Customer Reviews

The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women

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The readership of fantasy has been said to be predominantly feminine (as opposed to the predominantly masculine readership of science fiction), so it is perhaps not much of a surprise that one of the best collections of fantasy writing would be one dedicated solely to the work of women authors. If one were looking for non-patriachal, original, stimulating fantasy generally uncluttered by the cliches of the genre one could do worse than one of the most important collections to come out of the field in the last few decades. The range of the book, which also traverses science-fictionesque territory, is impressive, from straightforward space opera (The Ship Who Sang, by Anne McCaffrey; the short story that birthed the famous novel of the same name), to revisionist visions of classic fairy tales (Red as Blood; a revisionist Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs story with a distinctly Stokerian--re: Vampiric--twist). Classy packaging and a beautiful cover illustation (Baby Giant) complete a pleasant reading experience. The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women is a welcome mainstay on the bookshelf of essential science-fiction and fantasy writing.

Like other books of its type by general publishers like Oxford and Penguin, this book is a bit of a chronological overview.

The first story is from the arly 1940s, and Lucy Sussex's Kay and Phil ends the book in the 1990s, which is when it came out.

As far as I can see, it is not an attempt to pick the best stories, just a good collection from different times, as the average rating here is only 3.16. It does include some excellent examples though.

They define fantasy pretty broadly it seems, given that Oxford did Fantasy and Science Fiction collections, as there is a whole lot of science fiction in here, and horror stories, too.

Modern Fantasy by Women : The Demon Lover - Elizabeth Bowen
Modern Fantasy by Women : The Tooth - Shirley Jackson
Modern Fantasy by Women : The Lake of the Gone Forever - Leigh Brackett
Modern Fantasy by Women : The Old Man - Daphne du Maurier
Modern Fantasy by Women : My Flannel Knickers - Leonora Carrington
Modern Fantasy by Women : The Anything Box - Zenna Henderson
Modern Fantasy by Women : Miss Pinkerton's Apocalypse - Muriel Spark
Modern Fantasy by Women : A Bright Green Field - Anna Kavan
Modern Fantasy by Women : The Ship Who Sang [SS]] - Anne McCaffrey
Modern Fantasy by Women : Marmalade Wine - Joan Aiken
Modern Fantasy by Women : The Fall of Frenchy Steiner - Hilary Bailey
Modern Fantasy by Women : Cynosure - Kit Reed
Modern Fantasy by Women : The Wall - Josephine Saxton
Modern Fantasy by Women : The Foot - Christine Brooke-Rose
Modern Fantasy by Women : Baby You Were Great - Kate Wilhelm
Modern Fantasy by Women : The Second Inquisition [Alyx] - Joanna Russ
Modern Fantasy by Women : Murder 1986 - P. D. James
Modern Fantasy by Women : The Milk of Paradise - James TiptreeJr.
Modern Fantasy by Women : When it Happens - Margaret Atwood
Modern Fantasy by Women : Angel All Innocence - Fay Weldon
Modern Fantasy by Women : Night-Side - Joyce Carol Oates
Modern Fantasy by Women : Fireflood - Vonda N. McIntyre
Modern Fantasy by Women : Wives - Lisa Tuttle
Modern Fantasy by Women : Red as Blood - Tanith Lee
Modern Fantasy by Women : Sur - Ursula Le Guin
Modern Fantasy by Women : Peter and the Wolf - Angela Carter
Modern Fantasy by Women : The Pits Beneath the World - Mary Gentle
Modern Fantasy by Women : Two Sheep - Janet Frame
Modern Fantasy by Women : Relics - Zoë Fairbairns
Modern Fantasy by Women : The Evening and the Morning and the Night - Octavia E. Butler
Modern Fantasy by Women : [Learning About] Machine Sex - Candas Jane Dorsey
Modern Fantasy by Women : Prodigal Pudding - Suniti Namjoshi
Modern Fantasy by Women : Breasoobs - Suzy McKee Charnas
Modern Fantasy by Women : If the Word was to the Wise - Carol Emshwiller
Modern Fantasy by Women : Trial by Teaspoon - Lynda Rajan
Modern Fantasy by Women : In the Green Shade of a Bee-Loud Glade - L. A. Hall
Modern Fantasy by Women : Death in the Egg - Ann Oakley
Modern Fantasy by Women : Kay and Phil - Lucy Sussex

Taxi horror.

3 out of 5


Dental decay.

2.5 out of 5


Transuranic memories.

3.5 out of 5


Swanflict.

3.5 out of 5


Prison island procurement.

3 out of 5


Handy to have invisible tv stuff for boring school.

3 out of 5


Flying saucers, right brand.

3.5 out of 5


Paddock power mowers.

4 out of 5


Rogue rejection replacement return.

3.5 out of 5


Future stuff means houseguest ok.

3.5 out of 5


Oracle deflowering devastating for prolonged ratzi power.

4.5 out of 5


A bit of mess and dirt can do you good.

3 out of 5


Driven home love.

3 out of 5


Ghost pain fight.

4 out of 5


Reality show acting job way too long.

4 out of 5


Trans-Temporal Time Authority temptation.

3.5 out of 5


Disease daughter letdown other's putdown showdown.

3.5 out of 5


Big grotty Crotties.

3 out of 5


Pickling is old fashioned. Shoot to kill, point blank.

2.5 out of 5


Ghost state.

2.5 out of 5


Going under medium.

3 out of 5


Hybrid distaste.

3.5 out of 5


Domestic role, mammaries aplenty, no arguments woman.

3.5 out of 5


Witch Queen reflection.

3 out of 5


Antarctic women trip, even a really small one.

3.5 out of 5


Crying it, literally.

3 out of 5


Grow up or be eaten.

3.5 out of 5


Smart sheep look dumb.

3.5 out of 5


Female research.

3.5 out of 5


Concentration of disease.

4 out of 5


Chipboard, brainboard, shagboard.

4.5 out of 5


Like less cat is a bad thing.

1.5 out of 5


A well-built werewolf still has to eat Billy.

4.5 out of 5


Library pre-eminence rulebreaking.

3 out of 5


Ghost spoon surprise.

3.5 out of 5


Garden exile, temporary?

3 out of 5


Teenage girl just inhuman to deal with.

3.5 out of 5


Author's spectral ratzi confab.

2.5 out of 5