Xenogenesis: Tales of Space and Time

by Miriam Allen deFord, Richard M. Powers (Illustrator)

Contents:
The Daughter of the Tree (1951)
The Superior Sex (1968)
The Ajeri Diary (1968)
Quick to Haste (1969)
The Smiling Future (1965)
Gathi (1958)
The Children (1952)
Throwback (1952)
One-Way Journey (1955)
The Season of the Babies (1959)
Featherbed on Chlyntha (1957)
The Transit of Venus (1962)
All in Good Time (1960)
The Absolutely Perfect Murder (1965)
Operation Cassandra (1958)
The Last Generation? (1946)

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Collections

231 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published February 12, 1969

About the author

Miriam Allen deFord was a suffragette, feminist, and Fortean who became better known for her science-fiction, true crime, and mystery writing after the 1940s. Her short fiction has been widely anthologized; she also edited an anthology of stories mixing science fiction with mystery called Space, Time, and Crime.

She received the 1961 Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America in the category of Best Fact Crime book for The Overbury Affair, which involves events during the reign of James I of Britain.

Reviews

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Shira and Ari Evergreen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked this up at a second-hand shop for a dollar, and wowee am I glad I did. It's not every day you stumble on well-written feminist sci fi like that - I should know, I scour the sci fi section at my local library and don't have luck like this. Anyway, it was a lot of fun to discover this one.

Some of the stories are quite intense; they all focus on reproduction, and some tales are decidedly dystopian. Most of them, actually. But they're imaginative and creative, and of great social value. deFord was writing in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s, a sexist era wherein scientists and governments dabbled in eugenics. deFord did not approve. Her witty, clever, critical eye takes it all in and spits it all out, reflecting our own cultural frailties and inanities back at us.

I like to think that if she were alive today, deFord would be glad to see women rising up and taking control of their reproduction, but I have a feeling she'd be writing dystopic visions of the Republicans and their war on women. I hope more folks will read this book and learn from it - she had a lot to say that's of great value to feminist activists, even ones living in 2012, like me.

[Joachim Boaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Full review: https://sciencefictionruminations.com...

3.5/5

"Miriam Allen deFord—one of the more prolific SF short story authors of the 50s-70s whose works appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, If, Fantastic Universe, Galaxy, Worlds of Tomorrow, etc—deserves a Gollancz Masterworks volume. But, as Ian Sales has pointed out so forcefully in his recent article (here), despite the number of prolific women [...]"

[Philip Wyeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars. An imaginative and thoughtful collection of stories centered around the common theme of exploring different avenues of procreation, and how societies influence or are influenced by them. It's at times ambitious and daring, but occasionally gets bogged down by too much “telling” or a heavy-handed approach. All in all, I'd say the winners make this a worthwhile collection. Especially because deFord discusses gender across space and time in a curious and playful manner, rather than taking a militant approach.

Sometimes the prose can be a bit clunky, but overall there are only two real duds. Book opener “The Daughter of the Tree” just feels out of place within the whole—plus any hyper-sensitive readers will find the dialogue “problematic.” “The Transit of Venus” is all “tell,” so I never got into the story. Volume closer “The Last Generation?” was written in a similar style but its premise was engaging—until the tedious final message, that is.

BEST:
-“The Children”: Admirably ambitious in its sweeping scope. The use of hard science and the experiment's purpose helped me overcome my usual antipathy to time travel, which I find illogical in principle. Here deFord has written a multi-thousand-year tale that perhaps even Asimov would appreciate.
-“Featherbed of Chlyntha”: Clever, entertaining, creative, engrossing… and just a bit disturbing. A pitch-perfect tale of one human's abduction and life as a zoo attraction on another planet.
-“Quick to Haste”: Wonderfully expressed exploration of the concept of “perspective.” Feels like a fairy tale within the space travel / first contact framework.
-“The Season of the Babies”: A clever story which employs inversion to make its point. It also brings up questions about the concept of universal morality and the grass being greener, all while providing a bit of a revolting shock.
-“Operation Cassandra”: Immediate sense of urgency, similar to the beginning of the movie Pandorum. The second half was a bit surprisingly campy, however. I could see the premise having been better developed as a novel with darker elements instead. Still, an immersive read!

ALSO VERY GOOD:
-“The Ajeri Diary”: Creates a pleasant sense of adventurous mystery within the fairy tale framework.
-“The Superior Sex”: Great initial premise of an amnesic space traveler enslaved as a queen's concubine. The end twist was acceptable, but wrenches you so far away that the result is more ironic than satisfying.

DECENT:
“Throwback,” “One-Way Journey,” “All in Good Time,” “The Absolutely Perfect Murder,” and "The Smiling Future."

[Madison · Rating 3 out of 5]

No doubt these were ground breaking stories in their time but they didn’t age well at all. And somehow all but one of them was sexual (not spicy sexual but taboo sexual)? I think deFord would have done well with tumblr, ao3, and an internet connection.

[redacted · Rating 3 out of 5]

weird but nothing special in terms of writing or ideas. i always like a story where men are oppressed though