Rant
I swear to God, if I start reading one more book with a female protagonist who:
- Has an IQ of 36D (or)
- Is a raving sociopath because, clearly, violence = empowerment (NOT)
I am going to take that book, drive to the God Damn rifle range, hang it from the 200 yard berm beam and shoot it full of 155 grain hollow-points at over 2,750 feet per second.
Then I will post the picture here on my blog.
Not that this will change anything, but boy-howdy, will I feel a lot better.
Maybe I should just give up on urban fantasy. Although I did like Toni Andrew’s Mercy book, so the genre can’t be a total wash.
I don’t get it. These books are written by women, with women agents, with women editors. Yet they are some of the most glaring anti-women books around.
Sigh.
You are a blogging God.
If I read a book with a female protag, I don’t mind if she’s sexy, but she needs to be smart.
If she’s a man-hating she-beast, whatevs.
I have a couple FMC’s and they all abhor violence and hate stupid people.
Although I have written a few violent sociopath women ’cause they’re fun.
September 21, 2009 at 6:33 pm
Hey, I’m a woman and I won’t read those books either! Most of what is called urban fantasy isn’t my ideal of the genre – I prefer the writings of authors like Charles de Lint.
September 22, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Oh I love this post.
I’m torn. (Of course, I don’t read much, if any, of urban fantasy, so maybe I’m talking out of turn here…)
On the one hand, I totally understand. Esp w/ the IQ part. That pisses me off.
On the other hand, I’m equally as sick of female protags who are weak, indecisive, turned off by anything remotely resembling a tough decision, and faint at the sight of blood. I want a compassionate protag, but one who understands some people/monsters/antags just have to die. The squeamish, haunted-by-their-own-doings, and i-know-guns-are-evil-but-i-have-to-carry-one types irritate me to no end. Cowboy up.
September 30, 2009 at 7:06 am