Genre Fiction with Bite

A nice review at January Magazine of a newer book by Suzy McKee Charnas called Stagestruck Vampires and Other Phantasms. I didn't know about this book. I read Motherlines and its two follow up books a couple years ago and liked them very much. I also read The Vampire Tapestry, a rather strange book, not the best, but it was interesting. The reviewer at January mentions liking to read science fiction/fantasy novels with smart, independent women and no dragons. She mentions several authors including Ursula LeGuin and Joanna Russ, but doesn't mention two of my favorites, Sheri S. Tepper and Octavia E. Butler. Tepper's Gate to Women's Country takes palce on earth sometime after a nuclear holocaust. And Butler's Parable of the Sower takes place in California when "gated community" has a whole new meaning. I have read several other books by these women and if you are looking for some genre fiction that isn't magic or fluff, give them a try.