Like many other authors, what I look for when I read is often different from what I write. Not just the hook (although that is important) but also something about the world/characters/plot/writing style that sets the book apart from all the millions of genre books that I’ve read before.
This element is entirely a matter of personal taste, there are some wonderful unique amazing books out there that I can’t read because they pay homage to a trope I dislike, or are written in a way I find uncomfortable (first person present tense is a big one for me), or contain content I avoid (any kind of rape, too many deaths, and too much gore simply turn me off).
I realize that as a reader I can be quite prejudicial. But I also realize there are some tropes I love so much I will actively seek them out.
For these tropes, I will forgive other things I’d normally avoid about a story or writing style so long as these tropes are adhered to.
Wanna know what they are?
1. Crossdressing for Subversion
Girl disguises herself as a boy in order to infiltrate a patriarchal environment
- Alanna ~ Tamora Pierce
- Sword Masters ~ Selina Rosen
- The Price of the Stars ~ Debra Doyle & James D. MacDonald
- Newt’s Emerald ~ Garth Nix
2. Unique Triumphs
Rare female fighter excels against adversity
- By the Sword ~ Mercedes Lackey
- The Hero and the Crown ~ Robin McKinley
- The Raven Ring ~ Patricia C. Wrede
- A Soldier’s Duty ~ Jean Johnson
- Daughter of the Lion ~ Jennifer Roberson
3. Culture Conflict
Displaced heroine outside of her own culture must survive confusion
- Taming the Forest King ~ Claudia J. Edwards
- The Fire Sword ~ Adrienne Martine-Barnes
- Restoree ~ Anne McCaffrey
- The Blue Sword ~ Robin McKinley
- Warprize ~ Elizabeth Vaughan
4. Political Machinations
Against all odds, heroine must manipulate politics in order to build/save her world
Daughter of the Empire ~ Raymond E. Feist & Janny Wurts
Local Custom ~ Sharon Lee & Steve Miller
Freedom’s Landing ~ Anne McCaffrey
Crown Duel ~ Sherwood Smith
Kushiel’s Dart ~ Jacqueline Carey
5. Burden of Exile
Excelled leader must keep her integrity in adversity
- The Serpent’s Tooth ~ Diana L. Paxton
- To the Haunted Mountains ~ Ru Emerson
- Lord of Two Lands ~ Judith Tarr
- Sorcerer’s Legacy ~ Janny Wurts
- A Princess of the Chameln ~ Cherry Wilder
Of course, a whole lot of these books have multiple of the above tropes in one series or novel. In some cases, as the series progresses the heroine moves on form of trope to the next.
That’s why these are the books that linger on my shelf.
Other things I always look for are:
- a good sharp witty heroine
- some comedy elements
- a romance thread
- happy ending
Extra points for a fantasy or future world that has an unusual historical component, or a particularly well drawn alien culture (not just the world-building, but the anthropology of the people within place, as it were).
More?
- Want to know what I don’t like? Authors Reading ~ Tropes Gail Hates
- Like my taste? Want more book recommendations in your inbox that I spotted on sale? Join the Chirrup
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More good stuff from the librarians!
Etiquette & Espionage read by Moira Quirk is on the 2014 Amazing Audiobooks list as a YALSA TOP 10.
“Exasperated with her unladylike behavior, Sophronia’s mother sends her off to a mysterious finishing school filled with spies and assassins. A spectrum of oddball characters are voiced by Moira Quirk with panache and whimsy.”
Quote of the Day:
“No woman should ever be quite accurate about her age. It looks so calculating.”
~ Oscar Wilde
BOOK DE JOUR!
Etiquette & Espionage: Finishing School Book 1
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It’s one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It’s quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.
Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners–and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine’s Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.
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You have listed some marvelous books and authors.
Thank you for your "plus" and "minus" tropes. Most interesting.
It was my pleasure!
Have you tried Illona Andrews? The Kate Daniels series is set in Atlanta where magic rises and falls, the city is in ruins, shape shifters abound, and the heroine has a mysterious background and mad fighting skills. a bit of violence but the dialogue is witty and sarcastic.
I LOVE your selection from your grandfather's postcard collection.
I gave up reading romances for pretty much the same reasons. However, romance mixed in with other components makes it a lot more interesting.
I cannot warm up to first person, present tense either. I have a book on my shelf that sounded so interesting. When I started reading, I tried to wade through it but to no avail. More and more are being written this way. It is very jarring for me.
I'm RIGHT THERE with you on present tense. But I can't stand it, regardless of POV. I feel that nothing slows down a narrative like present tense. It distracts from the story way too much.
From what you've posted here I can't help but recommend Joel Shepherd's A Trial of Blood and Steel series started in 'Sasha'. They're quite large books so they don't exactly make for a weekend reading, but as far as story line goes I'd call them a mix of the Song of the Lioness quartet and Misstress of the Empire Trilogy (the title character of the first book, Sashandra, is very like Alanna; but the level of detail in creating the fantasy world, the warring races and the political/religious motivations of the various factions is very like Mara's world – a little heavy on at times to take in but well worth pushing through for)
Thank you!
Monstrous Regiment by Terry Pratchett is all about trope 1 (and filled with humor, because all his books are, of course).
What a wonderful postcard. You grandfather had great taste.