Comments contain ***SPOILERS***

How do I love Mara Jade from Timothy Zahn’s Star Wars novels. Let me count the ways. (Oh, and this is going to be a *spoiler free* post for recent Star Wars novels, if you know what I mean. I’d prefer to keep it that way. And if you don’t know what I mean, this warning isn’t for you.)

When Timothy Zahn came out with Heir to the Empire in 1991, it was the first officially Lucas-licensed Star Wars … READ MORE

I’m one of those people who checks every couple weeks to see if George R.R. Martin has finished the fifth book in the Song of Ice and Fire series. Martin is widely hailed as one of the best authors writing in fantasy today, and has a large following. I also occasionally browse the fan forums at Westeros.org. I’m not a huge forum poster. I mostly lurk to see if other people’s theories agree with mine. And I love the fact … READ MORE

Janet Evanovich’s mystery novels featuring semi-hapless bounty hunter Stephanie Plum are sort of like my junk food. I know they’re fluffy and silly, but whenever a new one comes out, I have to read it, if only from the library. Stephanie is the kind of character that some will point to as a strong female character, while some won’t. I think there are arguments either way, even though I come down on the side of Stephanie-as-good-female-character.

For one thing, she is … READ MORE

Ellen Kushner’s The Privilege of the Sword is unique for its explorations of gender and sexuality in a fantasy setting. Its nominations (Nebula Award nominee, Locus Award Finalist, Tiptree Honor Book) certainly go a long way to recommend it. If you’re not into fantasy, this book might still be a good read. It’s definitely a genre-crosser, set in a pseudo-historical fantasy setting where there is no magic at all. It’s part Jane Austen comedy of manners and part swashbuckler. It’s … READ MORE

I ran across this snippet at author John Scalzi’s blog Whatever this morning. It’s from the schedule at Penguicon, which is this weekend in Troy, MI.

6-7PM Promenade East Limited Female Roles In Fantasy, Comics, and SF TheFerrett, Elizabeth Bear, John Scalzi, Sarah Monette, M. Keaton Why is it that a female character will either be raped or lose her child? Do TV writers have difficulty coming up with a motivation for women that isn’t vagina-related? We rarely see every man’s … READ MORE

Only one time have I been actually mystified as to why a friend would ever recommend a book to me. This book was Wizard’s First Rule, by Terry Goodkind. The friend was a girl I was working with at the time; we’d both discovered we had a mutual love for fantasy novels. I lent her George R.R. Martin’s A Game of Thrones, and she said I had to read Terry Goodkind’s Sword of Truth series, which were her favorite books. … READ MORE

Since this is my first post, I’m going to write about my first memorable and shaping encounter with a female character in a fantasy novel. When I found Alanna: The First Adventure in my school library, I was eleven. Alanna, the main character in Tamora Pierce’s Song of the Lioness quartet, is ten. She wants to be a knight, and her twin brother wants to go to the monastery to be a scholar. They trade places, and Alanna goes to … READ MORE