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tammylee has a rant on SF/F, plus a request for recs of SF/F:

Then again, I haven't read a lot of SF/F in the past five years; so maybe my view is skewed? Are there significant numbers of books out there published women/POC/GLBT protagonists or characters that have value and merit and aren't stereotypes or exist only to provide motivation for the white, male protagonist? (And even if there aren't significant numbers, I'll happily accept recs for books and zines and online stories! =D)

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I never paid much attention to the "Woo! Girl Power" aspect of SF/F, so I don't know if this qualifies, but I know what I like, and I've been enjoying the Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs (http://www.amazon.com/Moon-Called-Mercy-Thompson-Book/dp/0441013813/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1220549371&sr=8-4). Not meaning to condemn it by saying so, but it reminds me of the early Anita Blake books by Hamilton. Mercedes is a smart and sassy heroine with supernatural powers and interesting potential lover(s).

It is a reverse harem sort of thing, so nothing new in that respect, but I enjoy how they're written and I never feel like I'm slogging through chapters to get to the next point of interest. Good pacing, good characterization, and an interesting modern day setting with preternatural creatures in hiding.

I'm on the third book now and I haven't been disappointed yet.

Cool, thanks! :D

Opinions vary on this one, so y'know, judge for yourself as always, but...I thought the Mercy series lost any and all feminist credentials in that third book: http://buymeaclue.livejournal.com/466616.html

Only not so much "lost" as "tore up, set on fire, and danced gleefully about."

(Spoilers.)

I've been mostly reading YA lately, but there are plenty of female protagonists there, and occasional GLBT characters, too, though those are probably still more common in mainstream YA.

A lot of adult urban fantasy is pretty female protagonist focused, too.

Thank you! If nothing else I can read recs and try to regain my sense of optimism.

Hopefully so! :D Definitely go through

oyceter's tags - she's recently been deliberately seeking out books by and featuring PoC. All genres, not just SF/F, but there's some in there.

I'm not sure if Honor Harrington counts as a stereotype, or perhaps a Mary Sue, but the first book of David Weber's series, On Basilisk Station, is pretty good, with a strong female main character that isn't a foil for a male character (in fact, it's a little of the other way around with Honor's nemesis).

C.J. Cherryh writes a lot of strong women in her books, like in Rimrunners or Cyteen. Tanya Huff's books tend to have strong women and many gay or bisexual characters. Melissa Scott is known for writing science fiction featuring LGBT characters. My own Slashy Books Recs (http://viridian.shriftweb.org/slashybooks.htm) is a list of a lot of books, too many of them out of print, that features characters that are either very subtexty or openly homosexual.

Jane Fancher's Ring series have genderbending a bit. And her SF 'Net series have bisexual and gay characters.

Cherryh and Jane have strong females as well.

I admit to preferring male protagonists in general, but give me good characters and plot and I'm there.

And here's another wish...OLDER protagonists. When I was in my 20s, 18-25 y/o protagonists were fine. Now nearing that 50 mark, I like them seasoned. 30s and 40s and up. With romance...

Barbara

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