Reviews
Devrimin Kardeşleri: Feminist Spekülatif Kurgu Antolojisi by Jeff VanderMeer, Ann VanderMeer
colinmeldrum's review against another edition
4.0
A really worthwhile collection. But like with most anthologies, there were only a handful of stories that were a 5-star experience for me:
The Screwfly Solution, James Tiptree, Jr.
The Evening and the Morning and the Night, Octavia Butler
When it Changed, Joanna Russ
The Woman Who Thought She Was a Planet, Vandana Singh
Thirteen Ways of Looking at Space/Time, Catherynne M. Valente
The Screwfly Solution, James Tiptree, Jr.
The Evening and the Morning and the Night, Octavia Butler
When it Changed, Joanna Russ
The Woman Who Thought She Was a Planet, Vandana Singh
Thirteen Ways of Looking at Space/Time, Catherynne M. Valente
errada's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
bdorf's review against another edition
3.0
A few standout stories, but most I thought were mediocre or disappointing (one was downright transphobic, and I have no idea how it got included). Plus this anthology was just real depressing. I know there are feminist sf/f stories out there that are not just about woman being brutalized, but this collection includes few of them, and makes for a grim read.
My top stories from this collection:
The Forbidden Words of Margaret A. by L. Timmel Duchamp
The Grammarian's Five Daughters by Eleanor Arnason
Runners up:
The Screwfly Solution by James Tiptree Jr.
Gestella by Susan Palwick
Thirteen Ways of Looking at Space/Time by Cat Valente
My top stories from this collection:
The Forbidden Words of Margaret A. by L. Timmel Duchamp
The Grammarian's Five Daughters by Eleanor Arnason
Runners up:
The Screwfly Solution by James Tiptree Jr.
Gestella by Susan Palwick
Thirteen Ways of Looking at Space/Time by Cat Valente
geenween's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
carolynf's review against another edition
4.0
I normally don't get into short stories very much, but the pieces in this collection all complement each other very well. Most are sci-fi although there are some fantasy stories. In pretty much all of them, women in general or a woman in particular is being oppressed by men in general or a man in particular. It seems like this would get old, but each story looks at gendered society from a different angle. In some stories women come out on top in the end, but usually they don't.
I was the least interested in the first piece in the collection, about a constitutional amendment that was created just for the silencing of one particular woman, whose words have long since been forgotten. The story about the woman who was a werewolf was terribly sad, even sadder than the various stories about societies which have forced women to go into hiding for one reason or another.
I was the least interested in the first piece in the collection, about a constitutional amendment that was created just for the silencing of one particular woman, whose words have long since been forgotten. The story about the woman who was a werewolf was terribly sad, even sadder than the various stories about societies which have forced women to go into hiding for one reason or another.
lizziebennett's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
3.25
kieralesley's review against another edition
4.0
I love an anthology that stretches my horizons and shows me stories and authors outside of my current familiarity. I like an anthology that gives me a robust group of new things to read through.
In the introduction the editors acknowledge that this collection will necessarily have gaps, but they present the stories collected here as contributing to part of the conversation about feminist speculative fiction with a focus on the 1960s and 70s, with some selected stories from the 2000s.
As a result this reads and feels like an anthology rather than a collection of stories on a theme. The individual stories are good, but the thought and rigour behind the selection means the whole thing hangs together as a whole. This anthology is showing and saying something. It’s a field primer for speculative literature and feminist thinking in that literature in a specific time period. It doesn’t just stick to comfortable American writers and perspectives, either, it ranges further afield to find fascinating international pieces. It’s one of the few anthologies I would give to someone whole rather than pulling stories out of to share.
The stories here are older and in some ways it felt like the editors were walking me through some of the literature and writers I should be familiar with in this space. They’ve done a good job of it, too. Key pieces I appreciated and enjoyed reading were:
The Palm Tree Bandit – Nnedi Okorafor
The Grammarian’s Five Daughters – Eleanor Arnason
The Glass Bottle Trick – Nalo Hopkinson
The Screwfly Solution – James Tiptree Jr.
The Evening and the Morning and the Night – Octavia E. Butler
When it Changed – Joanna Russ
The Woman Who Thought She Was A Planet – Vandana Singh
Aunts – Karin Tidbeck
Special mention to the opening story, The Forbidden Words of Margaret A. by L. Timmel Duchamp, which I loved so much I instantly sent to a bunch of female friends demanding they read it immediately so I could talk to them about it.
I found the speculative to feminist angle element of some of the stories to be out of alignment to what I ideally wanted. There was a high hit rate for me of stories I found too weird, too preachy, or too literary to suit me. That really goes to show though that this anthology works hard to cover a lot of ground. The VanderMeers are not sticking the safe, easy and obvious genre reads in this – it’s expected that you’re not going to like all of it and I outright disliked several stories here. Thinking about what I didn’t like about those stories gave me both food for thought about my subjective literary tastes and the boundaries of my ideas of feminism.
In the introduction the editors acknowledge that this collection will necessarily have gaps, but they present the stories collected here as contributing to part of the conversation about feminist speculative fiction with a focus on the 1960s and 70s, with some selected stories from the 2000s.
As a result this reads and feels like an anthology rather than a collection of stories on a theme. The individual stories are good, but the thought and rigour behind the selection means the whole thing hangs together as a whole. This anthology is showing and saying something. It’s a field primer for speculative literature and feminist thinking in that literature in a specific time period. It doesn’t just stick to comfortable American writers and perspectives, either, it ranges further afield to find fascinating international pieces. It’s one of the few anthologies I would give to someone whole rather than pulling stories out of to share.
The stories here are older and in some ways it felt like the editors were walking me through some of the literature and writers I should be familiar with in this space. They’ve done a good job of it, too. Key pieces I appreciated and enjoyed reading were:
The Palm Tree Bandit – Nnedi Okorafor
The Grammarian’s Five Daughters – Eleanor Arnason
The Glass Bottle Trick – Nalo Hopkinson
The Screwfly Solution – James Tiptree Jr.
The Evening and the Morning and the Night – Octavia E. Butler
When it Changed – Joanna Russ
The Woman Who Thought She Was A Planet – Vandana Singh
Aunts – Karin Tidbeck
Special mention to the opening story, The Forbidden Words of Margaret A. by L. Timmel Duchamp, which I loved so much I instantly sent to a bunch of female friends demanding they read it immediately so I could talk to them about it.
I found the speculative to feminist angle element of some of the stories to be out of alignment to what I ideally wanted. There was a high hit rate for me of stories I found too weird, too preachy, or too literary to suit me. That really goes to show though that this anthology works hard to cover a lot of ground. The VanderMeers are not sticking the safe, easy and obvious genre reads in this – it’s expected that you’re not going to like all of it and I outright disliked several stories here. Thinking about what I didn’t like about those stories gave me both food for thought about my subjective literary tastes and the boundaries of my ideas of feminism.
eggp's review against another edition
3.0
Ungrateful daughters
mommy did it all for you
men, worse than useless.
mommy did it all for you
men, worse than useless.
merricatct's review against another edition
5.0
Another fantastic VanderMeer anthology! I liked every one of these stories, and flat-out loved quite a few of them. Some frightened me ("The Screwfly Solution" by James Tiptree Jr), some disturbed me ("Gestella" by Susan Palwick) some delighted me ("The Grammarian's Five Daughters" by Eleanor Arnason). Other favorites were "Northern Chess" by Tanith Lee, "Sur" by Ursula K. LeGuin, "The Glass Bottle Trick" by Nalo Hopkinson, and "Thirteen Ways of Looking at Space/Time" by Catherynne M. Valente. Some of these authors I've read before, some I've meant to read, and some were brand-new to me; but based on these stories, I want to read more by just about every one of them.
talentedmisfit's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5