A review by meganmilks
Beyond Binary: Genderqueer and Sexually Fluid Speculative Fiction by Lee Mandelo

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.