liang@cvl.UUCP (Eli Liang) (02/22/85)
How many people out there have read and liked any/all of Cherryh's stuff
or Tanith Lee's works? I liked Cherryh's Downbelow Station a lot and much
of Tanith Lee's wierder stories. A friend of mine however won't read any
of that stuff on first principles. To paraphrase him, "after all, how many
really good female SF authors do you know?" I personally think that the
number is certainly substantial. I guess a lot of female SF writers though
are still suffering from prejudices such as this and find that they must hide
behind names which are patently male or gender non-specific. Cases in point
are C.J.Cherryh and Andre Norton.
-eli
--
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Eli Liang ---
University of Maryland Computer Vision Lab, (301) 454-4526
ARPA: liang@cvl, eli@mit-mc, eli@mit-prep CSNET: liang@cvl
UUCP: {seismo,rlgvax,allegra,brl-bmd,nrl-css}!umcp-cs!cvl!liangeric@osiris.UUCP (Eric Bergan) (02/23/85)
> How many people out there have read and liked any/all of Cherryh's stuff > or Tanith Lee's works? I liked Cherryh's Downbelow Station a lot and much > of Tanith Lee's wierder stories. A friend of mine however won't read any > of that stuff on first principles. To paraphrase him, "after all, how many > really good female SF authors do you know?" I personally think that the > number is certainly substantial. I guess a lot of female SF writers though > are still suffering from prejudices such as this and find that they must hide > behind names which are patently male or gender non-specific. Cases in point > are C.J.Cherryh and Andre Norton. I pity your friend, he is missing out on some very good SF. I have read all of Cherryh's stuff, and much of it is very good (the short stories in Sunfall, the Kesrith series, Downbelow Station). I am not a fan of Tanith Lee, but there are other female authors who are also outstanding (Le Guin, Kate Wilhelm, some of MacCaffrey's work, and some of McIntyre's). As with anything else, there are good and bad female SF authors (and some that are uneven). -- eric ...!seismo!umcp-cs!aplvax!osiris!eric
res@ihuxn.UUCP (Rich Strebendt) (02/25/85)
In response to: | How many people out there have read and liked any/all of Cherryh's stuff | or Tanith Lee's works? ... A friend of mine however won't read any | of that stuff on first principles. To paraphrase him, "after all, how many | really good female SF authors do you know?" I personally think that the | number is certainly substantial. I guess a lot of female SF writers though | are still suffering from prejudices such as this and find that they must hide | behind names which are patently male or gender non-specific. Cases in point | are C.J.Cherryh and Andre Norton. Your friend has his head firmly ensconced in his ass. If you wish, feel free to convey this insightful comment to him. I have been reading Science Fiction for many years, and I have found that I have thoroughly enjoyed work by the following authors (among others) C. J. Cherryh (one of my all-time favorites) Marion Zimmer Bradley (The series on the People is great) Ursula K. LeGuin (Dispossessed is a masterpiece) Anne McCaffrey (Great Dragon Rider Series) Andre Norton (Some books are aimed at juveniles, but still first rate) A hallmark of the female SF author seems to me to be a great sensitivity to the reactions and development of the characters. Hence, since I enjoy getting to know a character as a story progresses, I greatly enjoy the work of the authors named above. That is NOT to say that male authors are incapable of the same sensitivity. I find Robert Silverberg's recent work quite well done in this regard, for one. Yes, for a long time some really good SF writers who happened to be of the female gender had to hide that fact to get published. I think that this situation has begun to turn around -- I have begun to see garbagey SF on the paperback shelves bearing the names of female authors!! Perhaps another interminable discussion is in order, to whit: WHAT IS SOME OF THE WORSE SF YOU HAVE READ RECENTLY A) BY A MALE AUTHOR B) BY A FEMALE AUTHOR C) BY NONE OF THE ABOVE For (A) above, I nominate the Illearth Wars series (Chronicles of Thomas Covenant). I struggled through 2.5 of the volumes before I gave up and burned them (they even smelled bad on the fire!). For a close second to this I will nominate Harlin Ellison (vulgarity for the sake of sensationalism and $$$). I have to consider a while before I make any nominations for (B) or (C) above, as I am normally not a book critic. Rich Strebendt ...!ihnp4!ihuxn!res
ariels@orca.UUCP (Ariel Shattan) (02/25/85)
> How many people out there have read and liked any/all of Cherryh's stuff > or Tanith Lee's works? I liked Cherryh's Downbelow Station a lot and much > of Tanith Lee's wierder stories. A friend of mine however won't read any > of that stuff on first principles. To paraphrase him, "after all, how many > really good female SF authors do you know?" I personally think that the > number is certainly substantial. I guess a lot of female SF writers though > are still suffering from prejudices such as this and find that they must hide > behind names which are patently male or gender non-specific. Cases in point > are C.J.Cherryh and Andre Norton. > > -eli Tell your friend to come out of the dark ages! What a dumb thing to say! "I'm not going to read anything by Chip Delaney or Steve Barnes. After all, How many really good black SF authors are there" "I'm not going to read anything by Issac Asimov, Harlan Ellison, or Avram Davidson. After all, how many really good Jewish SF authors are there?" ETC Your friend is missing out on Vonda McIntyre, Ursula LeGuin, Joan Vinge, James Tiptree, Jr., Kate Wilhelm, and many other lesser known but still good authors. Your friend is hiding behind prejudices formed when there were no female SF authors. Personally, I think he's missing a great deal. I also think he deserves to miss out, if he can't get beyond his backward, stupid, blind outlook on new things. Give him some James Tiptree, and don't tell him 'til later that she's a woman... Ariel Shattan ..!tektronix!orca!ariels
messick@tekchips.UUCP (Steve Messick) (02/25/85)
> How many people out there have read and liked any/all of Cherryh's stuff > or Tanith Lee's works? ... C.J.Cherry is my favorite author. I must admit that I found her fantasy duo (The Dreamstone & Tree of Swords and Jewels) and Voyager in Night rather difficult to follow at times. However her technique of not explicitly telling you everything you need to know to understand the plot appeals to me -- I like to think a bit as I read. --steve tektronix!tekchips!messick
chabot@miles.DEC (L. S. Chabot) (02/26/85)
Well, let's see: rejoinders to "just how many good female science fiction authors are there anyway"...in a pinch, a favorite repartee is to ridicule the person's ideas of good science fiction. You start out with "Well, just how many good *male* science fiction authors are there anyway?" and get the person to name the authors held dearest, and then snort and criticize the ones you know, and declare "*Never* heard of him" while obviously implying that he can't be good if not well-known. Fight fire with fire, I say. It may be hard to put down the subject matter as being "only *men's* issues" (so that you're saying that they aren't worthy of consideration by the educated portions of the human race, but only concern "typical" men's concerns which everybody knows are racing forms and power lawn mowers :-) ), but, heck, the exercise in sarcasm is probably worth the effort. Of course, we should only be so lucky as to get such a fool as above to list James Tiptree, Jr. as a favorite...on the other hand, you might not be able to withstand the mirth! (and, sadly, it's no longer very likely) I like to try to worm such discussions around to how none of the person's favorites can compare to biggies of conventional literature, such as, say, George Eliot. L S Chabot UUCP: ...decwrl!dec-rhea!dec-amber!chabot ARPA: ...chabot%amber.DEC@decwrl.ARPA USFail: DEC, LMO4/H4, 150 Locke Drive, Marlborough, MA 01752
ellen@reed.UUCP (Ellen Eades) (02/26/85)
> Your friend is missing out on Vonda McIntyre, Ursula LeGuin, Joan > Vinge, James Tiptree, Jr., Kate Wilhelm, and many other lesser known > but still good authors. You forgot Joanna Russ!!!! And Ellen Kuttner, Marion Zimmer Bradley, Diane Duane, R.A. MacAvoy, Sylvia Engdahl, Madeleine L'Engle, Katherine Kurtz, Jane Yolen, Joan Aiken.....Sorry, I'm getting carried away. -Ellen
ariels@orca.UUCP (Ariel Shattan) (02/27/85)
> > Your friend is missing out on Vonda McIntyre, Ursula LeGuin, Joan > > Vinge, James Tiptree, Jr., Kate Wilhelm, and many other lesser known > > but still good authors. > > You forgot Joanna Russ!!!! And Ellen Kuttner, Marion Zimmer > Bradley, Diane Duane, R.A. MacAvoy, Sylvia Engdahl, Madeleine > L'Engle, Katherine Kurtz, Jane Yolen, Joan Aiken.....Sorry, > I'm getting carried away. > -Ellen You're right. I also forgot Zenna Henderson, Chelsea Quinn Yarbro (try her SF some time, better than St. Germaine, in my opinion), Marta Randall, Suzette Hayden Elgin, Jessica Amamanda Salmonson (ok, so she's more fantasy), Jo Clayton... Ariel
brust@hyper.UUCP (Steven Brust) (03/07/85)
> > Your friend is missing out on Vonda McIntyre, Ursula LeGuin, Joan > > Vinge, James Tiptree, Jr., Kate Wilhelm, and many other lesser known > > but still good authors. > > You forgot Joanna Russ!!!! And Ellen Kuttner, Marion Zimmer > Bradley, Diane Duane, R.A. MacAvoy, Sylvia Engdahl, Madeleine > L'Engle, Katherine Kurtz, Jane Yolen, Joan Aiken.....Sorry, > I'm getting carried away. > -Ellen What caught my eye was the mention of Jane Yolan. Wonderful writer! Have you read Cards of Grief?!?! Also, looking more closely at your list, Harty agreement with, at least, Diane Duane (her first novel, at any rate) and MacAvoy. Also, allow me to recommend Pamela Dean (The Secret Country, Ace, May 1985). -- SKZB