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A review by aingealwroth
Women Destroy Science Fiction!: Lightspeed Magazine Special Issue; The Stories by Robin Lupo, Jude Griffin, Wendy N. Wagner, Christie Yant
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.25
Each to Each by Seanan McGuire = military, mermaid revolution 5*
A short story that I hope leads to a full book, because I want to be part of this revolution.
(TW: body horror)
A Word Shaped Like Bones by Kris Millering = closed capsule, phycological horror 3.5*
Artistically rendered gore and a descent into madness. Graphic.
(TW: implied domestic issues, accidental death)
Cuts Both Ways by Heather Clitheroe = psychic spy, holiday tragedy 2.5*
Minority Report if it was done during the holidays but with less plot. Tragic. MMC.
(TW: medical issues)
Walking Awake by N.K. Jemisin = dark science-fueled dystopia 4.5*
-0.5* for the class-war that could have been a stronger aspect
Body transplants, gore, treating people as resources, and general. Tragic.
(TW: Murder and implied suicide)
The Case of the Passionless Bees by Rhonda Eikamp = dark, steampunk Gearlock Holmes 3.5*
Psychological murder-mystery with a steam punk Holmes and Watson. Tragic. MMC.
(TW: murder and implied suicide)
In the Image of Man by Gabriella Stalker = propaganda-consumerist dystopia 4*
-0.25* for no CostCo or WinCo, -0.5* for extreme female portrayal as 'gold digging', -0.25* religious aspects. A read that shows you where consumerism without check can lead. MMC.
The Unfathomable Sisterhood of Ick by Charlie Jane Anders = memory transfers, futuristic first world problems 4*
An interesting slice of life about becoming yourself again, betrayal, forgiveness, and deciding who you want to be. FMC.
(TW: assault, not SA but intimacy level is same)
Dim Sun by Maria Dahvana Headley = foodie fueled sci-fantasy 2*
Friend trapped at table with divorced couple. Mature MMC.
(TW: food fetishization, explicit descriptions, and food as murder)
The Lonely Sea in the Sky by Amal El-Mohtar = poetic psychological trip 4*
Symptoms and bitterness combine into collage of information and concepts. FMC.
(TW: mental illness and confinement)
A Burglary, Addressed By a Young Lady by Elizabeth Porter Birdsall = young lady shenanigans and friendship 3.5*
Regency gentry coming of age in high-tech caper. FMC.
Canth by K.C. Norton = steampunk surprise laden search for home 3*
Intersectional sailors stuck on a ship as they chase submersible. FMC.
(TW: theft/loss, threatened with weapon, mention death of parents)
Like Daughter by Tananarive Due = dark tech-resurrection 3.5*
This has a “They Both Die at the End” vibe of sci-fantasy realism as people struggle with real life. FMC.
(TW: death, loss, grief, abuse, child abandonment)
The Great Loneliness by Maria Romasco Moore = replicant dystopia 3* FMC.
(TW: classism, planet death, parent death, murder, genetic manipulation)
Love is the Plan the Plan is Death by James Tiptree, Jr. (Alice Sheldon) = creature POV abstract prose 2*
Alien creatures with a type of sentience so driven by biology known as ‘the plan’ that they lack true autonomy. Tragic. MMC.
(TW: violence by biology, obsession by biology, eating others by biology, confinement, grooming type ‘relationship’ progression due to biology, explicit descriptions done poetic)
Knapsack Poems by Eleanor Arnason = Multi-being adopts child in alien world. MMC. 3*
Odd slice of life that leaves you asking questions about gender and its role in parenting.
(TW: discussions of child abandonment, gender roles, explores concept of sex/gender, explicit descriptions)
The Cost to Be Wise by Maureen F. McHugh = Problematic human colony ‘restructuring’. FMC. 1*
The “leave advanced tech in a girl that was only put in her so you could rescue your precious student, but don’t you dare give her a gun to protect herself” logic was painful. There was other painful logic, but that’s where it ended and I kind of hated it for that.
(TW: power imbalances, victim blaming, assault, DV, gun violence, pacifism as an excuse for non-action, parent death, animal death and eating. Offpage actions; child death, SA, mutilation, mass shooting. Also, if listening, the narrator rapidly changes volumes for voices.)
Salvage by Carrie Vaughn = Captain slice of life. Reads like a prologue to something longer. Tragic. FMC. 3*
A Guide to Grief by Emily Fox = A series of ‘what ifs’ that explore what grief can make you do. Tragic. FMC. 2*
See DANGEROUS EARTH-POSSIBLES! by Tina Connolly = Alternate reality teen male fantasy of heroics and power recapture. MMC. 2*
A Debt Repaid by Marina J. Lostetter = What would you sell your body for? (Addiction.) Tragic. FMC. 3*
The Sewell Home for the Temporally Displaced by Sarah Pinsker = A mind trip of time and friendship. FMC. 3*
#TrainFightTuesday by Vanessa Torline = Superhero/villain slice of life, social media format. FMC. 4*
(Note, if listening to audio, the notification sound is piercing.)
The Hymn of Ordeal, No. 23 by Rhiannon Rasmussen = Poetic about interstellar war. People as ships. MMC. 2*
Emoticon by Anaid Perez = (This was either cut off or only a paragraph.) Does tech-sentience have emotions? 1*
The Mouths by Ellen Denham = Alien creatures with difference in sensory and moral concepts. FMC. 2*
M1A by Kim Winternheimer = Grown child for replacement parts to use for their daughter. Odd moral stances justified by need. FMC. 3*
(Change of perspective allow this to go from concerning to horrifying, especially given where it ends.)
Standard Deviant by Holly Schofield = A man-desperate yet reckless young woman recruited to ‘galactic federation’. FMC. 2.5*
(Stereotypes and mentions of painful things. What growth for character is mentioned is brief and tragic.)
Getting on in Years by Cathy Humble = ‘Immortal’ via genetic tech fluke has a ‘coming out’ and media coverage. Ambiguous. MMC. 2*
Ro-Sham-Bot by Effie Seiberg = ‘Faulty’ personality bot remembrance. Bias allowed through dehumanization logic. MMC. 4*
Everything That Has Already Been Said by Samantha Murray = Constructed being with no bodily autonomy but sentience. Imposter syndrome. FMC. 2*
The Lies We Tell Our Children by Katherine Crighton = Abstract slice of parent life or science based ‘fairytale’. FMC. 2*
A short story that I hope leads to a full book, because I want to be part of this revolution.
(TW: body horror)
A Word Shaped Like Bones by Kris Millering = closed capsule, phycological horror 3.5*
Artistically rendered gore and a descent into madness. Graphic.
(TW: implied domestic issues, accidental death)
Cuts Both Ways by Heather Clitheroe = psychic spy, holiday tragedy 2.5*
Minority Report if it was done during the holidays but with less plot. Tragic. MMC.
(TW: medical issues)
Walking Awake by N.K. Jemisin = dark science-fueled dystopia 4.5*
-0.5* for the class-war that could have been a stronger aspect
Body transplants, gore, treating people as resources, and general. Tragic.
(TW: Murder and implied suicide)
The Case of the Passionless Bees by Rhonda Eikamp = dark, steampunk Gearlock Holmes 3.5*
Psychological murder-mystery with a steam punk Holmes and Watson. Tragic. MMC.
(TW: murder and implied suicide)
In the Image of Man by Gabriella Stalker = propaganda-consumerist dystopia 4*
-0.25* for no CostCo or WinCo, -0.5* for extreme female portrayal as 'gold digging', -0.25* religious aspects. A read that shows you where consumerism without check can lead. MMC.
The Unfathomable Sisterhood of Ick by Charlie Jane Anders = memory transfers, futuristic first world problems 4*
An interesting slice of life about becoming yourself again, betrayal, forgiveness, and deciding who you want to be. FMC.
(TW: assault, not SA but intimacy level is same)
Dim Sun by Maria Dahvana Headley = foodie fueled sci-fantasy 2*
Friend trapped at table with divorced couple. Mature MMC.
(TW: food fetishization, explicit descriptions, and food as murder)
The Lonely Sea in the Sky by Amal El-Mohtar = poetic psychological trip 4*
Symptoms and bitterness combine into collage of information and concepts. FMC.
(TW: mental illness and confinement)
A Burglary, Addressed By a Young Lady by Elizabeth Porter Birdsall = young lady shenanigans and friendship 3.5*
Regency gentry coming of age in high-tech caper. FMC.
Canth by K.C. Norton = steampunk surprise laden search for home 3*
Intersectional sailors stuck on a ship as they chase submersible. FMC.
(TW: theft/loss, threatened with weapon, mention death of parents)
Like Daughter by Tananarive Due = dark tech-resurrection 3.5*
This has a “They Both Die at the End” vibe of sci-fantasy realism as people struggle with real life. FMC.
(TW: death, loss, grief, abuse, child abandonment)
The Great Loneliness by Maria Romasco Moore = replicant dystopia 3* FMC.
(TW: classism, planet death, parent death, murder, genetic manipulation)
Love is the Plan the Plan is Death by James Tiptree, Jr. (Alice Sheldon) = creature POV abstract prose 2*
Alien creatures with a type of sentience so driven by biology known as ‘the plan’ that they lack true autonomy. Tragic. MMC.
(TW: violence by biology, obsession by biology, eating others by biology, confinement, grooming type ‘relationship’ progression due to biology, explicit descriptions done poetic)
Knapsack Poems by Eleanor Arnason = Multi-being adopts child in alien world. MMC. 3*
Odd slice of life that leaves you asking questions about gender and its role in parenting.
(TW: discussions of child abandonment, gender roles, explores concept of sex/gender, explicit descriptions)
The Cost to Be Wise by Maureen F. McHugh = Problematic human colony ‘restructuring’. FMC. 1*
The “leave advanced tech in a girl that was only put in her so you could rescue your precious student, but don’t you dare give her a gun to protect herself” logic was painful. There was other painful logic, but that’s where it ended and I kind of hated it for that.
(TW: power imbalances, victim blaming, assault, DV, gun violence, pacifism as an excuse for non-action, parent death, animal death and eating. Offpage actions; child death, SA, mutilation, mass shooting. Also, if listening, the narrator rapidly changes volumes for voices.)
Salvage by Carrie Vaughn = Captain slice of life. Reads like a prologue to something longer. Tragic. FMC. 3*
A Guide to Grief by Emily Fox = A series of ‘what ifs’ that explore what grief can make you do. Tragic. FMC. 2*
See DANGEROUS EARTH-POSSIBLES! by Tina Connolly = Alternate reality teen male fantasy of heroics and power recapture. MMC. 2*
A Debt Repaid by Marina J. Lostetter = What would you sell your body for? (Addiction.) Tragic. FMC. 3*
The Sewell Home for the Temporally Displaced by Sarah Pinsker = A mind trip of time and friendship. FMC. 3*
#TrainFightTuesday by Vanessa Torline = Superhero/villain slice of life, social media format. FMC. 4*
(Note, if listening to audio, the notification sound is piercing.)
The Hymn of Ordeal, No. 23 by Rhiannon Rasmussen = Poetic about interstellar war. People as ships. MMC. 2*
Emoticon by Anaid Perez = (This was either cut off or only a paragraph.) Does tech-sentience have emotions? 1*
The Mouths by Ellen Denham = Alien creatures with difference in sensory and moral concepts. FMC. 2*
M1A by Kim Winternheimer = Grown child for replacement parts to use for their daughter. Odd moral stances justified by need. FMC. 3*
(Change of perspective allow this to go from concerning to horrifying, especially given where it ends.)
Standard Deviant by Holly Schofield = A man-desperate yet reckless young woman recruited to ‘galactic federation’. FMC. 2.5*
(Stereotypes and mentions of painful things. What growth for character is mentioned is brief and tragic.)
Getting on in Years by Cathy Humble = ‘Immortal’ via genetic tech fluke has a ‘coming out’ and media coverage. Ambiguous. MMC. 2*
Ro-Sham-Bot by Effie Seiberg = ‘Faulty’ personality bot remembrance. Bias allowed through dehumanization logic. MMC. 4*
Everything That Has Already Been Said by Samantha Murray = Constructed being with no bodily autonomy but sentience. Imposter syndrome. FMC. 2*
The Lies We Tell Our Children by Katherine Crighton = Abstract slice of parent life or science based ‘fairytale’. FMC. 2*