My mother said a Cool Thing several years back when she first started to realize that she was getting older faster than she was getting younger. She says “why do I have to be a mother, a maiden or a crone? Can’t a woman just be a woman? I’m not a crone yet and I’m not a mother any more. What am I for the next thirty years? A void?”
A while back I started and abandoned several posts about the age of characters in SF/F and about how I am feeling very disenfranchised by my inability to identify with or care about the characters I was encountering. There are lots of young folks from children to mid-twenties. There are some about grown-up men, fewer about old men. There are not so many about women who are my age or older, and even fewer about women who are childless or whose children are grown.
I’ve discussed before my Epic Quest for Epic Fantasy, yes? I’ve convinced myself that I’ve missed some really great reads that have fallen under the radar and am seeking those titles and authors out. I am finding that I really prefer what is called “midlist”, that many of these books are out of print, that they were at the time that they were published considered to be soft science fiction. Now, reading these in a retrospective manner, I would have to define “soft science fiction” as a science fiction story in which there are really great characters spanning ages and gender. I am falling in love with these finds! The characters are so … so…. PEOPLE-Y! This book has real people in it! In space! with airlocks and aliens! And the women are grown ups! I’m very excited.
Sigh. In convention panels on “strong female characters” no one can think of any except for (you guessed it) Princess Leia and Pick-Your-Urban-Fantasy main character. I suggest books, but no one’s heard of these authors. Really? Am I imagining how wonderful these books are? Am I seeing something that’s not there? I’ve given up on these panels.
At Patrick Rothfuss’ Guest Doo-Dad speech, he read to us from the beginning of a story he’s starting. This story idea was generated by a discussion he had with Ellen Datlow (a long-time revered editor of anthologies) and Teri Windling (artist). They were trying to identify fantasy novels in which the main character is not defined by her children: she isn’t defending children, she isn’t trying to get her son to become king, and so forth. Ok, great! I’m not just a bitchy feminist whining about something better left to The Men. There are other people elsewhere thinking about this.
His talk and short story (just the beginning!) reaffirmed my sensation of being an outsider, having chosen not to have children. Sometimes it’s like I don’t exist, people find they have nothing to say to me, it gets awkward. I’m thirty years early for that thirty-year-long void between Mother and Crone. It’s reflected in my reading life, too. One of the reasons that a book will resonate with us is because we find the one of the characters to be an acceptable role-model. Going through this “What Am I?” renaissance, I realized that I’m doing this too when I read for my Epic Quest for Epic Fantasy. Let me tell you, mid-thirties and no children, it’s been a LONG TIME since I’ve found a valid role model in a book.
Paula and I put our heads together and thought of…two…fantasies. Juliet McKenna’s Livak from her Tales of Einarinn which starts with The Thief’s Gamble is not in the story because she has children who are important to the story. She’s not married and doesn’t have children, but isn’t a spry young maiden either. Livak’s motivations are her own. She’s concerned about her potential relationship with Ryshad but her actions aren’t limited to her romantic hopes, and in fact, spends a couple of books deciding if she wants to pursue this relationship. She earns her own money, does her own thing, and yet, the books are neither ABOUT Livak nor ABOUT how Livak is not your typical gal. The story is about finding a lost magic system with which to defend themselves against a previously unknown foe.
Paula’s entry is The Deeds of Paksenarrion by Elizabeth Moon. I’m hoping that one of Paula’s Saturday posts will cover this book.
Some of the sci-fi Paula and I came up with over the weekend: Julie Czerneda’s Species Imperative series; Jo Clayton’s Skeen’s Leap series, Sarah Zettel’s Fool’s War.
So, do you have any entries?
Hey, if you’re interested in some novels with female leads, try reading some of Tanya Huff’s novels. There are some love stories going on, but I really did like the Blood series (female supernatural private detective with a sexy vampire helper? Count me in!) She has a science fiction series, the Valor series, which I haven’t read (not that involved in Sci-Fi I have to say), but it could be worth looking into.
Check out the Parasol Protectorate. I know it may not follow what you’re looking for exactly, but it’s an interesting idea with a female protagonist who is completely pragmatic. She really does seem to try to avoid any sort of emotional thinking at all, which leads to a lot of crazy stuff going on. Plus vampires and werewolves! Even though she does eventually end up in a relationship, she seems quite self-sufficient and always seems to want to do things on her own.
Robin Hobb’s Liveship Traders is quite the interesting read. It follows a woman who has spent her whole life aboard her family’s ship and expects to inherit it when her father dies. She is often more focused on being on the ship than family matters, but I think there may be a love story connected to it in the long run. I do enjoy most of Robin Hobb’s novels that take place in the same universe. While it does have a bit of a standalone aspect, this trilogy is the second trilogy in the world, and there is a small connection with the first trilogy (which is also good, but doesn’t involve a female lead).
I assume those panels are fantasy panels? I’m surprised no one came up with Janeway from Star Trek: Voyager. She was quite a strong female presence. Interestingly, while there is a lack of sci-fi/fantasy novels with a female lead, there seem to be even fewer with GLBT leads (and probably even fewer on the T side than the GLB side). I’m also a huge fan of the movie Red Sonja (which is like Conan but with a woman). She does fall in love by the end, but her motivations are not centered around her children.
I love Tanya Huff’s stuff. Her sci-fi is Nawesome, too. And I like that the main character in the Blood series is *not* athletically “kick-ass”–she’s almost blind!
Janeway–good call. My arguement is changing a little, not that there aren’t any of these more realistic female leads, but that there are some and we just don’t really see them.
and the GLBT lead? forgetaboutit! My PEEVE is the “fake” gay guy, inserted sort of apologetically as an afterthought by the author. For example, when Butcher’s Thomas takes up the hair-styling trade in…book10? That was “cute” but it bugged me.
One of the main characters in McKenna’s books is gay, and like Livak’s being a gal, his gayness is just part of the character, not the purpose for the story.
Richard K Morgan’s The Steel Remains is supposed to have a very good gay lead character, who is not only gay but also flawed and not a hero. You know, an average joe.
I didn’t think about lead in the Blood series being blind and not so kick ass, which is quite a good thing. She’s just a woman that gets herself into some crazy situations, but she still manages to try to take control of the situation.
I remember when I was about 20, my friend gave me the Last of the Herald-Mage series by Mercedes Lackey. It really did make me fall in love with her writing (for awhile, until it got terrible). I loved the lead was gay, and that he didn’t always make the right decisions, and that he had to deal with a lot of people not liking him for it. I also liked how he accidentally became as powerful as he did, and he had to learn from his mistakes and move on. It was really nice seeing a gay lead (especially in the early 90′s!) in a fantasy novel. I may have to re-read them again. I do re-read them every once in awhile. The only Mercedes Lackey I still read.
I’ll look into the other books you recommended. By no means do I choose my books based solely on having a GLBT lead, but it’s nice to have one every once in awhile.
LOVE this post. THANK YOU for this!
so nice to know that I”m not alone in being a 30-something with no kids and no plans for kids. that seems to be the first question I get asked by a new aquantance: how old are your children/how many children do you have, and i respond with “I don’t have any children”. . . end of conversation.
Sometimes I wonder if that’s why I seem more comfortable reading male protagonists? They get to do all the fun stuff without having to worry about romance or children or all that complicated un-fun stuff.
I’ve got the first Zettel Fool’s War book, and can’t wait to have time to read it.
Have you read Michelle Sagara’s series that starts with Cast in Shadows? not the best book I’ve ever read, but has a super kick ass female lead.
Hey! Cool! I’m glad this was useful and interesting to someone. Blogging sometimes can get to be a little too much like a diary, revelaing a little too much of those secrety personal secrets. You know how it is, so I’m glad it meant something.
I’ve started that Michelle Sagara book, got horribly confused and bored, and abandoned it. She writes as Michelle West, too. I read The House War. It was interesting, but the protagonist is ten (10) years old and i had a hard time buying that story. i want to like her writing, you knkw what I mean by that? I’m going to give her first series a try, see how that goes.
Good! Please do read Fool’s War and tell me if I’m imaging that book to be better than it is. ( if someone wants this book in e-format, Zettel sells it at BookViewCafe.com.)
the beginning of Cast in Shadow is really, really rough. took me like 4 days to get 100 pages in. it’s a good rainy day book, and the end is really good. i know exactly what you mean when you say you like her writing, I do too. . . but everytime i put Cast in Shadow down it was less likely I was going to pick it back up. too bad. :
shit, i just realized it’s a different Zettel book I have: Playing God. still really wanna read it tho.