I’d not yet heard of Samantha Mills when this book ended up in my hands.  I was intrigued that she had won three prestigious awards for the titled short story.

In order as I read:

“The Death of the God-King” – this one was sort of hard to read. “Hard” as in experiencing the hopelessness of the protagonist as he slowly came to realize that being a good king didn’t mean he could always save his people.  Sometimes they need to save themselves.

“Strange Waters”.  A lonely woman at sea and lost in time; trying time and again – for years! – to find a way home to her children.  She’s desperate to return to the time she left so she can watch them grow up but it’s like threading a needle in a maelstrom.  What fascinated me most was the world-building; it opened so many ideas and questions but the woman wanted nothing to do with any of it. Only an end to her journey to reunite with her children was important.

“Adrianna in Pomegranate” is an examination of the power of words.  Much is said about the physical applications of writing while also touching on the power inherent.  And while this story isn’t terribly original – using this power to bring back the dead – I very much appreciated the delivery.

“Rabbit Test” is the title of this collection and the short story that won its author a Nebula, a Locus, and a Theodore Sturgeon award.  This story would not have been out of place in one of Harlan Ellison’s “Dangerous Visions” books; although many of the ideas hadn’t yet been voiced or written back then.  Well, not necessarily true; women have known these truths for thousands of years; they just might be new to the America coming out of its ‘free love’ and ‘flower power’ phases.  It’s a collection of women’s voices over thousands of years; voices that asked over and over again:  how can I know if I’m pregnant, what will I do, and how can I plan?  The depressing part of it is how no matter what we achieve, it can be taken away; even when you think “we’ve overcome all, the choices will always be ours now”, times change yet again.  When Roe vs Wade passed, everyone thought the fight was pretty much over; it’s hard for this reader to think how fragile that win was in my own lifetime.

“A Shadow is a Memory of a Ghost” was a very good tale; the sort of short story that you think might have made a decent novella or even a novel.  But then we wouldn’t have this lovely little gem. Two sisters, both witches, estranged deliberately by their father and at odds for their whole lives until their children meet.  A meeting that could go very badly for one or both of the children; possibly perpetuating the same misunderstandings and estrangement.

“The Limits of Magic” explores a society that only values magical children.  Women live in agony for nine months hoping for a child they will be able to keep.  The sadness in this situation is that even the women perpetuate the system; until one speaks out and keeps speaking.  The ending was great.

“10 Visions of the Future; or Self-Care For the End of Days” is a great deal of fun.  Two women are clinging to their lives and possessions in the face of an End of Days event.  One of them sees all the different ways this could go; sometimes they live, sometimes they don’t.  But in the here-and-now, they still have each other; even in the midst of hell-spawned chaos.  And that might be enough.

“One Part Per Billion” was a straight-up science fiction tale.  Aliens had sent plans and instructions for a ship.  Thousands competed for seats on that ship.  But finally, a representative group was selected, with only one woman. Inside the ship was a device that was there to ‘collect’ samples of the humans. The ship had one mission: rendezvous with the aliens.  But the device broke and the aliens didn’t get their cross-section of humanity; they really should have sent more than one woman. 

“Spindles”  was a delightful science fiction story. I saw the ending coming but I enjoyed the ride. An alien ship crashed on a planet destroying a young princess’ castle and probably killing her mother, the Queen. The princess escaped with a companion and tried and tried to stop the aliens until she and her companion finally had to admit defeat.  But nothing was as she imagined it.  And the aliens weren’t what she thought they were.  A decently clever story.

“Four of Seven” was placed in a science fiction framework but it was probably the lamest story in the batch.  Two sisters, squabbling as they always did, but still always looking out for one another.  The whole story appeared to be a lead-up to a punchline.

“Laugh Lines” was an extremely short story.  It’s set in a future where extreme body modifications and eugenics are a thing.  The POV is a bereft child, possibly an adult, possibly female; it isn’t clear or necessary.  The child was loved by their mother despite their disabilities but made to feel as an unwelcome member of the community because they refused those things that would ‘correct’ them and make them like everyone else.  They are attempting to deliver their mother’s eulogy but their frustration and anger keeps peeking out.  They bemoan the fact that society won’t make room for them or allow accomodations. Since our society has made much of ‘reasonable accomodations’ for disabled citizens, I’m not sure if there’s a message in this one or not.

“Kiki Hernandez Beats the Devil” is a charming post-apocalyptic story of a girl, her dog, and her guitar on the road doing her best to beat back the devils. One day a particularly nasty devil in the shape of a huge toad managed to almost kill her dog.  She ends up having to make an impossible deal to save him; she has to give up her guitar – the one weapon she has against the devils – until she realizes the power isn’t in the guitar, it’s in her.

“Anchorage” isn’t named for a city; it refers to the classic definition – a place for a ship to dock. A spaceship meets up with another ship and it’s very strange.  It’s rather like a hermit or the old witch in the forest who lives totally alone but will accept gifts and possibly give a gift in return. In this case, the ship’s inhabitant gives each of the crew a gift of listening and acceptance.  One member of the crew, in particular, is suspicious and has difficulty understanding what their crew sees in each of their encounters with the unknown woman. This crew member finally succumbs to curiosity and goes to the woman; they end up confessing their deepest secret, one the crew would probably kill them for. But the gift of listening impels them to risk everything to pay the woman back for her gift.  If they are found out, they will die but the time spent with their human crew was worth every minute.  It was great science fiction and it was terribly sweet.

The book ends with the author taking the time to provide a brief paragraph about each of her stories.  The insight and background was interesting.  I’d read more from her.  ~~  Catherine Book

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