Sisters of the Revolution: A Feminist Speculative Fiction Anthology

by Ann VanderMeer (Editor), Jeff VanderMeer (Editor)

Overview

Sisters of the Revolution gathers a highly curated selection of feminist speculative fiction (science fiction, fantasy, horror, and more) chosen by one of the most respected editorial teams in speculative literature today, the award-winning Ann and Jeff VanderMeer. Including stories from the 1970s to the present day, the collection seeks to expand the conversation about feminism while engaging the reader in a wealth of imaginative ideas.

From the literary heft of Angela Carter to the searing power of Octavia Butler, Sisters of the Revolution gathers daring examples of speculative fiction's engagement with feminism. Dark, satirical stories such as Eileen Gunn's "Stable Strategies for Middle Management" and the disturbing horror of James Tiptree Jr.'s "The Screwfly Solution" reveal the charged intensity at work in the field. Including new, emerging voices like Nnedi Okorafor and featuring international contributions from Angelica Gorodischer and many more, Sisters of the Revolution seeks to expand the ideas of both contemporary fiction and feminism to new fronts. Moving from the fantastic to the futuristic, the subtle to the surreal, these stories will provoke thoughts and emotions about feminism like no other book available today.

Contributors include: Angela Carter, Angelica Gorodischer, Anne Richter, Carol Emshwiller, Catherynne M. Valente, Eileen Gunn, Eleanor Arnason, Elizabeth Vonarburg, Hiromi Goto, James Tiptree Jr., Joanna Russ, Karin Tidbeck, Kelley Eskridge, Kelly Barnhill, Kit Reed, L. Timmel Duchamp, Leena Krohn, Leonora Carrington, Nalo Hopkinson, Nnedi Okorafor, Octavia Butler, Pamela Sargent, Pat Murphy, Rachel Swirsky, Rose Lemberg, Susan Palwick, Tanith Lee, Ursula K. Le Guin, and Vandana Singh.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781629630359
Publisher:	PM Press
Publication date:	06/01/2015
Pages:	352
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Ann VanderMeer is the Hugo Award-winning editor of Weird Tales and the founder of Buzzcity Press. She currently serves as an acquiring fiction editor for Tor.com, Cheeky Frawg Books, and Weirdfictionreview.com. She has also won a World Fantasy Award and a British Fantasy Award for coediting The Weird: A Compendium of Strange and Dark Stories. She is the coeditor of numerous titles, including The Kosher Guide to Imaginary Animals, Steampunk, Steampunk II: Steampunk Reloaded, and The Steampunk Bible. Jeff VanderMeer is a columnist, a publisher, and the author of several books, including Booklife, City of Saints & Madmen, Finch, Shriek: An Afterword, Veniss Underground, and Wonderbook, the world's first fully illustrated, full-color creative writing guide. He is the cofounder of Weirdfictionreview.com and Cheeky Frawg Books and has edited or coedited 12 fiction anthologies. His nonfiction appears in the New York Times Book Review, the Guardian, and the Los Angeles Times, among others. He is a three-time World Fantasy Award winner. They live in Tallahassee, Florida.

Editorial Reviews

08/17/2015
The VanderMeers (The Time Traveler's Almanac) have produced a well-curated and gorgeously edited selection of speculative feminist stories, including classics from the 1970s and ‘80s as well as recent work by currently prominent writers. The stories, arranged thematically, flow into and bounce off of one another in a thought-provoking, dramatic arrangement that displays each piece in its best possible light. Highlights include James Tiptree Jr.'s "The Screwfly Solution," a terrifying exploration of femicide; Hiromi Goto's "Tales from the Breast," a darkly funny look at a nursing mother pushed to her limit; Angela Carter's "The Fall River Axe Murders," which builds and removes sympathy for Lizzie Borden in equal measure; and Rose Lemberg's "Seven Losses of Na Re," a meditation on memory and totalitarianism. There are no truly weak pieces, but Tanith Lee's "Northern Chess" doesn't rise beyond its conventional sword-and-sorcery trappings, and today's readers will cringe at the attitude towards transsexuality in Pamela Sargent's "Fears" and the employment of gender-shifting and androgyny as an attribute of evil in several older stories. Otherwise, this collection is a generous celebration of work both by and about women. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"The VanderMeers are a literary power couple."
--Boing Boing

"A very laudable trait of the editors is their egalitarianism, their refusal to distinguish between lowbrow and highbrow, using quality and impact as their only yardsticks."
--Barnes and Noble

From the Publisher

★ 2015-05-19
The feminist superstars of science fiction, fantasy, and horror dismantle and reassemble gender's many implications and iterations in the newest anthology edited by the VanderMeers (The Time Traveler's Almanac, 2014, etc.). There is probably no better time for this anthology to emerge, as the SF/F world is rocked by a clash over the value of diverse voices. While the original dates of publication of these stories range from the 1970s to the current decade, and include both stalwarts of their respective genres and relative newcomers, they all feel fresh as ever. Touching on issues from surveillance, misogyny, and marriage to queerness, family dynamics, and gender fluidity, it's hard to say if this anthology's aggressive relevance is encouraging or depressing—that feminism remains at the cutting edge of contemporary problems or that the same ideas turned over by writers as long as four decades ago continue to haunt society unaltered. Either way, these stories, coming from a variety of genres, subgenres, and nonrealist traditions, are timeless and breathtaking in scope and power. L. Timmel Duchamp's "The Forbidden Words of Margaret A.," about a woman whose words are so dangerous her free speech has been rescinded in the Constitution, will crackle and spark given the current discussion about government overreach. Nalo Hopkinson's "The Glass Bottle Trick" is a gorgeous retelling of Bluebeard and an exploration of domestic violence. Susan Palwick's "Gestella," about a werewolf who marries a human man, is a chilling reminder of the banality of evil; and there is probably no way to top the enduring horror of James Tiptree Jr.'s "The Screwfly Solution." In the introduction, the editors mention that anthologies of this type can never be truly complete—the canon is always expanding through time, discovery, and translation—but this book will undeniably become part of the ongoing conversation. A necessary, well-curated anthology that shows the singular political power of speculative fiction.

Kirkus Reviews