Women have many abilities, and one of them is the capacity to create science fiction literature. In reality, there has been a true surge in these types of publications in recent years, owing to the expansion of the internet and new technologies that have allowed authors to have a voice and make themselves recognised.
Margaret Atwood, Octavia Butler, and Ursula K. Le Guin are among the most well-known science fiction authors. All of their works share the capacity to immerse the reader in a wonderful universe full of unusual animals and stunning settings. But that’s not all: each of these authors is also adept at dealing with sensitive and vital subjects such as prejudice, violence, and oppression.
To summarise, if you’re seeking for a decent science fiction book written by a female author, you’re in luck. We recommend that you begin with these authors, but keep in mind that there are many more who deserve to be found and appreciated.
Here are some examples:
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) is often considered the first science fiction novel and follows the story of a scientist who creates a living creature.
The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin: This 1969 novel explores themes of gender and identity as a human envoy visits a planet where the inhabitants have no fixed gender. Or by the same author The Dispossessed, a classic 1974 novel, tells the story of a physicist who leaves his anarchic society to visit a capitalist planet.
Margaret Atwood’s 1985 novel The Handmaid’s Tale imagines a dystopian future in which a religious fundamentalist government has taken control of the United States and subjugated women.
Kindred, Octavia Butler’s 1979 novel, follows a young African American woman who travels back in time to the antebellum South, where she meets her ancestors and faces the brutal reality of slavery.
Joan Slonczewski’s 1986 novel A Door Into Ocean is set on an ocean-covered planet where an all-female society is in conflict with a patriarchal and belligerent neighboring planet.
NK Jemisin’s novel, “The City We Became”, published in 2020, is a contemporary urban fantasy that explores the concept of cities as living entities. She pits the city of New York against an interdimensional threat.
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins is a 2008 novel set in a dystopian future where teenagers are forced to compete in a televised battle to the death.
PD James’ 1992 novel The Children of Men is set in a near future where humanity has become barren and follows the journey of a man who discovers a pregnant woman.
Nnedi Okorafor’s 2015 novel Binti follows the journey of a young woman from a remote African tribe who is the first of her people to be accepted into a prestigious interstellar university.
Becky Chambers’ The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet (2014) is a space opera that follows a spaceship’s motley crew as they travel to the far corners of the galaxy.
Connie Willis’ 1992 novel Doomsday Book follows a historian who travels back in time to the 14th century during the Black Death and must face the perils of the past.
Ann Leckie’s 2013 novel Ancillary Justice is set in a far-future society where individuals can inhabit multiple bodies at once. It follows a former AI warship who seeks revenge against the ruler who betrayed her.
