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forfemfan

forfemfan

Joined July 2019

I read old, obscure speculative fiction written by women in an attempt to uncover forgotten gems. See more at https://www.forfemfan.com
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Dancer of the Sixth by Michelle Shirey Crean
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The Strange Likeness by Harriet Pyne Grove
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Silk Roads and Shadows by Susan Shwartz
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Joshua, Son Of None by Nancy Freedman
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forfemfan
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Panpan

Anything good about Jalav is undermined by inconsistent characterization (a grevious sin in a character-driven novel), terrible plotting, and about 300 pages of rape apologism. Rape apologism is inexcusable. If only the content of the book were more like the cover art.

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forfemfan
Charlemagne's Champion | Gail Van Asten
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Can't say jm enjoying the book (it's too late to turn back!) but I am enjoying hammock + blanket + hojicha this almost-wintery day.

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forfemfan
The Wizard's Shadow | Susan Dexter
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Pickpick

After the prologue, The Wizard's Shadow struggled for a while before finding its feet. While it never reaches perfection, it kept me happy and eagerly reading, and really drove home that a book need not be perfect to be a story worth reading. As Susan Dexter is from the same part of the world as me (Western Pennsylvania), I managed to snag a signed copy from the local used bookstore.

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forfemfan
Last of the Dragons and Someoothers | Edith Nesbit, E Nesbit
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Mehso-so

Too banally goofy for the average adult, but maybe too crisp in its writing for the average child, this book left something to be desired. That something is not the art, however. The gorgeous illustrations are by Erik Blegvad, and they're alone worth the purchase of this collection of dragon-themed short stories.

onceuponanelderberry I think maybe the book just hasn't aged well! 4y
forfemfan Very possibly, considering it's from the 1800s. Occasionally there were moments that were brilliant and engaging, but then they'd fall apart in a paragraph or two. 4y
2 likes2 comments
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forfemfan
City in the North | Marta Randall
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Pickpick

Anthropological--even ethnological--at its core, this is a wonderful adventure story with interesting and relatable characters and an addictively intriguing premise. I already loved Marta Randall, but now I'm smitten. Don't judge this book by its cover.

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forfemfan
The Fluger | Doris Piserchia
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Oh no

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forfemfan
Dancer of the Sixth | Michelle Shirey Crean

"Dancer pushed herself up to a standing position with both hands on the arms of her chair."

I know average writing advice demonizes adverbs, but exessive prepositional phrases are the real enemy.

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forfemfan
Soul-Singer of Tyrnos | Ardath Mayhar

It's funny the little differences you spot when reading old books. Like, a character is looking at a map, and notices that one country bulges to one side. And I am not nearly mature enough because I just giggled and realized that no one uses the word "bulge" anymore.

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forfemfan
Watchstar | Pamela Sargent
Pickpick

I enjoyed the dueling dystopian worlds, but felt the tension and structure of the protagonist's world was a little off kilter. Like, a big piece of the story is kids being sent off on an Ordeal--a harrowing challenge that kills many of them. I expected that to tie back into the plot in a bigger way than it did, which made the conclusion feel a little flat. Still a good book, though.

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forfemfan
Watchstar | Pamela Sargent

The fact that this book is about psychics who view any desire for solitude (mentally, spatially) as aberrant is giving me hives. I need a solid 14 hours of solitude a day.

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forfemfan
The Adversary | Julian May
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I knew I wouldnt like this book, but I couldn't have guessed just how much. Much of this book tries to spin abusive men into complicated but sympathetic, well meaning characters. Gross. And this sham is poorly carried to fruition with a scope that gets too big to manage and obnoxiously coy writing that obscures information from the reader but none of the characters, so you feel constantly out of the loop. Boooo.

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forfemfan
Unknown Book 7535597 | Unknown Unknown
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That feeling when you're reading books so obscure they're not in the Litsy catalog.

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forfemfan
The Strange Likeness | Harriet Pyne Grove

Twentieth century bandits are the worst kind, child

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forfemfan
Regenesis | Julia Ecklar
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The cover has animals, two-by-two marching into a UFO. I did not expect it to be as good as it is. I also did not expect for it to be absolutely horrifying. WTF.

I mean, I know I'm a wimp, but I guess I'm not sleeping tonight until I get to the bottom of whatever's going on in this book.

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forfemfan
The Light in Exile | Cheryl J. Franklin
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On a work trip, sitting at the bar in a fancy little Italian place, reading a good book. Ahhh, perfection.

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forfemfan
A Bad Spell in Yurt | C. Dale Brittain
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After too many lackluster books in a row, I'm really enjoying this cozy-mystery/fantasy. In a kingdom of charming folks, the fresh-out-of-school royal wizard must determine who is using black magic to harm the king. It's solidly written, fun, and somehow just a perfect summer read.

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forfemfan
An Exchange of Hostages | Susan R. Matthews
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Matthews does hard sci-fi well, and even though the setting--a torture school--was unpleasant, I found the deep connection to the characters fascinating. It was so easy to see the slippery slope where they found comfort. Then, completely out of the blue, the kind-hearted protagonist becomes aroused while torturing a prisoner. It felt strongly out of character and, as a squeamish person, I knew I could no longer stomach the story.

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forfemfan
An Exchange of Hostages | Susan R. Matthews

Aaaand I've reached the point of the book where the author is aroused by torture. Hoo boy, I am out.

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forfemfan
An Exchange of Hostages | Susan R. Matthews
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What a relaxing venue to read a book about psychologically tricking a kind-hearted individual into being a diligent and skilled torturer. 💀

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forfemfan
The Armies of Daylight | Barbara Hambly
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The climax/ending of this book is completely detached from the protagonists and the vast majority of the story. The characters feel one-dimensional and experience no growth. The Dark are powerful verging on invincible, which makes it hard to feel invested in humanity's quest to fight back. I normally adore Barbara Hambly, but I am deeply dissatisfied with this book/series.

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forfemfan
The Armies of Daylight | Barbara Hambly
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10 pages left and I'd rather watch my husband play video games than finish reading the book.

1 like1 stack add
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forfemfan
The Armies of Daylight | Barbara Hambly

I'm on page 11 of a straight-up lecture detailing the great intrigue of the series. Seriously, I've read two books almost exclusively to learn this information, and it's delivered via hard exposition and historical chronicalling. I'm dyyyying.

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forfemfan
An Alien Light | Nancy Kress
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I have a problem.

Aside from a second copy of An Alien Light to loan out (because I seriously freaking loved that book) every other one of these is new. And written by a woman.

brit91 You're not alone lol I'm always buying and ordering more books when I haven't finished the ones I have!🤣😂 5y
3 likes1 comment
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forfemfan
The Armies of Daylight | Barbara Hambly

I am struggling. Characters move through emotional development at break-neck speed while the plot remains roughly untouched since book one: insurmountable monsters have destroyed civilization but even though we have no leads or ideas maaaaybe we can find a way to fight back.

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forfemfan
Joy Wagon | Arthur Hadley
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Panpan

A robot with a sophisticated AI runs for president. It felt more like reading a book about a sociopath than it did about a robot.

Written in the 1950s, it's oozing with casual racism and sexism, and in our bizarro world satire such as the “The Committee for a Beautiful Minnesota“ simply being a coalition of mining corps falls flat because it's too close to reality.

There is almost nothing I liked about this book. Do not recommend.

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forfemfan
The Armies of Daylight | Barbara Hambly
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I love Barbara Hambly, but I thought books 1 and 2 of the Dawath Trilogy were lackluster. Let's see what the finale does for my appreciation of this series.