Don't Forget Your Spacesuit, Dear [Mass Market Paperback]

Jody Lynn Nye (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 1, 1996

Throughout space and time, mother still knows best. (Don't pick up that raygun -- you don't know where it's been!) The morns of the galaxy finally get their due.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

YA. The 18 varied and entertaining stories and one poem contained in this anthology touch on the role of motherhood or the relationship between offspring and mothers in one way or another. Some of the pieces are funny, some frivolous, some lyrical, some mysterious. Many take place in the future or in another dimension. The "mother" may be a computer, a human, an animal, or even an alien. In most selections, the perspective is from a female character's point of view. Most of the mothers portrayed are caricatures: controlling, guilt-dispensing, superficial, or preoccupied with physical appearances and needs. But about a third of the stories challenge gender and/or age stereotypes by presenting more multidimensional maternal characters. An intriguing and often fun collection.?Lorna Kundert, Fairfax County Public Library, VA
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Baen; 1st edition (June 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671877321
• ISBN-13: 978-0671877323
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,049,263 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice anthology though not great., April 5, 2001

By 

"kucki68" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Don't Forget Your Spacesuit, Dear (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a nice collection of stories that deal with "mothers" of all types. One of my favorite was "Return in your space suit or on it", where a young man finally decides that the military is more likely to let him do his own thing than Mom. After having read the "chicks & mail/male" series recently I found the stories less cheeky and less amusing, but they are good nonetheless.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars M is for the many things she gave me...., November 19, 2004

By 

Tracey Morris (Kokomo, IN, USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Don't Forget Your Spacesuit, Dear (Mass Market Paperback)

I'm a sucker for themed anthologies; they range from surprisingly good to rather dire. Unfortunately, this collection falls closer to the latter end of the spectrum. As you might have guessed, the stories all tie in somehow to motherhood within the sci-fi/fantasy genre.

The overbearing martyr-mom appears in annoying abundance, going over the top in a few stories. Of the pieces that use a "twist" (Hey, wait! These aren't humans!), one handled it well, while the other was rather clumsy. There were a few standout stories: "Don't Go Near the Water" (Terry Beckett & Chris Power) and "Accidents Don't Just Happen -They're Caused" (Elizabeth Moon) were two that took the approach more seriously, and (IMHO) with better results. Of the stories taking a more light-hearted tone, Nye's "What's the Magic Word?" and Esther M. Freisner's "Just Wait Until You Have Children Of Your Own" were two of the more enjoyable ones. I think the last story, "Don't Put That in Your Mouth" by Diane Duane was perhaps my favorite.

I doubt more than a couple of these stories will make it to many other anthologies besides those of the author's own work. It was a decent way to pass the time, but probably not a collection I'd bother reading again (although I may consider following up on a few of the authors). I think I'll be turning it in for credit at the local used book store.