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Frida Fantastic · 03-22-2011, 06:19 PM

Recommended sf (science fiction/speculative fiction) books by women, list them!

Ursula K. Le Guin
I'm a big fan of hers. The Dispossessed, The Birthday of the World, and The Left Hand of Darkness are my favourites. Her works are intelligent with a rich sociological understanding of the worlds that she creates, and I just haven't seen that comparable level of depth elsewhere. She has misses sometimes (prose and characters and get dry), but I still like them because she never runs out of interesting big-world ideas.

Catherynne M. Valente
Her works are unique, she either does really strange speculative fiction (Palimpsest) or retellings of fairy tales (the Grass-Cutting Sword). She has beautiful prose and pushes the boundaries with regards to a ton of subjects especially on bodies and sexuality, but a bit weak on characterization and plotting. So judging from the two books I read, she does well when the framework of characters/plot has already is already there (e.g. fairytales).

03-22-2011, 06:19 PM	#1
Frida Fantastic SF/F book blogger Posts: 270 Karma: 502030 Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Vancouver, Canada Device: Kindle 3	Recommended women sf writers Recommended sf (science fiction/speculative fiction) books by women, list them! Ursula K. Le Guin I'm a big fan of hers. The Dispossessed, The Birthday of the World, and The Left Hand of Darkness are my favourites. Her works are intelligent with a rich sociological understanding of the worlds that she creates, and I just haven't seen that comparable level of depth elsewhere. She has misses sometimes (prose and characters and get dry), but I still like them because she never runs out of interesting big-world ideas. Catherynne M. Valente Her works are unique, she either does really strange speculative fiction (Palimpsest) or retellings of fairy tales (the Grass-Cutting Sword). She has beautiful prose and pushes the boundaries with regards to a ton of subjects especially on bodies and sexuality, but a bit weak on characterization and plotting. So judging from the two books I read, she does well when the framework of characters/plot has already is already there (e.g. fairytales). Last edited by Frida Fantastic; 03-22-2011 at 10:31 PM. Reason: elaborated!