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A review by shelleyanderson4127
Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology by Jeff VanderMeer, Ann VanderMeer
5.0
This is a very substantial collection of sci-fi (and occasional sword and sorcery) short stories, written by some 29 writers. The masters are here: Octavia Butler; James Tiptree, Jr.; Pamela Sargent, Ursula K. LeGuin; and Tanith Lee (represented by her clever gem "Northern Chess"), along side newer masters like Nalo Hopkinson and Nnedi Okorafor. And while it is overwhelmingly American writers, there are women like the Japanese-Canadian Hiromi Goto; the Swedish Karin Tidbeck; Englishwoman Angela Carter and British surrealist Leonora Carrington; and the Indian Vandana Singh.
What is astonishing is how well the stories published in the 1970s and 1980s have aged. Tiptree's "The Screwfly Solution" and Sargent's "Fears" are still chilling; Eileen Gunn's "Stable Strategies for Middle Management" still satirically pertinent; Eleanor Arnason's The Grammarian's Five Daughters" still clever; and Joanna Russ's classic "When It Changed" still a game changer.
These stories are all classics but not dated. read them to learn about ground breaking sci-fi women writers; teach them in sci-fi classes; read them to feel disturbed; but most of all rad them to be entertained.
What is astonishing is how well the stories published in the 1970s and 1980s have aged. Tiptree's "The Screwfly Solution" and Sargent's "Fears" are still chilling; Eileen Gunn's "Stable Strategies for Middle Management" still satirically pertinent; Eleanor Arnason's The Grammarian's Five Daughters" still clever; and Joanna Russ's classic "When It Changed" still a game changer.
These stories are all classics but not dated. read them to learn about ground breaking sci-fi women writers; teach them in sci-fi classes; read them to feel disturbed; but most of all rad them to be entertained.