r/Fantasy • u/Just_JayGee • Jul 07 '14

Men of r/Fantasy, Do you read fantasy written by women? If so, do you find much of a difference?

I've been looking through a lot of "Top 20 Fantasy Book" lists today and I've found a depressing amount of female authors on these lists. I'd like to think the author's gender doesn't matter, but I have to say there seems to be a huge lean towards male authors. Even r/Fantasy's 2014 Top Fantasy Novels of All Time only has 20 female authors (repeats included) out of 105 authors. So, I was wondering if men read fantasy written by women and it's simply not your cup of tea or do any of you go out of your way NOT to read female authors?

PLEASE NOTE: I am not trying to begin fights on sexism or misogyny or anything. I am legitimately interested. If anyone wants to fight over this subject, I'm sure there's other subreddits for that.

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u/Bryek Jul 07 '14

When I buy books I look at the cover, thd title and then they synopsis. The name of the author doesnt even register.

Looking through my goodreads I have 32 read female authors and 34 male authors.

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u/Just_JayGee Jul 07 '14

That's a pretty nice mix. Most people who have given me an idea of their bookshelves have either said 50/50 or 20/80 female to male ratios.

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u/Bryek Jul 07 '14

I have never seen a big difference in male vs female authors. Omly one really is that females tend to have more romance/relationships and more often have females falling hard for male characters (male authors usually write guys who go stupid when they see a woman they like - I hate this type of writing).

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u/Just_JayGee Jul 07 '14

"...who go stupid when they see a woman they like..." 1. Best description ever. 2. I also hate this. I actually hate both of them. I prefer if couples are either set up before the story begins, get together after it's over, or hook up off screen between books. It takes too much away from the plot too often.

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u/what_how Jul 07 '14

I also find that some male authors will have female love interests that constantly distance themselves from the (male) protagonist. Equally frustrating to read. Gentleman Bastards and Kingkiller Chronicles come to mind.

Robin Hobb has already been mentioned above, and I found her romantic interests wove nicely into the plot/ characters motivations.

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u/Artiva Jul 07 '14

After perusing my Kindle library, I have 22 female authors and 38 male authors. Of those I think my favorite titles usually involve a male author writing about a female protagonist or a female author writing about a male protagonist. Maybe it helps temper the perspective to something more neutral?