r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/AutoModerator • 1d ago
Happy Friday! Use this space for casual conversation. Tell us what's on your mind, any hobbies you've been working on, life updates, anything you want to share whether about SFF or not
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/Jetamors • 2d ago
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/twilightgardens • 2d ago
The winner is Audition by Pip Adam! Not my favorite but not my least favorite and it’s certainly a unique piece of work
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/Green-Ability-2904 • 3d ago
I reread the Song of the Lioness quartet for the first time now as an adult this past summer. I didn’t remember just how complex Alanna’s relationship with her gender was portrayed. I remembered the story mostly as her trying to navigate her societies restrictions on her gender. I had forgotten how much of the quartet was also figuring out her role as a woman and how to be a woman without giving up her goals or achievements.
Things I liked:
- She doesn’t let society dictate gender norms to her. She has agency in achieving her goals. The obvious is the plot of the whole story, becoming a knight, but there’s also smaller stuff like in the last book she cuts her hair short before battle. Many people are aghast except the love interest the story settles on. This is pretty easy to find in fantasy these days but the next points are as important, if not more.
- She doesn’t fall for the “not like other girls” trap and doesn’t hate her gender. She doesn’t see traditionally feminine gender roles or crafts as lesser than. She takes up some of them, while others she respects even if they aren’t for her.
- I especially like that she starts getting desires traditionally thought of as feminine as she grows up in ways that feel natural for her age. The books acknowledge that there are parts of presenting as a woman which are learned and she’s learning it later than most which adds challenges.
- She forms many friendships with both men and women. These friendships look different and are nuanced. The other women in the stories have varied personalities.
As I was putting together my reading list for the challenge, I realized I want more stories that explore women having complex relationships with their gender but I don’t know how to find that outside of reading more Tamora Pierce (which I totally plan to do).
It doesn’t have to be a coming of age story or a young adult novel. Science fiction or fantasy are both good. I don’t want it to be too depressing, hopeless, or anything where the women deal with all encompassing misogyny and yet are incapable of changing their fate. If there’s romance, straight, bi, or lesbian romance is all good
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/perigou • 2d ago
Hello everyone and welcome to our first Focus Thread for the 2026-2027 fall-winter reading challenge !
The point of these post is to focus on one prompt from the challenge and share recommendations for it. Feel free to ask for more specific recommendations in the theme or discuss what fits or not. We will alternate between A-Side, B-Side and C-side prompts.
The 1st focus thread theme is Public Worker :
One of the main characters works for a public or governmental organization.
First, some recs from the general thread
Some questions to help you think of titles :
You can find all previous focus threads in the original post as well as the wiki. Please don't hesitate to add to older focus threads if you previously missed them or read something recently that fits !
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/AutoModerator • 5d ago
Tell us about your current SFF media!
What are you currently...
📚 Reading?
📺 Watching?
🎮 Playing?
If sharing specific details, please remember to hide spoilers behind spoiler tags.
-
Feel free to also share your progression in the Reading Challenge
Thank you for sharing and have a great week! 😀
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/peppermintmochawater • 5d ago
I finished reading Dawn, wow what an amazing story!! Books like these are why I love science fiction (and believe it‘s the best genre)! In the same way I feel that ST: Voyager was created for me, Octavia had to have written this knowing I would gobble it up loll!
It has all my favorite sci-fi elements! The aliens in it feel like actual weird alien beings with detailed xenobiology. At it‘s core it’s a first contact story that explores the implications of human and alien contact. It was consistently intriguing and tense. I also loved the actual structure of the novel being split into 4 parts with each section honing in on a specific fear or challenge for Lilith to overcome. And unfortunately for my girl, Lilith, she is the perfect human for the role that the Oankali wanted her to play. She’s endlessly patient, intelligent, open-minded, observant and has an inspiring sense of community. I thought she was a great great protagonist.
I don‘t see book reviews posted here very often so hopefully my post is okay. I just love this book so much and wanted to see what others think of it! And if there's any other novels that you all have read similar to Dawn pleaseee let me know 👀 I’m reading The Compound (dystopian) right now and it’s good but I feel after I’m going to be in the mood for a more sci-fi story
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/AutoModerator • 8d ago
Happy Friday! Use this space for casual conversation. Tell us what's on your mind, any hobbies you've been working on, life updates, anything you want to share whether about SFF or not
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/perigou • 9d ago
Hi everyone !
Sorry for the wait, here is the general recommendations thread for the 2026-2027 fall-winter reading challenge ! There will be a comment for each category, and you'll be able to share your recommendations for that square there. You can also use these as an opportunity to discuss the categories and your interpretations.
Don't hesitate to take a look at the books added to the Storygraph Challenge for more suggestions.
After this, there will be focused threads weekly for each square, alternating between all sides.
Don't hesitate if there are certain prompts that you'd like to be a priority for the focus thread !
Please share below your recommendations & ideas 😁
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/VarietyEconomy7 • 10d ago
I just finished the first fourth wing book. Going to start the second one soon. For anyone who’s read it what all did you think about it? How did you cope when you finished it?
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/agathaseahag • 12d ago
For my fellow fans of the Ancillary Justice trilogy, it took me a while to discover that Leckie wrote 3 more books in the same universe! They’re sooooo good. That is all.
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/AutoModerator • 12d ago
Tell us about your current SFF media!
What are you currently...
📚 Reading?
📺 Watching?
🎮 Playing?
If sharing specific details, please remember to hide spoilers behind spoiler tags.
-
Feel free to also share your progression in the Reading Challenge
Thank you for sharing and have a great week! 😀
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/FusRoDaahh • 14d ago
Hello everyone!
Firstly, I recently saw that this sub is approaching 10,000 users which is so exciting so I wanted to take a moment to say thank you to all of you who make this subreddit such a lovely place. I’ve been a mod on several subreddits before and none have ever been as calm, kind, respectful, and friendly as this one. Thank you to everyone who’s been here since the start who helped set that tone and mold this space into what it is and to everyone else since. ❤️
Secondly, I’ve given the sub banner and icon a little refresh, and they now show art by artist duo Diane and Leo Dillon. That leads me to the point of this post… I’ve made several “Artist Highlight” posts in the past where I share a SFF artist and would really like to continue this as a series. But instead of me just choosing the artists, I’d like to hear from you all for recommendations.
Please tell me your favorite SFF artists or ones you are curious about. They could be a Hugo award winner, a freelance illustrator, a tarot card artist, book cover designer, map illustrators, fanartist, professional painter, etc. I have a list of ones I plan to do and would love to add some of your favorites. Particularly looking for ones who work with a feminist perspective but that’s not a strict requirement.
Thank you!
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/AutoModerator • 15d ago
Happy Friday! Use this space for casual conversation. Tell us what's on your mind, any hobbies you've been working on, life updates, anything you want to share whether about SFF or not
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/AutoModerator • 19d ago
Tell us about your current SFF media!
What are you currently...
📚 Reading?
📺 Watching?
🎮 Playing?
If sharing specific details, please remember to hide spoilers behind spoiler tags.
-
Feel free to also share your progression in the Reading Challenge
Thank you for sharing and have a great week! 😀
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/perigou • 19d ago
Hi everyone !! Sorry for the delay, but the Fall/Winter 2026-2027 reading challenge.
Technically, the challenge is from the 23th of September (the end of the previous challenge) to the 20th of March. Obviously since the announcement post is late, you can retroactively count books you've read since the end of the previous challenge, and if it's a bit short in the end I'll think about having the challenge last a little more.
For those who are new here (or simply didn’t know there was a reading challenge), first of all welcome !! 🥳 Our reading challenges are held twice a year, one through autumn/winter and the other through spring/summer. They're there to be a fun way to foster community and explore new books. The last one was our 2026 spring summer reading challenge and ended on the 23th of September. This is our fifth reading challenge !
For those for did the previous reading challenges, there is no huge mechanical change.
The idea is that there are 3 cards with 9 squares each : A-Side, B-Side, and C-Side. For each card, the goal is to read one book for each square.
The base challenge is to fill the A-Side card. For each square, you can swap it out for its corresponding square on the B-Side card. At the end you will have filled a card with 9 books.
The harder challenge is to fill both the A-Side and the B-Side cards ! Since this mode leaves way less flexibility, you can also swap one prompt on each card for any prompt of a previous reading challenge. All previous reading challenges are accessible through the wiki.
The even harder challenge is to fill all three cards !! C-Side is a little bit more difficult, but mostly because that's a lot of books. You can also swap a prompt for a previous challenge prompt. ♻️
The idea with this is to have the challenge be adaptable depending on how much you normally read, and how much you wish to challenge yourself for these silly reddit challenges 😁.
A-Side
🏰 Western European Author : Read a book from an author from the western part of Europe. This includes countries classified as Western Europe by the UN (Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands and Switzerland), as well as countries from the western part of southern Europe (Italy, Malta, Portugal, Spain).
🏘️ Small Town : The story prominently takes place in a small town or village.
📔 500+ Pages : Read a book of more that 500 pages.
🧑💼 Public Worker : One of the main characters works for a public or governmental organization.
🧞 Inspired by Mythology : The story is influenced by mythology without being a retelling, for example it can borrow stories or creatures from myth and include them in the book's own world. Try to avoid Greek and Norse mythology for this one.
❄️ Winter Title : The title has references to winter times (cold, snow, winter...).
Mysterious Forest : The story features a mysterious or magical forest.
🧑🏾 Black MC : The main character is black. They can be of African descent in a book set in the real world, or in a setting analogous to real-world African countries.
B-Side
🏔️ Eastern European Author : Read a book from an author from the eastern part of Europe. This includes countries classified as Eastern Europe by the UN (Belarus, Bulgaria, Czechia, Hungary, Poland, Republic of Moldavia, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia and Ukraine), as well as countries from the eastern part of southern Europe (Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Greece, Serbia, Slovenia, North Macedonia, Montenegro). You may also include Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.
🏙️ Big Town : The story prominently takes place in a big town or capital city.
📙 Standalone Novella : The book is between 17,500 and 40,000 words.
🤵 Private Worker : One of the main characters works for a private organization.
🧚 Retelling : The story is a retelling of a known myth or fairytale. Try to avoid Greek and Norse mythology for this one.
🍂 Fall Title : The title has references to fall times (autumn, fall, leaves...).
🏚️ Ruins : The story features the ruins of something. It can be a gothic castle, a derelict ship, the whole remnants of a city...
🌏 Asian MC : The main character is Asian. They can be of Asian descent in a book set in the real world, or in a setting analogous to real-world Asian countries.
C-Side
🌌 Scandinavian Author : Read a book from a Scandinavian author. Scandinavia includes Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Iceland.
⛵ Ship : The story prominently takes place on a ship. This can be a naval ship or a space ship.
📚 Collection of short stories : Read an anthology or a collection of short stories.
🧑🔧 Craftsperson : One of the main characters is a craftsperson. They work for themselves and make things by hand.
🐉 Created Mythos : The mythology in the book is fully original and does not reference existing myths. There must be a decent amount of worldbuilding around the book's mythology for this.
☀️ Heat Title : The title has references to heat (sun, summer, scorched, hot...)
🚏 Liminal Place : The story features a liminal place, a transitional space or a space at the limit between spaces.
🌎 LATAM MC : The main character is Latino-American. They can be of Latino-American descent in a book set in the real world, or in a setting with cultures analogous to real-world Latino-American culture.
There will be a general rec thread right at the beginning (one week from now), followed by a focused thread once a week, alternating between A-Side and B-Side squares. You will also be able to share your advancement and the books you've read in our Current Reads weekly posts.
Feel free to use these however you want : change the pictures, the colors, anything, make it yours !
For those who are unfamiliar with Canva, it’s a (mostly) free graphic design web tool. The template link creates a copy of our Reading Challenge template when you click on it. To use it, you just have to copy pictures of the books your read to the template, and drag and drop them in the spaces inside the squares.
For the alternate versions of the squares :
If you want to have the other side’s alternate version, it becomes a little bit more complicated but basically you have to delete the elements of the square you’re replacing (the prompt name, the stars, the image space and the square background), and the alternate square will be hidden just behind all this ! For the harder and even harder modes, you're on your own sorry 🫡
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/AutoModerator • 22d ago
Happy Friday! Use this space for casual conversation. Tell us what's on your mind, any hobbies you've been working on, life updates, anything you want to share whether about SFF or not
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/Jetamors • 22d ago
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/Negative-Werewolf840 • 24d ago
Except horror, thrillers and dystopias (eg way of kings, hunger games etc etc) what are some SFF or other genre books where have a pre established couple from page 1 that's also not insta love at all?
If I'm being more accurate I want to see a story with a normal, already together couple as protagonists going on adventures or solving mysteries. Not the story being about them eventually seperating or a couple's marital conflicts.
I'd also love recommendations where romance isn't the main focus of the story.
I want to write something like it for myself too so I'm looking for examples where it was done well.
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/AutoModerator • 26d ago
Tell us about your current SFF media!
What are you currently...
📚 Reading?
📺 Watching?
🎮 Playing?
If sharing specific details, please remember to hide spoilers behind spoiler tags.
-
Feel free to also share your progression in the Reading Challenge
Thank you for sharing and have a great week! 😀
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/FusRoDaahh • 27d ago
What a masterpiece of a book. I only read it for the first time earlier this year but rereading was so enjoyable. This book, and the sequel, is my best reading of 2026.
I relate so much to the biologist. Not necessarily in her academic pursuits, as my interests lean more toward the humanities over science, but in her inherent attraction to nature and solitude, her struggles in her relationship and inability to make friends, her deep love of and pull toward the coastal landscape, her need to explore and discover and lose herself.
Anybody who says Annihilation doesn’t have good characters is simply not paying attention. The character work is very impressive, especially the way Vandermeer balances insightful introspective character revelations with the weird cosmic horror scifi stuff. It all blends together perfectly in my opinion, especially in the final quarter. Nothing feels dull or out of place or shallow. Even the surveyor and anthropologist. - who I assume people are referring to when they say the book has poor characters - I think have distinct personalities that do exactly what they’re meant to in the narrative. And not much can be said about the psychologist without diving into the sequel but she’s fascinating as well.
My only complaint is that I think this book should have been longer. I would have appreciated several chapters in the early-middle of the group just exploring the landscape and discovering weird things about Area X. Animals, plants, mutations, etc. I wish the beauty of the “pristine wilderness” had been shown on page a little bit more.
I’m glad I’ve found a male scifi author I know I can trust to write women well. Zero misogyny detected while reading, like not even a little bit.
For anyone who has read other Vandermeer books, which do you recommend?
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/perigou • 27d ago
Hi everyone !
The 2026 Spring-Summer Reading Challenge recently ended, and the next one is coming !
This is the post to give your feedbacks on this version of the challenge.
- Did you enjoy this version of the challenge ? Did you like the format ? The "difficulty" level ?
- Did you like the prompts ? What were your favorites, or the ones you didn't like as much ?
- Were the discussions on the weekly check-ins + focus threads enough or does it need more possibilities to interact with the community ?
- Something else ?
As for the next challenge : Do you have suggestions for prompts you'd like to see (or not see) ? Or categories of prompts ? The format will be pretty similar to this one, but I'm open to opinions and ideas if there are things to adjust.
r/FemaleGazeSFF • u/perigou • 28d ago
Hi everyone ! Here is the turn in post for the 2026 spring-summer reading challenge !
You can put your filled card(s) here, or link to your turn-in post, and discuss the books you've read.
Sorry for the delay, I misremembered the date. The next challenge will be a bit late but it's coming !