Dangerous Women 2
by George R. R. Martin, Gardner Dozois | Science Fiction & Fantasy |
ISBN: 076536882X Global Overview for this book
ISBN: 076536882X Global Overview for this book
3 journalers for this copy...
Overall, I really enjoyed this collection of story stories featuring "dangerous" women. The different authors took the concept in a variety of ways, and these stories are mostly on the longer side for short stories, which I personally like.
My one major quibble with this book is Diana Gabaldon's tale, "Virgins" which seems to have little to do with the book concept and everything to do with including a trendy author. It is very male-focused, and we don't even meet the woman supposed to make it fit the collection theme until halfway through the hundred-page story. I also found her character and story arc treading perilously close to being anti-semitic at times. There might be an attempted excuse about the time period in which the story is set, but that seems weak when a lot of the tropes used here are ones I've seen Jewish lit critics express discomfort with on a regular basis. Between it being awkwardly shoehorned into a collection with a simple theme and my distraction at trying to set aside my gut reaction to objectively figure out how offensive the aspects that made me squirm really were, I couldn't enjoy this tale at all.
Trying to put aside the sour ending note, my favorite tales were:
"Lies My Mother Told Me" by Caroline Spector is a creative superhero tale, with some unique superhuman abilities and very human characters.
"A Queen in Exile" by Sharon Kay Penman was one of the stories that took the "dangerous" label in an unexpected direction. The main character's careful planning, personal courage, and deft social skills are her weapons to protect herself and those she cares about.
"Second Arabesque, Very Slowly" by Nancy Kress is one of the best post-apocalyptic tales I've read recently, depicting a slowly decaying and evolving society.
My one major quibble with this book is Diana Gabaldon's tale, "Virgins" which seems to have little to do with the book concept and everything to do with including a trendy author. It is very male-focused, and we don't even meet the woman supposed to make it fit the collection theme until halfway through the hundred-page story. I also found her character and story arc treading perilously close to being anti-semitic at times. There might be an attempted excuse about the time period in which the story is set, but that seems weak when a lot of the tropes used here are ones I've seen Jewish lit critics express discomfort with on a regular basis. Between it being awkwardly shoehorned into a collection with a simple theme and my distraction at trying to set aside my gut reaction to objectively figure out how offensive the aspects that made me squirm really were, I couldn't enjoy this tale at all.
Trying to put aside the sour ending note, my favorite tales were:
"Lies My Mother Told Me" by Caroline Spector is a creative superhero tale, with some unique superhuman abilities and very human characters.
"A Queen in Exile" by Sharon Kay Penman was one of the stories that took the "dangerous" label in an unexpected direction. The main character's careful planning, personal courage, and deft social skills are her weapons to protect herself and those she cares about.
"Second Arabesque, Very Slowly" by Nancy Kress is one of the best post-apocalyptic tales I've read recently, depicting a slowly decaying and evolving society.
One of the books starting out in The Anthology Assortment Bookbox
Received in the Anthology bookbox.
I have decided to pass this book along for someone else to enjoy.
I have decided to pass this book along for someone else to enjoy.
I pulled this book out of the "To The Stars" sci-fi bookbox. Looks like just my cup of tea, fantasy and sci-fi stories about strong women. Thanks for sharing it!
