Rec me some SF & F?

[luzula]

I'm ordering a big batch of science fiction and fantasy books from Sweden's SF & F bookstore, and I need a few more books to get over the free freight limit. I'm getting the rest of Karen Traviss' "Wess'Har" series (annoyingly, part 2 is out of print and I had to order it second hand from the US). And I'm also probably getting Jo Walton's "Among Others". But I'd love some recs as to what else I should get!

I'm in the mood for:
- interesting female characters
- interesting world-building
- not sure how to phrase this, but: books that deal with political issues, or environmental issues. Or characters who want to do the right thing, or struggle with various allegiances.

I'm not in the mood for:
- books where the main plot is a romance
- epic high fantasy

but if you have something so good that it will transcend my mood, just rec it anyway!

Have not read Robin McKinley's various fairy tale rewritings and am curious about them. If you have opinions about them, please share!

Comments

[jesse_the_k]

Three more items which meet the criteria and withstand re-reading, they're so good!

Solitaire by Kelley Eskridge: A UN-like organization selects the best minds of the galactic federation to train them as leaders of tomorrow ... and any more would be spoilers, but oh! such interesting spoilers. In addition to planetary politics and gender roles, lots of interesting stuff about better ways to run businesses and alternative family structures.

The Dispossessed by U K Le Guin: Anarchism vs unfettered capitalism; loners vs gregarious folk; consensus vs dictatorship; plus physics and fascinating landscapes. A Fisherman of the Inland Sea and Four Ways to Forgiveness continue the discussion, with added slavery and how society recovers from that wound.

Lilith's Brood by Octavia Butler: o so crunchy! The very alien aliens have harvested Humans because our biology is fascinating but we clearly don't know how to take care of ourselves or our society. Lilith becomes the human leader, and is generally loathed for it by the other humans. Clearly inspired by the revelation of the immortal cell line HeLa (an excellent companion to this fiction would by The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot, a scientific biography of that cell line's progenitor).

[luzula]

"Solitaire" sounds intriguing! *makes note of it*

I've already read most everything by Le Guin--she's one of my favorite authors. I do feel like rereading some of her books soon, though.

And I've got one of Butler's books as an audiobook that I plan to listen to soon: "Parable of the Sower". But I'll make a note of this one, too.

Thanks for the recs! : )

[jesse_the_k]

My pleasure. The last two would make interesting reading when you're up in the permanent sunshine in the Arctic. Enjoy!