Steerswoman: Rosemary Kirstein the Steerswoman and Sequels by Rosemary Kirstein, Ballantine, 1989 Through 2004; Currently Available As Ebooks for $5.99

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y Unqualified by Nisi Shawl How good do you have to be to make No one dreamed I’d come up with my it as a writer at this time, in this culture? own lessons, deliver my own messages. A writer writing in standard English, I recently read a review of a science a popular author whose work supports fiction novel written in 1906 and featur- your existence? A writer who earns more ing a “germicide for laziness” that was than a pot to piss in and a window to applied with good effect to “negroes.” throw it out of? The unwillingness of my elders to dream What if you want to stretch your tal- big, to voice high ambitions for those What if you want to stretch ent further than that, even, and make a in their community, resulted not from your talent further…and difference in the hearts and minds and “laziness” but from persecution that make a difference in the hearts and minds and souls souls of others, a difference in the world reached its height not long after that of others, a difference in we all inhabit? novel appeared. Thriving black farms the world we all inhabit? Do you think you’re that good? and businesses were frequent targets of Do you think you’re that Most people of color don’t. That’s a white supremacist terror. Doing well of- good? problem. ten meant dying horribly. Lynching of Most people of color don’t. There are so many obstacles to build- African Americans has continued into That’s a problem. ing a writing career, no matter what your the present day, occurring in the living race. I’m not going to claim poor self- memory of many, myself included. And esteem is our exclusive burden to bear, the persecution I’m talking about ex- but I can tell you some of the ways it tends beyond that outrage. When my has affected me, and I can describe how mother was nine (the age at which I was this losing attitude is fostered among dazzling older relatives with my etymo- African Americans in particular, how logical acumen) a black child, a boy of we’re constantly getting the message fourteen, was legally executed as a mur- i that we’re unqualified for the work of derer in South Carolina. creating a lasting literature — or even an The squeaky wheel gets the grease, but 1 interesting one. the nail that sticks up gets hammered And I can also discuss some ways to down. Probably it was instilled wari- fix what’s broken here. ness of standing out that kept my par- Where to start? To paraphrase, the ents from putting me forward for arts …the nail that sticks up personal is historical — especially when programs designed to nurture creative gets hammered down. you get to be my age. As a child in the children. In junior high school I learned Probably it was instilled 1960s I was praised by the old folks for about Michigan’s Interlochen Academy wariness of standing out being “smart,” which to them meant for the Arts and their Summer Arts that kept my parents from knowing lots of words. At the age of Camps. They accepted students from putting me forward for nine I could spell “antidisestablishmen- third through twelfth grade. One of my arts programs designed to tarianism” and “supercalifragilisticexpi- white friends had attended; she was a nurture creative children. alidocious.” I could define infinity. My violinist, but Interlochen also ran pro- nickname was “Encyclopedia,” just like grams for writers. And I knew at a very the little white boy who solved mysteries early age I wanted to be a writer. in the books. But did anyone predict that Yet it wasn’t until many years later, un- I’d be able to write my own books? No. til after I dropped out of the major col- In their very wildest imaginings I would lege my family was so proud to see me be accepted into a major college. enter, that I wondered why I also had not I was, to use the terminology of the been privileged to attend Interlochen. period, a Negro. A “smart” Negro, who Instead, I got sent to Pretty Lake, a could get away with correcting her par- summer camp for “disadvantaged youth.” ents’ pronunciation, who could absorb During the pre-camp physical all of us the lessons the predominantly white ed- had our heads searched for lice. I swam ucational system taught. But absorption and wove potholders and advanced my was as far as “smartness” would take me. literary career not one whit. Cont. on p. 2 n Unqualified It was a National Merit Scholarship and their internalized understanding of (cont. from p. 1 that enabled me to attend the University how non-blacks view those same experi- of Michigan. That scholarship was based ences. Something like this was at work on my high SAT scores, but according in me, so that when Greg Bear didn’t to a close acquaintance (I can’t really call respond to my submission to the anthol- him a friend), the reason I had been ac- ogy he had announced to me and my W.E.B. Dubois famously cepted as a student at the U of M was Clarion West classmates, I assumed that wrote about “double so that black football players would have my story had been rejected. In reality, it consciousness” as the someone to date. had been lost in the mail, as I realized disjunction between blacks’ This acquaintance’s remark wasn’t why after finally working up the nerve to ask own experiences and their I dropped out of college. I did so in large him about it many years later. The story I internalized understanding part because I didn’t see any way for U sent around the same time to instructor of how non-blacks view of M to help me write — and especially Gardner Dozois, then editor at Asimov’s those same experiences. to help me write science fiction and fan- SF Magazine, had been specifically re- tasy. Exposure to the feminist works of quested by him, so it only took me a year Joanna Russ, Suzy McKee Charnas, and to ask him whether he actually wanted it. Monique Wittig had taught me that this He did, but I had to resend it. The first genre was where I could do what I want- manuscript, as Dozois eventually discov- ed to do. And I wanted to do so much. ered, had fallen behind a desk. I had dreams, ideas — but any talent I These sorts of missteps occur on every possessed with which to carry out those writer’s path, I’m sure. But writers of col- dreams went unrecognized by my teach- or are more likely to lack the self-esteem ers and the rest of the English and Cre- necessary to correct them. ative Writing departments. I received Low self worth could well be a bar- Science fiction, by my no mentoring. There were grants I could rier to POCs attempting to write in definition, is fiction have applied for, and fellowships, prizes, any genre. With my longing to create H that promotes science: awards. I knew nothing about them and imaginative worlds that refuse to default its plot, settings, and heard nothing about them from anyone to the status quo, speculative fiction was characters are embedded 2 who did know. And I didn’t ask for that obviously the field where I needed to fo- in scientific values and cus my efforts. This field contained ad- scientific approaches kind of information, because I didn’t to understanding the believe literary grants and prizes were ditional obstacles, though. universe.… meant for me, despite my high SAT Science fiction, by my definition, is scores. It was all right to be ignorant of fiction that promotes science: its plot, them, because they were obviously in- settings, and characters are embedded tended for good writers. in scientific values and scientific ap- I almost didn’t attend the Clarion proaches to understanding the universe. West Writers Workshop for similar rea- The scientific method is easy to describe: sons. You can’t get in if you don’t apply, you come up with a hypothesis to ex- and I almost didn’t apply. Fortunately, in plain a phenomenon and you test it. You 1991 I met two of the 1992 instructors: compare your results with those of oth- Pat Cadigan and John Shirley. Shirley ers who perform identical tests. Simple, read my work and encouraged me to right? Anyone can do this. And yet science itself go. At Clarion West I received six years’ And yet science itself is contested is contested ground. worth of education in six weeks. I made ground. Histories of science taught in Histories of science taught friends with other fledgling authors and the U.S. spotlight the achievements of in the U.S. spotlight the some professional authors and editors. individual white males and downplay achievements of individual I earned respect for my abilities from contributions by groups, females, and white males and downplay people whose opinions mattered to me. POC. Immigrants and the descendants contributions by groups, When the workshop ended I knew of those brought to this country as slaves females, and POC. that I was a good writer. But I also still may see few images of scientists resem- knew that I wasn’t. bling themselves, just as they may see W.E.B. Dubois famously wrote about few images of writers — especially SF

“double consciousness” as the disjunc- writers — who look similar. Worse, they

tion between blacks’ own experiences may be taught that qualities the domi- n nant culture assigns to their race are an- lore, but it’s their European counterparts tithetical to science: passion, intuition, who soar and roar through the pages of sensuality, spirituality, and so on. As- most fantasies, from Tolkien’s The Hob- signment of these qualities is arbitrary, bit through Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire. and of course the idea that their presence Even the ostensibly mundane settings, prevents anyone from using the scientif- characters, and props of the majority of POC may be told that the ic method is nonsense, as any practicing fantasy fiction are undeniably European: proper subjects of scientific scientist will tell you. But it is powerful the swords, the castles, the farms, the inquiry have nothing to nonsense, and it is often proffered as the food. Medieval Europe was the default do with their firsthand truth. Finally, POC may be told that setting for fantasy for decades. Its stories experiences and concerns. the proper subjects of scientific inquiry and novels made very occasional (and at have nothing to do with their firsthand times problematic) excursions to more experiences and concerns. In some cases “exotic” locales (see Kai Lung’s Golden this stance relates to the hard/soft sci- Hours, for example). ence dichotomy (social sciences such as Until very recently, POC fantasy writ- anthropology are sometimes regarded as ers basically had two choices. We could: less legitimately scientific than — what 1. ignore the alienation implicit in cre- should we call them, asocial sciences? — ating worlds based on the traditions such as physics, chemistry, and the like). of our oppressors, or All these factors serve to divorce POC from science and, by extension, 2. write from our own heritage and from science fiction. As a girl geek in have the results rejected by publish- grade school I studied molds and ex- ers or misclassified (usually as hor- perimented with creating dyes, so later ror if ancestors — dead people — were on I wasn’t totally unfamiliar with the involved). scientific paradigm. But to whatever A few POC authors such as Samuel extent I identified as a scientist, I felt I R. Delany and Octavia E. Butler were A few POC authors such i as Samuel R. Delany and had to disavow my identities as a woman able to buck the past’s Euro-trope trend. Octavia E. Butler were able Delany’s Neveryon series takes place in 3 and POC. This circumscribed connec- to buck the past’s Euro- tion was what I had available. I worked prehistory, in an unspecified land some- trope trend. with it. I worried, though. Was I a fraud, where in the fertile crescent; Butler’s fronting, “passing” as scientifically lit- Kindred, taught widely in colleges, is set erate? I worry even now, as I research firmly in the US’s Antebellum South. neuroplasticity in the human brain for a Exceptions don’t invalidate the norm, story about an imaginary drug, or as I though, and the norm’s whiteness has ponder the geoavailability of rare earths taken — and still takes — a heavy dose of in the mountains of Everfair, home of self-esteem to challenge. Its presence my Belgian Congo steampunk alternate hangs on via reading lists and curricula, history novel-in-progress. whittling away at the sense of legiti- Much of what I’ve written sells as macy POC writers strive to build within fantasy, not as science fiction. Fantasy themselves. And though fantasy’s palette, has a wider market than science fiction: as it were, has broadened considerably in more readers enjoy it without knowing the last few years, writing a fantasy that We wonder if we’re wrong they’re straying from the mainstream. deviates from tried-and-true formulas is for trying to write from our Fantasy can be almost any fiction that by no means an assured path to having hearts, and we wonder if doesn’t mimic consensus reality. But it it published. Nor is having that kind of we’re wrong for trying to has its stock elements as well, its familiar thing published an assured path to fame write to the market. We tropes. Hardly any of these derive from and success. We know this. We wonder if doubt ourselves, whichever way we decide to go. the cultures of POC. European legends we’re wrong for trying to write from our of King Arthur and his Roundtable an- hearts, and we wonder if we’re wrong for chor many a classic fantasy. Unicorns, trying to write to the market. We doubt elves, and wizards wearing pointy hats ourselves, whichever way we decide to go. all spring from Europe’s rich magi- For more on the topic of the obstacles cal traditions. Dragons appear in Asian POC encounter when writing fantasy, Cont. on p. 4 n Unqualified please read deepad’s excellent essay “I Some publications state right in their (cont. from p. 3) Didn’t Dream of Dragons,” available on- guidelines that they simply will not ac- line at http://deepad.dreamwidth.org/ cept stories written in, or including sec- 29371.html. tions written in, dialect. Granted, dialect As I write this essay, self-publishing is difficult to do well. It’s easily prone to is going for an end run around the book stereotyping and can devolve into mean- industry’s traditional gatekeepers. This ingless Buckwheatisms á la Eddy Mur- Some publications state has its upsides and its downsides. I’m a phy’s Saturday Night Live caricature. But right in their guidelines word geek and a punctuation nerd, and the rhythms, pronunciations, idioms, that they simply will not I have difficulty taking seriously some and references of nondominant vernacu- accept stories written of the poorly proofed and weakly ed- lars can be beautiful, and anyone trying in, or including sections ited texts self-publishing produces. Their to represent nonwhite cultures will want written in, dialect. inconsistency demonstrates that these to represent nonwhite speech patterns. infelicities are flaws, errors, not artistic Which means we’ll never submit to pub- choices. I can’t stand them, and I wish lications barring such representation. their authors had gotten the help they Those who don’t start by warning au- needed in making their books fit to read, thors away from writing in nonstandard from proofers, editors, someone. Yet my English can still have problems with it. own experiences leave me certain that I’ve been told that an intelligent person traditional publishing’s predominantly would never speak in dialect. I’ve had white editors dilute the presence of deliberately dropped gs reinstated at the …the rhythms, POC authors in the fantastic genres. ends of my gerunds. I’ve had sentences pronunciations, idioms, For instance, one of these rejected that I constructed in a colloquially black and references of “Cruel Sistah” because he couldn’t credit word order rearranged so that they’re nondominant vernaculars the story’s premise of murderous jealou- more “grammatical.” Even if the editor can be beautiful, and sy triggered by a sibling’s “good” straight herself understands what you’re doing, H anyone trying to hair. I had to submit it elsewhere. I the proofreader may not. Sometimes it’s represent nonwhite possible to reverse these mistaken “cor- 4 cultures will want to had to have the self-esteem to do that. represent nonwhite speech Eventually “Cruel Sistah” was included rections” at the galley stage. But going patterns. Which means in a Year’s Best reprint anthology, but it through page after page of them takes we’ll never submit to might easily have never seen the light of time, and a conviction that you knew publications barring such day. Later, I substantially altered a cou- what you were doing in the first place. representation. ple of passages in a second story, “Wal- Since so many POC lack that convic- lamelon,” because another editor felt tion, we may instead accept changes with that I hadn’t made clear the danger of which we disagree. the crime menacing my heroine in the black neighborhood where it was set. Now the fun part of this essay: how to This neighborhood, modeled on the one fix what’s wrong. where I grew up, was completely safe More models will help. It’s easier to and middle class. There was no crime. I believe you can write speculative fiction had to make this explicit, to tell and not when you can point to multiple POC Now the fun part of this merely show it. who have done so: Nalo Hopkinson, essay: how to fix what’s Other suggestions, other changes, Malinda Lo, David Anthony Durham, wrong. other rejections have had their effect on Thomas King, Tananarive Due, Steve More models will help. my career and on the stories I will leave Barnes, Ted Chiang, Hiromi Goto, and It’s easier to believe you Vandana Singh to name only a few. can write speculative as my legacy, and I’m sure the same is fiction when you can true for many more POC. Because our Honesty on the part of working POC point to multiple POC narratives depart from those favored by speculative fiction authors as to what who have done so: the dominant culture, they are subject to our lives are like will give aspiring col- misreading, and this can be discouraging. leagues a realistic idea of what to expect Here’s the last area I want to touch on of their careers. That will protect new-

in my lament for self-esteem: “correc- comers’ self worth. If you know that es-

tions” to the speech of POC characters. tablished authors are scrambling to pay n their rent, if you hear book covers are ing presence of POC in the fantastic being whitewashed en masse, if you read genres. Perhaps their small size translates emails complaining that clueless inter- into greater flexibility, less conservative The experience of being viewers ask racist questions, you’re bet- narrative choices, readier responsiveness “Othered” is invaluable ter prepared to respond when those sorts to new and growing markets. I’d like to for anyone who wants of things happen to you. Forewarned is see us all supporting the efforts of the to convey strangeness, cognitive dissonance, and forearmed. I also recommend joining the small presses to offer speculative fiction immersion in a nonnative Carl Brandon Society (www.carlbran- by POC. culture. don.org) and signing up for its listserv, Although I’ve pointed out several ways which hosts discussions about these top- in which our double consciousness con- ics, among others. tributes to our low self worth and inhib- Giving POC more access to publica- its POC from writing science fiction and tion will help. My publisher is Aqueduct, fantasy, I’ll close with the observation a small press that has also printed two that it also aids us in our work. The ex- novels by African American specula- perience of being “Othered” is invaluable tive fiction author extraordinaire Andrea for anyone who wants to convey strange- Nisi Shawl’s story collection Hairston. Apex Books, Tachyon Publica- ness, cognitive dissonance, and immer- Filter House (Aqueduct Press, tions, Night Shade, Small Beer, Arsenal sion in a nonnative culture. Looked at in 2008) won the James Tiptree, Pulp — all the publishers mentioned in this light, the ability of POC to create Jr. Award. Since 1999 she this paragraph are small presses making a lasting literature of speculative fiction has reviewed science fiction significant contributions to the expand- is not pretty good. It is good: just plain, for The Seattle Times. She is the Reviews Editor for The unqualified good. Cascadia Subduction Zone.

Scatter and Return i for Saira Ali by Rose Lemberg 5

the world is more complex than it appears — the alliances of steel and heat, the configurations of stars as they fall, whispering through my fingers; betrayals of those too wrapped in storyshine to see — see beyond the simplicity of pain, the patterns of belonging and breakage; the cobwebs of our minds are lace-light, too beautiful to tear. you say each person is an island of aloneness, words sprouting from us haphazardly like weeds and woods unmowed; the intersections of starlight and sunlight, the shining nets of the wave. I would row my island over, if we are only illusions floating between these cast-off Rose Lemberg was born in shadows of past selves, striking for home — Ukraine and lived in Russia triangulated by echolocation of poetry and Israel before coming to in sonars of seaweed and sand, navigating the US. She now lives and with the precision of dreams. teaches in the Midwestern US. She recently edited The Moment of Change, an anthology of feminist poetry from Aqueduct Press. Her

full biography can be found

at roselemberg.net. n y Peerless Steerswoman: Rosemary Kirstein The Steerswoman and sequels by Rosemary Kirstein, Ballantine, 1989 through 2004; currently available as ebooks for $5.99. by Kate Elliott When Nisi Shawl messaged me on years. The Steerswoman and its sequels What impresses about the Twitter on a Thursday morning to ask if can be examined as part of these shift- sequence is the absolute I could possibly write a short piece on ing ways of looking at and defining what confidence with which a feminist classic by a Monday dead- topics fit beneath the sff genre umbrella. Kirstein melds the well- line, my thoughts immediately leaped Nothing quite like the Steerswoman worn theme of exploration to Rosemary Kirstein’s Steerswoman se- sequence exists on the sff bookshelf, even and the search for Big quence, which I happen to have re-read as the series dives straight into some of Answers into her fiction this summer. Can an unfinished series the central questions examined by our while at the same time whose first volume was published in genre. What impresses about the se- making the lives of ordinary people going 1989 count as a classic? Is it too early? quence is the absolute confidence with about their ordinary lives Yet isn’t Neuromancer, published in 1984, which Kirstein melds the well-worn the bedrock of her story. considered a classic? If so, then why not theme of exploration and the search for Kirstein’s fascinating, detailed, and nu- Big Answers into her fiction while at the anced exploration of community, the same time making the lives of ordinary scientific method, and the way change people going about their ordinary lives flows through our physical and cultural the bedrock of her story. landscapes? It is difficult to summarize the plot of There’s a necessary conversation that I the four volumes so far available without want to touch on briefly here about how giving away the abundant pleasures of the science fiction and fantasy field trace discovering it as a first-time reader. This H lines of influence and importance from is the rare example of a series that truly past works into the present and thus merits reading with as little prior knowl- 6 onto the future. Women have always edge as possible. To explain why would written sff, but in its formative decades give it away. Trust me. as a publishing genre it was dominated The first novel opens with two lines by men. In the late ’60s and into the ’70s that made such an impression on me at a significant push of women into the the time of my first reading that I later field opened it up for a flood in the ’80s. used a variant of them in one of my nov- These waves substantively altered the els (in an entirely unrelated situation). field (while of course leaving certain en- The steerswoman centered her trenched aspects sadly much the same). chart on the table and anchored the Women often wrote with perspectives corners around. The candlestick, a that weren’t examined before, ones often worn leatherbound book, an empty taken for granted now without necessar- mug, and her own left hand held ily realizing how ground-breaking those the curling parchment flat. works once were and are not always rec- ognized today for being so. Creating a The rest of the paragraph, and in- sense of how a network of influence runs deed the whole of the first two pages backward through the work of many or so, describe the chart. Note that the writers, especially ones left off the usual emphasis is not on the details of the list of Important Ancestors, seems cru- steerswoman — we learn nothing of her cial to understanding the directions the feelings or her looks or the details of her genre is moving in today, while at the presence for another few pages — but on same time recognizing how the impor- the primacy of the chart. The map, and tant discussions we are now having on the presence of the map, might be said to

Grandmother Magma gender and race and ableism and class represent everything about these books.

(and along numerous other vectors) have According to New Zealand writer and

been part of our community for many geographer Russell Kirkpatrick, “The n map is an expression of your intimate tentially crucial role to play. This theme contact with the world you know.”(1) culminates in book four in a gripping The Steerswoman books are narrated and emotional scene during which an as- from a third person omniscient view- sembly of absolutely common townsfolk point that fits perfectly with the story as make a consequential decision to pro- We, as readers, are well as allowing Kirstein to move into tect someone against an antagonist who learning about and adding different points of view when need be. holds all possible power over them and to our store of intimate The viewpoint itself, like the eye look- could kill any or all of them at any mo- knowledge about this ing down on the map, charts the story in ment (and, in fact, does kill someone). world in the same way the just this way: We, as readers, are learn- Their defiance may seem small, but un- characters are. Kirstein ing about and adding to our store of der the circumstances their collective ac- unfolds comprehension in the reader’s head while intimate knowledge about this world in tion has the impact of a culture-altering never deviating from the the same way the characters are. Kirstein event that in another book would likely cultural understanding unfolds comprehension in the reader’s be accomplished through a violent al- of her point of view head while never deviating from the cul- tercation. It’s a radical moment because characters. tural understanding of her point of view it displays the power of collectivity in a characters. genre that so often valorizes the excep- Who and what a steerswoman is I will tional individual as the sole driver of ma- leave to the new reader to discover, except jor change. to say that a steerswoman is a person who As Kirkpatrick says, “Maps can make both asks and answers questions. visible geographies people already knew The other element Kirstein so fabu- but which had never been visible be- lously brings into play is the matter of fore.” (2) who populates her story. It gives noth- That is exactly the genius of the Steer- ing away, I believe, to mention that the swoman books. cast is diverse both in depicting numer- Again and again Kirstein 1. Maps, Fantasy, Culture, and suggests that change ous women and men in a variety of roles i Boundaries by Kate Elliott, August moves through every person and statuses, and in describing without in a society, and that every fanfare a range of diverse ethnicities in a 11, 2011, http://www.orbitbooks. person has a potentially 7 setting in which ethnicity no longer has net/2011/08/16/maps-fantasy- crucial role to play. any particular meaning. culture-and-boundaries/ Who matters in these books? The steerswoman herself, Rowan, comes 2. ibid. from the equivalent of a frontier town, an ordinary girl with an extraordinary mind who discovers a chance to turn her analytical way of thinking and her unquenchable curiosity into a way of life. The friendship she develops with another woman, Bel, is one of the true …a radical moment… delights of the series, and it matters displays the power of that Bel, too, is a woman from ordinary collectivity in a genre circumstances within her own society that so often valorizes the who has extraordinary skills that she exceptional individual as has developed through experience and the sole driver of major practice. Yes, there are wizards and even change. a duke. But again and again the important people with whom Rowan works and cooperates are innkeepers, potters, Kate Elliott has published farmers, goat-herders, cooks, merchants, fantasy, steampunk, and science fiction since the 1980s. sailors, and the commonplace hired help. Her novel King’s Dragon was a Again and again Kirstein suggests that finalist for the Nebula Award. change moves through every person in a She currently lives and writes society, and that every person has a po- in Hawai’i. n y Afrofuturism and Navigating the Apocalypse Elysium, by Jennifer Marie Brissett, Aqueduct Press, December 2014, 208 pp, $18 paperback. reviewed by LaShawn M. Wanak

Many will compare Jennifer Marie bleeding from her forehead, presumably Brissett’s debut novel, Elysium, to David injured by an accident on the construc- Elysium’s main character, Mitchell’s Cloud Atlas due to its uncon- tion site. We next see her at home, en- Adrian(ne), flees ventional narrative structure and their during a deeper hurt as she deals with through the backdrop shared motif of reincarnation. For me, her soon-to-be-ex-lover Antoine. As she of humankind’s history, however, Brissett’s novel invoked the comes to grips with her relationship with hounded by the apocalypse as he/she slipsliding complexity of Satoshi Kon’s him falling apart, she is frozen by the searches for the one she/ movie Millennium Actress: the main char- sight of a large owl staring at her from he loves. acters of both works running, through the window. When she points it out to different guises and different ages, search- Antoine, it vanishes. As she questions ing for someone they have lost. herself and her environment, there is an- Whereas in Kon’s movie his actress other interruption of computer code. In chases her goal through a Who’s Who of its wake Adrian is now male, and An- Japanese history, Elysium’s main charac- toine his lover dying of an unspecified ter, Adrian(ne), flees through the back- disease. Adrian goes out to meet Hec- drop of humankind’s history, hounded tor, a friend. They have sex, during which by the apocalypse as he/she searches Hector suddenly morphs into Helen for the one she/he loves. Sometimes before the computer code corrects him he finds her; sometimes she loses him. back. Adrian returns to Antoine, there H My switching of pronouns is deliberate; is another burst of computer code, and as Adrian(ne) pursues, she/he switches Adrianne is female again, arguing with 8 gender throughout the book, sometimes her female lover Antoinette. even mid-scene. We are warned of an Gradually the vignettes form a nar- impending change by lines of computer rative. There are rumors of an encroach- code, which also serve as scene breaks, ing war; a cloud that dispenses a strange and become important in other ways as dust that changes people; a city going the story moves on. from densely populated to eerily silent. At first Elysium appears to be a series Adrian(ne) navigates the apocalypse the of vignettes. Initially we meet Adrianne best she/he can. As his/her world chang- as a woman casually walking down a es, so she/he adapts to survive, to search, busy street in an unnamed city. She sees to love. an elk picking its way down the street The heart of Elysium is relationships. just as casually, with no one giving it a Other characters also weave their way single glance. It exchanges a deep look around the central pair: Hector/Helen with Adrianne before vanishing into the as unrequited lover and often friend, crowd. A little disoriented, Adrianne Thomas as the watchful guardian, Ste- resumes her window shopping. A short phen the planner. But Adrian(ne) and time later she stops under a construc- Antoine(tte) define the story, be they tion site’s scaffolding to beat the heat. lovers, siblings, or parent and child. She glances up to see a green dot in Always one is searching to protect the the sky, which quickly vanishes. As she other. Always one finds, then eventually searches for the dot, someone yells at her loses, the other. Adrian(ne)’s search takes to watch out — and the scene breaks into her through the apocalypse and beyond, computer code, notifying us of a “SYS- but we never lose sight of the story, Reviews TEM ERROR.” mainly through the motifs that keep us

The story resumes with Adrianne grounded within it: Adrian(ne)’s sight-

lying on the ground, covered in dust, ings of the elk from afar, its appearance n becoming more alien-like as the novel of story that binds us to each other, that progresses; certain scenes feeling like makes us human, and Brissett takes full deja vu; dust that changes everything; advantage of this in Elysium. This is a redness and blood, sorrow and loss. Even tale meant for us. The heart of Elysium is And it is a tale meant for those who the ubiquitous computer code becomes relationships.… Adrian(ne) a familiar presence, along with the green no longer can speak, leaving behind me- and Antoine(tte) define dot, which appears repeatedly in the sky, mentos that call out to their loved ones, the story, be they lovers, a seemingly remote observer. hoping they will hear, hoping to be seen siblings, or parent and One would say that Elysium is Afro and touched by them one more time. child. Always one is futurist in that it points to a future pop- searching to protect the ulated with black people who eventually other. Always one finds, escape the tribulations of this world and then eventually loses, take to the stars. Brissett also gives us the other. Afrofuturism in the rhythm of her prose. She gives us Afrofuturism in that the constant of Adrian(ne)’s everchanging self is his/her brown skin. She gives us Afrofuturism because, out of scant re- sources, her brown people create their own wings to fly. But her Afrofuturism does not give us a story of rescue. While there are those who eventually flee the destruction of the apocalypse pursuing the novel’s protagonist, this is not their tale. Elysium is told from the viewpoint Elysium is told from the of those who remained behind, who viewpoint of those who watched their city fall to ruin, who had remained behind, who i watched their city fall to loved ones pulled from their grasp. This This is a tale meant for us. ruin, who had loved ones 9 is a story of loss. pulled from their grasp. In Elysium we eventually learn who is This is a story of loss. wiping the humans out. But that doesn’t mean that we can ignore the warning signs of it beginning to happen now, in the real world. Though the city in Ely- sium is unnamed, we know full well it represents New York as soon as planes start flying overhead. Adrian(ne) and Antoine(tte)’s tale serves as a caution- ary tale, mirroring what is happening to the whole of the human race as they are slowly sent to extinction. There’s one scene where we are warned, perhaps with a bit of fourth-wall breaking: “You all knew that this was a possibility! You knew! We warned you! We urged you to prepare, but still you did nothing!” LaShawn M. Wanak’s works In our world, the world of now, there can be found in Strange Horizons, Ideomancer, are wars, genocides, kidnappings, shoot- and Daily Science Fiction. ings. We read the news and feel distant; She is a 2011 graduate of the names blur into numbers and sta- Visible Paradise and lives in tistics. Often we cannot comprehend Wisconsin with her husband that people who are dying are friends, and son. Writing stories keeps her sane. Well, that siblings, parents, lovers. It is the nature and pie. n y The Internet and The Law: The Case of On-line Harassment and Abuse Hate Crimes in Cyberspace, by Danielle Keats Citron, Harvard University Press, September 2014, 344 pp., $29.95. reviewed by Nancy Jane Moore

How refreshing it is, after so much of criminal activity — all types of speech news of online harassment, to read a not protected by the First Amendment. book that not only defines the problem The book begins with a detailed his- …Citron draws on clearly but sets out achievable solutions. tory of three horrific cases of online earlier campaigns to Hate Crimes in Cyberspace, by law pro- abuse. The first is the well-known situ- address domestic violence fessor Danielle Keats Citron, draws on ation of tech blogger Kathy Sierra, who and workplace sexual earlier campaigns to address domestic was forced to close her blog and stop harassment as well as on violence and workplace sexual harass- making speeches because of attacks. The civil rights legislation and ment as well as on civil rights legisla- second is the case of a law student who litigation to argue that we can change both the tion and litigation to argue that we can was subjected to defamatory abuse by atmosphere surrounding change both the atmosphere surround- posts made on AutoAdmit, a discussion online abuse and the ing online abuse and the law about it board for graduate students, and later by law about it without without “breaking” the Internet. emails to her employers that contained “breaking” the Internet. She has done so in a book that, while damaging lies. The third is that of re- it provides suggested statutes and links venge porn victim Holly Jacobs, whose useful for lawyers, is very accessible to ex-boyfriend published nude photos of the lay reader. Further, she has developed her online along with contact informa- recommendations to address abuse that tion and claims that she was interested do not undermine the right to free ex- in sex with strangers. pression under the First Amendment to Because these three cases involve dif- H the U.S. Constitution. ferent types of abuse, they give Citron Citron does four essential things in the opportunity to explain how current 10 this book. First, she gives detailed ex- law, cultural attitudes, and available re- amples of online abuse and shows why sponses affect each one differently. The this is not a trivial problem. Second, she facts in all three offer a response to the places the problem in historical context, common refrain in these cases: “Just get showing the effectiveness of feminist ac- off the computer.” Sierra’s work was re- tion in addressing problems once seen viewing tech advances, meaning that as “family matters” and an unimportant she couldn’t do it without being on the part of the working world, and point- Internet. The defamatory claims against ing out how the same combined effort the other two women came up whenever of activism and legal action that led to someone — including potential employ- changes in addressing domestic violence ers — googled their names. Ignoring the …much of the abuse comes and workplace harassment will work behavior did not keep them from suffer- from cyber mobs rather than one individual. In with online abuse. ing significant damage because of it. setting out legal remedies, Third, she points out where current The Boulder, Colorado, police were Citron shows that much law — including civil rights laws — can sympathetic to Sierra’s claims, but lacked of the abuse consists of be used to combat this problem, if law the technical skills to uncover the real defamation, invasion of enforcement personnel, prosecutors, and names of her attackers, Citron reports. privacy, and abetting of judges are given proper training. And They advised her to cancel speaking criminal activity — all types finally, she suggests revisions to the law engagements. Current law should have of speech not protected by that address the unique problems posed covered the revenge porn victim’s situa- the First Amendment. by online attacks — particularly the fact tion: Florida, where she lived, “criminal- that much of the abuse comes from cy- izes repeated online behavior designed ber mobs rather than one individual. In to harass another person that causes that setting out legal remedies, Citron shows person substantial emotional distress,”

that much of the abuse consists of defa- Citron writes (p. 139). But law enforce-

mation, invasion of privacy, and abetting ment personnel were unfamiliar with the n law. The law student eventually brought second wave of abuse against her has a civil suit and received damages from been sent to prison for hacking AT&T some of her attackers. customer information. The law student Online harassment affects women now has a solid professional career and more than men. Revenge porn in par- talks openly about her experience. ticular can cause more harm for women And Jacobs, the revenge porn victim, Citron also argues that because of the prevailing double stan- started an organization to end revenge laws on online harassment dard in attitudes about women’s sexu- porn (http://www.endrevengeporn.org/) should be felonies, not ality. As Citron observes, the damage and has now established the Cyber Civil misdemeanors, in part from revenge porn “is another harm that Rights Initiative (http://www.cyberciv- because that will ensure our society is eager to minimize, trivi- ilrights.org/), which addresses all types that law enforcement will alize, and tolerate” (p. 148). This is one of online abuse. Citron is an advisor to take the offenses seriously. reason — in addition to the success of CCRI. the earlier campaigns — that she recom- It is easy to feel despair over online mends following the model of feminist harassment, especially given the recent actions on domestic violence and sexual #gamergate blow-up and the constant harassment. This is an important issue refrain that the Internet is “different” and for women. rules of civil behavior do not apply there. Twenty-two states are now consider- By pointing out how we have solved ing laws on revenge porn. Citron sets out similar problems in the past and provid- her own proposed statute on page 152 ing ways to address the changes wrought of the book. She emphasizes that such by online communication, Citron shows laws should be very clear about the be- us that this abuse can be addressed ef- havior that is prohibited. “Revenge porn fectively. Hate Crimes in Cyberspace is a laws should only apply if a defendant must-read for activists working against Hate Crimes in Cyberspace disclosed another person’s nude image online abuse, for those running websites, is a must-read for activists working against online knowing the other person expected the for lawyers and law enforcement per- i abuse, for those running sonnel, and for anyone spending a lot of image to be kept private and knowing websites, for lawyers and the other person did not consent to the time online. law enforcement personnel, 11 disclosure,” she writes (p. 150). Careless and for anyone spending a or even foolish posting of such images lot of time online. would not be a crime. However, Citron also argues that laws on online harassment should be felonies, not misdemeanors, in part because that will ensure that law enforcement will take the offenses seriously. Her proposed statute also exempts disclosures — even of nude photos — deemed to be in the public interest. Current laws in some states could prove effective. California civil rights laws allow state attorneys to seek civil penalties in cases of “intimidation by threat of violence” (p. 154). Private suits, with attorneys’ fees, can also be brought. Nancy Jane Moore Application of such laws, along with frequently writes essays revisions to them that make it easier to on gender issues. She has address online problems, can make for worked as a lawyer and effective solutions. legal editor for many years. Her novel Seven Cities of The individual stories Citron discuss- Gold is forthcoming from es have reasonably happy endings. Sierra Aqueduct Press. She lives in is considering a return to tech blogging, Austin, Texas, and Oakland, in part because the person behind the California. n y Life, Death, Prophecy, and Neanderthal Attacks The Wilds, by Julia Elliott, Tin House Books, October 2014, 372 pp., $15.95. reviewed by Victoria Elisabeth Garcia

The Wilds is a fascinating, eclectic, and highly polished collection from multitalented newcomer Julia Elliott. Elliott’s work offers Ambitiously broad in scope and precise gorgeous examinations in execution, Elliott’s work offers gor- of human feeling, potent geous examinations of human feeling, imagery, and a powerful potent imagery, and a powerful sense of sense of the strange. the strange. Written in effortlessly sharp prose, it is a deceptively fast read full of ideas, impressions, and insights that lin- ger long after the book is finished. which the everyday savageries of cook- Elliott employs a wide variety of ing, eating, and being part of a family genre approaches. Mainstream stories are depicted in stark terms. At the same of family, lost youth, and growing up time, Elliott delicately limns the connec- are interlarded with tales of robot love, tions between human brutality and that experimental geriatric medicine, and of the natural world, while interweav- internet-centered contagious disease. A ing notes of humorous grotesquerie that Elliott employs a wide certain unity of theme is present, how- recall both Lynda Barry and Harmony variety of genre ever: The majority of these stories are Korine. This smart and dangerous story approaches.… A certain about death, deterioration, and the es- ends in a moment of luminous quiet that H unity of theme is present, sential vulnerability of flesh and blood. leaves the reader feeling almost hopeful. however: The majority of (Even Elliott’s coming of age tales in- It’s an extraordinary feat. 12 these stories are about clude notes of gore and body horror, and Another standout with Southern death, deterioration, and give an impression of youth as red in Gothic overtones is “The Rapture.” Here, the essential vulnerability tooth and claw.) two affluent girls, forced to attend a poor- of flesh and blood. Because of this, and because many of er classmate’s slumber party, bear witness the pieces are set in the author’s home to a deeply religious grandmother’s fi- state of South Carolina, there is a temp- nal prophecy. The story is a wonderfully tation to call the collection “Southern wrought snapshot of the openness and Gothic.” Indeed, the book includes a pointed curiosity of childhood, as well as number of traditional Southern Gothic the essential alienness of adult life. And motifs, such as madness, wild religious the prophecy itself, which involves space- exuberance, and emotional and corporeal ships, dragons, Jesus, Jacuzzis, and grape monstrosity. But though Southern Goth- Kool-Aid, is a virtuoso literary jazz riff. It ic influence is unquestionably present, is not to be missed. the book as a whole does not quite fit the Similar in theme and genre is the title category. Elliott is far less interested in story, “The Wilds.” In this lovely work, Elliott delicately limns moral landscapes, vernacular reportage, an essentially mimetic story of a young the connections between and the weight of history than she is in girl’s first sensual relationship is garland- human brutality and that her characters’ interior worlds and inter- ed with hints of fairytale (a diaphanous of the natural world, personal relationships. Elliot’s work owes princess skirt, a poison locket, a young while interweaving notes as much to writers like Aimee Bender man who wears a mask at the full moon). of humorous grotesquerie and Lorrie Moore as it does to William Cleverly and convincingly, Elliott shows that recall both Lynda Faulkner and Flannery O’Connor. us how much adolescence and lycan- Barry and Harmony Korine. Still, the pieces that exhibit Southern thropy have in common, and what it Gothic tendencies are among the stron- means to be a young person coming into

gest in the book. The first, “Whipping,” knowledge and possession of her own

is a mainstream coming-of-age story in wildness. n But Elliott doesn’t need to cling to the venture. In “Organisms,” a community’s Southern Gothic mode to write stories teens are afflicted by a Marshall McLu- that are brave, honest, and affecting. In han-esque microbial pathogen that causes “Jaws,” a son is forced to confront the video screen obsession, then coma, then depth of his mother’s dementia, the the flight of the patients from their hos- mixture of fragility and strength in his pital beds and from society as a whole. parents’ marriage, and his own shame, And in “The Love Machine,” an artifi- Elliott also shines as a while trapped on a ride at Universal Stu- cially intelligent robot recalls the devel- black humorist. dios. And in “The End of the World,” a opment of his ability to feel existential woman searching for recordings of ex- need, erotic desire, and finally, total, self- perimental music she made years before negating devotion. re-encounters her former bandmate and In these, as in the collection’s other lover, and takes stock of the ways that pieces, Elliott does a first-rate job of ren- experience and the passage of years have dering character, feeling, and emotion. marked his body and her own heart. She also has a wonderful way of illumi- (Elliott, a member of soaringly wonder- nating mood and mental landscape by ful music collective, Grey Egg [http:// showing how her characters think about greyegg.bandcamp.com/] writes about the science that underlies their stories. music-making in a way that feels par- As pieces of literature, and as medita- ticularly rich and true.) tions on the intersection of science, lived Elliott also shines as a black humorist. experience, and emotional being, they The book includes two fabulous pieces most assuredly succeed. However, as about nigh-fantastical health retreats. In pieces of science fiction, they do occa- one, “Regeneration at Mukti,” a battery sionally lack rigor. of carefully curated skin diseases (ad- “Love Machine,” for example, is set She…has a wonderful ministered along with yoga instruction in the extreme near future and centers way of illuminating mood and high-end spa treatments) causes pa- on a robot that has been purpose-built and mental landscape by i tients to encase themselves in veritable for indoor, lab-based experiments with showing how her characters pupae of scabs and running sores. From the biochemistry of emotional attach- think about the science 13 these, they hope to emerge with youth ment. Its voice (intelligent, articulate, that underlies their stories. renewed. Through this — plus a comple- with complex and occasionally poetic mentary spate of natural and manmade diction) is far from realistic, but quite disasters — Elliott’s protagonist achieves understandably so: the sophistication of a measure of genuine enlightenment. its speech, and of its observations of the And in “The Caveman Diet,” Elliot’s dysfunctions, intrigues, failures, and re- protagonist finds adventure, bafflement, demptions of the researchers in the lab, sex, and transformation among radical contribute powerfully to the story on ev- Paleo lifestyle devotees. Balancing cut- ery level. ting satire with nuanced observation The same cannot be said, however, of and genuine empathy, these stories are the fact (revealed late in the narrative) among the most vividly entertaining in that the robot is a bipedal machine with As pieces of literature, the book. Readers who enjoyed George a human-like silhouette that is able to and as meditations on the Saunders’s “CivilWarLand in Bad De- independently negotiate the irregular intersection of science, cline” will find them especially delightful. outdoor terrain of a university campus. lived experience, and Other stories are more distinctly SF- (Locomotion of this kind is killingly emotional being, they nal: In “Feral,” a grade school teacher, difficult to engineer. Endowing this ma- most assuredly succeed. stuck in an increasingly stolid marriage, chine with such a capacity is the equiva- However, as pieces of discovers a unique olfactory connection lent of giving a middle-schooler a laptop science fiction, they do with the enormous packs of wild dogs on which to do homework and a com- occasionally lack rigor. that have begun to menace the country- mercial-quality offset press on which to side. Joining forces with an odd but sexu- print it out.) This unnecessary departure ally compelling celebrity canine scientist, from the probable gives the end of an she braves danger in pursuit of desire, otherwise wonderful story a feeling of self-knowledge, and neurobiological ad- undisciplined bagginess, and renders Cont. on p. 14 n Life, Death, Prophecy… It must also be noted that several of (cont. from p. 13) the stories have somewhat unsatisfying the final impact a bit hollow. Though endings. “The Love Machine” and “The definitely worthwhile, hard SF-oriented Caveman Diet” end on dramatic notes Though definitely readers should come to these stories pre- that terminate the narrative rather than worthwhile, hard SF- pared to suspend a rather hefty bolus of resolving it. “Feral” and “The Organ- oriented readers should disbelief. isms” have endings that are sounder, the- come to these stories Elliott does far better when the sci- matically, but still feel a bit loose. Other prepared to suspend a ence is more thoroughly submerged be- stories, however, have endings that posi- rather hefty bolus of neath her characters’ lived experience. tively glow. As noted above, “Whipping” disbelief. In “LIMBs,” experimental mobility and sticks its landing like an Olympic gym- dementia treatments allow an elderly nast. Similarly, the “The Rapture’s” finish woman to recall, re-establish, and come is diamond-sharp. Elliott does far better to terms with two defining romances On the whole, the book is marvel- when the science is more from her past. Elliott does not dwell ous, and doubly impressive for being the thoroughly submerged on the technology involved; instead, author’s first. And take note: Elliott’s beneath her characters’ she renders (with stunning skill) the re- second book, a novel about Hamadryas lived experience. emergence of fragments of memory and baboons, is scheduled for publication in self, and the gradual integration of past 2015. If it’s half as good as The Wilds, it and present. The effect is of a kaleido- will be well worth watching for. On the whole, the book scopic abstraction slowly resolving into is marvelous, and doubly a realistic portrait. It is a devastatingly impressive for being the effective piece. author’s first.

14 Victoria Garcia lives in Seattle with her husband, comics creator John Aegard, and a chunky but agile little dog. Her fiction has been published in Polyphony, the Indiana Review, and elsewhere.

Paper Topography 2 n Song of Steel Clara Immerwahr Haber, 1870-1915 by Mary Alexandra Agner Midnight Snack This should have been a song of steel by Mary Alexandra Agner and pressure chambers, flasks and fires burnt, their catalysts untouched, explosive paean ending with a portrait: mother You cannot map prized by Nobel and her family. the fridge dial to Fahrenheit, you think veggies not viability, This should have been the story, under covers lasagna leftovers not life limits with the flashlight on, that kept me reading of bacteria and mold, carefully controlled salts and solvents, van der Waals, cloudy environment reduced to ding ding ding, electrons humming while I held my breath door open, so many seconds stealing crisp at her success precipitated out of emptiness. from lettuce, chill from borscht, These shouldhavebeens combust at STP, sublime slowdown of decay convert her Joules to inspiration and to hope, an intricate relationship of dewpoint and degree. an alloy of her memory, her chemistry, and me. What we don’t think My shear strength doubles in adversity. when we don’t think about refridgerators: cold chain of insulated trucks, freezer cases, World War II perfected processes of preservation i begun in balmy weather, warm rain, rays of a G-type star turned 15 to cook-chew-swallow, chlorophyll making stem and saute leaf one cell at a time like neurons in the brain of Mary Pennington, engineer of ice boxes, calculating safety, spoilage rates, the Charon of the scientific world refusing the coin of what junk we’ve stuffed into crisper, cheese drawer, back of the door, until coldness and dryness have done their utmost to hold back the ravages of time. B movie horror scene, ice-encrusted body parts, pinked and crystallized. A person forgotten in every appliance. Pennington’s work wrapped in plastic and coils — original woman fridged? — Mary Alexandra Agner has degrees in earth and planetary sciences, her efforts so efficient they fade faster physics, and creative writing. than the stench of flesh as you ferret out Her freelance writing addresses the ham, the cheese, the mayo hot with horseradish, topics including planetary science, the green species, home-grown, computer science, women in that sends you deciphering expiration dates science, women technology leaders, gardening and backyard botany, and swearing as you slam the door,

and astronomy. Her poetry appears extinguishing the light, unsatisfied.

in numerous venues. n y Post-Potter YA Made For You Made for You, by Melissa Marr, Harper, September 2014, 358 pp., $17.99. reviewed by Aaliyah Hudson and Nisi Shawl

Nisi Shawl: To give CSZ readers our impressions of this new novel, my 14-year- old niece Aaliyah and I interviewed each other, asking and answering each other’s Coolness needs to be shared Made for You questions. But before you to exist; it’s a group value, read the results I’ll give you a bit of a socially assigned status. background. …Maybe the Harry Potter First of all, did you know that read- books made reading cool? around her again and again without re- Most of the younger fans ing is cool? It has always been my private I’m aware of started with passion — not a secret, but not, by its na- vealing his true identity. them. ture, something easy to share. Coolness needs to be shared to exist; it’s a group AH: Who is the protagonist? value, a socially assigned status. NS: Eva Cooper-Tilling is the protag- Enter the book haul video. Haul vid- onist, and she’s sort of an insider and eos, for those of us unaware of them, are an outsider at the same time. She’s the YouTube spots in which one caresses only daughter of a marriage between and displays one’s “haul” — the merchan- One author who has been two of the leading families in Jessup, a dise one has just purchased. Book haul supplying the demand very insular North Carolina town. But for post-Potter fiction is videos focus on recently bought books. she doesn’t care as much as you’d think Melissa Marr, whose six- I don’t think book hauls make reading H volume Wicked Lovely cool, though; they just make it easier to about the politics and posturing involved series can be found on show how cool it is. in being on top of the social hierarchy. 16 multiple bestseller lists, Maybe the Harry Potter books made Her closest friend is someone who came including the New York reading cool? Most of the younger fans from a different town — a different state, Times. Made for You I’m aware of started with them. As these even — and who, based on her last name is set in a completely people have grown and matured, they’ve of Yeung, I believe is at least partly of different world. graduated to books with older protago- East Asian heritage and so a differ- nists facing equally tough — sometimes ent race than most of the other kids. even tougher — situations. Fantasy, sci- And even though Eva has been dating ence fiction, and horror themes predomi- her social equivalent, the dearest love nate. One author who has been supplying of her heart is Nate, another boy who the demand for post-Potter fiction is comes from a much poorer family. Eva Melissa Marr, whose six-v olume Wicked has the advantages of a rich person, but Lovely series can be found on multiple I think it’s going to be the comprehension of someone without bestseller lists, including the New York most appreciated by those advantages. young women, teenagers Times. Made for You is set in a completely to college students, different world. NS: Did you like this novel? Do you who are interested in Here’s what we thought of it. think other people will like it? psychologically realistic Aaliyah Hudson: Summarize the book thrillers. Even “true crime” AH: Yes. I think that people around my without spoiling the end. fans could get into it… age will like it best, because we are go- NS: Eva Cooper-Tilling survives an ating to be going into high school, like Eva tempt on her life by an obsessed friend and her friends. And it’s also a murder who calls himself “Judge.” Despite psy- mystery, and nowadays people my age chic abilities awakened by the head in- like TV shows and things like that. jury she sustained during the murder

attempt, Eva has no defense against AH: Who would you recommend this

the would-be killer, who strikes those book to? n NS: I think it’s going to be most ap- AH: What part did you think was the preciated by young women, teenagers to best written? college students, who are interested in …there will be fewer fans NS: That’s so hard to say — so much was of horror, fantasy, and psychologically realistic thrillers. Even gripping and made me want to keep on straight-up science fiction “true crime” fans could get into it, be- with the book. The details of the settings, who’ll like Made for You. cause it feels very much like something the choices of the characters, all had me … anyone who wants that could happen. I say young women believing the story. Looking at what the to know why something because many younger men aren’t going author did from the perspective of an- happens will be left to be interested, just like most older men other writer, I’m most impressed with unsatisfied. That said, anyone who has aren’t interested in this kind of book. how she got inside the mind of Judge. More women than men read mysteries an open mind and is ready All his creepy thoughts that made sense to enjoy that wonderful and novels of suspense, plus the main to him just fascinated me. feeling of not knowing for positive characters are female, and so a NS: What made Eva’s visions happen? sure what’s happening is female audience will more easily identify going to love this book. with them. AH: Her car accident did something to I also think there will be fewer fans of her brain I guess. horror, fantasy, and straight-up science NS: Do you think Made for You should fiction who’ll like Made for You. There’s a be a movie? strong supernatural element, but it’s un- explained: there’s no scientific or magi- AH: Yes — and no. Because if they decide cal reasoning behind Eva’s visions, so to leave in the sexual car scene when they anyone who wants to know why some- make the movie it will automatically become R-rated, and I think it should be at thing happens will be left unsatisfied. Looking at what the least PG-13, so younger people can see That said, anyone who has an open author did from the it. But other than that scene, yes, I think mind and is ready to enjoy that wonder- perspective of another it should become a movie. ful feeling of not knowing for sure what’s writer, I’m most impressed i happening is going to love this book. AH: Do you think she should write an- with how she got inside other book like this? the mind of Judge. All 17 NS: Do you have a favorite part? his creepy thoughts that AH: My favorite part is when the mur- NS: I think she should, and I’m pretty made sense to him just fascinated me. derer finally got shot. That made me feel sure she is doing that right now. happy, because Eva didn’t end up actually killing him but he still got caught. But I also have many other favorite parts. AH: Who is your favorite character, and why?

NS: My favorite character is Grace, Aaliyah Hudson lives with her dad because she doesn’t give up even when near San Diego. She plays tennis “Judge” captures her and puts her in and reads science fiction when she doesn’t have too much homework to a collar at the end of a chain. She also do. This is her first review. doesn’t quit life even when her past out- side Jessup comes to light and people dislike her for what she’s done. She Nisi Shawl takes her cat Minnie keeps focused on the present and the fu- for a walk every day. The rest of her ture. She’s determined to get where she waking hours she spends writing stories such as those appearing in wants to go. her Aqueduct Press collection Filter NS: On what page did you figure out House, and editing things like the reviews in this journal. who “Judge” is?

AH: Honestly, I didn’t figure out until he was at Eva’s house. n y Heroine with an Axe to Grind small shadow of billowing gray fabric and Maplecroft by Cherie Priest, sprawling, wild hair splaying out behind her, the axe held at the ready with both Penguin, 2014, 435 pp., $15. hands, poised and prepared.” reviewed by Kristin King And this Lizzie is just as accomplished at methodical inquiry as she is with her Lizzie Borden has a secret. No, it’s axe. Faced with unnatural, foul aberra- not that she hacked her father and step- tions, she brings them to her basement mother to death with an axe. The town for study. Like Dana Scully of the TV of Fall River already knows that. Her se- show “The X-Files,” Lizzie is matter-of- cret is why they were so hard to kill. And fact in her investigation of the unknown. what she’s hiding in her basement. As compelling and fascinating as In Maplecroft, Cherie Priest takes us Lizzie is, the aberrations are even more through the heart of madness and be- so. The creatures who attack the house yond. She chronicles a town sliding into have teeth like needles, ooze foul-smell- a watery grave, masterfully blending ing fluids, possess the “wet-looking pal- horror, suspense, folklore, mystery, and lor of boiled eggs,” and make “slithering, science. What’s going on? It’s not clear damp coughs.” There’s also a nightmar- at first which kind of monstrosity is at work — maybe demons, or an alien intel- ish threat in the whispering voice — or ligence, or a natural phenomenon gone voices — that lead people to madness and wrong. The only thing that’s clear is that bodily transformation. without Lizzie’s axe, the entire town of Lizzie doesn’t know what she’s fight- Fall River would be dead. ing at first, and neither do we. A demon, Cherie Priest…chronicles a Lizzie is a compelling character, viv- a fairy, an alien, the primordial mother of town sliding into a watery idly drawn and believable. She’s smart, the sea, or even a host of entities? A con- H grave, masterfully blending strong, fiercely loyal to a town that shuns tagion, like tetanus? Is it male? Female? horror, suspense, folklore, her, pragmatic, and willing to suspend We keep learning more and more about mystery, and science. her disbelief in anything and everything. it as we see it through the eyes of all the 18 What’s going on? It’s not At the same time, she’s not a modern characters, but each time it becomes clear at first which kind of more of an enigma. monstrosity is at work… woman in period clothes: her sensibility and understanding of the world are defi- As Lizzie grapples with the mon nitely Victorian. strosity(ies], so too do the other charac- The actual, historical Lizzie Borden ters. I’m just as interested in them as I has fascinated many. Why did she strike am in Lizzie. They all have a journey to her stepmother 19 times and her father take, and they all face danger both from 11 times? (If she even did it; nobody without and from within. knows.) I first met her myself in Angela Take Doctor Seabury. He steps into the Carter’s story “The Fall River Axe Mur- story after Lizzie’s first section, providing ders,” which paints such a grim and sti- a rational counterbalance to her improb- fling picture of family life that a hatchet able tale…at least, at first. Unfortu- falling is a welcome relief. nately for him, the more he learns, the When [Lizzie] swings her The Lizzie Borden from Maplecroft more he fears a descent into madness. axe, we’re cheering her goes one better. When she swings her axe, He’s a hero straight out of Lovecraft, on (and wincing as we we’re cheering her on (and wincing as we which means that it’s not the monster think of the cleanup job think of the cleanup job afterward). This he fears, but knowledge of the unknown. afterward). This Lizzie Lizzie is murdering for a good reason: her Can he learn enough about the demons is murdering for a good parents were possessed and transformed to fight them before he goes mad from reason… into demons. This Lizzie is beautifully ac- that knowledge? complished with her axe. “She wielded it Then there’s Nance, Lizzie’s lover. easily, lightly,” Priest has another charac- She’s sexy and brave and takes initiative, ter note. “She carried it swinging like a but is a touch too curious. Hers is the

baseball bat, only with more poetry to it. same dilemma as Blackbeard’s wife: she

It was a frightening thing to watch, this can know all of Lizzie’s secrets but one, n open any door but one; she has prom- Finally, there’s a police inspector called ised never, ever to go into the base- only “Wolf,” sent from Boston by some ment. Can she resist the alien call? unnamed organization. He knows some- Suspenseful and Emma, Lizzie’s sister, has the un- thing, but will he tell? In a way he’s like mysterious, this book is fortunate failing of having been born the X-Files’ Fox Mulder, who partners the creepiest I’ve read in a woman at a time only men were ex- with Dana Scully — except that Victo- some time. pected to have minds, but she still man- rian mores prohibit a man and a woman ages to establish an academic reputation from being together alone. Will they as “Doctor E.A. Jackson.” She’s a biolo- ever meet and compare notes? gist and by rights should have been the As the story progresses and we get to scientist studying the aberrations in the know the characters, doom comes closer Kristin Ann King is the basement, except that she is an invalid, and closer, the body count rises, and the author of the short story suffering from tuberculosis. Her body strange objects in the basement are call- collection Misfits from the isn’t up to it. She can’t physically defend ing out. How long can anyone resist? Beehive State (2013). She’s Suspenseful and mysterious, this book also has had stories and herself from the monsters and has to essays in the Aqueduct rely on her sister. Meanwhile she cor- is the creepiest I’ve read in some time. Press anthology Missing responds with other scientists, but what Almost makes me wish for an axe of Links and Secret Histories she sends out into the world takes on a my own. (2013), Strange Horizons, the life of its own, coming back bit by bit to Pushcart Prize anthology, threaten her life and soul. and elsewhere. She lives in Seattle and blogs at kristinking.org.

Gorgoneion by Sonya Taaffe

While the other maidens wove the wool for Athene, i saffron as chariots, purple as victory, I prayed, 19 bronze-winged Stheno, boar-tusked Euryale, to you. For thighs as hardened as a Spartan runner’s, for hair as strong as snakes, for hands empty of distaff and water-drawing and a head bare of dutiful roses, I watched the moon move the loom-strings on the wall and weighed what I would offer to leave them dangling in the sparrow-dusty night. Sisters of the southernmost ocean, sea-snarling as vast Keto and claw-pincing Phorkys, come from the black-figured bottoms of cups, from kiln doors and carved limestone and take me from my skin, as the goddess stripped your sister long ago. Wear my face at every festival, guise smiling in my silence and claim for your crown of ivy the loss sowed in my wake: vanished irrevocably without even a siren to scream over my grave. Sonya Taaffee’s short stories and award-winning poems Make me stone, have appeared in numerous if it will keep me from loving venues. She is currently

all this life that chains me poetry editor for Strange

as surely as a mirror the eye. Horizons. n charted unterritories Tahlia Day These pieces begin with watercolor found surfaces such as book pages and or ink stains or washes that I build on wallpaper scraps so that the images be- in many layers of painting and drawing come like little worlds growing and tak- with more watercolor, ink, pencil, and ing over unlikely places. other media to create final images that The paintings owe a lot to my lifelong are reminiscent of maps or aerial land- affection for fantasy novels with maps in scape views. It’s an unplanned organic them, starting with Tolkien’s, and also to process informed by the patterns the my general love of the concept of world- watercolor creates as it flows over and building. I made the first few of them through the paper and dries, which seem in 2006 while studying at the School of to me like microcosms of the ways water the Art Institute of Chicago; since then drives topographical formation. I’ve been working in my home studio in I call the series “Charted Unterri- Madison, WI, and continue to have new tories” and name them after mythical, ideas for directions to take with them. fantastical, lost, fictional, theoretical, in- vented, and otherwise unreal places. In www.tahliaday.com the “Colonization” sub-series I use other

Lunar Colony 1

Featured Artist n Colonization: Herodotus 1

Colonization: Wild marshes

Colonization: Mutation

Colonization: Terrestrial Navigation 3 n Colonization: Blue Wallpaper 1 (Silver Fern Bay)

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