As promised, here is a list of science fiction novels by women sf writers whose careers have been active chiefly during the past decade. The sharper-eyed among you will spot two authors who were also on the previous sf mistressworks list. I felt both books deserved to be on this list, and so they are. While researching this list, I discovered that many of the more recent women sf writers whose names I knew hadn’t actually had novels published so far – such as Rachel Swirsky, Kij Johnson, Jennifer Pelland, Theodora Goss, Vandana Singh… Or they had written only fantasy novels to date – eg, Aliette de Bodard, Mary Robinette Kowal, Vera Nazarian…
Same as before: science fiction only, no YA. Trilogies and series named in [square brackets]. I could have snuck in a collection or two (see above), but decided that might have been pushing it a bit. Bold for those you’ve read, italics for those you own but haven’t read. My own showing is a bit embarrassing on this list.
1 Solitaire, Kelley Eskridge (2002)
2 Warchild [Warchild], Karin Lowachee (2002)
3 Natural History, Justina Robson (2003)
4 Maul, Tricia Sullivan (2003)
5 The Time Traveller’s Wife, Audrey Niffenegger (2003)
6 Spin State, Chris Moriarty (2003)
7 Dante’s Equation, Jane Jensen (2003)
8 Steel Helix [Typhon], Ann Tonsor Zeddies (2003)
9 Life, Gwyneth Jones (2004)
10 Nylon Angel [Parrish Plessis], Marianne de Pierres (2004)
11 The Courtesan Prince [Oka-Rel Universe], Lynda Williams (2004)
12 Survival [Species Imperative], Julie E Czernada (2004)
13 Banner of Souls, Liz Williams (2004)
14 City of Pearl [Wess'har Wars], Karen Traviss (2004)
15 The Year of Our War, Steph Swainston (2004)
16 Bio Rescue, SL Viehl (2004)
17 Apocalypse Array [Archangel Protocol], Lyda Morehouse (2004)
18 The Child Goddess, Louise Marley (2004)
19 Alanya to Alanya [Marq'ssan Cycle], L Timmel Duchamp (2005)
20 Carnival, Elizabeth Bear (2006)
21 Mindscape, Andrea Hairston (2006)
22 Farthing [Small Change], Jo Walton (2006)
23 Half Life, Shelley Jackson (2006)
24 The Carhullan Army, Sarah Hall (2007)
25 Bright of the Sky [The Entire and the Rose], Kay Kenyon (2007)
26 Principles of Angels [Hidden Empire], Jainne Fenn (2008)
27 Watermind, MM Buckner (2008)
28 The Rapture, Liz Jensen (2009)
29 Zoo City, Lauren Beukes (2010)
30 Walking the Tree, Kaaron Warren (2010)
31 Birdbrain, Johanna Sinisalo (2010)
32 Who Fears Death, Nnedi Okorafor (2010)
33 Song of Scarabaeus, Sara Creasy (2010)
(Incidentally, I did start Bright of the Sky, but gave up halfway through.)
EDIT:
It has been pointed out to me that Steph Swainston’s The Year of Our War is more fantasy than it is sf. I’ll leave it on the list for the time-being – for one thing, it’s one of the books I picked for my 2011 reading challenge.
I’d also intended to include Kage Baker, but I’ve never read any of her books. The first of the Company series, In the Garden of Iden, was published in 1997 and so not eligible for this list. Which novel should I include?
And I’ve also added Louise Marley, a writer I’d missed, at #18.
Filed under: book list, meme, science fiction, women in sf
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Oh, hi! Cool to see you talking about women in SF. Actually, I have a couple of novels out, The Fox Woman and Fudoki, from Tor, but they’re a few years back. I think you’re right about the other women in the list, though.
Kij
Hi. I assumed those novels were fantasy rather than sf – although I know you write sf short fiction (congrats on the Hugo nom, btw).
Oh, you’re right! Those are fantasy, though I also wrote a Star Trek novel back in the day. That’s sort of fantasy, too.
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