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Rosalind's Siblings
Physical chemist Rosalind Franklin was one of the discoverers of DNA and an innovator of virology — yet despite her groundbreaking research, her contributions were often erased. In her memory, Rosalind’s Siblings collects over twenty original speculative fiction stories and poems, all focusing on scientists marginalized due to their gender. Edited by Hugo and Lambda award winner Bogi Takács, and featuring both established and newer authors from all around the world, the pieces in this anthology take you across time and space while exploring the role of scientists in society.
300 pages, Paperback
Published September 19, 2023
About the author
Bogi Takács
64 books665 followersBogi Takács is a Hungarian Jewish author who writes short-form speculative fiction, poetry, nonfiction and weird unclassifiables. Eir work has been published in a variety of venues like Clarkesworld, Strange Horizons, Apex, Lightspeed and more.
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July 31, 2023I edited this book!
(Author names will be added after the ToC announcement) [Update: I added them!]
Preorders now available on the publisher's website:
https://www.atthisarts.com/product/ro...
Message me if you'd like an ARC when they go out :)
(Author names will be added after the ToC announcement) [Update: I added them!]
Preorders now available on the publisher's website:
https://www.atthisarts.com/product/ro...
Message me if you'd like an ARC when they go out :)
October 24, 2023
I heard about this anthology c/ Bogi Takács, the editor, and the premise immediately grabbed me (also I trust Bogi's sensibility).
The premise here - as the subtitle says - is speculative fiction stories about scientists who are marginalised due to their gender or sex, in honour of Rosalind Franklin - a woman whose scientific discoveries were key to the unravelling of DNA, but who never received the recognition that Watson and Crick did in their own time.
In Takács' introduction, they note that the stories don't take a simplistic view of science; there are stories where science is generally a positive force, and stories where it's not. There are a variety of different sciences presented, a variety of ways of doing science, and a variety of contexts as well. There's also a range of characters, across gender and and sexuality and neurodiversity and experience and ethnicity and everything else. This reflects the authors themselves, who are also really diverse. The stories, too, vary in their speculative fiction-ness; near-future, far-future, magical realism, on Earth or in the solar system or far away. There are two 'trans folk around Venus' stories, as Takács rather amusedly notes - and they are placed one after the other! - but they're so different that I'm not sure I would have clicked to that similarity without having been made aware of it from the introduction (stories by Tessa Fisher and Cameron Van Sant; they're both a delight).
As with all anthologies, I didn't love every single one of these stories - that would be too much to expect. But there were zero stories where I wondered why an editor would include it, and all of them fit the brief, so those are pretty good marks. DA Xieolin Spires' "The Vanishing of Ultratatts" was wonderful and hinted at an enormous amount of worldbuilding behind the story. Leigh Harlen's "Singing Goblin Songs" was a delight, "If Strange Things Happen Where She Is" (Premee Mohamed) has gut-wrenching timeliness (science in a time of war), and "To Keep the Way" (Phoebe Barton) utterly and appropriately chilling.
The premise here - as the subtitle says - is speculative fiction stories about scientists who are marginalised due to their gender or sex, in honour of Rosalind Franklin - a woman whose scientific discoveries were key to the unravelling of DNA, but who never received the recognition that Watson and Crick did in their own time.
In Takács' introduction, they note that the stories don't take a simplistic view of science; there are stories where science is generally a positive force, and stories where it's not. There are a variety of different sciences presented, a variety of ways of doing science, and a variety of contexts as well. There's also a range of characters, across gender and and sexuality and neurodiversity and experience and ethnicity and everything else. This reflects the authors themselves, who are also really diverse. The stories, too, vary in their speculative fiction-ness; near-future, far-future, magical realism, on Earth or in the solar system or far away. There are two 'trans folk around Venus' stories, as Takács rather amusedly notes - and they are placed one after the other! - but they're so different that I'm not sure I would have clicked to that similarity without having been made aware of it from the introduction (stories by Tessa Fisher and Cameron Van Sant; they're both a delight).
As with all anthologies, I didn't love every single one of these stories - that would be too much to expect. But there were zero stories where I wondered why an editor would include it, and all of them fit the brief, so those are pretty good marks. DA Xieolin Spires' "The Vanishing of Ultratatts" was wonderful and hinted at an enormous amount of worldbuilding behind the story. Leigh Harlen's "Singing Goblin Songs" was a delight, "If Strange Things Happen Where She Is" (Premee Mohamed) has gut-wrenching timeliness (science in a time of war), and "To Keep the Way" (Phoebe Barton) utterly and appropriately chilling.
May 14, 2024
I think this book is pretty good but I may be biased
January 25, 2024
This anthology of science fiction stories takes its title and inspiration from the scientist Rosalind Franklin, whose X-ray diffraction studies were instrumental in solving the structure of DNA. Famously, James Watson and Francis Crick made use of her X-ray data when building their model of DNA structure. Also famously, they made use of her data without her permission and without proper acknowledgement.1,2,3 In the years since, Franklin has become a symbol of the struggle that women scientists have faced in their careers, of the ways they’ve been sidelined in the past, and of how they have often had to struggle for respect and to be taken seriously by their peers.4
Rosalind’s Siblings is a tribute anthology to Rosalind Franklin, first conceived of by a relative of Franklin. This book pays tribute to Franklin by featuring, as editor Bogi Takács states, “speculative stories and poems about scientists marginalized due to their gender and sex.” Thus, Rosalind’s Siblings features stories and poems about women scientists, and also stories and poems about trans men and nonbinary scientists.
It's an incredibly varied selection of stories. There’s “hard” science fiction, and there are stories that blend fantasy with science. There are stories set in space, a story set in the sea, stories set on other planets, two stories set in the atmosphere of Venus, a story set in ancient Sumeria, and stories of cryptozoologists studying fairies and other strange beasts. There’s humor, whimsy, intensity, war, romance, and tragedy. The protagonists vary not only in gender/sex, but also in race/ethnicity, nationality, neurodiversity, and other life experiences. What unites these pieces is that they all feature scientists in speculative fiction. And it was while reading these stories that I realized that many—most?—of the science-fiction stories I read casually online don’t feature scientists as protagonists at all. In most science-fiction stories I come across, the “science” part is background, or backdrop. In this volume, science and scientists are front-and-center.
“Collecting Ynés” by Lisa M. Bradley is the opening story to this volume, and one of the best. This story is part poetry and part prose, lyrical and tinged with the mythical. It’s a fantastical, magical-realist telling of the life of the real-life Mexican-American botanist Ynés Mexia. Mexia was 55 when she went on her first botanical field trip to Mexico, launching a productive and celebrated career as a botanist. The joy of discovery—not just scientific discovery, but the thrill of finding one’s calling, even in later life—sings through this piece.
The joy of science is, indeed, a recurrent theme in this book. And as someone who was once a practicing scientist, I found myself particularly drawn to the stories focused on the actual practice of science—the nitty-gritty of data collection and problem-solving, the tedium and frustrations--amid the joy. In that respect, “Rewilding Nova” by Polenth Blake and “Leech Clinic” by Laura Jane Swanson are both good examples: gentle stories that feature the nitty-gritty of problem-solving within larger tales. “The Elusive Plague” by Santiago Belluco is particularly impressive in this regard, a medical mystery set among a tale of relationship drama. The story accurately captures the stress of trying to survive in a competitive science career (even making a not-so-subtle jab at the use of publication impact factors), and I was not surprised to learn that the author is indeed a practicing scientist in a biomedical field.
Science collides with the mystical in the wonderful “Cavern of Dreams” by Julie Nováková, which takes us into a world where magic has become real, and asks: what does this mean for science and those who have devoted themselves to it? How does a rational, dedicated scientist, who has spent years in rigorous training, fit into this new world? It’s a beautifully thought-provoking piece, which also introduced me to the intriguing concept of the “shadow biome.” Magic blends with fantasy to more lightly humorous effect in such stories as “Animal Behavior” by Emma Alice Johnson, where an animal behavioral scientist is called on to deal with a most unusual animal. And science and scientific ambition take on strange new forms in the weird and wild “Great Things of Which to Speak Of” by Osahon Ize-Iyamu and “The Bull of the Moon Holds His Horns to Time’s Grindstone; or, Cybernetineti in Ur,” by Vajra Chandrasekera (the latter of which has one of the most unexpected, and best, ending lines I’ve ever seen).
Science is, of course, a human endeavor. And Premee Mohamed reminds us of the importance of the human element in “If Strange Things Happen Where She Is,” where a woman is trying to run a lab during a time of war and is reminded that the future of her work—and of science—lies ultimately not with a physical laboratory or machines, but with the people: the students, professors, and other scientists. The human element is strongly present in all the stories of Rosalind’s Siblings, among settings that are often fantastical, exotic, and strange. Two additional stories that impressed me with their human emotion were “The Tightrope Walker” by Celia Neri, the story of an autistic astronomer caught between the noise and complexity of human society and the silence and peace of space; and “The Vanishing Of Ultratatts” by D.A. Xiaolin Spires, which sets a story of grief amid a surreally futuristic world of animated tattoo sensors and volcano surfing.
All in all, Rosalind’s Siblings is a wonderful collection that showcases science fiction stories that are diverse in multiple ways, not just in the gender/sex of the characters, but also in the intersection of other identities/backgrounds and in setting, tone, approach, plot, and themes. With such a variety, a reader is sure to find something of appeal. It’s a fitting tribute indeed to Rosalind Franklin’s legacy.
1. Cobb M. and Comfort N. What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure. Nature 616, 657-660 (2023)
2. Anthes E. Untangling Rosalind Franklin’s role in DNA discovery, 70 years on. New York Times. April 25, 2023.
3. Watson, J.D. The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA. New York, NY: Signet; First Edition; 1969.
4. In his memoir The Double Helix, Watson freely admits that he viewed Franklin dismissively at first, something he would regret as he came to later respect her. As an example of this, he writes in one passage of attending a scientific talk by Franklin, where instead of paying attention to her science: “Momentarily I wondered how she would look if she took off her glasses and did something novel with her hair.”
Rosalind’s Siblings is a tribute anthology to Rosalind Franklin, first conceived of by a relative of Franklin. This book pays tribute to Franklin by featuring, as editor Bogi Takács states, “speculative stories and poems about scientists marginalized due to their gender and sex.” Thus, Rosalind’s Siblings features stories and poems about women scientists, and also stories and poems about trans men and nonbinary scientists.
It's an incredibly varied selection of stories. There’s “hard” science fiction, and there are stories that blend fantasy with science. There are stories set in space, a story set in the sea, stories set on other planets, two stories set in the atmosphere of Venus, a story set in ancient Sumeria, and stories of cryptozoologists studying fairies and other strange beasts. There’s humor, whimsy, intensity, war, romance, and tragedy. The protagonists vary not only in gender/sex, but also in race/ethnicity, nationality, neurodiversity, and other life experiences. What unites these pieces is that they all feature scientists in speculative fiction. And it was while reading these stories that I realized that many—most?—of the science-fiction stories I read casually online don’t feature scientists as protagonists at all. In most science-fiction stories I come across, the “science” part is background, or backdrop. In this volume, science and scientists are front-and-center.
“Collecting Ynés” by Lisa M. Bradley is the opening story to this volume, and one of the best. This story is part poetry and part prose, lyrical and tinged with the mythical. It’s a fantastical, magical-realist telling of the life of the real-life Mexican-American botanist Ynés Mexia. Mexia was 55 when she went on her first botanical field trip to Mexico, launching a productive and celebrated career as a botanist. The joy of discovery—not just scientific discovery, but the thrill of finding one’s calling, even in later life—sings through this piece.
The joy of science is, indeed, a recurrent theme in this book. And as someone who was once a practicing scientist, I found myself particularly drawn to the stories focused on the actual practice of science—the nitty-gritty of data collection and problem-solving, the tedium and frustrations--amid the joy. In that respect, “Rewilding Nova” by Polenth Blake and “Leech Clinic” by Laura Jane Swanson are both good examples: gentle stories that feature the nitty-gritty of problem-solving within larger tales. “The Elusive Plague” by Santiago Belluco is particularly impressive in this regard, a medical mystery set among a tale of relationship drama. The story accurately captures the stress of trying to survive in a competitive science career (even making a not-so-subtle jab at the use of publication impact factors), and I was not surprised to learn that the author is indeed a practicing scientist in a biomedical field.
Science collides with the mystical in the wonderful “Cavern of Dreams” by Julie Nováková, which takes us into a world where magic has become real, and asks: what does this mean for science and those who have devoted themselves to it? How does a rational, dedicated scientist, who has spent years in rigorous training, fit into this new world? It’s a beautifully thought-provoking piece, which also introduced me to the intriguing concept of the “shadow biome.” Magic blends with fantasy to more lightly humorous effect in such stories as “Animal Behavior” by Emma Alice Johnson, where an animal behavioral scientist is called on to deal with a most unusual animal. And science and scientific ambition take on strange new forms in the weird and wild “Great Things of Which to Speak Of” by Osahon Ize-Iyamu and “The Bull of the Moon Holds His Horns to Time’s Grindstone; or, Cybernetineti in Ur,” by Vajra Chandrasekera (the latter of which has one of the most unexpected, and best, ending lines I’ve ever seen).
Science is, of course, a human endeavor. And Premee Mohamed reminds us of the importance of the human element in “If Strange Things Happen Where She Is,” where a woman is trying to run a lab during a time of war and is reminded that the future of her work—and of science—lies ultimately not with a physical laboratory or machines, but with the people: the students, professors, and other scientists. The human element is strongly present in all the stories of Rosalind’s Siblings, among settings that are often fantastical, exotic, and strange. Two additional stories that impressed me with their human emotion were “The Tightrope Walker” by Celia Neri, the story of an autistic astronomer caught between the noise and complexity of human society and the silence and peace of space; and “The Vanishing Of Ultratatts” by D.A. Xiaolin Spires, which sets a story of grief amid a surreally futuristic world of animated tattoo sensors and volcano surfing.
All in all, Rosalind’s Siblings is a wonderful collection that showcases science fiction stories that are diverse in multiple ways, not just in the gender/sex of the characters, but also in the intersection of other identities/backgrounds and in setting, tone, approach, plot, and themes. With such a variety, a reader is sure to find something of appeal. It’s a fitting tribute indeed to Rosalind Franklin’s legacy.
1. Cobb M. and Comfort N. What Rosalind Franklin truly contributed to the discovery of DNA’s structure. Nature 616, 657-660 (2023)
2. Anthes E. Untangling Rosalind Franklin’s role in DNA discovery, 70 years on. New York Times. April 25, 2023.
3. Watson, J.D. The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA. New York, NY: Signet; First Edition; 1969.
4. In his memoir The Double Helix, Watson freely admits that he viewed Franklin dismissively at first, something he would regret as he came to later respect her. As an example of this, he writes in one passage of attending a scientific talk by Franklin, where instead of paying attention to her science: “Momentarily I wondered how she would look if she took off her glasses and did something novel with her hair.”
May 30, 2024
4.5 stars. This was a delightful short story collection! A few didn't work for me, but that's the nature of these types of anthologies. The ones that did work were absolutely fantastic-fun and lighthearted and thoughtful and heartbreaking in turns.
My personal favorites include Collecting Ynes by Lisa Bradley, Singing Goblin Songs by Leigh Harlen, Blood and Iron by Jennifer Lee Rossman, and LDR by Cameron Van Sant.
My personal favorites include Collecting Ynes by Lisa Bradley, Singing Goblin Songs by Leigh Harlen, Blood and Iron by Jennifer Lee Rossman, and LDR by Cameron Van Sant.
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June 29, 2024favorites:
Rewilding Nova by Polenth Blake
Cavern of Dreams by Julie Nováková
The Vanishing of Ultratatts by D.A. Xiaolin Spires
Blood and Iron by Jennifer Lee Rossman
Morning Star Blues by Tessa Fisher
Rewilding Nova by Polenth Blake
Cavern of Dreams by Julie Nováková
The Vanishing of Ultratatts by D.A. Xiaolin Spires
Blood and Iron by Jennifer Lee Rossman
Morning Star Blues by Tessa Fisher
August 30, 2023
This anthology expands beyond speculative tales of scientists marginalized due to gender to embrace many forms of diversity and intersectionality. Each story suggests new insights into research and the value of differing perspectives (both in science and writing). Two of my personal favorites offer neurodivergent points of view. “The Tightrope Walker” by Celia Neri gives a matter-of-fact take on individual advantages and disadvantages for journeying into space. (Also, I’m a sucker for a circus metaphor.) “Blood and Iron” by Jennifer Lee Rossman presents a more *sparkly* perspective and plenty of fun pop culture references with a cryptozoologist in a science fantasy setting. Providing another captivating spin on space exploration, “LDR” by Cameron Van Sant combines recent dating site conundrums with a bit of Apollo mission history for a very fresh take on Venus and future discoveries. I’ll leave it to other reviewers to comment on the poetry and more experimental prose. Suffice it to say this anthology offers twenty more unique points of view, each brimming with literary and societal insights, a surprising number sharing both tea and comfort.
Full disclosure: I was provided an advance copy of this book from the publisher with no expectations attached.
Full disclosure: I was provided an advance copy of this book from the publisher with no expectations attached.
January 1, 2026
oo, a very fun short story collection! Fair warning, I did overlap some of this reading while listening to The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2025, but I think I've kept them adequately separate in my mind.
Most stories were well-encapsulated: the universe wasn't too big to cram into the story, and the plot mostly wrapped up in the space allotted (with some variation as to how finished is "finished"). They generally rely on some shared sci-fi universe basics, making this probably not a great choice for readers brand new to the genre but approachable enough for people who have, say, seen a few seasons of any Star Trek and a few other mainstream movies or shows.
There's a fair amount of diversity among the stories. Some main characters are cis women, some are transgender or NB, some identify as non-heterosexual. There are also characters with neurodiversities, or from different racial or cultural backgrounds.
Suggest this enjoyable collection to readers who like character-focused sci-fi that tends towards slower pacing.
Most stories were well-encapsulated: the universe wasn't too big to cram into the story, and the plot mostly wrapped up in the space allotted (with some variation as to how finished is "finished"). They generally rely on some shared sci-fi universe basics, making this probably not a great choice for readers brand new to the genre but approachable enough for people who have, say, seen a few seasons of any Star Trek and a few other mainstream movies or shows.
There's a fair amount of diversity among the stories. Some main characters are cis women, some are transgender or NB, some identify as non-heterosexual. There are also characters with neurodiversities, or from different racial or cultural backgrounds.
Suggest this enjoyable collection to readers who like character-focused sci-fi that tends towards slower pacing.
March 29, 2024
Rosalind’s Siblings, edited by Bogi Takács, is an anthology of stories and poetry about scientists of marginalized genders, inspired by the erasure of Rosalind Franklin’s scientific discoveries and inspirations. The stories and poetry are wide ranging across genres and themes, though all with the central core of science and gender.
Favorites of mine in this collection were “Collecting Ynes” by Lisa M. Bradley, which combines a catalogue of plants with the magical realism story of a woman and her life in relation to these varied plants. I also really enjoyed Cameron Van Sant’s “LDR,” a slightly surreal story of a transmasc astronaut on Venus. Finally, “Singing Goblin Songs” by Leigh Harlen was a lovely tale of a botanist and non-binary lepidopterist figuring out what was going on with odd moths with the help of a local little girl.
These are only a few of the marvelous stories in Rosalind’s Siblings. I enjoyed the whole anthology, though these stories stood out above the rest for me personally. If you like reading about scientists regardless of gender, this is an anthology well worth picking up!
Favorites of mine in this collection were “Collecting Ynes” by Lisa M. Bradley, which combines a catalogue of plants with the magical realism story of a woman and her life in relation to these varied plants. I also really enjoyed Cameron Van Sant’s “LDR,” a slightly surreal story of a transmasc astronaut on Venus. Finally, “Singing Goblin Songs” by Leigh Harlen was a lovely tale of a botanist and non-binary lepidopterist figuring out what was going on with odd moths with the help of a local little girl.
These are only a few of the marvelous stories in Rosalind’s Siblings. I enjoyed the whole anthology, though these stories stood out above the rest for me personally. If you like reading about scientists regardless of gender, this is an anthology well worth picking up!
August 30, 2023
I am so honored to be publishing this book and really loved reading all the stories in the finished volume.
The stories are all wonderful and interesting and add new facets to the theme! I personally connected the most with "The Tightrope Walker" by Celia Neri and "Morning Star Blues" by Tessa Fisher.
The stories are all wonderful and interesting and add new facets to the theme! I personally connected the most with "The Tightrope Walker" by Celia Neri and "Morning Star Blues" by Tessa Fisher.
January 9, 2024
A brilliant short story anthology that delves deep into both science and the human mind, and the human condition. The stories are strong and powerful, and I think a lot of readers might find work to love here by both new and established authors.
March 16, 2026
This concept! Speculative fiction and poetry celebrating scientists of marginalized genders! I should have known how much I would love this! I did some serious flailing over on BlueSky about how much I loved Leigh Harlen's story, "Singing Goblin Songs," which remains my favorite (mushrooms & moths! Non-binary MCs! Mentoring a young girl in science! Alien intelligence!) The collection also has trans scientists orbiting Venus! Speculative poetry! Guerrilla conservationists! Petting leeches! Like most anthologies, there were a few that didn't work for me, but overall I really adored this!
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews