Are there any great, dark fiction female authors who DON'T lace sentiment through their work?? Everytime I read a book by a woman, there's an underlying thread of sentimental crap that I just can't stomach. I've never found a decent female author who can write pure, dark fiction...does one exist???
2006-09-23 06:26:37 · 14 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Books & Authors
Sorry, should have clarified "dark". I mean intense, chilling, in a manner that exposes the human soul for what it is (ie. a trash pile) in the style of Irvine Welsh, Glen Duncan, Chuck Palhaniuk, etc. Anne Rice was OK but still very sentimental...VERY. Poppy Z. Brite was not bad though.
2006-09-23 06:38:44 · update #1
Marge Piercy has some fantastic stuff. I like best of all her books "Woman on the Edge of Time" and "Body of Glass" also printed under the title "He, She, and It".
This is very high quality sci-fi fiction. Not all of her work is in that genre, but it is all worth reading.
Another great writer is Daphne du Maurier. She wrote classic gothic novels in the early 1900's. It is very good stuff including "Rebecca", a true masterpiece.
Try Emma Tennant, another classic writer, but a bit too weird for me.
Maxine Hong Kingston and Ruth Ozeki, if you like Asian-American writers, are both very good.
How about Anne McCaffrey? Not exactly dark, but good - esp. the Pegasus series.
Good luck!
2006-09-23 18:34:31 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Try Daphne du Maurier's later short stories. (Forget Rebecca and Jamaica Inn and move to the end of her career.) You do know that she wrote the story that the Hitchcock movie "The Birds" was based on, right? Well if you haven't read it, drop everything and go out and find it. It is very, very different from the movie and MUCH better. Her other stories of around the same period (Don't Look Now, Not After Midnight) are similarly creep-tastic. For my money, she's worth three of Anne Rice any day. And not an ounce of sentiment to be found.
2006-09-23 06:45:10 · answer #2 · answered by Leslie D 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Laurel Hamilton, Jane Lindskold, Mercedes Lackey,etc. There are many women authors' who write great works as well as mediocre, what you need to do is broaden you horizons and branch into other genres, so that you can get the full effect of not just women authors but all authors.
2006-09-23 09:22:08 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
J.K. Rowling, Stephanie Meyer, Ursula LeGuin
2006-09-23 07:09:25 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Patricia Rushford writes great mystery novels, if that's what you're looking for. There might be a little sentiment but it's pretty minimal.
2006-09-23 06:48:11 · answer #5 · answered by katwoman_2911 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Read the books of Ayn Rand- Fountain head, Atlas shrugged etc.,
Pearl S. Buck's also are worth reading.
VR
2006-09-23 06:32:48 · answer #6 · answered by sarayu 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'd recommend Margaret Atwood ("The Handmaid's Tale"), Connie Willis ("Doomsday Book") and Sheri S Tepper ("Beauty").
2006-09-23 08:46:18 · answer #7 · answered by Rose D 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Jane Austin and Ayn Rand are the two whose works are most creative and valuable at all times.
2006-09-23 06:38:02 · answer #8 · answered by ramraj 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Exactly what do you mean by "dark?" Many excellent female authors are out there, but how dark are you looking for?
2006-09-23 06:29:36 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Laurell K Hamilton....maybe a little sentiment, but well masked by the sex, blood, magic & murder
2006-09-23 12:19:46 · answer #10 · answered by Morgan T 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋