♥ Recs ♥

[mothwing]

In my quest to find loveplotless books about strong heroines an anon, therealsnape and holyschist came to my aid with these recs: 

• ? Val McDermid: the Lindsay Gordon mystery series (lesbian detective novels), but not A Deadline for Murder, in which there are two love plots woven into the main plot.

• Anne McCaffrey: Dinosaur Planet series (which, according to the Amazon review section seems to be about a male and a female character who do have some sort of romance plot, though, so I'm not sure I found the right book here), Freedom series (I seem to recall that the main point was the love plot between the male and the female lead in some kind of female slave scenario, but it's too long ago since the friend who read the series told me about this one, so I might be mistaken), and the Harper Hall trilogy (the first of which sounds delightful - a musician and dragons! It seems that only the first two of this trilogy are meant to be for the challenge, though, since the third one is about a male character). 

• Katherine Kurtz: The Legends of the Camber of Culdi (Camber being an Earl make this rec somewhat of a puzzler for me, though the Deryni series does sound interesting, being "set in a land analogous to medieval Wales" with magic - though maybe Anon meant a specific volume, like In the King's Service, for example, which appears to be about an Alyce); Legacy of Lehr which I think I remember seeing at some point during my my cat phase. 

• Marion Zimmer Bradley: Darkover novels centered around the Renunciates, basically  -the Renunciates being a group of matriarchic Amazons who revolted against the norms of their feudal society. Not being familiar with the Darkover series I'm not sure I could understand later instalments without prior knowledge, though. I'll try to get hold of the books from one of the MZB completist I know. Anyway, the recs: Hawkmistress!, The Shattered Chain, it's sequels Thendara House and City of Sorcery.

• Ellen Kushner's The Privilege of the Sword - coming-of-age story about Katherine becoming a swordsmistress and coming to terms with the intrigues and plots at her uncle's court.

• ? Tanya Huff's Valor books - military space opera on an infantry division from a staff sergeant's PoV. - Valor's Choice does have the heroine falling in lust with her Lt. at the very beginning of the book in a scene reminiscent of the Grey's Anatomy pilot and keeps having romantic thoughts about the superior under her care throughout the book, so I don't think this qualifies.

• Karen Cushman's medieval YA  (like Midwife's Apprentice - Alys, née Beetle is apprenticed to a midwife )

• Cindy Pon's Silver Phoenix - Ai Ling goes on a quest to free her father and find her destiny after discovering she is telepathic.

• Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan - alternate history version of WWI - fleeing prince Aleksander's and dressed-as-a-boy airman Deryn Sharpe's paths cross and they experience the outbreak of WWI. Not solely about a female character, but the book alternates between their views. 

• Marie Rutkowski's Cabinet of Wonders - Petra Kronos goes on a quest to Prague to get her father's stolen eyes back.

Comments

[holyschist.livejournal.com]

The Freedom books have a major subplot involving the female lead and the male lead, and they are also a pile of problematic in other ways. I have not slogged through the Dinosaur Planet books--they look awful--but I have fundamental issues with aspects of that universe (basically--there's a genetically engineered minority, the heavyworlders, who are then treated like crap and the narrative and heroines pretty much go with it because the heavyworlders are, indeed, ~barbaric~. "Good" heavyworlders are those who look and act more like lightworlders.

The first two Harper Hall books are pretty good--I think McCaffrey's best books, actually--there is a romance, but I don't recall it being a huge plot point. The third is primarily about a male character; it was okay. They have some flaws, but overall are pretty fun.

I think you can read The Shattered Chain and sequels without prior Darkover familiarity--that may have been where I started. Darkover has a ton of problematic aspects, but it was kind of the fiction of my teenage id. (I wouldn't call most Darkovan society Gorean--it is more an exaggeratedly feudal patriarchy--but I would not be surprised if the Drytowns are based on Gor, and I think one of the Renunciate books may have had some "freeing women from the Drytowns" plot...I don't remember.)

Some other ideas (mostly YA, because that's mostly what I read...):

Ellen Kushner's The Privilege of the Sword doesn't really have a romance. The heroine has a bit of a romantic friendship with another girl about her age, and a bit of a crush on a boy about her age, but nothing comes of either of those--the book is really about her learning to be a duelist.

I am hesitant to recommend Elizabeth Moon these days, but a lot of her space opera heroines have no love plot or only a very low-key side romance. Her fantasy heroine Paksenarrion is a celibate paladin (although those books were, iirc, very grimdark and also very D&D-inspired; I didn't like them much).

For young adult, Tamora Pierce's Protector of the Small quartet heroine Kel has a few crushes and brief romances, but ends up single at the end; the books are really about her career.

The first few of Tanya Huff's Valor books, Torrin has a couple flings, but no serious romance. The main plot is military SF. I didn't love them, but they were okay.

Karen Cushman's medieval YA novels don't have romance, although they are all very similar.

IIRC, Cindy Pon's Silver Phoenix didn't have an overt romance, although it's an implied possibility.

Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan doesn't have romance for either its female or male protagonist. I haven't read Behemoth yet, and I have a distressing feeling that when Deryn reveals that she's a girl, there will eventually be romance. I rather hope not, though.

Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass doesn't have a romance, although the sequels do (I love TGC; I'm lukewarm on the others).

Nnedi Okorafor's Zarah the Windseeker has no romance, although it is also juvenile fiction (the protagonist is old enough that she might be given a crush in a different book, though).

Marie Rutkowski's Cabinet of Wonders doesn't have a romance; I haven't read the sequel.

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

basically--there's a genetically engineered minority, the heavyworlders, who are then treated like crap and the narrative and heroines pretty much go with it because the heavyworlders are, indeed, ~barbaric~. "Good" heavyworlders are those who look and act more like lightworlders
Oh, good grief.

Ellen Kushner's The Privilege of the Sword
Tanya Huff's Valor books
Karen Cushman's medieval YA
Cindy Pon's Silver Phoenix
Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan
Marie Rutkowski's Cabinet of Wonders

Sounds good, I'll stick them up there.

Tamora Pierce I excluded that one from my list because of those romances, but maybe they played a greater role in my memory of the novels than they really did, as I did the sequels of The Golden Compass - though the The Golden Compass itself wins, its true. Though thinking of it now, the first four books in the Circle of Magic series might make it, I don't seem to remember any loving going on there.

[holyschist.livejournal.com]

I thought the heavyworlders were the most interesting aspect of the Planet Pirates books, but terribly treated by the narrative. I'm not sure how much of a role they play in the Dinosaur Planet books, or if the narrative does any better with them.

Cabinet of Wonders has a pretty young protagonist, but I found it really fun because it was 16th century clockpunk, and you just don't see much of that.

Yeah, I think the first 4 Circle of Magic books didn't have a romance. Neither did Melting Stones, which was my favorite so far except Will of the Empress. Pierce varies--some of her books have a major romance plot or three, others don't. (Kel, I admit--I don't find any of her crushes very convincing, so I tend to ignore them. I was so glad she ended up single.)

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

I thought the heavyworlders were the most interesting aspect of the Planet Pirates books, but terribly treated by the narrative. I'm not sure how much of a role they play in the Dinosaur Planet books, or if the narrative does any better with them.
I'll see, hopefully things get fairer.

Cabinet of Wonders has a pretty young protagonist, but I found it really fun because it was 16th century clockpunk, and you just don't see much of that.
The summary alone sounds really cool! Now I only need to hunt it down. I wish our libraries were better stocked.

Pierce varies--some of her books have a major romance plot or three, others don't.
That she does - and when she does do romance I tend to dislike it, though I think the only plot that really annoyed me enough to skip pages was the Alanna/Jon thing. Boy, was I glad when it ended.

[holyschist.livejournal.com]

Alanna/Jon bugged the crap out of me. It just had too many controlling/abuse of power overtones. I think we were supposed to find it romantic in the second book and go "OMG, what happened to Jon!" in the third, but I didn't really see much difference between book 2 and book 3 Jon--he was controlling in both of them.

(I actually have general Jon issues, but...get me started on Tortall and I will dissect the books for thousands of words. It's because I love them so, or I wouldn't even notice all the flaws and inconsistencies.)

I don't find most of Pierce's romances very convincing or compelling, but usually she has enough career-plot going on that I can ignore them. And I do love career-plots--there are not enough of them in YA with female protagonists.

[mothwing.livejournal.com]

I also love the driven-ness of Pierce's characters, which is why I made it through the Alanna series at all, in spite of me tossing it across the room during the Jon parts. Couldn't believe when I found out that Pierce had originally intended for Alanna to marry Jon and only changed that later. D=

I do like that she doesn't end up marrying her teenage lover, though, that happens far too rarely (and marrying your second teenage love isn't necessarily much better, JKR!)

[holyschist.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that's one of the things I like about some of Pierce's books...although Aly marries her first love (a freakish crow) as a teenager and starts having babies right away, and Daine shacks up with her teacher at age 16, and both of those relationships bugged the heck out of me.

...which is probably why I tend to reread Alanna and Kel, but not so much the other Tortall books. Especially Kel.

Seriously, I have written thousands of words at my fandom journal and over chat lately dissecting everything that drives me bonkers about these books, heh. And yet they are some of my favorite books ever.