Today, I am discussing women who write science fiction. Although science fiction is strictly about a future that uses technology, my definition for this post will include dystopian and speculative fiction. The genre has traditionally been male-dominated and the female main characters, few and far between. With more modern female sci fi writers coming onto the scene, this is slowly changing.
I love the works of Phillip K Dick and Ian Banks. But gradually, more females are writing in these genres and are bringing diverse viewpoints to the female characters. It started with Mary Shelley, Ursula K LeGuin and Madeleine L’Engle. These stories burst with emotional nuance, independent characters who have internalized the negative dialogues about them and still manage to think freely and tales where gender roles are unclear or reversed. I think this is pretty fierce.
Connie Willis
Connie Willis is an American author who has been named a Grand Master by the Science Fiction Writers of America. She has won eleven Hugo awards and seven Nebula awards. Her books are clever and full of heart. She writes female characters who make informed choices about their lives. In her Oxford time travel series, she writes books about historians who go back in time, like Doomsday Book. Many of her works explore the use of technology in our society, like the wonderful Crosstalk. I love everything I read of hers.
Ursula K Leguin
Ursula K Leguin is one of the great sci fi writers of all time. I am currently reading The Left Hand of Darkness, which is about a human envoy to the planet Gethen, where the natives are androgynous. The novel explores an alternative reality where humans evolved on Hain and travelled to other planets. The themes are gender and sexuality, as well as religion and our responses to these in society. It won the Nebula and Hugo Awards. Le Guin was a feminist and environmentalist and advocate of racial tolerance.
Veronica Roth
Veronica Roth wrote the Divergent trilogy, which was made into a film in 2013. This was her debut novel, written while still at university. She sold the publishing rights in 2010 and the film rights in 2011. This is one of those Rowling-esque success stories most authors dream of. What I love about the series is that the main character, Tris, is smart but not a genius, and chooses her own path, but she is not always convinced she is in the right. In short, she is human.
Becky Chambers
Becky Chambers is a fresh voice in the genre. She wrote her first novel, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet and self-published it with crowd funding. Since then, she has written two more novels in the same world and her work has been nominated for many awards. What I love about her books are the characters. The premise is that the crew of a spaceship, including alien forms and an AI all come together to work on an important contract. The characters are all so unique and well-drawn and the crew are ultimately more of a family than their own families. To me, her work is a hopeful message of understanding.
Margaret Atwood
Since the series has been so popular, much has been written about the bleak vision portrayed in Margaret Atwood‘s The Handmaid’s Tale. I watched the TV series before reading the book and was amazed at the depth of backstory hinted at in the novel, with its wonderful narrator, Offred. The female characters take centre stage in the book and represent different reactions to the new fundamentalist society; some finding their place, some steadfastly opposed. This is definitely worth a read as well as a watch.
You may like:
A Discussion on Time Travel for People who don’t read Sci Fi
Fierce Females in Historical Fiction
These are my top recommendations for modern female sci fi writers that I have read and can wholeheartedly endorse. I’d love to read more female authors, especially books set in dystopian futures.
Other fierce female authors on my TBR: N.K. Jemisin, Octavia E Butler, Alanah Andrews
Please comment below if you know of any others that I must read.
