Yeah, on second thought I don't think it's fair either. I didn't mean "trick" in a derogatory sense. In fact I was praising Le Guin! I do think it's unquestion

Yeah, on second thought I don't think it's fair either. I didn't mean "trick" in a derogatory sense. In fact I was praising Le Guin! I do think it's unquestionable that she was purposefully subverting and playing with the standard expectations of fantasy novels written by white and male authors. I think Martha Wells does a bit of the same with her depiction of both Murderbot as well as -- in general -- the role of women in her series. In particular Dr. Mensah impressed me: she's fair, intelligent, and in charge. She's not an action hero nor does she know her way around extreme violence, yet she's not downplayed as incompetent or lost (arguably after overcoming some initial naivete); in fact she's possibly the most competent character (in things other than killing people, of course).