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marcel's review against another edition
dark
reflective
3.0
favs: war bride, roadside rescue, scales
lizzderr's review against another edition
4.0
When discussing what sex in future and/or distant worlds might look like, it makes sense to tackle issues of consent—how can affirmative consent be established between beings that might struggle to communicate? To put it bluntly, then, there was a lot more rape, and moments of questionable consent, in this collection than I anticipated. Connie Willis’s “All My Darling Daughters” is certainly the most brutal on that point, and I wish I’d known that ahead of time, but in the end I’m not sorry I read it. My favorite story was probably Pat Cadigan’s “Roadside Rescue”—while some of the stories in the collection show their age in occasionally awkward ways, “Roadside Rescue” feels fresh and current. A fascinating collection overall!
danfielding's review
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
jmercury's review against another edition
3.0
Some clunkers, some gross-outs, and some stars.
Best finds:
The Jamesburg Incubus has a strange, pleasantly surprising ending for a classic sex-demon tale.
When the Fathers Go is trippy while remaining rooted in human emotion and experience.
All My Darling Daughters has a shining use of vernacular, manages to do a boarding school setting without getting bogged down in details, and has a horrifying conclusion. Stays with you.
Love and Sex Among the Invertebrates is a great ending to the collection. It tickled my fancy not only because of its whimsical take on evolution and the author's shout-out to the irreplaceable Loren Eiseley, but also because its premise involves a nuclear attack on San Jose, my hometown, which is a recurring nightmare of mine. The protagonist is unusual and expresses her emotions and memories elegantly while relating them to her current actions and experiences. Very fun and I look forward to picking up more of Pat Murphy's books.
Clunkers:
The Jungle Rot Kid on the Nod: Maybe this means I don't like William Burroughs, since this parody of "Naked Lunch" and Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Tarzan" was unbearable.
Husbands adopts a biological view of gender and casts women as incompetent scientists and poor investigators, with a muddled point to boot.
Dancing Chickens was just stupid. A dumb idea with no bite.
Best finds:
The Jamesburg Incubus has a strange, pleasantly surprising ending for a classic sex-demon tale.
When the Fathers Go is trippy while remaining rooted in human emotion and experience.
All My Darling Daughters has a shining use of vernacular, manages to do a boarding school setting without getting bogged down in details, and has a horrifying conclusion. Stays with you.
Love and Sex Among the Invertebrates is a great ending to the collection. It tickled my fancy not only because of its whimsical take on evolution and the author's shout-out to the irreplaceable Loren Eiseley, but also because its premise involves a nuclear attack on San Jose, my hometown, which is a recurring nightmare of mine. The protagonist is unusual and expresses her emotions and memories elegantly while relating them to her current actions and experiences. Very fun and I look forward to picking up more of Pat Murphy's books.
Clunkers:
The Jungle Rot Kid on the Nod: Maybe this means I don't like William Burroughs, since this parody of "Naked Lunch" and Edgar Rice Burroughs' "Tarzan" was unbearable.
Husbands adopts a biological view of gender and casts women as incompetent scientists and poor investigators, with a muddled point to boot.
Dancing Chickens was just stupid. A dumb idea with no bite.
samiism's review against another edition
2.0
I was grabbing almost all the Ellen Datlow books I could, and when I got to this title, I thought it would be an interesting take on aliens and sex. Come on, it's intriguing. I didn't read any of the intro, synopsis, etc. Just dove straight into the first story.
And I clearly misunderstood the term "alien". I was thinking "outer space". Not "unfamiliar".
This first story, Her Furry Face, is about
Now, bestiality is not something I completely reject. In Family Guy, the family dog Brian sleeps with a number of human women, one of them being the teenage daughter Meg. And no one said shit about it. I thought it was funny.
In this case, it was sort of funny, mostly because it was not what I expected. There are a few hits, but a lot of misses in this anthology. And of course, actual alien sex.
And I clearly misunderstood the term "alien". I was thinking "outer space". Not "unfamiliar".
This first story, Her Furry Face, is about
Spoiler
this guy who teaches orangutans how to sign, and eventually develops sexual feelings for one of them.Now, bestiality is not something I completely reject. In Family Guy, the family dog Brian sleeps with a number of human women, one of them being the teenage daughter Meg. And no one said shit about it. I thought it was funny.
In this case, it was sort of funny, mostly because it was not what I expected. There are a few hits, but a lot of misses in this anthology. And of course, actual alien sex.
ghilimei's review against another edition
1.0
Disappointing, definitely not as cool as I expected it to be; I think some of the stories are just plain awful and I say this trying not to offend anybody who might have liked them.
To me, most of the stories are just sad and depressing, while others try too hard to be shocking and ended up making me nauseous. With only 7 out of 19 stories worth my time, I give this collection one lone star (maybe one and a half not to be unfair to the ones I actually liked).
I only really liked War Bride by Rick Wilber (would have liked it to be a novel or a novella, not such a short story) and When the Fathers Go by Bruce McAllister. Mr. McAllister is clearly much better at this than most of the others authors in this collection as it is a known fact that it can be more difficult to write a really good short story than it is to write a good full length novel. His story was also sad and quite heart-breaking, but it clearly belonged to a superior league of writing.
Some other stories I moderately enjoyed reading:
The Jamesburg Incubus by Scott Baker is longer, more intricate and overall a nice read, but still not as interesting as I expected given the good reviews it got from other readers.
Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex by Larry Niven is a geeky, entertaining little mock-article about what would actually happen if Superman tried to have sex and procreate with a human female (which made me laugh more by actually thinking of the silly, physically-impossible-for-almost-the-same-reasons Twilight sex S. Meyer pushed on her fans).
Roadside Rescue by Pat Cadigan is a very interesting tale of inter-species rape without the victim knowing what's actually happening until it's all over. It raises some great question marks about the difference in perception when it comes to love and sex and touches the fetish issue - is it really sex if you're the only one calling it that?
Scales by Lewis Shiner is a tale about a family torn apart by a succubus. I quite enjoyed this one as well and it would probably make a good psychological thriller movie.
Saving the World at the New Mood Motel by Roberta Lannes is a very light, quite funny tale of alien sex in a very human context.
To me, most of the stories are just sad and depressing, while others try too hard to be shocking and ended up making me nauseous. With only 7 out of 19 stories worth my time, I give this collection one lone star (maybe one and a half not to be unfair to the ones I actually liked).
I only really liked War Bride by Rick Wilber (would have liked it to be a novel or a novella, not such a short story) and When the Fathers Go by Bruce McAllister. Mr. McAllister is clearly much better at this than most of the others authors in this collection as it is a known fact that it can be more difficult to write a really good short story than it is to write a good full length novel. His story was also sad and quite heart-breaking, but it clearly belonged to a superior league of writing.
Some other stories I moderately enjoyed reading:
The Jamesburg Incubus by Scott Baker is longer, more intricate and overall a nice read, but still not as interesting as I expected given the good reviews it got from other readers.
Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex by Larry Niven is a geeky, entertaining little mock-article about what would actually happen if Superman tried to have sex and procreate with a human female (which made me laugh more by actually thinking of the silly, physically-impossible-for-almost-the-same-reasons Twilight sex S. Meyer pushed on her fans).
Roadside Rescue by Pat Cadigan is a very interesting tale of inter-species rape without the victim knowing what's actually happening until it's all over. It raises some great question marks about the difference in perception when it comes to love and sex and touches the fetish issue - is it really sex if you're the only one calling it that?
Scales by Lewis Shiner is a tale about a family torn apart by a succubus. I quite enjoyed this one as well and it would probably make a good psychological thriller movie.
Saving the World at the New Mood Motel by Roberta Lannes is a very light, quite funny tale of alien sex in a very human context.
tarana's review against another edition
2.0
The stories towards the end of the book were much better - actual closure instead of a plot half-finished or too way out there.
tyler_j's review against another edition
3.5
1- Her Furry Face by Leigh Kennedy- 4.25 stars
2- War Bride by Rick Wilber- 5 stars
3- How's the Night Life on Cissalda? by Harlan Ellison- 2 stars
4- The Jamesburg Incubus by Scott Baker- 4.25 stars
5- Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex by Larry Niven- 3 stars
6- The First Time by K.W. Jeter- 2 stars
7- The Jungle Rot Kid on the Nod by Philip Jose Farmer- 1 star
8- Husbands by Lisa Tuttle- 4.25 stars
9- When the Fathers Go by Bruce McAllister- 2 stars
10- Dancing Chickens by Edward Bryant- 3.5 stars
11- Roadside Rescue by Pat Cadigan- 4.5 stars
12- Omnisexual by Geoff Ryman- 3.5 stars
13- All My Darling Daughters by Connie Willis- 5 stars
14- Arousal by Richard Christian Matheson- 3 stars
15- Scales by Lewis Shiner- 4 stars
16- Saving the World at the New Moon Motel by Roberta Lannes- 3.25 stars
17- And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill's Side by James Tiptree Jr.- 3.25 stars
18- Picture Planes by Michaela Roessner- 4.5 stars
19- Love and Sex Among the Invertebrates by Pat Murphy- 4.25 stars
Avg- 3.5
Mixed bag sure but the ones I liked were rather thought-provoking and i'm really glad I read them. I enjoyed more than I didn't. Weird and thought-provoking are good words for this anthology.
2- War Bride by Rick Wilber- 5 stars
3- How's the Night Life on Cissalda? by Harlan Ellison- 2 stars
4- The Jamesburg Incubus by Scott Baker- 4.25 stars
5- Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex by Larry Niven- 3 stars
6- The First Time by K.W. Jeter- 2 stars
7- The Jungle Rot Kid on the Nod by Philip Jose Farmer- 1 star
8- Husbands by Lisa Tuttle- 4.25 stars
9- When the Fathers Go by Bruce McAllister- 2 stars
10- Dancing Chickens by Edward Bryant- 3.5 stars
11- Roadside Rescue by Pat Cadigan- 4.5 stars
12- Omnisexual by Geoff Ryman- 3.5 stars
13- All My Darling Daughters by Connie Willis- 5 stars
14- Arousal by Richard Christian Matheson- 3 stars
15- Scales by Lewis Shiner- 4 stars
16- Saving the World at the New Moon Motel by Roberta Lannes- 3.25 stars
17- And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill's Side by James Tiptree Jr.- 3.25 stars
18- Picture Planes by Michaela Roessner- 4.5 stars
19- Love and Sex Among the Invertebrates by Pat Murphy- 4.25 stars
Avg- 3.5
Mixed bag sure but the ones I liked were rather thought-provoking and i'm really glad I read them. I enjoyed more than I didn't. Weird and thought-provoking are good words for this anthology.