Dangerous Women

There were some real treats and so real disappointments.

Het was al heel, heel, héél erg lang geleden dat ik nog eens een verzameling kortverhalen gelezen had – en zeggen dat ik dat vroeger zó graag las, dat ik er honderden kon navertellen. En dat ik dan ook deed, vrees ik.

Afijn. Een verzamelaar van über-editors Gardner Dozois en George R.R. Martin. Geen damsels in distress, maar vrouwen die elk op hun eigen manier gevaarlijk zijn. En dat is dan meteen ook het enige dat de 21 verhalen verbindt: voor de rest zit er lang en kort tussen, historisch en fictie, SF en fantasy en noir en alles.

Some Desperado (Joe Abercrombie): iets atmosferischy over een vrouw die achtervolgd wordt in een soort Dark Tower-achtige wild west.

My Heart is Either Broken (Megan Abbott): ow, een griezelig vies indrukwekkend verhaal. Een dochtertje is verdwenen, en een man en een vroyuw moeten daarmee omgaan, en het is allemaal nog erger dan het ergste scenario. Brrr.

Nora's Song (Cecelia Holland): een stukje over één van de interessantste vrouwen in de geschiedenis van Europa, Eleonore van Aquitaine.

The Hands That Are Not There (Melinda Snodgrass): science fiction, en een femme fatale, letterlijk. Wijs, op een retro-achtige manier, ‘t leek wel 1970.

Bombshells (Jim Butcher): hm, ik heb niet genoeg Dresden Files gelezen om dit goed te vinden, en bovendien zijn al de Dresden Files hierbij gespoilerd. Damn.

Raisa Stepanova (Carrie Vaughn): mooi. Over een pilote in de Tweede Wereldoorlog.

Wrestling Jesus (Joe R. Lansdale): yay, film noir! Het had Sin City kunnen zijn.

Neighbors (Megan Lindholm): ergens in een voorstad van Seattle, een vrouw die ouder wordt, haar buurt rond haar ziet veranderen, en krijgt ze Alzheimer's? Of niet? Of wel? En wat is de echte wereld en wat zit in haar hoofd? Schoon.

I Know How to Pick 'Em (Lawrence Block): yay, ‘t is nog film noir. En ‘t is goed, maar wat dan ook vertellen zou het verbrodden zijn.

Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell (Brandon Sanderson): guh, een heel degelijke Sanderson – een hele wereld geschetst in een kortverhaal. In een bos staat een herberg, en de doden komen terug als gevaarlijke shades. En de oude herbergierster verdient geld bij met premiejagen.

A Queen in Exile (Sharon Kay Penman): historisch, de twee Siciliën in de twaalfde eeuw. Te kort, vond ik, wegens echt wel interessant.

The Girl in the Mirror (Lev Grossman): goh, niet mijn ding. Zeer Harry Potter-achtig, vond ik.

Second Arabesque, Very Slowly (Nancy Kress): iets postapocalyptisch en poëtisch.

City Lazarus (Diana Rowland): in New Orleans, nadat de stroombedding van de Mississipi verhuisde naar elders. En dat er een seriemoordenaar rondhangt, en dat een corrupte politieagent zich ontfermt over een meisje.

Virgins (Diana Gabaldon (Outlander); avontuur! Twee Schotten in de 18de eeuw in Frankrijk, en rovers en alles. Mooi, ook.

Hell Hath No Fury (Sherrilyn Kenyon): meh. Geesten en alles, niet echt mijn ding.

Pronouncing Doom (S. M. Stirling): nog postapocalyptisch, in een wereld waar de maatschappij opnieuw uitgevonden moet worden, en een soort Iers pre-middeleeuws voorchristelijk ding gebeurt. Niet verkeerd.

Name the Beast (Sam Sykes): een verwarrend verhaal over een weerwolfachtige groep wezens? Of zo? Ik zou het misschien moeten herlezen, maar ik vond er niet zo enorm veel aan.

Caretakers (Pat Cadigan): over seriemoordenaars en mercy killings en bejaardentehuizen. Pfwja.

Lies My Mother Told Me (Caroline Spector): uit het Wild Cards-universum, en ik heb gelijk niet veel goesting om meer te lezen.

The Princess and the Queen, or, the Blacks and the Greens (George R.R. Martin): tweehonderd jaar voor A Song of Ice and Fire, de strijd tussen prinses Rhaenyra en haar stiefmoeder Alicent. Historisch, in het universum van de boeken, en geschreven als een geschiedkundig werk ook. Niet meteen goed, omdat dat niet meteen van toepassing is op zo'n pastiche van een echt geschiedkundig werk, maar wel interessant.

All in all: zeer degelijk, met ups en downs. A+ would read again.

Very much a mixed bag. A lot of the stories completely miss the brief (I am sorry but if the collection is about dangerous women then the dangerous woman should be the focus of the story, not a side character). There are some gems in there though. The genre jumping is somewhat jarring at times - I do think collections benefit from keeping to a single style.

Some Desperado - Joe Abercrombie

To my mind the best story in the collection. It meets the brief (Shy South is most assuredly a desperate character and she is also the main character). I am a huge fan of Joe's prose - both engaging and snarky at the same time. 5/5

My Heart is Either Broken - Megan Abbott

The dangerous woman here is a bit of a side character, but at least the lead is also a woman. The twist is somewhat telegraphed and the mans expectations and suspicions of his wife are not exactly pleasant. 2/5

Nora's Song - Cecelia Holland

Eleanor of Aquitaine probably does qualify as a dangerous woman. I am not so sure about her daughter. Nonetheless this gives an interesting observation into a bad marriage from an outside perspective. It felt like more of excerpt from a larger story than a standalone piece of fiction, but I suppose that is to be expected with a historical fiction story 2/5

The Hands That Are Not There - Melinda Snodgrass

Another story where the dangerous woman is in fact relegated to a secondary role. The story itself is an intriguing one, delving into race and politics. Some heady themes that are well contained within the short story format here. 4/5

Bombshell - Jim Butcher

This one deserves a huge Spoiler warning. Honestly, anthologized short stories should not include major plot spoilers for a larger story arc. As Jim Butcher has quite a catalogue of shorter fiction it is a shame that such a spoilery one has been included. That said, this one meets the brief well enough, with a strong female character being pretty badass. The Dresden Files are a landmark series in urban fantasy so always fun to dive into that world for a bit. 4/5

Raisa Stepanova - Carrie Vaughn

More historical fiction, this time focused on Russian airwomen in the Second World War. It met the brief pretty well as fighter pilots by their very nature are dangerous. The interesting look into the propaganda and politics of state is well done. The end is kind of sad, but the whole story is well contained 4/5

Wrestling Jesus - Joe Lansdale

This one missed the brief entirely. Yes it is somewhat witty dialogued, but it is essentially about an old man and his young protégé. The woman is only tangentially included and only as kind of a prize. Lansdale's writing is always a bit hit and miss for me. I think the story here is fine, but the degree it doesn't fit in with the theme of the anthology is very jarring. 3/5

Neighbours - Megan Lindholm (aka Robin Hobb)

A complete disappointment for me. The woman was more a danger to herself than anyone else. I get that aging and dementia are important topics, but reading about confused people is almost always confusing. A mess of a story. 1/5

I Know How to Pick ‘Em - Lawrence Block

Another one that misses the brief and is very disturbingly violent towards women to boot. This one gets extremely dark. The prose and the dark twist is pretty engaging to read, but an anthology celebrating women should not be including this particular story... 1/5

Shadows For Silence in the Forests of Hell - Brandon Sanderson

Finally we are back on brief! This novella is the first (and currently only) story glimpsing into Threnody, part of the larger Cosmere universe that Sanderson has created. Our main character is a female bounty hunter, so definitely a dangerous woman. Sanderson's clever take on magic and world building is definitely here - I am very much intrigued about the place Threnody takes within the larger Cosmere. The tone here is much darker than you usual Sandersonian works and I really quite enjoyed it! I hope we get a full length story here at some point, but I am aware it is not in his immediate plans. 5/5

A Queen in Exile - Sharon Penman

More historical fiction -this time looking at the events leading up to the Night in Jesi and the birth of Frederick II of Hohenstaufen. This was quite dry, but interesting from a historical perspective. I am not sure I would characterize Constance as a dangerous woman (the author has to epilogue this to explain why). 2/5

The Girl in the Mirror - Lev Grossman

Distinct Harry Potter vibes. Having read a couple of short stories from his ‘The Magicians' world I kind of get where he is coming from, with a more American take on the Harry Potter universe. A fun enough read but nothing particularly special. At least Lev Grossman is not a transphobe as far as I am aware I suppose... 3/5

Second Arabesque, Very Slowly - Nancy Kress

This one was plain odd. A post apocalyptic SF where women are effectively sex slaves? Extremely out of place in the anthology. And then they decide to go ballet dancing. Just because. Unpleasant, disturbing and odd and not in a good way. 1/5

City Lazarus - Diana Rowland

A kind of post apocalyptic take on Katrina, this time the hurricane changed the course of Mississippi leaving New Orleans as a dying city. A femme fatale love triangle between a corrupt police officer, a sleazy business man and a stripper. The problem here was the relationship between the men was the main focus, missing the brief a bit. 3/5

Virgins - Diana Gabaldon

Another story that completely misses the brief. Here we are focused on the relationship between two men, we witness a violent rape, and the dangerous woman is only tangentially involved as a bit of an inconvenience for the two main characters. I suspect this one will be enjoyed more by people who are familiar with Outlander. For me it fell pretty flat 2/5

Hell Hath No Fury - Sherrilyn Kenyon

Ancient Indian curses are nothing particularly new or special. It fits the brief well enough though, and there is a decently creepy vibe running through it. It does get a bit preachy about the dangers of greed though. 3/5

Pronouncing Doom - S. M. Stirling

This one manages to inadvertently capture a very annoying American trait -the appropriation of other cultures through tenuous family links. The story itself is lost in a weird wiccan/Irish legalese. I also have issues with its take on the ‘dangerous women' theme - it seems to be suggesting that female justice is dangerous towards rapey men? Not sure that is a take I want to follow up too closely... 1/5

Name the Beast - Sam Sykes

Sykes is trying to be a bit too clever here. There is a frequent changing of perspectives, trying to confuse who/what actually is the beast here. A bit too literary for me - I just found myself mostly confused. 1/5

Caretakers - Pat Cadigan

Not sure this entirely meets the brief. Mostly this focuses on malpractice in a nursing home. It does capture the fears we have when we leave our loved ones in the care of others though. 2/5

Lies My Mother Told Me - Caroline Spector

Superhero fiction in the Wildcard Universe. This one follows two fairly badass female superheroes. This one meets the brief well, it has an interesting look into trauma as a driver towards future character, and does it in a relatively sensitive way. A well crafted story. 4/5

The Princess and the Queen - George RR Martin

I believe this is now being developed into a new TV series. The story is told in a dry historical style. This is quite different from the rest of the Song of Ice and Fire story. It feels a bit like the Silmarillion compared to the Lord of the Rings. A lot of action, betrayals and names in the space of novella. This feels more like an outline for a future story than an actual story... 2/5