07-22-2015, 07:03 PM | #1 |
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SF Romance Wanted
I'm looking for SF Romance with a plot and the genre seems to be erotica, erotica, erotica. *sigh*. There is some decent Linnea Sinclair and Space Opera often has romance in it but there MUST be some choices other than erotica under the 'Romance' heading. Shelves and shelves and shelves of UF Romance, Steampunk Romance seems to be on the upswing but spaceships and aliens and lasers with a love story (not a sex story) ... where are you?
No first person please (sorry, it just bugs me.) And I consider 'Last hour of Gann' more Romance than erotica even though its risque because its has an actual plot. Last edited by artifact; 07-22-2015 at 07:09 PM. Reason: Added Gann. |
07-22-2015, 07:38 PM | #2 |
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You might like "Local Custom", "Scouts Progress" and "Conflict of Honors", set in the Liaden Universe. They are available in an omnibus from Baen called "The Dragon Variation" at a very reasonable price.
http://www.baenebooks.com/p-1188-the...variation.aspx |
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07-22-2015, 09:15 PM | #3 |
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I've never read them, but Diana Palmer (romance writer) writes some Science Fiction under Susan Kyle.
http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/k/susan-kyle/ S |
07-22-2015, 09:21 PM | #4 |
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I have some that I've loved, and once I get off work I'll check my book lists. But one of my favorites is Susan Grant's Contact.
She has others, and they're in the SF Romance genre, so you may like those. I'd have to check my notes to see if I made any comments, but what I remember thinking was that Contact had more SF meat that her others. It just depends on how much SF you want in your SF romance. Linnea Sinclair always seemed to have what I thought of as a 50/50 mix....and I'm not sure I've read anyone else who was able to balance the two genres as well. So whatever else I do find, it's going to lean more toward the romance. Will check in later. |
07-23-2015, 12:48 AM | #5 |
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Try Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series. The first few books (Cordelia's Honor and Barraryar have a lot of romance in them and her later Miles Vorkosigan books also have some romance as well.
Anne McCaffrey's Pern series and her Talents universe series that starts with To Ride Pagasus may also fit. |
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07-23-2015, 01:29 AM | #6 |
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Okay, I got home and dug through my book db.
First, a few comments: ONE: You say all romantic SF appears to be "erotica". Some people think if a couple kisses and the scene doesn't automatically "fade to black", it's erotica. For others, it's not erotic unless it include some level of kink (BDSM/menage). These days, it's hard to find a book specifically tagged as a romance, that doesn't have at least a couple of sex scenes, including the usage of a few words previously only heard in locker rooms (or at home, if you grew up like me with brothers ). So I'm going with my definition of "romance" versus "erotica". Romance will have some kissy stuff, and will likely have at least a couple of sex scenes. It may hint at kink, but it's mildly executed. TWO: My book db doesn't track whether the books were written in first person. You can check samples. There's one series I mention that I'll never read because it's "first person present tense". I noted it, but it's been recommended to me by so many people, I listed it anyway (for anyone else following the thread that's interested). THREE: I like Science Fiction Romance as a genre, but tend to read it irregularly. I tend to buy books on recommendation from folks I trust, even if I'm not currently going to read it. So some of these books have been on my TBR (to-be-read) pile for awhile, and I still haven't gotten around to them. My last big read of SFR was when Linnea Sinclair was still publishing (feels like a decade ago). FOUR: There's an entire subgenre of romance called "futuristic". I think of it as Sci-Fi Lite and in some cases, Very Lite. Some of these books/series are probably more "futuristic" than "science fiction". In those cases, the science-fiction part of the book is more backdrop than required for the storyline. If you have questions about a specific author/series/book, ask and I'll see if I can remember. FIVE: Some of these are set on other planets, some are set here on Earth. So here goes (book lists hidden under SPOILER tags to keep this from being far too long a post). SCI-FI with ROMANTIC ELEMENTS (not marketed as romance, just happens to include one) Spoiler:
SCIENCE FICTION ROMANCE (setting is better fleshed out and/or necessary for the plot) Spoiler:
FUTURISTICS (Usually, the world building isn't very deep, or it's hardly necessary for the plot - the stress is on the romance. However, some of these were actually marketed as Futuristics by the publisher - could be there's more to them than the label implies.) Spoiler:
CAN'T REMEMBER ANYTHING ABOUT/HAVEN'T READ/PICKED UP BASED ON A GOOD REVIEW BUT I DON'T REMEMBER THE DETAILS Spoiler:
NO ROMANCE, BUT I REALLY LIKE THIS SERIES Spoiler:
DON'T BOTHER WITH Spoiler:
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07-23-2015, 02:41 AM | #7 |
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I enjoyed MCA Hogarth's Her Instruments trilogy:
http://www.mcahogarth.org/the-her-in...ogy/#earthrise Graham |
07-23-2015, 03:00 AM | #8 |
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My comments:
Spoiler:
And I'm reading now The Phoenix Chronicles, by Anna Hackett, sci-fi with treasure hunters, and they are entertaining (some sex but it's difficult to find books like Lyn Kurland's (romance readers can understand the comment ) |
07-23-2015, 06:21 AM | #9 |
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Restoree by Anne Mccaffrey
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07-23-2015, 06:52 AM | #10 |
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07-23-2015, 08:57 AM | #11 |
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Add Mccaffrey's The Ship Who Sang.
No sex scenes, I guarantee.... |
07-23-2015, 09:46 AM | #12 |
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The Night Land by William Hope Hodgson is a love story.
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07-23-2015, 09:46 PM | #13 |
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Thanks everyone! After reading all the recommendations maybe I should have said I've run out of SF Romance and can't find any more, not I can't find any .
Space Opera is one of my major reading categories so I have it covered (Vorkosigan, Liaden, Mageworlds, Cherryh, Mike Shepherd, even some furry books whose author I can't remember.) This seems to be the go-to for SciFi Romance that isn't called Romance. The branded as SciFi Romance keeps turning into erotica stories wrapped around sex scenes (IMO.) I'm counting the days for the new Vorkosigan Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen. Jean Johnson is more MilSciFi to me with only a drop of romance -- read it, will read the next one even if heroine has delusions of Mary Sueism. Read Scarabaeus, don't remember it being more than average but its been a while. I devoured everything McCaffery back in HS. The Crystal Singer series should go into the Romance list as well now that I think about it. Read all the Jayne Castle Harmony and St. Helens series (and Amanda Quick historicals.) More sorta paranormal urban fantasy before there was a genre. The Rainshadow updates strike me as bigger-badder power than the last book with mediocre writing and plot. I'll look into Susan Kyle and a bunch of others everyone has listed. I think I've checked Grant, Koch, and Showalter but they all turned out to be 1st person so I'll double check. True Blood has me thinking of a popular vampire series -- must be a different author. The Cat Star series is pretty much the perfect example of what I hate about books branded SciFi Romance: 1st person and silly sex scenes for no reason other than to have sex scenes. Guilty pleasure is Eve Langalais' 'Abducted' series and some Kaitlyn O'Connor -- both are branded as erotica and follow the Mars Needs Women trope but these two strike my funny bone. I just skip over the sex scenes when they get tiresome. @FizzyWater I gave Jess Granger Beyond The Rain 4 stars (that means its a re-read), Beyond the Shadows only 2. I'll pitch Kate Elliot's Jaran to SciFi love story fans. Space faring girl meets Genghis Khan mash-up with a good aliens vs. humans plot to wrap around it. |
07-24-2015, 01:47 PM | #14 |
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07-24-2015, 01:51 PM | #15 |
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I haven't read them but I have heard the Liaden books by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller have romantic elements in the story even though they're not outright romances. There's a thread about them a little below this one.
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