fandomsecrets | [ SECRET POST #2967 ]

[ SECRET POST #2967 ]

⌈ Secret Post #2967 ⌋

Warning: Some secrets are NOT worksafe and may contain SPOILERS.

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Notes:

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Secrets Not Posted: [ 0 - broken links ], [ 1 - not!secrets (also too big anyway) ], [ 0 - not!fandom ], [ 0 - too big ], [ 0 - repeat ].
Current Secret Submissions Post: here.
Suggestions, comments, and concerns should go here.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I'm looking for some new fantasy to read on my vacation. I'd love stuff that was either female-centric or at least had interesting, complex female characters.

Things I really like are complex characters and interesting worldbuilding that makes sense in context and the author has clearly thought through all the way.

Edited 2015-02-18 00:53 (UTC)

What kind of media, though? Could I rec a comic?

Ooops. Well, I was looking for books to read, but a comic could be cool too.

Oh, I don't know why I posted anon there, but first thing that came to mind was the comic Lazarus, written by Greg Rucka, published by Image. It's a dystopian future with amazingly detailed world-building and a great female character, the Lazarus in the title, who's interesting and badass and drawn as an actual woman.

I will have to check it out. I'm not big on comics most of the time, but that sounds really interesting.

No idea what you've read but...

- Abhorsen Trilogy by Garth Nix
- All of Tamora Pierce's Stuff (personal favorite has always been her Protector of the Small series)
- Started reading the Kushiel series recently and I've really liked those
- Terry Pratchett's witches books (Wyrd Sisters, Witches Abroad, Lords and Ladies, Maskerade, Carpe Jugulum), and then also his Tiffany Aching books which sort of fall under the "witches" books, and then also Monstrous Regiment

And then also a pseudo-rec, my sister has been harping at me to read the Mistborn series by Brandon Sanderson. Apparently they are amazing and I am missing out.

Read all of those actually, except Mistborn. Will have to check that out.

Haha, yeah... I really should read some newer stuff. I tend to watch + craft vs read these days.

I'd almost recommend the Black Magician Trilogy by Trudi Canavan? It's a bit older too, though less know so you might not have read it. It's one major flaw is that the author originally only wanted to write it as a two book series, but her publishers forced her to pad it out into three... and it shows.

I tend to skip the first book because it's mostly world-building + set up. And then I read the second and the third books while skipping every chapter that's from the PoV of this side character. She gave him this sailing side plot that ends up being kind of useless overall; it's literally just padding. Which is a shame because the rest of the material is so good.

Martha Wells -- Wheel of the Infinite, Death of the Necromancer, Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy, and the Raksura books. (The Raksura books have a male POV character, but female characters are very important.) Her worldbuilding is awesome.

Hmmm. I dunno what you've read but, book-wise... maybe try:

Fires of the Faithful / Turning the Storm by Naomi Kritzer
The Raine Benares series by Lisa Shearin
The Merchant Princes series by Charles Stross

The Enchanted Forest Chronicles are great if you haven't! Also pretty much anything by Diana Wynne Jones, those are lovely books.

Can I rec my friend Shira Glassman's stuff? Her Mangoverse series started with one book that she used to summarize as "about a gay woman, a straight woman, and a dragon". It's pretty reminiscent of fairy tales but the worldbuilding is still strong because she wanted to create a Jewish fantasy world based on her home in Florida, something that she had never seen in the genre before. The main couple in this series is the only ship I have that I would call a OTP. I love them so much, and I love the other main couple too (one is f/f and the other is m/f). But the friendship between the two female characters I mentioned before is the biggest relationship, at least in the first book, which is called The Second Mango.

Patricia McKillip, Patricia McKillip, Patricia McKillip. Really great writer, and most of her recent stuff, which is the stuff that I like the most, has pretty good female characters. Really sort of old-school fantasy.

Also, Lois McMaster Bujold's Chalion books are really good. And while the first novel in the series, Curse of Chalion, isn't particularly female-centric - I mean, it's not lacking in female characters, but the main character is a man - the second book, Paladin of Souls, has a great female lead, and is also a really fantastic book. Unfortunately, while it's not a direct sequel, there is a certain amount of background knowledge about characters and dynasties and events of the first book that isn't quite as well explained as it could be.

Also also Jo Walton

Seconding Lois McMaster Bujold!

Definitely seconding Tamora Pierce and Patricia C. Wrede (the Enchanted Forest Chronicles).

Personally I like the Protector of the Small books best (when it comes to her Tortall series), and I think it's pretty accessible, even if you haven't read the previous two quartets? (If you have read them, though, ignore me. |D)

The ETC is also pretty good; the first book is from Cimorene's point of view (3rd person limited), and she's lovely. All the books have lovely female characters, even when they're not the POV characters.

If you're looking for something short and sweet, I'd like to add "The Ordinary Princess"; it's not the most complicated book in the world, but it's sweet, and Amy is amazing IMO. :)

The Indigo series, by Louise Cooper. A fantasy take on the Pandora legend. The Pandora-figure, along with her telepathic wolf, must travel for centuries, immortal, defeating the demons she's let loose on the world.

Kristen Britain's Green Rider series. The first book's a little shaky, but they get progressively better as the series goes on, which is always nice to see.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[ SECRET POST #2967 ]

Good female-centric fantasy

Re: Good female-centric fantasy

Re: Good female-centric fantasy

Re: Good female-centric fantasy

Re: Good female-centric fantasy

Re: Good female-centric fantasy

Re: Good female-centric fantasy

Re: Good female-centric fantasy

Re: Good female-centric fantasy

Re: Good female-centric fantasy

Re: Good female-centric fantasy

Re: Good female-centric fantasy

Re: Good female-centric fantasy

Re: Good female-centric fantasy

Re: Good female-centric fantasy

Re: Good female-centric fantasy

Re: Good female-centric fantasy