The Sword and Laser discussion

Just wondering, are there any fantasy / action adventure / science fiction stories about two sisters? The two brothers theme is ubiquitous. Supernatural, Vampire Diaries (even the spinoff is about the two original brothers; they only have one sister), Cal and Nikko, Thor and Loki. Even Harry Dresden eventually finds out he has a brother.

There are some brother sister combos like Max/Isabel in Roswell. Buffy has Dawn but does that really even count? There are several examples in books I’ve read of male/female twins, but I’m really having a hard time of thinking of sisters. Most of the ‘heroes’ are only children male or female but when siblings are central to the story it is usually brothers.

Frozen is a recent exception.

Running through my list of favorite female heroines, I can think of a few with a sister as a minor character but not one where the relationship is central to the story.

Can anyone give me some examples?

I think that there is a broader problem that there are very few stories which feature prominent and believable female characters at all.

Sister Mine just won an award at this years nebulas (best YA novel) and though I have not read it I have heard so much great stuff about it that the book is high on my to read list.

And of course in terms of annimation there is the classic My Neighbour Totoro which is possibly my favorite film of all time. Disney did a good job providing a modern english dub but any version of the film is amazing. It features two sisters and is one of the most charming and re-watchable films I have ever seen.

Ben wrote: "I think that there is a broader problem that there are very few stories which feature prominent and believable female characters at all.

Sister Mine just won an award at this years..."


I'll check it out.

And yes, this subtopic is a symptom of the broader problem. As much as I like the kick ass heroine, she is often a cardboard cutout of the perfect woman (AKA just like the generic action hero) and the loan example of her gender surrounded by males. She is an awesome fighter and has no relationships except sexual ones with dark dangerous men. She is almost always a leather clad detective or bounty hunter on a motorcycle. Often she has a female 'best friend' - in quotes because she never acts like a friend or has any significant role in the story. And is usually forgotten by the second or third book.

It is the reason I'm almost ready to give up on Urban Fantasy.

Sorry, just touched a nerve there.

Do the clones in Orphan Black count as sisters?

The Walking Dead has sisters in the cast and no brother-pairs but it's still a very male-dominated show and comic book.

Warbreaker by Brandon Sanderson is about two sisters.

There certainly aren't a ton of examples that jump to mind.

@Elizabeth: I'm reading Outlander right now and the character development ESPECIALLY on the leading lady is amazing. She starts out as a normal female (in her early 30s I think) from 1945 and ends up with the heart of a warrior when she's sent back 200 years later in 18th century Scotland. Not just her but the character development in all the characters are amazing. Really good stuff. I'm totally impressed.

As for books about sisters I don't think I've ever read one. I see that stuff more in traditional fiction than I do in SciFi/Fantasy. Lots of brother and sister duos and actually sister and sister duos though especially when you get to the "Independent Readers" section but the brother and sister duo thing probably more strategic as they may want to attract boy and girl readership for one story. Also might be due to the fact that having siblings is a big part of growing up. Maybe that's why they're more in children's books than in the adult ones. The impact for character development is just much greater when you're younger.

I haven't read her latest fantasy, but Elizabeth Bear is pretty conscious of that type of thing.

The few books I can think of with sisters, usually pit them against each other as rivals - case in point Lysa and Catelyn in Game of Thrones. Even Sansa and Arya, they are too different in character to have more than a general family care for each other.

Marion Zimmer Bradley has a few of these, her Atlantis story, Mists of Avalon (Igraine, Viviene, Morgause).

Beauty (and the Beast) usually has sisters that are vain and selfish, like Cinderella's stepsisters, just to show us how good and wonderful the heroine is.

Fairy tales in particular are bad for this since they generally have a protagonist who has little or no family and must in the end make a new family and friends as they fight to overcome the evil witch/stepmother/etc. Being all alone in the world is a major trope, and a teenager thing (nobody understands me!).

Also, there seems to be an underlying, subconscious maybe, medieval belief structure that a woman gets married and transfers her allegiance to her husband's family, making her ties to siblings/family weaker from the get go. (Cersei/Jaime excepted haha). Once Sansa is betrothed to Joffrey, she is expected to side with the Lannisters, even without all the mental torture they heap on her.

It's crappy, but there it is.

Alan wrote: "The Walking Dead has sisters in the cast and no brother-pairs"

We had Merle and Daryl in the TV show.

Wicked Witches of the East & West in Wizard of Oz may be a stretch but they are important to the story.

They're not true sisters, but Sister Light, Sister Dark was once a Nebula finalist.

Elizabeth wrote: "Even Harry Dresden eventually finds out he has a brother.
..."

Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat! Oh man, that's what I get for getting into a series so late..

Tassie Dave wrote: "Alan wrote: "The Walking Dead has sisters in the cast and no brother-pairs"

We had Merle and Daryl in the TV show.

Wicked Witches of the East & West in Wizard of Oz may be a stretch but they are ..."
whoops. [facepalm]

Kate Elliot"s Spirit walker trilogy centers on two cousins who were raised as sisters. The first book is really good.

In the epic fantasy series A Trial of Blood and steel, the main character's, Sasha, relationship with her family (3 sisters, 3 brothers of which 2 sisters and 2 brothers get a fair share of page-time) is a mayor part of her character arc and a big plot driving element.

Other than that there's Sanderson's Warbreaker which was already mentioned. It deals with 2 sisters, though they don't interact much over the course of the story IIRC.

and ... erhm ... Among Others? That's, partially, about a girl dealing with the death of her twin sister ... so that's not really what you're looking for I guess.

I'm actually quite sad that that's all I can think of.

I don't think anyone mentioned the old tv show "Charmed" yet.

John wrote: "I don't think anyone mentioned the old tv show "Charmed" yet."

Just came here to say that. I can't think of anything else off the top of my head... which sucks.

The main characters in Glory Season by David Brin are twin sisters.

Try the Lady of Devices series. I just finished these. They're fun for YA of all ages, and the first four books are only $10; the first ebook is free. There's an intrepid heroine, a pair of twin girls (you wanted sisters, right?) who get their own books at the end of the series, steampunk and a lot of dirigibles.

If you're willing to try out younger YA/middle grade The Thirteenth Princess, Princess of the Midnight Ball, Entwined, and Wildwood Dancing all retell the sister-centric fairy tale, The Twelve Dancing Princesses (also known as The Worn Out Dancing Shoes), and do a good job with the sister aspect of the orginal tale. If you're going to pick one, I'd go with Wildwood Dancing. Another good sister-centic Middle Grade fantasy book is The Two Princesses of Bamarre, where a princess must become brave to save the life of her sister.

Going up in age a bit but still sticking with the fairy tale theme is the gorgeous Tender Morsels by Margo Lanagan. This book is a retelling of Snow White and Rose Red, and the sister relationship between the two plays a powerful role, although it's not the sole focus of the book. There is also Chime by Franny Billingsly, where one of the most important relationhships is between the protagonist and her sister.

For adult books (which is where finding sister-focused books gets a little harder) there is Mary Robinette Kowal's Shades of Milk and Honey. The sister relationship between Melody and Jane sees signifigant, and important, development in the third book in this seires, Without a Summer.

That's all I can think of now. Will come back if I have more. Interesting, all of the books listed above are by female authors. Sanderson, with Warbreaker, is the only male author to break the trend.

The webcomic Strong Female Protagonist just did a sister-issues chapter.

I love the sisterly affection in A Fistful of Sky.

Phil wrote: "The main characters in Glory Season by David Brin are twin sisters."

Glory Season is particularly interesting because it's a sharply matriarchal society. When the protagonist communicates with a character through text only (slightly more complicated, but good enough for this discussion), she assumes that the other character is also female.

I'd kind of be curious to read more of that kind of book, where there are women and men but most people of influence and power are women and unknown strangers are assumed to be female by default. I thought that Ancillary Justice was using that method, but then it turned out that even known males were still referred to as "she", which is not quite the same thing.

A Brother's Price is totally worth reading for the matriarchal sister-clan society it portrays, but most of the book is still from the perspective of a man. His sister's relationships to each other are still important but no one relationship is really portrayed in much depth. That book is really interesting for the fact that it portrays a reversed rape culture. A man who was alone with a female he is not related to in that society is considered tarnished and no longer eligible for marriage, because he *could* have been raped and thus is no longer 100% guaranteed to be free from sexually-transmitted infections.

The Mills sisters from the Sleepy Hollow TV series!

...and it's really sad that's the most recent example since Charmed I can think of.

Edit #1: If we include video games, the plot of Mirror's Edge centres around two sisters--law-skirting Faith (the player character) and police officer Kate.

Edit #2: In comics, there's Mystic, both the original published by CrossGen, and the more recent Marvel limited series.

Alan wrote: "Do the clones in Orphan Black count as sisters?

The Walking Dead has sisters in the cast and no brother-pairs but it's still a very male-dominated show and comic book.

Warbreaker by Brandon Sande..."

I think Orphan Black counts!

Like Nancy commented, if you're willing to try YA there are some suggestions.

Blood Red Road Saba and her sister are trying to save their kidnapped brother. Actually the sisters relationship was one of the things I loved most about this book. Saba doesn't quite like her little sister and their relationship evolves during the book. I haven't read the next two but I guess there will be more development.

What's Left of Me Has two sisters (actually two souls) sharing one body. Obviously this means their relationship is quite strange.

Angelfall Penryn is trying to save her sister who has been kidnapped by angels.

Darkfever More sisters! Mackayla and Alina, but the real sisterly relationship is between Mackayla and Dani.

And if you like Graphic novels Fables, Vol. 1: Legends in Exile has a nice plot about Snow White and her sister Rose Red.

And here are three listopia lists with about sisters:

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

Snow White & Rose Red appear in a lot of stories. Bill Willingham's Fables springs to mind, most.

edit: Wrote this without reading the above post. Synchronicity.

Patricia C. Wrede wrote a version of Snow White And Rose Red as one of the volumes in the Tor fairy tale series.