I really enjoyed the plot of Echo Wife but it was a bit short and simply written. I’m not really into thrillers as much as sci fi and fantasy in general. I really like witches in fantasy and space/planetary exploration/politics in sci fi. For example, I really enjoyed A Memory Called Empire by Martine, Ancillary Justice and the Broken Earth series by N.K. Jemisin. Nothing YA (Iron Widow was too YA for me for example). Also Circe by Madeline Miller was great (I have almost worn out the sub genre of feminist Greek mythology). When Women Were Dragons is on hold. I’ve also read The Power by Alderman (loved that ending).
I also liked books such as Giver of Stars, Bookwoman of Troublesome Creek and Where The Crawdads Sing but I am leaning more toward sci fi/fantasy rather than just straight Americana.
Thank you!
by AnonThrowawayProf
6 Comments
Conflict of honors by Sharon Lee.
The Liaden Universe is full of excellent female characters.
The Wayfarers series by Becky Chambers, plenty of successful female characters
I’m currently reading **The EOM Expression** by DPForesi for the third time.
It’s a long book (1,300 pages IIRC) and has 13 protagonists, three of which are independent and successful females (one alien, two human).
It’s core concept has a large group of people leave the solar system to establish their own form of laissez-faire government only to face an attempt to coerce them back under control.
The author puts forth some intriguing technology concepts and the technicals (scene depiction, word choice, sentence structure) of his writing are very good. The story itself contains some “dream” sequences and other author-choices that didn’t strike a chord with my personal tastes. Following along at the beginning was a little difficult, but sooner AND later everything came together.
Its one BIG flaw, though, is the copy I have from back in June sorely needs copy editing. There are a lot of typos, a few missing words, and some serious dialogue punctuation problems that threw me out of the immersion.
The Vatta’s War series from Elizabeth Moon
– Best Served Cold
>There have been nineteen years of blood. The ruthless Grand Duke Orso is locked in a vicious struggle with the squabbling League of Eight, and between them they have bled the land white. While armies march, heads roll and cities burn, behind the scenes bankers, priests and older, darker powers play a deadly game to choose who will be king.
>War may be hell, but for Monza Murcatto, the Snake of Talins, the most feared and famous mercenary in Duke Orso’s employ, it’s a damn good way of making money too. Her victories have made her popular – a shade too popular for her employer’s taste. Betrayed, thrown down a mountain and left for dead, Murcatto’s reward is a broken body and a burning hunger for vengeance. Whatever the cost, seven men must die.
>Her allies include Styria’s least reliable drunkard, Styria’s most treacherous poisoner, a mass-murderer obsessed with numbers and a Barbarian who just wants to do the right thing. Her enemies number the better half of the nation. And that’s all before the most dangerous man in the world is dispatched to hunt her down and finish the job Duke Orso started…
– A Natural History of Dragons
>You, dear reader, continue at your own risk. It is not for the faint of heart—no more so than the study of dragons itself. But such study offers rewards beyond compare: to stand in a dragon’s presence, even for the briefest of moments—even at the risk of one’s life—is a delight that, once experienced, can never be forgotten. . . .
>All the world, from Scirland to the farthest reaches of Eriga, know Isabella, Lady Trent, to be the world’s preeminent dragon naturalist. She is the remarkable woman who brought the study of dragons out of the misty shadows of myth and misunderstanding into the clear light of modern science. But before she became the illustrious figure we know today, there was a bookish young woman whose passion for learning, natural history, and, yes, dragons defied the stifling conventions of her day.
>Here at last, in her own words, is the true story of a pioneering spirit who risked her reputation, her prospects, and her fragile flesh and bone to satisfy her scientific curiosity; of how she sought true love and happiness despite her lamentable eccentricities; and of her thrilling expedition to the perilous mountains of Vystrana, where she made the first of many historic discoveries that would change the world forever.
– Morgan is my Name (Because it reminds me of Circe)
>An atmospheric, feminist retelling of the early life of famed villainess Morgan le Fay, set against the colourful chivalric backdrop of Arthurian legend.
>When King Uther Pendragon murders her father and tricks her mother into marriage, Morgan refuses to be crushed. Trapped amid the machinations of men in a world of isolated castles and gossiping courts, she discovers secret powers. Vengeful and brilliant, it’s not long before Morgan becomes a worthy adversary to Merlin, influential sorcerer to the king. But fighting for her freedom, she risks losing everything – her reputation, her loved ones and her life.
I recommend the Chronicles of St Mary’s by Jodi Taylor
15 books, countless short stories, a companion series, The Time Police. Female main character (first person pov), British history, slight dystopian elements. Some romance but it’s more rough than romance, but not spice. Humorous for sure. The audio books are all narrated by the same person, Zara Ramm, and she’s absolutely perfect.
I call these books a binge read series, a sort of mixture of the shows The Librarians, Eureka, and Warehouse 13.
The books are about Maxwell, a historian for St Mary’s. St Mary’s goes back in time and investigates periods of historical significance, but don’t call them time travelers. They are not allowed to affect the timeline, but sometimes, well, stuff happens. The go back to places like Agincourt, the Jurassic period, Joan of Arc’s death, the burning library of Alexandria, marc Antony and cleopatra, and dozens more.
I can’t do them justice here, but they are fun