Great New Urban Fantasy Series

[FizzyWater]

You know, I've got to get around to reading this series....it's on my TBR "pile", but I keep forgetting it's there...

[Xanthe]

Get cracking, Fizzy! Time's a wastin'.

[Nyssa]

It's been on my TBR as well, but I don't know when I'll get to it. I'm almost done w/ the Dresden Files series, but I have 4 other series I'd like to read as well, including all of the Honorverse novels & anthologies.

[MrsJoseph]

I've read the 1st book in this series but haven't gotten to the second book as yet. But I've read a lot of reviews and there is a lot of people talking about the treatment and characterization of women in this series. Has anyone here felt uncomfortable with the treatment of women in the Iron Druid chronicles?

[jgaiser]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

I've read the 1st book in this series but haven't gotten to the second book as yet. But I've read a lot of reviews and there is a lot of people talking about the treatment and characterization of women in this series. Has anyone here felt uncomfortable with the treatment of women in the Iron Druid chronicles?

I've read the first two books in the series and don't recall anything overtly bad about his characterization of women and if it means anything, a quick perusal of reviews on Goodreads show a lot of female readers with 4 and 5 star reviews. How did you feel about book 1?

[Pax]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

I've read the 1st book in this series but haven't gotten to the second book as yet. But I've read a lot of reviews and there is a lot of people talking about the treatment and characterization of women in this series. Has anyone here felt uncomfortable with the treatment of women in the Iron Druid chronicles?

No, I didn't. I was also suprised, when I read about these reviews.

I assume, you can find something like this in every book, if you try really hard.

[John F]

In case anyone missed it, the latest ebook, Tricked, is available at libraries.

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

I've read the first two books in the series and don't recall anything overtly bad about his characterization of women and if it means anything, a quick perusal of reviews on Goodreads show a lot of female readers with 4 and 5 star reviews. How did you feel about book 1?

I just checked. Sadly, I never got around to writing a review but I gave it 5 stars. I do remember enjoying the book...but I also remember the issues with women that have been mentioned in other reviews. It didn't seem to bother me too much during my reading, however.

[Xanthe]

I went over to GoodReads to check out one of those reviews which complained about the treatment of women in the Iron Druid series, and as a woman (and as one who got her degree from a feminist college) I have to say that I didn't read the same book that that reviewer did, and that I think she was projecting a lot of issues of her own onto that book. I don't see any of the books as being sexist in the least.

The books are written from a male point of view, and Atticus isn't written as an asexual being. He's two thousand years old and has been married several times throughout his life. He likes, can appreciate, and is attracted to women. I don't see that as a character flaw or as being sexist.

First of all, when is any female character in a popular novel written as homely and plain? They all have some sort of attractive feature(s). In fantasy novels, goddesses are usually gorgeous, have some sort of glamour to them that makes them attractive, and aren't loathe to use it. Guys are attracted to superficial beauty at first, so it is a tool to be used.

The witches in the book are smart and cunning. Atticus happens to be attracted to one of them, but she also scares him. They have the power to hurt him and his own if he isn't on his guard at all times around them.

Goddesses, by the nature of their long lives and pantheon in-fighting are normally portrayed as divas, seemingly irrational, bored and petty. If a goddess of the Celtic pantheon wants to have sex with one of her worshipers (which as a Druid, Atticus is one) is he supposed to say no? To term that male rape when Atticus is attracted to her in the first place, as one reviewer did, is really stretching things beyond credibility. That reviewer also completely ignored how the various goddesses played on Atticus' attraction to them and used him as a pawn in their political infighting without his knowledge.

I see all of the women in the books as being strong characters in their own right. Any reviewers that are labeling these books as sexist really, IMO, need to broaden their scope and read authors who truly fall into that category (John Ringo's Kildar series anyone?).

Each reader has to make up their own mind of course, but frankly the reviews and comments that label the series as sexist just really brought to mind how when I first started taking the "Women in Literature" courses as a college freshman, I was full of righteous indignation at the portrayal of women and saw sexism at every turn. But you know, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

[MrsJoseph]

Originally Posted by Xanthe

I went over to GoodReads to check out one of those reviews which complained about the treatment of women in the Iron Druid series, and as a woman (and as one who got her degree from a feminist college) I have to say that I didn't read the same book that that reviewer did, and that I think she was projecting a lot of issues of her own onto that book. I don't see any of the books as being sexist in the least.

The books are written from a male point of view, and Atticus isn't written as an asexual being. He's two thousand years old and has been married several times throughout his life. He likes, can appreciate, and is attracted to women. I don't see that as a character flaw or as being sexist.

First of all, when is any female character in a popular novel written as homely and plain? They all have some sort of attractive feature(s). In fantasy novels, goddesses are usually gorgeous, have some sort of glamour to them that makes them attractive, and aren't loathe to use it. Guys are attracted to superficial beauty at first, so it is a tool to be used.

The witches in the book are smart and cunning. Atticus happens to be attracted to one of them, but she also scares him. They have the power to hurt him and his own if he isn't on his guard at all times around them.

Goddesses, by the nature of their long lives and pantheon in-fighting are normally portrayed as divas, seemingly irrational, bored and petty. If a goddess of the Celtic pantheon wants to have sex with one of her worshipers (which as a Druid, Atticus is one) is he supposed to say no? To term that male rape when Atticus is attracted to her in the first place, as one reviewer did, is really stretching things beyond credibility. That reviewer also completely ignored how the various goddesses played on Atticus' attraction to them and used him as a pawn in their political infighting without his knowledge.

I see all of the women in the books as being strong characters in their own right. Any reviewers that are labeling these books as sexist really, IMO, need to broaden their scope and read authors who truly fall into that category (John Ringo's Kildar series anyone?).

Each reader has to make up their own mind of course, but frankly the reviews and comments that label the series as sexist just really brought to mind how when I first started taking the "Women in Literature" courses as a college freshman, I was full of righteous indignation at the portrayal of women and saw sexism at every turn. But you know, sometimes a cigar is just a cigar.

I can see what you're saying, lol I've been accused both of not being enough of a feminist and being too much of a feminist... *sigh*

[carld]

Originally Posted by John F

In case anyone missed it, the latest ebook, Tricked, is available at libraries.

Gah! I missed this. Now I'm 12 of 12 on the waiting list. People need to read faster!

Thanks for the heads up though.

[Xanthe]

Originally Posted by MrsJoseph

I can see what you're saying, lol I've been accused both of not being enough of a feminist and being too much of a feminist... *sigh*

I think a lot really depends on the type of book it is. There's a time and place when a feminist eye is necessary and other times when it isn't.

I know that I will no longer pick up a suspense/thriller book if the blurb describes the female character as a "beautiful, intelligent, [fill-in the nationality] scientist/biochemist/astrophysicist/some-other-scientific-specialty . But if that type of character shows up in an urban fantasy novel, I'm more likely to cut it some slack because I know it's highly likely that something other than the standard woman-in-jep scenario is going to play out with her.

I also expect most goddesses to be gorgeous and capricious. Any immortal being, as far as I'm concerned, is not going to look at human life and human rights the same way as I do.

And really, in urban fantasy novels, there's a lot of reverse sexism. When the narrator/main character is female, the guys in the novel almost always are tall, dark/blonde/auburn, and handsome with piercing green/grey/blue eyes - and there's usually a surfeit of them. Not to mention them always being alpha males. The female character can be as cranky-assed and pig-headed as they come, yet all the males for some reason desire her.

Any reader can take any book apart and find something sexist with it if they are in the mood to do so. The question though, is did the author intend that conclusion, or are you as the reader just projecting your agenda onto the story?