Gladys Nubla's Book Corner - Fantasy & Science Fiction

The fantasy and science fiction works I like usually have an obvious though not primary romantic element. Many of the works here feature strong female lead characters and wonderful secondary characters. I have found some of my favorite authors in these (sub)genres only in the last few years or so, in 2000 or later, and some within the last year, but several have been writing since the early or mid-1990s. Like romance writers, fantasy/sci-fi writers often write in trilogies or longer series because they like to build on a particular world or universe, so most of the works featured here are part of a series. I no longer include every title in each series when I haven't read them, but you can usually find out the author's full bibliography by clicking on their names to go to their official web sites. Also, I should note that some of these books are considered to be in the "horror" subgenre, but I don't think they are ever scary enough to be considered "horror." Some do, however, contain lots of violence and gore, specifically Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series, so be warned.

I have categorized the books by by author's last name in alphabetical order, and the series and single-title books in chronological order after that. I don't have a description for every book listed here (especially since the last time I read some of these was years ago), but eventually I'll get to it.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Women of the Otherworld series - an underground world of werewolves, witches, sorcerers, spirit mediums, ghosts, angels, and, of course, vampires, all trying to cope with one another's existence as well as their own. (It's refreshing, by the way, how Armstrong doesn't fetishize vampires.)

The Guardian series - I picked up the first in this series after a tip from Kim Harrison on her website (and indeed Harrison provides a blurb on the back cover of Full Moon Rising), and I wasn't disappointed. I especially like the fact that it's dark urban fantasy set in Australia. Arthur has been publishing since 2001, but I haven't read any of her other books yet, so they're not listed here. You can find out more about them on her own website (click her name above).

Black Jewels Trilogy - interesting shadowy world and an incredible love story between two intriguing, sympathetic leads with dark pasts

Octavia Butler died on Saturday, February 25, 2006. One of my favorite authors, she wrote novels and stories of science fiction and fantasy that are provocative, ethically and politically aware, and just plain good. It's the world's loss.

Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter series - The best of the series only goes up to Blue Moon; the books start to focus too much on Anita's love/sex life after that, and the sexy supernatural male creatures she's with lose some of their mystique. Oh well. But if you want to learn about the books in the rest of the series, click on her name above to go to her web site.

Novels of the Ekumen - there's a whole series of these novels, but I've only read the one below, which is amazing; you can look up the rest in her bibliography

His Dark Materials series (young adult) - a simply brilliant series, with a thoughtful, compelling take on religion, spirituality, and the metaphysics of consciousness; the exciting plot and complicated, richly-drawn characters will draw you in

Shinn is probably the most elegant and supple writer here. The themes she seems to come back to most often are religion and myth, racism (against those who are perceived to be different in some way, not necessarily by skin color or "race" as we understand it today), and political intrigue. Instead of staying with one or two worlds she has created, she has produced several interesting worlds in very different novels that are not part of any series. She is most well-known for her Samaria series, which started out as a trilogy (see below), but she has recently started her second series, Twelve Houses, which is supposed to be a quartet. She also writes fantasy fiction for young adults, some of which I have included here.

Sheri Tepper writes strong-minded female characters mired in difficult situations that comment on real-world misogyny, right-wing conservative agendas, frightening medicalization, and environmental collapse. In my mind, her books are fierce, with quick-paced plotting, confrontational characters, and flinching depictions of gendered/sexualized violence. Some of her books I consider "ecofeminist" while others are feminist with a focus on medical and scientific aspects (related to the issue of women's right to their bodies and birthing). Her proposed solutions are strangely both skeptical and earnest--not necessarily believable, but really thought-provoking stuff.