100 Must-Read Sci-Fi Fantasy Novels By Female Authors
While we at the Riot take some time off to rest and catch up on our reading, we’re re-running some of our favorite posts from the last several months. Enjoy our highlight reel, and we’ll be back with new stuff on Monday, July 11th.
This post originally ran May 2, 2016.
Do note that I’ve only listed the first book in any given series, so expect that this list could easily give you ten times as much reading power (especially with those stick-to-your-gut epic fantasy series). I’ve also only included one book per writer to showcase the widest range of voices from sci-fi fantasy novels by female authors. So if you want to sink into a really prolific writer like Ursula K. Le Guin or Octavia Butler, you’ve got loads more to work with as well.
1. Alanna: The First Adventure by Tamora Pierce
2. The Alchemy of Stone by Ekaterina Sedia
3. Among Others by Jo Walton
4. Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
5. Ancient, Ancient by Kiini Ibura Salaam
6. The Antelope Wife by Louise Erdrich
7. Arrows of the Queen by Mercedes Lackey
8. Ash by Malinda Lo
9. Assassin’s Apprentice by Robin Hobb
10. The Pyramid Waltz by Barbara Wright
11. Biting the Sun by Tanith Lee
12. The Blazing World by Margaret Cavendish
13. The Bloody Chamber by Angela Carter
14. Boneshaker by Cherie Priest
15. Brown Girl in the Ring by Nalo Hopkinson
16. Cast in Shadow by Michelle Sagara
17. China Mountain Zhang by Maureen F. McHugh
18. Chorus of Mushrooms by Hiromi Goto
19. Cinder by Marissa Meyer
20. The Crystal Cave by Mary Stewart
21. The Darkangel by Meredith Ann Pierce
22. Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor
23. Daughter of the Blood by Anne Bishop
24. Daughter of the Forest by Juliet Marillier
25. Dead Until Dark by Charlaine Harris
26. Deathless by Catherynne M. Valente
27. The Devil’s Arithmetic by Jane Yolen
28. The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
29. Doomsday Book by Connie Willis
30. Dragon Sword and Wind Child by Noriko Ogiwara
31. Dragonflight by Anne McCaffrey
32. An Ember in the Ashes by Sabaa Tahir
33. The Etched City by K.J. Bishop
34. The Female Man by Joanna Russ
35. Flesh and Spirit by Carol Berg
36. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip
37. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
38. The Ghost Bride by Yangsze Choo
39. Graceling by Kristin Cashore
40. The Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood
41. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone by J.K. Rowling
42. The Hearing Trumpet by Leonora Carrington
43. Her Smoke Rose Up Forever by James Tiptree Jr.
44. Hild by Nicola Griffith
45. His Majesty’s Dragon by Naomi Novik
46. The House of the Spirits by Isabel Allende
47. The House on the Lagoon by Rosario Ferré
48. Howl’s Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones
49. The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins
50. Ink by Sabrina Vourvoulias
51. Inkheart by Cornelia Funke
52. The Island of Eternal Love by Daína Chaviano
53. Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke
54. Karen Memory by Elizabeth Bear
55. The Killing Moon by N.K. Jemisin
56. Kushiel’s Dart by Jacqueline Carey
57. Luck in the Shadows by Lynn Flewelling
58. Magic for Beginners by Kelly Link
59. The Mirror Empire by Kameron Hurley
60. The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley
61. Moving the Mountain by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
62. Mr. Fox by Helen Oyeyemi
63. My Christina & Other Stories by Mercè Rodoreda
64. My Soul to Keep by Tananarive Due
65. Native Tongue by Suzette Haden Elgin
66. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern
67. Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
68. The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake by Aimee Bender
69. The Queen of the Tearling by Erika Johansen
70. The Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater
71. The Red by Linda Nagata
72. Redemption in Indigo by Karen Lord
73. Rosemary and Rue by Seanan McGuire
74. Salt Fish Girl by Larissa Lai
75. The Second Mango by Shira Glassman
76. Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold
77. Shikasta by Doris Lessing
78. The Snow Queen by Joan D. Vinge
79. Slave to Sensation by Nalini Singh
80. So Far from God by Ana Castillo
81. Sorcerer to the Crown by Zen Cho
82. Soulless by Gail Carriger
83. The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell
84. The Speed of Dark by Elizabeth Moon
85. Spirits of the Ordinary by Kathleen Alcala
86. Station Eleven by Emily St. John Mandel
87. A Stranger in Olondria by Sofia Samatar
88. Sunshine by Robin McKinley
89. Swamplandia! by Karen Russell
90. Swordspoint by Ellen Kushner
91. The Thief by Megan Whalen Turner
92. Valor’s Choice by Tanya Huff
93. War for the Oaks by Emma Bull
94. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
95. Who Fears Death by Nnedi Okorafor
96. Wicked As They Come by Delilah S. Dawson
97. Woman on the Edge of Time by Marge Piercy
98. The Woman Who Thought She Was a Planet and Other Stories by Vandana Singh
99. The Wrath and the Dawn by Renée Ahdieh
100. A Wrinkle in Time by Madeleine L’Engle
Thankfully a list of 100 sci-fi fantasy novels by female authors simply isn’t enough to cover all the amazing books out there. Hit the comments to share your favorites!
