Guest Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 35 minutes ago, girlwonder said: Love Le Guin! Haven't heard of the others except for Bradley, but feel like I should put it out there (in case anyone is reading this) that her books (meaning Mists of Avalon, which is the only one I read) contain a lot of sex, and a few scenes bordering on pedophilia, which is hard to read knowing that her daughter has accused her of sexually abusing her. But geez, I need to go reread Earthsea. What an incredible series! I loved Wizard of Earthsea, couldn't stand the rest of the series though!! But the first book is awesome <3 I had a major crush on Ged for well over a year when I was like, 11 Link to post Share on other sites
Correner Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 I don't remember there being anything in Starship Troopers. Link to post Share on other sites
Zoaea Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 No one has mentioned Brandon Sanderson yet (feints). He's the type of author that once I read his books other books seem dull and poorly planned in comparison. He's into unique magic systems, tech mixing with magic, multiple character veiw stories, long epics (some of the audiobooks I have of his are over 50 hours). He frequently has strong female leads including one that people suspect is Ace. He has some romantic interactions in his stories but it's pg, ungraphic and fits the plot. Did I mention he is great at plotting, complex story arcs, new interesting world building, writing multiple personality and gender types (and doing each well), and can still pull shockers out of his hat in an over done genere (sword and scorcery apocalypse epics). Start with The Way of Kings for a 'world is doomed' fantasy (or mistborn which is finished), or for mutant humans with powers story, The Reconers 'Steelheart' (some teenage crushing but stays on track), or any of his independent short stories (avoid ones belongings to series as they have spoilers). My favorite short is 'Sixeth of Dusk' and I think he has a free novel from his prepublished days on his website. A caution on Song of Fire and Ice, I could not finish that book because it had scene after random scene of sex. And weird sex like inscest and rape. When I got to the point of a 13 year old being raped and 'liking it' I couldn't take it, and typically I can read romance novels. Same for some old sci-fi it's either pg or excessive 60's love era sexplosion. XD Some of those are good regardless but unfortunately most lean into sexist territory. Edit: forgot I wanted to thank posters, I've added most of these suggestions to my list too (except the ones I've read!) Maybe I can get out of my Sanderson only binge haha. Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 So many books, not enough time or space (or money) .... My usual recommendations generally range into the Urban Fantasy realms: Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka - a mage, his apprentice, and young friends get into and out of scrapes in London. Though there's a possible hint of romance between Alex and another character, it has just been that, a hint. Peter Grant series by Ben Aaronovitch - a young PC/Mage in training follows his nose and finds magic, gods and goddesses (rivers mostly), among other things floating around London. Vickie Nelson and Tony Foster series by Tanya Huff - Vickie Nelson, formerly of the Toronto Police Force finds a new calling when she, her former partner Mike Cellucci, and the vampire, Henry Fitzroy (aka romance writer), come together to fight a demon invasion. Tony Foster, a street kid in the first few books, finds a new life first with Henry in first in Toronto, then Vancouver, where he discovers his own rather cool destiny. While there is a love triangle between Vickie, Mike, and Henry, it's nicely subverted by a number of factors, not just the vampire thing either, so it's more a fun thing to watch them juggle this thing between them rather than getting annoyed by its presence. For me, these are comfort reads these days. Fantasy: The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper: start with book two, The Dark is Rising, then go back and read the first book, Under Sea, Under Stone. Four young people are brought together by prophecy and magic, Will Stanton, the last of the Old Ones to be born, the Drew children, Simon, Jane and Barney, and Bran Davis, son of King Arthur, to bring together the objects of power which have been scattered through time and space and help Merriman Lyon, the oldest of the Old Ones, stop the rising of the dark. Just about anything by Diana Wynn Jones is worth reading. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Ragnarok by Rick Reardon. Evidently all of his books are linked together and if you've read the Percy Jackson books, you'll have met Magnus's cousin Annabelle. I'm about halfway through the ship of the dead and am thoroughly enjoying myself. The Memoirs of Lady Trent by Marie Brennan - adventure, dragons, minimal romance, interesting cultures, and yes, even an ace character who shows up in book two! Fun reads. The Flaw in All Magic and The Emperor's Mask by Ben Dobson are fun, fairly light mystery fantasies with a little bit of steampunk thrown in for good measure. Science Fiction: Soldier of Fortune and Outrageous Fortune by Kathleen McClure are light SF with a good mix of mystery, humor, and fun. Also, I could get behind a system which revers the honeybee as a central ideology. Binti by Nnedi Okorafo - a young woman goes to space and university for the first time and gets more than she bargained for when she survives an alien attack. Dune series by Frank Herbert. Approach the books by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson with caution. I second the recommendation for Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga books. Space opera at its best and fun characters. I suggest starting with Cordelia's Honor (Shards of Honor & Barrayar) then reading The Warrior's Apprentice. Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted March 22, 2018 Share Posted March 22, 2018 32 minutes ago, Correner said: I don't remember there being anything in Starship Troopers. Definitely not the book. Heinlein, like a lot of male readers/writers of his generation, did not want women cluttering up their books. And the problem still persists despite more than 50 years of change. Link to post Share on other sites
blunose2772 Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 Not sure what your feelings on Disney are but I enjoy the Kingdom Keepers series by Ridley Pearson. It's 5 kids (later 7) that have there images turned into holograms to be tour guides at the Disney parks but when the real kids go to sleep they cross over into their Holograms and fight Disney Villains. Sounds childish but it gets into some heavy stuff in the later books. Currently there are 10 books in the series. Some romance but it's an afterthought at best. Link to post Share on other sites
girlwonder Posted March 23, 2018 Author Share Posted March 23, 2018 5 hours ago, Zoaea said: No one has mentioned Brandon Sanderson yet (feints). He's the type of author that once I read his books other books seem dull and poorly planned in comparison. He's into unique magic systems, tech mixing with magic, multiple character veiw stories, long epics (some of the audiobooks I have of his are over 50 hours). He frequently has strong female leads including one that people suspect is Ace. He has some romantic interactions in his stories but it's pg, ungraphic and fits the plot. Did I mention he is great at plotting, complex story arcs, new interesting world building, writing multiple personality and gender types (and doing each well), and can still pull shockers out of his hat in an over done genere (sword and scorcery apocalypse epics). Start with The Way of Kings for a 'world is doomed' fantasy (or mistborn which is finished), or for mutant humans with powers story, The Reconers 'Steelheart' (some teenage crushing but stays on track), or any of his independent short stories (avoid ones belongings to series as they have spoilers). My favorite short is 'Sixeth of Dusk' and I think he has a free novel from his prepublished days on his website. A caution on Song of Fire and Ice, I could not finish that book because it had scene after random scene of sex. And weird sex like inscest and rape. When I got to the point of a 13 year old being raped and 'liking it' I couldn't take it, and typically I can read romance novels. Same for some old sci-fi it's either pg or excessive 60's love era sexplosion. XD Some of those are good regardless but unfortunately most lean into sexist territory. Edit: forgot I wanted to thank posters, I've added most of these suggestions to my list too (except the ones I've read!) Maybe I can get out of my Sanderson only binge haha. Oooh yay! Think I started Mistborn a few years back, then somehow managed to misplace the book. Will have to look for it!! Out of curiosity, is Vin the character people suspect is ace? Yeah, GoT was not my thing although I totally understand why some people might like it. I don't think I even made it as far as you did--read the bit in the first chapter or so where the incest-y couple throws the 7 year old out a window and figured that there were definitely less stomach-churning books with dragons and politics in them out there. Though I have a lot of friends that think that's blasphemy!! Link to post Share on other sites
girlwonder Posted March 23, 2018 Author Share Posted March 23, 2018 5 hours ago, fuzzipueo said: So many books, not enough time or space (or money) .... My usual recommendations generally range into the Urban Fantasy realms: Alex Verus series by Benedict Jacka - a mage, his apprentice, and young friends get into and out of scrapes in London. Though there's a possible hint of romance between Alex and another character, it has just been that, a hint. Peter Grant series by Ben Aaronovitch - a young PC/Mage in training follows his nose and finds magic, gods and goddesses (rivers mostly), among other things floating around London. Vickie Nelson and Tony Foster series by Tanya Huff - Vickie Nelson, formerly of the Toronto Police Force finds a new calling when she, her former partner Mike Cellucci, and the vampire, Henry Fitzroy (aka romance writer), come together to fight a demon invasion. Tony Foster, a street kid in the first few books, finds a new life first with Henry in first in Toronto, then Vancouver, where he discovers his own rather cool destiny. While there is a love triangle between Vickie, Mike, and Henry, it's nicely subverted by a number of factors, not just the vampire thing either, so it's more a fun thing to watch them juggle this thing between them rather than getting annoyed by its presence. For me, these are comfort reads these days. Fantasy: The Dark is Rising Sequence by Susan Cooper: start with book two, The Dark is Rising, then go back and read the first book, Under Sea, Under Stone. Four young people are brought together by prophecy and magic, Will Stanton, the last of the Old Ones to be born, the Drew children, Simon, Jane and Barney, and Bran Davis, son of King Arthur, to bring together the objects of power which have been scattered through time and space and help Merriman Lyon, the oldest of the Old Ones, stop the rising of the dark. Just about anything by Diana Wynn Jones is worth reading. Magnus Chase and the Gods of Ragnarok by Rick Reardon. Evidently all of his books are linked together and if you've read the Percy Jackson books, you'll have met Magnus's cousin Annabelle. I'm about halfway through the ship of the dead and am thoroughly enjoying myself. The Memoirs of Lady Trent by Marie Brennan - adventure, dragons, minimal romance, interesting cultures, and yes, even an ace character who shows up in book two! Fun reads. The Flaw in All Magic and The Emperor's Mask by Ben Dobson are fun, fairly light mystery fantasies with a little bit of steampunk thrown in for good measure. Science Fiction: Soldier of Fortune and Outrageous Fortune by Kathleen McClure are light SF with a good mix of mystery, humor, and fun. Also, I could get behind a system which revers the honeybee as a central ideology. Binti by Nnedi Okorafo - a young woman goes to space and university for the first time and gets more than she bargained for when she survives an alien attack. Dune series by Frank Herbert. Approach the books by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson with caution. I second the recommendation for Bujold's Vorkosigan Saga books. Space opera at its best and fun characters. I suggest starting with Cordelia's Honor (Shards of Honor & Barrayar) then reading The Warrior's Apprentice. I LOVE Dark is Rising!! Cooper is one of the all-time greats, and those are frequently underrated for a lack of traditional action. And Dune! Is it too much to hope that Villenueve gets it right? (not sure which was the biggest sin of Lynch's adaptation...the rain at the end, reducing the female characters' role except for Irulan who nobody likes anyway, or casting frickin' Sting). Can hardly wait to start the rest! Link to post Share on other sites
girlwonder Posted March 23, 2018 Author Share Posted March 23, 2018 40 minutes ago, blunose2772 said: Not sure what your feelings on Disney are but I enjoy the Kingdom Keepers series by Ridley Pearson. It's 5 kids (later 7) that have there images turned into holograms to be tour guides at the Disney parks but when the real kids go to sleep they cross over into their Holograms and fight Disney Villains. Sounds childish but it gets into some heavy stuff in the later books. Currently there are 10 books in the series. Some romance but it's an afterthought at best. Oooh fun!! Link to post Share on other sites
Celyn: The Lutening Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 16 minutes ago, girlwonder said: Out of curiosity, is Vin the character people suspect is ace? She actually gets married, so I assumed not. I always thought Jasnah was ace-aro, though the fandom seems to prefer the thought of her being a lesbian (ace erasure, yay ._.) Anyway, was going to say Brandon Sanderson, but the OP said no/minimal romance either and I wasn't sure his books qualified. I couldn't get into the Cadfael books but I can binge-watch the show over and over again. Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 12 minutes ago, girlwonder said: I LOVE Dark is Rising!! Cooper is one of the all-time greats, and those are frequently underrated for a lack of traditional action. And Dune! Is it too much to hope that Villenueve gets it right? (not sure which was the biggest sin of Lynch's adaptation...the rain at the end, reducing the female characters' role except for Irulan who nobody likes anyway, or casting frickin' Sting). Can hardly wait to start the rest! DiR is one of those series which can be read at just about any age. Dune - Viienueve might have a chance. I'm weird though; I think the Lynch version has its moments and I like the look of the sets, costumes, the Navigators, etc. The Sci-Fi Channel's version of Dune and Children are more accurate to the books. Link to post Share on other sites
Zash Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 Terry Prachett's Discworld series is pretty good, if you like parody(ish) stuff of the fantasy genre. It pokes fun at all the tropes (including the romantic ones). There are some ace/aro-spec characters as well (in some of the books)! Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 This list has a mix of SF books and TV shows: https://culturess.com/2018/03/17/20-works-of-upbeat-science-fiction-star-trek-hitchhikers-guide-ready-player-one/ Link to post Share on other sites
girlwonder Posted March 23, 2018 Author Share Posted March 23, 2018 43 minutes ago, fuzzipueo said: DiR is one of those series which can be read at just about any age. Dune - Viienueve might have a chance. I'm weird though; I think the Lynch version has its moments and I like the look of the sets, costumes, the Navigators, etc. The Sci-Fi Channel's version of Dune and Children are more accurate to the books. Yeah, I'm a big Twin Peaks fan so have some soft spots for Lynch's version (flawed though it is *sigh*). Tried the sci-fi channel version but couldn't get past young professor X as Paul haha. Link to post Share on other sites
girlwonder Posted March 23, 2018 Author Share Posted March 23, 2018 18 minutes ago, fuzzipueo said: This list has a mix of SF books and TV shows: https://culturess.com/2018/03/17/20-works-of-upbeat-science-fiction-star-trek-hitchhikers-guide-ready-player-one/ Wow!! Holy Fire looks epic, and the concept of setting a book up around the redshirts is brilliant! Link to post Share on other sites
girlwonder Posted March 23, 2018 Author Share Posted March 23, 2018 41 minutes ago, Zash said: Terry Prachett's Discworld series is pretty good, if you like parody(ish) stuff of the fantasy genre. It pokes fun at all the tropes (including the romantic ones). There are some ace/aro-spec characters as well (in some of the books)! Yeah, I'm seeing Discworld come up a lot so will have to check more of those out! Out of curiosity, do you remember which characters are ace/aro-spec? There are so many of those books that it is super hard to know which to prioritize!! Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 37 minutes ago, girlwonder said: Wow!! Holy Fire looks epic, and the concept of setting a book up around the redshirts is brilliant! John Scalzi is an interesting writer. You might give Old Man's War a go. Redshirts is fun, though it does push tad far with the joke. Still, I'm looking forward to our con this year as he's the Author Guest of Honor. 😎 Link to post Share on other sites
daveb Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 42 minutes ago, girlwonder said: I'm seeing Discworld come up a lot so will have to check more of those out! Out of curiosity, do you remember which characters are ace/aro-spec? Death (an actual embodiment, the Grim Reaper) is not into love or romance or anything like that - because he isn't actually human and doesn't have those emotions Of the Witches, Granny Weatherwax doesn't do romance either (and apparently has never engaged in sex). Nanny Ogg, on the other hand is quite sexual. The Wizards of the Unseen University are pretty much all celibate at the very least, and don't seem to do romance or sex. Those are some of the major ones that come to mind Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 Sam Vines just seems to fall into his marriage through no agency of his own, but seems not to mind too much. The Golems are by nature asexual. Cheery Littlebottom might be .... But I haven't read the guards books in a while. Odo the Vampire? Link to post Share on other sites
arden_jay Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 Discworld is definitely a good series to read, and there's a lot of them, so you won't run out in a hurry. If you want to get a good introduction to the universe, read The Colour of Magic and its sequel The Light Fantastic and then just go for it. There are some little series inside the universe, but if you look up a reading order on the internet you should be able to figure those out pretty easily. Link to post Share on other sites
Zash Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 1 hour ago, girlwonder said: Yeah, I'm seeing Discworld come up a lot so will have to check more of those out! Out of curiosity, do you remember which characters are ace/aro-spec? There are so many of those books that it is super hard to know which to prioritize!! Esme "Granny" Weatherwax leaps to mind as the obvious one, she is a major character in the Witches part of the Discworld series (and she does manage to tame and ride a unicorn in one of the books). However, her friend, Nanny Ogg is quite the opposite, being along the lines of the local midwife, and fairly sex positive. Death is another obvious one, but, being the anthropomorphic representation of death leaves little time for love (however, he does have an (adopted) daughter). Most of the wizards are fairly clueless about women, since women can't be wizards (until there was one, but, that is a whole book on it's own), and wizards usually just stay in their towers and consort only with other wizards. Also, if a wizard starts have kids, Bad Things can happen, so, they try to keep that to a minimum. The best example is Rincewind, who whenever he sees a pretty girl, he starts to think of potatoes. The author of the book is British, so, if there is any sex, it is either used as a joke, and they just leave it implied and off page. Link to post Share on other sites
Luftschlosseule Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 11 hours ago, fuzzipueo said: Peter Grant series by Ben Aaronovitch - a young PC/Mage in training follows his nose and finds magic, gods and goddesses (rivers mostly), among other things floating around London. This is an awesome series I like very much, but it does contain sex, especially in book 2. Just so everybody is prepared.^^ Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 3 hours ago, Luftschlosseule said: This is an awesome series I like very much, but it does contain sex, especially in book 2. Just so everybody is prepared.^^ Shows you how ace I am. I have no memory of that! LOL Link to post Share on other sites
LouiseHope Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 10 hours ago, fuzzipueo said: This list has a mix of SF books and TV shows: https://culturess.com/2018/03/17/20-works-of-upbeat-science-fiction-star-trek-hitchhikers-guide-ready-player-one/ Wow, I had forgotten We are Bob - love this series. I've now added a few more books to my 'To be read' list!! Link to post Share on other sites
Wendi Posted March 23, 2018 Share Posted March 23, 2018 I have found the Warhammer 40K setting to be quite Ace friendly, I have only scratched the surface of the massive amount of lore in the series but there is little to no romance or sex in the books (the modern ones anyway, there was an author for them that made everything erotic but even then its more humorous than anything). All of the space marine and primarch characters are explicitly stated to be uninterested in sex but are still portrayed as manly men, hell, the God Emperor himself seems to be asexual (i like to imagine he only tried it once and swore it off lol). I know that most of the marines were genetically modified to not have a sex drive because it was seen as a distraction, but it still feels validating to see disinterest in sex from the paragons of humanity. And yes, Discworld is a fabulous series, everyone should read it! Link to post Share on other sites
Zoaea Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 On 3/22/2018 at 7:13 PM, Celyn said: She actually gets married, so I assumed not. I always thought Jasnah was ace-aro, though the fandom seems to prefer the thought of her being a lesbian (ace erasure, yay ._.) Anyway, was going to say Brandon Sanderson, but the OP said no/minimal romance either and I wasn't sure his books qualified. I couldn't get into the Cadfael books but I can binge-watch the show over and over again. Yes Jasnah was the one I was hinting at. But I didn't want to spoil it. Before I knew what Ace was, I actually got upset that people wanted her to be lesbian. Cause I identify with her and felt like, why does a female that just wants to be a scolar and have nothing to do with men need to be lesbian. For once I just wanted someone who simply found it not worth there time. I laughed out loud when she was so shocked with Shalans giddy excitement about being set up with a nobel that was 'hot'. Also I think Brandon counts as minimal romance. After all he has almost no pda, at least I remember his books being practically PG as far as sexual content. Even with Vin being married never really describes anything squickie, I don't think we see more than a demure kiss right? Also usually romance is limited to plot important devices or character development. For example Shalan being a giddy teenager about boys. Anyway what I mean to say is he's not gross about it. Also several of his short stories have no romance at all. 😉😊🤩 Link to post Share on other sites
Luftschlosseule Posted March 24, 2018 Share Posted March 24, 2018 On 23.3.2018 at 12:43 PM, fuzzipueo said: Shows you how ace I am. I have no memory of that! LOL I would say it is ace-friendly nonetheless. Sex is mentioned and shown, but.. dunno, in a very respectful and funny way and you see that is necessary for Peter and his relationship in that part. It's relevant for the case. And it's always just one moment and then when it's over it's over and not constantly alluded to. Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 On 3/23/2018 at 2:54 PM, girlwonder said: I don't think I even made it as far as you did--read the bit in the first chapter or so where the incest-y couple throws the 7 year old out a window and figured that there were definitely less stomach-churning books with dragons and politics in them out there. Though I have a lot of friends that think that's blasphemy!! Oh dear, I thought you were looking for books aimed at adults (not young adult fiction or anything, which is obviously far more likely to be ace friendly haha). The vast majority of the books I mentioned are most definitely aimed at grown ups (and have violence and scary stuff, and mature themes lol). You should have specified you only wanted books that don't contain any strong violence (as most books aimed at adults contain some level of violence and very mature content, even if they don't have sex in them. I mean, kids are actually murdered in The Wasp Factory, and a mentally disabled boy is forced to eat dog crap in another of the books that I mentioned. You generally don't get any of that sort of thing in young adult/kids books though - and you also generally don't get sex in those books aimed at younger readers) Link to post Share on other sites
daveb Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 That are plenty of books for adults that don't include stomach-churning things like incest-y couples throwing 7 year olds out of windows. You don't have to go to kid's or YA books to avoid that sort of thing (nor are you guaranteed avoiding stomach-churning things in YA books). Another "series" (in the sense of taking place in the same world, even if most of the books are standalone) are the Ethshar stories by Lawrence Watt-Evans. There can be fighting and conflict, but I don't recall and sex nor any extreme or graphic violence. Link to post Share on other sites
fuzzipueo Posted March 26, 2018 Share Posted March 26, 2018 None of the books I named have that kind gut churning type of thing going on. There is violence, since most of them have some element of law enforcement or magic/fantastic elements involved, but I really don't go in for incest, child abuse or murder, for all I tend to read books with darker edges to them. As daveb says, there's a lot of adult fiction that is quite enjoyable without being gross. Link to post Share on other sites
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