This review and others posted over at my blog.

This book contains 17 sci-fi stories written by women. The subjects range from alien worlds, post-apocalyptic scenarios, advanced technology and adventures through space.

I initially purchased this book because my goddess Tanith Lee has a story in it and I finally picked it up thanks to Vintage Sci-fi Month. I didn’t dislike any of the stories, though I naturally preferred some over the others. I’m just going to highlight the ones I had the most thoughts about.

The Sidon in the Mirror by Connie Willis: This was a slightly trippy look at life in a small community on a mining planet. The world building was fairly complex considering the length, but I think I got a good taste of what Willis created. I enjoyed that characters had a local dialect. Overall it was sad and a little mysterious.

The Jarabon by Lee Killough: Killough created an interesting and compelling thief, as well as a unique form of space travel. I really loved where she went with this and would have loved for this to be a full-length novel. I wanted to know more about her badass thief-lady and her sordid past.

Belling Martha by Leigh Kennedy: This is a post-apocalyptic tale where food is scarce and winter might not end. A young girl has escaped a religious camp and made her way to the city to seek her father. This story was incredibly fucked up and a little gross, but believable. I was really into what was going on and this is another one I’d love a novel of.

La Reine Blanche by Tanith Lee: Tanith gives readers a fairy-tale-esque short about a widowed queen trapped in a tower and a magic raven who comes to see her. This had her classic atmospheric world-building and otherworldly characters, though it deals with some timey-wimey stuff so it was a tad confusing.

Miles to go Before I Sleep by Julie Stevens: Another tale set after some sort of apocalypse has hit the earth and created a divide between those who live in cities and those who fend for themselves in small towns. It had a sort of Mad Max feel because I got the feeling fuel sources were low and perhaps plant life as well? I really wanted a novel of this and I felt that just as I had an inkling of what was going on in this world, the story was over!

The Ascent of the North Face by Ursula K. Le Guin: Alright, I’m calling out this tale because I honestly don’t know what to make of it. There is a party of explorers climbing something, perhaps a mountain, except they refer to sections like the Roof and Chimney. I was confused as to whether these were tiny people scaling a normal sized house, normal sized people scaling a giant house, or if it was really just an oddly named mountain.

Blue Heart by Stephanie A. Smith: The main character in this is a sort of light house warden who can mentally connect to some sort of net that guides spaceships through her area of space. But she’s getting old and worried that she won’t be able to do her job much longer, so she’s looking into transferring her consciousness into a robot. I enjoyed the technology mentioned in this story and the general sadness it evoked.

Fire-Caller by Sydney J. Van Scyoc: This is a tale of slavery and warring peoples and a woman who can create fire from within herself when she speaks to the old gods. Another very atmospheric tale that I would have loved a full-length novel of. Just as I had an idea of what was going on and became attached to the characters, the story ended.

I’m thankful for Vintage Sci-fi Month because it prompts me to pick up some books that I probably would have left alone for who knows how long. This is a great collection for anyone looking for female voices, especially as all of these tales were written in the 80s, just as female writers were really starting to break into the genre and earn respect for their craft. ( )

My edition 17 stories, abridged," mm pb ISBN 0441778712.
A few stories were mildly interesting, but there's a heavy majority of dreary Earth-bound near-future post-apocalyptic. ?áI might look for other works by Sharon Webb, based on Shadows from a Small Template, and by Sydney J. Van Scyoc, based on Fire-Caller. ?áFans may want to note that Le Quin, Tanith Lee, and Connie Willis have stories in here, but none of those impressed me." ( )

Editor's Note (Isaac Asimov's Space of Her Own)by Shawna McCarthy
The Sidon in the Mirror • (1983) • by Connie Willis
The Sorceress in Spite of Herself • (1982) • by Pat Cadigan
Night of the Fifth Sun • (1982) • by Mildred Downey Broxon
The Jarabon • (1981) • by Lee Killough
The Horn of Elfland • [Pshrinks Anonymous] • (1983) • by Janet Asimov [as by J. O. Jeppson ]
• 96 • Belling Martha • (1983) • by Leigh Kennedy
La Reine Blanche • (1983) • by Tanith Lee
Ancient Document • (1982) • poem by Hope Athearn
Miles to Go Before I Sleep • (1982) • by Julie Stevens
A Letter from the Clearys • (1982) • by Connie Willis
The Ascent of the North Face • (1983) • by Ursula K. Le Guin
$CALL LINK4(CATHY) • (1983) • by Cherie Wilkerson
Heavenly Flowers • (1983) • by Pamela Sargent
Exorcycle • (1982) • by Joan D. Vinge
Stargrazing • (1982) • poem by Beverly Grant
Shadows from a Small Template • (1982) • by Sharon Webb
Packing Up • (1981) • by P. J. MacQuarrie
Blue Heart • (1982) • shortstory by Stephanie A. Smith
The Examination of Ex-Emperor Ming • (1982) • by Cyn Mason
The Crystal Sunlight, the Bright Air • (1983) • by Mary Gentle
Missing • (1982) • by P. A. Kagan
Fire-Caller • (1983) • by Sydney J. Van Scyoc ( )