I've been a reader of science fiction and fantasy for the last 50 years. That's right, dinosaurs still roamed the earth....and male writers all but owned the genre.
Growing up, I read Asimov, Bester, Bradbury, Clarke, Ellison, Heinlein, Sturgeon, Simak, Cordwainer Smith, A.E. van Vogt, Zelazney, etc. Wonderful stories of adventure and...
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I've been a reader of science fiction and fantasy for the last 50 years. That's right, dinosaurs still roamed the earth....and male writers all but owned the genre.
Growing up, I read Asimov, Bester, Bradbury, Clarke, Ellison, Heinlein, Sturgeon, Simak, Cordwainer Smith, A.E. van Vogt, Zelazney, etc. Wonderful stories of adventure and possibility, in a variety of futures or worlds with fascinating social structures...yet women were barely visible & mostly in supporting roles.
Then, hallelujah, women writers began working in the genre. For years, I wouldn't read any male authors! As a result, I read a lot more fantasy than previously. Tanya Huff’s “Blood” series lured me into reading vampire novels and Laurel K. Hamilton took brought in an even more varied cast of weres, witches, necromancers, etc. Charles de Lint hooked me on Urban Fantasy.
I’m still reading SciFi, preferably stories with women authors and/or female protagonists. Witty characters are preferred, even when they’re in deep trouble, e.g. Lois McMaster Bujold, Steven Brust and Connie Willis’ novels.
A weakness for witty repartee has led to the occasional Regency romance, including all of Georgette Heyer’s Regencies. Love of the absurd has turned me into a Terry Pratchett fiend.
And yes, I'm a Harry Potter fan, who considers Delores Umbridge to be one of The GREAT Screen Villains. There's something deliciously twisted about that middle-aged bureaucrat, with a fabulous PINK wardrobe, who smiles so primly...while being thoroughly unpleasant.
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