Reviews
Sleeping with Monsters: Readings and Reactions in Science Fiction and Fantasy, by Liz Bourke
nwhyte's review against another edition
4.0
https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3021882.html
Most of the pieces collected here are book reviews, previously posted on Strange Horizons, Tor.com, etc; and all of the books reviewed are by women, which makes an important point. This is all good material and certainly points me to a few authors who I should try out.
Most of the pieces collected here are book reviews, previously posted on Strange Horizons, Tor.com, etc; and all of the books reviewed are by women, which makes an important point. This is all good material and certainly points me to a few authors who I should try out.
morgandhu's review
4.0
Aqueduct Press has released a collection of reviews and essays by Liz Bourke. This fascinating collection, Sleeping with Monsters: Readings and Reactions in Science Fiction and Fantasy, is must reading for anyone interested how intersectional feminist analysis of media products should be done. Bourke’s readings of science fiction and fantasy novels, and her essays on such things as how literary canons are created, are both fun to read - Bourke has an engaging, easy style - and important to understanding where the genre, which I love dearly, has been and where it needs to go.
I have a certain fondness for reading collections of book reviews. Even reviews about books I haven’t read. There are two fundamentally wonderful things about reading good essays about books. The first is that, if one has read the book in question, it often gives you a deeper understanding of what you’ve read, which adds greatly to one’s enjoyment. The second is, that, if one has not read the book, it can lead you to a new friend, a new reading experience. Both pleasures were to be had in the essays of this volume, and considering the breadth of texts Bourke explores, I think most people will be able to say the same.
Bourke’s essays have reminded me of the brilliance of writers like Barbara Hambly and Kate Elliott, Nicola Griffith and Melissa Scott, reminded me that I’ve been meaning to read the books by authors like Jaqueline Koyanagi, Stina Licht, and Kameron Hurley that have been sitting in my TBR pile for far too long, and introduced me to authors whose work I’ve somehow missed entirely, like Violette Malan, Nicole Kornher-Stace and Susan Matthews. As I read, I found myself making notes to look online for a certain volume to acquire, or to move another one to a higher position on my TBR list, and if you decide to indulge yourself with this book, I think you will find yourself doing much the same.
I have a certain fondness for reading collections of book reviews. Even reviews about books I haven’t read. There are two fundamentally wonderful things about reading good essays about books. The first is that, if one has read the book in question, it often gives you a deeper understanding of what you’ve read, which adds greatly to one’s enjoyment. The second is, that, if one has not read the book, it can lead you to a new friend, a new reading experience. Both pleasures were to be had in the essays of this volume, and considering the breadth of texts Bourke explores, I think most people will be able to say the same.
Bourke’s essays have reminded me of the brilliance of writers like Barbara Hambly and Kate Elliott, Nicola Griffith and Melissa Scott, reminded me that I’ve been meaning to read the books by authors like Jaqueline Koyanagi, Stina Licht, and Kameron Hurley that have been sitting in my TBR pile for far too long, and introduced me to authors whose work I’ve somehow missed entirely, like Violette Malan, Nicole Kornher-Stace and Susan Matthews. As I read, I found myself making notes to look online for a certain volume to acquire, or to move another one to a higher position on my TBR list, and if you decide to indulge yourself with this book, I think you will find yourself doing much the same.
rhodered's review
4.0
I lied. I haven't read every page of this book. I can't help myself - I'm in love with it, and so I'm doing this jitterbug dance all up and down its chapters, diving in here, reading carefully there, skimming the other place.
And now what I really want to do is take the author IN for a drink. Take her into my library that is, and slam down books saying, have you also read this? Well, what about that?
I think it's because she's a she, and a feminist. That matters when it comes to SF. Also, she's intelligent but doesn't get too academic or literary-dense in her critiques. Which I can't explain properly, but you know it when you see it. And she's read some books nobody else I know has ever read, such as RM Meluch's Queen's Squadron, and has useful opinions on them.
So now I'm going out of my mind. Both because there are apparently a lot of books I have to read or reread at this very moment. And there are more books I need Bourke's take on and I don't even know if she's read them yet.
Warning: this collection of reviews will cost you more money because you'll buy things. Which is delightful.
And now what I really want to do is take the author IN for a drink. Take her into my library that is, and slam down books saying, have you also read this? Well, what about that?
I think it's because she's a she, and a feminist. That matters when it comes to SF. Also, she's intelligent but doesn't get too academic or literary-dense in her critiques. Which I can't explain properly, but you know it when you see it. And she's read some books nobody else I know has ever read, such as RM Meluch's Queen's Squadron, and has useful opinions on them.
So now I'm going out of my mind. Both because there are apparently a lot of books I have to read or reread at this very moment. And there are more books I need Bourke's take on and I don't even know if she's read them yet.
Warning: this collection of reviews will cost you more money because you'll buy things. Which is delightful.
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