Best Female Characters

dwndrgn

dwndrgn

Fierce Vowelless One
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Which female character in sci/fi and fantasy would you consider the most realistic and well-rounded you've encountered so far in the genre? Please name the character, the book and its author in case we aren't familiar with just the name.
 
Ah yes, I recall really enjoying that series. Feist and Wurts do a good job of making their everyday life seem so realistic you could be living next door.

This is a character that is definitely NOT one-dimensional. Milamber, can you expound for me? I haven't read it in ages, I do remember the twisty politics, the 'forbidden love' of a slave and a great deal of tradition that has a lot of Oriental flavor. Another series I'm going to have to revisit! This is the series that led me to the Riftwar saga as well as the Serpentwar series, both very good although the last couple written about the same world of Midkemia are a little sketchy as I believe they were written to either accommodate or as a companion to a computer game. I could be wrong, but I think I remember reading about something like that in the forward or on the back cover...
 
I'm going to add Rhapsody from the book of the same name. Innocently pulled into world-affecting events - she handles it all with aplomb, intelligence, and a general good nature and will to do 'what's right'. Because of the nature of her original journey (I won't go farther in for those who haven't yet read this) she gains a unique perspective at the same time losing all that she's known. I probably would have gone stark raving mad in the same situation...but the author doesn't present her as a cardboard cutout of 'generic female do-gooder', we see her vindictive side, her past sorrows, her newly acquired wisdom...anyway a good, well-rounded character and strong and female to boot.
 
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Hey, my friend. I told you that I was going to drop by and here I am. I would have to say Dragonlance: The Chronicles Series :) Laurana the elven princess grows up from a spoiled brat to a young woman who fully understands what selfless love is all about and is willing to forgive Tanis and start fixing a relationship that was shattered and make it work. I'm not sure if you know the character but she is one of the Best Female Characters in my view :)
 
Khan, no I don't know that character. I haven't read much Dragonlance as the books are too short (ain't I picky?) but I did read one or two a long time ago and I don't remember much about them at all. Let me think...as I recall there are several authors and they are specifically geared towards role-playing games. Other than that, I can't remember anything about them. I've read a few books that were either based on a game or were the written form of the game and I've found them to be monochromatic*. Specifically the people are more developed than their backgrounds (understandably) and they seem to be going through the paces in the stories. This is just an impression though, from someone who hasn't read a lot of them. Tell me which one (somewhere in the beginning would be best
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) that I should read to give me a better impression. Hopefully the local library will have it in stock and I'll be able to let you know how I felt about it after this Saturday. Gimme a good one!
 
Female Characters

Two authors come to mind...Sara Douglass and her Starman series and Greg Keyes Briar King(awesome book) Interesting female characters in both series.
 
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Hey dwndrgn, how is it going? I think that the Legend of Huma is the first one that you would really enjoy reading. I read the novel and I really liked it alot and that is why I am adapting it into comic book format. I'll post some of the pictures in the Dragonlance Chronicles post that I see I,Brian have on the boards, please go and check out the character sketches. I'm trying to get feedback from everyone just as I did for George R.R. Martin's the Hedge Knight when we first started it. So if you start reading Legend of Huma right away I would appreciate your inputs.
 
dragonlance

dwndrgn said:
Which female character in sci/fi and fantasy would you consider the most realistic and well-rounded you've encountered so far in the genre? Please name the character, the book and its author in case we aren't familiar with just the name.
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From Weis and Hickman's War of souls within the dragonlance series, The main evil character is Mina. She is the strongest warrior within the book and derives her power from the dark goddess (its been a while so I forgot her name). I absolutly fell in love with Mina, and her power.
 
dwndrgn said:
Ok, I really need to check out some of these Dragonlance books. Everyone seems to think they are worth the time. Anyone have a good idea where I should start?
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You may want to start at the begging to get a sense of the history of the series and a time placement. The first book Is The Legend Of Huma within the heroes series. It is an epic novel that is packed, looking back I don't know how the author filled that 300 some odd page book with so much detail and suspense.
 
Going a bit off topic, Aeolus14Umbra, but I noticed you mentioned Babel-17 by Samuel Delany. I've only recently read some Delany - a collection of short stories called Driftglass, and was quite impressed. If you've read more of his work, I would be immensely grateful if you could perhaps post your views and reccos, in a seperate thread. Thanks in advance! :)
 
C.J. Cherryh typically has very good female characters, the best of them is perhaps Morgaine. Joan D. Vinge's "Snow Queen" features complex situations and a very well-done female, Arienrohd, as the main character. Jo Clayton mostly writes females, almost all of whom are strong and well written. My favorite of hers is Skeen.

When I look for good female characters, I look for complexities. It's not enough for the woman to be strong, she has to overcome difficulties, even if those difficulties are personal flaws.
 
Actually, I can't stand Morgaine. She's too cold to be realistic. Although this thread is probably dead, I thought I'd take the liberty of reviving it.

I hate a lot of the heroines in fantasy books; they often seem to fall into these catgeories:
1. The Wimp. She's irritating and stupid.
2. The Bitch. She's too nasty and moody and irrational to be likeable at all.
3. The ice queen. Too cold and inhuman to be likeable. Cf. Morgaine.
4. The brisk one. She acts like an old woman half the time and annoys the hell out of me.
 
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