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mxsallybend's review
5.0
Oh my. I have no words. Having finished No Man of Woman Born I fear I may be hopelessly infatuated with Ana Mardoll's voice and vision. This was such a beautiful, powerful, and necessary collection. I am envious, jealous even, of a generation that gets to grow up reading empowering, inclusive stories like this alongside their mass-market fantasies.
What Mardoll offers here are familiar fantasy tales of sacrifice, vengeance, justice, and love. They are simple stories, a mix of fairy tale, fable, and fantasy, which follow the genre conventions we all know and love. Some of them are explicitly about gender, with pivotal questions of identity and expression. These are the stories that follow the prophecy from which the collection gets its name, where 'no man of woman born' is subverted in some clever and entertaining ways.
That said, there are no traps or surprises here, no big reveals designed to shock or titillate the reader. There is one story - a sword in the stone story - where the reveal of gender is done publicly and proudly, but it a moment of empowerment, of claiming one's destiny. There is also a story - a dragon sacrifice story - that is all about the wishing for one's true gender identity, but for all its very public spectacle, what exactly the wish changed, if anything, remains a very private thing.
It is the other stories that I think are even more important, however. They are the stories that are not about gender, but where the characters exist in a world where nonbinary genders are simply accepted without question, without comment, without hatred, and without ridicule. More importantly, they are accepted as a state of being, as a defined gender, and not some confusing phase of transition. There is no expectation that these characters ever were or will become binary. These are the stories where, if not for the gender-neutral pronouns, most readers likely would not have picked up on the gender aspect.
There are also stories here that straddle those two extremes, suitably non-binary stories of non-binary storytelling. There is one in particular that I just loved - a Sleeping Beauty style fairy tale - where the entire castle knows the protagonist has boy days and girl days, and where that duality of gender is the key to circumventing the fairy's curse.
Gender aspects aside, I would be woefully remiss if I did not call out the storytelling of Mardoll. These stories in No Man of Woman Born flow so beautifully, are so wonderfully readable, that it is almost too easy to overlook the polished sense of style. The writing is as beautiful as the sentiments it conveys, and I will never stop recommending this to friends.
https://bibrary.blogspot.com/2019/01/no-man-of-woman-born-by-ana-mardoll.html
What Mardoll offers here are familiar fantasy tales of sacrifice, vengeance, justice, and love. They are simple stories, a mix of fairy tale, fable, and fantasy, which follow the genre conventions we all know and love. Some of them are explicitly about gender, with pivotal questions of identity and expression. These are the stories that follow the prophecy from which the collection gets its name, where 'no man of woman born' is subverted in some clever and entertaining ways.
That said, there are no traps or surprises here, no big reveals designed to shock or titillate the reader. There is one story - a sword in the stone story - where the reveal of gender is done publicly and proudly, but it a moment of empowerment, of claiming one's destiny. There is also a story - a dragon sacrifice story - that is all about the wishing for one's true gender identity, but for all its very public spectacle, what exactly the wish changed, if anything, remains a very private thing.
It is the other stories that I think are even more important, however. They are the stories that are not about gender, but where the characters exist in a world where nonbinary genders are simply accepted without question, without comment, without hatred, and without ridicule. More importantly, they are accepted as a state of being, as a defined gender, and not some confusing phase of transition. There is no expectation that these characters ever were or will become binary. These are the stories where, if not for the gender-neutral pronouns, most readers likely would not have picked up on the gender aspect.
There are also stories here that straddle those two extremes, suitably non-binary stories of non-binary storytelling. There is one in particular that I just loved - a Sleeping Beauty style fairy tale - where the entire castle knows the protagonist has boy days and girl days, and where that duality of gender is the key to circumventing the fairy's curse.
Gender aspects aside, I would be woefully remiss if I did not call out the storytelling of Mardoll. These stories in No Man of Woman Born flow so beautifully, are so wonderfully readable, that it is almost too easy to overlook the polished sense of style. The writing is as beautiful as the sentiments it conveys, and I will never stop recommending this to friends.
https://bibrary.blogspot.com/2019/01/no-man-of-woman-born-by-ana-mardoll.html
sabrinaslivingliterature's review against another edition
4.0
Beautifully written short stories playing on the concept from macbeth "No man of woman born" originally used to identify birth by c-section but here it is used to convey the multitude of ways that gender identity could make an individual not a man of woman born. A range of gender identities are explored and I appreciated the explanations of out to pronounce the neopronouns. These are well written fantasy short stories, my only complaint is that I wanted more exploration from all of them and they could all have been full length novels.
coravinia's review
4.0
I wish there were continuations of some of these stories, they were beautiful! The world-building for each short story was rich enough that it was easy to imagine the narratives continuing.
thestarsaligned's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Love this book!
kellypaladin's review
4.0
This is a really fun collection of fairy tale and fantasy stories about trans people and gendered prophecies. If your spell specifies that "the princess" will fall asleep when she pricks her finger with a spindle, what happens when the royal kid turns out to be genderfluid? And if you're an evil king who "no man born of woman" can kill, then every woman, child, and enby who can hold a sword is going to be out to get you, as well as anybody who can skirt that "of woman born" loophole.
Highly recommended. If you need something sweet and fluffy, read The Wish-Giver first.
Highly recommended. If you need something sweet and fluffy, read The Wish-Giver first.
catmeghum's review against another edition
5.0
The 'prophecy twist' trope is one of my favourite tropes ever, and discovering a book which plays with it as a theme, and adds in LGBT+ and gender-variant characters makes it even more excellent! The stories in this book take on a variety of fantasy settings, and a variety of prophecies. Given that every story relies on the same theme, it would be very easy for them to become repetitive, but they don't - these are all genuinely powerful stories. In many cases, the validation of the prophecy is the first validation the characters have received, which makes the stories triumphant and empowering. They're also just really enjoyable for anyone who likes fantasy!
siavahda's review
5.0
Marvellous - lots of different ways to play with/subvert gendered prophecy, featuring a host of wonderful heroes from different backgrounds and with different gender identities. And anyone worrying that this is just a gimmick or something need not: these stories are fabulous, and would be even if their protagonists were all cis (though I definitely prefer them this way!) Mardoll's prose is clear running water and shining glass, and the imagination on display is creative, wry, thoughtful, and beautiful.
I can't pick a favourite story; I loved them all! The book as a whole is going on my favourites shelf IMMEDIATELY.
Strongly recommended for anyone looking for an unconventional but lovely collection of nonbinary fantasy!
I can't pick a favourite story; I loved them all! The book as a whole is going on my favourites shelf IMMEDIATELY.
Strongly recommended for anyone looking for an unconventional but lovely collection of nonbinary fantasy!
notthatlibrarian's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
iam's review
5.0
No Man of Woman Born is a wonderful collection of short stories that center trans and nonbinary characters in traditional fantasy-story roles and prophecies in ways that are always true to their gender.
Content warnings can be found at the beginning of the book and at the start of every individual short story.
The book starts with an author's note that already touched me deeply, and it only got better from there on. The short stories feature a wide variety of characters all over the trans spectrum, from trans women and men to genderfluid to nonbinary to questioning. Some of them use neopronouns, all of which are briefly noted at the beginning of each story.
Overall I adored this book and had a great time reading it. I had no idea how much I needed to hear these stories until I actually read them. Especially the story giving the book its title, No Man of Woman Born, will stay with me for a long time and become something to reread again and again.
Individual ratings for and quick thoughts about the short stories:
Tangled Nets: 4 stars
I'm not a big fan of the Evil-Dragon-Needs-Annual-Sacrafice trope, but it was well executed here. It helped that the sacraficial system in this story is pretty reasonable, actually. I was a bit confused by technicalities of the climax, but ultimately it was a nice story.
King's Favor: 4 stars
This one started out slow and had a bit too much retrospection for me, spending most of it's time setting the scene and world and not enough on the actual story. The second half of it was very cool, though, with a great open ending!
His Father's Son: 5 stars
One of my favourites. It made me cry, had very interesting worldbuilding (without dragging like the previous story) and I loved the family dynamics, for lack of a better word.
Daughter of Kings: 5 stars
Another favourite! A great take on the sword-in-the-stone prophecy. I loved the brother and the companion, the interpersonal interactions in this one were the best.
Early to Rise: 4.5 stars
Fun and intriguing retelling of Sleeping Beauty with a genderfluid aromantic protagonist, which I adored!! The ending, while super cool, seemed almost too easy however and didn't entirely convince me.
No Man of Woman Born: 5 stars
This one resonated with me a lot. It's different from the others in that it doesn't actually.... fullfil the prophecy, slay the dragon, etc. Instead it's introspective and soft, with wonderful conversations about identity and knowing who you are, featuring a questioning protagonist. I absolutely loved it.
The Wish-Giver: 5 stars
THE CUTEST 😭😭😭😭😍
I received an ARC and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
Content warnings can be found at the beginning of the book and at the start of every individual short story.
The book starts with an author's note that already touched me deeply, and it only got better from there on. The short stories feature a wide variety of characters all over the trans spectrum, from trans women and men to genderfluid to nonbinary to questioning. Some of them use neopronouns, all of which are briefly noted at the beginning of each story.
Overall I adored this book and had a great time reading it. I had no idea how much I needed to hear these stories until I actually read them. Especially the story giving the book its title, No Man of Woman Born, will stay with me for a long time and become something to reread again and again.
Individual ratings for and quick thoughts about the short stories:
Tangled Nets: 4 stars
I'm not a big fan of the Evil-Dragon-Needs-Annual-Sacrafice trope, but it was well executed here. It helped that the sacraficial system in this story is pretty reasonable, actually. I was a bit confused by technicalities of the climax, but ultimately it was a nice story.
King's Favor: 4 stars
This one started out slow and had a bit too much retrospection for me, spending most of it's time setting the scene and world and not enough on the actual story. The second half of it was very cool, though, with a great open ending!
His Father's Son: 5 stars
One of my favourites. It made me cry, had very interesting worldbuilding (without dragging like the previous story) and I loved the family dynamics, for lack of a better word.
Daughter of Kings: 5 stars
Another favourite! A great take on the sword-in-the-stone prophecy. I loved the brother and the companion, the interpersonal interactions in this one were the best.
Early to Rise: 4.5 stars
Fun and intriguing retelling of Sleeping Beauty with a genderfluid aromantic protagonist, which I adored!! The ending, while super cool, seemed almost too easy however and didn't entirely convince me.
No Man of Woman Born: 5 stars
This one resonated with me a lot. It's different from the others in that it doesn't actually.... fullfil the prophecy, slay the dragon, etc. Instead it's introspective and soft, with wonderful conversations about identity and knowing who you are, featuring a questioning protagonist. I absolutely loved it.
The Wish-Giver: 5 stars
THE CUTEST 😭😭😭😭😍
I received an ARC and reviewed honestly and voluntarily.
ezismythical's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0