I read a sci fi with magical elements in the early 90s that looked written in the 70s or 80s. There was a red-haired FMC with magical potential, who was the princess or similar of a Sci Fi dynasty running from bad guys in her and other rival families. Somewhat reminiscent of the Dune universe in that there were various warring cultures on a galactic scale. I vaguely think it was written by a woman? Anyone?
Could it be any of the Darkover stories by Marion Zimmer Bradley?
35: - R R R | 36: R HM R R | 37: HM HM HM SHM | 38: HM HM HM HM | 39: HM HM HM SHM | 40: HM R SHM SHM | 41: R HM SHM R
5 SHM / 13 HM / 9 R
@alexh those look fascinating but not the books I’m trying to recall. Very much exactly what I described but I think the one I’m looking for is from a smaller series and has a bit more of a medieval feel.
This is why you should never lose a book. Maybe I’d have 25 more bookshelves than my house can fit, but I’d at least still have this book on one of them. :/
Could you be looking for The Family Tree by Sheri S. Tepper? I haven't read it, but I summarized your description in Chat GPT, and it said that was a really close match. I don't touch AI for actually writing, but I've found it's great for finding books or for checking if that brilliant once in a generation idea I had for my next story has actually been played out hundreds of times.
Even if it's not your book, thank you for your description that turned up Tepper! I'd not heard of her before, but Eco-feminist SciFi with mystery and political intrigue? Sign me up!
Here's the most detailed review/synopsis I could find. The default synopsis it was published with didn't sound like your book, but this sounded like it might be: https://littleredreviewer.wordpress.com/2020/10/12/the-family-tree-by-sheri-s-tepper/
2024: N/A, N/A, SHM, HM
@mulch Do you always verify what ChatGPT regurgitates? Given it's basically just predicting likely next words, I wouldn't want anyone to not go ahead with an idea just because an LLM states it's been done before.
35: - R R R | 36: R HM R R | 37: HM HM HM SHM | 38: HM HM HM HM | 39: HM HM HM SHM | 40: HM R SHM SHM | 41: R HM SHM R
5 SHM / 13 HM / 9 R
@alexh Yeah. If it gives me decent list of stories with a similar premise, I go through synopses or read those and make sure they're not too close to what mine is. It's never stopped me from writing something before, but it's made me dig deeper and see if there's different ways I could spin the concept a couple times
2024: N/A, N/A, SHM, HM
Could this be Patricia Kennealy's "The Copper Crown" from her Keltiad series?
Q3 V38 - F, Q 4 V38 - SHM
Q1 V39 - HM, Q2 V39 - HM, Q3 V39 SHM, Q4 V39 SHM
@folkloremipsum well that’s going on my TBR!
The one I was looking for is a little more space opera than this, but these are all so intriguing. I feel like even if I lose I win on this, since all the suggestions are right up my alley:
Thanks for the suggestions. The book I’m recalling is more space opera, but these all sounds intriguing.
