A review by emeelee
Out There: Into the Queer New Yonder, by Saundra Mitchell
3.0
All Out: The No-Longer-Secret Stories of Queer Teens throughout the Ages ★★★★☆
Out Now: Queer We Go Again! ★★★☆☆
Out There: Into the Queer New Yonder ★★★☆☆
All Out definitely remains my favorite of these anthologies, though the concept of the series is stellar. Anthologies are always going to be a mixed bag, and Out There is no different. My overall average rating is 2.94 stars, exactly equal to my average rating of Out Now which is interesting. While many of the stories in this collection were 3 stars or less, there were a few that rose above the rest: my favorites were Doublers by Alex London, Translating for the Machine by Nita Tyndall, Present: Tense by Jim McCarthy, and Nick and Bodhi by Naomi Kanakia. The gender, sexuality, and race diversity seems to be a good mix. Most of the stories were sort of grim, with a dismal imagining of the future--I understand that this often goes hand-in-hand with science-fiction, but I'd have greatly appreciated more of a hopeful outlook for humanity, and queer people in particular. How is it that All Out, the anthology of stories set in the past, left me feeling most joyful and optimistic compared to the present and future collections?
Out Now: Queer We Go Again! ★★★☆☆
Out There: Into the Queer New Yonder ★★★☆☆
All Out definitely remains my favorite of these anthologies, though the concept of the series is stellar. Anthologies are always going to be a mixed bag, and Out There is no different. My overall average rating is 2.94 stars, exactly equal to my average rating of Out Now which is interesting. While many of the stories in this collection were 3 stars or less, there were a few that rose above the rest: my favorites were Doublers by Alex London, Translating for the Machine by Nita Tyndall, Present: Tense by Jim McCarthy, and Nick and Bodhi by Naomi Kanakia. The gender, sexuality, and race diversity seems to be a good mix. Most of the stories were sort of grim, with a dismal imagining of the future--I understand that this often goes hand-in-hand with science-fiction, but I'd have greatly appreciated more of a hopeful outlook for humanity, and queer people in particular. How is it that All Out, the anthology of stories set in the past, left me feeling most joyful and optimistic compared to the present and future collections?