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justabean_reads's review against another edition
4.5
Twenty five SF/F stories by trans authors, featuring trans characters, collected by trans editors. This came across my radar when it came out seven years ago, but was more recently republished by Little Puss Press, and is available there at a pay-what-you-can rate.
I'm really impressed by this collection. So often, with this sort of anthology, you get one or two gems, rather more dogs, and a large pile of mid, but other than two stories I ended up skimming ("Ma'am, that is too many characters and too much worldbuilding for a short story; put some back" & "Sir, your grammar is too experimental for me to understand what is happening"), I really liked the whole collection. It covers a wide spread of genres, though near-future dystopias are perhaps most common, and there was very little space travel. All of the characters are some form of trans or genderqueer, but not all of the stories centre being trans/transitioning/coming out, and a lot of them are trans people doing stuff. Plett and Fitzpatrick especially wanted to build what a transgender SF/F canon might look like, changing the conversations and dynamics around gender and what it means, and I think they did a great job of curating stories that touch on those issues, while largely avoiding being openly didactic or over-explaining (though, as usual, Ryka Aoki comes in like a bag of hammers).
Really worth checking out.
I'm really impressed by this collection. So often, with this sort of anthology, you get one or two gems, rather more dogs, and a large pile of mid, but other than two stories I ended up skimming ("Ma'am, that is too many characters and too much worldbuilding for a short story; put some back" & "Sir, your grammar is too experimental for me to understand what is happening"), I really liked the whole collection. It covers a wide spread of genres, though near-future dystopias are perhaps most common, and there was very little space travel. All of the characters are some form of trans or genderqueer, but not all of the stories centre being trans/transitioning/coming out, and a lot of them are trans people doing stuff. Plett and Fitzpatrick especially wanted to build what a transgender SF/F canon might look like, changing the conversations and dynamics around gender and what it means, and I think they did a great job of curating stories that touch on those issues, while largely avoiding being openly didactic or over-explaining (though, as usual, Ryka Aoki comes in like a bag of hammers).
Really worth checking out.
gay's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.0
11corvus11's review
4.0
I have to admit that Meanwhile Elsewhere and I got off to a rough start. I was very excited about reading this book as it's been on my to-read list since it came out. Perhaps my expectations were a bit high. One of the stories really let me down, but I am glad I didn't give up on it, because some of the stories are excellent.
The first story is erotica, which is not my bag, but the second story- Delicate Bodies by Bridget Liang- made me put the book down and ask if I wanted to read a collection edited by people that would include a story like this. It is a zombie story and a rape fantasy in which the protagonist- a trans woman who is obviously the author's zombie self- rapes and tortures cis men who have said mean things about her or refused to have sex with her because she is trans. I am not sure how much worse the mens offenses were because I quit after the second rape. Not only is rape and torture the punishment, the men are portrayed as deserving it and eventually liking the rapes. It is the epitome of rape culture, which we as trans people are not immune from promoting. This story makes that very clear. Did we really need a story portraying a trans woman as a sexual predator? The story itself doesn't even fit with the theme the editors claim they chose for the book and it is a horror story, not SF/F. I then saw a review or two in which some people claimed this was one of their favorite stories. I was disgusted by this as well. The author obviously being the rapist in the story is extra worrisome and fucked up. So, here I am, devoting a large chunk of my review to this one disgusting story that almost made me put the book down and wonder if it was included solely because the author had some sort of connection.
I eventually gave myself some space, calmed down, and decided to continue this highly anticipated read. The book does get infinitely better as it goes on. There are definitely not anymore rape fantasy horror stories. It's a mixed bag like any anthology, but many are well written and entertaining. Some of the stories seem all about being trans which was a little disappointing to me. I was hoping that a book like this would showcase more that we have talents outside of talking about transition. That said, in the afterword, the editors claim this was a conscious decision- to not choose stories that just happen to have trans characters, but to choose ones that center being trans. In other ways, stories that centered this imagined futures where transition related issues are thought of and orchestrated in different ways. This was definitely interesting. There is some real variation in topics across the stories. Like any collection, it's hit or miss, but the stories that I did like, I really liked, hence the higher rating.
The best stories in the book, according to my personal tastes, are:
(In order of appearance in the text)
"What Cheer" by RJ Edwards
"Rent, Don't Sell" by Calvin Gimpelevich
"Control Shift Down" by Paige Bryony
"After the Big One" by Cooper Lee Bombardier
"Cybervania" by Cybil Lamb
"Imago" by Tristan Alice Nieto
This does not mean all other stories were bad. These ones in particular, though, were the ones that led me to seek out the authors online and find out if they have written any books I could add to my list.
Overall, this is an important collection in that it showcases many talented trans writers who may otherwise go unnoticed. It contains one highly objectionable rapey trash story that I believe folks would do well to skip or at least go in heeding my warning. It contains a whole lot of stories that not only have good consent politics woven in, but good style and plot. I grabbed a copy of "I've Got a Time Bomb" by Sybil Lamb right after reading her story, I adored it so much. So, this is definitely worth a read as far as SF/F collections go. It's one of the better ones, and not just because it has trans people in it.
This review was also posted to my blog.
The first story is erotica, which is not my bag, but the second story- Delicate Bodies by Bridget Liang- made me put the book down and ask if I wanted to read a collection edited by people that would include a story like this. It is a zombie story and a rape fantasy in which the protagonist- a trans woman who is obviously the author's zombie self- rapes and tortures cis men who have said mean things about her or refused to have sex with her because she is trans. I am not sure how much worse the mens offenses were because I quit after the second rape. Not only is rape and torture the punishment, the men are portrayed as deserving it and eventually liking the rapes. It is the epitome of rape culture, which we as trans people are not immune from promoting. This story makes that very clear. Did we really need a story portraying a trans woman as a sexual predator? The story itself doesn't even fit with the theme the editors claim they chose for the book and it is a horror story, not SF/F. I then saw a review or two in which some people claimed this was one of their favorite stories. I was disgusted by this as well. The author obviously being the rapist in the story is extra worrisome and fucked up. So, here I am, devoting a large chunk of my review to this one disgusting story that almost made me put the book down and wonder if it was included solely because the author had some sort of connection.
I eventually gave myself some space, calmed down, and decided to continue this highly anticipated read. The book does get infinitely better as it goes on. There are definitely not anymore rape fantasy horror stories. It's a mixed bag like any anthology, but many are well written and entertaining. Some of the stories seem all about being trans which was a little disappointing to me. I was hoping that a book like this would showcase more that we have talents outside of talking about transition. That said, in the afterword, the editors claim this was a conscious decision- to not choose stories that just happen to have trans characters, but to choose ones that center being trans. In other ways, stories that centered this imagined futures where transition related issues are thought of and orchestrated in different ways. This was definitely interesting. There is some real variation in topics across the stories. Like any collection, it's hit or miss, but the stories that I did like, I really liked, hence the higher rating.
The best stories in the book, according to my personal tastes, are:
(In order of appearance in the text)
"What Cheer" by RJ Edwards
"Rent, Don't Sell" by Calvin Gimpelevich
"Control Shift Down" by Paige Bryony
"After the Big One" by Cooper Lee Bombardier
"Cybervania" by Cybil Lamb
"Imago" by Tristan Alice Nieto
This does not mean all other stories were bad. These ones in particular, though, were the ones that led me to seek out the authors online and find out if they have written any books I could add to my list.
Overall, this is an important collection in that it showcases many talented trans writers who may otherwise go unnoticed. It contains one highly objectionable rapey trash story that I believe folks would do well to skip or at least go in heeding my warning. It contains a whole lot of stories that not only have good consent politics woven in, but good style and plot. I grabbed a copy of "I've Got a Time Bomb" by Sybil Lamb right after reading her story, I adored it so much. So, this is definitely worth a read as far as SF/F collections go. It's one of the better ones, and not just because it has trans people in it.
This review was also posted to my blog.
olivercompton's review
4.0
Despite some stories in here that I really didn’t enjoy, some were pretty good and other were just fantastic. Favs include Imago, Rent, Don’t Sell, No Comment and Kid Ghost.
precise's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
5.0
I first read this collection in 2018 and came back to it in 2024. It's hit or miss but the parts that hit were really effective for me. I had never read anything like it in 2018, and since then much more trans speculative fiction has sprung up, which I'm glad about. I still highly recommend this collection, just skip to the next story if you hate the one you're on.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia
several stories grapple directly with transphobia, both tinternalized and external sourcesbunrab's review
3.0
Collection is worth it for "No Comment" by Ayse Devrim - this story could stand in any anthology without needing to be marketed specifically to readers with an interest in transgender issues. "God could not be reached for comment."
dee9401's review
5.0
A really good and important collection of SF stories. “Thieves and Lovers” by Emma Addams was hands down excellent, one of the best pieces in whole collection. I loved RJ Edwards “What Cheer”, a beautiful, sad, hopeful, deep and lingering story. The same goes for Tristan Alice Nieto’s “Imago”. In a word, wow. It was a fantastic, sad, and emotive story filled with beautiful prose. Other excellent pieces were Cooper Lee Bombardier’s “After The Big One”, Beckett K. Bauer’s “Notes From A Hunter Boy”, and Janey Lovebomb’s “Under The Rainbow”. “Themyscira”, by Colette Arrand, was amazing and accomplished so much in such a short number of pages.
Aisling & Ember Fae’s “Satan, Are You There? It’s Me, Laura” was a laugh out loud funny and enchanting! Go Lucy! While reading “Control Shift Down” by Paige Bryony, all I could think was “wow. It was dark but really good. Rachel K. Zall’s “Control” was good and Bridget Liang’s “Delicate Bodies” was a really interesting (and at times gross) story. I absolutely loved Morgan M. Page’s “Visions”, until the last sentence. I was like “WTF”. Still, great story, I just wanted it to end a little differently. Not her fault. Sadie Avery’s “Using A Treadmill, You Can Run Until Exhaustion Without Moving” was interesting. I was like meh at the start but near the end it got intriguing and I enjoyed it.
Some of the pieces and authors I’d encountered before. For example, I read Calvin Gimpelevich, “Rent, Don’t Sell” in his Invasion collection of short stories (2018) and really liked it. The one in this collection is an earlier version. It’s a little slower paced. I think I liked the editing he did for the newer version better. I much preferred Imogen Binnie’s novel Nevada to her short story here, “Gamers”. I really wanted to like this story and it was interesting. I wonder if I hadn’t read her novel if I’d have rated it higher as the writing is great. I have Jeanne Thornton’s “Summer Fun” in my to read queue, so I was excited to read her short story entry, “Angels Are Here To Help You”. The writing was great but story didn’t capture my imagination. Ryka Aoki, another author I’ve encountered before, wrote such a cute story called “The Gift”. If only it were that easy.
Some of the stories didn’t capture my interest but were well written and worth perusing. Nat Buchbinder’s “Kid Ghost” was really interesting, but I thought it needed more space to fulfill the story. I wonder if they will publish a longer version in the future? Dane Figueroa Edidi’s “Matchmaker” was a good story but fantasy isn’t my cup of tea.
A few others just didn’t work at all for me. But as a whole, this collection merits 5 stars and was time well spent … in its production and in my consumption.
Aisling & Ember Fae’s “Satan, Are You There? It’s Me, Laura” was a laugh out loud funny and enchanting! Go Lucy! While reading “Control Shift Down” by Paige Bryony, all I could think was “wow. It was dark but really good. Rachel K. Zall’s “Control” was good and Bridget Liang’s “Delicate Bodies” was a really interesting (and at times gross) story. I absolutely loved Morgan M. Page’s “Visions”, until the last sentence. I was like “WTF”. Still, great story, I just wanted it to end a little differently. Not her fault. Sadie Avery’s “Using A Treadmill, You Can Run Until Exhaustion Without Moving” was interesting. I was like meh at the start but near the end it got intriguing and I enjoyed it.
Some of the pieces and authors I’d encountered before. For example, I read Calvin Gimpelevich, “Rent, Don’t Sell” in his Invasion collection of short stories (2018) and really liked it. The one in this collection is an earlier version. It’s a little slower paced. I think I liked the editing he did for the newer version better. I much preferred Imogen Binnie’s novel Nevada to her short story here, “Gamers”. I really wanted to like this story and it was interesting. I wonder if I hadn’t read her novel if I’d have rated it higher as the writing is great. I have Jeanne Thornton’s “Summer Fun” in my to read queue, so I was excited to read her short story entry, “Angels Are Here To Help You”. The writing was great but story didn’t capture my imagination. Ryka Aoki, another author I’ve encountered before, wrote such a cute story called “The Gift”. If only it were that easy.
Some of the stories didn’t capture my interest but were well written and worth perusing. Nat Buchbinder’s “Kid Ghost” was really interesting, but I thought it needed more space to fulfill the story. I wonder if they will publish a longer version in the future? Dane Figueroa Edidi’s “Matchmaker” was a good story but fantasy isn’t my cup of tea.
A few others just didn’t work at all for me. But as a whole, this collection merits 5 stars and was time well spent … in its production and in my consumption.
maxlper's review
3.0
Lots of stories I loved in here, a few I didn't like and one I found deeply disturbing. Would recommend you skip Delicate Bodies by Bridget Liang.
I will come back and list all my favourite stories later.
I will come back and list all my favourite stories later.
digitaltilde's review
4.0
Even if you don't want to commit to the whole thing, there'll be a story or two in here for you. My favourite was "Rent, Don't Sell" by Calvin Gimpelevich, but "No Comment" by Ayse Devrim, "Thieves and Lovers" by Emma Addams, and "Imago" by Tristan Alice Nieto all deserve honourable mentions as well as your time.
lesbrary's review
4.0
As always in an anthology, some of these were bigger hits than others, but overall I really enjoyed these. Tons of sapphic stories, too! Some of the first stories were so fascinating, I could easily write essays about them.
The stories vary a lot. There are more sci fi stories than fantasy, and more trans women than nonbinary or trans men main characters. The plots vary from someone quietly ruminating in space about microaggressions to intense cyberpunk... cyber post-punk? In fact, quite a few of the stories have a punk undertone.
Definite trigger warnings for transphobia, transmisogyny, violence, gore, and rape. In fact, the one story I had a problem with is Delicate Bodies, in which the main character is a zombie who rapes and then kills her ex-boyfriends/crushes. I get the zombie revenge fantasy, but I was honestly getting nauseated reading about her brutally raping multiple people, and the text seems to suggest that they deserve it. They may have been jerks, but they didn't do anything comparable. That soured the collection for me.
The stories vary a lot. There are more sci fi stories than fantasy, and more trans women than nonbinary or trans men main characters. The plots vary from someone quietly ruminating in space about microaggressions to intense cyberpunk... cyber post-punk? In fact, quite a few of the stories have a punk undertone.
Definite trigger warnings for transphobia, transmisogyny, violence, gore, and rape. In fact, the one story I had a problem with is Delicate Bodies, in which the main character is a zombie who rapes and then kills her ex-boyfriends/crushes. I get the zombie revenge fantasy, but I was honestly getting nauseated reading about her brutally raping multiple people, and the text seems to suggest that they deserve it. They may have been jerks, but they didn't do anything comparable. That soured the collection for me.