Even Greater Mistakes by Charlie Jane Anders
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I was actually rather impressed with a number of these short stories. The sheer creativity is highlighted and when the shorts work, they have some pretty brilliant world-view skewing and worldbuilding that is definitely off-center and enjoyable.

I enjoyed most of these. There were, however, a few that were still good for the worldbuilding, but there were a LOT of stories that just seemed to glorify truly hot messes of relationships. Now, mind you, I don't care one way or another what KIND of relationships are described (use a large alphabet soup that goes on for a long time after the standard LGBTQ) but my enjoyment is kind of limited when the number of BAD relationships, slippery relationships, screwed-sideways relationships, and anchorless, random relationships take over the tale.

I'm all... huh, that sounds like some kind of hell and he/she/them is just fine with the insanity. I can't even tell what's going on. But good for them... this insanity isn't for me. I had the same issue with Ander's second novel. I loved the first one. And this happens many times in these stories.

So my takeaway is: It's one thing to represent. but it's another thing to dump pots of hot spaghetti on my head. HOWEVER, for any of you folks who want the wild, take anything you can get from any kind of person who'll give it up, THIS WILL probably be your speed and you'll love it.

Me, I just want good SF.


As Good As New - Easily my favorite of the bunch with a great dystopian Genie twist.

Rat-Catcher’s Yellows - Pretty interesting game setup.

If You Take My Meaning - Carry on with Ander's second novel.

The Time Travel Club - A good drill-down into space travel by way of a funny club.

Six Months, Three Days - Re-read, a classic Cassandra-type story about different kinds of future knowledge and how it messes with relationships.

Love Might Be Too Strong a Word - One of my favorites. Post-human, equivalent alien love story. :)

Vampire Zombie vs Fairy Werewolf - Good mostly for the schlock value. But it IS valuable to fandom. :)

Ghost Champagne - Very eerie and lovely and emotional.

My Breath Is a Rudder - Queer life in SF.

Power Couple - Didn't really do anything for me.

Rock Manning Goes For Broke - Pretty interesting stab at UF.

Because Change Was the Ocean and We Lived By Her Mercy - Great drowned SF story but the good worldbuilding parts were also drowned in way too much drama.

Captain Roger in Heaven - Not my favorite, but props to sexual violence and mental health issues.

Clover - Carry over to All the Birds in the Sky.

This Is Why We Can’t Have Nasty Things - Not SF so much as a regular LGBTQ extravaganza.

A Temporary Embarrassment in Spacetime - Fairly amusing space opera with a humorous vein.

Don’t Press Charges, and I Won’t Sue - Ander's response to 45's rise.

The Bookstore at the End of America - Also a political piece but it's still fun to have books involved. :)

The Visitmothers - A transitioning SF.

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