Sci-fi with great women, where being a woman isn't the whole point
Sharp, complicated heroines doing the actual work of the story — saving the ship, solving the puzzle, breaking the world. Sci-fi where the lead's gender doesn't decide what the book is about.
The 7 books on this stack
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A Memory Called Empire
Arkady Martine · 2019
Winner of the 2020 Hugo Award for Best Novel A Locus, and Nebula Award nominee for 2019 An NPR Favorite Book of 2019 An Esquire Best Sci-Fi Book of All Time A Guardian Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Book of 2019 and “Not the Booker Prize” Nominee A Goodreads Biggest SFF Book of 2019 and Choice Awards Nominee "A Memory Called Empire perfectly balances action and intrigue with matters of empire and identity. All around brilliant space opera, I absolutely love it."—Ann Leckie, author of Ancillary Justice Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire only to discover that her predecessor, the previous ambassador from their small but fiercely independent mining Station, has died. But no one will admit that his death wasn't an accident—or that Mahit might be next to die, during a time of political instability in the highest echelons of the imperial court. Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her Station from Teixcalaan's unceasing expansion—all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her own, and hiding a deadly technological secret—one that might spell the end of her Station and her way of life—or rescue it from annihilation. Arkady Martine's debut novel A Memory Called Empire is a fascinating space opera and an interstellar mystery adventure. "The most thrilling ride ever. This book has everything I love."—Charlie Jane Anders, author of All the Birds in the Sky Also by Arkady Martine: A Desolation Called Peace Rose/House At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
Becky Chambers · 2014
LONGLISTED FOR THE BAILEY'S WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION 'A quietly profound, humane tour de force' Guardian The beloved debut novel that will restore your faith in humanity #SmallAngryPlanet When Rosemary Harper joins the crew of the Wayfarer, she isn't expecting much. The ship, which has seen better days, offers her everything she could possibly want: a small, quiet spot to call home for a while, adventure in far-off corners of the galaxy, and distance from her troubled past. But Rosemary gets more than she bargained for with the Wayfarer. The crew is a mishmash of species and personalities, from Sissix, the friendly reptillian pilot, to Kizzy and Jenks, the constantly sparring engineers who keep the ship running. Life on board is chaotic, but more or less peaceful - exactly what Rosemary wants. Until the crew are offered the job of a lifetime: the chance to build a hyperspace tunnel to a distant planet. They'll earn enough money to live comfortably for years... if they survive the long trip through war-torn interstellar space without endangering any of the fragile alliances that keep the galaxy peaceful. But Rosemary isn't the only person on board with secrets to hide, and the crew will soon discover that space may be vast, but spaceships are very small indeed. PRAISE FOR THE WAYFARERS 'Never less than deeply involving' DAILY MAIL 'Explores the quieter side of sci-fi while still wowing us with daring leaps of imagination' iBOOKS 'So much fun to read' HEAT 'Chambers is simply an exceptional talent, quietly and beautifully redefining the space opera' TOR.COM 'The most fun that I've had with a novel in a long, long time' iO9
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Binti
Nnedi Okorafor · 2015
Nnedi Okorafor's Binti is the winner of the Hugo Award and the Nebula Award for Best Novella! Her name is Binti, and she is the first of the Himba people ever to be offered a place at Oomza University, the finest institution of higher learning in the galaxy. But to accept the offer will mean giving up her place in her family to travel between the stars among strangers who do not share her ways or respect her customs. Knowledge comes at a cost, one that Binti is willing to pay, but her journey will not be easy. The world she seeks to enter has long warred with the Meduse, an alien race that has become the stuff of nightmares. Oomza University has wronged the Meduse, and Binti's stellar travel will bring her within their deadly reach. If Binti hopes to survive the legacy of a war not of her making, she will need both the gifts of her people and the wisdom enshrined within the University, itself — but first she has to make it there, alive. The Binti Series Book 1: Binti Book 2: Binti: Home Book 3: Binti: The Night Masquerade PRAISE FOR BINTI "Binti is a supreme read about a sexy, edgy Afropolitan in space! It's a wondrous combination of extra-terrestrial adventure and age-old African diplomacy. Unforgettable!" — Wanuri Kahiu, award-winning Kenyan film director of Punzi and From a Whisper At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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Ancillary Justice
Ann Leckie · 2013
This special 10th anniversary edition of the record-breaking masterpiece that won the Hugo, Nebula and Arthur C. Clarke Awards follows a warship trapped in a human body on a quest for revenge. This edition will feature a striking new cover, illustrated endpapers, deckled edges, foil on the book casing, a reversible jacket and a new introduction from the author. Ann Leckie is the first author to win the Arthur C. Clarke, the Nebula and the Hugo Award for Best Novel in the same year. They made me kill thousands, but I only have one target now. The Radch are conquerors to be feared - resist and they'll turn you into a 'corpse soldier' - one of an army of dead prisoners animated by a warship's AI mind. Whole planets are conquered by their own people. The colossal warship called The Justice of Toren has been destroyed - but one ship-possessed soldier has escaped the devastation. Used to controlling thousands of hands, thousands of mouths, The Justice now has only two hands, and one mouth with which to tell her tale. But one fragile, human body might just be enough to take revenge against those who destroyed her. 'ENGAGING AND PROVOCATIVE' SFX Magazine 'UNEXPECTED, COMPELLING AND VERY COOL' John Scalzi 'HIGHLY RECOMMENDED' Independent on Sunday 'MIND-BLOWING' io9.com 'THRILLING, MOVING AND AWE-INSPIRING' Guardian 'UTTER PERFECTION, 10/10' The Book Smugglers 'ASTOUNDINGLY ASSURED AND GRACEFUL' Strange Horizons 'ESTABLISHES LECKIE AS AN HEIR TO BANKS' Elizabeth Bear The Imperial Radch trilogy begins with Ancillary Justice, continues in Ancillary Sword and concludes with Ancillary Mercy. Also available now: Provenance is a stunning standalone adventure set in the same world as Ancillary Justice. NPR calls it 'A fitting addition to the Ancillary world'.
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Children of Time
Adrian Tchaikovsky · 2015
Humanity is overrated. The tenth anniversary edition of Adrian Tchaikovsky’s critically acclaimed Children of Time – an epic story of humanity’s battle for survival on a terraformed planet. Winner of the 30th anniversary Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Novel. Contains the short story ‘Bearable’ exclusive to this edition. Who will inherit this new Earth? The last remnants of the human race left a dying Earth, desperate to find a new home among the stars. Following in the footsteps of their ancestors, they discover the greatest treasure of the past age – a world terraformed and prepared for human life. But all is not right in this new Eden. In the long years since the planet was abandoned, the work of its architects has borne disastrous fruit. The planet is not waiting for them, pristine and unoccupied. New masters have turned it from a refuge into mankind’s worst nightmare. Now two civilizations are on a collision course, both testing the boundaries of what they will do to survive. As the fate of humanity hangs in the balance, who are the true heirs of this new Earth? Continue the journey with Children of Ruin, Children of Memory and Children of Strife. * * * Praise for Adrian Tchaikovsky ‘Children of Time is a joy from start to finish. Entertaining, smart, surprising and unexpectedly human’ - Patrick Ness, author of A Monster Calls. ‘No one has an an imagination like Adrian Tchaikovsky’ – Jim Al-Khalili, presenter of BBC Radio 4's The Life Scientific ‘Tchaikovsky is the break-out star of contemporary British SF’ – The Guardian Children of Time won the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Best Science Fiction Novel w/c 24 August 2016
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To Sleep in a Sea of Stars Sneak Peek
Christopher Paolini · 1905
To Sleep in a Sea of Stars is a brand new epic novel from New York Times bestselling author Christopher Paolini. Download a FREE sneak peek today! Exploring new worlds is all Kira Navarez ever dreamed of doing. But now she has found her nightmare. On a distant planet ripe for a colony, she has discovered a relic previously unseen by human eyes. It will transform her entirely and forever. Humanity will face annihilation. She is alone. We are not. There is no going back. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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Caliban's War
James S. A. Corey · 2012
NOW A PRIME ORIGINAL TV SERIES Caliban's War is the second book in the New York Times bestselling and Hugo-award winning Expanse series. For someone who didn't intend to wreck the solar system's fragile balance of power, Jim Holden did a pretty good job of it. While Earth and Mars have stopped shooting each other, the core alliance is shattered. The outer planets and the Belt are uncertain in their new - possibly temporary - autonomy. Then, on one of Jupiter's moons, a single super-soldier attacks, slaughtering soldiers of Earth and Mars indiscriminately and reigniting the war. The race is on to discover whether this is the vanguard of an alien army, or if the danger lies closer to home. The Expanse is the biggest science fiction series of the last decade and is now a major TV series. Praise for the Expanse: 'The science fictional equivalent of A Song of Ice and Fire' NPR Books 'As close as you'll get to a Hollywood blockbuster in book form' io9.com 'Great characters, excellent dialogue, memorable fights' wired.com 'High adventure equalling the best space opera has to offer, cutting-edge technology and a group of unforgettable characters . . . Perhaps one of the best tales the genre has yet to produce' Library Journal 'This is the future the way it's supposed to be' Wall Street Journal 'Tense and thrilling' SciFiNow The Expanse series: Leviathan Wakes Caliban's War Abaddon's Gate Cibola Burn Nemesis Games Babylon's Ashes Persepolis Rising Tiamat's Wrath Leviathan Falls Memory's Legion: The Complete Expanse Story Collection