Female Fantasy Authors

[kauldron26]

Im a 22 year old Black guy and more and more i am of the opinion that women write better fantasy than men. And today reading A Crown of Stars by Kate Elliott only supports my theory.

WOMEN
Chalion by Lois Mcmaster Bujold (Curse of Chalion is a perfect novel IMHO)
Farseer and Tawny Man by Robin Hobb (IMHO superior to ASOIAF)
Harry Potter by JK Rowling
Rhapsody Trilogy by Elizabeth Haydon
Sevenwaters Trilogy by Juliet Marillier
Kushiel's Legacy by Jacqueline Carey
Transformation Trilogy by Carol Berg
Bone Doll Trilogy by Lynn Flewelling

These series not only maintain the greatness of the original but even surpass them sometimes.

now look at these (i know they are limited examples)

MEN
ASOIAF by GRRM (3 perfect novels and AFFC weakened the series)
Riftwar saga by Raymond Feist (Magician was pretty incredible and then Silverthorn and Darkness at Sethanon couldnt live up to the original)
Memory Sorrow and Thorn (this amazing trilogy would have been damn near perfect but dragon bone chair was pretty weak)
Dune (messiah and Children weakened the original)

Hyperion/Endymion Omnibus by Dan Simmons is the only series written by a man that i have read that maintains perfection all through without ever missing a single beat.


Its like Women Fantasy Authors know how to write better characters and more profound stories. i have recently become acclimated to the fact that fantasy and scifi series in general have a hard time maintaining that "factor" that makes you love it in the first place. When women write fantasy i have noticed that stories are driven by characters and less by action and this maintains the strength of their series.


any thoughts on this observation?

 

[Lenny]

I can think of two examples straight off that support yur statement:

When women write fantasy i have noticed that stories are driven by characters and less by action and this maintains the strength of their series.

Jennifer Fallon, and more or less all of her books (though particularly the Lion of Senet trilogy), and Robin Hobb, who is infamous for character development.

I believe you may be on to something here! ut at the same time, I'm going to think of male authors who do the same.

 

[Lith]

We've been discussing this issue here: http://www.sffchronicles.co.uk/forum/43678-gender-of-main-character-do-you-care.html

But this is a more proper place for it, so...

Since I've spent the last few years avoiding female authors, I'm unfortunately unfamiliar with a lot of those books. (What can I say? I wasn't impressed by a lot of what I read as a teenager.) I suppose I should get around to fixing that, but I've got to finish my New Year's resolution first.

I hesitate to make generalizations about genders as a whole, since I think people vary more from individual to individual than they do by gender. The only difference I've noted that bears out is that women tend to be more interested in people, while men tend to be more interested in things. Which would go toward explaining why women would write more character-driven stories (can't say yay or nay on whether I agree that they actually DO, since I haven't read enough).

But what defines "good" fantasy is pretty subjective. Character development is only one way to measure a novel; there's also the world explored and the ideas explored, and if those matter more to you than character, then you'll come up with a whole different set of "bests".

Me, I'll take characters that are somewhat lacking in development over characters that don't behave quite properly as humans. I really don't like it when a character doesn't feel right, or when the tale starts to feel like a soap opera, a "court intrigue", or a "novel of manners". Blech.

Which brings up another question- do women write more character-driven stuff because they were raised on soaps? I can't answer that, as I wasn't, and in a lot of ways, don't feel representative of my gender.

 

[GOLLUM]

There are plenty of good series written by men that are as good as or better than their female counterparts. Both groups have many talented writers in them.

Some male authors you missed include italo calvino, steven erikson (greatest EPIC fantasy series of all time), r scott bakker, greg keyes, china mieville, e.r. eddison, paul kearney, guy gavriel kay, gene wolfe, robert silverberg, michael moorcock, rodger zeleazny and I could list many more quality writers who produce as good as anyone out there.

With all due respect I'm confident that the wider you read the more examples you will find of great male authors and several female authors as well.

Good luck and don't forget to check out the recommendation threads and the Fantasy Masterwork series by Victor Gollancz.

You missed Particia McKillip, she's very good too..

Enjoy!

 

[Quokka]

I think from what I've read it would be a fairly even spread of hit and miss with male or female writers.

Margaret Weis and Tracy Hickman have written some good Fantasy but also some I couldn't recommend.

Hobbs 3 Farseer series are fantastic but the first book of her Soldier Son Trilogy was a pain and although I will read the rest it's way down the list and I was really enjoying Katherine Kerr's Deverry series but struggled to stay interested after 5 or 6 books.

Whereas Ursula K Le Guin I think is up there among the best and most important writers in Sci-Fi.

You might well be right that in very general terms, female writers will tend to focus more on the character interaction and development then male writers but take Le Guin I personally find some of her characters and situations really interesting but she's got a long history in social anthropology, what's influenced by her being female and what's from her studies? You'd have to ask her that question.

When I read the first few books of the Wheel of Time I thought it was going to be a brilliant series but for me it got lost along the way, I certainly think the series would have been stronger if a female author had been assisting/ co-writing.

Whereas the most emotional response to a book for me has probably been Daniel Keyes Flowers for Algernon and I don't think you can fault his character development there.

Recently I've been wondering if the biggest link between what I've enjoyed and what I haven't, particuarly in Fantasy is who can back up that first series. Some of the time an author's first series seems so well thought out, great characters etc but the second and third never quite reach that level and I've been wondering if its due to the first series being something that they spent years thinking about, writing and submitted it only when they felt it was finished. If they're lucky enough to be published then the pressure is on to write the next series/book and I can only imagine that that is a very different experience (sorry that last thoughts a bit off topic).

 

[GOLLUM]

Whereas Ursula K Le Guin I think is up there among the best and most important writers in Sci-Fi.

Yes, thanks for bringing her up. Especially seek out Left Hand Of Darkness and her Wizard Of Earthsea series.

 

[Overread]

Hmm I can throw a few more up - not sitting on the same lofty chair as one's such as Hobb are sitting on, but sitting almost beneath:
Ann Bishop: The Black Jewels Trillogy - takes a new twist on all things demonic!

Stome Constantine: Sea Dragon Heir - dark and evil

Shara Monette and Elizabeth Bear: A Companion to wolves - Ok put these two together because so far I have only read the one (stated) book co-authored; but both are well established authors in their own right

strange - I rate the two uppermost there as being soem of the most dark and evil writers (after reading Martin and Erikson) whilst the other two put a whole new meaning to animal/human mind bonds.

 

[Rosemary]

Up to date my favourite female author is Sara Douglass. The Axis Trilogy and Wayfarer Redemption were extremely well written & I have read both a number of times. Marvelous characters and a good storyline throughout. Her world building is such that it is not comparable with other fantasy books where you feel as if you are in the medieval period. I find her writing more in-depth than some of the other female authors.

Jennifer Fallon & Cecila Dart-Thornton are two very good authors & both have written some great trilogies.
For my taste in literature I found I didn't enjoy Robin Hobb or Ann Bishop's books quite as much though.

Of course there are many male authors who I have enjoyed reading. Eddings, Irvine and of course Erikson.

 

[the_faery_queen]

i do like female writers more than male these days i have to say. because i do prefer character driven stuff. i was discussing this with a friend of mine, how i don't care about the plot nearly as much as the characters. a book i just brought, the princes of the golden cage, has a good basis for the plot, but the characters are SO irratating, that it's just not carried out properly (that and it feels rushed) and i think im happy to go along with any silly plot, as long as i like the people doing it.
tho i disagree on dragon bone chair being weak. i prefered it to the last half of the last book, i really found the whole ending of the series disappointing.

 

[Jen526]

When women write fantasy i have noticed that stories are driven by characters and less by action and this maintains the strength of their series.

I'd agree with this in general theory. I am *very* character-centric in my reading, and I *do* tend to enjoy female authors like the ones you mentioned more than their male counterparts. (With several notable exceptions like Kay, Mieville, and Keyes.)

However, I'd also say that female authors may be more at risk of *overdoing* it in the character relationship department. There have been a couple well-liked female authors mentioned just in this thread that, in my own opinion, cross a line between "character-driven" and "cheesy soap opera".

 

[TK-421]

I certainly do not take into account the gender of the author when choosing a series. While most of the ones I read were written by men, there is one series in particular that written by a woman that is among my favourites:
The Deverry series by Katherine Kerr

P.S. to the OP: ASOIAF was not weakened by AFFC but that point has been debated at great lengths in these forums.

 

[Anthony G Williams]

Which brings up another question- do women write more character-driven stuff because they were raised on soaps?

No, I don't think so. At the risk of being controversial, I think that women are genetically programmed to be more interested in people, men more interested in things. If more women watch soaps, that's an effect, not a cause.

One example that I read recently: an electronics firm wanted to find out what users thought of a range of advanced mobile phone products, so distributed them to various test groups for a while then pulled them together for forum discussions. The men all talked about their technical capabilities, the women about how they used them and how this affected their social lives.

This happens from a very early age. I recall reading about an experiment involving young children. They were called in to a waiting room, supposedly to have some tests, but in fact the room was secretly monitored to see what they would do. There was a box of toys in the room. When they had boys together, they took out the toys and started playing with them, and hardly said a word. When girls were together, they ignored the toys and chatted non-stop.

Edit to add: Sheri Tepper is a great fantasy/SF author, and her Marianne Trilogy is my favourite contemporary fantasy story - just terrific, and quite unlike anything else I've ever read.

 

[Mary Hoffman]

As one of the female fantasy writers on this forum, I feel drawn to respond. I can't speak for any others but, yes, my books are character-led. BUT the Stravaganza series also depends heavily on a sense of place. Each one is based in a city in a a parallel world Italy in the sixteenth century and I hope that each city acts as an additional character in the book.

World-building is as crucial for me as character. (If you want to check the books out, try Mary Hoffman - Children's writer and Stravaganza I also haver an author page here on Chrons).

Sorry this has turned into an advertisement but am not sure how many of you know my books and at what level to engage in this debate.

Mary

 

[Enchantedfire7]

I'm not quite sure which gender I think writes better. I love a good battle scene, but also good characters who feel real. Madeline Howard is awesome! Susan Cooper is wonderful. Can't get into Elizibeth Haydon though, too much composition and not enough dialouge. And ironicly Octavia Butler's "Wild Seed" was one of the greatest books I ever read, yet I dislike her other books. And I can't stand J.K. Rowling (no offense to her, but to each his own).

As for males, Tolkien and Lewis are by FAR my favorites, especialy Tolkien's "The Hobbit" and "The Return of the King" and Lewis' "The Horse and His Boy" and "Perelandra."

Yet I tend to lean toward female characters lately, especially in my own story in progress.

"There was a box of toys in the room. When they had boys together, they took out the toys and started playing with them, and hardly said a word. When girls were together, they ignored the toys and chatted non-stop." LMAO!

 

[Connavar]

I must say i agree about female fantasy authors writing different kind of fantasy compared to the males.

I have read only one female fantasy author so far. It was Robin Hobb and her first Farseer book.

Even though i didnt read more of the series cause i fond the hero too whiney, i liked the things she focused on about. It was more about characters, than adventure like action you see in similer type of epic fantasy.



I have read Lian Hearn too, she is a favorit. Her Otori series is very good. She is Historical Fantasy.

Is there a female David Gemmell i wonder ?

 

[murphy]

Shara Monette and Elizabeth Bear: A Companion to wolves - Ok put these two together because so far I have only read the one (stated) book co-authored; but both are well established authors in their own right

strange - I rate the two uppermost there as being soem of the most dark and evil writers (after reading Martin and Erikson) whilst the other two put a whole new meaning to animal/human mind bonds.

Sarah Monette has a trilogy out (starting with Melusine), that is very dark and gritty. She also has a horror anthology out called The Bone Key. All of these are character driven, but also include a lot of action.


And don't forget C. J. Cherryh's Fortress series.

 

[kauldron26]

most evil writer is Robin Hobb. I love her to death, but she puts her characters through hell and torment. Her ruthlessness can know no bounds.

 

[Giovanna Clairval]

About Robin Hobb: she is a terrific writer, and one of my favourite, but she's terrible at plotting. Take the liveships trilogy. I have rarely read another book where, at the same time, the characters were so well built and the plot so hazy. But I loved it anyway.

Of course, individual differences are more important than gender differences.

On female vs. male writing, check this out:

The Gender Genie

A little programme analyses snippets (of more than 500 words) and tells you if the text was written by a female or a male. The general idea is that there are statistical differences in the use of words (simple ones like "with" or "around"), between genders.

It scored twice with my writing (almost ex-aequo both times, I must say), but failed once (there was some exposition about the politics of my world in this snippet...).

 

[Werthead]

Is there a female David Gemmell i wonder ?

KJ Parker is probably the closest, although I suppose JV Jones' latest series isn't too far off that mark.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

I must say i agree about female fantasy authors writing different kind of fantasy compared to the males.

I have read only one female fantasy author so far. It was Robin Hobb and her first Farseer book.

Connavar, how can you say this when you haven't read anything like a fair sampling?

Ironically, there are plenty of readers who are firmly convinced that Robin Hobb is a male until somebody tells them otherwise. I wonder if this is due to her style of writing (which is, interestingly enough, a lot more gritty and tough than Megan Lindholm's) or because nobody names their daughters Robin anymore? When I was growing up, it was a name far more often bestowed on girls, at least in this part of the US, so my first reaction when hearing the name was to ask "Male or female?" But I've met many, many people who automatically assume male.