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scrow1022's review
4.0
Not every story called to me the way they did in Vol. 4, but many, many did.
Some I'd read elsewhere and am delighted to have now in book form.
Admirable collection of stories.
Some I'd read elsewhere and am delighted to have now in book form.
Admirable collection of stories.
indigoriverboat's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
This delightful collection of stories depicts so many varied, delightful, and heartbreaking transgender stories.
ryttu3k's review
challenging
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
kaarna's review against another edition
4.0
Tässä oli upeita tarinoita! Sellaisia, joista sai uusia näkökulmia, ja sellaisia, joissa jokin oma juttu oli ekaa kertaa kirjoitettuna. Oon niin iloinen tästä kirjasta. Monet näistä jäi elämään mun mieleen.
arachan's review
challenging
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
4.0
Still not a huge fan of short story collections like this. There were several stories that I would have liked to see expanded and some stories that didn't really gel with me.
jr_the_pin_witch's review
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
carolined314's review against another edition
5.0
A wonderful compilation with a wide range of characters, topics, and tones. From the deeply haunting to the humorous, the stories are compelling.
undertheteacup's review against another edition
4.0
I thought "The Worldless" by Indrapramit Das was going to be the perfect last story of the anthology, because it's about leaving a place that holds no hope or future, even when you have little assurance of finding a home on the other side. But then "The Heart's Cartography" by Susan Bigelow came along, a story about choosing to stay where you are, knowing you can build a future. "We survive," the main character learns. What an incredibly powerful line. Kudos to the editor for the juxtaposition of these stories.
Other stories that really stuck with me: "Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time" by KM Szpara
where a trans man is nonconsensually bitten by a vampire and then has to choose between death and becoming a vampire himself. Loved the messiness and flailing in this story, how it dealt with choice and consequence, the way vampirification was entirely unromanticized for the main character. Also the grief around both transition and turning, what is lost in the process.
And finally "The Mouse" by Larissa Glasser left an impression because sometimes we *don't* survive. But the main character here makes a significant choice as well. Her life, and her death, *matter*.
Other stories that really stuck with me: "Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time" by KM Szpara
where a trans man is nonconsensually bitten by a vampire and then has to choose between death and becoming a vampire himself. Loved the messiness and flailing in this story, how it dealt with choice and consequence, the way vampirification was entirely unromanticized for the main character. Also the grief around both transition and turning, what is lost in the process.
And finally "The Mouse" by Larissa Glasser left an impression because sometimes we *don't* survive. But the main character here makes a significant choice as well. Her life, and her death, *matter*.
errantdreams's review
5.0
I rarely give multi-author anthologies 5 out of 5, but this one earned it. The stories within range from tales where a character just happens to be trans or genderfluid in the context of a wider stories, to tales where the character’s gender is crucial to the plot. Some trans characters are much as we see them in society now, whereas others are members of alien races (or other groups) that would be new to us.
The collection includes an up-front section of content notes so you can skip the stories that might bother you. I’ll just note a handful: violence, explicit sex, slurs, self-harm, panic attacks, menstruation, murder.
I don’t think there are any stories in here that disappointed me. Maybe there were one or two that I felt ended too soon, with too much left unsaid or unresolved. But it was a mild feeling, not a “hey, did someone leave out half the story?” reaction. I won’t go through each and every story, but I’ll note a few that stood out to me.
The Chameleon’s Gloves by Yoon Ha Lee is one of those stories that isn’t really about the character’s sexuality so much. Rhehan and their partner are working on an art heist when they’re kidnapped and forced to use Rhehan’s haptic chameleon abilities for the benefit of the people who threw them out. This story is tense, tight, and neat.
Ryley Knowles’s Death You Deserve introduces us to Addy, who has an obsession with fearing that she’ll die a horror-movie-style death. This is a surprisingly powerful tale.
Small Changes over Long Periods of Time, by K.M. Szpara contains a non-consensual vampire attack, and then the difficulties of a trans character having to also transition to being a vampire. It’s creative and interesting.
Shweta Narayan’s World of the Three is a fantastical tale of mechanical creatures and their interactions with humans. This is one of the stories where the trans nature of the character is a bit unusual, since mechanicals can have their heartsprings moved into new bodies, which might not be the same gender as the previous.
S. Qiouyi Lu’s A Complex Filament of Light follows Alicia, who’s doing research in Antarctica. They have to come to terms with a suicide in their family, and I shed a few tears over this one.
One of my favorites in here is Susan Jane Bigelow’s The Heart’s Cartography. As soon as Sally moves into Jade’s neighborhood, Jade figures out Sally’s a time traveler. Sally’s able to give Jade, a trans girl, a bit of a glimpse into what the future may hold for people like her.
This is an excellent anthology, with some powerful stories.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/06/review-transcendent-3-ed-bogi-takacs/
The collection includes an up-front section of content notes so you can skip the stories that might bother you. I’ll just note a handful: violence, explicit sex, slurs, self-harm, panic attacks, menstruation, murder.
I don’t think there are any stories in here that disappointed me. Maybe there were one or two that I felt ended too soon, with too much left unsaid or unresolved. But it was a mild feeling, not a “hey, did someone leave out half the story?” reaction. I won’t go through each and every story, but I’ll note a few that stood out to me.
The Chameleon’s Gloves by Yoon Ha Lee is one of those stories that isn’t really about the character’s sexuality so much. Rhehan and their partner are working on an art heist when they’re kidnapped and forced to use Rhehan’s haptic chameleon abilities for the benefit of the people who threw them out. This story is tense, tight, and neat.
Ryley Knowles’s Death You Deserve introduces us to Addy, who has an obsession with fearing that she’ll die a horror-movie-style death. This is a surprisingly powerful tale.
Small Changes over Long Periods of Time, by K.M. Szpara contains a non-consensual vampire attack, and then the difficulties of a trans character having to also transition to being a vampire. It’s creative and interesting.
Shweta Narayan’s World of the Three is a fantastical tale of mechanical creatures and their interactions with humans. This is one of the stories where the trans nature of the character is a bit unusual, since mechanicals can have their heartsprings moved into new bodies, which might not be the same gender as the previous.
S. Qiouyi Lu’s A Complex Filament of Light follows Alicia, who’s doing research in Antarctica. They have to come to terms with a suicide in their family, and I shed a few tears over this one.
One of my favorites in here is Susan Jane Bigelow’s The Heart’s Cartography. As soon as Sally moves into Jade’s neighborhood, Jade figures out Sally’s a time traveler. Sally’s able to give Jade, a trans girl, a bit of a glimpse into what the future may hold for people like her.
This is an excellent anthology, with some powerful stories.
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/06/review-transcendent-3-ed-bogi-takacs/