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A review by jmercury
Alien Sex: 19 Tales by the Masters of Science Fiction and Dark Fantasy by Ellen Datlow
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.