Shop top categories that ship internationally
See All Buying Options
Added to

Sorry, there was a problem.

There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Please try again.

Sorry, there was a problem.

List unavailable.
Kindle app logo image

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required.

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

QR code to download the Kindle App

Follow the author

A C Wise
Follow
Something went wrong. Please try your request again later.

The Ultra Fabulous Glitter Squadron Saves The World Again Paperback – October 20, 2015

by A. C. Wise (Author)
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 27 ratings
See all formats and editions

When the world is endangered, there's no point in sparing the spangles, spilling the drinks, or withholding the glitter. In this collection of whimsical stories of fierce femmes and brave butches, the Ultra Fabulous Glitter Squadron is a phone call away. Once outcasts and loners, they have found friendship in the shared mission to become the kind of heroes--sparkling, witty, brave--the world so desperately needs against a host of weird foes.

Previous slide of product details
  1. Print length
    290 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Lethe Press
  4. Publication date
    October 20, 2015
  5. Dimensions
    6 x 0.65 x 9 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    159021434X
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1590214343
  8. See all details
Next slide of product details
The%20Amazon%20Book%20Review
The Amazon Book Review
Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. Read it now.

Editorial Reviews

Review

''I didn't realize how much I needed these women and their stories in my life until I started reading, at which point I found it very difficult to stop. Thank you, A. C. Wise!'' - --Jim Hines, Hugo Award winner and author of the Magic ex Libris books

''What Wise does in this book is build a deeply unconventional though not unfamiliar, at least to those of us who are queer--chosen family. She pits them against a range of monsters disguised as comic and film tropes...or perhaps they're tropes disguised as monsters. There are times when the storytelling veers ever so slightly into metafiction. Like its unabashedly long title, The Ultra Fabulous Glitter Squadron Saves the World Again gives the reader so many things. It's your basic superhero-drag show-family drama-Fifties monster movie-bittersweet coming out story-archaeology adventure-political thriller-alien invasion-mash-up.'' --Alyx Dellamonica for Tor.com

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Lethe Press (October 20, 2015)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 290 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 159021434X
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1590214343
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 15 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 0.65 x 9 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 27 ratings

About the author

Follow authors to get new release updates, plus improved recommendations.
A C Wise

A C Wise

Brief content visible, double tap to read full content.
Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

A.C. Wise is a Canadian-born author currently living in the US. Her work has won the Sunburst Award for Excellence in Canadian Literature of the Fantastic, as well as twice more being a finalist for the award, twice being a finalist for the Nebula Award, and once a finalist for the Lambda Literary Award. Her collections The Ultra Fabulous Glitter Squadron Saves the World Again, and The Kissing Booth Girl and Other Stories are published with Lethe Press, and her novella, Catfish Lullaby is published with Broken Eye Books. Her debut novel, Wendy, Darling, will be published by Titan Books in June 2021. A new short story collection, The Ghost Sequences, will be published by Undertow Books in August 2021. In addition to her fiction, she contributes review columns to The Book Smugglers and Apex Magazine. In her spare time, among other things, she wrangles two corgis and one very opinionated tuxedo cat.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
27 global ratings

Review this product

Share your thoughts with other customers
Write a customer review

Customers say

Customers find the narrative engaging and authentic. They describe the book as fun, witty, and a great read when feeling down. The characters have unique identities and larger-than-life personalities. The book is described as fantastic and worth getting.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

Select to learn more
Narrative qualityValue for moneyFunWitCharacter development
5 customers mention "Narrative quality"5 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the engaging narrative. They find the characters endearing, and the plot coherent. The family narrative is authentic and heartwarming, making it more than an action-packed adventure.

"...It's book-ended by ensemble adventure stories, and each of the tales in between zooms in to one of the characters, many of them telling the story of..." Read more

"...rescue those who need it--they're an endearing bunch, and I loved reading their adventures (and would really love to see them as a graphic novel!)..." Read more

"...em up distraction, which it is, but it's also a very well written, engaging tale that takes you into the lives of characters who are so well drawn..." Read more

"Beautifully written, this is a story about family (the chosen kind) as much as it is about saving the world...." Read more

5 customers mention "Value for money"5 positive0 negative

Customers find the book entertaining and worth reading. They say it's uplifting and a great read when feeling down.

"...This is a great book to read when you are feeling down as it will lift your spirits, make you laugh and make you think." Read more

"Fantastic and entertaining book. Definitely worth getting. I really enjoyed it...." Read more

"Super queer and super awesome. The cover and title are fun (and the stories) but know the fun definitely has adult content and language." Read more

"Witty, clever, brilliant!" Read more

4 customers mention "Fun"4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the book's fun cover and title.

"...characters with larger than life personalities and a fun penchant for trouble...." Read more

"Fantastic and entertaining book. Definitely worth getting. I really enjoyed it...." Read more

"Super queer and super awesome. The cover and title are fun (and the stories) but know the fun definitely has adult content and language." Read more

"Truly Excellent Fun Read..." Read more

4 customers mention "Wit"4 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the wit and clever writing of the book. They describe it as a fast, funny romp with great costuming and cocktails. The author is described as a fine writer who always keeps things interesting.

"...and silly as you would expect them to be, but A.C. Wise is a damn fine writer who always keeps the characters deep and the plot coherent...." Read more

"...The love, they battle, they even redeem their villains. It's a fast, funny romp with great costuming and even cocktail recipes from Glitter Squadron..." Read more

"...to read when you are feeling down as it will lift your spirits, make you laugh and make you think." Read more

"Witty, clever, brilliant!" Read more

3 customers mention "Character development"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the characters' unique identities and self-definition. They find the characters interesting with larger-than-life personalities and fun. The book explores definitions, names, and categories in a deeper way.

"...fiction, the author is working on a deeper level, examining definitions and names and categories and how her characters fit into, outside of, or..." Read more

"...Each member of the Glitter Squad has their own unique identity and more than their share of pain...." Read more

"...These are really interesting characters with larger than life personalities and a fun penchant for trouble...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Earthling
    5.0 out of 5 stars A.C. Wise is a damn fine writer
    Reviewed in the United States on December 24, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    I've heard others describe this book as "Drag queens fighting aliens," and that was enough to sell me on it. It is most definitely that, but it's also so much more. This collection of connected short stories is about a group of fabulous ladies (about half of them trans*, half of them cis) saving the world in high heels (or roller skates) and lamé dresses. It's book-ended by ensemble adventure stories, and each of the tales in between zooms in to one of the characters, many of them telling the story of how each one came to join the Glitter Squadron. These stories are just as pulpy and silly as you would expect them to be, but A.C. Wise is a damn fine writer who always keeps the characters deep and the plot coherent. The stories have darker moments too, which often delve into important LGBT+ issues, but do so in a way that doesn't feel triggering. I read one of these stories in the magazine where it was originally published, and I'm very glad I picked up the whole volume.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Mieneke van der Salm
    4.0 out of 5 stars So much fun, but also surprisingly touching and serious
    Reviewed in the United States on January 29, 2016
    A.C. Wise's first collection grabbed my attention with its title. Let's be honest, The Ultra Fabulous Glitter Squadron Saves the World Again is a fabulous title and coupled with its colourful cover image it is hard to pass up. Once I read the flap text, I knew I could't pass it up, because it sounded like it would be so much fun to read. And not to mince words, it was, but it was also surprisingly touching and serious.

    Let's start with the Ultra Fabulous Glitter Squadron though. This is a group of women all over the gender spectrum — cis, trans, transitioning, male identifying as female, female presenting as male, non-binary — and all over the spectrum when it comes to their sexuality as well, they are queer, straight, bisexual, or undeclared and they are fabulous. They are a kaleidoscopic representation of femininity, with a shifting roster of members, but with a core group around which they orbit. Their guiding star is Bunny, whose decision to live life fearlessly, wearing the armour of her femininity and kicking ass, gives the Squadron its leading principle. I love the group as a whole and the separate members we meet in each story.

    In essence the book is a collection of origin stories, in which we find out how the various Squadron members find their way to it. They form a found family, with all the of the accompanying tensions, but mostly with a lot of love and compassion for one another. While all the stories can be read as standalone, there is a progression through the stories that allows the reader to see the characters we've been introduced to interact and get to know them better. The cocktail recipes slotted in-between stories were awesome, especially as they not only reveal Sapphire’s keen insights into her sisters’ natures, but they also reveal a lot about Sapphire herself. There’s so much to love about all of these characters it’s hard to pick a favourite. Yet if I had to pick one besides Sapphire, it would be Cécé. M intrigues me no end, because the glimpses we get of her are mysterious and tantalising, but Cécé stuck with me. I loved Cécé’s individual story The Devil Comes to the Midnight Cafe. I was grabbed by her struggle to commit, to allow herself to fully commit to the person she loves. Yes, there’s a devil and there is heroic shenanigans, but ultimately this is a story about a person choosing to commit to one single person and how scary it is to make yourself that vulnerable and intertwined with someone else. The way this relationship develops also features in some of the subsequent stories and it was beautiful.

    It would be so easy to go over the top with these stories, to camp it up and play it for the easy laughs, but Wise avoids falling into this trap. Not that she plays it straight; there is a lot of humour in this collection and not that she doesn’t bring the camp, but she also manages make these stories deeply genuine, dealing with ordinary human emotions and predicaments experienced by extraordinary women. There is not one story that didn’t touch me in some way, made me smile in amusement or sad recognition. I’d love read more Glitter Squadron adventures. I want to know what happens after the final story in the collection. If you’re hankering for a fun set of stories with a lot of heart and emotional depth then The Ultra Fabulous Glitter Squadron Saves the World Again will fill your need and then some.

    This collection was provided for review by the author.
    2 people found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Marie A.
    5.0 out of 5 stars Femmes save the Galaxy
    Reviewed in the United States on December 6, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    By night, they world at clubs with names like Diamond Lil's, the Lil' Diamond, and Exclusively Lime Green. Every Thursday, they bowl. In between, when they're not bowling, or dancing, or singing on stage, they kick ass harder than you've seen ass kicked before. And they do it all in silver lame and high heels.
    The camp trappings of rubber-monster-heroine-in-heels B-movies meets the optimism and glamour of late-nineties-early-oughts queer lit (thinking I Married an Earthling and Femme's Guide to the Universe) in The Ultra Fabulous Glitter Squadron Saves the World Again. A rotating cast of roller disco queens, strongwomen cat burglers, secret agents and drag kings team up to save the world from horrors with tentacles, alien technology, ancient Egyptian curses, and plain old 'isms and 'ists of the modern world. The love, they battle, they even redeem their villains. It's a fast, funny romp with great costuming and even cocktail recipes from Glitter Squadron member Sapphire, who gossips about her team members between stories.

    With the joy and fun that comes along with nineties/oughts queer aesthetics comes a lector emptor: some of the writing around identity feels more of that time period than what a modern reader would expect. The cast is diverse, loving, and quick to rescue those who need it--they're an endearing bunch, and I loved reading their adventures (and would really love to see them as a graphic novel!) I loved it, and can't wait to read The Kissing Booth Girl and Other Stories, A.C. Wise's newest collection.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report
  • Cynthia Potts
    5.0 out of 5 stars Truly Excellent Fun Read
    Reviewed in the United States on February 12, 2016
    Verified Purchase
    A book that delivers far more than you might expect. I picked up this book thinking the Glitter Squadron would be a fun shoot-em up distraction, which it is, but it's also a very well written, engaging tale that takes you into the lives of characters who are so well drawn you find yourself thinking you know them. What I really enjoyed too is that while the author doesn't shy away from the hard aspects of living as a queer person the book is not maudlin or sad; challenges are there to be dealt with. The chosen family narrative is both authentic and heartwarming. This is a great book to read when you are feeling down as it will lift your spirits, make you laugh and make you think.
    One person found this helpful
    Helpful
     Report