Recommendations?

My favourite SF writers are Sheri S. Tepper, Joan Sloncziewski, Nancy Kress, Mary Rosenblum, Connie Willis and Kate Wilhelm, in no particular order. I also really enjoyed Nicola Griffith's Ammonite. Are there any fans of any of these out there who could recommend other SF writers to me? I've already got Jo Walton's Farthing on my wish list. (I'm a big fan of alternate history and mysteries too, so that book seems like a good pick.)

(I don't know if all of the above writers qualify as feminist, but I figure if the female characters are front and central and interesting, that's good enough for me.)

Tricia Sullivan is worth more than a look as is Gwyneth Jones (although the rock'n'roll reich books aren't particularly feminist). Mary Gentle's Ash, Ilario and White Crow books are good. Molly Gloss's The Dazzle Of Day is well worth reading.

I was recently recommended L. Timmel Duchamp's Alanya to Alanya but haven't got around to reading it yet,.

Well I have read A Door Into Ocean and enjoyed it very much. I have some Joan D. Vinge books on my TBR list like The Summer Queen, The Winter Queen and Catspaw to name a few. I also have Trouble And Her Friends by Melissa Scott and a couple other of her books too. A paperback edition of James Tiptree with several Short Stories including Houston, Houston Do You Read. I also own Ammonite too plus a few other Nicola Griffith and a couple of books by David Brin. I also have on my TBR pile of books where a male Astronaut has to go to an all female Planet. The name of this particular book escapes me at the moment. I hope these will help you out some.

beatles1964

>2 andyl:

Thanks for your recommendations, andyl. I've actually read Lethe by Tricia Sullivan and really enjoyed it and I recently bought Someone to Watch over Me, which I haven't read yet. Mary Gentle's books sound interesting; The Dazzle of Days and Alanya to Alanya have received very mixed reviews on LT, but that doesn't mean I wouldn't like them...

Which Gwyneth Jones would you recommend?

>3 beatles1964:

Oh yes, Tiptree is definitely somebody I should read! I even have one of her books, Brightness Falls from the Air, which I haven't read yet. (This is making me realize that maybe I should be spending less time on LT trying to find new authors and more time reading the books I already have!) I'd be curious to know the title of the books about the male astronaut and the all-female planet... Thanks for your other recommendations.

The Aleutian Trilogy is probably the most feminist of her works. Kairos and Escape Plans are pretty good if you can find them. I like her rock'n'roll reich books greatly but they aren't really feminist works although one of the three main characters is female.

I think the name of the David Brin book about the male Astronaut going to an all female Planet is called Ethan Of Athos. Oooopps I guess I got the Authors mixed up. I would've sworn it was a David Brin book. Anyway I still plan on reading the book. The name of the book just popped into my head. Sometimes that will happen to me. One moment I'm at a loss for a particular name of a movie or book and a little while later it just comes to me. Funny how it works out that way.

beatles1964

The Brin story about the matriarchal planet is called Glory Season.

Another male author to read his Geoff Ryman. His books often have female leads and are fairly often noted by the Tiptree award judges.

What, no Ursula K. Le Guin? That was my first thought on reading your list, particularly The Left Hand of Darkness, which is probably her most famous book, and The Dispossessed, which is one of my favorite books ever.

I have only read one of Chris Moriarty's books (Spin State), but I really enjoyed that.

>8 andyl:

Thanks again andyl. I think I've confused David Brin with Greg Bear in the past and not picked up his books on account of that. (I've tried to read both Moving Mars and Slant and couldn't get into either of them; I've concluded that Bear's SF is too "hard" for me.)

>9 sussabmax:

I have to confess I've never read LeGuin... I tried reading The Left Hand of Darkness a long time ago and just couldn't get into it, but maybe I should give it another shot. Or maybe I should try The Dispossessed first instead. It is kinda embarrassing that I've never read any of her books!

Has no one mentioned Octavia Butler yet? So many great books, I can't decide which one to tell you to start with first!

Or Kathleen Ann Goonan's Queen City Jazz or . . .

Suzy McKee Charnas's books (begin with Motherlines, Tor has published the first two in an omnibus, probably under a different title)

I will also add my voice to the others recommending LeGuin, Gloss and Jones.

I agree with avaland, Octavia Butler for sure. I started with her Xenogenesis trilogy (now I think it's called Lilith's Brood) and I have to say it certainly sucked me in!

Oh, what about Joanna Russ? I've only read The Female Man, but that was great, and I keep meaning to get more of her books.

I am reading Spin Control now, Chris Moriarity's second book, but the science is pretty hard in these--if you don't like Greg Bear, you may not like Moriarty. I love her, though.

I really liked Joanna Russ' The Two of Them.

I liked Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, a number of her other books have female protaganists fighting to be a nonstereotypical girl, to be a hero/heroine. Then there's the Morgaine series by C. J. Cherryh starting with the Gate of Ivrel taken from the viewpoint of the henchman Vanye who follows the stronger female character around. Sherryl Jordan's Winter of Fire has a female protagonist from the underclass who is chosen as the next great mage in training, despite her gender and class. Jo Clayton's trilogy Duel of Sorcery features a female warrior protagonist fighting for a more woman-centered society Moongather.

I just finished reading Glasshouse by Charles Stross, which had some interesting feminist themes. The main character is a self-identified male from the future, who enters an experiment to re-create social conditions from the dark ages (mid-twentieth to mid-21st century). The experiment is set up to reinforce sexist behaviors, and it is interesting to see this male in a female body, and how he/she interacts with this society. Really good book, in my opinion.

>16 sussabmax:

Sounds like an interesting read, sussabmax. Another one for the wish list. By the way, your comment in message 9 inspired me to pick up a copy of The Dispossessed at a secondhand bookstore recently...

Oh, let me know what you think of it, Avis! I am thinking about re-reading that again. I just read it not too long ago (last year, I think), but I love it so much.

Will do! Not sure when I'll get around to it, mind you, as I have a monstrous TBR pile...!

Patricia Anthony wrote some very interesting sci-fi books back in the '90s ('80s?) ...

...cross-posting from Science Fiction Fans....

Native Tongue by Suzette Haden Elgin

Other lesser-known authors to consider include Sarah Zettel, Joan Slonczewski, Cecilia Tan, Joanna Russ.

~psybre

I thought I would follow up with another book, seemingly well received by LibraryThing and Amazon reviewers alike, by an author I haven't read:

Master of None by N. Lee Wood

"In the bestselling tradition of Margaret Atwood, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Sheri S. Tepper comes a compelling novel of power and gender on a planet ruled exclusively by women."

Apologies for not replying sooner; I was away on vacation and only just saw your comment.

I've read Native Tongue and its sequels (and promptly gave them away, which I now regret). I haven't heard of Sarah Zettel before, so I'll keep an eye out for her. Are there any of her books in particular that you would recommend?

I actually have another one of N. Lee Wood's novels, Looking for the Mahdi, which I haven't read yet, but the one you mention sounds great! (And LT thinks I will love it.)

Thank you!

How did I miss seeing this thread before now? Some I've already enjoyed (LeGuin) and others I have put on my TBR list. One author of soft sf (I think that's the term) with strong female characters is Louise Marley. I esp. loved The Terrorists of Irustan and The Goddess Child.

I agree with #9 and #13 for sure, also Joan D. Vinge, Diane Duane (although most of her SF is Star Trek but it's pretty good), and Marion Zimmer Bradley. Of course there is Margaret Atwood even though she doesn't consider herself an SF writer. Pamela Sargent, maybe? Le Guin is probably my favourite female SF writer (although more like one of my top SF writers of all) you might like The Dispossessed more than The Left Hand of Darkness it has a couple of very strong female secondary characters but it is told from the PoV of a male character.

I just read Gwyneth Jones' new collection, Grazing the Long Acre, which is quite good.

ooh, a new collection by gwyneth jones -- i'll look for it.

Here. It's a bit expensive. Avaland and I get a lot of British books via the Book Depository - little or no discount, but free shipping.

>24 MEStaton: Thanks for agreeing with me! I haven't read any Diane Duane or Pamela Sargent, I will have to check them out. Have you read Margaret Atwood's latest, The Year of the Flood? I just finished that, and now I need to go back and read Oryx and Crake. I mean, you can read it on its own, but it made me want to refresh my memory on O&C--it has been years since I read that.

#28 funny you should mention Oryx and Crake, i had a copy a few years ago but I never read it and it disapeared. Then today I was in the library to write and they were having a book sale and it was in there for 50p but I only had my card with me so couldn't buy it

Sarah Zettle, Tanya Huff, and Ekaterina Sedia, and Kristine Kathryn Rusch are some of read and read again. Kage Baker and Sandra Mcdonald are also favs

>15 DesertChia: Yes - I agree with your choices!

A useful site for SF&F by women (not all necessarily feminist): https://sfmistressworks.wordpress.com/

Also, http://www.aqueductpress.com/

Sadly, https://sfmistressworks.wordpress.com/ seems to be on hiatus.

https://journeypress.com has the Rediscovery series (one volume out thus far, another coming out early next year) and Sibyl Sue Blue by Rosel George Brown. The latter was quite progressive for 1966, and fun to read today.

>33 neopeius: Yes, I moved to Sweden in early 2019, and all my books went into storage. I plan to have them sent over here at some point, so perhaps then I'll start posting reviews again.