Science Fiction about Strong Women
Explore top science fiction books featuring strong female protagonists. Discover empowering stories of resilience, leadership, and adventure in these must-read novels for fans of bold women in futuristic worlds.
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Enchantress from the Stars
by Sylvia Engdahl
Three civilizations from different planets in widely varying stages of development clash in what could be either a mutually disastrous or beneficial encounter.
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Trading in Danger
by Elizabeth Moon
Kylara Vatta is the only daughter in a family full of sons, and her father's only child to buck tradition by choosing a military career instead of joining the family business. For Ky, it's no contest: Even running the prestigious Vatta Transport Ltd. shipping concern can't hold a candle to shipping out as an officer aboard an interstellar cruiser. It's adventure, not commerce, that stirs her soul. And despite her family's misgivings, there can be no doubt that a Vatta in the service will prove a valuable asset. But with a single error in judgment, it all comes crumbling down. Expelled from the Academy in disgrace-and returning home to her humiliated family, a storm of high-profile media coverage, and the gaping void of her own future-Ky is ready to face the inevitable onslaught of anger, disappointment, even pity. But soon after opportunity's door slams shut, Ky finds herself with a ticket to ride- and a shot at redemption-as captain of a Vatta Transport ship. It's a simple assignment: escorting one of the Vatta fleet's oldest ships on its final voyage . . . to the scrapyard. But keeping it simple has never been Ky's style. And even though her father has provided a crew of seasoned veterans to baby-sit the fledgling captain on her maiden milk run, they can't stop Ky from turning the routine mission into a risky venture-in the name of turning a profit for Vatta Transport, of course. By snapping up a lucrative delivery contract defaulted on by a rival company, and using part of the proceeds to upgrade her condemned vehicle, Ky aims to prove she's got more going for her than just her family's famous name. But business will soon have to take a backseat to bravery, when Ky's change of plans sails her and the crew straight into the middle of a colonial war. For all her commercial savvy, it's her military training and born-soldier's instincts that Ky will need to call on in the face of deadly combat, dangerous mercenaries, and violent mutiny. . . . From the Hardcover edition.
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Chanur's Homecoming
by C. J. Cherryh
The epic conclusion to the Hugo Award-nominated saga begins as alien entities called "humans" send their first exploration ship into Compact space, disrupting the seven Compact races' alliance. Pyanfar Chanur and her feline hani crew give shelter to the only surviving human from the ship, pitching them into the center of a galactic maelstrom which could cause interstellar war.
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In Conquest Born
by C.S. Friedman
In Conquest Born is the monumental science fiction epic that received unprecedented acclaim—and launched C.S. Friedman's phenomenal career. A sweeping story of two interstellar civilizations—locked in endless war, it was nominated for the John W. Campbell Award.
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Dragonflight
by Anne McCaffrey
On the beautiful planet Pern, land holders and craftsmen have traditionally tithed food and supplies to the dragonweyrs, their only protection from the dreaded, life-threatening thread. But it has been over 400 years since the last threadfall, and some people have come to doubt that the menace will ever strike again.
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Venus of Dreams
by Pamela Sargent
Iris Angharads, a determined, independent woman, sets herself one massive goal: to make the poison-filled atmosphere of Venus hospitable to humans. She works day and night to realize her dream, with only one person sharing her passion, Liang Chen. It seems impossible to make Venus, with its intolerable air and waterless environment, into a paradise, but Iris succeeds. And in doing so, she also creates a powerful dynasty, beginning with her first born, Benzi Liangharad.
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Dreamsnake
by Vonda N. McIntyre
Back in print, McIntyre's tender and compassionate adventure story--a Hugo and Nebula Award-winner and a New York Times bestseller. In a far-future, post-holocaust Earth, a young healer named Snake travels the world, healing the sick and injured with her companion, the alien dreamsnake. But she is being pursued. . . .
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The Ship Who Sang
by Anne McCaffrey
Helva had been born human, but only her brain had been saved—saved to be schooled, programmed, and implanted into the sleek titanium body of an intergalactic scout ship. But first she had to choose a human partner—male or female—to share her exhilirating excapades in space! Her life was to be rich and rewarding . . . resplendent with daring adventures and endless excitement, beyond the wildest dreams of mere mortals. Gifted with the voice of an angel and being virtually indestructable, Helva XH-834 antipitated a sublime immortality. Then one day she fell in love!
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Friday
by Robert Anson Heinlein
"AS JOYOUS TO READ AS IT IS PROVOCATIVE . . . Friday is all woman . . . She is as strong and resourceful and decisive as any Heinlein hero; in addition she is loving (oh, yes) and tender and very, very female." --Los Angeles Times Friday is a secret courier. She is employed by a man known to her only as "Boss." Operating from and over a near-future Earth, where chaos is the happy norm, she finds herself on assignment at Boss's seemingly whimsical behest. From New Zealand to Canada, from one to another of the new states of America's disunion, she keeps her balance nimbly with quick, expeditious solutions to one calamity and scrape after another. Not since Valentine Michael Smith, hero of the bestselling Stranger in a Strange Land, has Robert Heinlein created a more captivating protagonist. Friday proves once again why Robert Heinlein's novels have sold more than 50 million copies, have won countless awards, and have earned him the title of Grand Master of Science Fiction. "FRIDAY IS A SUPERBEING. . . . Engineered from the finest genes, and trained to be a secret courier in a future world of chaotic ferocity and intrigue, she can think better and make love better than any of the normal people around her." --The New York Times Book Review
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The Host
by Stephenie Meyer
A member of a species that takes over the minds of human bodies, Wanderer is unable to disregard his host's love for a man in hiding, a situation that forces both possessor and host to become unwilling allies.
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My Dream of Stars
by Anousheh Ansari
In her heartwarming and empowering memoir, space pioneer Anousheh Ansari tells the story of her childhood in Iran and her family's exodus to America after the Islamic Revolution. After settling down in Texas, Anousheh built a computer technology firm from the ground up, which eventually realized a net worth of $750 million and ultimately allowed her to achieve her childhood dream of spaceflight. In her groundbreaking role as the first-ever female commercial spaceflight participant, her story became politicized and fraught with the prejudices and obstacles she had to overcome as an Iranian woman, culminating in a debate over whether she would be allowed to display both the American and Iranian flags on the sleeve of her spacesuit. After her return to Earth, Anousheh started The Ansari Foundation, a quickly growing nonprofit which supports social entrepreneurship, and is especially committed to ensuring the freedom of women around the world and supporting female entrepreneurs. Ultimately, this evocative story shows the triumph of a woman who has become a role model to people around the globe struggling to overcome economic and cultural barriers, as well as those dreamers who look upon the stars and wish to soar among them.