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]

And for the gossip factor, Kelley Eskridge is Nicola's partner of decades. In fact here's a charming essay about what it's like to be in a two-writer partnership:

http://nicolagriffith.com/goon.html

Nicola is currently working on a Bildungsroman about Hild, a Saxon saint/queen/it's complicate which she's been researching the hell out of for years.

http://asknicola.blogspot.com/2008/07/hild-and-ammonites.html

I'd so love to see you at WisCon some year!

[luzula]

Awww, that essay was heart-warming. And that Hild book sounds like something I'll be interested in when it comes out.

I'd so love to see you at WisCon some year!

I'd love to! If, you know, I could teleport. I wish at times that I wasn't so environmentally conscious when it came to flying. *facepalm* But I should make it to some con again sooner or later, hopefully when I'm doing something else in the US at the same time so it's not just a weekend trip (I've only been to one con, Bitchin' Party).