Scan barcode
A review by undertheteacup
Transcendent 3: The Year's Best Transgender Speculative Fiction by Bogi Takács
4.0
I thought "The Worldless" by Indrapramit Das was going to be the perfect last story of the anthology, because it's about leaving a place that holds no hope or future, even when you have little assurance of finding a home on the other side. But then "The Heart's Cartography" by Susan Bigelow came along, a story about choosing to stay where you are, knowing you can build a future. "We survive," the main character learns. What an incredibly powerful line. Kudos to the editor for the juxtaposition of these stories.
Other stories that really stuck with me: "Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time" by KM Szpara
where a trans man is nonconsensually bitten by a vampire and then has to choose between death and becoming a vampire himself. Loved the messiness and flailing in this story, how it dealt with choice and consequence, the way vampirification was entirely unromanticized for the main character. Also the grief around both transition and turning, what is lost in the process.
And finally "The Mouse" by Larissa Glasser left an impression because sometimes we *don't* survive. But the main character here makes a significant choice as well. Her life, and her death, *matter*.
Other stories that really stuck with me: "Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time" by KM Szpara
where a trans man is nonconsensually bitten by a vampire and then has to choose between death and becoming a vampire himself. Loved the messiness and flailing in this story, how it dealt with choice and consequence, the way vampirification was entirely unromanticized for the main character. Also the grief around both transition and turning, what is lost in the process.
And finally "The Mouse" by Larissa Glasser left an impression because sometimes we *don't* survive. But the main character here makes a significant choice as well. Her life, and her death, *matter*.