in a Real Future
Frances Writes
I have to admit I haven't been exposed to much SF romance, but I remember reading Anne McCaffrey's Tower and Hive series some years ago and really enjoying it. I can't remember if it's an alternate universe or the future. I loved The Rowan and Damia particularly.
Alexis Morgan has me intrigued--I've been reading very good reports about the Paladin series.
Alexis Morgan has me intrigued--I've been reading very good reports about the Paladin series.
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What are your favorite futuristic romances? Favorite authors?