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melissyteapot73's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
3.75
dgoosney's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
fast-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? Yes
2.75
emilycombs's review against another edition
5.0
I got Even Greater Mistakes via a Goodreads giveaway. First I’d ever heard or read by Charlie Jane Anders. It’s rare that I wonder if things were “meant to be,” because I don’t believe in that, or luck. But I do feel lucky to have received this one. I’m a huge fan of science fiction and fantasy—so, I was interested by default—but I had no idea this collection of short stories would be this much fun.
Each one feels like falling into the center of a world that’s always been there, a world that makes perfectly real despite the aliens, otherworldly beings, yet-to-exist tech, etc. I couldn’t breeze through it like I do with many books. I was happy to savor each story because each one offers so much to consider, down to the nature of human beings and what it means to be one.
If I had to play favorites, I’d say my most beloved were As Good as New, Fairy Werewolf vs. Vampire Zombie, Clover, A Temporary Embarrassment in Spacetime, The Bookstore at the End of America, and The Visitmothers. (It’s a lot of favorites. Believe me, it was hard to narrow it down.)
And, I found myself totally fangirling over the use of North Carolina cities as the setting for some of these stories, or even simply being mentioned. When I was growing up in a small town in the Triad, I absolutely never considered it a good landscape for fantasy. I wish I’d had the imagination of CJA to seamlessly transform my hometown into a space that could host zombies or vampires or fae. Would’ve been a lot more freeing to think of it that way instead of feeling trapped in a place where few people around me valued anything artsy or out of the norm. NC is a small aspect to this collection, but one that meant a lot to me.
Anyway, read it. It might be your jam, or not, but it doesn’t really matter. There are many delicious ideas/fantasies/concepts to devour. You won’t walk away from this one without plenty to think about.
Each one feels like falling into the center of a world that’s always been there, a world that makes perfectly real despite the aliens, otherworldly beings, yet-to-exist tech, etc. I couldn’t breeze through it like I do with many books. I was happy to savor each story because each one offers so much to consider, down to the nature of human beings and what it means to be one.
If I had to play favorites, I’d say my most beloved were As Good as New, Fairy Werewolf vs. Vampire Zombie, Clover, A Temporary Embarrassment in Spacetime, The Bookstore at the End of America, and The Visitmothers. (It’s a lot of favorites. Believe me, it was hard to narrow it down.)
And, I found myself totally fangirling over the use of North Carolina cities as the setting for some of these stories, or even simply being mentioned. When I was growing up in a small town in the Triad, I absolutely never considered it a good landscape for fantasy. I wish I’d had the imagination of CJA to seamlessly transform my hometown into a space that could host zombies or vampires or fae. Would’ve been a lot more freeing to think of it that way instead of feeling trapped in a place where few people around me valued anything artsy or out of the norm. NC is a small aspect to this collection, but one that meant a lot to me.
Anyway, read it. It might be your jam, or not, but it doesn’t really matter. There are many delicious ideas/fantasies/concepts to devour. You won’t walk away from this one without plenty to think about.
dangerousnerd's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
undinereads's review against another edition
5.0
Even Greater Mistakes is a career-spanning collection of 19 speculative fiction stories by the award-winning Charlie Jane Anders an amazingly inclusive writer. Charlie Jane is masterful at packing maximum impact and emotion into a minimum number of words. So good!
nerp's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
5.0
The best contemporary short story collection I’ve read since Merc Fenn Wolfmoor’s collection.
zogg's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
ashreads_inherjungle's review against another edition
Even Greater Mistakes is a compilation of short stories spanning Charlie Jane Ander’s career. These stories are mostly science fiction (with a bit of fantasy thrown in). I’ve never read this author’s work before and I think this collection serves as a great introduction. As with all story collections, some were stronger than others, but all of the stories compiled here are highly imaginative and well-crafted. Charlie does a great job of creating interesting and complex characters, most of whom have unique backgrounds. The LGBTQ+ representation is also really great throughout.
My favorite stories from this compilation include:
As Good as New: post-apocalyptic tale complete with genie, three wishes and all of the Facts of Life
Rat Catcher’s Yellows: a woman struggles with her wife’s illness. A new video game allows her to control some parts of her mind, even as the dementia progresses.
The Time Travel Club: a group of friends explore time travel (with mixed results).
Power Couple: explores the lengths a couple with go through to be together at the right time (definitely felt like I was watching a black mirror episode while I read this one).
Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for an advance copy. I can’t wait to check out more by this author.
My favorite stories from this compilation include:
As Good as New: post-apocalyptic tale complete with genie, three wishes and all of the Facts of Life
Rat Catcher’s Yellows: a woman struggles with her wife’s illness. A new video game allows her to control some parts of her mind, even as the dementia progresses.
The Time Travel Club: a group of friends explore time travel (with mixed results).
Power Couple: explores the lengths a couple with go through to be together at the right time (definitely felt like I was watching a black mirror episode while I read this one).
Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for an advance copy. I can’t wait to check out more by this author.
tom22ger's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
1.5
Honestly, I really only liked a few of the stories, my favorite being the very first in the collection “As Good As New” which really struck a good balance of the wacky combinations that Anders includes. Some other standouts were The Time Travel Club, Six Months Three Days, and Love Might Be Too Strong a Word.
Aside from those though, the other stories either had cool concepts, but didn’t go anywhere or they just didn’t catch my attention :/
Aside from those though, the other stories either had cool concepts, but didn’t go anywhere or they just didn’t catch my attention :/
kelseyr713's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Charlie Jane Anders never disappoints me, and all of these stories are gems in their own way. A couple didn’t hit the target completely for me, but still had great pieces/ideas. Each story sucks you into a believable world immediately, and her characters are so well-drawn over such a short page count.
Content Warnings
Minor: Murder, Blood, Hate crime, Sexual assault, War, Violence, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Transphobia, Body horror, Kidnapping, and Medical trauma