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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.
riotsquirrrl's review
3.0
In 2019 we can do better. I think that even in 2012 this was not a strong collection but 7 years later, with the emergence of writers such as JY Yang, we all deserve to have stories that are more explicitly about or by genderqueer, nonbinary, and sexually fluid characters.
I was also halfway through the first story before I was like, "Wait, I've read this before," and saw in the credits that I had read it in another anthology. Looking over the credits, I was more disappointed to see that I had read several of the stories. So maybe red "Take Me There" instead of this collection?
I was also halfway through the first story before I was like, "Wait, I've read this before," and saw in the credits that I had read it in another anthology. Looking over the credits, I was more disappointed to see that I had read several of the stories. So maybe red "Take Me There" instead of this collection?
mxsallybend's review
3.0
Brit Mandelo is something of a queer genre celebrity, having served as the senior fiction editor for Strange Horizons Magazine, while also leading the discussions on Queering SFF for Tor Books. It was actually an early piece of her on Tiptree Award Winners that first brought her to my attention, and I’ve been relying on her to expand my bookshelf ever since.
Beyond Binary is a collection of previously published Genderqueer and Sexually Fluid Speculative Fiction stories that I'd been looking forward to for quite some time. While I found it a bit of a stretch to tag some of the pieces as speculative fiction, and was disappointed in the extent to which some of the authors attempted to queer the concept of gender, it’s still an interesting collection.
Nalo Hopkinson's “Fisherman”' was definite highlight of the collection for me. In keeping with the sense of oral storytelling that permeates her novels, the story presents us with a languid revelation of gender, and a remarkably sincere exploration of sexuality. The relationship that develops within the pages is a delight to experience, presenting us with an understanding whore who politely respects her client's chosen gender, while smartly accommodating his birth gender in their intimacies.
Ellen Kushner's "A Wild and Wicked Youth" was another strong addition to the collection, a longer story about very personal expressions of gender, and some unusual expressions of sexuality. It’s not quite the mannerpunk sensibility of her Swordspoint novels, but it’s close. If you never thought fighting could be sexy, or that enjoying the thrill of victory could be orgasmic, then you need to read this. Very clever, and very well-done.
Sonya Taaffe's "Another Coming" was a beautifully written piece from an author who is new to me. Full of haunting imagery, it only strains the gender binary with one of its relationships, and it's never satisfactorily explained how it could work. All in all, a lovely bisexual romance, but not necessarily something I’d classify as genderqueer.
Sarah Kanning's "Sex with Ghosts" was another favourite of mine, from an author I’d certainly like to read more of. Her tale features a robot sex worker with a flair for English poetry. Deeper and more intellectual than the concept might have you suspect, this definitely played into my love for authors like D.B. Story who explore gender and sexuality through those artificial constructs who deliberately exist outside the binary.
Keyan Bowes' "Spoiling Veena" lacked something in the storytelling that would have elevated it to favourite status, which is a shame because the subject matter was so compelling. Bowes explores a future in which parents can choose their child's gender, and looks at how things can develop when your child doesn't like the choice you made. It’s not the best flowing story in the collection, but one of the smartest.
Liu Wen Zhuang's "The Metamorphosis Bud" is one of the oddest stories in the collection, but an interesting read. We've all had fantasies about waking up with something new in the way of sexual equipment, but I doubt any of us would handle it quite as wonderfully as the old woman who wakes up with a penis.
Overall, it’s not quite as breathtaking a collection as I had hoped for, it still offers a good mix of stories, genders, and sexualities with which to draw in readers and maybe, possibly hopefully introduce them to something new. I can certainly think of some stories that I would have included in place of some of the material here, but there are definitely some stellar entries that make this worth a read, especially if you're new to the stories.
As published on Frock Magazine
Beyond Binary is a collection of previously published Genderqueer and Sexually Fluid Speculative Fiction stories that I'd been looking forward to for quite some time. While I found it a bit of a stretch to tag some of the pieces as speculative fiction, and was disappointed in the extent to which some of the authors attempted to queer the concept of gender, it’s still an interesting collection.
Nalo Hopkinson's “Fisherman”' was definite highlight of the collection for me. In keeping with the sense of oral storytelling that permeates her novels, the story presents us with a languid revelation of gender, and a remarkably sincere exploration of sexuality. The relationship that develops within the pages is a delight to experience, presenting us with an understanding whore who politely respects her client's chosen gender, while smartly accommodating his birth gender in their intimacies.
Ellen Kushner's "A Wild and Wicked Youth" was another strong addition to the collection, a longer story about very personal expressions of gender, and some unusual expressions of sexuality. It’s not quite the mannerpunk sensibility of her Swordspoint novels, but it’s close. If you never thought fighting could be sexy, or that enjoying the thrill of victory could be orgasmic, then you need to read this. Very clever, and very well-done.
Sonya Taaffe's "Another Coming" was a beautifully written piece from an author who is new to me. Full of haunting imagery, it only strains the gender binary with one of its relationships, and it's never satisfactorily explained how it could work. All in all, a lovely bisexual romance, but not necessarily something I’d classify as genderqueer.
Sarah Kanning's "Sex with Ghosts" was another favourite of mine, from an author I’d certainly like to read more of. Her tale features a robot sex worker with a flair for English poetry. Deeper and more intellectual than the concept might have you suspect, this definitely played into my love for authors like D.B. Story who explore gender and sexuality through those artificial constructs who deliberately exist outside the binary.
Keyan Bowes' "Spoiling Veena" lacked something in the storytelling that would have elevated it to favourite status, which is a shame because the subject matter was so compelling. Bowes explores a future in which parents can choose their child's gender, and looks at how things can develop when your child doesn't like the choice you made. It’s not the best flowing story in the collection, but one of the smartest.
Liu Wen Zhuang's "The Metamorphosis Bud" is one of the oddest stories in the collection, but an interesting read. We've all had fantasies about waking up with something new in the way of sexual equipment, but I doubt any of us would handle it quite as wonderfully as the old woman who wakes up with a penis.
Overall, it’s not quite as breathtaking a collection as I had hoped for, it still offers a good mix of stories, genders, and sexualities with which to draw in readers and maybe, possibly hopefully introduce them to something new. I can certainly think of some stories that I would have included in place of some of the material here, but there are definitely some stellar entries that make this worth a read, especially if you're new to the stories.
As published on Frock Magazine
lene_kretzsch's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.25
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.
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.