Female science f iction and fantasy writers first published in the 1970s, Part I (A-G)

[rachelmanija]

Once again, it has been made abundantly clear that female sf writers get less respect, less reviews, and less sales than male sf writers. In response, I’d like to take the meme going around (in honor of Joanna Russ) and give it a bit more content.

The original meme is a basic list, available here, which simply shows which writers you're familiar

Comments

[tool_of_satan]

I need to read Butler and more Cherryh: I read Rimrunners ages ago, but other than that nothing except the Morgaine books (after you mentioned them here). Oh, and I guess a few stories here and there (e.g., in Heroes in Hell). Ditto for Duane, as I've only read her Star Trek books.

I've owned Ash for ages but haven't yet mustered the energy to read it. Real Soon Now.

I do not think I have read anything by the authors you haven't read except a short story or two by Gunn (I know I have read "Stable Strategies for Middle Management"). And maybe some stories by Abbey, but if so I can't recall them now - I never did read the Thieves' World books.

[londonbard]

Octavia Butler, I loved "Survivor" and I did not know it was rare and valuable until after my copy was stolen.

Suzy McKee Charnas; Holdfast Chronicles, esp. Motherlines.

Cherryh, Rider at the Gate and Cloud's Rider, and I so want more books set on that planet.

Diane Duane, I can't chose between them.

Mary Gentle, "Grunts"

Jaygee Carr - don't hesitate for another moment, read "leviathon's Deep". I've been hesitating over reviewing it, but nice readers don't give spoilers.

[rachelmanija]

Tell me more about Leviathan's Deep! I'm not asking for spoilers, just something more than "it's good."

[marfisa]

I think that's the one about the quasi-Hellenic/feudal society where most of the less well off eighty or ninety percent of the population is essentially indentured to the wealthier upper crust, generally referred to as "contract holders" or, more familiarly, "c'holders."

[coffeeandink]

No, that's the Rabelaisan space opera series. Leviathan's Deep is the one with the quasi-aquatic matriarchy where a woman learns not be sexist by interacting with a male human spy.

[foibos]

Oh Mary Gentle. Golden Witchbreed was, I think, the first really long novel I read in English (I had read LotR in English earlier, but that doesn't count since I more or less knew it by heart already in Swedish). It was... an experience.

But: what about Tanith Lee? The great literary love of my youth -- doesn't she qualify?

[tool_of_satan]

I expect she will be in the second post (this is just A-G).

[foibos]

Oh, right. Well. Looks, brains: I've got neither.

[estara]

Did you see that Diane Duane has been re-releasing the Tale of the Five as ebooks and also various short stories set in that world?

[juliansinger]

SHORT STORIES, no. *zooms*

(er, thank you.)

[estara]

Glad to spread the addiction ^^

[rachelmanija]

I did not! Thank you very much!

[affreca]

Lynn Abbey I mostly was introduced to her via the Thieves World books. Jerlayne is a domestic book, about running an elvish household in an alternate dimension.

Phyllis Eisenstein I read Sorcerer's Son when I was young, and blind to its flaws. Bog standard fantasy world, man searches for his father and finds a soap opera. None of the rest of her books made an impression on me, though I managed to hunt down most of them.

[rachelmanija]

Is Jerlayne any good?

[branna]

I find that an admirably spoiler-free but oddly misleading description of JERLAYNE, actually.

I liked JERLAYNE quite a bit, but it's an extremely odd book. I'm not sure I could tell you why I found it worth reading without spoiling it completely.

[affreca]

The obsession about kids and the magic necessary to run a household is what I remember about the book (The image of stealing Teflon pans sticks in my mind). It may not be what other people get out of the book. It is an OK book, but not great. I'm not good at analyzing books, so I'd love to see someone else's take on spoiler.