Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology

The VanderMeers (The Time Traveler's Almanac) have produced a well-curated and gorgeously edited selection of speculative feminist stories, including classics from the 1970s and %E2%80%9880s as well as recent work by currently prominent writers. The stories, arranged thematically, flow into and bounce off of one another in a thought-provoking, dramatic arrangement that displays each piece in its best possible light. Highlights include James Tiptree Jr.'s "The Screwfly Solution," a terrifying exploration of femicide; Hiromi Goto's "Tales from the Breast," a darkly funny look at a nursing mother pushed to her limit; Angela Carter's "The Fall River Axe Murders," which builds and removes sympathy for Lizzie Borden in equal measure; and Rose Lemberg's "Seven Losses of Na Re," a meditation on memory and totalitarianism. There are no truly weak pieces, but Tanith Lee's "Northern Chess" doesn't rise beyond its conventional sword-and-sorcery trappings, and today's readers will cringe at the attitude towards transsexuality in Pamela Sargent's "Fears" and the employment of gender-shifting and androgyny as an attribute of evil in several older stories. Otherwise, this collection is a generous celebration of work both by and about women. (May)