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annarella's review
4.0
This is an interesting anthology of silver age sci-fi written by women.
Some of these stories are quite fresh, some didn't age well. It was an entertaining read and I'm happy I discovered some interesting stories by unknown to me women.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
Some of these stories are quite fresh, some didn't age well. It was an entertaining read and I'm happy I discovered some interesting stories by unknown to me women.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
jersy's review
3.0
Creating a collection entirely out of classic SF stories by women is an interesting idea, mainly because it leaves so much room to have very different short stories while also having the readers look for a common theme. All of this, of course, sidelined to just raising awareness for these forgotten authors.
I think just as a collection, it very much succeeds: The stories vary immensely in style, theme and premises, one entry is even in poetry form. Some them are connected by overall themes of (power) dynamics between women and men, identity and relationships, as well as interacting with alien planets and cultures, although they all handle the subjects in different ways.
On a story to story level, the collection was a less successful experience for me. I think they are all well written, a good share of them had a pretty modern writing style, and like I said, there are good and interesting topics in there, but I connected with very few of them and only one really blew me away in its execution. There is an interesting introduction to every author and story, however must of them include some kind of spoiler and it boggles me that this wasn’t noticed and subsequent decided to put this text at the end of each story.
I don´t want to get into the individual texts, but in general, a lot of them did not manage to draw me in or create much of a response. There was a good share were the moral or outcome was predictable, one story had a really unsatisfying ending, one was downright depressing. It´s more of a personal thing and I think the collection is worth giving a try, but I do have to mention that.
I did like that a lot of the stories include relatable or likable characters, even for a modern sensibility, and that sometimes expectations one would normally have are subverted or played with.
I feel the need to mention that one of the stories has the potential to be interpreted in a way that might perpetuate or suggest the harmful narrative that all men are bad or even rapists I have seen going around the internet. The text itself is effective in creating an atmosphere and emotional response, so maybe it deserves the attention it gets by being republished, however I don´t know how I feel it being included in this collection with the current climate going on.
Rating as collection: 4 stars
Rating of the stories: 3 stars
I think just as a collection, it very much succeeds: The stories vary immensely in style, theme and premises, one entry is even in poetry form. Some them are connected by overall themes of (power) dynamics between women and men, identity and relationships, as well as interacting with alien planets and cultures, although they all handle the subjects in different ways.
On a story to story level, the collection was a less successful experience for me. I think they are all well written, a good share of them had a pretty modern writing style, and like I said, there are good and interesting topics in there, but I connected with very few of them and only one really blew me away in its execution. There is an interesting introduction to every author and story, however must of them include some kind of spoiler and it boggles me that this wasn’t noticed and subsequent decided to put this text at the end of each story.
I don´t want to get into the individual texts, but in general, a lot of them did not manage to draw me in or create much of a response. There was a good share were the moral or outcome was predictable, one story had a really unsatisfying ending, one was downright depressing. It´s more of a personal thing and I think the collection is worth giving a try, but I do have to mention that.
I did like that a lot of the stories include relatable or likable characters, even for a modern sensibility, and that sometimes expectations one would normally have are subverted or played with.
I feel the need to mention that one of the stories has the potential to be interpreted in a way that might perpetuate or suggest the harmful narrative that all men are bad or even rapists I have seen going around the internet. The text itself is effective in creating an atmosphere and emotional response, so maybe it deserves the attention it gets by being republished, however I don´t know how I feel it being included in this collection with the current climate going on.
Rating as collection: 4 stars
Rating of the stories: 3 stars
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