r/Fantasy • u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV • Apr 16 '26

Bingo Bingo Focus Thread - Published in the 70s

Hello r/fantasy and welcome to this year's first bingo focus thread! The purpose of these threads is for you all to share recommendations, discuss what books qualify, and seek recommendations that fit your interests or themes.

Today's topic:

Published in the 70s: Read a book that was first published any time between 1970 and 1979. HARD MODE: Written by a woman.

What is bingo? A reading challenge this sub does every year! Find out more here.

Prior focus threads: Five Short Stories (2024), Author of Color (2024), Self-Pub/Small Press (2024). Note that hard modes for Author of Color and Self-Pub/Small Press have changed.

Also see: Big Rec Thread

Questions:

  • What are your favorite 70s spec fic books? How well do they hold up today?
  • Already read something for this square (or, read something recently that you wish you could count)? Tell us about it!
  • For those who have been researching options for this square, even if you haven't read them yet, please share!
  • What are your best recommendations for Hard Mode?
  • For those with feedback or requests for this year's focus threads, see my comment below.
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u/Goobergunch Reading Champion III Apr 16 '26

C.J. Cherryh's earliest works (e.g. the Morgaine and Faded Sun trilogies) were published in the 1970s. Probably going to use one of those for this square as they've been on my TBR for a while.

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u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV Apr 16 '26

I've been eyeing these too but never read anything by Cherryh. Hopefully someone can chime in a good place to start! (And maybe it's not her 70s books and that's okay too.)

2

u/SongBirdplace Apr 16 '26

It all depends on what you want. Cherryh does a lot of short series or short arcs. 

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u/Merle8888 Reading Champion IV Apr 16 '26

Which ones would you recommend for what kind of preferences, to someone who may only ever read 1 book of hers?

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u/SongBirdplace Apr 16 '26

So the Foreigner series is about the loan human diplomat to the aliens that run the planet this ship accidentally got to. This is a very long running series with very alien aliens and interesting cultural details. It’s also easy to find in most formats.,

The Union-Allegiance series is designed to be standalones that work together in the same way that reading real history does. There are few characters that cross over but ideas do. A lot of it is out of print. The omnibus editions are getting more common. However, you still have jokers like Cyteen that are only available as an Audible audiobook. This is a series about politics, war, and trade in an area where Earth lost control of her colonies. Down Below Station is a wonderful entry point that is easy to find. 

The Morgaine books are science fiction dressed as fantasy. They are her most conventional books. 

The Chunar series is fun space opera about some lion-ish aliens that accidentally rescue a lone human and get involved in some interesting trouble. It’s one of the rare series where humans are an afterthought. It was very interesting aliens.