sumayyah_t's review
4.0
Decent selection of stories, some that I have read before in other collections. However, I found myself confused as to why several of these stories were included as I was unable to figure out their connection to gender.
kaa's review
2.0
I really wanted to like this, because the title describes a book that I would probably love. Sadly, the actual book doesn't live up to its billing. Most troublingly, it doesn't seem to understand what genderqueer means.
As other reviewers have pointed out, there are not actually many genderqueer characters here. The editor doesn't seem to have understood that genderqueer is a gender identity. It has nothing to do with what anatomy a person does or does not have. Almost all of the transgender characters in these stories were binary trans people, who identified as either men or women, and not all of these stories navigate even this very well.
The amount of actual speculative content varies from story to story, but in many of the pieces is very minimal. There are some decent stories about bi/pan characters, but very few that I would say actually explore the topic of sexual fluidity. Worse, there are several where it is not clear to me that the character actually experiences a shift in their attraction or attraction to multiple genders. Which is fine, but cis monosexual queer people are not actually part of the book's supposed theme.
There were a few stories I thought were great: I've read both "Sea of Cortez" and "Fisherman" before, and enjoyed them a lot (both are only barely sff, but the protagonist of "Fisherman" is one of the only characters in the book who may actually be genderqueer). "Eye of the Storm" was fantastic, and was one of the only stories that explored sexuality in a way I found meaningful and interesting. And "Self-Reflection" was fabulous as well.
There were a couple others that worked for me, but which I thought were inappropriate for this anthology. I was excited to read "A Wild and a Wicked Youth" because it was a Richard St. Vier story I hadn't encountered before, but I really don't think it stands well on its own for those who aren't familiar with Swordspoint. And I liked "The Metamorphosis Bud" as a story, but a cis woman growing a penis has nothing to do with being genderqueer.
Several more weren't all that great for me as a reader, but didn't have any big problems either. However, there were a handful of stories that I had particular issues with:
-although the editor promises no "surprise trans reveal" stories, one does show up - (details and the name of the story under spoilers)
-"Prosperine When It Sizzles" -
-"Sex With Ghosts" - I have seen some asexual reviews with positive comments about the ace rep in this story, so I am not going to comment on that. However, I felt really disturbed by this story and think it at least deserves some warnings.
-"Spoiling Veena" - I was really uncomfortable both with the author's implication that allowing children to go through gender transition as they wish reinforces gender binaries (and that this is necessarily *medical* transition), and the way they imposed this on Indian culture, since the author seems to be a white person living in the U.S. The story's ending wasn't terrible, but I don't think it countered some of the icky narratives that were brought up.
As other reviewers have pointed out, there are not actually many genderqueer characters here. The editor doesn't seem to have understood that genderqueer is a gender identity. It has nothing to do with what anatomy a person does or does not have. Almost all of the transgender characters in these stories were binary trans people, who identified as either men or women, and not all of these stories navigate even this very well.
The amount of actual speculative content varies from story to story, but in many of the pieces is very minimal. There are some decent stories about bi/pan characters, but very few that I would say actually explore the topic of sexual fluidity. Worse, there are several where it is not clear to me that the character actually experiences a shift in their attraction or attraction to multiple genders. Which is fine, but cis monosexual queer people are not actually part of the book's supposed theme.
There were a few stories I thought were great: I've read both "Sea of Cortez" and "Fisherman" before, and enjoyed them a lot (both are only barely sff, but the protagonist of "Fisherman" is one of the only characters in the book who may actually be genderqueer). "Eye of the Storm" was fantastic, and was one of the only stories that explored sexuality in a way I found meaningful and interesting. And "Self-Reflection" was fabulous as well.
There were a couple others that worked for me, but which I thought were inappropriate for this anthology. I was excited to read "A Wild and a Wicked Youth" because it was a Richard St. Vier story I hadn't encountered before, but I really don't think it stands well on its own for those who aren't familiar with Swordspoint. And I liked "The Metamorphosis Bud" as a story, but a cis woman growing a penis has nothing to do with being genderqueer.
Several more weren't all that great for me as a reader, but didn't have any big problems either. However, there were a handful of stories that I had particular issues with:
-although the editor promises no "surprise trans reveal" stories, one does show up - (details and the name of the story under spoilers)
Spoiler
the story was "The Cony-Catcher" by Delia Sherman, in which the prospective lover is revealed as trans during a sexual encounter and at a moment when the protagonist is not able to say no to their partner. And then the partner apologizes for not revealing that they are trans. Yuck.-"Prosperine When It Sizzles" -
Spoiler
this story extended the "woman dressed as a man" trope in a way that seemed to really reinforce some binary ideas about gender and to misunderstand the relationship between gender and anatomy.-"Sex With Ghosts" - I have seen some asexual reviews with positive comments about the ace rep in this story, so I am not going to comment on that. However, I felt really disturbed by this story and think it at least deserves some warnings.
Spoiler
An asexual character's likeness is used without her consent as the model for a sex doll. The story raised a lot of feelings of violation for me, so that I was unable to appreciate any interesting ideas it may have also brought up.-"Spoiling Veena" - I was really uncomfortable both with the author's implication that allowing children to go through gender transition as they wish reinforces gender binaries (and that this is necessarily *medical* transition), and the way they imposed this on Indian culture, since the author seems to be a white person living in the U.S. The story's ending wasn't terrible, but I don't think it countered some of the icky narratives that were brought up.
beckbe's review
I wanted so much for this. I really did. However, it reads like (really bad) fanfic. It's almost as hilariously bad as that book of femme/femme erotica that I tried to read once.
avoryfaucette's review
4.0
The stories in this collection cover quite a range, both in terms of the non-binary representation and the sort of speculative fiction. Some stories center on gender and sexuality, but plenty don't. I appreciate that there are a fair number with happy endings, or just more hopeful narratives than usual for trans folks. For example, Sandra McDonald's "Sea of Cortez" is much less depressing than I'd expect a story about gender variance in the Navy in WWII to be, and Kelley Eskridge's "Eye of the Storm" is a delightful look at polyamory, gender variance, and atypical sexuality rolled up into swordfighting fantasy. I predictably enjoyed the two pieces by authors I already know well(ish), Nalo Hopkinson and Tobi Hill-Meyer, but some other standout favorites were "Pirate Solutions" by Katherine Sparrow, a somewhat confusing magical realist pirate hacker tale; "Prosperine When It Sizzles" by Tansy Rayner Roberts, a thrilling action story rife with worldbuilding around illegal use of technology; "Spoiling Veena" by Keyan Bowes, where an Indian mother comes to terms with her futuristic designer child choosing a different gender (extra points for exploring a world where getting your child's gender confirmed is considered the obvious humane thing to do); and "The Metamorphosis Bud" by Liu Wen Zhuang, which explores an elderly woman suddenly waking up with a penis and being very practical in her explorations of the new appendage. Characters of color feature prominently in the collection, as do folks grappling with other aspects of identity. Worth noting that there are several erotica pieces in here, if that's not your bag.
elon's review
2.0
Wow this was a very binary collection, with varying quality. Some great LGBTQ stories, some not as much, but most of all, it's not at all what it's being sold as.
meganmilks's review
4.0
Really appreciate the diversity of identities on display in this anthology, as well as the varying degrees of focus the stories place on gender and sexual identity -- some stories are focused largely on identity, others treat identity as a given, only marginally relevant to the story at hand. Glad to see asexuality represented here -- in Sarah Kanning's "Sex with Ghosts" -- interestingly, both Kanning's story and Tobi Hill-Meyer's "Self-Reflection" have to do with a character encountering herself -- but with MUCH different approaches to sex/sexuality. I think these two were among my favorites -- also really loved Keffy R. M. Kehrli's "Bonehouse," which involves an evictionist hired to find and disconnect net addicts hiding out in bonehouses; Keyan Bowes's "Spoiling Veena," which explores trans issues within a near-future India where children are genetically engineered. I could write at length about many of these stories; and of course some I appreciated some more than others. I agree with those who note that maybe the subtitle is not super accurate to the stories the book contains. That said, while perhaps only a handful of the stories themselves could be said to operate as either/both "genderqueer" and "sexually fluid," the book as a whole definitely does.
erinys's review
5.0
This was one of several books I picked up recently while trolling the library system for queer speculative fiction. "Beyond Binary: Genderqueer and Sexually Fluid Speculative Fiction" was edited by Brit Mandelo and released in 2012.
I cracked the cover of this and was immediately struck by the high quality of the stories. I'm not sure about the process of selection, but I suspect that most of these stories are re-prints and that the editor was taking the absolute cream of an already distilled crop of excellent fiction.
The Table of Contents features some genuinely stellar authors, including Kelly Eskridge, Nalo Hopkinson, Catherine Valente, Liu Zhen Wuang, Delia Sherman, and Ellen Kushner.
Side note: a lot of these stories of gender-fluid identity are also openly erotic. They deal very frankly with same-sex desire, as well as desires that don't have such easy labels.
Overall I'm really glad I picked this one up, and it is one of the better queer anthologies I've read.
I cracked the cover of this and was immediately struck by the high quality of the stories. I'm not sure about the process of selection, but I suspect that most of these stories are re-prints and that the editor was taking the absolute cream of an already distilled crop of excellent fiction.
The Table of Contents features some genuinely stellar authors, including Kelly Eskridge, Nalo Hopkinson, Catherine Valente, Liu Zhen Wuang, Delia Sherman, and Ellen Kushner.
Side note: a lot of these stories of gender-fluid identity are also openly erotic. They deal very frankly with same-sex desire, as well as desires that don't have such easy labels.
Overall I'm really glad I picked this one up, and it is one of the better queer anthologies I've read.
legs_mcgee's review
4.0
Although I wish there were more stories that focused more heavily on genderqueer protagonists/genderqueerness, I really liked this collection of speculative fiction. As in all collections, some stories were better than others, but I've now been turned on to authors I've never read before, writing about stories that I haven't seen much of elsewhere!
I would definitely recommend this collection to those who like speculative fiction, but wish there were greater representations and explorations of gender/sexual queerness.
I would definitely recommend this collection to those who like speculative fiction, but wish there were greater representations and explorations of gender/sexual queerness.
endymionshawk's review
2.0
Over all, the writing throughout the book is decent, but not at all "genderqueer," "sexually fluid," or "speculative." if you're looking for that kind of thing, you won't find it here. further review as follows:
warnings: transphobia, cocsa, lesbophobia, ...
- trans fetishism, a misunderstanding/misrepresentation of trans experiences
- there isn't a single non-binary character, only fetishised binary trans characters
- calling binary trans people genderqueer or non-binary is misgendering them.
- literally there's a story with very young boys licking one another's toes. wtf. why would you include that.
- there's a story in this "genderqueer and sexually fluid" collection about lesbians. lesbians aren't either of these things? stop fetishising lesbians to suit your ~~queer~ ideals
- one story is very hinted at being about a lesbian coming to terms with compulsory heterosexuality. again, no non-binary characters or sexually fluidity. just a young lesbian.
- another reviewer pointed out very rightly that these stories aren't sexually fluid. most of them are just bi/pan experiences, and occasionally just gay.
warnings: transphobia, cocsa, lesbophobia, ...
- trans fetishism, a misunderstanding/misrepresentation of trans experiences
- there isn't a single non-binary character, only fetishised binary trans characters
- calling binary trans people genderqueer or non-binary is misgendering them.
- literally there's a story with very young boys licking one another's toes. wtf. why would you include that.
- there's a story in this "genderqueer and sexually fluid" collection about lesbians. lesbians aren't either of these things? stop fetishising lesbians to suit your ~~queer~ ideals
- one story is very hinted at being about a lesbian coming to terms with compulsory heterosexuality. again, no non-binary characters or sexually fluidity. just a young lesbian.
- another reviewer pointed out very rightly that these stories aren't sexually fluid. most of them are just bi/pan experiences, and occasionally just gay.