Sacchi Green

BOOK BLURB:
We have always been here. For as long as there's been such a thing as sex, alternate sexual identities have been a fact of life. So why have we been so nearly invisible in recorded history and historical fiction?

Now editor Connie Wilkins, a Lambda Literary Award finalist, has assembled fourteen stories that span the centuries from ancient times to the Renaissance to the modern era and explore alternate versions of our past.

Their queer protagonists, who bend history in ways show more dramatic enough to change the world and subtle enough to touch hearts and minds, rescue our past from invisibility, and affirm our place and importance throughout all of history, past, present, and future.

BOOK REVIEW:
This is an intriguing theme for an anthology, and the collection doesn't disappoint ~ spanning the globe, the centuries, and interpretations of 'alternate history.' The overall result is a fine collection, with a lot of variety. The authors' notes following each story were a particular joy, shedding light on the process and intent behind each entry.

"A Wind Sharp as Obsidian" by Rita Oakes is a strong, vivid start to the collection. Malianalli's relationship with the goddess Xochi is the twist here, but the story focuses on the critical moment in that relationship, leaving the consequences to take their shape in the reader's imagination. This allows the author to focus on the political, physical, and spiritual world of the Mayan peoples at the cusp of the conquistadors' invasion, and on these two powerful women. The result is both lush and uncomfortable, loving and filled with awe and majesty.

In "The Final Voyage of the Hesperus," Steven Adamson makes the moment of alteration central to the story, blurring the line's between Modhum's dreams and realities as the Hesperus sails between India and the sugar plantations of the West Indies: mixing elements of brutality and wistfulness.

"Roanake" by Sandra Barret is set in one of the early Puritan settlements in North America, where Elizabeth, who isn't comfortable with the rigidly enforced binary gender roles of Roanoke, is fortunate enough to be mentored by Maigan, okitcitakwe to the Croatans, and so find a third path. The author maintains a thread plain, hard-one hope, which is far more effective than the romantic wash of positivity I feared when I saw the setting.

"A Marriage of Choice" by Dale Chase is a perfect 'what if' story, watching Thomas Jefferson debate the terms of the American Bill of Rights through the eyes of his lover, Caleb. I must admit that I found the period tone sustained the discussion of gay marriage well, only to trip a little on the topic of slavery, where it is almost impossible for a contemporary author to maintain both period views and the sympathy of a modern reader.

"The High Cost of Tamarind" by Steve Berman is slight, haunting, juxtaposing two young men's past and present, hopes and fears, but ultimately, was too impressionistic and brief for me to really engage.

In "A Spear Against the Sky," Ericson has chosen to set a story in one of my favourite periods of history, during the Roman settlement of Britannia, featuring two of my favourite historical women, in a story that adds an intriguing and plausible dimension to our existing patchy knowledge of events.

"Sod 'Em" by Barry Lowe is relatively close in setting ~ a few hundred miles, a few hundred years ~ but a world away in tone ~ gay men, to Ericson's lesbians, juxtaposed modernity, to Ericson's period approach, ordinary folk rather than Ericson's great queens, but it's an equally strong story, and very enjoyable. I fear it came too late in the manuscript tradition for Brother Francis' revisions to take root, but the idea of the heretic band it could have fostered would be a rich vein to mine for future stories!

"Morisca" by Erin Mackay brings together great leaders and lowly individuals, in a tale set in the fifteenth century court of Spain. This is classical historical fiction, and a charming filling in of the gaps.

In "Great Reckonings, Little Rooms," Catherine Lundoff dives into literary history, giving life to Woolf's Judith Shakespeare, and showing us the underworld of the Elizabethan theatre through an unfamiliar glass. The net of relationships packed into this short story are convincingly complicated, and the total result very pleasing indeed.

"Barbaric Splendor" by Simon Sheppard is creepy and unsettling, partly because it fits into some gaps in my own knowledge, which creates a disturbing plausibility, and mostly because it is a powerful and disturbing creation.

As soon as I'd finished "Opening Night" by Lisabet Sarai, I wanted to share it immediately with my Gilbert and Sullivan loving friend, to see how they felt about this joyful reading of Ruddigore, one of the more rarely performed works. The world of the Victorian theatre is brought to life with a deft semi-period tone, and the reading itself is deliciously, temptingly, plausible.

"A Happier Year" by Emily Salter, meanwhile, is spun around Forster's Maurice, a novella that I adore, which in reality was hidden away until Forster's death. Salter not only extrapolates how the publication of this pro-gay story might have affected society if it had been published before the Great War, she also creates a beautifully complicated original character in Henry.

"The Heart of the Story" by Connie Wilkins is both alternative history and a sort of urban fantasy, set in the second world war. It's a compellingly solid and active world where mythology and history come together, around a fairytale lesbian love story.

"At Reading Station, Changing Trains," by C.A. Gardner revisits T.E. Lawrence's multiply-revised history to add the construction of gender identity to T.E.'s exercises in self-creation, in a story rooted in T.E.'s internal life.

Given the tight word count that the authors were working with, many of the stories would have benefited from a brief 'place and date' stamp alongside the titles, but that's about the only editorial decision I'd query in this very strong collection.

Overall, the range is impressive, and the quality unquestionable: an intriguing theme and a hugely enjoyable anthology.

(Originally reviewed for Rainbow Reviews - http://www.rainbow-reviews.com/?p=4458) show less

This is the second book I've put off reviewing simply because I can't find the words. In a GOOD way, though.

I loved this book, simply completely loved it. Every single story is well-written and really pulled me in... Every single story made me curl up and go "ooohhh" and felt like I could connect with the characters. Some were a little more far-fetched then others, but the way they were written, it just worked. There was not one story in this book that I didn't like.

I got this book thinking show more it was just another lesbian-porn collection, just with cowboys this time. But that's not how it felt reading it, not at all. The sex was hot as hell, written wonderfully, and made me ACHE, but with many of the stories the sex was secondary to an actual plot, and I was actually able to sink myself into it, and MANY of the stories left me wishing they were full-length books because I wanted more! This is actually the first erotica collection where I'm moved to seek out other works by the authors. show less

I was given this ARC by the publisher in exchange for an Honest Review.

I have loved, loved the other three books in this Superheroine Collection, but, this one just didn't do it for me unfortunately. It took me forever to get into. Perhaps because Ash and Cleo start the book together and we don't get a lot of background on that to start.

Ash seems to get powers of a sort while they're in mortal danger in the desert. And then we get introduced to others who also seem to have powers. But, then show more the story abruptly changes lands and we're in Boston and Ash is dealing with the human trafficking problem. But, then just as I was getting back into --that-- story, everything changed again.

And that was my main complaint about the book, it seemed very scattered, both within each of the parts as well as just in the context of the entire novel.

All that said, the plots themselves were awesome and I'd have loved to see shorter stories about all the characters that were introduced.

Because I really liked those too. Every one of the characters jumped off the page and was each so unique.

I guess I just sorta wish I'd gotten it in smaller chunks of story. 'Cause I was overwhelmed. show less

Lesbian speculative fiction, most of it very good.

My favorites:
"To Follow the Waves" by Amal El-Mohtar. Hessa is a dream-crafter, but when someone commissions her to create a dream of the sea, she is at a loss. She doesn't like the sea, or salt water, or beaches. Her art at a stand-still, Hessa goes to a cafe for a break--and there sees a woman so desirable that Hessa is truly inspired for the first time. Beautifully told, with an emotionally complex plot. I've never read anything like show more it.

"Ours is the Prettiest," by Nalo Hopkinson, is a wonderful mixture of urban and fairy, set in Bordertown.

"D is for Delicious," by Steve Berman is the tale of one school nurse's struggle between starvation and eating children. It's delightfully macabre.

"God in the Sky" by An Awomoyela. A new and unexplained astronomical phenomenon appears, and an astronomer tries to work out what to think. Thoughtful without being preachy or clear-cut.


My least favorite:
"Feedback" by Lindy Cameron is hackneyed old-school cyberpunk. Nothing feels believable, the main character has basically no personality beyond "would-be noir," and the writing is clunky and hard to follow, with more than its fair share of imaginary "futuristic" slang. show less