I've always loved science fiction, but first developed my love for storytelling as a prosecutor in the Bronx where I would weave the tale of a crime into a coherent story for a juryās consideration. After several years of prosecuting sex crimes and crimes against children, and publishing a book about that experience, I had enough of the real world and returned to my first love for novel writing. Science fiction is a male-dominated field and most sci-fi heroes are male. My greatest influences are male characters and authors, but I always wished for more diversity in the genre. Iām excited to share this passion and hope it will inspire authors and readers!
Jazz Bashara, Andy Weirās bad-ass female MC in Artemis, is one of my favorite female sci-fi protagonists of all time. Jazz is a āmoon-girlā who makes her living on the Moonās first city by using her job as a porter to smuggle contraband onto rocket deliveries via a childhood pal on Earth. An apostate Muslim, Jazz is wicked smart, funny as hell, and has a morale code that defies logic yet, somehow, makes complete sense. Weir brings his signature sense of humor to this character without dumbing her down or sexing her up. He takes us on a great adventure as she blows things up, especially her relationships, and then tries to repair the damage without getting deported from the Moon or, worse yet, disappointing her father.
The bestselling author of The Martian returns with an irresistible new near-future thrillerāa heist story set on the moon.
Jasmine Bashara never signed up to be a hero. She just wanted to get rich.
Not crazy, eccentric-billionaire rich, like many of the visitors to her hometown of Artemis, humanityās first and only lunar colony. Just rich enough to move out of her coffin-sized apartment and eat something better than flavored algae. Rich enough to pay off a debt sheās owed for a long time.
So when a chance at a huge score finally comes her way, Jazz canāt say no.ā¦
Brandon Sanderson has written some amazing female characters, but my favorites are in his Reckoners series. He litters the books with all varieties and female badasses. They are good, they are evil, and sometimes, they are both. In this world where a strange red star suddenly appears, arbitrarily granting superpowers (and evilness), Megan is a frontline fighter against the āEpics.ā The knives she hides up her skirts arenāt the only secrets she keeps, but youāll have to read the books to find out what sheās really up to. On the Epic side, Regalia can manipulate water and uses it to submerge Manhattan. She can see through any surface of water, can make water-based duplicates of herself, and often battles using water tentacles. These are just two of Sandersonās crazy cool female sci-fi characters in this series.
Ten years ago, Calamity came. It was a burst in the sky that gave ordinary men and women extraordinary powers. The awed public started calling them Epics. But Epics are no friend of man. With incredible gifts came the desire to rule. And to rule man you must crush his wills.
Nobody fights the Epics... nobody but the Reckoners. A shadowy group of ordinary humans, they spend their lives studying Epics, finding their weaknesses, and then assassinating them.
And David wants in. He wants Steelheart - the Epic who is said to be invincible. The Epic who killed David's father.ā¦
The Blue Prussian is a spellbinding story told by Blake OāBrien, a beautiful, young executive with a globetrotting career. Blake returns to her native Manhattan from San Francisco after escapingāor so she thinksāher marriage to a dashing man who turned out to be a prince of darkness. She had beenā¦
I love The Host because it has two female heroes, but one is a parasite inside the other. When a parasitic alien race, the Souls, invades earth, Wanderer is placed in the body of Melanie Stryder. When implanted, Souls are supposed to completely subsume the host, but Melanie Stryder wonāt give up her mind or her body that easily. Melanie is a hero because of her strength and willingness to sacrifice anything to maintain her autonomy. Wanderer is a hero because of her empathy and willingness to defy the construct of her society and forge a new path. The book is the most interesting portrayal of the capacity for sentient beings to develop empathy against all odds that Iāve ever read. Itās also a remarkable portrayal of a most imaginative female bond.
Now in the trade paperback edition: New Bonus Chapter and Reading Group Guide, including Stephenie Meyer's Annotated Playlist for the book.Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, didn't expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.As Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she's never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer andā¦
I love a book where the character finds strength she never knew she possessed. Cassie is just a regular high school kid until the Others arrive. She thinks she has to depend on others to survive the alien invasion, but after her little brother Sam is recruited into the militaryās resistance force, Cassie realizes that sheās capable of far more than just cheerleading.
As a fellow āfake it ātil you make itā girl, I love Cassieās willingness to put on a brave face and her āI can handle this,ā facade, until she finds out that she actually can handle it. Cassie is resourceful and intelligent, and while sheās not ruthless, sheāll do what she has to to protect those she loves.
After the 1st wave, only darkness remains. After the 2nd, only the lucky escape. And after the 3rd, only the unlucky survive. After the 4th wave, only one rule applies: trust no one.
Now, it's the dawn of the 5th wave, and on a lonely stretch of highway, Cassie runs from Them. The beings who only lookā¦
The thrilling follow-up to RUN, a Finalist for BestThrillers' Book of the Year.
Veronica Walshās meticulously created ānormalā life was torn apart by the public revelations about her past.She is trying to put the pieces back together when a desperate Mikaela Alonso comes to her asking for help. Sheā¦
Atwoodās Offred is an interesting choice for a list of strong female sci-fi leads because her arc takes time and sheās not a hero in the aggressive sense of the rest of my heroines. But this honest rendering makes the terrifying world Atwood has built and the story of the women oppressed in Gilead more realistic. An ordinary woman placed in an extraordinary situation, Offred is sympathetic and kind without being a doormat. Her gallows sense of humor brings Gilead to life in a bearable way. Itās easy to judge Offred as passive or weak, but sheās a hero because she remains true to herself despite being terrorized and brainwashed. With her as our narrator, we continue to have hope that, someday, Gilead will fall.
** THE SUNDAY TIMES NO. 1 BESTSELLER ** **A BBC BETWEEN COVERS BIG JUBILEE READ**
Go back to where it all began with the dystopian novel behind the award-winning TV series.
'As relevant today as it was when Atwood wrote it' Guardian
I believe in the resistance as I believe there can be no light without shadow; or rather, no shadow unless there is also light.
Offred is a Handmaid in The Republic of Gilead, a religious totalitarian state in what was formerly known as the United States. She is placed in the household of The Commander, Fred Waterford -ā¦
A corporationās immensely popular technology can rewire your brain to rid you of any bad habits or unwanted impulses in 2126 New York City. The government is using ReInception in a supposed attempt to rid society of criminal behavior one brain at a time. But when a college student and a government-labeled terrorist discover the truth behind whatās happening in peopleās heads, they are ready to risk their lives to preserve their free will and the future of society.
The Road from Belhaven is set in 1880s Scotland. Growing up in the care of her grandparents on Belhaven Farm, Lizzie Craig discovers as a small girl that she can see the future. But she soon realises that she must keep her gift a secret. While she can sometimes glimpseā¦
It's 1943, and World War II has gripped the nation, including the Stilwell family in Jacksonville, Alabama. Rationing, bomb drills, patriotism, and a changing South barrage their way of life. Neighboring Fort McClellan has brought the world to their doorstep in the form of young soldiers from all over theā¦