Reviews

Dangerous Women by George R.R. Martin

kaiysea's review against another edition

4.0

Several of the stories felt like they put out a call to authors for stories about dangerous women, without caring about if the women played a part in the story at all. Not all of the stories are like that. And I did like most of the stories, even the ones were the women were objects/faint memories/barely present. My favorite were Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (Brandon Sanderson), The Hands That Are Not There (Melinda Snodgrass), Some Desperado (Joe Abercrombie), Neighbors (Megan Lindholm), The Girl in the Mirror (Lev Grossman), Virgins (Diana Gabaldon), Hell Hath no Fury (Sherilynn Kenyon), and A Second Arabesque, Very Slowly (Nancy Kress). The one that really made me think, "What the **** is this doing in this collection?" was I Know How to Pick 'Em (Lawrence Block). 

gabmc's review against another edition

3.0

This collection is perfect for fans of fantasy and short stories, and of course George R.R. Martin! I found several new to me authors that I will read more of and got to know quite a lot of interesting - and bad-ass female characters. It's a refreshing concept to have a book based around all female lead characters. George R.R. Martin's story was really fun - set several hundred years before his 'Game of Thrones' saga, the story is about a war within a family and their dragons for the Iron Throne. Diana Gabaldon of 'Outlander' fame has a short story featuring a young Jamie Fraser - still my favourite fictional love interest. One new to me author was Brandon Sanderson and his 'Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell' featured a very cool mother who will do anything to protect her daughters.

tammym's review against another edition

Returned to library, but went months without opening it.

tricapra's review against another edition

5.0

A great anthology. I'll definitely be checking out some of these authors. Very few misses.

mgouker's review against another edition

3.0

I only read the Butcher story about Molly's visit to a club. Molly is the protagonist and is joined by a vamp from the white court (Justine) and Andy (a werewolf.) Like the rest of the series, there is an tumescent male gaze, which is especially off-putting because now it's Molly that's on about women's racks, but like... in a male way. The story itself fills in a piece of the background, showing how two adversaries contrast. I'll leave it at that.

It's worth reading. It's probably important in the context of the story (I don't know... I have several books to read before I finish the series.) The characters are great, and Molly does reflect upon more than bodies, but when she does, it sounds like Dresden is retelling her story. That's how I have it anyway.

ashpanda88's review against another edition

2.0

There were a couple of stories I really liked including "Some Desperado", "Neighbors", "Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell" and "Second Arabesque, Very Slowly". The rest was rubbish. I didn't really feel like this anthology lived up to the name of "Dangerous" Women... other than the stories listed above, I really wasn't seeing anything dangerous about the leading ladies. Disappointing based on the selection of authors included.

amybraunauthor's review against another edition

3.0

A pretty good collection, though there weren't nearly as many warrior women as I wanted. The stories I liked the best were "Bombshells" by Jim Butcher, “I Know How to Pick ’Em” by Lawrence Block, and "Wrestling Jesus” by Joe R. Lansdale. Those stories are fun, dark, and deep, respectively. I was also fond of “The Princess and the Queen” by George R.R. Martin. I would say I wanted more detail/have it stretched out to a full length book... but knowing Martin, I probably wouldn't see that book for ten years. Anyway, the level of "danger" is subjective here. Personally, I found most of the dangers to be subjective and even sexualized in some cases. Not to say there's no danger in either of those, but I was hoping for ass-kicking warrior queens rather than backstabbers. Some people might like this book, others might be a little disappointed like I was. It all depends on what you find dangerous.

hkeck's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

rehssingh's review against another edition

emotional reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

jlbates's review against another edition

4.0

As expected, some stories were better than others, but the variety kept it fun. Worth a read, especially since you can jump in and out.