The best of the best … according to my very subject tastes. Your mileage may vary.

The Seven Citadels (series) by Geraldine Harris remains the best thing I’ve read for ForFemFan. While only four short books comprise this series, it’s lingered with me for years and I constantly kinda-wanna re-read it. Stolidly a fantasy series, it has a brutal truth to it that can be as painful as it is beautiful. This series seems akin to what David Edding’s The Belgariad was trying to do … Geraldine Harris just did it better. Amusingly, they were published the same year.

War for the Oaks by Emma Bull shouldn’t be a surprise—it’s one of the two books that started my love of vintage woman-authored sff. Poetic and beautiful, it has a slow approach to story-telling that isn’t unlike real life—were it not for the shape-shifters, faeries, and quintessential battle of dark versus light. If you’re in the mood for evocative, chill, and maybe a hint wistful, with a good dash of 1980s ambiance, read this book.

Found by June Oldham confounds other reviewers with its dark yet surprisingly naive middle-grade tone. Perhaps it’s because I was a dark yet surprisingly naive middle-grader that Found meant so much to me—and remained dear to me even after I couldn’t remember anything about it. Set in a near-dystopian future, the book revolves around multiple children trying to figure out life on their own. The tone is somehow realistically brutal yet hopeful. While perhaps not ideal for all children, I adored it in 5th grade, and found it just as good nearly 20 years later.

The Wicked Enchantment by Margot Benary-Isbert is the second middle-grade novel on this list. Despite being written in 1955, it feels modern and relevant as it tackles difficult social topics like tyranny, rebellion, and family dysfunction in ways entirely authentic and appropriate for a middle-grader. It’s also pointedly feminist—so much so that there are reviews claiming it’s “too feminist” which is, of course, nonsense. Despite serious themes, The Wicked Enchantment is a delightful read featuring a girl masquerading as a boy, multiple dogs, a parrot, a cat, a hive of bees, an elephant, a mouse, and an even larger cast of tertiary animals. It ends on a Christian note, but it’s not heavy-handed and in no way undermines the goodness of the story. My days in an Evangelical school have me very reactive towards attempts at proselytizing, and this book ain’t doing that.

The Gate of Ivory by Doris Egan could easily sit alongside War for the Oaks and The Silicon Tower as a powerhouse classic 1980s sff novel. Taking place on a different planet where magic is real, this character-driven novel blends genres with style. It’s easy to read and fun but is by no means a “guilty pleasure” or “popcorn reading.” Pointedly feminist in the most beautifully positive way, it also focuses on human nature and really makes you consider how bad some good people can be—and the opposite. I adored this book. It’s an absolute shame that it’s out of print—it deserves widespread recognition.

The Serpent by Jane Gaskell follows a teenaged girl ejected from her sheltered life as a goddess in a woman-centric country for the purpose of seducing and murdering an enemy general. Sometimes it’s hilarious, sometimes it’s joyful, but the true focus of The Serpent is the oppression of women. Particularly nuanced is how a woman’s sexuality can give her temporary power where she otherwise has none—but there’s always a price to pay. It’s not a fun novel, but it is breath-takingly good. The depictions of misogyny and sexualized violence were so damn authentic that I felt seen. I loathe rape as a plot device, but strangely the way Gaskall wields these topics is what makes The Serpent amazing.

An Alien Light by Nancy Kress, another sci-fi/fantasy crossover, is the biggest page-turner of everything I’ve read for ForFemFan. It starts slow, a little methodical, but as you meet more characters and pieces of the puzzle fall into place, figuring out exactly how things are going to shake out (and hoping after hope that your beloved characters will live up to your expectations of them) takes over.

Much like Found, An Alien Light is controversial online. I obviously adored it, but I can concede that it isn’t for everyone. My full-length review is 100% spoiler free and hopefully spells out if it’s the type of book for you.

Do you want to read a book that’s fun and charming and easy and absolutely will not make you feel feelings? Read A Bad Spell in Yurt by C. Dale Brittain. Essentially a cozy mystery in a fantasy world, it’s perfectly indulgent without being absurd, and a lot of fun without trying to be uproariously funny. While the world and the characters are the focal point, the mystery does have an eerie and page-turning quality when it kicks in, and the inclusion of the Christian church—which is at odds with magic and magicians—adds a nice little pop of depth to an otherwise perfectly frivolous novel.