Dangerous Women weighs in at 784 pages. The idea obviously is “a little something for everyone.” Several genres are represented: science fiction, fantasy, crime fiction, and historical fiction. My favorite story in Dangerous Women is Brandon Sanderson’s eerie “Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell.” The more I read of Sanderson’s work, the more respect I have for Sanderson’s talent. Megan Abbott’s noirish tale is a gem. Joe R. Lansdale’s “Wrestling Jesus” sparkles. For fans of political intrigue, Sharon Kay Penman’s “A Queen in Exile” delivers several surprises. The Big Attraction in Dangerous Women is “The Princess and the Queen,” another installment of George R. R. Martin’s fabulously popular “A Song of Ice and Fire” fantasy series. If you’re in the mood for a sprawling anthology, Dangerous Women delivers.
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
INTRODUCTION, by Gardner Dozois
SOME DESPERADO, 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, 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, by Lev Grossman
SECOND ARABESQUE, VERY SLOWLY, by Nancy Kress
CITY LAZARUS, by Diana Rowland
VIRGINS, by Diana Gabaldon
HELL HATH NO FURY, by Sherilynn Kenyon
PRONOUNCING DOOM, by S.M. Stirling
NAME THE BEAST, by Sam Sykes
CARETAKERS, by Pat Cadigan
LIES MY MOTHER TOLD ME, by Caroline Spector
THE PRINCESS AND THE QUEEN, by George R.R. Martin
Not a bad collection. Could have done without the Diana Gabaldon, the Diane Rowland and the Sharilyn Kenyon.
Steve, you and I have similar tastes.
It’s funny to read the amazon reviews. Because it mixes genres you have people who like one set of stories and others who prefer the others. I guess most people read in one genre. You read in them all, George.
Sounds good. Lansdale, Block, Abbott…can’t go too far wrong there.
Patti, I really enjoyed Megan’s story! It’s one of the best parts of DANGEROUS WOMEN.
Jeff, obviously the marketing strategy was to provide a wide mix of genres and authors to appeal to a great number of readers.
I’m not sure why this doesn’t tug at my “want-to-read” strand, but it doesn’t. As to Patti’s comment, I also read all genres, though most is mystery and science fiction – fantasy. I skip most horror, romance, gothic.
Rick, the shot-gun approach of big anthologies like this is to appeal to a variety of tastes. More specialized anthologies give greater pleasure, but don’t sell as well.
Looks interesting. How was the Lawrence Block story?
Beth, the Lawrence Block story is very noirish. I liked it.
Actually, George, the more focused Martin/Dozois antho (and the one with a Lot fewer women writers) is the one getting the bigger promo push in Barnes & Noble, at least. And, clearly, you don’t read that much in romance fiction, I gather, by your endorsement of who’s skippable here…I understand that Martin and Gabaldon are hitting it off as the kind of buddies who have regular lunchdates. (I have heard nothing further than that, but that’s not too surprising to me…the datum itself and that I know nothing relevant beyond having read that.) I suspect I’d like this bugcrusher better than…well, hum…OLD MARS looks pretty good, too, and doesn’t look quite as lopsided toward the men as I remember the other one being. Perhaps I’m conflating one of the other older books with these two…
Todd, I think Rick Robinson was reading OLD MARS. The reviews have been positive.
In any case, more focused anthos do tend to sell better…when anthos are given the push to sell at all.