Ten Fictional Women (meme)

[vaznetti]

There's something vaguely ironic about posting this list on Mother's Day, but here's that "10 fictional women" meme; I saw it first on leadensky's journal, and wish more people would do it. I'm not sure how I'd characterise this list: female characters I admire, or at least find interesting? Something like that. The common threads are dreadfully clear,

Comments

[flangirl]

OMG. Ael! When I was thirteen I was totally in love with her. I forgot all about her.

[vaznetti]

Me too! My copies of those novels are rotting away in my parents' basement, I think. I'll have to try digging them out at some point.

[cofax7]

Oh, I so love Ael. She's arrogant and astonished, simultaneously. Is Duane really that close to finishing? I was very upset when I read the 2 newest and got about 40 pages from the end and realized it was nowhere nearing being a complete story. They're not labeled as a WIP, you know, and neither of them stand on their own.

I like your discussion, and I love that you picked Raederle. She's so marvelous, and frightened, and strong.

[vaznetti]

I suspect that Duane's web page may be over-optimistic about the book coming out--it says something like "off to the publisher soon" which could mean anything. Although since the other two are apparently the first two pieces of a trilogy, the gap is a little surprising -- for all I know, there's some problem and the last one will never see the light of day.

I love Raederle. You're right, she is marvelous.

[nestra]

I just found my copies of those two most recent novels. I guess I'll keep waiting to read them until the last one comes out.

I adore Ael too. I blathered about Duane's Trek novels in my journal a while back. Ael is marvelous not only because of herself, but because of the way her crew is drawn around her, much like the Kirk in Duane's novels is so interesting because his crew is so damn interesting. I want to live on that ship.

[vaznetti]

Thanks for the link -- I have no idea how I missed that discussion! Now I want to hop a plane back to San Francisco and let myself into my parents' basement to see how many of my old Trek books are still there. (I fear I got rid of a number of them, at one point.)

I agree that part of what Makes Ael such an interesting character is that she doesn't exist in isolation -- seeing her in the context of her family, her crew, her culture makes her more individual, somehow.

[midnightsjane]

I'd forgotten about Duane's books til now. Of all the Star Trek novels I have read, hers are my favourites, and the Rihannsu novels especially. I love the character of Ael, and the way Duane has given her such a strong connection to her family and crew, and the guts to do the hard things. I hope she's going to finish the third novel; I didn't know she was planning one. I must ask my friends (who own a Sci-Fi/Fantasy bookstore) if they know anything more.
Very interesting list! I think Leia Organa is a great choice, and one of the things I liked best about Star Wars was her character. Also agree with you about Aeryn Sun. I adore her strength, her vulnerability, and her willingness to jump into the unknown, all guns blazing.
Now I'm going to have to think about my favourite fictional women.

[vaznetti]

Diane Dueane's really were my favorite Star Trek novels -- she did a great job with the canon characters as well as with her own creations.

I'm going to have to think about writing Leia. It might be the only reason I see the last movie.

[deslea]

She only survived the series because the writers forgot she existed.

Well said. And so, so true.

[vaznetti]

I'm rarely grateful for their carelessness, but in this case, I really am! (Also, there's a kind of sneakiness to the character's survival; I like that.)

[tir]

I'm glad to see you doing this meme--I have plans to at some point in the near future. Leia was always a hero of mine.

The BBC is releasing S1 on DVD on June 20th--buy it
In the UK? US? Canada? Must have!

[vaznetti]

They're releasing it in the UK, so it will be a region 2 DVD -- I think it will be about 30 pounds, which makes it reasonable in the UK and deathly expensive anywhere else. I'll see if I can find a link for you.

It took me ages to do this meme!

[tir]

Ah. I'll have to wait for a North American release, then, but it's good to know that there's hope. Thanks.

And I hope the leak is taken care of soon.