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gretchen3's review
Pirates? Across timelines, universes, galaxies? Plus people of color, lots of women, and so so many queer people? Oh hell yeah, that is what I am talking about! The stories are vibrant and showcase the talents and styles of many different authors and many different backgrounds. There was so many women that I actually would have to stop and blink a few times when I tallied up the pirate crews in my head. Even good pirate stories (I love you Black Sails) usually run short on women. Or I have been reading and watching the wrong stories.
The short stories are a great way to have many roliking adventures, though there are a few that I would like to see more of, or get full length novels.
The short stories are a great way to have many roliking adventures, though there are a few that I would like to see more of, or get full length novels.
errantdreams's review
5.0
The stories in here run the gamut from whimsical and charming to somewhat dark. They range from historical or alternate history time periods to the near and far futures. There’s even some post-apocalyptic fun in here.
This is also an excellent LGBTQ anthology. There are same-sex relationships, at least one polyamorous relationship, and a couple of trans characters. There are plenty of women pirates, as well. Most often the same-sex relationships and trans characters are depicted as right at home amongst the piratical outcasts, but in at least one case society is not so tolerant.
Hidden treasure is found and then lost again. Slaves are rescued accidentally. Dark gods and aliens attack out of the shadows. Unlikely people of all walks of life decide to become pirates, and often stick with it. Pirates fight with daggers, pistols, AK-47s, missiles, and laser cannons. They search for legendary treasures, attack for enough loot to keep themselves operational, and fight out of sheer cussedness. Locales range from wandering islands to a barrier between realms, swamps to a mysterious black temple, flooded post-apocalypse New York City, and the spacelanes.
This is the second anthology I’ve read recently that I’ve given a 5 out of 5 to, and that’s really unusual. Generally your tastes as a reader are highly unlikely to magically match up with the tastes of the editor, yet I didn’t find a single story in here that I disliked. I even loved the whimsical tale in which all of the pirates are rodents and they team up with a kraken named Agnes to go after a treasure!
The wide variety of enjoyable tales in here is so much fun to read. I highly recommend this anthology!
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/06/review-scourge-of-the-seas-of-time-and-space-ed-catherine-lundoff/
This is also an excellent LGBTQ anthology. There are same-sex relationships, at least one polyamorous relationship, and a couple of trans characters. There are plenty of women pirates, as well. Most often the same-sex relationships and trans characters are depicted as right at home amongst the piratical outcasts, but in at least one case society is not so tolerant.
Hidden treasure is found and then lost again. Slaves are rescued accidentally. Dark gods and aliens attack out of the shadows. Unlikely people of all walks of life decide to become pirates, and often stick with it. Pirates fight with daggers, pistols, AK-47s, missiles, and laser cannons. They search for legendary treasures, attack for enough loot to keep themselves operational, and fight out of sheer cussedness. Locales range from wandering islands to a barrier between realms, swamps to a mysterious black temple, flooded post-apocalypse New York City, and the spacelanes.
This is the second anthology I’ve read recently that I’ve given a 5 out of 5 to, and that’s really unusual. Generally your tastes as a reader are highly unlikely to magically match up with the tastes of the editor, yet I didn’t find a single story in here that I disliked. I even loved the whimsical tale in which all of the pirates are rodents and they team up with a kraken named Agnes to go after a treasure!
The wide variety of enjoyable tales in here is so much fun to read. I highly recommend this anthology!
Original review posted on my blog: http://www.errantdreams.com/2019/06/review-scourge-of-the-seas-of-time-and-space-ed-catherine-lundoff/
apostrophen's review
5.0
I really enjoyed this anthology as a whole, and there are some great stories in here. They'll be coming up in individual reviews on my blog starting Sunday March 24th, 2019 (the tag, which will start working then, is here).
My personal favourites were likely "Treasured Island," (the world-building!) “Andromache’s War" (such a freaking amazing retelling) and "Search for the Heart of Ocean" (I was not expecting to squee).
Honestly, the only real complaint I had here was how many times stories felt like beginnings. Most of the time, there was enough there to enjoy them for the self-contained "prologue"-esque feeling they created, but it was a repeating theme.
My personal favourites were likely "Treasured Island," (the world-building!) “Andromache’s War" (such a freaking amazing retelling) and "Search for the Heart of Ocean" (I was not expecting to squee).
Honestly, the only real complaint I had here was how many times stories felt like beginnings. Most of the time, there was enough there to enjoy them for the self-contained "prologue"-esque feeling they created, but it was a repeating theme.
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