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diana_raquel's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
3.0
"A woman could be strong without having the emotions of a brick."
The first volume of Dangerous Women (in my country, Portugal, this book was separated into two halves) presents 11 short stories from different authors and from different genres where the common point is the existence of one or more women who promise to be brave, confident, dangerous women. This was the premise that led me to buy this book (and the next volume) and I can say that I'm a bit disappointed.
If you are expecting female warriors, superheroes, and ruthless queens, you will get it. But you’ll also get madwomen and mothers that are tired of their children. And I get that some authors were trying to give a new meaning to the concept of dangerous women, but there are some stories in this anthology that I simply did not understand why they were included.
#1: Some Desperado by Joe Abercrombie: This short story can be considered a companion piece of the book Red Country. Even without knowing the saga, I can say that I liked this tale. It's a short story full of action and the main character, Shy, is undoubtedly a dangerous woman and a character I'd like to meet. Undoubtedly, the right story to open this anthology.
#2: My Heart is Either Broken by Megan Abbott: Although this short story is a bit predictable - from the outset, I realized why Lorie could be considered a real dangerous woman - it's a story with a consistent beginning, middle and end. I liked it, although it wasn't my favorite.
#3: The Hands That Are Not There by Melinda Snodgrass: What begins as a conversation in a bar eventually leads us into a world full of intrigue and mystery. This is the story that contains the quote that led me to buy this book and is one of my favorite short stories in the anthology.
#4: Raisa Stepanova by Carrie Vaughn: To tell you the truth, I don't quite understand why this story was included in this anthology. To me, the story of a young Russian front-line pilot in World War II did not show me a dangerous woman, at most we find a brave woman. Also, it's a boring story with an even more boring ending.
#5: I Know How to Pick ’Em by Lawrence Block: It's an interesting read but not one of my favorite stories. The male character and even the secondary female character seem more dangerous to me than the main character. It's a story that leaves you wanting more.
#6: Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell by Brandon Sanderson: I loved this story. It has an interesting plot, with mystery and magic to the mix. Also, the characters are interesting and our protagonist is what we can all expect when we talk about a dangerous woman. Definitely, one of my favorites.
#7: A Queen in Exile by Sharon Kay Penman:I liked this story and I find it a very interesting one. However, I do not understand why it was included in this anthology. There is no doubt that the main character is a brave woman but when a final note is needed to explain why she was also dangerous, it makes us wonder why the story was included.
#8: The Girl in the Mirror by Lev Grossman: Another story that can be considered to be a companion piece of a saga, this time from The Magicians. Although I do not know the universe, this isn't the story that conquered me. Besides, I didn't think that the main character was a dangerous woman.
#9: Name the Beast by Sam Sykes: The atmosphere built in this tale seemed to be interesting but unfortunately, as much as I read and reread, I couldn't understand what was going on or which characters interacted with another character. It's a mess.
#10: Lies My Mother Told Me by Caroline Spector: Another story that belongs to another saga, this time Wild Cards. Even without knowing the universe, I loved this tale. Here's what I wanted to find in this anthology: a badass superheroine that is the pinnacle of a BAMF.
#11: The Princess and the Queen by G. R. R. Martin: This is one of the best stories in this anthology. It tells, through a third person, the events of the war that became known in the Game of Thrones saga as Dance of the Dragons. In addition to explaining the extinction of the dragons and getting to know a little more about the Targaryen family, two really dangerous and interesting women were introduced.
So, if you excluded the stories of Martin, Spector, Sanderson, Snodgrass, Abbott, and Abercrombie, then you are left with stories that are confusing, boring, and fail the original premise. And even on the stories that, in my opinion, are the best, most of the time this so-called dangerous woman is a secondary character, which, in my opinion, goes against the whole premise.
So I give 3 stars to this book. And that is because the stories that I ended up liking are really good stories. I guess that I was just expecting more of this anthology.
The first volume of Dangerous Women (in my country, Portugal, this book was separated into two halves) presents 11 short stories from different authors and from different genres where the common point is the existence of one or more women who promise to be brave, confident, dangerous women. This was the premise that led me to buy this book (and the next volume) and I can say that I'm a bit disappointed.
If you are expecting female warriors, superheroes, and ruthless queens, you will get it. But you’ll also get madwomen and mothers that are tired of their children. And I get that some authors were trying to give a new meaning to the concept of dangerous women, but there are some stories in this anthology that I simply did not understand why they were included.
#1: Some Desperado by Joe Abercrombie: This short story can be considered a companion piece of the book Red Country. Even without knowing the saga, I can say that I liked this tale. It's a short story full of action and the main character, Shy, is undoubtedly a dangerous woman and a character I'd like to meet. Undoubtedly, the right story to open this anthology.
#2: My Heart is Either Broken by Megan Abbott: Although this short story is a bit predictable - from the outset, I realized why Lorie could be considered a real dangerous woman - it's a story with a consistent beginning, middle and end. I liked it, although it wasn't my favorite.
#3: The Hands That Are Not There by Melinda Snodgrass: What begins as a conversation in a bar eventually leads us into a world full of intrigue and mystery. This is the story that contains the quote that led me to buy this book and is one of my favorite short stories in the anthology.
#4: Raisa Stepanova by Carrie Vaughn: To tell you the truth, I don't quite understand why this story was included in this anthology. To me, the story of a young Russian front-line pilot in World War II did not show me a dangerous woman, at most we find a brave woman. Also, it's a boring story with an even more boring ending.
#5: I Know How to Pick ’Em by Lawrence Block: It's an interesting read but not one of my favorite stories. The male character and even the secondary female character seem more dangerous to me than the main character. It's a story that leaves you wanting more.
#6: Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell by Brandon Sanderson: I loved this story. It has an interesting plot, with mystery and magic to the mix. Also, the characters are interesting and our protagonist is what we can all expect when we talk about a dangerous woman. Definitely, one of my favorites.
#7: A Queen in Exile by Sharon Kay Penman:I liked this story and I find it a very interesting one. However, I do not understand why it was included in this anthology. There is no doubt that the main character is a brave woman but when a final note is needed to explain why she was also dangerous, it makes us wonder why the story was included.
#8: The Girl in the Mirror by Lev Grossman: Another story that can be considered to be a companion piece of a saga, this time from The Magicians. Although I do not know the universe, this isn't the story that conquered me. Besides, I didn't think that the main character was a dangerous woman.
#9: Name the Beast by Sam Sykes: The atmosphere built in this tale seemed to be interesting but unfortunately, as much as I read and reread, I couldn't understand what was going on or which characters interacted with another character. It's a mess.
#10: Lies My Mother Told Me by Caroline Spector: Another story that belongs to another saga, this time Wild Cards. Even without knowing the universe, I loved this tale. Here's what I wanted to find in this anthology: a badass superheroine that is the pinnacle of a BAMF.
#11: The Princess and the Queen by G. R. R. Martin: This is one of the best stories in this anthology. It tells, through a third person, the events of the war that became known in the Game of Thrones saga as Dance of the Dragons. In addition to explaining the extinction of the dragons and getting to know a little more about the Targaryen family, two really dangerous and interesting women were introduced.
So, if you excluded the stories of Martin, Spector, Sanderson, Snodgrass, Abbott, and Abercrombie, then you are left with stories that are confusing, boring, and fail the original premise. And even on the stories that, in my opinion, are the best, most of the time this so-called dangerous woman is a secondary character, which, in my opinion, goes against the whole premise.
So I give 3 stars to this book. And that is because the stories that I ended up liking are really good stories. I guess that I was just expecting more of this anthology.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
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