Mikki 's Book'd Lists

Out-of-This-World Women: Strong Females in Science Fiction

Created by Mikki - Updated on January 06^th 2022

Science fiction has its share of women and girls who give a glimpse into how women can manage difficult circumstances while maintaining integrity and humanity in ingenious ways.

Lilith's brood

Butler, Octavia E.

From the Publisher

Lilith Iyapo is in the Andes, mourning the death of her family, when war destroys Earth. Centuries later, she is resurrected -- by miraculously powerful unearthly beings, the Oankali. Driven by an irresistible need to heal others, the Oankali are rescuing our dying planet by merging genetically with mankind. But Lilith and all humanity must now share the world with uncanny, unimaginably alien creatures: their own children. This is their story...

My Thoughts

No wonder Butler won a MacArthur Genius Fellowship as her novels go beyond "humans in space with lasers." The trilogy "Lilith's Brood" examines what contact, trade, and life between humans and extraterrestrials would look like. In the process, we question what characteristics truly make us human. Lilith Iyapo offers an intelligent alternative to the typical portrayal of a strong woman, someone who resorts to violence to handle issues. Lilith plans, considers, ponders, articulates, and adapts.

The bone clocks : a novel

Mitchell, David (David Stephen)

From the Publisher

"A vast, intricate novel that weaves six narratives and spans from 1984 to the 2030s about a secret war between a cult of soul-decanters and a small group of vigilantes called the Night Shift who try to take them down. An up-all-night story that fluently mixes the super-natural, sci-fi, horror, social satire, and hearbreaking realism"-- Provided by publisher.

My Thoughts

Holly Sykes goes through very difficult circumstances while never giving up on herself or losing her compassion. Holly makes mistakes, but she is honest and hopeful in a hard-working and clear-seeing, not Pollyanna, way.

A wrinkle in time

L'Engle, Madeleine.

From the Publisher

Meg Murry and her friends become involved with unearthly strangers and a search for Meg's father, who has disappeared while engaged in secret work for the government.

My Thoughts

"A Wrinkle in Time" is one of the first books that offered us a wonderful female protagonist, Meg Murray. She is smart, determined, curious, and brave. Preteen girls couldn't ask for a better role model. L'Engle won numerous prestigious awards for this ground-breaking book.

Pattern recognition

Gibson, William, 1948-

From the Publisher

Cayce Pollard is an expensive, spookily intuitive market-research consultant. In London on a job, she is offered a secret assignment: to investigate some intriguing snippets of video that have been appearing on the Internet. An entire subculture of people is obsessed with these bits of footage, and anybody who can create that kind of brand loyalty would be a gold mine for Cayce's client. But when her borrowed apartment is burgled and her computer hacked, she realizes there's more to this...

My Thoughts

Cayce Pollard acts like a real human being who has abilities and needs to solve problems, not a superhero female. Cayce makes decisions as an intelligent being, not as a female protagonist seeking to satisfy an expected role..

The city we became

Jemisin, N. K., author.

From the Publisher

"Five New Yorkers must come together in order to save their city from destruction in the first book of a stunning new series by Hugo award-winning and NYT bestselling author N. K. Jemisin. Every great city has a soul. Some are ancient as myths, and others are as new and destructive as children. New York? She's got six. When a young man crosses the bridge into New York City, something changes. He doesn't remember who he is, where he's from, or even his own name. But he can feel the pulse of the...

My Thoughts

This novel offers several strong characters. One woman, Bronca, is indigenous to Manhattan Island. Another, Brooklyn, is a former rapper turned politician. Both have distinct voices and manifest their strength in different ways.