Customer Reviews

Off Limits: Tales of Alien Sex

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4 star:		(0)
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2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Ellen Datlow has done it once again -- assembling disparate tales, spanning decades of writing and a multitude of writing styles, into an anthology that is thematically cohesive and offers a bit of something for everyone. Anthologies are often difficult to review because of the diversity of voices, but if the reader approaches this collection as a buffet (from which one may pick and choose) rather than a 12 course meal, there will be more than one can consume at one sitting. Classic stories by Robert Silverberg and Samuel R. Delany have been intermixed with more recent works by Neil Gaiman, Joyce Carol Oates, Elizabeth Hand, and 17 more of today's leading writers. Off Limits includes provocative tales of close encounters -- love, sex and life -- and plays with your perceptions of what is truly alien. One piece of advice: skip reading the Foreward by Silverberg and the Introduction by Datlow as they unfairly offer judgements of what the reader will find between the book covers and tainted my desire to read further. I found much more depth and content to contemplate than Datlow and Silverberg gave the author's credit for

The best stories in this collection are the short ones for the simple reason that they inflict less suffering on the reader than do the long ones. Seldom has a sequel fallen as far short of the standards set by its predecessor as does this anthology which is the follow up to the highly regarded Alien Sex. It contains 18 stories, 16 of which were new for this collection in 1996. The other four stories go back as far as the sixties. There are also two poems.

The dominant theme in this anthology is prostitution. Almost half of the stories deal with this topic in one form or another. By contrast, in the original anthology, there is a much greater variety of subject matter.

No more than half of the stories in here merit inclusion in an anthology and the others range from poor to utterly dreadful.

I can recommend Brian Stableford's "The House of Mourning" and Elizabeth Hand's "In the Month of Athyr" as standing out from the rest but of the other 18 pieces, I awarded more lower rankings than I have ever done for any other anthology that I have ever read.

If there is one way in which collection is like "Alien Sex" it is the fact that this is not a book of of erotic writing. I doubt that any reader will feel aroused by the content of the book. That is not a criticism, it's just that some of the write ups on the jacket are misleading.

If you like the general idea of a collection of stories about alien sex, you should buy "Alien Sex" from the same editor. That is a far better book.

Basically what it says. Not too bad though, and definitely not 'porn style'.

This is designed to look at the differences, ways to relate, problems and surprises associated with relationships between different species of people, let alone different races.

Also, there are a couple of supernatural type tales to be found in this collection towards the end.

Off Limits : The Reality Trip - Robert Silverberg
Off Limits : The Tattooist - Susan Wade
Off Limits : Dolly Sdom - John Kaiine
Off Limits : The Lucifer of Blue - Sherry Coldsmith
Off Limits : The Queen of the Apocalypse - Scott Bradfield
Off Limits : Orl - Richard Christian Matheson
Off Limits : Grand Prix - Simon Ings
Off Limits : The House of Mourning - Brian Stableford
Off Limits : Ftish - Martha Soukup
Off Limits : Red Sonja and Lessingham in Dreamland - Gwyneth Jones
Off Limits : The Future of Birds - Mike O'Driscoll
Off Limits : Captain China - Bruce McAllister
Off Limits : Background: The Dream - Lisa Tuttle
Off Limits : Aye and Gomorrah - Samuel R. Delany
Off Limits : Ursus Triad Later - Kathe Koja and Barry N. Malzberg
Off Limits : The Dream-Catcher - Joyce Carol Oates
Off Limits : His Angel - Roberta Lannes
Off Limits : In the Month of Athyr - Elizabeth Hand


Bags of skin trio.

3 out of 5


Mutant tackle tattoo empathy.

3.5 out of 5


Coin full.

3 out of 5


Spanish Civil girls and quartermaster's stores.

3 out of 5


Adultery hate.

1.5 out of 5


Feeling it up, explained.

3.5 out of 5


Formula Zero carjcking off.

4 out of 5


Addicted to professionals.

4 out of 5


Bearded lady is still quite popular.

3.5 out of 5


Sword and sorcery virtual therapy.

4 out of 5


In a future with a bleeding disease decimating the female population male-females in demand.

3.5 out of 5


Child superhero saviour definitely not from around here.

4 out of 5


Bonus gonad growth.

3 out of 5


Gender altered space workers provide exotic on shore leave.

3 out of 5


Goldilocks close to bears.

2 out of 5


Put it where the man says next time.

3.5 out of 5


Genegineer stork stunt tragedy.

3.5 out of 5