Science fiction by women authors

[bobbo19]

Hey guys, i was just wondering how many of you read sci-fi that a woman has written. For some reason i always gravitate to male authors but i have no reason why!

 

[Rodders]

It's fair to say that the genre is male dominated.

I've read a few of Anne McCaffery (specifiically the Damia and Sassinak series), which i enjoyed very much. Although it has to be said that perhaps the Damia series did go on for a couple of books too long. She's really well known for hr Dragons of Pern books, but i've never read them.

I also read one of the Miles Vorkosigan books by Lois McMaster Bujold. (I can't remember which one, but i thoroughly enjoyed it and do hope to go back and read the rest.)

I just have to get my hands on some Ursula Le Guin.

I read a book last year called Principles of Angels by a lady by the name of Jaine Fenn. It was her first book and very good too. She's had another one released since, but i haven't tracked it down.

Lastly, in i've read and enjoyed many of Diane Carey's Star Trek tie in books.

 

[Grimward]

Le Guin is worth the read, Rodds. I read the Earthsea books (they were a trilogy at the time) as a "Young Adult" (the category hadn't received that name yet), and enjoyed them. Found The Left Hand of Darkness interesting some years later, and have several more in the infamous "To Be Read" pile.

Bobbo, maybe you just haven't found the stories by a female author that appeal to you yet? Beyond the Anne McCaffreys and Ursula Le Guins and those listed by Rodders are many many to be found. Sherri Tepper, James Triptree, Jr (yes, this was a woman, may she rest in peace), Margaret Weis, Melissa Scott, Kristen Britain, C.J. Cherryh, Robin Hobb, and Judith Tarr are a few I've read and liked (some more than others). Julie Bertagna, Madeline Howard, and Mary Hoffman walk these very Chrons regularly (possibly others I haven't had the pleasure to meet yet). Countless others, to be sure, and last but not least my personal favorite, Janny Wurts.

Just my personal opinion, but if I like how the story's crafted and the pictures it paints, that's where I find myself gravitating.

 

[j d worthington]

Um, it might be safer to say it was male-dominated. That seems to be changing over the past few decades (not a bad thing, in my opinion).

And it depends on whether you're interested in strictly recent sf, or sf overall. In the latter case, there are quite a few women writers worth checking out, from the aforementioned Le Guin, etc., to:

Andre Norton (Alice Mary Norton)
Pamela A. Zoline
Hilary Bailey
Josephine Saxton
Joanna Russ
Kate Wilhelm
C. L. Moore
Leigh Brackett
Sonya Dorman
Marion Zimmer Bradley
Octavia Estelle Butler
Judith Merrill
Doris Piserchia
Joan Slonczewski
Storm Constantine
Joan D. Vinge
Suzy McKee Charnas
Vonda McIntyre
Miriam Allen de Ford
Carol Emshwiller
Francis Stevens (Gertrude Bennett)
Harriet Prescott Spofford....

You may want to take a look at the following:

WOMEN AND SCIENCE FICTION - New York Times

Women in speculative fiction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Feminist science fiction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[HareBrain]

Liz Williams is another.

But many of the writers mentioned already are fantasy authors rather than science fiction (which is what I assumed the OP was talking about). There does seem to be much more of a gender imbalance in SF than in fantasy.

 

[kurzon]

Add Pat Cadigan and Melissa Scott to female SF authors.

 

[bobbo19]

yeah thanks for all the names you guys have posted!

Harebrain was right though, not really interested in the fantasy stuff, more into solid hard sf

 

[Grimward]

Add Pat Cadigan and Melissa Scott to female SF authors.

Another Melissa Scott fan....

Welcome, btw, Kurzon. If so inclined, stop by the Introductions thread and tell us a little about yourself....

And it depends on whether you're interested in strictly recent sf, or sf overall. In the latter case, there are quite a few women writers worth checking out, from the aforementioned Le Guin, etc.

Show-Off!

Kidding of course. As always, I bow to your vast expanse of literary travels, JD.

 

[J-WO]

Something of a coincidence--today I bought a late 70's copy of More Women Of Wonder, an anthology published by Penguin SF. Many of the usual suspects Mr Worthington listed. Its got a large introductory essay by Pamela Sargent.

I presume 'Women of Wonder' must exist as well. Either is probably a good intro if you can find them on Amazon or somewhere.

 

[j d worthington]

It does, but it doesn't show up very often.

As for the "writing fantasy" comment... most of those women mentioned actually write sf as well as fantasy. C. J. Cherry, for instance, has written numerous sf novels. Joanna Russ, Ursula K. Le Guin, Sonya Dorman, Josephine Saxton, James Tiptree, Jr., Andre Norton (who wrote a bazillion YA sf novels)... in fact, most of those in my list are known much more for their sf than their fantasy. Some of it is "hard" sf and some is "soft", but sf nonetheless. And then there are those mentioned in the links I provided, as well....

And Grim: Danke!

 

[bobbo19]

your not german are you j.d?

 

[j d worthington]

your not german are you j.d?

LOL. Nope. Born and raised in (gawdelpus!) Pasadena, Texas, and live now in Austin; ancestry a blending of Scotch-Irish, English, and (from what I understand) a little Crow....

 

[gully_foyle]

I would add that Ursula K LeGuin has written some awesome stuff. C.J. Cherryh does some pretty good space opera. I've also read some great stuff by P.D. James (Children of Men), Kate Wilhelm (Where Late the Sweetbirds Sang) and others.

I do agree that S.F. is male dominated, to its disadvantage.

 

[J-WO]

ancestry a blending of Scotch-Irish, English, and (from what I understand) a little Crow....

The wings were a giveaway. I had my suspicions as soon as I saw your avatar.


It would be interesting to do a blind test- get some readers to look at, say, ten SF/F short stories and ask them the author's gender for each.

My bet is no one would get it 100% right.

 

[j d worthington]

The wings were a giveaway. I had my suspicions as soon as I saw your avatar.


It would be interesting to do a blind test- get some readers to look at, say, ten SF/F short stories and ask them the author's gender for each.

My bet is no one would get it 100% right.

You are probably correct... especially given that an awful lot of women have written as men over the years, and no one (or at least very, very few) were able to tell the difference. Then again, there was the (un)natural bias entering the picture, as well....

As I have mentioned before, one of the best (and most enjoyable) books I've read on the subject is Joanna Russ's How to Suppress Women's Writing, which I first ran across many, many years ago....

 

[jennyjj]

thanks i stumbled onto here not really knowing what i was after n you've given me a great place to start! have you read any marion bradley? i thought mists of avalon was amazingly gripping and despite focusing on 'emotional' issues theres plenty of action and excitment. I might get it for this but i think female fantasy (not really read much SF except Asimov, Hobbs etc) writers have a knack of really getting you to empathise with the characters, to be where they are. When i was reading avalon i felt i really was there and could get into that world x

 

[murphy]

thanks i stumbled onto here not really knowing what i was after n you've given me a great place to start! have you read any marion bradley? i thought mists of avalon was amazingly gripping and despite focusing on 'emotional' issues theres plenty of action and excitment. I might get it for this but i think female fantasy (not really read much SF except Asimov, Hobbs etc) writers have a knack of really getting you to empathise with the characters, to be where they are. When i was reading avalon i felt i really was there and could get into that world x

MZB also wrote quite a few books about the planet Darkover that could be classed as SF.

 

[Ian Whates]

A few other women SF authors that I haven't seen mentioned here as yet:

Gwyneth Jones
Justina Robson
Trisha Sullivan
Leigh Kennedy (aka Mrs Christopher Priest)
Liz Williams
Lauren Beukes
Una McCormack
Lisa Tuttle...

All of these are well worth checking out. There are many, many excellent women SF (and fantasy) authors out there.

I was delighted to commission an all-new collection (okay, all new bar one reprint) of stories from women authors a few years ago:
150 Myth-Understandings NewCon Press : NewCon Press
but know full well that this barely scratches the surface.

 

[Somni]

I second the Miles Vorkosigan books by Lois McMaster Bujold, really enjoyed these. I haven't noticed Elisabeth Moon mentioned. I liked her Vatta series.

 

[clovis-man]

Some of my favorite authors, irrespective of gender:

Joan Vinge
Kage Baker
Nancy Kress
Kathleen Ann Goonan

And of course the obvious ones, e.g., Cherryh, Le Guin, Norton, etc.