Dangerous Women

Dangerous Women (2013) edited by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois

“Some Desperado” (Red Country story) by Joe Abercrombie
“My Heart is Either Broken” by Megan Abbott
“Nora’s Song” by Cecelia Holland
“The Hands That Are Not There” by Melinda Snodgrass
“Bombshells” (Harry Dresden story) by Jim Butcher
“Raisa Stepanova” by Carrie Vaughn
“Wrestling Jesus” by Joe R. Lansdale
“Neighbors” by Megan Lindholm
“I Know How to Pick ’Em” by Lawrence Block
“Shadows For Silence in the Forests of Hell” by Brandon Sanderson
“A Queen in Exile” by Sharon Kay Penman
“The Girl in the Mirror” (Magicians story) by Lev Grossman
“Second Arabesque, Very Slowly” by Nancy Kress
“City Lazarus” by Diana Rowland
“Virgins” (Outlander story) by Diana Gabaldon
“Hell Hath No Fury” by Sherilynn Kenyon
“Pronouncing Doom” (Emberverse story) by S.M. Stirling
“Name the Beast” by Sam Sykes
“Caretakers” by Pat Cadigan
“Lies My Mother Told Me” (Wild Cards story) by Caroline Spector
“The Princess and the Queen” (A Song of Ice and Fire story) by George R.R. Martin

There are a lot of different stories here–on purpose.

Dangerous Women was conceived of as a cross-genre anthology, one that would mingle every kind of fiction, so we asked writers from every genre— science fiction, fantasy, mystery, historical, horror, paranormal romance, men and women alike— to tackle the theme of “dangerous women,”

Thus I was fully expecting there to be a number of stories I wouldn’t particularly like, or would even skip. And there were. Unfortunately for me, the dislikes were higher in number than the likes, and there were several dystopias, which I really dislike. And a lot of the women were in the neutral to evil category of dangerous. Which is fine, but all that dark got a bit overwhelming, which is why I took several months for me to finish this anthology.

“Some Desperado” (Red Country story) by Joe Abercrombie is a Western. Not for me.

“My Heart is Either Broken” by Megan Abbott is a mystery, and was really depressing.

“Nora’s Song” by Cecelia Holland is an historical, the main character one of the daughters of Eleanor of Aquitaine. Just another reminder as to why I am very glad I live in the future and not the past.

“The Hands That Are Not There” by Melinda Snodgrass was SF, which is not my thing.

“Bombshells” (Harry Dresden story) by Jim Butcher is a story with Molly as the main lead. I generally like the Harry Dresden short stories, but didn’t care of this one. I don’t think Jim Butcher’s strength is writing female characters.

“Raisa Stepanova” by Carrie Vaughn is an historical, and one a especially liked. It’s the story of the Russian fighter pilots of World War II, we get a bit of Liliia Litviak, which was an amazing (and real) woman.

“Wrestling Jesus” by Joe R. Lansdale starts as a story of a young boy wanted to keep himself from getting beat up, and turns into a story of an old man and the woman he spent his life loving. It was an interesting story.

“Neighbors” by Megan Lindholm was an urban fantasy, and although it was a little odd, I ended up liking it.

“I Know How to Pick ’Em” by Lawrence Block was a mystery of sorts, but mostly about the man, rather than the woman. Not my thing.

“Shadows For Silence in the Forests of Hell” by Brandon Sanderson was straight up fantasy, and took a bit to get into, but I ended up liking it. It’s about a woman who does what she needs to survive and protect her daughter. I quite liked Silence.

“A Queen in Exile” by Sharon Kay Penman is an historical about the mother of the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick. A bit confusing, but one I liked.

“The Girl in the Mirror” (Magicians story) by Lev Grossman was set in his existing world, and I felt rather lost reading it. It wasn’t bad, but I think I was missing a lot.

“Second Arabesque, Very Slowly” by Nancy Kress is a dystopia, and I read it but really didn’t like it.

“City Lazarus” by Diana Rowland was part mystery and part dystopia and I didn’t much care for it.

“Virgins” (Outlander story) by Diana Gabaldon I believe that the only characters in Diana Gabaldon’s universe that I like are those connected to Lord John.

“Hell Hath No Fury” by Sherilynn Kenyon is supernatural fantasy, and a tale of putting a folk tale / legend to rest. Not really my thing.

“Pronouncing Doom” (Emberverse story) by S.M. Stirling is another dystopia, but oddly I found I liked it, mostly because the dystopia was simply the background setting, rather than the looming misery it often is in dystopias, touching every part of the story in doom.

“Name the Beast” by Sam Sykes was a fantasy, and I just could not get into it.

“Caretakers” by Pat Cadigan was sort of a mystery. A woman and her younger sister are watching their mother slowly disappear into Alzheimer’s. The sister thinks something untoward is happening, but isn’t sure what.

“Lies My Mother Told Me” (Wild Cards story) by Caroline Spector was a super-hero type story, and was surprisingly light-hearted, despite dealing with themes of rape and child abuse.

“The Princess and the Queen” (A Song of Ice and Fire story) by George R.R. Martin is a story of an existing world I’m not reading, so I skimmed and bit and then skipped. George R.R. Martin’s writing isn’t for me.

All in all, there were more stories I disliked than liked, which sometimes happens. As this covers all diffeerent genres, you’re likely to find at least one story you like, you’ll just have to decide if it’s worth the price.
Rating: 5.5/10

Published by Tor Books

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