Not of Woman Born

by Constance Ash (Editor), Nina Kiriki Hoffman, Patricia A. McKillip

An original collection of stories details modern science's effect on humankinds' notions of conception, birth, and parenting and includes contributions from such authors as Michael Armstrong, Robert Silverberg, Susan Palwick, and many others. Original.

Genres: Science Fiction, Anthologies, Fiction, Short Stories, Horror, Fantasy, Short Story Collection

272 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published March 1, 1999

Reviews

[Peter Tillman · Rating 4 out of 5]

My 1999 review:
Theme anthologies sometimes suffer from too narrow a focus and/or carbon-copy stories. Not this one -- the authors interpreted the theme loosely enough so that I didn't lose interest. Walter Jon Williams takes a killer look at cybernetic family values in "Daddy's World", and Jack McDevitt delivers the most interesting look at gengineering one's progeny since Greg Egan's wonderfully sly "Eugene," in "Dead in the Water." McDevitt's mother-to-be is particularly well-drawn. A+ stories both; look for them on the award ballots next year. [Note: "Daddy's World" won the 2001 Nebula. The McDevitt wasn't even nominated for any awards.] "A" stories: Silverberg's 1957 "There Was an Old Woman" is an amazingly fresh look at cloned lives, even 40 years on. Nina Kiriki Hoffman takes a sharp look at future retail clerks in "One Day at Central Convenience Mall." New author Janni Simner cleverly inverts bringing up baby in "Raising Jenny", and Richard Parks takes a close look at cloning's impact on showbiz in "Doppels." Plus "A-" (= flawed but very good) stories by Sage Walker, Susan Palwick, Patricia McKillip, Wm. F Wu, Doyle & Macdonald, and Kara Dalkey. Curiously, the only weak story in the book is by the editor, and it's still pretty good.

Overall: 2 "A+", 4 "A", 6 "A-", 1 "B+", and 1 "B" stories. The best original anthology I read that year (1999). Highly recommended.

[Meryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic collection, not at all dulled by age. Ash has gathered a wide selection of stories on the topic of unnatural reproduction, and they are all entertaining.

My standout favourites of the collection were "Judith's Flowers" by Susan Palwick, an exploration of identity and culture and choice. "One Day At Central Convenience Mall" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman, an examination of the rights and wants of 'made' people. "Remailer" by Debra Doyle and James D. Macdonald looked at sex and need when there are three sexes, not two.

The best of the lot, Of Bitches Born by Michael Armstrong, left me with heart pounding and fist raised in approval.

But none of the stories in the collection disappointed. It's still available on Amazon for a ridiculously tiny price (unfortunately not available for Kindle) and I can definitely recommend it as a great addition to your short story collection.

[Angel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I picked this edition only because it has the cover art. I have it in hardback (same cover), but for some reason GoodReads' record for the HB lacks the art. Anyways, I read this back in 2000. A very intriguing anthology. Here is what I wrote in my journal back then:

>>The book is a collection of short stories dealing with alternative forms of reproduction such as cloning or genetic engineering. The stories were well written overall and presented a myriad of possibilities. The story "Daddy's World" stuck with me, not so much because it was the last one in the book but because of its ending, which could be seen as shocking or terrifying yet very subtle [no, I won't tell you. Go read it]. <<

Back then, I did not hesitate to recommend it to my significant other (an avid SF reader), and thus I do not hesitate recommending it to folks here.

[izawoodsman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The stories cover some interesting concepts. I like the ways some things about life and the parent/child relationship changed and yet some stayed the same. Of the set, Daddy's World, Doppels, Of Bitches Born, and Raising Jenny were of special interest to me. I am glad I read them now, as I don't think I would have appreciated them as much in my pre-parent, pre-offgrid, pre-minimalist days.

[Josh Maher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Constance Ash put together a fun collection around the theme of artificial birth, a topic I’ve been reading a lot about lately. The funniest of the stories was There Was An Old Woman by Robert Silverberg and the most intriguing was a tie between Island Of The Ancestor by William F Wu and Judith’s Flower by Susan Palwick.

[Steve Stuart · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fourteen stories, set in fourteen different futures where we're no longer sexually reproducing. (There's still sex; it's just that the reproduction happens in other ways.) Clones and genetic engineering are most common. Other, more interesting variations involve androids, life in software, and an implausible but entertaining scenario that requires a ménage à trois involving three different genders.

Interestingly, nearly all of the stories are fairly introspective. The tension in the stories comes not from plot or action so much as internal conflicts: biology-driven human minds struggling with a world where some of those biological drives are obsolete. This is done much more effectively in some contributions than others.

Most of the stories are distinctly mediocre, but a few are quite good. "Hunting Mother" by Sage Walker and "Of Bitches Born" by Michael Armstrong were emotionally powerful and convincingly written. "Judith's Flowers" by Susan Palwick is more about developed vs. developing world differences than biology, but is nicely constructed and beautifully written. And Walter Jon Williams' "Daddy's World" is a fantastically spooky story about growing up in VR, and a well-deserved Nebula winner.

[Rainbowgardener · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I'm between books, re-reading some of my old SF. This one is from 1999, a themed collection of short stories re alternative ways of producing children. Some are kind of ordinary, cloning and vat children, and some are quite imaginative. Some good writing, definitely good entertainment reading. I'd give it 3.5 stars if that were an option.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picked this one up at a used library book sale for about a quarter. It was wuite an interesting read. Although some of the stories were better than others, they often made you think about how life could be created or duplicated in the future and the social implications of various forms of cloning and other types of artificial and virtural identities.

[Deidre · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun, even though some of the stories were old, or I had read them, I was really happy to see a Michael Armstrong short, hadn't read it, loved it, all about dog teams and cloning. Don't know how I missed it but it was very good!

[Snail in Danger (Sid) Nicolaides · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this anthology could justifiably be called underappreciated. It has several excellent stories, including the haunting "Daddy's World."

[Megan]

Winter Break 2016 Mad Dash Readathon #1