fantasy deserves more women in stem (sorcery, thaumaturgy, enchantment, magic)

Hey there, friends, it’s me again! I hope all is well for you and, if not, then I hope brighter days head your way soon! Today I’m taking part in Let’s Talk Bookish again and we’ve got a great topic of discussion plus some good related recommendations! This topic is very personal to me as it relates to my life and passions outside of books and reading, so I’m excited! So let’s just dive on into this wonderful conversation!

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly bookish discussion meme created by Rukky at Eternity Books and now hosted by Aria at Book Nook Bits and Dini at dinipandareads. This week’s prompt is…

women in stem in books

my thoughts on women in stem in literature

This topic got me thinking plenty! I’m a girly in STEM myself (specifically, I have a associate’s degrees in science and social science and am currently completing my bachelor’s degree in biological and cultural anthropology), so I absolutely adore seeing women in STEM star in books!!! I think it’s so important to see women represented in these fields, especially as girls and women are still often told that STEM fields are “men’s work” which leads to us being underrepresented workers in such fields irl.

I think we have seen an increase in books featuring women in STEM in contemporary fiction and romance, but one genre that hasn’t really seen the same increase at the same rate is fantasy (my favorite genre). Of course, this bugs me as lover of fantasy who also loves STEM and who also is a woman! Maybe this is due to the magic systems that most books set up, but I’ve only ever read a handful of fantasy novels featuring a woman in STEM or a woman in a STEM-adjacent field like alchemy or poisoning and potion-making or study of magical creatures, etc.

This really saddens me, not just as a woman in STEM myself but also as someone with a big imagination, because, in my humble opinion, STEM is ripe for the pickin’ when it comes to magic systems you could base off of its fields and subfields. Like, imagine a system of magic based on physics or mathematics or chemistry, etc.? How fucking cool would that be?!?!! I can imagine geeking out so hard about that—both literally and figuratively! And to have a STEM girly like me heading such a novel? Ashdklcjsdflfoidhcsdknodld that would be so cool!!!

When it comes to the topic of actually portraying women in STEM, as a girly in STEM myself, I definitely have OpinionsTM. I absolutely think there can be good and bad ways to write women in STEM.

One thing I hate seeing all characters who are women in STEM flattened out to is the whole “awkward and/or cold girl in STEM” stereotype. I can’t deny that this stereotype is reality for some people, but I’ve also met many gorgeous, outgoing, charming, charismatic, and even (cue gasps) popular ladies in STEM. Many of them are my friends! I wish we saw more variety in women in STEM’s personalities in literature, because in real life, us gals in STEM aren’t, ya know, walking, talking stereotypes, we’re unique human beings.

I also wish we’d hear more about why characters who are women in STEM are so passionate about their fields/subfields. Or maybe see more scenes of them expressly geeking out over their favorite topic. Although, I do acknowledge that being able to portray this accurately may be more a function of the author’s actual knowledge of a certain field/subfield/topic.

I’m really glad we’re seeing a rise in books about women in STEM! It makes me so happy to see that someone like me could be the main character of a story too. I hope this trend continues into the future and that we see many more women in STEM featured in books to come!

my favorite books featuring women in stem

Blood Over Bright Haven by M.L. Wang This book is a neat one, because while it doesn’t feature an actual, irl STEM field, the magic system functions much like a mathematical process, which was so incredibly cool to see. Blood Over Bright Haven also focuses very much on sexism and racism in academia, particularly in the STEM fields (even if the STEM field in this book is fictional), which were both depicted in a visceral and realistic manner. Headed by a woman in this fictional, magical STEM field who is deeply flawed, this book quickly moved up to being one of my all-time favorites when I read it this past December!

Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries by Heather Fawcett This is another book that deals with a woman in a fictional STEM field, specifically, the study of faeries. I will caveat this recommendation by saying I’m only about 75% through this book and am reading it incredibly slowly, but regardless, I’m really enjoying it so far! I love reading about how passionate about studying faeries that Emily is, and how awkward she is in any setting other than an academic one. Emily Wilde’s Encyclopaedia of Faeries is peak cozy academia fantasy, and I highly recommend it if you’re looking for a good book in that (admittedly hyper-specific) subgenre to cozy up with!

The Gilded Wolves by Roshani Chokshi The Gilded Wolves is a treasure hunting historical fantasy novel featuring an ensemble cast, but one of the members of that cast—Zofia—is a female engineer who’s autistic coded (I believe Roshani Chokshi confirmed that Zofia is autistic, but I can’t say for certain). I love all of Zofia’s chapters in this book! It’s always so interesting to see the inside of her mind and how she thinks about various things, including engineering. The other thing also loveteam about Zofia’s role in The Gilded Wolves is seeing how a female scientist can contribute to a broader of interdisciplinary specialists—an important role for all scientists that often goes overlooked in a society which praises and celebrates individual “genius.” All in all, if you love academia, historical fantasy, and treasure hunts, then definitely give this book and its sequels a chance!

The Atlas Six by Olivie Blake This book teeters on the edge of fantasy about science philosophy and fantasy about actual scientific practice, so at first I was unsure if I should ass it to this list but I figured I’d go with it anyway. I think the best example of a female scientist in The Atlas Six is Libby Rhodes, who is the magical version of a physicist—she studies and practices the magic of space and time at a particulate level. Of course, it could be argued that Parisa Kamali and Reina Mori also both represent the magical version of STEM fields (those being psychology and biology, respectively), but I think Libby is the one whose magical/scientific study and practice is focused on most noticeably. Anyhoo, regardless of semantics, if you’re looking for a dark academia fantasy full of science and philosophy and featuring plenty of women in (the fantasy version of) STEM, The Atlas Six is a great option.

Stalking Jack The Ripper by Kerri Maniscalco Moving away from the genre of fantasy, we have Stalking Jack The Ripper, which is a YA genre mashup of historical, mystery, and romance—and it all centers around a main character, Audrey Rose Wadsworth, who is a female student of forensic science. This book is so much fun! It’s the perfect blend of light romance with darker, more mysterious elements!! One of the things I adore about Stalking Jack The Ripper is that Aurey Rose isn’t the stereotypical “socially awkward woman in STEM”—she’s charming and engages in plenty of witty banter with the love interest and has plenty of “traditionally feminine” qualities—and she knows her worth! I actually relate quite a bit to her personality and passion, which was such a nice change! If you’re looking for a fun read full of mystery and intrigue and sprinkled with a dash of romance, Stalking Jack The Ripper is definitely for you!

Illuminae by Amie Kaufman and Jay Kristoff Last but not least is the mixed media YA sci fi thriller, Illuminae. This book focuses on a teenage couple whose home planet is a mining colony which is attacked by a giant corporation, sending the couple and the rest of the survivors on the run through the universe. But things get even more terrifying when a deadly virus spreads throughout the survivor’s spaceship and—to make things, like, 1000 times scarier—the survivor’s spaceship’s AI computer system seems to have…well, it seems to have gained sentience and gone mad. One half of the teenage couple at the heart of this thrilling sci fi is Kady, who is a badass female coder! And, with everything seeming to have gone to hell for the survivors in this book, Kady’s unique skills just might be the salvation everyone needs. If you love action-packed sci fi thrill-rides and are amused by unique formatting, then give this book a look!!

books on my tbr featuring women in stem

The Love Hypothesis by Ali Hazelwood This is one of the most popular books written about a woman in STEM—and it’s written by an actual woman in STEM! I’ve heard rave reviews of this STEM filled romcom, so I’m excited to get to it when I need a silly and light palette cleanser!

Atmosphere by Taylor Jenkins Reid I loved The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo and Daisy Jones & The Six (both by Taylor Jenkins Reid), so I was already looking forward to her latest historical fiction release. So, you can imagine how hyped I was to hear that it will be about a female astronaut!! I can’t tell you how excited I am to get my greedy book goblin claws on this book—I can’t wait!!!

Binti by Nnedi Okorafur Honestly I read half of this sci fi novella YEARS ago and adored it, so I’ve been wanting to continue ever since (it was a library copy that got returned mid-read, hence why I didn’t finish it right then and there). Binti is the start of a trilogy of a female scientist/space explorer from the Himba tribe who comes into contact with an alien. It was interesting and surprisingly sweet, plus it was nice to see representation of an African woman in STEM too!

Raiders of the Lost Heart by Jo Segura I discovered this book recently and was pleasantly surprised to find out that it’s a romance featuring archaeologists! As a anthropology student myself, I think that means I’m basically obligated to give this book a chance—but it helps that it looks like a fun read!!

A Curious Beginning by Deanna Raybourn I’ve been wanting to read this book for a while now, especially as I’ve been hearing great things about it recently! It’s the start of a historical mystery series starring a female naturalist and her acquaintance-turned-maybe-more. How cool does that sound?!

Warcross by Marie Lu This is another sci fi, this time about an East Asian girl, Emika Chen, who’s a coder. In Warcross I believe Emika is taking part in this very tech-driven competition. This is an older release, so I remember the synopsis a little less, but nonetheless it still seems really good.

spill the beans, friends!

Do you think there’s been a rise in books featuring women in STEM when it comes to your favorite genres? Have you read and enjoyed any books featuring women in STEM? Are there any on your TBR?

Learn more the author of this post:

Lila @ Hardcover Haven

Lila is a 30 year old anthropology student and lover of literature who's been book blogging for an eternity. Her hobbies include reading, singing, writing, arts and crafts, and snuggling her two cats, Snoopy and Clementine.