Connie Willis writes great female characters - smart, active, leading women's lives (whatever that means), independent, surprising, feminine (whatever that means). Her male heroes tend to be a bit bland - perhaps to make them better foils. Of the male SF writers I like, Beagle (see Tamsin) and John M. Ford (see The Last Hot Time) have the the most individual and believable female characters. Patrick O'Brian (not an SF writer but he enjoys SKZB's blessing) writes great female (and male) characters. The first few chapters of _Post Captain_ are a sterling example. In this and subsequent books Diana and Sophie form a continuing contrast of how beauty, prejudice, money, intelligence, and lovers and husbands affected women's lives for good and ill in Jane Austen's time. Gene Wolfe is one of my favorite writers but usually his female characters strike me as unsuccessful - Madonnas or whores, there to motivate the male characters. Aunt Olivia in _Peace_ and Holly from _Pandora..._ are exceptions. - Philip On Wed, 29 Jan 2003, Chris Olson - SunPS wrote: > The talk about women reading SF/F raised a question > I would pose to the list: > > Which writers or female characters are ones in which > you feel portray accurate examples of women? > > I've seen people state that so-and-so doesn't portray > women well, or that male writers cannot portray women > accurately (not all, of course), but I'd like to know > who does. > > Any thoughts? > > Chris (Who enjoys women protagonists, because they always > seem to get left by the wayside.) > > "Life is the nightmare that leaves its mark upon you > in order to prove that it is, in fact, real." > -Thomas Ligotti- 'The Sect of the Idiot' > > >