Majkia's TBR - The Femmes in SF/F

After perusing my TBR, I noticed how many women authors of Sci Fi and Fantasy I had picked up over the years. I started out expecting to have the primary 12 only being women authors, but then I had so many others...

I stopped reading Sci Fi and Fantasy somewhere in the 90s and didn't pick it back up until a few years ago, so I'm seeing this as an attempt to catch up!

I've done away with Primary and Alternate, as I see this as an entire list. And they are listed alphabetically by title, as I see all of them as equally important to read.

We'll see how I do!




Majkia's 2017 TBR List:

✔ 1. Archangel- Sharon Shinn - DNF
✔ 2. Black Sun Rising - C.S. Friedman DNF July
3. Daughter of the Forest - Juliet Marillier
✔ 4. Dawn - Octavia Butler Completed July
✔ 5. Deryni Rising - Katherine Kurtz Completed April
6. Downbelow Station - C.J. Cherryh
✔ 7. The Element of Fire - Martha Wells Completed March
8. Fool's Assassin - Robin Hobb
✔ 9. Inda - Sherwood Smith Completed April
✔ 10. Jaran - Kate Elliot - DNF
✔ 11. Magic Bites - Ilona Andrews Completed October
✔ 12. The Magician's Guild - Trudi Canavan Completed June
13. Range of Ghosts - Elizabeth Bear
✔ 14. Reap the Wild Wind - Julie E. Czerneda Completed May
✔ 15. Rosemary and Rue - Seanan McGuire Completed August
16. Singer from the Sea - Sherri S. Tepper
✔ 17. Sorcerer's Legacy - Janny Wurts Completed February
✔ 18. A Sorcerer's Treason - Sarah Zettel Completed July
✔ 19. The Steerswoman - Rosemary Kirstein - COMPLETED in January
✔ 20. Trading in Danger - Elizabeth Moon COMPLETED in January
✔ 21. Transformation - Carol Berg Completed May
✔ 22 Urban Shaman - C.E. Murphy Completed September
✔ 23. Waking the Moon - Elizabeth Hand COMPLETED in February
✔ 24. War for the Oaks - Emma Bull Completed August

Great list! I look forward to hearing you thoughts on the ones you finish. I've read a two of those and there are several that I'm curious about.

As I mentioned over in the 2017 challenge, I'm not familiar with anybody on your list besides Octavia Butler. Maybe I'll find some new authors to try!

Art, someone got the jump on you this year! (he's usually first)

I'm doubly impressed with this list: one, because there's lots of starts to series here which I always find troubling as I'm trying to compose/complete a list. If the first book is really good, I'll want to plunge ahead into the sequels, but if I commit to them inside the list and the first one's bad, then what? There's also the third kind of example: I thought Black Sun Rising was great, it's the sequels I didn't like.

Second, because nothing but SFF is great when you're enthused, but see if you've had enough come April, May, LOL. You're probably a faster reader than me though and can do lots of other stuff on the side.

Sherri Tepper passed away just a couple of weeks ago. Janny Wurts is a frequently contributing LT member. I've heard good things about Range of Ghosts, it was a free giveaway title a couple of weeks ago at Tor.com (and I missed out, darnit).

Yeah congrats on being #1 for 2017! Haha. I can't post my list until I see what I've finished from this year, not sure if I'll manage all 3 left. Plus I'm still only like half done with the rest of it. :P

I've visited all your touchstones, think it's the wrong one for Archangel in your list. So many series openers!! War for the Oaks sounds especially interesting.

Tor.com did a re-read of the Deryni series this year, something to compare notes with when you get to that one: http://www.tor.com/2016/01/11/rereading-katherine-kurtz-deryni-rising-chapters-1...

Hi Monkey. I'm not finished with this years list too but I'm not obsessing about reading all of them.

Cecrow, thanks for catching that wrong touchstone. Fixed it. I thought I'd caught them all.

I remember seeing that re-read mentioned on Tor. I'll have to revisit it when I get to the book. Heaven knows I followed their Malazan reads religiously.

If I don't finish then they get bumped along to next year's list. :) But I still haven't finished it anyhow, so no matter yet! Lol.

Great list! I look forward to seeing what you think of all of them.

Wow! Looks as if your reading life next year will be an out of this world experience! I rarely delve into SF and when I have it's been hit or miss. Enjoy!

>1 majkia:

Alas, I've read very little by the authors you've selected this year - just short stories by Elizabeth Bear and Seanan McGuire. I've heard great things about Octavia Butler, and am very interested in sampling Elizabeth Moon's work as well.

Worlds Without End has some great resources for discovering speculative fiction books by women if you're interested in continuing in this vein:

https://worldswithoutend.com/lists_sf_mistressworks.asp
https://worldswithoutend.com/lists_200SFBooksByWomen.asp
https://worldswithoutend.com/lists_women_winners.asp

>4 Cecrow:

Art, someone got the jump on you this year! (he's usually first)

Ha! Yep, I've been slacking. :)

>6 Cecrow:
>7 majkia:

Those Tor.com rereads are pretty great. Man, they cover everything.

Interesting list. I haven't heard of some of them, but they all definitely look interesting. Good luck!

Interesting list!

I've read the series by Friedman and Moon that are on your list, and both of them were pretty great. The Friedman one I've reread a few years ago (2013?); I might do the same for the Moon's Vatta series a few years from now.

Bear I've read a few short stories by, and I found them enjoyable but the plot a bit rushed. Perhaps the novels are better in that respect.

Hobb I'm less enamored with: I find her books drag and introduce plot twists just to keep the various plot threads from converging just yet.

The Kirstein I'll probably read this year (though likely not as part of this challenge). If you're interested in discussing it, I'm game!

I'm ready to start Trading in Danger my first TBR for the year. Looking forward to it.

Trading in Danger - Elizabeth Moon 3.5 stars

TBR, ROOT, Pick&Mix, and Space Opera Challenges.

I really enjoyed this book, but it did have a few flaws, mainly way too much emphasis on the whole commerce side of space hauling (at least I think so).

But I really enjoyed the characters and the world building. Ky, the main character, is a young woman, just tossed out of the Space Academy for embarrassing the big wigs, so she's looking for redemption of a sort. Her father, who owns a space shipping company, gives her a worn out ship to use to deliver merchandise to a few systems, then the ship is to be sold for scrap. Except Ky sees an opportunity and grabs it, and then finds herself in the middle of a shooting war.

I especially liked the way Ky thought. The military outlook she had due to her training at the Academy felt very real to me (I spent 20 years in the military myself), and I liked how different her view of the situation tended to be from the rest of her crew, all civilians used to normal situations without bullets flying, and lots of decisions based on selecting the least bad options available.

I look forward to reading more of this series.

Nice review! And congrats on finishing your first book.

One down!

I read the entire Vatta's War series in 2013, and have fond memories of doing so: capable, above-average military sf. Re: the military outlook feeling genuine: Moon herself served in the military, IIRC. (Wikipedia claims it was the marines.)

In case you're tempted to read the rest: as the series progresses, the focus shifts from a limited, single-ship perspective to universe-wide issues and machinations.

>17 Petroglyph: Oh, I wondered! I can well believe she was in the military. And yeah, I think I'll read more of this series. Definitely better than avearage milSF . And a wider focus will definitely be welcome.

Dawn was on my list last year, and I didn't get to it. I did read Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents. And congrats on finishing your first book!

>15 majkia:

Congratulations on finishing! :D

2.. The Steerswoman - Rosemary Kirstein 4.5 stars

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What an interesting take on sword and sorcery! Firstly, the main characters are two women and a youngish boy. And it definitely passes the Bechdel test! (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechdel_test)

The one woman is a Steerswoman, a keeper of the world's knowledge and an adventurer who searches for more information around the world. The other woman is a barbarian from the Outskirts. They meet and help each other then form a bond of friendship that becomes deep and trusting. The boy they meet along the way, he's determined to become a wizard because he saw his sister taken by a powerful wizard, so he wants to become powerful and stop that sort of thing from ever happening again.

Rowan, the Steerswoman, has found an odd crystal whose properties she wants to investigate. Bel, traveling in the same direction, decides she hasn't anything better to do so comes along for the adventure. It becomes clear early on that someone is attempting to kill Rowan for reasons unknown, and shocking, as the Steerswomen are generally revered as they share the knowledge they collect happily and generously with all who ask.

The characters are well drawn, interesting,and ::gasp:: don't do anything stupid!

The plot is tightly woven and has enough twists and turns to keep you guessing about a lot of things.

The world is well drawn and is quite surprising in that the book is really about science, even if it is sword and sorcery also.

Definitely looking forward to reading a lot more of this series.

Hmm, sounds promising and on the smarter side of the genre. I like these kinds of takes on fantasy.

>22 Cecrow: Yes, a nice change of pace with no gratuitous violence (although there is some) and intelligent characters.

Sorcerer's Legacy - Janny Wurts - 3.5 stars -

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An early work by Janny Wurts. Lots of action, likeable characters, and an interesting world. My only complaint is the use of stupid choices by the characters to develop the plot. Yes, they were justified by the story but they were still not very bright.

But you can see her ability to weave a story already, so it was great to see her growth since then.

>24 majkia: I haven't read anything by her yet. Curse of the Mistwraith a good starting point?

>25 Cecrow: Yes, that's a great place to start. I love that series.

I'm about halfway through Waking the Moon. What a strange book! It's a slow read for me, possibly because I'm constantly stopping reading it to ponder just what the hell has happened.

The world is very complex and the writing is dense. The characters... on my.

Waking the Moon - Elizabeth Hand - 4 stars

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Wow. What an intense book. Creative, imaginative, populated with people well drawn and complex, and a setting that, for me, dredged up a lot of personal history.

Secret societies, goddess cults, complex personal relationships, all conspire to wake the moon.

The Element of Fire - Martha Wells, ROOT from 2012, AlphaKIT, TBR Challenge, CATWoman

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Martha Wells debut novel, the first in the Ile-Rein series.

I found it a bit slow to get started but once I felt comfortable in the world and the pace picked up I enjoyed it tremendously.

Lots of court intrigue, a young King who has no idea what he's doing, his mother the real brains behind the throne. When the country is attaced by Fairy, the fact that the king's half sister, a half fey herself, shows up and muddles the picture of just who is up to what, and who to trust.

>29 majkia:

I read one of her short stories ("The Dark Gates") in a book I won through Early Reviewers (The Gods of H.P. Lovecraft) last year. Didn't really care for it, but I'm willing to give her the benefit of the doubt and suppose that it was perhaps not her best work.

Jaran - Kate Elliot



Did Not Finish. Read 343 pages, and got tired of endless tramping across prairies and mountains with nothing much happening. Reminded me of Hammerfall which was also found too long and boring.

The writing is quite good, and the world building is good. The characters are well drawn altho the female lead is an idiot in many ways.

I've read other books by Kate Elliot and enjoyed them more.

I'm counting the pages and counting the book as a ROOT, but nothing else.

I've read very little by Kate Elliot, but have heard good things about her generally. Guess you just happened across a lemon.

>32 Cecrow: Yeah, I think so too.

26. Deryni Rising - Katherine Kurtz - TBR Challenge, ROOT, AlphaKIT

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I know I read Kurtz back in the day when I was in high school and college, but this particular book didn't ring any bells.

It is sort of Elves meet Man and interbreed for good and ill. Or maybe the Deryni are supposed to be aliens. I couldn't decide. I suppose it doesn't really matter.

At any rate, the Deryni are reviled for their heretical magical ways, but at the same time they come in handy to support the ruling class.

I found the whole emphasis on the church a bit off-putting.

>34 majkia:, I sampled this series long after its heyday, and I wasn't swept up by it. Think I read this and the next book, then quit there.

31. Inda - Sherwood Smith TBR Challenge, AlphaKIT

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The first half of the book was a chore for me, not particulary enamoured of young boys and their bonding via violence and misery, but once the second half began the book became far far better, and had me eagerly reading until the end.

Interesting characters well drawn, a complex and interesting created world. My only other complaint is the ending is ... not. Definitely cliffhanger and a high one at that. Still, I suspect I'll read on fairly soon.

One of the better ones then, that's good.

Transformation - Carol Berg - TBR Challenge, ROOT, AlphaKIT

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Sayonne, a slave sold to the son of the Emperor, finds himself dealing not only with a dunderheaded owner, but with demons who've infested some powerful race from up north. And he, stripped of his magic when captured, is now not equipped to do anything about them.

I really enjoyed the story, liked the world-building and found the characters well drawn and sympathetic. Sayonne's way of dealing with his situation is heartbreaking at times, as is any creature forced into slavery by anyone, unfeeling or not.

I've read one other book by Carol Berg and enjoyed that one as well, but found this one far more complex.

There's a case where the cover turned me right off and I never gave it a second look.

>39 Cecrow: Yes, a horrible cover for a really good book. It's a shame.

lol - the touchstone goes to "The Very Hungry Caterpillar". Should be this one: Transformation Berg

>41 Cecrow: Touchstone fixed. I hope. :)

>42 majkia:

Yeah, it links to the correct book now. :)

Reap the Wild Wind - Julie Czerneda - ROOT, TBR Challenge, SFFKIT

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A quite different look at the locals meet the aliens. A bit slow in the beginning but gets interesting about a third of the way in.

Also, there are a lot of examples of locals with no real idea of what they are seeing and what it all means, which was well done.

Looks interesting. :)

The Magician's Guild - Trudi Canavan - The Black Magician Trilogy 1 - TBR Challenge, ROOT, SFFKIT

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Rating: Meh

I didn't love it, I didn't hate it. It had some interesting elements of magic in it, an interesting world, and characters you could care about, but somehow it just didn't gel together for me. Perhaps a bit too standard.

Almost to the halfway point!

Black Sun Rising C.S. Friedman Did Not Finish ROOT

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I got about 2/3rds of the way through this book, before I decided I really didn't care enough about the righteous prig of a main character to continue on. Maybe he'd eventually grow out of it, but I got tired of waiting for that.

>48 majkia:, I made it through that first book and thought it was actually not too bad. The second is dreadful, the third not much better. So yes, if you didn't like the first then run away fast, lol.

>49 Cecrow: Appreciate the affirmation! I thought the story was pretty good and liked the world building. A shame I hated the main character so badly.

49. A Sorceror's Treason - Sarah Zettel ROOT, AlphaKIT, TBR Challenge

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Rating: Interesting in parts, but it never really captured my interest enough to read it faster.

The setting is imaginative, as is the magical system. The main character is certainly complex and worthy of caring about, yet this book took me nearly a month to read because I never really felt compelled to get back to it until the last quarter of the book when the threads finally began to come together.

Dawn - Octavia Butler - ROOT, AlphaKIT, TBR Challenge

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Rating: Interesting, well written

I'd have liked this take on alien abduction far better if the ending had actually been an ending, instead it seemed abrupt and unsatisfying, rather just a chapter ending to the next book.

The aliens were sufficiently different and hard to understand so there was definitely that strength. The protagonist was torn between willingness to cooperate and wish to be free of the manipulation. And what was truth and what was not was a decided addition to the whole plot line.

Definitely want to sample this author, maybe not that one then?

I've only read one of her books so don't know which ones are the best but I highly recommend Kindred.

War for the Oaks - Emma Bull - TBR Challenge, ROOT

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Rating: Music as Magic was great.

I had a few issues with this book, mainly I lost interest when we were delving into roadie lingo. But it certainly had its fair share of surprises and unexpected twists and turns.

I'm not big on urban fantasy but I do want to try that one.

>56 Cecrow: It is not at all like most modern urban fantasy. I hope you enjoy it!

Rosemary and Rue - Seanan McGuire ROOT, TBR Challenge

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Rating: Lots more action than character building.

Well, she didn't leave the reader much time to ponder what the heck her character was up to as said character staggered from one disaster to the next right up to the end. I tend to like protags who actually use her brain rather than just let events control her. So.. It was okay, but not at all sure I want to continue with the series.

Was a time I might have been at least entertained while it lasted with a book like that, but I can't tolerate them now.

Urban Shaman - C.E. Murphy - The Walker Papers Book 1 TBR, ROOT

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Gosh I like that cover.

Joanne should have guessed something was weird when she watched a bunch of hounds and a man on a horse chasing down a woman through the streets of Seattle. That was weird enough, but the fact she was watching this from an airplane on approach to land made it even weirder.

But Joanne had been on a fight for hours, her contacts were glued to her eyes and she was so exhausted she barely registered where she was.

Thus begins The Walker Papers, Urban Shaman the first book of the series.

I liked the character, enjoyed her growing awareness of powers and her problematic and skeptical attitude toward the whole thing. But since suddenly that rider was after her, too, well, she didn't have much choice about buying in to what was happening to her.

One of the better urban fantasies I've read for quite awhile.

Archangel - Sharon Shinn

Rating: Ugh. DNF

When a book starts out with God telling someone there is only one woman he may marry, and to find her, I know I'm in trouble. I despise the whole 'there is only one woman in the world for you, your soul mate' meme.

Magic Bites - Ilona Andrews - TBR, ROOT, AlphaKIT

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Rating: Complex world-building, who-dunnit plot, and interesting characters.

It took me awhile to grow to appreciate this book. At first I kept negatively comparing it to Urban Shaman but finally decided it was different enough that the comparison wasn't entirely valid.

The world-building is quite complex and imaginative. The plot was pretty convoluted and had me guessing wrong several times. And altho it was a bit more violent and bloody than I generally like, the story grew on me, especially as I met some characters I really came to care about.

I'll probably read at least the next in the series, and decide if I'm going to read the rest after that.