What do you think?
Rate this book
Sisters in Fantasy #1
Sisters in Fantasy
From curses confronted and paths not followed to women gifted with magic as ancient as the earth itself, these 15 new and powerful tales provide insight into sacrifices made and obstacles overcome by those with courage enough to welcome the consequences of their own actions.
336 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published June 1, 1995
1 person is currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
Susan Shwartz
86Ìýbooks18ÌýfollowersWrites with as .
She received her B.A. in English from Mount Holyoke College in 1972 and a PhD in English from Harvard University.
She received her B.A. in English from Mount Holyoke College in 1972 and a PhD in English from Harvard University.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
March 1, 2011
This collection of stories features the work of female authors from a female worldview - not limited to female narrators - sharing stories they felt they needed to write. It's an interesting concept, and perhaps even mildly successful as a thought experiment, but as a whole, it fails, with individual stories coming off uneven, oblique and puzzling, often with marginalized conflict.
Maybe it was the sense from the introduction that the stories should be Important (all irony intended), and the fact that the editor felt the need to discuss the merits of each story. Now, I admit I'm biased in that this style of introduction is a huge pet peeve of mine. Either the story lives up to its description, thereby thwacking the reader over the head with it twice (once in the intro, once in the reading), or the story doesn't live up to its description, which comes off feeling like the editor is trying to force you to read it "right." So ... by this point, I may have been slightly inclined to be overcritical of the thematic content of the stories.
There were some good moments throughout the anthology, concepts I liked or characters that entertained, but (with the exception of the final offering) no single story was without significant flaw in clarity, pace or other areas. My second favorite story was Lisa Goldstein's "A Game of Cards," with an intriguing invented country in our real world, and even that seemed as if it rushed into the ending. In most stories, it was hard to figure out what was going on or they ended abruptly.
I read a lot of anthologies, and for me, the flow of an anthology is important - how it carries from one story to the next. Sisters In Fantasy was poor in this respect, as well, with the contemporary / real-world stories clumped together in the middle. I would have said the opening story was a poor introduction, but I wasn't really that impressed by almost all of them.
For me, the standout of this anthology is Katherine Kerr's "The Bargain," a lyrical story vaguely reminiscent of the Mabinogion. (Yes, yes, I know - high-falutin' invocation of mythology here. But that really is what it made me think of!) The rest, I'm afraid I could take or leave ... and that's a shame, because I like and admire many of these authors. To the question posed in the introduction, "Do we need another book like this?" my answer must be a slightly regretful, "No."
Maybe it was the sense from the introduction that the stories should be Important (all irony intended), and the fact that the editor felt the need to discuss the merits of each story. Now, I admit I'm biased in that this style of introduction is a huge pet peeve of mine. Either the story lives up to its description, thereby thwacking the reader over the head with it twice (once in the intro, once in the reading), or the story doesn't live up to its description, which comes off feeling like the editor is trying to force you to read it "right." So ... by this point, I may have been slightly inclined to be overcritical of the thematic content of the stories.
There were some good moments throughout the anthology, concepts I liked or characters that entertained, but (with the exception of the final offering) no single story was without significant flaw in clarity, pace or other areas. My second favorite story was Lisa Goldstein's "A Game of Cards," with an intriguing invented country in our real world, and even that seemed as if it rushed into the ending. In most stories, it was hard to figure out what was going on or they ended abruptly.
I read a lot of anthologies, and for me, the flow of an anthology is important - how it carries from one story to the next. Sisters In Fantasy was poor in this respect, as well, with the contemporary / real-world stories clumped together in the middle. I would have said the opening story was a poor introduction, but I wasn't really that impressed by almost all of them.
For me, the standout of this anthology is Katherine Kerr's "The Bargain," a lyrical story vaguely reminiscent of the Mabinogion. (Yes, yes, I know - high-falutin' invocation of mythology here. But that really is what it made me think of!) The rest, I'm afraid I could take or leave ... and that's a shame, because I like and admire many of these authors. To the question posed in the introduction, "Do we need another book like this?" my answer must be a slightly regretful, "No."
February 11, 2013
A collection of short fantasy stories by female writers. A mixed bag, but overall better than most fantasy collections. The styles range from noir detective to high fantasy, but nearly all are in some way a twist or subversion on popular tropes.
My faves:
Jo Clayton's "Hallah's Choice", about a middle-aged assassin who finds that her long-lost daughter and granddaughter are in trouble. In exchange for their safety, she swears herself into the service of a mysterious chess master. The world building here was really fascinating, and this story felt like a little glimpse into a much larger tale. I'm intrigued!
Tanith Lee's "Felixity", about the drab daughter of two wealthy, beautiful, charming people. When she falls prey to a con man, only her own imagination and desperation saves her. Beautifully written.
Nancy Kress's "Unto the Daughters" is one of my very favorite versions of "the serpent tells its side of the story of the fall of Man" story. Heart-felt without being schmaltzy, clever but also earthy. Lots of impact from little background details.
My least favorite:
Andre Norton's "The Way Wind" in which an annoyingly perfect herbalist/witch saves a few people from a bunch of women-hating fanatics. I liked nothing about this.
My faves:
Jo Clayton's "Hallah's Choice", about a middle-aged assassin who finds that her long-lost daughter and granddaughter are in trouble. In exchange for their safety, she swears herself into the service of a mysterious chess master. The world building here was really fascinating, and this story felt like a little glimpse into a much larger tale. I'm intrigued!
Tanith Lee's "Felixity", about the drab daughter of two wealthy, beautiful, charming people. When she falls prey to a con man, only her own imagination and desperation saves her. Beautifully written.
Nancy Kress's "Unto the Daughters" is one of my very favorite versions of "the serpent tells its side of the story of the fall of Man" story. Heart-felt without being schmaltzy, clever but also earthy. Lots of impact from little background details.
My least favorite:
Andre Norton's "The Way Wind" in which an annoyingly perfect herbalist/witch saves a few people from a bunch of women-hating fanatics. I liked nothing about this.
September 29, 2013
Definitely a cut above the average anthology, this book includes stories by mostly well-known and respected writers, including: Jane Yolen, Jo Clayton, Janny Wurts (sadly I'd just read this story a few months ago in another collection), Andre Norton (RIP), Josepha Sherman, Phyllis Eisenstein, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Tanith Lee (yay! wonderful story from one of my favorites!), Elizabeth Moon, Nancy Kress, Judith Tarr, Katharine Kerr AND OTHERS!
Oh, it's all women writers, and the introduction is boring-ly devoted to justifying that, but that doesn't diminish the stories themselves.
Oh, it's all women writers, and the introduction is boring-ly devoted to justifying that, but that doesn't diminish the stories themselves.
April 23, 2015
Some good stories, but not a great collection altogether. Even some of my favourite authors' stories disappointed. I was very annoyed by the spoilers in the story introductions!@ I advise readers to skip at least the last paragraph in each introduction.
August 20, 2015
Some of the stories were pretty good but too many of them were not fantasy... At least not what I would call fantasy. They were modern day stories with a little magic sprinkled over 'em to clear the technical requirements of the genre. Not my thing, frankly. It's just me.
July 4, 2010
I can't say the first story made me want to keep reading, but I'm glad I stuck with it because there were some really interesting stories and ideas in there.
Read
February 21, 2012Sisters in Fantasy by Susan Shwartz (1995)
Read
January 27, 2014I think I was mostly distressed by the amount of sex in this book. It was a long time ago...
Read
May 20, 2015Science-Fiction
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get help and learn more about the design.