Books: can you recomend any Sci Fi with "Feeeeeeeemales" in it?

[Vendor-Lazarus]

I've got several recommendations for you since I love reading.

I'm not good at describing things in my own words, so I'll just write down their back-cover texts as that is what drew me to them.

The Ghatti's Tale by Gayle Greeno (3 books + 2 in-universe)

Spoiler

"Their technological resources destroyed, a colonizing expedition from Earth has been stranded on the world of Methuen for over two hundred years. Their continued survival is largely due to the organization of healers known as the Eumedicos and to the Seekers Veritas, a unique group composed of pairs of Bondmates, one human and one ghatti?a telepathic catlike being native to Methuen who bonds with a specific human for life. These Bondmates travel from town to town, settling disputes by truth-reading the minds and emotions of plaintiffs and defendants. While most people respect the Seekers, there are those who fear the ghatti powers. And now someone has begun attacking Seeker pairs.

What no one knows is that this destroyer has targeted one specific pair of Bondmates as special victims?the woman Doyce and the ghatta Khar'pern. For the key to defeating this deadly foe is locked away in Doyce's mind behind barriers even her ghattas has never been able to break down."

The Shoal Sequence by Gary Gibson (3 books)

Spoiler

"For a quarter of a million years, an alien race has been hiding a vast and terrible secret In the 25th century, only the Shoal possess the secret of faster-than-light travel (FTL), giving them absolute control over all trade and exploration throughout the galaxy. Mankind has operated within their influence for two centuries, establishing a dozen human colony worlds scattered along Shoal trade routes. Dakota Merrick, while serving as a military pilot, has witnessed atrocities for which this alien race is responsible. Now piloting a civilian cargo ship, she is currently ferrying an exploration team to a star system containing a derelict starship. From its wreckage, her passengers hope to salvage a functioning FTL drive of mysteriously non-Shoal origin. But the Shoal are not yet ready to relinquish their monopoly over a technology they acquired through ancient genocide."

Watta's War (5 books) and Serrano Legacy (7 books, 3 omnibus edition) by Elizabeth Moon

Spoiler

"Ky Vatta is a highly promising military cadet with a great future ahead of her, until an apparently insignificant act of kindness makes her the focus of the Academy's wrath. She is forced to resign, her dreams shattered. For the child of a rich trading family, this should mean disgrace on a grand scale. And yet, to her surprise, Ky is offered the captaincy of a ship headed for scrap with its final cargo. Her orders are absolutely clear, but Ky quickly sees potential profit in altering the parameters of the journey. Because, whatever the risks, it's in her blood to trade - even if the currency is extreme danger."

Spoiler

"Heris Serrano was an officer born of a long line of officers. A life serving in the ranks of the Regular Space Service was all she had ever known or wanted ? until a treacherous superior officer forced her to resign her commission. This was not just the end of a career path; it was the end of everything that gave her life meaning.

Heris finds employment as ?Captain? of an interstellar luxury yacht. Being a rich old woman?s chauffeur isn?t quite the same as captaining a Fleet cruiser, but nothing Heris will ever do again could compare with that. Or so she thinks. For all is not as it seems aboard the Sweet Delight."

Webshifters by Julie E Czerenada (3 books)

Spoiler

"United in their natural form they are one, sharing all their memories, experiences, and lives. Apart they are six, the only existing members of their ancient race, a species with the ability to assume any form once they understand the essence. Their continued survival in a universe filled with races ready to destroy anyone perceived as different is based on the Rules. And first among those Rules is : Never reveal your true nature to another being.

But when the youngest among them, Esen-alit-Quar, receives her first independent assignment to a world considered safe to explore, she stumbles into a trap no one could have anticipated. Her only means of escape lies in violating the First Rule. She reveals herself to a fellow captive ? a human being. While this mistake might not ordinarily prove fatal, the timing of the event could not be worse. For something new has finally made its way into this Universe, the Enemy of the Web, bringer of death to all forms of life. And the hunt is about to begin!"

Stardoc series by S L Viehl (9 books)

Spoiler

"On the outer fringes of the galaxy lies Kevarzangia Two home to over 200 different sentient species, fewer than one percent of which are human. The variant breeds live together in colonies across the planet's surface, and every individual contributes time for the good of the community. But the frontier planet's medical resources remain scarce. Thanks to the unsympathetic homeworlds of Kevarzangia Two's citizens.

Dr. Cherijo Grey Veil is a brilliant surgeon. Fed up with her domineering father, she leaves Earth and accepts a position as a physician at Kevarzangia Two's FreeClinic. In an environment where humans are a despised minority, Cherijo must prove herself as each medical emergency arises and presents her with challenges of treating species and illnesses she's never encountered before.

But Cherijo harbors a secret in her past. A secret that, if discovered, could disrupt the already delicate relations between human and alien. A secret that's about to catch up with her."

Marrow (and sequel) by Robert Reed

Spoiler

"The Ship is home to a thousand alien races and a near-immortal crew who have no knowledge of its origins and or purpose. At its core lies a secret as ancient as The Universe.

It is about to be unleashed."

A beautiful friendship by David Weber (2 books)

Spoiler

"Stephanie Harrington always expected to be a forest ranger on her homeworld of Meyerdahl . . . until her parents relocated to the frontier planet of Sphinx in the far distant Star Kingdom of Manticore. It should have been the perfect new home ? a virgin wilderness full of new species of every sort, just waiting to be discovered. But Sphinx is a far more dangerous place than ultra-civilized Meyerdahl, and Stephanie?s explorations come to a sudden halt when her parents lay down the law: no trips into the bush without adult supervision!

Yet Stephanie is a young woman determined to make discoveries, and the biggest one of all awaits her: an intelligent alien species.

The forest-dwelling treecats are small, cute, smart, and have a pronounced taste for celery. And they are also very, very deadly when they or their friends are threatened . . . as Stephanie discovers when she comes face-to-face with Sphinx?s most lethal predator after a hang-gliding accident."

Peter F Hamilton and Alastair Reynolds are always good reads, Lots of varied and diverse characters.

*EDIT* Almost forgot one, and added number of books.

 

[WindKnight]

Anne Macafferies books are a good bet, with her first novel Restoree specifically written as an attack of the way female characters were treated in 50's sci-fi novels. Most of the Dragons of Pern books have prominent female characters, and some main characters (personal favorites are Dragonsong and Dragonsinger, the first two I read. The heroine from those books was arguably my first crush). Also, don't be fooled, they may come off as fantasy at first, but they are Sci-Fi through and through (Pern is a colony world, with its name meaning 'Parallel Earth, Resources Negligible').

oh yeah I heard about this one...wasn't there some weird thing where if your dragon wants to screw somone elses dragon then you want to screw the person too?

There's a semi psychic link between dragon and rider that's been known to... influence behavior after 'mating flights'. Generally speaking, this was kept to people who were already into each other - author caveat more than anything else - as the Bronzes (dominant males) and Golds (dominant females) we're the most likely to successfully mate, and were generally bonded to a couple already into each other.

 

[COMaestro]

Some books by Timothy Zahn come to mind. While most feature a primary male protagonist, there are usually some strong female co-protagonists as well.

Triplet [http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/216434.Triplet] is entertaining, but not one of Zahn's best works. The female lead is a bit whiny and stupid in her stubbornness. She's a grad student wanting to explore the world of Triplet, which has three very different worlds contained in the one, separated by tunnels, who hired the best Courier available to escort her. They end up discovering a plot by some of the inhabitants to break down the tunnels and enter the main universe (if I remember correctly).

The Conqueror's Trilogy [http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/192525.Conquerors_Pride] starting with Conqueror's Pride. A fleet of human starships run across a group of four ships of an unknown alien race. When attempting to communicate with the aliens they are fired upon and easily demolished, and the aliens proceed to destroy the escape pods. Only one human, Pheylan Cavanaugh is left alive, but he is captured by the aliens. The first book is from his, his father's and sister's and some other people's perspective as they attempt to rescue him. The second book is from the POV of some of the aliens, and the third book jumps between all the main characters introduced by that point.

The Quadrail series [http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/29455.Night_Train_to_Rigel] starting with Night Train to Rigel, is kind of a sci-fi detective noir where an ex-government agent is hired by the Spiders, a mechanical race that operates the Quadrail, a train that travels though interstellar space, to prevent an attack on their systems. They insist a human agent of theirs, Bayta, work with him. It has a nice level of mystery to it and I have thoroughly enjoyed the series.

Also, Snow Crash [http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/830.Snow_Crash] by Neal Stephenson has a very interesting female lead. Honestly I can't remember much of the book, some cyberpunk story about a potential computer virus that can kill people or something along those lines. It felt rather complex as I read it, so it's not really for light, fun reading IMO, but it was good.

 

[happyninja42]

Anne Macafferies books are a good bet, with her first novel Restoree specifically written as an attack of the way female characters were treated in 50's sci-fi novels. Most of the Dragons of Pern books have prominent female characters, and some main characters (personal favorites are Dragonsong and Dragonsinger, the first two I read. The heroine from those books was arguably my first crush). Also, don't be fooled, they may come off as fantasy at first, but they are Sci-Fi through and through (Pern is a colony world, with its name meaning 'Parallel Earth, Resources Negligible').

oh yeah I heard about this one...wasn't there some weird thing where if your dragon wants to screw somone elses dragon then you want to screw the person too?

There's a semi psychic link between dragon and rider that's been known to... influence behavior after 'mating flights'. Generally speaking, this was kept to people who were already into each other - author caveat more than anything else - as the Bronzes (dominant males) and Golds (dominant females) we're the most likely to successfully mate, and were generally bonded to a couple already into each other.

True, but there was also a bit of casual sex involved when it came to the other colored dragons. The greens (IIRC) were particularly virile, and had mating flights very often, and while it wasn't mentioned much, it was implied that the partners would change from time to time. However given that this wasn't really an issue in their culture, and that pretty much all the riders were a close knit family type group, the partner swapping wasn't a big deal.

But yeah, totally forgot about the Pern books. Very good series for female characters

 

[Loop Stricken]

*Snip*

Here's a story for you. For all of you. It has several women in it.

http://rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm

 

[Eclectic Dreck]

Saturn's Children and Neptune's Brood. Neither technically is about a female as the main characters in both are actually robots. In the case of the first, She's actually a sexbot (but humanity is extinct which means her primary function is literally useless). The latter is about accounting (no, really!). Both are great examples of hard sci-fi and the former is one of the few where sex is a tremendously important part of a fantastically difficult philosophical quandary. It's also worth noting that most of the sex is glossed over, if for no other reason than it really doesn't make a lot of sense (She has sex with, among other things a hotel and a spaceship).

 

[senordesol]

Well, if you'd like to support a fellow escapist; I have a book out for you: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1491061901

Despite it's back copy, its focus is split between a male and female protagonist, and has a bevy of kick-ass female supporting characters. Essentially, it 'starts' at the end of an interstellar war where the two meet, but goes on to explore both of their characters' actions during the war and the prices they have to pay afterward. The above link is the paperback version but the ebook (also available on amazon) has gotten a ton of great reviews.

So...there ya go.

 

[happyninja42]

Ooh! Totally forgot about Anne McCaffery's other book serieses. Seriesi...serieseses...whatever, 2 other book series!

The Rowan is the first book in a sci fi series about telepaths and telekinetics. REALLY awesome series IMO. I forget the name of the series adopted over time, but the first book is The Rowan. Highly recommend it.

The other is the Crystal Singer series, (if I recall correctly). Another sci fi series about a woman.

And I think a third seires that I just rememberd, called The Ship Singer series? I might be wrong about that, but one of the book titles is The Ship Who Sang.

Basically, just about anything by Anne McCaffery's got strong female characters in (usually) a sci fi setting. I grew up reading her stuff as a kid, and fell in love with it for decades after. Highly recommend just about everything she's published.

 

[Vault101]

Recently started the Paradox-Trilogy by Rachel Bach. I'm at the 3rd book now and love it.
The premise is basically Samus gets hired to protect some Trade Ship that seems to be cursed with bad luck, though there is more to it than that.
The action consists of fast paced power armor/alien fights and the characters are varied and interesting. Also has a nice variety of different Aliens.

ah yeah I started reading that

not to be a debbie downer but I can't figure out why people like it so much...mabye its the first person present tense (heeeeuuugggghhhhh) coupled with her describing "the totes hot cook" that shes all gooey over and it just reads like inane chick lit

this is just my biases/opinion coming into play, don't take it the wrong way...I'm probably overly critical too

 

[Majinash]

I'll suggest some of David Brin's works.

Glory Season was very enjoyable. I think it is a coming of age sci-fi story for a girl who is effectivly a second class citizen. Like most of Brin's works, I thought the world building was the strongest part.

The Uplift series does not have a female protagonist, but then again the way the books are written they don't really have a protagonist, they follow a lot of different people. However the cast is very diverse, with more men than women, but plenty of aliens chimps and dolphins too. I felt Startide Rising was the best of the first 3 (it was book 2) but the first book is pretty short and will help the second one make a lot more sense in context.



Whenever anyone brings up Sci-Fi I always want to reccomend Heinlein but... I feel like he really wastes the women in his books. They always start as badass driving forces, fully capable dealing with most problems (often more capable than all of the men except the wise mentor we meet)... but then end up as arm candy by the end of the book, only there to support their man. It is such a waste considering how attached to some of them I became only to just think "meh" by the end.

Still great books, but a letdown for the female characters.

So yeah, David Brin. Uplift series (Sundiver, Startide Rising, The Uplift War) and the Uplift storm trilogy (Brightness Reef, Infinity's Shore and Heaven's Reach) and Glory season. Great Sci-fi, great women in the books.

 

[Piorn]

Recently started the Paradox-Trilogy by Rachel Bach. I'm at the 3rd book now and love it.
The premise is basically Samus gets hired to protect some Trade Ship that seems to be cursed with bad luck, though there is more to it than that.
The action consists of fast paced power armor/alien fights and the characters are varied and interesting. Also has a nice variety of different Aliens.

ah yeah I started reading that

not to be a debbie downer but I can't figure out why people like it so much...mabye its the first person present tense (heeeeuuugggghhhhh) coupled with her describing "the totes hot cook" that shes all gooey over and it just reads like inane chick lit

this is just my biases/opinion coming into play, don't take it the wrong way...I'm probably overly critical too

Yeah the romance subplot is rather hit or miss. I guess it adds to Devi's character and her ambitions, because she takes what she wants, including the cook? The "Love" they seem to develope is a bit overblown, when all they are is physically attracted to each other, but I dunno, I'm hardly an expert in these matters. And it basically stops at the end of the 1st book and gets more complicated, too.

The first person present tense doesn't bother me at all somehow, and I just really like the plot and setting. I don't know how far you read, but I like the alien designs and the different motivations they bring into the plot. Don't want to spoil anything here, really.

And come on, power armor is always great.

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Spoiler: Well, there is a great woman in my favorite 1960's sci-fi

She's also reoccurring in the later books.

 

[spartan231490]

I've been reading a lot of "respectible" literature latley and I feel in the mood for some "Sci Fi" [i/]preferably[/i] somthing with a woman in it

she doesn't nessicaryly have to be the main charachter, (although thats a bonus) ensemble casts are cool, it doesn't even have to pass the bachdel test BUT I would prefer if it [i/]wasn't[/i] a bodice ripper romance in diguise as a sci fi book (for example the "In death" series is literaly a mills and boones with hilariously outdated cyberpunk)

if not just any good sci fi books

EDIT:

also I should list some random ones I'm reading

Ancillary justice
Archangel Protocol
Peacemaker

The two that come to mind are Wheel of Time, Robert Jordan; and Sword of Truth, Terry Goodkind. Both are very interesting epic fantasy series with strong female leads.

To clarify, the women are not the main character, but they are central cast members and often POV characters.

 

[AliasBot]

Worm [http://parahumans.wordpress.com/category/stories-arcs-1-10/arc-1-gestation/1-01/] has a female protagonist and quite a lot of female characters. It starts out as a superhero genre setup, although I would recommend it as a straight sci-fi specifically, because there is quite a lot of thought put into the mechanics and logic of the whole. There is no blatant feminist message, but the author did a really good job at making it feel natural that half the superheroes just happen to be female.

I am compelled to second this because Worm is amazing and deserves to be read by more people.

Beyond that, my brain is not currently in the thinking mood, so I'll just limit my list to books that qualify from the Sci-Fi college course that I took last semester:

Babel-17
Embassytown

Both have female main characters, both focus on a science-fiction twist on the role of language, and they were also two of my four favorite books from the course.

Redshirts
Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (already mentioned, but reiterating - also seconding the rest of the Hitchhiker's series)

Both have female characters that are in the main 'group' and are not entirely useless (their relevance waxes and wanes, but they're there). My other two favorite books from the course (was happy to get to re-read Hitchhiker's, the rest were new reads).

Oryx and Crake
The Left Hand of Darkness

Uh, asterisks on both of these. One is told in a way where a female character (the titular Oryx) is both present and nonexistent in the story, the other largely revolves around the concept of gender in a very sci-fi way that's central to the book's concept. So they both have female main characters - sort of.

EDIT: Additions to the list, as my brain decides to start thinking again...

To Your Scattered Bodies Go

First book in the Riverworld series, which I have yet to read the rest of. Again, a woman as a secondary protagonist, though since the book was pretty well dominated by the main character, it's hard to say exactly how much relevance any other characters have. Good book, though.

So You Want to be a Wizard series

Technically a fantasy series, because magic, but it deals with a ton of sci-fi elements (especially in the later books) and even approaches magic in a very sci-fi way at times. There are three different main characters over the course of the series thusfar (two at the start, with another added a few books later), two of which are girls. It's a young adult series that I haven't read since I was 14 or so, but I remember it fondly - might actually re-read the books sometime soon to see if they hold up, since there's a new book either coming out soon or already out.

 

[kainboa]

the On Silver Wings series by Evan Currie.

I can't adequately find the words to describe it, so I'll just leave the amazon book description here.

"When the Colony on Hayden's world went black, a team was sent to investigate. It was supposed to be a training mission : skip in, find out the Casimir Transmitter had gone dead, report back and wait for resupply from the Fleet. By the time the only surviving member of the team made landfall, it was spectacularly clear that this wasn't a training mission.

Now Sgt Sorilla Aida has a job to do. She has to gather the local survivors, recon the enemy, train a militia, and take the war right to the enemy's doorstep.

Just what she trained for.

De Opresso Liber"

 

[wildstars]

The Honor Harrington series has a rather large female cast, including the eponymous title character. It's set in a future that plays along the lines of the Napoleonic Wars with Space England (with a ruling queen) and Space Revolutionary France dukeing it out with spaceships that fire 'broadsides' due to the gravity drives used.

I second the recommendation for the Honor Harrington books.

There is a spin off of the Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell called 'The Lost Stars: Tarnished Knight' where the central character is a female corporate dictator trying to turn her world's society around in the midst of a interstellar revolution.

I've you haven't read the Lost Fleet series first, you'll be missing a lot context, and I highly recommend it as good scifi.


I was going to recommend www.goodreads.com for more ideas, but when I searched for '"Female Protagonist" and "Science Fiction"'... Mary Poppins was #3 in the list of recommendations.

Wasn't the main character in 'A wrinkle in time' female? Its been so long since I read that.

It seems like female protagonists rule in the suburban modern fantasy genre, and have a decent presence in fantasy. Not a whole lot of SF, tho.

 

[wildstars]

I can't believe I forgot about "Wool", "Shift", and "Dust" by Hugh Howey. I think its called the Silo Trilogy. It reminds me a lot of the "Fallout" series of games (before you get out of the vault). Its got an ensemble cast, but the main driving character is female.

 

[EyeReaper]

Well, uh, It's not the hardest of sci-fi stuff, But I'll recommend Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, by Spider Robinson

I'll say this though, this book is kinda Anthology-y, and, I'm not sure if women show up in every story (besides the odd alien bystander and such) but I do remember a lady Timecop being the star of an adventure or two. I know she's pretty prominent in the point-and-click adaption of the books (which is also great. totes recommending that too)

 

[wildstars]

Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson has a very interesting female lead. Honestly I can't remember much of the book, some cyberpunk story about a potential computer virus that can kill people or something along those lines. It felt rather complex as I read it, so it's not really for light, fun reading IMO, but it was good.

I swear this could be the form statement I've heard from anybody about any Neal Stephenson book:

by Neal Stephenson has a very interesting . Honestly I can't remember much of the book, some . It felt rather complex as I read it, so it's not really for light, fun reading IMO, but it was good.

I was reading one of his books and suddenly realized it was textbook in disguise about pre-industrial economics and currency.

 

[Vault101]

the On Silver Wings series by Evan Currie.

I heard of this one

I admit I do have a bias against anything self published (especially if it has a god awful cover) not because its ALL bad...its just I wonder if its not as good as it [i/]could[/i] be, like I want to read a novel..not a half decent first draft...

I just downloaded it and read the first paragraph or so....its ok I suppose...though I'm being more critical than I probably would otherwise

There is a spin off of the Lost Fleet series by Jack Campbell called 'The Lost Stars: Tarnished Knight' where the central character is a female corporate dictator trying to turn her world's society around in the midst of a interstellar revolution.

heh....you wouldn't guess that based on the cover..(well it looks like a two person deal)

[quote/]I've you haven't read the Lost Fleet series first, you'll be missing a lot context, and I highly recommend it as good scifi.[/quote]
I REALLY dig the cover of the first one...it looks a little "bro-ish" but mabye....


[quote/]I was going to recommend www.goodreads.com for more ideas, but when I searched for '"Female Protagonist" and "Science Fiction"'... Mary Poppins was #3 in the list of recommendations.
Wasn't the main character in 'A wrinkle in time' female? Its been so long since I read that.[/quote]
I'm on goodreads....its a good site for some things but I always take its ratings with a grain of salt, I saw alist "sci fi with female protagonists" and just from the thumbnail a lot of it looks to be YA....


[quote/]It seems like female protagonists rule in the suburban modern fantasy genre, and have a decent presence in fantasy. Not a whole lot of SF, tho.[/quote]
you mean urban fantasy? I've never really understood the appeal of that genre....anyway it seems theres a fair amount with females in it...from "good" sci fi to "pew pew space" speaking of which I'm thinking of picking up "mutineer" for better or worse

I can't believe I forgot about "Wool", "Shift", and "Dust" by Hugh Howey. I think its called the Silo Trilogy. It reminds me a lot of the "Fallout" series of games (before you get out of the vault). Its got an ensemble cast, but the main driving character is female.

as great as it is that he's found success his insistence that self publishing is going to be the downfall of eeeevil publishers is quite frankly annoying, he said that 99% of manuscripts submitted to agents get rejected...which is true but how many rejections are because theyre just plain terrible? they don't call it the "slushpile" for nothing

I read part of the first "MollyFyde" which was...ok but kind of stupid...but then I suspect it was for a reader younger than I