Top Ten (Eleven) Obscure Works

by Naamenblog

First of I’d just like to state that this does not represent the opinions of all the bloggers on this blog and is not endorsed by all of them. All books on this poll were nominated by Feminist SF – The Blog! readers and voted on twice by those same readers.

When I started this whole thing my entire point was to come up with an alternative to an obscure Sci-Fi works list that was being linked to in quite a few places. All of the authors and characters on that list were straight white men so I decided to try to create a list that had some actual diversity. Especially since the works of marginalized authors are often not promoted as highly as other works and because of this have a higher tendency to fall through the cracks. There were various complaints of holding an open poll to find out obscure works and such and I understand those complaints. I created the list in this way because I was not arrogant enough to think I knew all the obscure works in SF. So I decided I wanted input from others and to give readers a chance to participate in the selection process as opposed to just putting up a list that I decided on all by myself. This method seemed more community orientated.

And I’m quite happy with the results. Looking at the list I know a lot of these books wouldn’t have been on it if I just came up with it on my own. I think overall it’s a very good introduction to a diverse segment of SF. So without further rambling here is the Top Eleven (there was a tie in the final count) Obscure Works of SF as decided by you! 

11. God Stalk by: P.C. Hodgell

Jame is a Kencyrath, the chosen people of the Three-Faced God, who fight the demonic being called Perimal Darkling. At the same time, she fights an internal battle for their honor because 3,000 years ago the leader of the Kencyrath betrayed his people to the Darkness for his own immortality. She also must find her ten-year older brother Tori and return to him the sword and ring of their father. If that is not enough she has to stand before the rathorns, wear the cloak of living snakes, kill one god, and resurrect another. All in a day’s work for Jame. Will Soon Be Re-released in an omnibus edition with second novel in series.

10. A Door Into Ocean by: Joan Slonczewski

A Door into Ocean is the novel upon which the author’s reputation as an important SF writer principally rests. A ground-breaking work both of feminist SF and of world-building hard SF, it concerns the Sharers of Shora, a nation of women on a distant moon in the far future who are pacifists, highly advanced in biological sciences, and who reproduce by parthenogenesis–there are no males–and tells of the conflicts that erupt when a neighboring civilization decides to develop their ocean world, and send in an army.

9. Herland by: Charlotte Perkins Gilman

This is written from memory, unfortunately. If I could have brought with me the material I so carefully prepared, this would be a very different story. Whole books full of notes, carefully copied records, firsthand descriptions, and the pictures – that’s the worst loss. We had some bird’s-eyes of the cities and parks; a lot of lovely views of streets, of buildings, outside and in, and some of those gorgeous gardens, and, most important of all, of the women themselves. Nobody will ever believe how they looked. Descriptions aren’t any good when it comes to women, and I never was good at descriptions anyhow. But it’s got to be done somehow; the rest of the world needs to know about that country. I haven’t said where it was for fear some self-appointed missionaries, or traders, or land-greedy expansionists, will take it upon themselves to push in. They will not be wanted, I can tell them that, and will fare worse than we did if they do find it. 

8. Fire Logic by: Laurie J. Marks

Note*: Despite the cover the main character of the book is actually a Woman of Color.

Earth * Air * Water * Fire
These elements have sustained the peaceful people of Shaftal for generations, with their subtle powers of healing, truth, joy, and intuition.
But now, Shaftal is dying.
The earth witch who ruled Shaftal is dead, leaving no heir. Shaftal’s ruling house has been scattered by the invading Sainnites. The Shaftali have mobilized a guerrilla army against these marauders, but every year the cost of resistance grows, leaving Shaftal’s fate in the hands of three people: Emil, scholar and reluctant warrior; Zanja, the sole survivor of a slaughtered tribe; and Karis the metalsmith, a half-blood giant whose earth powers can heal, but only when she can muster the strength to hold off her addiction to a deadly drug.
Separately, all they can do is watch as Shaftal falls from prosperity into lawlessness and famine. But if they can find a way to work together, they just may change the course of history.

7. The Fox Woman by: Kij Johnson

Yoshifuji is a man fascinated by foxes, a man discontented and troubled by the meaning of life. A misstep at court forces him to retire to his long-deserted country estate, to rethink his plans and contemplate the next move that might return him to favor and guarantee his family’s prosperity.

Kitsune is a young fox who is fascinated by the large creatures that have suddenly invaded her world. She is drawn to them and to Yoshifuji. She comes to love him and will do anything to become a human woman to be with him.

Shikujo is Yoshifuji’s wife, ashamed of her husband, yet in love with him and uncertain of her role in his world. She is confused by his fascination with the creatures of the wood, and especially the foxes that she knows in her heart are harbingers of danger. She sees him slipping away and is determined to win him back from the wild…for all that she has her own fox-related secret.

Magic binds them all. And in the making (and breaking) of oaths and honors, the patterns of their lives will be changed forever.

6.  The Shadow Speaker by: Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu

Niger, West Africa, 2070

When fifteen-year old Ejii witnesses her father’s beheading, her world shatters. In an era of mind-blowing technology and seductive magic, Ejii embarks on a mystical journey to track down her father’s killer. With a newfound friend by her side, Ejii comes face to face with an earth turned inside out — and with her own magical powers.

But Ejii soon discovers that her travels across the sands of the Sahara have a greater purpose. Her people need to be protected from a force seeking to annihilate them. And Ejii may be just the hero to do it.

5. Bone Dance by: Emma Bull

Sparrow’s my name. Trader, Deal-maker, Hustler, some night call me. I work the Night Fair circuit, buying and selling pre-nuke videos from the old Earth. I know how to get a high price, especially on Big Bang collectibles. But the hottest ticket of all is information on the Horsemen-the mind-control weapons that tilted the balance in the war between the Americas. That’s the prize I’m after. But it seems I’m having trouble controlling my own mind… The Horsemen are coming…

4. Zahrah The Windseeker by: Nnedi Okorafor-Mbachu

In the northern Ooni Kingdomfear of the unknown runs deep, and children born dada are rumored to have special powers. Thirteen year old Zahrah Tsami feels like a normal kid – she grows her own flora computer; has mirrors sewn onto her cloths; and stays clear of the Forbidden Greeny Jungle.

But unlike other kids in the village of Kirki , Zahrah was born with the telling dadalocks. Only her best friend, Dari, isn’t afraid of her – even when something unusual begins happening to her – something that definitely makes her different.

The two friends determine to investigate, edging closer and closer to danger. When Dari’s life is endangered, Zahrah must face her worst fears all by herself, including the very thing that makes her different.

3. Swordspoint by: Ellen Kushner

On the treacherous streets of Riverside, a man lives and dies by the sword. Even the nobles on the Hill turn to duels to settle their disputes. Within this elite, dangerous world, Richard St. Vier is the undisputed master, as skilled as he is ruthless–until a death by the sword is met with outrage instead of awe, and the city discovers that the line between hero and villain can be altered in the blink of an eye.

2. Midnight Robber by: Nalo Hopkinson

“Midnight Robber” is a coming-of-age story starring Tan-Tan, a young girl who lives on a Caribbean-colonized planet named Toussaint. Beloved by both parents, Tan-Tan becomes the focus of a custody battle between the two. Her father, a local mayor, kidnaps her through a “dimension shift” to another planet: New Half Way Tree, where creatures from Caribbean folk tales are real.

As Tan-Tan matures, her adventures become mythologized in local folklore until she takes on the aspect of the “Midnight Robber”, a traditional sort of Robin Hood character from the Trinidad Carnival.

1. Solstice by: Ulises Silva

Words are murder.
Scribes have a gift. Whatever they write comes true. Misfortune. Theft. Even murder. Editors—covert specialists operating beyond the law—watch over them. Among the Editors, Io is the best, and the most ruthless. But on her way to her next assignment, something happens. Her phone rings—along with every other phone on the planet.

What would you do if you knew the world would end next week?
A single phone call to the world’s population asks this question. The same message appears on walls, TV screens, even flesh. Confusion erupt into chaos. Violence spreads like wildfire. Io discovers a Scribe named Nadie sent the message. But the message is only the beginning.

The final winter solstice.
In two weeks, on the day of the winter solstice, Nadie promises a final judgment. Battling a world spiraling into mass hysteria and her own dark past, Io must race to stop Nadie. But as the world is engulfed in a series of supernatural catastrophes, Io uncovers a shocking possibility: Is Nadie writing humanity’s extermination? And is Nadie linked to her past?

There the list is! Spread it far and wide!

- More blogging by Naamenblog at http://naamenblog.wordpress.com/

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