Read female authors in sci-fi and fantasy! Not only are they amazing, you're unlikely to toss your cookies over an article that comes out about their horrific sexual abuse.
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I’ve been obsessed with Octavia Butler recently. My favorite space opera is a trio of novella written by Eluki Bes Shahar called Butterfly and Hellflower. Just an absolute blast of a book, she wrote a few other things too, I think they are all out of print now, sadly.
Absolutely! I've been reading about a 3/1 ratIo of female/male F&SF authors since the 80s - and still the majority of authors who've been major disappointments is overwhelmingly male 😕
It's pretty rare these days that I will actually read anything from a cis-het male author unless I've had some glowing recs from someone I trust. Sad, but I've been burnt too many times.
Anyone coming to this post looking for suggestions should check out Tamsyn Muir, and Alix Harrow will change your life, and T. Kingfisher takes kids seriously in a way that is really moving. Her adult novels are amazing but Summer in Orcus is a book my kid and I have both read multiple times.
My favorite genre! May I recommend the series by L M Lacee called Daughter of Ethos. It starts with escaping from earth but then goes to all sorts of wonderful places! Available on Amazon and kindle.
I'd add Elizabeth Moon to your list. The Serrano universe if you prefer SF, or the utterly sublime Deed of Paksenarrion for fantasy (although just stick with that trilogy, the later sequels are weaker).
And going back a way, Louise Cooper. Chaos should have more good guys.
These are a blend of non-men writers rather than strictly women: NK Jemisin, Nghi Vo, Neon Yang, Rebecca Roanhorse, RF Kuang, Martha Wells, Natasha Bowen, Nnedi Okorafor, CL Polk, Xiran Jay Zhao, Hafsah Faizal. Not exhaustive, just ones I've read recently and can recommend!
I can add Ursula Le Guin and at least older Mickey Zucker Reichert. Both are a bit dated, but Ursula Le Guin was a trailblazer and Reichert was asked by the Asimov estate to do 3 I, Robot prequels because they like her so much.
I haven't read her newer stuff yet but it's on the ever expanding list.
I started with A Wizard of Earthsea more than 35 years ago. It was the first fantasy novel I ever read. Last year I read/listened to almost 200 fantasy/sci-fi novels so it seems to have gotten me hooked.
The Books of Earthsea is the whole collection. If the first one hooks you then it's worth it.
I'm hopeful with those two, but Marion Zimmer Bradley died in 1999, and the first allegations of her involvement in child sexual abuse came out in 2000, with her daughter breaking the story open in 2014.
Both female and dead authors may not turn out to be who you thought they were.
Don’t forget Leigh Eddings, she and her husband/coauthor David were convicted of routinely abusing their adopted children back in 1969. Can you imagine how bad it must’ve been to be considered criminal child abuse in 1960s America?
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And did she wrote anything "fantasy" aside from Darkover series (which always felt to me like secondary product compared to Norton)?
And going back a way, Louise Cooper. Chaos should have more good guys.
I haven't read her newer stuff yet but it's on the ever expanding list.
The Books of Earthsea is the whole collection. If the first one hooks you then it's worth it.
I think I’m fairly safe loving Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett
Both female and dead authors may not turn out to be who you thought they were.