halfamoon | Female-centric novels (SFF version)

So, thinking about

halfamoon (and avoiding working on either housework or writing) I was running through a list of woman-heavy SFF novels, and of writers whom I could depend on to write the sorts of women and plots that I liked reading over and over.

By "sorts of women and plots that I liked reading over and over", I don't have many hard-and-fast rules. But I find that I *do* have things that turn me off. In short:

- I'm not into soulbonds and destiny-love anymore. Too old. (Soul bonds with critters get more slack, but not much.)
- I'm pretty much over my "young girl in a repressed parochial society grows up to be a kick-ass gal and leaves those losers behind" phase.
- I'm absolutely over the "rape and revenge" method of female characterization. Ditto most other types of victim-fetish.
- A lot of environmentalist utopias have me rolling my eyes at the impracticality of it. Relatedly, my bar for post-apoc stories keeps going up. (Although, honestly? Given the way that I used to read *anything* post-apoc? A higher standard would be a good thing.)
- In and of themselves, women in uniform are not enough to keep me reading a story. I find my tolerance for women in uniform *plus* soulbonds to be about half of what it is for soulbonds alone.

Leaving all that aside:

Ten novels which appealed to me because of the female characters.

- The Outskirter's Secret, by Rosemary Kirstein. SF. (Other planet.) Primary protagonist *and* main secondary character are both female. Minor romantic interest (het). An investigative map-maker goes out into the wilderness to look into mysterious rumors. Outstanding worldbuilding, fantastic cultures, disarming and unlooked-for mind-bending potential. All wrapt up in an intriguing and high-tension plot.

-The Ladies of Mandrigyn, by Barbara Hambly. F (sword & sorcery) POV split between two primary characters - one male, one female. Off-screen romance. When a captain of mercenaries is captured, it's up to his second-in-command to rescue him. While there are multiple intriguing secondary characters, the primary male character is the only male who gets significant screen time - most of the interaction is between gals. A "woman warrior" story that starts by assuming its strong women, and going on from there. Note: I had the hardest damn time picking just one Hambly novel. There are *many* others also worth the reading.

-Parable of the Sower, by Octavia E. Butler. SF (Near-future) First person narration of a coming-of-age story. Mostly gen with some het romance. In an economically depressed and declining California, a neighborhood struggles to survive. It's hard for me to say what appeals to me most in this story - the post-apoc feel, the journey, the issues of religion, the deep love of family (and all the heartaches that come with it) that runs through the story. The rationality of the narrator echoes Outskirter's Secret, and brings forth a problem-solving focus that this reader finds less often in female-centric stories. Another author with a life-work worth the reading.

-The Falling Woman, by Pat Murphy. F (Ghosts) First person, split between older and younger female narration. An archaeologist can visualize the lives of the people she unearths, but the conflict with her daughter is harder to see through. The mix of authoritative history/archeology and Mesoamerican legend gives a depth and texture to this award winning novel. I adored the older perspective, and found the generational conflicts realistic and intriguing.

-The Pride of Chanur, by CJ Cherryh. SF (Space opera) Non-human feline-based alien pov. A thinking-sf story dressed up like an adventure novel, and wearing it well. The Pride of Chanur is a merchant spacecraft manned by members of a matriarchal society. A human male is an un-expected stowaway. Long before FS launched John Crichton into the Unchartereds, CJC was telling the same story from the other side. This is the start of a five-volume series, and the tone shifts somewhat at the end of this one. I recommend the whole series.

-Valor's Choice by Tanya Huff - SF (military sf) Main female protagonist, other minor povs. A veteran NCO is saddled with a new officer and must cope with an alien attack. Sterling military perspective and excellent cultural world-building. Extra bonus points for earth-historical military history refs. The remaining books in this series (new one out in June, woot!) are also recommended.

-The Magic and the Healing, by Nick O'Donohoe. F (otherwords/magic) Female protagonist. A senior veterinary student learns to treat unicorns, griffins, and other strange beasts. Ordinary people doing extraordinary things in an ordinary manner. Many very cool secondary characters, and a steady failure of the protagonist (or any other of the 'good' characters) to always make the right choice - both through design and through ignorance. First of a series of three.

-The Conqueror's Child, by Suzy McKee Charnas. SF (post-apoc/feminist utopia) Female pov throughout, with many female secondary characters. The daughter of a world liberator finally catches up with the legend who bore her. Redeemed much of the 'separatist society utopia' genre for me. This is a book about the human cost of being the victors - something shown fairly frequently from the male pov, but this was the first I had seen any female utopia story go on and say "what next?" A book I read because of the horses - and go on re-reading because of the human characters.

-The Sword of Winter by Marta Randall. F (psuedomedival world) Female protagonist throughout. Gen with adult romance. In a world of ice and snow, a professional messenger and explorer has to deal with palace intrigues and an un-welcome stray. Of the many reasons to love this book - adept worldbuilding, horses, cultural clashes and a fairly well-plotted out mystery - I keep coming back to the main protagonist. Her strong sense of self and stubbornness resonate strongly.

-Barrayar, by Lois McMaster Bujold. SF (space opera/sociological) Female protagonist throughout. Het romance. A former starship captain is caught up in the politics of her new homeworld - putting her new-found peace and the lives of her family at risk. Seriously, if you haven't read this one yet, give it a try. Cordelia Naismith is the arch-type Advanced Civilized Feminist, and yet her struggles to adapt and survive in her new home remain engaging and heart-warming.

There are many books that I did not included, for a variety of reasons (such as: "This is a book with a strong female character, but that's not why I read this book over and over.") Please feel free to add suggestions and comments! I am interested in new books to try out. Also - I'd love to see a similar list of mystery, graphic novel, romance or horror novels.