# Recommend a sci-fi book for a female non sci-fi fan? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 7, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688 "2010-05-07T22:40:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [May 13, 2010, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/121 "2010-05-13T09:49:58Z")
Geek babies rule! My first night home from the hospital with the first Tiny Girl, I was watching repeats of _Doctor Who_ with her. When we wanted to send her to sleep in the afternoon, we stuck her in a darkened computer room with the background music to _Starcraft_ playing softly (it’s really quite ambient. And it just keeps on going!) These days she’s no longer tiny, at 6, and has been playing World of Warcraft on and off for about the last year and a half… Guess she’s doomed! ---
**Author:** ![Damfino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Damfino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damfino)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/122 "2011-03-03T22:09:04Z")
Without for them on wildcat island ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/123 "2011-03-03T22:59:58Z")
> [@Miss\_Woodhouse](#): > > Ender’s Game got me into sci fi. I tried some 50s hard sci fi at too young an age and didn’t want to read any more of it. I tentatively tried Ender’s Game and I’ve loved Sci Fi ever since. It’s Card’s master work. Beautiful and thought provoking without being dry or trying too hard. The plot is more important than the science or a big philosophical question (unlike some of the classic era sci fi.) _Ender’s Game_ by Orson Scott Card. I was going to recommend Ender’s Game, but it looks like someone already has. It’s a great story that has some integral SF, but the substance and theme work outside of it. There are starships and faraway worlds, but they fade into the background. _Earthlight_ by Arthur C. Clarke. This is a book of intrigue and subterfuge on a moon base! Its eerily poetic and has a touching ending. There is some interesting technology, but it doesn’t drown out the human story. A memorial is depicted at the end listing the names of those who perished in a major battle. The names are in alphabetical order, with no indication of what side they fought for. ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/124 "2011-03-03T23:08:48Z")
> [@KneadToKnow](#): > > _Rendezvous with Rama_, which I would recommend for any non s.f. fan. I like this book, but apparently some disagree. Several years ago, I was told by someone that this book was boring, and that the entire thing was just exploring an alien spaceship. Nothing major happens. While this is true, I thought it was well done and really imaginative. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/125 "2011-03-04T00:19:40Z")
Girl SF reader here, weighing in… _Ender’s Game_ by Orson Scott Card is pretty fun, but if she wants a heroine, she isn’t going to get one there. (I never cared, but some girls do.) If she is ok with blatant analogy, then the _Ships of Earth_ series (which is also by Orson Scott Card) are very SF-lite with a relatively interesting plotline, with the tech never getting overwhelming. David Brin is fantastic. _Startide Rising_ is one of the first SF books I ever read, and I loved it. Hard to go wrong with dolphins. Some of Crichton’s stuff is better than others. \*Sphere \*was really cool and creepy, with a fun twist that most girls will appreciate. _Jurassic Park_ is silly, but still manages to be a little more interesting than the movie. \* The Lost World \*may have an edge in that the kids (especially the girl) are a little less horrid there than in _Jurassic Park_. It’s a little thing, but it still means that I pick up _The Lost World_ more often when I’m going for a brainless re-read. If she’s really gearing up for the whole SF thing, and doesn’t mind a heavy military angle, then Elizabeth Moon’s _Vatta’s War_ series is good. Likewise David Weber’s _Honor Harrington_ series. There’s about a million of them to read if she ends up liking them. Honor is a very likeable heroine, and there are telapathic 6-limbed furry catlike creatures. Instant win points. Lots of references and sly nods at political conventions which is also fun to read. Fair warning tho, as the series goes on, the politics get heavier (but you get more 'cats also, which balances things out). Not precisely SF, but I enjoyed _Alas Babylon_ (yes, mock all you want, but I was young and it was a fun read.) That might be a good starter for something more fun (and more SF) like _Fahrenheit_ or _Brave New World_ or _The Handmaid’s Tale._ Finally, I can’t go without commenting on Zelazny. _Lord of Light_ is FANTASTIC, but to be honest, there’s a lot there with the mythology and the layers of tech/magic/miracles and the story peeling back like a mystery. I would recommend starting with the _Books of Amber_ first, and if she likes those, THEN go for _Lord of Light_ and/or _Creatures of Light and Darkness._ The best recommendation I have is to find out what she likes to read and find something in the SF field that is similar to that. Finally, she should realize that reading and NOT liking any one SF book doesn’t mean she doesn’t like SF at all - there’s so many different areas and styles that she should try a few out and see if she can find a niche she likes before giving up on the genre as a whole. ---
**Author:** ![GythaOgg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/49beb7/32.png) [@GythaOgg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GythaOgg)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/126 "2011-03-04T02:08:48Z")
I’d also suggest Niven, particularly the short story collections and ‘Ringworld’. It’s approachable, relatively interesting writing with some cool concepts. You can read ‘Ringworld’ and still like it even if you’re not familiar with his ‘Known Space’ universe. Please, not Heinlein. I like Heinlein, but he’s not the first writer you want to introduce a female reader to. Maybe some Clarke. If she’s seen things like ‘V’, she might find ‘Childhood’s End’ interesting. And ‘Rama’. I have mixed feelings about LeGuin. Her stuff is very heavy reading at times. I wouldn’t give it to a novice. Maybe some of her short stories at first. Gah, how did I miss this was an old thread? Apologies. ---
**Author:** ![Lasciel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e79b87/32.png) [@Lasciel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lasciel)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2011, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/127 "2011-03-04T02:15:48Z")
Oh good grief. And I’d been so good about realizing threads were zombies until now. Sheesh. :rolleyes: Well, did she ever read anything? Did she like it? ---
**Author:** ![Chapulin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/898d66/32.png) [@Chapulin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chapulin)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2011, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/128 "2011-03-05T18:16:38Z")
The year of our war - steph swainston ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/129 "2011-03-05T22:03:40Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Beat me to it. third the Bujold. I also love Moon is a Harsh Mistress For fun Hokas Pokas or Little Fuzzy [Hokas Pokas is a broad parody and absolutely hysterical, Little Fuzzy is about the discovery of a tiny teddy bearlike sentient species totally by accident. Very charming book.] ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/130 "2011-03-06T01:39:42Z")
> [@Zebra](#): > > What is wrong with Sheep? For PKD it is pretty accessible. The movie was only loosely based upon the book so even if they have seen the movie they are in for a different experience. > > UBIK would be a good choice if only > > there weren’t so many other entertainments with the guy being dead all along. > > Or as I suggested some short story collections. What’s wrong with sheep is what’s wrong with Dick. And I for one am willing to say it: Dick SUCKS!!! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/131 "2011-03-06T03:08:27Z")
I gotta second (or fifth or sixth by now) don’t start with Heinlein. He has a way of dealing with female characters that… might be an immediate turn-off. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/132 "2011-03-06T04:51:33Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > What’s wrong with sheep is what’s wrong with Dick. And I for one am willing to say it: > > Dick SUCKS!!! QFT. Over-rated claptrap. ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 2:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/133 "2011-03-06T14:31:03Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > I think that Sheri S. Tepper is really quite the feminist’s writer. Personally, I have to re-read _The Gate to Women’s Country_ every now and then, but I know that many SF readers don’t like Tepper’s message. I know this is a zombie thread, but I’ll chime in on Tepper’s message. I found her writing reasonably engaging, but the one book I read by her essentially had Stephen King in hell because Tepper finds his style of writing immoral or something. It was so small-minded and petty that I instantly took a dislike to Tepper and have been uninterested in reading anything else by her. ---
**Author:** ![vdgg81](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/3d9bf3/32.png) [@vdgg81](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vdgg81)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/134 "2011-03-06T18:52:24Z")
> [@Lasciel](#): > > Oh good grief. > > And I’d been so good about realizing threads were zombies until now. > > Sheesh. :rolleyes: > > Well, did she ever read anything? Did she like it? I’m always wondering what people think of the recommendations after they’ve read/listened/watched them. I wish there were follow up threads. > [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > What’s wrong with sheep is what’s wrong with Dick. And I for one am willing to say it: > > Dick SUCKS!!! Personally, I love dick. Though maybe not in conjunction with sheep. ---
**Author:** ![choie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/choie/32/7829_2.png) [@choie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/choie)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/135 "2011-03-06T19:34:13Z")
I know it’s a zombie thread, but just in case. I would recommend Carl Sagan’s _Contact_ – might not open the floodgates for her being a major SF reader, but it’s a darn good book that might appeal to an _Avatar_ and _Star Trek_ fan. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/136 "2011-03-06T23:19:21Z")
> [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](#): > > I know this is a zombie thread, but I’ll chime in on Tepper’s message. I found her writing reasonably engaging, but the one book I read by her essentially had Stephen King in hell because Tepper finds his style of writing immoral or something. It was so small-minded and petty that I instantly took a dislike to Tepper and have been uninterested in reading anything else by her. And that’s all you got from _Beauty_? ---
**Author:** ![Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/left_hand_of_dorkness/32/7156_2.png) [@Left\_Hand\_of\_Dorkness](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Left_Hand_of_Dorkness)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/137 "2011-03-07T00:19:10Z")
> [@Lynn\_Bodoni](#): > > And that’s all you got from _Beauty_? I don’t remember the rest of it–it was, apparently, pretty forgettable. But other than Dante I can’t think of another writer who so pettily resolved a personal disagreement in the public court of writing, and I really don’t find it an attractive feature in a novel. ---
**Author:** ![Lynn\_Bodoni](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e47c2d/32.png) [@Lynn\_Bodoni](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lynn_Bodoni)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/138 "2011-03-07T08:06:59Z")
I don’t think that Tepper was picking a bone with King in particular as she was with ALL of the horror fiction that has females whose only role is to be savaged and then killed. After all, that could be descriptive of a lot of movies, too, and not necessarily movies based on King’s novels. That book had “horrorporn” in the future, which was apparently depictions of rape and torture. The book was mostly centered on how some humans seem to consider ONLY humans to be worthy of living, and how some humans wouldn’t tolerate any other life forms that are not directly useful to humans. This is a common theme in her books. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/139 "2011-03-07T17:07:49Z")
Disposable Hero: Since she likes historical fiction, I would recommend Poul Anderson’s _The Dancer From Atlantis_. It has strong characters, especially the female lead, presents an Atlantis and Theseus that could have actually occured in real history, provides information and insight about and into 10th Century Novgorod, the Huns, the Greeks, and the Minoans, and has a great time-travel plot. Superhal: I think you did John Carter an injustice. I don’t recall him lusting after any female but Dejah Thoris. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 7, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688/140 "2011-03-07T17:24:31Z")
I’m coming in late, but I’ll give me ideas: I agree about Ursula K. LeGuin books – my personal first choice. \*\*Left Hand of Darkness, The Dispossessed, Lathe of Heaven, \*\* etc. I strongly advise _against_ Heinlein. I love his stuff, myself. Despite defenses like the one Spider Robinson has offered, though, Heinlein’s women don’t strike me as at all realistic – they’re more like a generally pro-female guy SF fan’s wet dream of a woman is. Ann, Miriam, and Dorcas in _Stranger in a Strange Land_? That strikes you as real? All those comic Heinlein matrons? And too many of Heinlein’s heroines seem ready to get pregnant in a hurry. My wife doesn’t care for Heinlein. There are a few female characters I’d recommend by him, but in general, I think his books are going to turn off the average female reader. A lot of SF is written by males and mainly for males, without enough strong female roles. That’s true of even the best of them – Clarke, Asimov, de Camp, and so on. Going with female writers might be the best way to get books with a female-sympathetic slant, although stories from the old days are still awfully male-centric. Catherine l. Moore, Leigh Brackett, the aforementioned Sherri Tepper and Zenna Henderson Lois McMaster Bujold, Suzy Mackee Charnas, [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/recommend-a-sci-fi-book-for-a-female-non-sci-fi-fan/538688.md?page=8)