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A review by iam
No Man of Woman Born by Ana Mardoll
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.