BOOK REVIEW: THE UNBALANCING BY R.B. LEMBERG
I felt drawn to the mythology of Lemberg’s Birdverse and was intrigued by the structure of the island society, but most of all, I enjoyed the well-developed characters, their contrasts, and where their interactions led — to a relationship, to magical discoveries, and to a struggle for survival amid upheavals.
Skiffy & Fanty Speculative Fiction Short Fiction Review, or SF SF SF Review: January/February
Welcome to our newest review column! Skiffy & Fanty Speculative Fiction Short Fiction Review by our newest team member, Cameron Coulter! It makes me really happy to write this: my favorite recent short stories are all either written by nonbinary authors and/or featuring nonbinary characters. I’m someone who has never been comfortable with masculinity, and I often wish we were more creative with gender in SF/F than we are. SF/F is a genre in which we literally make up new worlds, so there is plenty of opportunity to imagine people with alternate and/or no genders. Sure, there’s a few SF/F novels that are well known for the way they experiment with gender and pronouns, but I want more. Fortunately, I find that short fiction is somewhat ahead of the curve when it comes to diversity and inclusion. By my count, in the last two months, there have been at least six original short stories published in professional genre magazines that are either written by trans or nonbinary authors and/or featuring trans or nonbinary characters. Now, let the nonbinary party commence!
