**Today's Request: Can you recommend any good (low swearing, non-erotic) Shifter books/series?**

The 2016 Discussion Challenge is hosted by Nicole @Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon @It Starts At Midnight. “So often book bloggers mean to post more discussions on our blogs, but we just don’t quite get around to it. Well, we wanted to give everyone a little motivation to keep the discussions going, plus give us a place to link up our discussions so that more people will see our precious words of wisdom (or … you know … our GIF-filled rants).”

"Seeking Suggestions"

Back at the end of July, I wrote a post about the fact that the genre(s) I thought I liked best weren't the ones I had the most of in My Library. Now, every 2-3 months I will be doing a post asking for your recommendations for a specific subgenre I would like to explore more in depth.

The General Guidelines

My preference would be for all my books to be "church lady" clean; failing that, this is what I am looking for:

• Can be for any age group from MG to Adult
• Should be available on audio
• Bonus points if it has well written female characters.
• No explicit sex, frequent strong language, or gore.
  

The Request

As stated above, today's subgenre is:

**Shifters (bonus points for either dragons, 'cause they're cool, or a non-typical animal)**

If you have friends who are into these kinds of books, please feel free to direct them here to share their favorites.

Commentary & Examples

What I like best:

1. Interesting characters with some depth to them.
2. Plots that don't over strain credibility.
3. An exploration of how the shifting affects them in each form (i.e. they aren't the exact same in each, or learning to become one changes the other)

Some examples of such books that I have liked (I'm only including the covers for the first book in each series, hover for a description)

Heartstrikers series by Rachel Aaron

Pros - Wonderful characters, excellent worldbuilding & twisty dragon politics

Cons - Dragon ethics & morals

The Others Series by Anne Bishop

I read this book by accident, thinking it was a different one. It is way beyond my comfort zone but the characters pulled me in from the very beginning.

Pros  - This series is unique. The shapeshifters are first & foremost spirits who long ago took on the forms of animal predators. Many of them have now learned how to take on human form as well, but they definitely aren't human.

Cons - Very dark with gore & horror elements. Strong language & minor explicitness.

Additional Books: I have also reviewed the following books that include Shifter characters but don't explore it much, if at all - Baehrly Breathing (no actual shifting takes place) / Burning Bright & Birthright (Shape-shifting Fae) / The Dragon's Call (mostly in human form) / Henchgirl (also mostly in human form) / True of Blood (Shape-shifting Fae) 

Please note: If you like all the stuff I don't, and think books aren't realistic without it, that's fine. I'm not saying such books shouldn't be written; I'm just looking for books that I would be comfortable reading/reviewing.

Talk to Me (pretty please)

• Do you prefer books where shifters are human first, or where human is just a form they can take?
• What genres would you like to read more of?

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• If you are a first time visitor, how did you discover my blog?

Instead of my usual "You May Also Like" section, this area will be dedicated to a list of the recommendations below (so you don't have to comb through the comments). To see other Seeking Suggestions posts, please click the gmb-sesug tag at the very end.

• The Song of Mavin Manyshaped series by Sherry Tepper [not on audio]
• October Daye series by Seanan McGuire
• Monster Haven series by RL Naquin
• The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher
• Iron Druid Chronicles by Kevin Hearne
• A Key, an Egg, an Unfortunate Remark by Harry Connolly [not on audio]
• The Shining Falcon by Josepha Sherman [not on audio]
• The Book of Atrix Wolfe by Patricia McKillip [not on audio]
• Mystra: The DragonLord Chronicles by Thorarinn Gunnarsson [not on audio]
• The Timber Wolves Trilogy by Tammy Blackwell [not on audio]
• The Tiger and the Wolf by Adrian Tchaikovsky [not on audio]

This week's discussion will also be linked up with the following (hover for descriptions):

**Today's Request: Can you recommend any good (low swearing, non-erotic) military or revolutionary SF books/series?**

The 2016 Discussion Challenge is hosted by Nicole @Feed Your Fiction Addiction and Shannon @It Starts At Midnight. “So often book bloggers mean to post more discussions on our blogs, but we just don’t quite get around to it. Well, we wanted to give everyone a little motivation to keep the discussions going, plus give us a place to link up our discussions so that more people will see our precious words of wisdom (or … you know … our GIF-filled rants).”

The Background

One of the first things I noticed when I started to schedule reviews for books I already own & have read was that there is a disconnect between my perceptions and my reality. If you had asked me, prior to this discovery, whether I liked Science Fiction or Fantasy best, I would have answered SF. But My Library of owned books disagrees. Whatever I think I like best, what I own the most of is YA Fantasy / Paranormal.

So I have decided to start something new, every 2-3 months or so I will do a post asking for book recommendations in a specific SF/F sub-genre that I feel is under-represented in my library. I am starting with a SF choice. (Note: I had already begun thinking about doing this when I came across Lauren's post, I'm a Fake Fantasy Reader, which gave me some additional inspiration.)

The General Guidelines

My preference would be for all my books to be "church lady" clean; failing that, this is what I am looking for:

• Can be for any age group from MG to Adult.
• Should be available on audio.
• Bonus points if it has well written female characters.
• Needs to meet My Standards - which can be summarized by saying that it contains limited:
  • Swearing
  • Gory violence
  • Explicit material (which should be limited to that between 1 man & 1 woman who are married to each other - I would personally skip these parts, but want to stick with something I would also be willing to review on my blog).

The Request

As stated above, today's subgenre is:

**Military or Revolutionary Science Fiction**

If you have friends who are into these kinds of books, please feel free to direct them here to share their favorites.

Commentary & Examples

What I like best:

1. Interesting characters with some depth to them.
2. Plots that don't over strain credibility.
3. Character based action scenes - I am one of those people who tend to skip the action/battle stuff, unless it is strongly based in character.
4. The romance, if there is one, is based on things such as actual compatibility & friendship rather than physical attraction only.

Some examples of such books that I have liked (I'm only including the covers for the first book in each series, hover for a description)

The Course of Empire / The Crucible of Empire by Eric Flint & KD Wentworth

Pros - A couple of strong female characters whose strength has nothing to do with fighting. Very interesting aliens. Lots of time developing character. Some battle scenes had great character moments.

Cons - Some battle scenes were a bit boring (to me). The swearing was a bit much, but there were no F words that I remember

The Great Symmetry by James R Wells My Review

Pros - Two women with completely different kinds of strength. I love the character based action in this one. There is a set of scenes near the end where the fate of a whole planet is hanging in the balance. Everyone has their own plans regarding this, and it is fascinating & totally engrossing to watch those plans unfold.

Cons - Mild swearing and some relationship stuff.

On Basilisk Station by David Weber

Pros - A strong female who still occasionally giggles (although she hates it). Lots of great side characters who each get their own moments. The space battle, at least, was a long string of characters doing their thing.

Cons - Way too much (strong) swearing and lots of gore. I definitely skipped the bloodiest battle. Also, I didn't continue the series because it looked like it was going to get a little too heavy for me, and there were some situations I wasn't comfortable with.

The "Project Enterprise" series by Pauline Baird Jones

Pros - Strong females, mostly of the rear end kicking variety, but they can use their brains as well, and you should see what they can do with a dress. Space battles, alien romances, and no explicit scenes!

Cons - Some swearing, including military style coded swearing. At least one group of aliens is truly abhorrent, and their actions towards women were very distressing (again, not explicit)

The Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold

Pros - Not sure I need to say anything here. She is the queen of character based SciFi that still manages to be very tightly plotted.

Cons - Some swearing. Lots of (only mildly-explicit) sex stuff.

Please note: If you like all the stuff I don't, and think books aren't realistic without it, that's fine. I'm not saying such books shouldn't be written; I'm just looking for books that I would be comfortable reading/reviewing.

Talk to Me (pretty please)

• Is there a disconnect between your perception and your reality?
• What genre's would you like to read more of?

--

• If you are a first time visitor, how did you discover my blog?

Instead of my usual "You May Also Like" section, this area will be dedicated to a list of the recommendations below (so you don't have to comb through the comments). To see other Seeking Suggestions posts, please click the gmb-sesug tag at the very end.

(Since I may not have read them I can't give content warnings / They may not all be military or revolutionary)

• Anything by Alastair Reynolds [GMB: Audiobook series include "Revelation Space" & "Poseidon's Children," plus various standalones]
• Elizabeth Moon [GMB: "Vatta's War" series is available on audio as is The Speed of Dark]
• The "Tin Star" duology by Cecil Castellucci
• Ender's Game [GMB: I've read it and it's great]
• The "Liaden" series by Steve White & Sharon Lee
• The Empress of Mars by Kage Baker
• "Imperial Radch" trilogy by Anne Leckie [GMB: Not available on Audio]
• Dawn of Destiny by Lee Stephen
• Inside Out by Maria V Snyder [GMB: I've read and enjoyed this one also]
• Star Crusader: Hero of the Alliance by Michael G. Thomas
• "Starship Blackbeard" by Michael Wallace
• Omega Rising: Omega Force by Joshua Dalzelle
• Old Man's War by John Scalzi
• "The Bern Saga" or Half Way Home by Hugh Howey

This week's discussion will also be linked up with the following (hover for descriptions):