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Maiden, Mother, Crone: Fantastical Trans Femmes
Maiden, Mother, and Crone: Fantastical Trans Femmes is a Bedside Press anthology of new fantastical short fiction by trans women and trans feminine writers curated by celebrated poet and author Gwen Benaway. Drawing on high fantasy and other genres of fantasy writing, Maiden, Mother, and Crone is the first anthology by trans femme authors to explore the realms of magic, supernatural beings, and alternate universes. Enter a universe of wonder where trans femmes are powerful heroines, sorceresses, and warriors fighting against dark forces in vivid magical worlds. Created by celebrated trans femme writers this anthology will transform the landscape of fantasy fiction and offer radical portals into excitement, danger, and transformation.
136 pages, Kindle Edition
First published April 15, 2019
28 people are currently reading
2168 people want to read
About the author
Gwen Benaway
8 books87 followersGwen Benaway is a bisexual feminist Gemini trans girl of Anishinaabe and Métis descent. She has published three collections of poetry, Ceremonies for the Dead and Passage, and Holy Wild. Her fourth collection of poetry, Aperture, is forthcoming from Book*hug in Spring 2020. Her writing has been published in many national publications, including CBC Arts, Maclean’s Magazine, and the Globe and Mail. She is currently editing an anthology of Fantasy short stories by trans girl writers and writing a book of creative non-fiction, trans girl in love. She lives in Toronto, Ontario and is always open to auditioning new Queer polyam feminist lovers, as long as they believe in Astrology and are not a Taurus. She is currently a Ph.D student at the University of Toronto in the Women and Gender Studies Institute.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
October 9, 2019
This anthology of fantasy stories by trans femme writers was hit and miss for me, but there were a few stories that I loved. Perhaps not surprisingly, the ones by authors I already knew: Kai Cheng Thom and Casey Plett. But I also really liked "Undoing Vampirism" by Lilah Sturges and "Perisher" by Crystal Frasier. The editor introduces this book focusing on epic fantasy, but the stories I liked were the ones that did something different. Full review to come!
September 25, 2019
I was provided a free copy of this by the publisher.
I've been in a reading slump these past couple...well, weeks, and anthologies are just not good to get you out of that. I learned. Which is why it took me rather long to read this. It's really good though, and I can recommend it to everyone who wants to get into more diverse Fantasy. There are a shit ton of trans (main)characters, otherwise queer characters, and just. I loved it. The stories were all good, even though, like with every anthology, there are some that you like more than others (for me Mountain God, Forest's Edge, The Vixen with Death pursuing, the Knighting, and Dreamborn) and like my only complaint is the butchered German from a supposed native speaker in Perisher. But that's really rather minor.
I've been in a reading slump these past couple...well, weeks, and anthologies are just not good to get you out of that. I learned. Which is why it took me rather long to read this. It's really good though, and I can recommend it to everyone who wants to get into more diverse Fantasy. There are a shit ton of trans (main)characters, otherwise queer characters, and just. I loved it. The stories were all good, even though, like with every anthology, there are some that you like more than others (for me Mountain God, Forest's Edge, The Vixen with Death pursuing, the Knighting, and Dreamborn) and like my only complaint is the butchered German from a supposed native speaker in Perisher. But that's really rather minor.
April 21, 2022
Here are 11 stories featuring eleven trans protagonists who are more than their gender identity. Many of these stories are magical, written in unique ways or feature some incredible worldbuilding. You will find something for your tastes, whether it is vampires (Lilah Sturges), knights (Alexa Fae McDaniel), a more sci-fi twist (Kylie Ariel Bemis) or magical forests (Izzy Wasserstein). You can tell all the love and care that went into this collection.
Mountain Girl - Gwen Benaway:
★★★★✩
This feels like a side story to another book in the best ways, I loved all the attention to detail in this world with such few pages.
Forest's Edge - Audrey Best:
★★★★✩
Very loving and adorable. But the ending was anticlimactic.
The Vixen, With Death Pursuing - Izzy Wasserstein:
★★★★★
The idea and the magic are just perfect! I want more
Potions & Practices - Gwynception:
★★✩✩✩
I did not understand this story at all.
Freeing the Bitch - Ellen Mellor:
★★★✩✩
this was pretty average.
The Knighting - Alexa Fae McDaniel:
★★★★✩
This old-school setting spoke to my soul. And I loved the sides presented when it comes to gendered language and how to stay true to yourself without backing down.
Undoing Vampirism - Lilah Sturges:
★★★✩✩
Odd. Liked the narrating style.
I Shall Remain - Kai Cheng Thom:
★★★✩✩
I have little to say about this, I was not very invested.
Dreamborn - Kylie Ariel Bemis:
★★★★★
Multiple words, magic, lost children. Very heartfelt.
Failure - Casey Plett:
★★★★✩
What a fascinating world.
Perished - Crystal Frasier:
★★★✩✩
The idea was great but for me, the murder mystery got in the way of exploring the characters more.
I received an advanced reading copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
*I am aware of the accusations against Gwen Benaway's Indigenous identity and the fact there has been no clarification on her side as well as the ceased publication of her poetry collections. While she was the editor of this piece, there are still many other great trans writers involved in this project, so read at your own discretion.*
Mountain Girl - Gwen Benaway:
★★★★✩
This feels like a side story to another book in the best ways, I loved all the attention to detail in this world with such few pages.
Forest's Edge - Audrey Best:
★★★★✩
Very loving and adorable. But the ending was anticlimactic.
The Vixen, With Death Pursuing - Izzy Wasserstein:
★★★★★
The idea and the magic are just perfect! I want more
Potions & Practices - Gwynception:
★★✩✩✩
I did not understand this story at all.
Freeing the Bitch - Ellen Mellor:
★★★✩✩
this was pretty average.
The Knighting - Alexa Fae McDaniel:
★★★★✩
This old-school setting spoke to my soul. And I loved the sides presented when it comes to gendered language and how to stay true to yourself without backing down.
Undoing Vampirism - Lilah Sturges:
★★★✩✩
Odd. Liked the narrating style.
I Shall Remain - Kai Cheng Thom:
★★★✩✩
I have little to say about this, I was not very invested.
Dreamborn - Kylie Ariel Bemis:
★★★★★
Multiple words, magic, lost children. Very heartfelt.
Failure - Casey Plett:
★★★★✩
What a fascinating world.
Perished - Crystal Frasier:
★★★✩✩
The idea was great but for me, the murder mystery got in the way of exploring the characters more.
I received an advanced reading copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
*I am aware of the accusations against Gwen Benaway's Indigenous identity and the fact there has been no clarification on her side as well as the ceased publication of her poetry collections. While she was the editor of this piece, there are still many other great trans writers involved in this project, so read at your own discretion.*
August 10, 2019
A big variety of tones and worlds. There's some D&D-esque shenanigans, some noir with a reluctant ghost and his killed detective team, a story about residential schools and dream magic, and some entirely unfamiliar worlds. They also vary in how much they centre around the character's trans identity or take that as a given. There are a couple f/f stories in here: they're actually back-to-back, and they both involve a woman searching for the antidote to a loved one's illness. I really liked both of them! The D&D-like story also has an f/f couple, though they're side characters. I really enjoyed this!
November 25, 2020
There's lots of things to recommend this book. First and foremost, it gives a voice to people who are historically underrepresented in media and publishing, and that can only be a good thing. Some of the stories here are great, and I'd love to read full length novels of many of them (particularly Kai Cheng Thom's). The variety of representation and narrative is really interesting, too. There are myriad takes on the fantasy genre, from D&D style mages to 1940s Noir. There are stories which delve into the colonial genocide of Canada's indigenous people, and there are stories which are generally light-hearted and funny but have a deeper message about identity beneath the humour, and there are those which create entire new worlds in a few thousand worlds and let you live in it for a short while. I liked more stories in here than not.
However, I have no idea who proof-read this, but some of it was borderline unreadable - one in particular is so full of errors and typos that I had to skip most of it. It read like it had been written in English and then put through Google Translate and translated back into English. I couldn't read more than the first 2 pages. Having said that, my copy was an ARC and perhaps much of this was later corrected or amended.
I think a lot of this is down to the smallness of the press, and therein lies the problem; marginalised people often have to rely on small presses because big publishers won't take risks on marginalised writers (even though readers have shown time and time again that it's not really a risk) and those presses don't always have the resources available to edit the books as much as they need.
I'd still recommend this book and I enjoyed more of the stories than not, but it definitely suffers from a lack of cohesive quality.
Standout stories which I would very happily read again and again are those by Kai Cheng Thom, Izzy Wasserstein, Kylie Ariel Bemis and Lilah Sturges.
Edit for my own edification: the story I couldn't finish was Potions & Practices by Gwynception. It was just really, really bad, both in terms of editing and writing quality. I mention it here because multiple other reviews have said the same thing. I'm not sure it should have been included in a published book in its current state.
Highlights:
Dreamborn - Kylie Ariel Bemis (the absolute best story in this collection, no competition; I would absolutely devour a novel length version of this)
Undoing Vampirism - Lilah Sturges
I Shall Remain - Kai Cheng Thom
The Vixen, With Death Pursuing - Izzy Wasserstein
However, I have no idea who proof-read this, but some of it was borderline unreadable - one in particular is so full of errors and typos that I had to skip most of it. It read like it had been written in English and then put through Google Translate and translated back into English. I couldn't read more than the first 2 pages. Having said that, my copy was an ARC and perhaps much of this was later corrected or amended.
I think a lot of this is down to the smallness of the press, and therein lies the problem; marginalised people often have to rely on small presses because big publishers won't take risks on marginalised writers (even though readers have shown time and time again that it's not really a risk) and those presses don't always have the resources available to edit the books as much as they need.
I'd still recommend this book and I enjoyed more of the stories than not, but it definitely suffers from a lack of cohesive quality.
Standout stories which I would very happily read again and again are those by Kai Cheng Thom, Izzy Wasserstein, Kylie Ariel Bemis and Lilah Sturges.
Edit for my own edification: the story I couldn't finish was Potions & Practices by Gwynception. It was just really, really bad, both in terms of editing and writing quality. I mention it here because multiple other reviews have said the same thing. I'm not sure it should have been included in a published book in its current state.
Highlights:
Dreamborn - Kylie Ariel Bemis (the absolute best story in this collection, no competition; I would absolutely devour a novel length version of this)
Undoing Vampirism - Lilah Sturges
I Shall Remain - Kai Cheng Thom
The Vixen, With Death Pursuing - Izzy Wasserstein
July 7, 2019
This is a powerhouse of a collection. As with all short story collections, some of them didn’t ring with me, but some absolute standouts will stick with me for a long time. My faves: “the vixen, with death perusing” by Izzy Wasserstein; “undoing vampirism” by Lilah Sturges; “I shall remain” by Kari Chang Thom; “dreamborn” by Kylie Ariel Bemis; “perisher” by Crystal Fraser. Yes, you read that right: almost half of the stories in this collection are my faves. I’m telling you: this is a powerhouse of a collection.
August 24, 2019
Bedside Press publishes books written by diverse authors (LGBTQ+, Indigenous voices, women, etc.), which is why I HAD to accept their offer to send me some of their books for a review. Thank you for reaching out to me through IG!
I was really looking forward to reading this anthology written by trans femmes / featuring trans femmes characters. However, I almost DNFed this book a couple of times. Some of the eleven stories where unmemorable, while some were so badly written (lack/wrong punctuation, missing words, double sentences, too many repetitions, etc.) I chose to skip them and push through, hoping I'd stumble on a good story. And I finally did.
*I don't know how to rate this book. Most stories were 1-2⭐ for me, while a few definitely deserve 5⭐.*
FOREST'S EDGE, by Audrey Vest : beautifully written, and fairytale-like.
THE KNIGHTING, by Alexa Fae McDaniel : I loved this very short story. Well written and straight to the point. I appreciated how this book was about a trans woman receiving a knighthood. She was uncomfortable with being given the title "sir", because it goes against everything she's been battling to assert herself as a woman. It reminds us about the impact of gendered terms.
UNDOING VAMPIRISM, by Lilah Sturges : WOW. I loved this story. I love how the author used the metaphor of how humans are vampires, and they managed to convince themselves that they are human. And how by being a trans person, the MC opened her eyes and realised the truth about her Vampirism. And now that she knows, she can help other people find this truth, and this will lead to humanity's acceptance of them. This is how everyone will change as a society, and stop destroying the Earth and living beings.
DREAMBORN, by Kylie Ariel Bemis : ok, definitely my favourite story. I loooove how trans people are seen as sacred beings, because they are fewer, and how this alien planet does not use gender labels at birth. This is also the metaphor of the story of so many Native American children who were forced into boarding schools, in order to "civilize the savage born". In this story, this planet is invaded by the Nahaka (who most likely come from Earth, because of their physical attributes). They destroyed their world as they used up all of their natural ressources. So instead of fixing their planet, they left in search of another world to call their own. They stole all of the "alien" children, forced them into schools to make them more "human". These children were terrorized and abused. Sound familiar? It was a poignant story, and very well written.
I was really looking forward to reading this anthology written by trans femmes / featuring trans femmes characters. However, I almost DNFed this book a couple of times. Some of the eleven stories where unmemorable, while some were so badly written (lack/wrong punctuation, missing words, double sentences, too many repetitions, etc.) I chose to skip them and push through, hoping I'd stumble on a good story. And I finally did.
*I don't know how to rate this book. Most stories were 1-2⭐ for me, while a few definitely deserve 5⭐.*
FOREST'S EDGE, by Audrey Vest : beautifully written, and fairytale-like.
THE KNIGHTING, by Alexa Fae McDaniel : I loved this very short story. Well written and straight to the point. I appreciated how this book was about a trans woman receiving a knighthood. She was uncomfortable with being given the title "sir", because it goes against everything she's been battling to assert herself as a woman. It reminds us about the impact of gendered terms.
UNDOING VAMPIRISM, by Lilah Sturges : WOW. I loved this story. I love how the author used the metaphor of how humans are vampires, and they managed to convince themselves that they are human. And how by being a trans person, the MC opened her eyes and realised the truth about her Vampirism. And now that she knows, she can help other people find this truth, and this will lead to humanity's acceptance of them. This is how everyone will change as a society, and stop destroying the Earth and living beings.
DREAMBORN, by Kylie Ariel Bemis : ok, definitely my favourite story. I loooove how trans people are seen as sacred beings, because they are fewer, and how this alien planet does not use gender labels at birth. This is also the metaphor of the story of so many Native American children who were forced into boarding schools, in order to "civilize the savage born". In this story, this planet is invaded by the Nahaka (who most likely come from Earth, because of their physical attributes). They destroyed their world as they used up all of their natural ressources. So instead of fixing their planet, they left in search of another world to call their own. They stole all of the "alien" children, forced them into schools to make them more "human". These children were terrorized and abused. Sound familiar? It was a poignant story, and very well written.
May 4, 2019
I received this book for free through NetGalley.
Maiden, Mother, and Crone is a fantasy anthology comprised entirely of stories written by trans femme authors.
These are all powerful stories with trans women and femmes in the spotlight, giving them the primacy and the happy endings they deserve. The writing quality is high and the stories are wildly creative and original additions to a genre that was traditionally the territory of the white male. I very much prefer seeing strong women and diversity in genre fiction, so this anthology was everything I hoped it would be.
I especially loved Forest's Edge by Audrey Vest, Freeing the Bitch by Ellen Mellor, and Dreamborn by Kylie Ariel Bemis.
Maiden, Mother, and Crone is a fantasy anthology comprised entirely of stories written by trans femme authors.
These are all powerful stories with trans women and femmes in the spotlight, giving them the primacy and the happy endings they deserve. The writing quality is high and the stories are wildly creative and original additions to a genre that was traditionally the territory of the white male. I very much prefer seeing strong women and diversity in genre fiction, so this anthology was everything I hoped it would be.
I especially loved Forest's Edge by Audrey Vest, Freeing the Bitch by Ellen Mellor, and Dreamborn by Kylie Ariel Bemis.
March 2, 2021
Although uneven in terms of quality, with a few stories that strayed a little too far from ‘fantastical’ for my tastes, the fact that a collection like Maiden, Mother, Crone is a collection that’s well worth the read.
What stood out most for me, and what I think distinguishes this from similar collections, is that while these are stories featuring transgender women, they are not necessarily about being transgender. In fact, gender is almost an afterthought in many of the stories, something mentioned in passing. There are no big reveals or shocking twists, just a simple acknowledgement of identity.
Gwen Benaway’s Mountain God was a stronger opener to the collection, a vintage sort of sword-and-sorcery tale of two mercenaries who are thrown into the role of heroes. There are some interesting thoughts on obligation and duty here, and the friends-to-lovers aspect is deeply intertwined with Aoyas’ anxiety as a Marked (i.e. transgender) woman.
Forest’s Edge by Audrey Ves follows that up with a fairy-tale inspired story that explores gender, parenthood, and the love for another woman. It’s a melancholy story, with a dreamy aspect to the temptations of the fey. The Vixen, With Death Pursuing by Izzy Wasserstein was a strange sort of story, and one that feels frustratingly unfinished, but it’s full of beautiful language and some breathtaking imagery.
Ellen Mellor’s Freeing the Bitch was, far and away, my favorite story of the collection. It’s a fun, female-fronted tale about a classic, yet nontraditional group of adventurers on a high fantasy quest. Gender is very much a part of this, with hints and suggestions and even some red herrings throughout, and the way they stand up for one another is fantastic. I desperately want to read more of these women – especially Sindy and the Bitch – whether it be more stories or a full-length novel.
The Knighting by Alexa Fae McDaniel and Undoing Vampirism by Lilah Sturges are the two stories in the collection that are almost entirely about gender. Personally, I felt Knighting was the stronger of the two, with the philosophical debate/discussion between accepting the honor of being knighted and suffering under the weight of being called ‘Sir’ well done. I liked Vampirism, and thought it was quite clever, but it was more scene and less story.
Kylie Ariel Bemis’ Dreamborn is probably the darkest, heaviest story in the collection, re-imagining the horrors of colonization and residential schools on a fantasy-inspired alien landscape. It’s an exceptional tale, with a uniquely strong woman at the forefront and questions of gender – for her and her daughter – underlying it all. I wondered what it was all building to, and was worried it might devolve into some cliched battle, but the spiritual, emotional way in which Bemis resolves the climax is fantastic.
What stood out most for me, and what I think distinguishes this from similar collections, is that while these are stories featuring transgender women, they are not necessarily about being transgender. In fact, gender is almost an afterthought in many of the stories, something mentioned in passing. There are no big reveals or shocking twists, just a simple acknowledgement of identity.
Gwen Benaway’s Mountain God was a stronger opener to the collection, a vintage sort of sword-and-sorcery tale of two mercenaries who are thrown into the role of heroes. There are some interesting thoughts on obligation and duty here, and the friends-to-lovers aspect is deeply intertwined with Aoyas’ anxiety as a Marked (i.e. transgender) woman.
Forest’s Edge by Audrey Ves follows that up with a fairy-tale inspired story that explores gender, parenthood, and the love for another woman. It’s a melancholy story, with a dreamy aspect to the temptations of the fey. The Vixen, With Death Pursuing by Izzy Wasserstein was a strange sort of story, and one that feels frustratingly unfinished, but it’s full of beautiful language and some breathtaking imagery.
Ellen Mellor’s Freeing the Bitch was, far and away, my favorite story of the collection. It’s a fun, female-fronted tale about a classic, yet nontraditional group of adventurers on a high fantasy quest. Gender is very much a part of this, with hints and suggestions and even some red herrings throughout, and the way they stand up for one another is fantastic. I desperately want to read more of these women – especially Sindy and the Bitch – whether it be more stories or a full-length novel.
The Knighting by Alexa Fae McDaniel and Undoing Vampirism by Lilah Sturges are the two stories in the collection that are almost entirely about gender. Personally, I felt Knighting was the stronger of the two, with the philosophical debate/discussion between accepting the honor of being knighted and suffering under the weight of being called ‘Sir’ well done. I liked Vampirism, and thought it was quite clever, but it was more scene and less story.
Kylie Ariel Bemis’ Dreamborn is probably the darkest, heaviest story in the collection, re-imagining the horrors of colonization and residential schools on a fantasy-inspired alien landscape. It’s an exceptional tale, with a uniquely strong woman at the forefront and questions of gender – for her and her daughter – underlying it all. I wondered what it was all building to, and was worried it might devolve into some cliched battle, but the spiritual, emotional way in which Bemis resolves the climax is fantastic.
April 9, 2021
Average rating: 3.55
Mountain God - Gwen Benaway ★★★☆☆
Sweet, but a bit little boring for my tastes.
Forest's Edge - Audrey Vest
★★★½☆
Sweet, a little predictable but only because authors have been churning out het/cis fae stories for so long. It's about time we got one with gay AND trans rep!
The Vixen, With Death Pursuing ★★★½☆
I really liked the concept of this one. I think if it was developed a bit more so that I could root for the protagonist, I'd definitely have rated it more. I'd like a full-length novella or novel about this!
Potions and Practices - Gwynception
★½☆☆☆
I liked the writing style of this but for the life of me I don't have a clue what actually happened in this at all. It might be my fault for not understanding but I re-read parts so many times and still it was as confusing.
Freeing the Bitch - Ellen Mellor ★★★★☆
I really enjoyed this! I'd love a whole book just about trans-femme dwarves. I'll definitely be looking out for more writing from Ellen Mellor.
The Knighting - Alexa Fae McDaniel
★★★★★
This works brilliantly as a short story. My only criticism is that I'd love to definitely know what her decision was at the end but I understand why the author left it open.
Undoing Vampirism - Lilah Sturges
★★★★☆
This was great. I had no idea I needed a vampiric matrix AU until I read this (at least I hope it's an AU).
here i shall remain - Kai Cheng Thom
★★★☆☆
my only thoughts on this are that the lack of capital letters did add something to the story but simulatenously made the story harder to read.
Dreamborn - Kylie Ariel Bemis
★★★★☆
A heartbreakingly good read.
Failure - Casey Plett
★★★★☆
This was strange in the best of ways.
Perisher - Crystal Frasier
★★★½☆
I really like narratives where transness is inherently tied to a type of power or ability; it comes with it. It's something this story and Failure had in common.
Mountain God - Gwen Benaway ★★★☆☆
Sweet, but a bit little boring for my tastes.
Forest's Edge - Audrey Vest
★★★½☆
Sweet, a little predictable but only because authors have been churning out het/cis fae stories for so long. It's about time we got one with gay AND trans rep!
The Vixen, With Death Pursuing ★★★½☆
I really liked the concept of this one. I think if it was developed a bit more so that I could root for the protagonist, I'd definitely have rated it more. I'd like a full-length novella or novel about this!
Potions and Practices - Gwynception
★½☆☆☆
I liked the writing style of this but for the life of me I don't have a clue what actually happened in this at all. It might be my fault for not understanding but I re-read parts so many times and still it was as confusing.
Freeing the Bitch - Ellen Mellor ★★★★☆
I really enjoyed this! I'd love a whole book just about trans-femme dwarves. I'll definitely be looking out for more writing from Ellen Mellor.
The Knighting - Alexa Fae McDaniel
★★★★★
This works brilliantly as a short story. My only criticism is that I'd love to definitely know what her decision was at the end but I understand why the author left it open.
Undoing Vampirism - Lilah Sturges
★★★★☆
This was great. I had no idea I needed a vampiric matrix AU until I read this (at least I hope it's an AU).
here i shall remain - Kai Cheng Thom
★★★☆☆
my only thoughts on this are that the lack of capital letters did add something to the story but simulatenously made the story harder to read.
Dreamborn - Kylie Ariel Bemis
★★★★☆
A heartbreakingly good read.
Failure - Casey Plett
★★★★☆
This was strange in the best of ways.
Perisher - Crystal Frasier
★★★½☆
I really like narratives where transness is inherently tied to a type of power or ability; it comes with it. It's something this story and Failure had in common.
November 13, 2019
I backed this on Kickstarter, but of course, then it sat on my shelf for a bit. Recently Gwen Benaway has been a prominent voice against Toronto Public Library allowing Meghan Murphy to host a talk at one of their branches. In following that news, I decided this was a good time to get to Maiden, Mother, Crone: Fantastical Trans Femmes.
I really wish I could gush about this book and say I loved it, because it’s so important to support trans voices and get more #ownvoices stories with trans rep out there. Alas, I did not love this book. It’s not bad, but the stories and the writing in it are largely not my style. Also, it could have used another copyediting pass. Some of the stories had typos and duplicated lines.
Benaway’s opening story, “Mountain God” and Kylie Ariel Bemis’ “Dreamborn” were probably my favourite stories in this collection. The former is a take on sword-and-sorcery style fiction but with a more romantic twist, and despite being a very short story, it features a lot of character development and worldbuilding. I’d read a whole novel set in that world. The latter is an interesting take on “the humans are the invading aliens” trope, highlighting the plight of Indigenous peoples by casting invading humans as the Other, and I appreciated the emotional arc of this story.
The other stories are, to Benaway’s credit as editor and curator of this collection, quite varied in style and substance. There are vampires, witches, healers, dwarves … there are transdimensional beings as well as transgender beings, and the level of imagination and creativity on display is high quality. The ways in which trans women are represented, voiced, depicted, are diverse. In these respects, this is a great collection, and I don’t want my lukewarm praise to dissuade you from this book should you think it’s more your speed. Short stories are hard sells for me at the best of time, short story collections from different authors even more so.
I really wish I could gush about this book and say I loved it, because it’s so important to support trans voices and get more #ownvoices stories with trans rep out there. Alas, I did not love this book. It’s not bad, but the stories and the writing in it are largely not my style. Also, it could have used another copyediting pass. Some of the stories had typos and duplicated lines.
Benaway’s opening story, “Mountain God” and Kylie Ariel Bemis’ “Dreamborn” were probably my favourite stories in this collection. The former is a take on sword-and-sorcery style fiction but with a more romantic twist, and despite being a very short story, it features a lot of character development and worldbuilding. I’d read a whole novel set in that world. The latter is an interesting take on “the humans are the invading aliens” trope, highlighting the plight of Indigenous peoples by casting invading humans as the Other, and I appreciated the emotional arc of this story.
The other stories are, to Benaway’s credit as editor and curator of this collection, quite varied in style and substance. There are vampires, witches, healers, dwarves … there are transdimensional beings as well as transgender beings, and the level of imagination and creativity on display is high quality. The ways in which trans women are represented, voiced, depicted, are diverse. In these respects, this is a great collection, and I don’t want my lukewarm praise to dissuade you from this book should you think it’s more your speed. Short stories are hard sells for me at the best of time, short story collections from different authors even more so.
May 23, 2019
I received an ARC copy of this book from NetGalley
This was a great idea for an anthology, but unfortunately I just had trouble getting into most of the stories. As always there are some stories that are better than others, but with 11 stories packed into a 150 page book I didn't always feel like there was enough page space to fit enough exposition and character development to really make me feel attached to any particular protagonist. I would not call any of the stories bad though, and if you are a big fan of short stories then I think you will definitely like this. The stories are mostly high fantasy, but there are a few realistic fantasy / historical fiction stories thrown in as well so I'm sure at least one will stand out for most readers.
This was a great idea for an anthology, but unfortunately I just had trouble getting into most of the stories. As always there are some stories that are better than others, but with 11 stories packed into a 150 page book I didn't always feel like there was enough page space to fit enough exposition and character development to really make me feel attached to any particular protagonist. I would not call any of the stories bad though, and if you are a big fan of short stories then I think you will definitely like this. The stories are mostly high fantasy, but there are a few realistic fantasy / historical fiction stories thrown in as well so I'm sure at least one will stand out for most readers.
May 31, 2019
I was given a free eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
The anthology was quite uneven when it came to the stories in it. Some – like Forest's Edge – were absolutely and utterly stunning and made me wish for a full-length novel in that story's world. Some – like Perisher – made me want to skim what I was reading and skip entire paragraphs because I simply did not enjoy them. i shall remain was a peculiar read, something I greatly enjoyed even though it was, at times, odd. Oh, and Dreamborn! It was right there at the top of my faves list with Forest's Edge.
Solid four stars, despite a few weaker stories. An excellent collection of (mostly) good stories, written by trans women/trans feminine people, about trans women/trans feminine people.
The anthology was quite uneven when it came to the stories in it. Some – like Forest's Edge – were absolutely and utterly stunning and made me wish for a full-length novel in that story's world. Some – like Perisher – made me want to skim what I was reading and skip entire paragraphs because I simply did not enjoy them. i shall remain was a peculiar read, something I greatly enjoyed even though it was, at times, odd. Oh, and Dreamborn! It was right there at the top of my faves list with Forest's Edge.
Solid four stars, despite a few weaker stories. An excellent collection of (mostly) good stories, written by trans women/trans feminine people, about trans women/trans feminine people.
January 17, 2021
I found this collection because I read Gwen Benaway’s work in a volume of Transcendent and now want to enjoy everything she’s written. I am so thankful for Maiden Mother Crone giving space for the stories that want to “explain” transness alongside the stories that are deep in metaphor alongside the stories that give identity just a slight mention. The variety of tone and diversity of authorship was also winning, and three of these stories I will especially be thinking about for years to come. Thank you to trans women and two spirit people everywhere for sharing your stories.
March 7, 2022
As is probably the nature of short story collections, there were stories in here that I loved and stories in here that I didn't like so much. But what they all had in common, and what really pushed my rating up that little bit, is that they all fill a gaping hole (one of many) in science fiction and fantasy, and are examples of the kind of work that needs more support, more funding, and more readership. Yummy.
Read
July 18, 2019This a fairly meh anthology :/
I appreciate that trans women get to just be heroines of fantasy stories -- that the stories aren't about their quests to transition -- but a lot of the stories in this collection just didn't feel that strong (though certainly, as with any anthology, some stories are stronger than others).
I appreciate that trans women get to just be heroines of fantasy stories -- that the stories aren't about their quests to transition -- but a lot of the stories in this collection just didn't feel that strong (though certainly, as with any anthology, some stories are stronger than others).
Read
September 13, 2019Broadly speaking, the first half was quite rough, because mostly it contained a fairly stereotypical fantasy with elves, dwarves, bandits in the woods etc. But the second half picked up, the stories got more varied and broke out of the narrow definition of fantasy to do some really interesting stuff.
Personal highlights:
"The Knighting" by Alexa Fae McDaniel
"Undoing Vampirism" by Lilah Sturges
"Dreamborn" by Kylie Ariel Bemis
Personal highlights:
"The Knighting" by Alexa Fae McDaniel
"Undoing Vampirism" by Lilah Sturges
"Dreamborn" by Kylie Ariel Bemis
May 23, 2020
As in all anthologies there are some stories that are stronger than others. Overall, though, I really loved these. It was so exciting to read exclusively Trans* stories set in fantastical worlds. A lot of these stories I would happily take full novels of.
June 25, 2019
Some of the short stories were well written and very interesting, while others were a bit poorly executed. What drew me to the fantasy short story collection to begin with was highlighting trans women/trans femmes voices.
October 22, 2021
I've always had issues with short story anthologies. The differing voices, quality of writing, and subject matter, make it hard for me to really enjoy such books. This one is certainly a mixed bag when it comes to quality of writing, but the trans voices and fantasy settings do help it hang together. I actually gave each story a rating out of five and then did the maths to get my overall rating, but it should be noted that I had a couple of fours, and a five, so I'm definitely happy I read this.
August 30, 2019
As an anthology, the works are of course of varying styles and quality. For the most part the stories were excellent and of very high quality, but there were a few stories with blatant errors or typos that I was surprised got past editing. I hope they are caught before final release, as I was reading an ARC. But I definitely found a few authors who's work I'll look out for in the future.
As for the content of the stories, there were some standard swords-and-sworcery fantasy tales which I get kind of bored by, but some real gems. I am glad Benaway, in her role as editor, took a broad view of what counts as "fantasy" when accepting submissions.
And mainly I'm just glad this book exists. I'm glad there are publishing spaces for authors who are trans, and I'm glad I get to read their stories.
I received a free eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
As for the content of the stories, there were some standard swords-and-sworcery fantasy tales which I get kind of bored by, but some real gems. I am glad Benaway, in her role as editor, took a broad view of what counts as "fantasy" when accepting submissions.
And mainly I'm just glad this book exists. I'm glad there are publishing spaces for authors who are trans, and I'm glad I get to read their stories.
I received a free eARC of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
August 25, 2019
Eleven short stories, some with familiar fantasy tropes like mercenaries, warrior women, mages and evil kings. Others, like Crystal Frasier's Perisher, have newer plots: the protagonist 'reads' corpses with the help of the ghost of a man she killed.
All the stories have twists and insights based on trans femme experiences. Experiences which can be as alienating as any fairy kidnapping or dragon. All affirm trans femme identity and deal with the magical properties of transformation.
There are many good stories in this collection, which features writing by Native trans women. One story that stood out for me was that of Dreamborn by Kylie Ariel Bemis, a Zuni two-spirt writer. It is a beautiful story based on American Indian experiences of colonisation, and shows how speculative fiction can be a source of re-visioning and empowerment.
All the stories have twists and insights based on trans femme experiences. Experiences which can be as alienating as any fairy kidnapping or dragon. All affirm trans femme identity and deal with the magical properties of transformation.
There are many good stories in this collection, which features writing by Native trans women. One story that stood out for me was that of Dreamborn by Kylie Ariel Bemis, a Zuni two-spirt writer. It is a beautiful story based on American Indian experiences of colonisation, and shows how speculative fiction can be a source of re-visioning and empowerment.
August 23, 2019
Really nice read! The biggest criticisms have to do with some sloppy editing and pretty drastic variance in quality story to story, but some great gems in here.
Fantasy seems to be an afterthought for a lot of my trans friends who are big readers, as they tend toward sci-fi & bio-hacking metaphors and the future as the utopian refuge; I think fantasy, as a kind of vast field of nostalgia or timelessness (or perhaps futuristic return to pastoral & medieval sensibilities) doesn’t always recognize its generic potential for telling meaningful stories about transformation on the personal level (and here, on the specific gendered level). Just because fantasy tends toward a sort of long-since-past-vibe (though some of these stories buck that and are actually post-collapse kinda of tales) doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be (re)imagining the body and gender in that setting—lots of thoughts on eruptions of queerness in history (Foucault and the whole homosexuality didn’t exist until whenever blah blah blah), and how if we use fantasy as a dualistic present/past combination then there are tons of possibilities to qualify, modify, experiment, undermine, &c. all sorts of gendered feels.
The two strongest stories in the collection are undoubtedly the back to back offerings of Cheng Thom’s “I shall remain,” and Kylie Ariel Bemis’ “Dreamborn,” but glancing thru the table of contents again I can remember at least a few details of each story, and that’s a really great sign.
I wish this collection was twice as long, honestly, with more stories, and even heartier versions of these worlds that all have load-bearing novel potential (I guess someone should just be publishing all of these authors’ longer works, is the takeaway from this thought). I think I am often more frustrated with fantasy stories that read as a treatment to sell a longer novel, or have an awkward ending after too much initial exposition (which I found NK Jemisin’s shorts collection fumbled a bit thru as well), and that’s be my biggest complaint, but I think that’s just to taste, and like I mentioned above, with more room to develop ideas on the page and to not cram in so much world-building in such small space, these could all be part of strong longer works.
Great concept, strong followthru, & a great “intervention” (to use a yucky piece of barbed academic jargon) into a field that is often taught and treated as merely high-fantasy regressive escapism. More like this! And go buy this, request it at yr library, and look for more work from each of these authors (Gwen Benaway is one of our best living poets and you should definitely already be reading more of her work).
Fantasy seems to be an afterthought for a lot of my trans friends who are big readers, as they tend toward sci-fi & bio-hacking metaphors and the future as the utopian refuge; I think fantasy, as a kind of vast field of nostalgia or timelessness (or perhaps futuristic return to pastoral & medieval sensibilities) doesn’t always recognize its generic potential for telling meaningful stories about transformation on the personal level (and here, on the specific gendered level). Just because fantasy tends toward a sort of long-since-past-vibe (though some of these stories buck that and are actually post-collapse kinda of tales) doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be (re)imagining the body and gender in that setting—lots of thoughts on eruptions of queerness in history (Foucault and the whole homosexuality didn’t exist until whenever blah blah blah), and how if we use fantasy as a dualistic present/past combination then there are tons of possibilities to qualify, modify, experiment, undermine, &c. all sorts of gendered feels.
The two strongest stories in the collection are undoubtedly the back to back offerings of Cheng Thom’s “I shall remain,” and Kylie Ariel Bemis’ “Dreamborn,” but glancing thru the table of contents again I can remember at least a few details of each story, and that’s a really great sign.
I wish this collection was twice as long, honestly, with more stories, and even heartier versions of these worlds that all have load-bearing novel potential (I guess someone should just be publishing all of these authors’ longer works, is the takeaway from this thought). I think I am often more frustrated with fantasy stories that read as a treatment to sell a longer novel, or have an awkward ending after too much initial exposition (which I found NK Jemisin’s shorts collection fumbled a bit thru as well), and that’s be my biggest complaint, but I think that’s just to taste, and like I mentioned above, with more room to develop ideas on the page and to not cram in so much world-building in such small space, these could all be part of strong longer works.
Great concept, strong followthru, & a great “intervention” (to use a yucky piece of barbed academic jargon) into a field that is often taught and treated as merely high-fantasy regressive escapism. More like this! And go buy this, request it at yr library, and look for more work from each of these authors (Gwen Benaway is one of our best living poets and you should definitely already be reading more of her work).
October 7, 2019
I’m typically happy with a short story collection if it has two or three stories I can’t put down, and in this collection there were several. I had to leave bookmarks for myself so that I could go back and tally them for this review. In my opinion, things really pick up steam around the midpoint so if a reader is muddling through at the start, I strongly recommend just going out of order.
For starters, I’d read a much longer book version of “Undoing Vampirism” in a hot second. Unfortunately it’s tough to review further without spoiling anything.
“The Vixen, With Death Pursuing” was a compelling magical realism story with some hints of the Paper Magician book series in its world building.
Most of all, I think the flow of “i shall remain”, “Dreamborn”, and “Failure” is great and heartbreaking. I personally would have placed “Forest’s Edge” alongside them as well. They all intertwine elements of mythology, indigenous culture, and/or traditional fairy tales with new elements and masterful inclusion of the uniting framework of the anthology - questions, commentary, and perspective on gender and society’s perception/prescription of it.
I’d say all of the stories would be considered high fantasy, but they offer a wide range of settings and writing styles within this category. As with any anthology there were a couple reads that I just didn’t jive with, but the highs were more than high enough to make up for the lows.
For starters, I’d read a much longer book version of “Undoing Vampirism” in a hot second. Unfortunately it’s tough to review further without spoiling anything.
“The Vixen, With Death Pursuing” was a compelling magical realism story with some hints of the Paper Magician book series in its world building.
Most of all, I think the flow of “i shall remain”, “Dreamborn”, and “Failure” is great and heartbreaking. I personally would have placed “Forest’s Edge” alongside them as well. They all intertwine elements of mythology, indigenous culture, and/or traditional fairy tales with new elements and masterful inclusion of the uniting framework of the anthology - questions, commentary, and perspective on gender and society’s perception/prescription of it.
I’d say all of the stories would be considered high fantasy, but they offer a wide range of settings and writing styles within this category. As with any anthology there were a couple reads that I just didn’t jive with, but the highs were more than high enough to make up for the lows.
October 20, 2019
I have truly, always enjoyed fantasy stories. And as I got older I realized how white, straight, and cisgender the lens was that these stories were being told through. Which is one reason I so enjoyed this anthology. Every story had trans characters. And in a lot of the stories, their being trans lead them to a life of greater freedom. Which was so wonderful to read, since usually trans stories tend to be tragic. And it’s not that tragedies don’t have an important place in society, but it was nice to take a break from the reality of the social and economic injustice facing trans people today, to read a collection of stories where they are thriving. The fantasy genre needs more stories from queer and trans perspectives.
I would LOVE to read full novels of some of these stories. I loved the group of women from “Freeing the Bitch” so much. I want to know how they met, I want to know where their journey takes them. I want more! I also would love to read more mystery solving from the duo in “Perisher”. But all in all, these collection of stories were so rich with wonderful characters. I highly recommend!
I read this book as a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I would LOVE to read full novels of some of these stories. I loved the group of women from “Freeing the Bitch” so much. I want to know how they met, I want to know where their journey takes them. I want more! I also would love to read more mystery solving from the duo in “Perisher”. But all in all, these collection of stories were so rich with wonderful characters. I highly recommend!
I read this book as a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
November 19, 2019
Warnings: misgendering and transmisia, mentions of sexual assault and child sexual abuse, animal death
Rep: All stories are OwnVoices and have trans women main characters; some stories have sapphic main and/or secondary characters; one story has an asexual and trans woman secondary character
This anthology of fantasy stories, all involving trans women characters, is a fantastic collection of tales, in which the women all have different roles and varied outlooks. There are stories about women fighters and healers, witches and angels, there are stories about mothers to a child, and mothers to a community. A few of these stories have DnD themes, like the one involving an all-female group that is on a rescue mission to save a witch, or the one about a traveling mage and her lover who go across the kingdom as mercenaries. A couple of the stories I did not understand, like the one about an Outlier witch, and some didn't have enough of a background of the setting to understand the story well.
My favorite was The Knighting which presented an interesting discussion about gender identity and gendered titles. The story is about a physician who is a transwoman and who follows her mentor (another trans woman) in how to express her femininity; when she is going to be knighted for her contributions on the battlefield, she has reservations, and a (cis) female knight has a discussion with her about the title of 'Sir' and its gendered implications that she and other female knights are trying to get rid of by hoping more women being knighted. Another was Undoing Vampirism because it gave a twist to the term 'live your truth'. Dreamborn was heart-breaking in its exploration of colonialist violence.
Overall, it is an engaging and well put together set of stories.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Bedside Press, via Edelweiss.
Rep: All stories are OwnVoices and have trans women main characters; some stories have sapphic main and/or secondary characters; one story has an asexual and trans woman secondary character
This anthology of fantasy stories, all involving trans women characters, is a fantastic collection of tales, in which the women all have different roles and varied outlooks. There are stories about women fighters and healers, witches and angels, there are stories about mothers to a child, and mothers to a community. A few of these stories have DnD themes, like the one involving an all-female group that is on a rescue mission to save a witch, or the one about a traveling mage and her lover who go across the kingdom as mercenaries. A couple of the stories I did not understand, like the one about an Outlier witch, and some didn't have enough of a background of the setting to understand the story well.
My favorite was The Knighting which presented an interesting discussion about gender identity and gendered titles. The story is about a physician who is a transwoman and who follows her mentor (another trans woman) in how to express her femininity; when she is going to be knighted for her contributions on the battlefield, she has reservations, and a (cis) female knight has a discussion with her about the title of 'Sir' and its gendered implications that she and other female knights are trying to get rid of by hoping more women being knighted. Another was Undoing Vampirism because it gave a twist to the term 'live your truth'. Dreamborn was heart-breaking in its exploration of colonialist violence.
Overall, it is an engaging and well put together set of stories.
Received an advance reader copy in exchange for a fair review from Bedside Press, via Edelweiss.
April 8, 2023
This is somewhere between a 3 and a 3.5 for me I'm so incredibly glad that an anthology like this exists, but the actual stories themselves were hit and miss for me. A lot of it boiled down to quality, in that there were numerous grammatical errors or other issues that I found distracting, while with others, it felt like the stories ended just as I was getting into the world and characters. However, I really love how each story explored their trans femme characters in different ways and that not all of the stories were strictly high fantasy (which is what I expected going in). The major highlights of this collection for me were Forest's Edge by Audrey Vest and Dreamborn by Kylie Ariel Bemis.
Overall, definitely worth checking out for fantasy fans who want some more trans femme representation in this mix.
Overall, definitely worth checking out for fantasy fans who want some more trans femme representation in this mix.
January 31, 2025
Rated as 4.5 ⭐️
As a collection of short stories I found this to be a nice and fun read. Writing fantasy is hard on its own, and writing fantasy short fiction is a whole other level but I found a number of these stories hitting chords that drew me in and made me want to stay in them. These writers are talented and funny and I’ve definitely added them into my list of writers to keep an eye out for!
For my personal recommendation, my top three favourite short stories from this collection are:
“Undoing Vampirism” by Lilah Sturgess
“Dreamborn” by Kylie Ariel Bemis
“Perisher” by Crystal Frasier
There was something incredibly special about these three that just fully captivated and made me think about what it is these stories are trying to say or tell. I don’t know. I just really fell in love with them and I know I’ll be rereading them again.
As a collection of short stories I found this to be a nice and fun read. Writing fantasy is hard on its own, and writing fantasy short fiction is a whole other level but I found a number of these stories hitting chords that drew me in and made me want to stay in them. These writers are talented and funny and I’ve definitely added them into my list of writers to keep an eye out for!
For my personal recommendation, my top three favourite short stories from this collection are:
“Undoing Vampirism” by Lilah Sturgess
“Dreamborn” by Kylie Ariel Bemis
“Perisher” by Crystal Frasier
There was something incredibly special about these three that just fully captivated and made me think about what it is these stories are trying to say or tell. I don’t know. I just really fell in love with them and I know I’ll be rereading them again.
March 8, 2020
I’m giving this book 4.25 stars - most of the stories were good to great, and there are one or two that were pretty bad,. However, a few were awesome and I’m looking up their authors to see what else is written.
I love that this book was published!
One of my favorites is Freeing the Bitch (by Ellen Mellor); she used D&D/Tolkien features to write a found family in a wonderful way. I hope there’s more!
Dreamborn by Kylie Ariel Bemis is a heavy, powerful story. It features aliens (although it was their world to begin with) being horrifically treated by humans, and what one woman does to right some of the immediate wrongs. I feel that I wouldn’t give it justice if I say any more here.
Please read this book!
I love that this book was published!
One of my favorites is Freeing the Bitch (by Ellen Mellor); she used D&D/Tolkien features to write a found family in a wonderful way. I hope there’s more!
Dreamborn by Kylie Ariel Bemis is a heavy, powerful story. It features aliens (although it was their world to begin with) being horrifically treated by humans, and what one woman does to right some of the immediate wrongs. I feel that I wouldn’t give it justice if I say any more here.
Please read this book!
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