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A review by absentminded_reader
Forbidden Thoughts by John C. Wright, L. Jagi Lamplighter, Brad R. Torgersen, Jason Rennie, Sarah A. Hoyt, Milo Yiannopoulos, Tom Kratman, Nick Cole, Brian Niemeier, Vox Day, Larry Correia
3.0
★★★½☆
Although this anthology starts with a very anti-SJW bias, not all stories shared that bias. True, some were too much on the nose—too polemic—too partisan—especially in the front of the anthology. Those authors littered their stories with SJW conceits, and told what I considered to be morality tales. Message fic is dreadful to me, no matter the ideology. However, many stories stood out as exemplary science fiction and fantasy. They envisioned a future or society where SJW dreams came true, and turned that dream into a nightmare. These stories worked because they took one concept and created a society encumbered with that concept gone amok. Stories like alpha male fantasy "The Secret History of the World Gone By" by Joshua M. Young, "The Social Construct" by David Hallquist, the thought provoking "Hymns of the Mothers" by Brad Torgersen, the intriguing parallel universe tale, "By His Cockle Hat and Staff" by John C. Wright, the memorable Catholic SF tale of "World Ablaze" by Jane Lebak, and the incredibly daring Christian conversion Muslim fantasy, "Test of the Prophet" by L. Jagi Lamplighter. These tales alone are worth the cost of the anthology. They eschew heavy-handedness for a lighter, more artful touch while still contemplating unorthodox or politically incorrect concepts. Brian Neimeier's horror story, "Elegy for the Locust", lacked an overt political angle while still entertaining, and Sara A. Hoyt's "Flight to Egypt" tackled racism and eugenics from an uncomfortable blend of right wing profiling and left wing authoritarianism. All of these stories were excellent. Only Vox Day's story offended me, likely due to its wink to misogyny, but I am a dad of daughters and felt extremely uncomfortable with the fate Day had in store for his female Marines. Not everyone will process that story as I did, however, and as forbidden as these narrative thoughts were, I enjoyed the predominantly intelligent manner in which the contributing authors dealt with their subjects.
Although this anthology starts with a very anti-SJW bias, not all stories shared that bias. True, some were too much on the nose—too polemic—too partisan—especially in the front of the anthology. Those authors littered their stories with SJW conceits, and told what I considered to be morality tales. Message fic is dreadful to me, no matter the ideology. However, many stories stood out as exemplary science fiction and fantasy. They envisioned a future or society where SJW dreams came true, and turned that dream into a nightmare. These stories worked because they took one concept and created a society encumbered with that concept gone amok. Stories like alpha male fantasy "The Secret History of the World Gone By" by Joshua M. Young, "The Social Construct" by David Hallquist, the thought provoking "Hymns of the Mothers" by Brad Torgersen, the intriguing parallel universe tale, "By His Cockle Hat and Staff" by John C. Wright, the memorable Catholic SF tale of "World Ablaze" by Jane Lebak, and the incredibly daring Christian conversion Muslim fantasy, "Test of the Prophet" by L. Jagi Lamplighter. These tales alone are worth the cost of the anthology. They eschew heavy-handedness for a lighter, more artful touch while still contemplating unorthodox or politically incorrect concepts. Brian Neimeier's horror story, "Elegy for the Locust", lacked an overt political angle while still entertaining, and Sara A. Hoyt's "Flight to Egypt" tackled racism and eugenics from an uncomfortable blend of right wing profiling and left wing authoritarianism. All of these stories were excellent. Only Vox Day's story offended me, likely due to its wink to misogyny, but I am a dad of daughters and felt extremely uncomfortable with the fate Day had in store for his female Marines. Not everyone will process that story as I did, however, and as forbidden as these narrative thoughts were, I enjoyed the predominantly intelligent manner in which the contributing authors dealt with their subjects.