Growing up, one of the tropes that bothered me in entertainment was the lack of strong female leads (there are some notable exceptions-most not within Sci-Fi). There's tons of discussion and debate on this, but how women are portrayed often doesn't reflects reality in beauty and fiction. And what is true of Arthurian Legends and the era of their writing, women were portrayed as either mysterious, unfaithful, or someone who needed saving. The legends were also known as Arthurian Romance for more than the depiction of a utopian world.

I know women that break both the mold and the trope and I've captured some of their element essence in the novel. This isn't a treatise on feminism, but rather an interesting look at an old story seen through a modern lens.

So yes, this novel has strong women, and not just the physically strong. You might like Ellen. She's tough in a lot of ways, but flawed as a character. All of Fall to Earth's female cast pass the Bechdel Test.

Grab an advanced reader copy while you can.

[Dedicated to one of the role models of my youth - RIP Carrie Fisher]