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Satirica: An Anthology of Satirical Speculative Fiction

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Anthology of speculative satire.

Contributing authors are:

Joshua Allen
RJ Astruc
Jason K Chapman
Gary Cuba
Lawrence R Dagstine
John Parke Davis
Steven J Dines
Dudgeon
Victor Giannini
Roger Haller
Bill Housley
Dan Kopcow
Dan Marcus
Paul Mannering
Thomas L Martin
Edward Morris
Mike Philbin
Anden Sharp
Kevin Spiess
David Thorpe

412 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

23 people want to read

About the author

Dudgeon

3 books

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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
Profile Image for Shinynickel.
201 reviews25 followers
Want to Read
October 19, 2009
The editor of this collection stopped by our reading group to say, "You guys really should read this… I would love to hear your thoughts."

When someone asked why the table of contents was so unbalanced (only 1 female author out of 20), the editor started attacking straw men instead of responding to comments, culminating in an exchange that looked like this:

Our group member: "Why do you assume that including a woman's work in your collection would force you into accepting "substandard" work? Do you seriously think that women do not write spec fic as well as men, or that there aren't just as many women writing excellent work as men? SERIOUSLY?"

The editor: "In my experience, yes. What is your experience in editing spec fic anthologies or magazines? Zero?

As I thought..."

Which I thought was an interesting way to respond to people whose thoughts you specifically requested. I guess he forgot to specify he wouldn't accept anything but positive thoughts!
Profile Image for Wealhtheow.
2,465 reviews614 followers
won-t-read
April 20, 2012
95% of this collection is by white men. The editor's explanation for this? "...the majority of spec fic authors which I know are white males. Nor will I include substandard stories just to achieve some kind of parity." Oh.

The discussion can be seen here.
The bit that struck me was Mat's excellent comment: "I can imagine a couple reasons why the tendency in dudgeon's anthology exists; there's agenda, and there's laziness, and also simple lack of awareness or information. I'm sure some folks feels safer knowing that their demographic has a privileged place at the table so they're pretty happy to maintain it, so they tell themselves convenient stories about that demographic having earned a right to that spot, either through effort or lack of anyone else's worthwhile efforts. Those same stories can be told by people who ideally would like to see more 'diversity', but who are overwhelmed by how to make that happen in a good way (eg. not just printing uninteresting stories for the sake of parity, as suggested). Sure, it's a lot more work and it's a lot harder to put together a good project (anthology or anything else) if we hold ourselves to those standards. But creating a community that fosters the best work requires that effort. How am i supposed to believe that the sf community has not overlooked some really awesome potential talent if the majority of cross sections of experience aren't even represented in the majority of sf anthologies? It just doesn't add up, conspicuously so."
Profile Image for Roger Haller.
Author 1 book1 follower
February 29, 2024
22 amazing tales of the human condition after the apocalypse.
These spine tingling, thought provoking, and hopeful tales of the surviving world will make you look at religion, politics, social norms, and humanity with a new understanding of human nature and yourself.
Breathtaking stories from around the world.
Profile Image for Paul Mannering.
Author 46 books73 followers
February 1, 2009
Before reading this book make sure to take your medications as directed.

These stories take no prisoners. They are direct, frank and most skillfully blunt. THey are not designed to be politically correct. They are not designed to pamper. Prepare to learn a great deal about yourself.

The authors are from all corners of the world, so if you feel that spelling is off at times, you are simply reading them in the wrong country.

Fasten your seatbelts.

Enjoy.
Profile Image for Roger Haller.
2 reviews
February 1, 2009
This is an amazing anthology from some of the best minds in speculative fiction today. These authors cover the globe, but they all have a couple of rare common qualities. They are amazing writers, and they have an uncanny grasp on the real humanity that writhes just beneath the onionskin thin veil of society we use to raise ourselves above the rest of the animals.

Prepare yourself for the trauma of the view, and carry a mirror when you investigate these magnificent stories.

Trail Boss
Profile Image for Cristina.
4 reviews3 followers
February 11, 2010
This is a collection of short science fiction stories. I loved most of the stories. They were imaginative and thought provoking.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews