After all the arguments over the results of the Guardian poll of best/favourite sf novels, it seems the US’s NPR has decided to have a bash here: “Best Science Fiction, Fantasy Books? You Tell Us”. Sigh. I’m not going to bother trawling through the 1700+ comments (as of the time of writing of this post) to see what the gender ratio is. I fully expect it to work out to about 5 – 10% female.
Instead, what I am going to do is suggest an alternative poll: your favourite five novels by women sf/fantasy writers. Leave a comment listing them. Let’s see how we do.
To start with, here are mine:
Kairos, Gwyneth Jones
Ash: A Secret History, Mary Gentle
Angel with the Sword, CJ Cherryh
The Left Hand of Darkness, Ursula K Le Guin
The Grail of Hearts, Susan Shwartz
This proved harder than I expected. There are a lot of genre novels by women writers I like a great deal, and many I have have read several times. And quite a few I’ve read recently which I expect I will return to one day. But actually picking the best of that long list? To make it a little easier, I’ve limited myself to one book per author, though there’s no reason anyone else need do so.
EDIT: and if you’re stuck for suggestions, check out the SF Mistressworks blog.
It Doesn't Have To Be Right... 
2011-06-21 at 11:44
This all may change. Off the top of my head, I’d go with:
The Dispossessed, Ursula Le Guin
The Journal of Nicholas the American, Leigh Kennedy
Dreaming in Smoke, Tricia Sullivan
The Female Man, Joanna Russ
Bold As Love, Gwyneth Jones
Still working at increasing the pool of novels to choose from, but I am happy that this task was harder for me than it would have been a year ago.
2011-06-21 at 11:47
Brackett, Leigh – Book Of Skaith,The
Bull, Emma – War For the Oaks
Cooper, Susan – Dark Is Rising,The
May, Julian – Many-Coloured Land,The
Rice, Anne – Interview With the Vampire
2011-06-21 at 12:55
The Sparrow – Mary Doria Russell
The Dispossessed – Ursula K. Le Guin
Bright of the Sky – Kay Kenyon
Downbelow Station – C.J. Cherryh
Zoo City – Lauren Beukes
2011-06-21 at 13:30
A somewhat standard list…. but all GREAT BOOKS!
The Left Hand of Darkness — Ursula Le Guin
Cyteen — C. J. Cherryh
And Chaos Died — Joanna Russ
Downbelow Station — C. J. Cherryh
The Dispossessed — Ursula Le Guin
2011-06-21 at 13:34
honorable mentions: A Billion Days of Earth — Doris Piserchia, Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang, Kate Wilhelm
2011-06-21 at 14:59
Joanna Russ – We Who Are About To…
James Tiptree Jr. – Her Smoke Rose Up Forever (not a novel, obviously, but undoubtedly one of the five best books)
Diana Wynne Jones – Fire and Hemlock
Gwyneth Jones – Life
Karen Joy Fowler – Sarah Canary (it is Science Fiction if you squint very hard)
2011-06-21 at 15:16
>Karen Joy Fowler – Sarah Canary (it is Science Fiction if you squint very hard)
Damn right it is, and one of my favourites too.
2011-06-21 at 15:23
The Word for World is Forest – Le Guin
The Handmaid’s Tale – Atwood
Dervish is Digital – Pat Cadigan
Moxyland – Beukes
Maul – Sullivan
2011-06-21 at 15:27
1. The Many Coloured Land – Julian May
2. The Hollow Hills – Mary Stewart
3. Liveship Traders triology – Robin Hobb
4. Temeraire – Naomi Novik
5. Swordspoint – Ellen Kushner
2011-06-21 at 16:43
C.S. Friedman – In Conquest Born
Patricia McKillip – Fool’s Run
P.C. Hodgel – God Stalk
Mary Stewart – The Crystal Cave
Paula Volsky – The Wolf of Winter
2011-06-21 at 17:08
As you say, picking five isn’t easy, but here goes.
1. We Who Are About To…- Joanna Russ
2. The Journal of Nicholas The American – Leigh Kennedy
3. Tourists – Lisa Goldstein
4. Ash – Mary Gentle
5. The Secret History of Moscow – Ekaterina Sedia.
And one that is too recent for me to justify including, but that I fully expect to be a future classic amongst those who find it.
Redwood & Wildfire – Andrea Hairston (Aqueduct Press, 2011)
2011-06-21 at 17:14
And if you’d asked for a top 10, Josephine Saxton, Gwyneth Jones, Judith Moffett, Pat Cadigan, Elizabeth Bear & Sarah Hall would be fighting for places.
2011-06-21 at 17:40
Ursula K. LeGuin. The Left Hand of Darkness.
C. S. Friedman. This Alien Shore.
C. J. Cherryh. Foreigner.
Sheri S. Tepper. Grass.
Catherynne M. Valente. Palimpsest.
2011-06-21 at 19:19
Sarah Canary by Karen Joy Fowler
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin
Queen of the States by Josephine Saxton
Tourists by Lisa Goldstein
Phoenix Cafe by Gwyneth Jones
2011-06-21 at 20:35
The Snow Queen by Joan D Vinge
Oryx and Crake by Atwood
The Earthseed Trilogy by Octavia Butler
Woman at the edge of Time by Marge Piercy
worth a second mention:
Grass by Sherry Tepper
The Left Hand of Darkness by LeGuin
2011-06-21 at 20:48
Grail by Elizabeth Bear
The Dispossessed by Ursula Le Guin
Ash by Mary Gentle
The Changeling Sea by Patricia McKillip
The Orphan’s Tales, Catherynne M Valente
Gaaaah, it’s hard to keep to five…
2011-06-21 at 23:44
Angel With a Sword Cherryh
Barrayar et al. Lois McMasters Bujold
Apprentice Assassin series Robin Hobb
To Say Nothing of the Dog Connie Willis
The Lathe of Heaven Ursula Le Guin
Really hard to do justice with only five and a frantic memory
2011-06-22 at 06:51
Hermetech – Storm constantine
Woman on the Edge of Time – Marge Piercy
Empire of Bones – Liz Williams
Lightborn – Tricia Sullivan
Natural History – Justina Robson
Really hard with just 5!
2011-06-22 at 10:12
Top 5 in no particular order:
Tricia Sullivan – Lethe
CS Friedman – This Alien Shore
Margaret Atwood – A Handmaid’s Tale
Nicola Griffith – Ammonite
Mary Doria Russel – The Sparrow
Honourable mentions to Mary Shelley, Scarlett Thomas, Kate Griffin (not SF I know, but I love her work) and Sarah Hall.
2011-06-22 at 14:42
To Say Nothing of the Dog by Connie Willis
The Anubis Gate by Tim Powers
Vorkosigan Saga (series) by Lois McMaster Bujold
The Dark is Rising series by Susan Cooper
Valdemar series by Mercedes Lackey
2011-06-22 at 14:50
Um, Tim Powers is male.
2011-06-22 at 18:48
Alphabetical by author, one per author, “best” = “most enjoyed”
Mirror Dance by Bujold
A Mask for the General by Goldstein
Howl’s Moving Castle by Jones
Beggars in Spain by Kress
The Left Hand of Darkness by LeGuin
I found the list at http://feministsf.org/authors/wsfwriters.html to be a really great memory-jogger.
2011-06-23 at 12:20
For me, “best” here means “most memorable right now:”
Kindred – Octavia Butler
Woman on the Edge of Time – Marge Piercy
Red Spider White Web – Misha
Midnight Robber – Nalo Hopkinson
Salt Fish Girl – Larissa Lai
Bonus pick: Anything written by Ursula LeGuin!
YA choices:
2011-06-23 at 12:24
Oops … for YA choices I would include:
The House of the Scorpion — Nancy Farmer
Earthsea Series – Ursula LeGuin
2011-06-23 at 23:16
That’s easy! J K Rowling any five from seven!
Sorry let’s try again –
Annals of the Western Shore – Ursula K. Le Guin
Briefing for a descent into Hell – Doris Lessing
Foreigner series – C. J. Cherryh
The Speed of Dark – Elizabeth Moon
The Moon and the Sun – Vonda McIntyre
2011-06-24 at 11:30
Oh, goodness, let’s see… I don’t know about ‘best’, but these are the five that leap most strongly to mind and which I know I’ll keep re-reading.
Pamela Dean – Tam Lin
Molly Gloss – The Dazzle of Day
Hope Mirrlees – Lud-in-the-Mist
Diana Wynne Jones – Howl’s Moving Castle (today, and that may change to another DWJ tomorrow, but she needs to be on the list somehow)
Connie Willis – To Say Nothing of the Dog
Pingback: Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Books by Women Writers « It Doesn't … « Best Science Fiction Books
2011-06-25 at 22:17
1) Ursua K. Le Guin – Anything. best woman writer in both genres. A lot of good contemporary work such as Woman on the Edge of Time, The Handmaid’s Tail etc addressing gender issues but Le Guin is above them all.
2) Julian May – Many Coloured Land. The Saga of the Exiles is excellent. Well spotted those above. Eminently rereadable, unlike say Butler, McKillop or Cooper. How can it be out of print!
3) Mary Shelley – Frankenstein! Come On! The first Sci-Fi novel by many accounts! As to other old stuff. Lud-in-the-Mist was a very cute read. Herland is a bit dry though, in the mould of Bellamy etc.
4) Anne McCaffrey – Anything. She gets picked over over Andre Norton. But these two are the big recognised female writers after Le Guin. I’ve read most of McCaffrey’s work – only Short stories by Norton, that’s why.
5) I have to pick something new and cool! Someone else tipped Suillivan’s Maul (which is great), so I’ll go with Holly Black’s Tithe. Or Holly Phillips’ The Engine’s Child… Doh!
2011-06-28 at 12:09
Mary Shelly – Frankenstein
Ursula K. LeGuin – The Left Hand of Darkness
Diana Wynne Jones – Howl’s Moving Castle
Beggars in Spain – Nancy Kress
A Handmaid’s Tale – Margaret Atwood