Meanwhile, Elsewhere: Science Fiction and Fantasy from Transgender Writers

This lengthy anthology spans many genres, including tech-heavy sci-fi, religious parody, zombie gorefest, high fantasy, and postapocalyptic survival tale. Many of the authors are known in the queer literary world but will be new to readers of SF/F. “Control Shift Down” by Paige Bryony is a cyberpunk story of sex workers banding together to take revenge on a sadistic client. “Rent, Don’t Sell” by Calvin Glimplevich and “Schwaberow, Ohio” by Brendan Williams-Child both explore the intersections of disability and gender identity: Gimplevich’s story follows a veteran and amputee in a future in which body swapping has become a major industry, and Williams-Child’s protagonist has to navigate a world in which neurodiversity and gender dysphoria can be “fixed” with implanted chips. In Imogen Binnie’s “Gamers,” reality and fantasy collide due to a haunted copy of the video game Zelda: Ocarina of Time. The collection closes with Jeanne Thornton’s “Angels Are Here to Help You,” a story of dissatisfaction with the post-postmodern condition; it includes hostile social media apps, feline advice columnists, and drugs manufactured by space otters. There’s something here for nearly everyone, though readers hoping for explorations of nonbinary gender will be disappointed. Some of the tales rely on regressive tropes or build castles in the sky without the conflicts or deeper themes that might make them compelling. Others feel like fresh takes, and a glorious few push the boundaries of genre in new, exciting directions. (Sept.)