Raisa Stepanova, by Carrie Vaughn

Raisa Stepanova is a historical fiction piece from the Dangerous Women anthology.  And it's a nice little read--I also enjoy WWII books and found the info on Russian women fighter pilots interesting.  2 stars for me.

Bombshells, by Jim Butcher

More from the Dangerous Women anthology--Bombshells is a fun magic adventure, coming late in a series called The Dresden Files.  I say late because, according to the introduction, the author has killed off the protagonist, but is continuing the series with Dresden's ghost and in this story, his apprentice.  You can't do that forever.  The piece is full of good action and reminds me quite a lot of Jasper Fforde.  Read for good fun.  3 stars. 

The Hands That Are Not There, by Melinda Snodgrass

The Hands That Are Not There is another story that is only available in the Dangerous Women anthology.  It's a bit of a throwback--exotic aliens conquered by humans, serving in low class positions.  A highly class and gender conscious (and conservative) society.  A story from the point of view of a fallen aristocrat, describing a threat from within.  OK but a little clumsy, very spelled out like a not-that-ambitious TV script (Snodgrass writes for television).  2 stars from me.

Nora's Song, by Cecelia Holland

As far as I know, Nora's Song is only available as part of the Dangerous Women anthology.  It's a good little story about Henry II and Eleanor of Aquitaine, and how they had many more children than was really good for them.  From the third youngest's perspective.  2 stars.

My Heart is Either Broken, by Megan Abbott

Continuing Dangerous Women--My Heart Is Either Broken is a very good story.  It's not speculative fiction, but I'll review it here anyway.  The story has a very interesting take on how a woman's behavior is judged in the media, particularly when the family undergoes tragedy--in this case the kidnapping of their daughter.  Told from the father's perspective, it frames a real dilemma, since on one hand it seems apparent that she doesn't deserve the treatment she is getting, but on the other that she actually might.  Good stuff.  3 stars.

Some Desperado, by Joe Abercrombie

I have just started George R. R. Martin's Dangerous Women anthology.  Got it as a gift so definitely qualifies as free, even if I'm not so stiff about that in this blog anymore.  My usual practice is to review all the stories individually, but in this case I'll also make comments on what I see in the anthology as a whole as I go along.

Some Desperado is an action story--a woman outlaw on the run, from the law and her erstwhile partners.  It's a gritty fight scene that shows Shy, the protagonist, as a tough but now quite desperate survivor.  It was OK to read, but I don't know if it would really stand alone as the link's marketing implies.  On its own it's two stars.

As I was reading it, it made me think about what to get out of this anthology.  It is supposed to be about strong women who will fight, with wits, wiles, or force.  And sure enough this one is a fighter, with a reflective backstory.  But other than a couple of paragraphs that indicated one of the other outlaws had kept her bedroll warm, it pretty much felt like reading about a man.  Contrast this with Pyre of New Day, by Catherine Asaro, which also features a physically strong woman but ends up to be a more clever role reversal.  I am thinking Asaro wasn't invited to this particular party, not sure she would fit here.  Onward.

The Land Across, by Gene Wolfe

Gene Wolfe is one of the most literary writers that speculative fiction has ever had, and he has probably been the subject of more literary criticism than any other SF writer.  This is a good thing.  He is getting toward the end of his time as a writer, so he is starting to go deeper into his own mind in his writing.  That can make him a little hard to follow, but I think he's still pretty interesting. I've read several short stories and The Book of the New Sun,  In The Land Across, he works on a smaller scale than the ambitious series volumes set in outer space.

Grafton (we don't find out his name until over halfway into the book) is a travel writer looking for a really obscure place to visit.  We don't ever find out the name of this country, it is some vaguely eastern European place run by a dictator.  We know one city name, Puraustays, which is a name really elegantly constructed not to indicate where it is.  The closest analog I can think of would be pre-Aung Son Suu Kii Myanmar.  He has a difficult time getting there, and when he finally does he is immediately arrested and has his passport taken away.  Thus begin the adventures.  Grafton generally rolls with the punches and manages to take everything in, even as he's imprisoned and drafted into the JAKA, the "secret" police.

Wolfe is by now a complete master of voices.  Grafton is literate but relatively plain spoken.  The people of the unnamed country have German as a second language, so their voices are translations of somewhat stilted German into English.  Some can't get into it, but I was intrigued and enjoyed it all the way through.

Wolfe's more ambitious works try to say something relatively deep about humanity, and give you a real insight into the very complex inner workings of the protagonist.  I can't say that happens here--Grafton definitely is a complex person, but one doesn't see all of it.  Wolfe seems to be making a more concrete point about people living under dictatorships, and their essential humanity.  He makes that clear in an appendix.  The dictator in this story does play a role, though it's rather unusual and otherworldly.  Reminds me a bit of Philip K. Dick.

In any case, I can solidly give The Land Across three stars and recommend it for those who enjoy good writing.