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Dangerous Space
Dangerous Space is a collection of seven seductive stories by Kelley Eskridge, whose novel Solitaire was a New York Times Notable Book, with an introduction by Geoff Ryman (author of Was and Air). The opening story, "Strings," takes us to a world that tightly controls musical expression and values faithfulness to the canon above all else. By contrast, in the title novella, "Dangerous Space," we see the full power of music unleashed to sexually enthralling as well as risky effect; original to the volume, this tale features Mars, the intriguing narrator of "And Salome Danced" (short-listed for the Tiptree Award), on tour with an indie rock band on the verge of breaking out. Closing the volume, the moving, edgy "Alien Jane" (a finalist for the Nebula Award and adapted for the SciFi Channel's Welcome to Paradox series) delves into the importance of pain for the human organism and finds hope in the most unlikely of places.
264 pages, Paperback
First published June 1, 2007
3 people are currently reading
432 people want to read
About the author
Kelley Eskridge
6 books101 followersKelley Eskridge is a fiction writer, essayist and screenwriter. She is the author of the New York Times Notable novel Solitaire and the short fiction collection Dangerous Space. Solitaire was a Border Books Original Voices selection and a finalist for the Nebula, Endeavour and Spectrum awards. The short stories in Dangerous Space include an Astraea prize winner and finalists for the Nebula and Tiptree awards.
Eskridge’s story “Alien Jane” was adapted for an episode of the SciFi channel television series Welcome to Paradox. A film adaptation of Solitaire is in development by Cherry Road Films, with Eskridge as the current screenwriter attached to the project.
She is also a staff writer with the U2 fan website @U2 (www.atu2.com), the world’s most popular U2 fan site with millions of visitors per year.
Eskridge lives in Seattle with her partner, novelist Nicola Griffith. She is a former vice president of Wizards of the Coast (the games publishing company responsible for trading card games including Magic™ and Pokémon™, and role-playing games including Dungeons and Dragons™). She is now a full-time writer as well as Managing Partner of Humans At Work, LLC (www.humansatwork.com), a consulting practice devoted to training new managers in the skills of managing human beings.
Eskridge’s story “Alien Jane” was adapted for an episode of the SciFi channel television series Welcome to Paradox. A film adaptation of Solitaire is in development by Cherry Road Films, with Eskridge as the current screenwriter attached to the project.
She is also a staff writer with the U2 fan website @U2 (www.atu2.com), the world’s most popular U2 fan site with millions of visitors per year.
Eskridge lives in Seattle with her partner, novelist Nicola Griffith. She is a former vice president of Wizards of the Coast (the games publishing company responsible for trading card games including Magic™ and Pokémon™, and role-playing games including Dungeons and Dragons™). She is now a full-time writer as well as Managing Partner of Humans At Work, LLC (www.humansatwork.com), a consulting practice devoted to training new managers in the skills of managing human beings.
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Displaying 1 - 22 of 22 reviews
June 8, 2017
A collection of only seven stories, although the titular "Dangerous Space" is nearly a novella. I picked this up for "Eye of the Storm," which became one of my favorite short stories after I read it elsewhere. It's as good as I remember: a sword and sorcery setting, but an interpersonal focus, looking at fluid queer polyamorous found families and the link between violence and sexuality. "Dangerous Space" has a contemporary setting and secondary science fictional elements, but a similar tone. This is where Eskridge shines brightest, even if the ending of "Dangerous Space" is underwhelming: when she writes id fiction, focusing on strange intimacies and art, queer relationships and examinations of sexuality, engaging dynamics and sympathetic character growth.
The other stories are decent to successful; the style and theme that Eskridge is experimenting with in each is frequently obvious and sometimes unconvincing (although the density and unusual language of "Somewhere Down the Diamondback Road" is fantastic), but her voice is strong--she's particularly adept at working a story's themes into its metaphors and language, which brings to life even the clumsier examples. This collection isn't perfect, but I admire the ongoing themes of sexuality and art; and, honestly, it would be worth owning just for "Eye of the Storm."
The other stories are decent to successful; the style and theme that Eskridge is experimenting with in each is frequently obvious and sometimes unconvincing (although the density and unusual language of "Somewhere Down the Diamondback Road" is fantastic), but her voice is strong--she's particularly adept at working a story's themes into its metaphors and language, which brings to life even the clumsier examples. This collection isn't perfect, but I admire the ongoing themes of sexuality and art; and, honestly, it would be worth owning just for "Eye of the Storm."
July 6, 2016
There's so much helplessness in these stories. The main characters persevere and bear witness, which is certainly a mode of strength, but it's not the kind I want to read about. The helplessness is most evident in the speculative stories, but it shows up in the nongenre ones also. (Some of the stories gesture at speculative elements but aren't genre, imo.) There's also a puzzling fixation on binaries in some stories. My favorite story, the one with an unmitigated happy ending, was "Eye of the Storm".
January 31, 2012
I loved this book. Kelly Eskridge is an awesome writer, and a scary one, too! All of the stories are edgy and mysterios and wonderfully layered.
The issue of gender and identity really comes up in every single story but as something that is just there for you to see, never discussed and NEVER explicit. It takes a while for you to figure out, or rather, decide, what gender the characters are. Most of the stories are told in the first person, so that makes it extra tricky.
You might decide a character is male, but what makes you say that? Because they are attracted to women? Because they are attracted to men and you might think the character is gay? Because they are attracted to both at different times and you think his features are more masculine than feminine? And then again, what makes you think that?
This book really got me thinking about what assumptions I make about people and their sexuality and why I consider something or someone to be male or female. More importantly, it got me thinking about what I do with people who don't fit any category. Even in stories that choose a pronoun and call someone a she or a he, this is still up in the air, like the character in one of the stories who was referred to as a he throughout the whole story and who was the Prince, but was actually a woman.
One word to describe this book: WOW. Highly recommended!
The issue of gender and identity really comes up in every single story but as something that is just there for you to see, never discussed and NEVER explicit. It takes a while for you to figure out, or rather, decide, what gender the characters are. Most of the stories are told in the first person, so that makes it extra tricky.
You might decide a character is male, but what makes you say that? Because they are attracted to women? Because they are attracted to men and you might think the character is gay? Because they are attracted to both at different times and you think his features are more masculine than feminine? And then again, what makes you think that?
This book really got me thinking about what assumptions I make about people and their sexuality and why I consider something or someone to be male or female. More importantly, it got me thinking about what I do with people who don't fit any category. Even in stories that choose a pronoun and call someone a she or a he, this is still up in the air, like the character in one of the stories who was referred to as a he throughout the whole story and who was the Prince, but was actually a woman.
One word to describe this book: WOW. Highly recommended!
August 22, 2015
Strings - this vaguely reminds me of the title story in Unaccompanied sonata & other stories.
And Salome Danced - This is one of two stories with a gender-neutral character. Vonda McIntyre is the only other author I've seen do this.
City Life - A woman who can heal with a touch and the costs of doing so.
Eye of the Storm - I had already read this story in Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers. I like it but didn't feel the need to reread it.
Somewhere Down the Diamondback Road - I didn't particularly like the dialect used for this story.
Dangerous Space - The second gender-neutral story. This story makes me wonder whether the author has worked in the music industry.
Alien Jane - I found this somewhat disturbing.
And Salome Danced - This is one of two stories with a gender-neutral character. Vonda McIntyre is the only other author I've seen do this.
City Life - A woman who can heal with a touch and the costs of doing so.
Eye of the Storm - I had already read this story in Sirens and Other Daemon Lovers. I like it but didn't feel the need to reread it.
Somewhere Down the Diamondback Road - I didn't particularly like the dialect used for this story.
Dangerous Space - The second gender-neutral story. This story makes me wonder whether the author has worked in the music industry.
Alien Jane - I found this somewhat disturbing.
May 27, 2014
Dangerous Space is a revelation. I had no idea these gorgeous short stories were out there. Put me on the list of people who will now read absolutely everything Kelley Eskridge writes, because if these are characteristic of her work, I want it all.
Eskridge often makes creativity her subject, writing movingly about various forms of art, especially music. The opening story, “Strings,” posits a world in which the classical composers are revered so completely that any deviation from their scores, note by note, tempo by tempo, is punishable by loss of employment, and apparently by loss of the right to make music at all. Master musicians are named for their instruments, so that the world’s best violinist is known only as “Stradivarius,” the best pianist as “Steinway.” Being an instrument carries with it great prestige and wealth, but the musician who is cursed with an imagination... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
Eskridge often makes creativity her subject, writing movingly about various forms of art, especially music. The opening story, “Strings,” posits a world in which the classical composers are revered so completely that any deviation from their scores, note by note, tempo by tempo, is punishable by loss of employment, and apparently by loss of the right to make music at all. Master musicians are named for their instruments, so that the world’s best violinist is known only as “Stradivarius,” the best pianist as “Steinway.” Being an instrument carries with it great prestige and wealth, but the musician who is cursed with an imagination... Read More: http://www.fantasyliterature.com/revi...
March 27, 2010
This is a collection of Eskridge's short fiction. It contains three stories about Mars, one of my favorite characters of all time. Eye of the Storm is the first story I read by Eskridge, and it turned me into a huge fan.
January 4, 2020
Hai să vă zic despre o carte cam ciudățică: Un spatiu periculos de Kelley Eskridge.
Vă zic despre ea pentru că, deși îmi fac datoria să vă raportez că am citit-o (pe sistem de #RaftulLuiChinezu), nu aș putea zice că simt intens nevoia să o recomand multora dintre voi…
Mă rog, doar celor care sunt cât de cât ceva frumos cu literatura SF și care nu strâmbă din nas la cărțile în care toată lumea face sex cu toată lumea, pe oriunde și oricât. Ah, și evnetual celor interesați de fenomenul muzical, căci este vorba despre o trupă care face ceva succes.
Mai multe în recenzia video pe care am făcut-o cărții în acest episod din #RaftulLuiChinezu https://cristianchinabirta.ro/2019/05...
Iar pentru toate recenziile cărților pe care le-am citit, vezi secțiunea specială de pe blog https://cristianchinabirta.ro/tag/carti/
Vă zic despre ea pentru că, deși îmi fac datoria să vă raportez că am citit-o (pe sistem de #RaftulLuiChinezu), nu aș putea zice că simt intens nevoia să o recomand multora dintre voi…
Mă rog, doar celor care sunt cât de cât ceva frumos cu literatura SF și care nu strâmbă din nas la cărțile în care toată lumea face sex cu toată lumea, pe oriunde și oricât. Ah, și evnetual celor interesați de fenomenul muzical, căci este vorba despre o trupă care face ceva succes.
Mai multe în recenzia video pe care am făcut-o cărții în acest episod din #RaftulLuiChinezu https://cristianchinabirta.ro/2019/05...
Iar pentru toate recenziile cărților pe care le-am citit, vezi secțiunea specială de pe blog https://cristianchinabirta.ro/tag/carti/
July 25, 2023
These stories are very well written, but they didn't do much for me. Not exactly my genre: the speculative element takes a back seat to the literary one, and I prefer the other way around. That's probably most of it. But there's something else...maybe, the stories are more about people's inner lives, which is fine, but those lives are kind of...helpless or passive?...even when the character would seem strong to an observer.
February 25, 2018
The title story, Dangerous Space, is worth the price of the book. Characters and their emotional lives are so vivid and solidly realized that I feel like I just had an affair with these people, and will know them for the rest of my life. Simply stunning work.
August 5, 2012
I don't want to simplify these stories, and present only one take on a few of them; but the three stories about Mars are the ones that still stick with me. And probably will for a long time. So I am forced to if I want to keep this review from turning into a novella of it's own.
And Salome Danced, a mere 20 pages of this collection, is at first a story about a gender bending actor seen from the view of Mars, the director of a play.
Read it again, and there is the story that lays under nearly every story in this collection: how pain metamorphosizes.
But read it again, and try to sort out what gender Mars is. Read Eye of the Storm or the titular Dangerous Space if it helps, since a different Mars shows up in each.
Through each story, Mars' gender goes unmentioned. No stray pronoun slips up and removes this question that the reader normally forgets to ask. Even the sex scenes provide no clues.
So the story of a gender bending hides the story of a gender-less director? Not quite. I think* the intent is that Mars' gender is simply unimportant to the story; Mars exists without the foundation of gender, so the reader can not fall on stereotypes and presume that the character does something because of gender. By removing that foundation, the character does not act for presumed biological reasons, but only because of emotional and physical ones that are presented in the stories.
*though I would welcome being proven wrong, I think if the intent was to make Mars agendered there are more distinct ways to do it that would raise even more reader awareness.
And Salome Danced, a mere 20 pages of this collection, is at first a story about a gender bending actor seen from the view of Mars, the director of a play.
Read it again, and there is the story that lays under nearly every story in this collection: how pain metamorphosizes.
But read it again, and try to sort out what gender Mars is. Read Eye of the Storm or the titular Dangerous Space if it helps, since a different Mars shows up in each.
Through each story, Mars' gender goes unmentioned. No stray pronoun slips up and removes this question that the reader normally forgets to ask. Even the sex scenes provide no clues.
So the story of a gender bending hides the story of a gender-less director? Not quite. I think* the intent is that Mars' gender is simply unimportant to the story; Mars exists without the foundation of gender, so the reader can not fall on stereotypes and presume that the character does something because of gender. By removing that foundation, the character does not act for presumed biological reasons, but only because of emotional and physical ones that are presented in the stories.
*though I would welcome being proven wrong, I think if the intent was to make Mars agendered there are more distinct ways to do it that would raise even more reader awareness.
October 31, 2007
I really liked most of the stories in this anthology. It turns out that I'd read "Eye of the Storm" before(maybe in one of the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror anthologies).
The first story, "Strings," didn't do much for me, probably because the end was so predictable. "Somewhere Down the Diamondback Road" didn't do much for me either, but that was probably due in large part to the nonstandard grammar. Few things turn me off faster than nonstandard grammar or stream of consciousness.
However, I really liked both "Eye of the Storm" and "Dangerous Space."
"Eye of the Storm" had some traditional fantasy elements which I liked. The coming of age aspect had a different spin on it, as did the nature of the relationship with the quad.
"Dangerous Space" had interesting characters and was filled with longing and pain and uncertainty. A different kind of coming of age story, though I think that's what it was (for Duncan, not Mars).
I will admit that there's too much of "relating to someone through his art" for me. I get that art can touch you, and even that it can help you connect with someone, but this seemed more like connecting through art, as though if the art weren't there they'd just be strangers or maybe platonic friends. It felt like it had more to do with the art than the person making the art and that's not an idea I'm comfortable with.
The first story, "Strings," didn't do much for me, probably because the end was so predictable. "Somewhere Down the Diamondback Road" didn't do much for me either, but that was probably due in large part to the nonstandard grammar. Few things turn me off faster than nonstandard grammar or stream of consciousness.
However, I really liked both "Eye of the Storm" and "Dangerous Space."
"Eye of the Storm" had some traditional fantasy elements which I liked. The coming of age aspect had a different spin on it, as did the nature of the relationship with the quad.
"Dangerous Space" had interesting characters and was filled with longing and pain and uncertainty. A different kind of coming of age story, though I think that's what it was (for Duncan, not Mars).
I will admit that there's too much of "relating to someone through his art" for me. I get that art can touch you, and even that it can help you connect with someone, but this seemed more like connecting through art, as though if the art weren't there they'd just be strangers or maybe platonic friends. It felt like it had more to do with the art than the person making the art and that's not an idea I'm comfortable with.
June 20, 2025
The first two stories are great.
Interesting points-of-view, making them intriguing.
Then three not-so-good stories.
Then comes Dangerous Space, which is a knock-out..!
Interesting points-of-view, making them intriguing.
Then three not-so-good stories.
Then comes Dangerous Space, which is a knock-out..!
February 13, 2022
I absolutely love this book. I love how it talks about music and what it can do to a person.
From the first time we meet Duncan I fell in love with him because Mars fell in love with him.
I love love and this book delivered, let me tell you.
It is a 18+ book fir sure!! And I actually like that it didn’t shy away from talking about sex.
Something I did not expect was for the main character to be bisexual, and ever more the main love interest and probably more. And this book was written in 2007, OMG!!
I am so lucky that I fount this book at the library.
As I promised I want this book on my bookshelf, I want to buy this book. But is a little hard to find it in the bookstores because it is that old.
But now let’s talk about how this book was written: it was so beautifully written, it is so beautifully written, the descriptions are so beautiful. I fell in love with it after I read like 15 pages. Kelley Eskrodge knew what she was doing.
This book made me not want to put it down. I was so invested in the story from the start after we meet the Noir band, after Mars describes what music is for him and what music is for Noir. I was so invested in the story it felt like Mars was in me or I was Mars, whatever feelings he had I felt them too.
From the first time we meet Duncan I fell in love with him because Mars fell in love with him.
I love love and this book delivered, let me tell you.
It is a 18+ book fir sure!! And I actually like that it didn’t shy away from talking about sex.
Something I did not expect was for the main character to be bisexual, and ever more the main love interest and probably more. And this book was written in 2007, OMG!!
I am so lucky that I fount this book at the library.
As I promised I want this book on my bookshelf, I want to buy this book. But is a little hard to find it in the bookstores because it is that old.
But now let’s talk about how this book was written: it was so beautifully written, it is so beautifully written, the descriptions are so beautiful. I fell in love with it after I read like 15 pages. Kelley Eskrodge knew what she was doing.
This book made me not want to put it down. I was so invested in the story from the start after we meet the Noir band, after Mars describes what music is for him and what music is for Noir. I was so invested in the story it felt like Mars was in me or I was Mars, whatever feelings he had I felt them too.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 29, 2008
I heard this author interviewed on some NPR show and was intrigued enough to buy this book of short stories. The gimmick is that her frequent protagonist, Mars, is a bi-sexual character of unknown gender who takes on different roles in different stories - one time a director of a play in apparently modern times, another time a master of combat in a world with castles and princes. The characters use words like "guy" and "prince" for both male and obviously female characters - and I can really see the marked feminine forms disappearing from the language in real life. Just like all the officers are "Sir" on Battlestar Gallactica. It's the future! The play with gender and gender stereotypes is clever and at times thought-provoking. The stories themselves are entertaining, but none of them really grabbed me.
July 29, 2008
I don't often choose a book by it's cover, but as I was browsing the "new sff" at the library one afternoon, this slim volume caught my eye. Something about the burnt orange cover screamed power, intrigue, and different. It did not disappoint. Each essay within, while short, is not without a depth and development which left me begging for more and wondering where the next one would take me. I was moved hard by the first piece, "Strings" a both predictable and innovative story. I also greatly enjoyed the title essay. Be prepared for an intense and enjoyable journey.
June 12, 2016
Oh wow I have so much to say about this book. Which is its best praise.
I found Eskridge through Eye of the Storm, which is absolutely my favorite story of hers. And Dangerous Space the story is a close second. Her writing comes voraciously ALIVE when she's Mars, her ungendered narrator. It is absolute magic to read. Seductive, painful, utterly real. I want more Mars. I want Mars everywhere, everywhen.
Her other stories stirred me less, but I haven't stopped thinking about Eye of the Storm since I first read it and I won't stop thinking about Dangerous Space.
I found Eskridge through Eye of the Storm, which is absolutely my favorite story of hers. And Dangerous Space the story is a close second. Her writing comes voraciously ALIVE when she's Mars, her ungendered narrator. It is absolute magic to read. Seductive, painful, utterly real. I want more Mars. I want Mars everywhere, everywhen.
Her other stories stirred me less, but I haven't stopped thinking about Eye of the Storm since I first read it and I won't stop thinking about Dangerous Space.
January 21, 2010
Two of these stories were particularly awesome, "The Eye of the Storm" and the title piece. I enjoyed all of them a lot except for one. Intriguing genderplay and some good erotic writing as well. Hated the introduction, though. Anyone who claims that we are "beyond" politics as though that is a good thing and then uses the phrase "post-vanilla," well...sorry Geoff Ryman, you're a jackass. Thankfully Kelley Eskridge's work rises well above the jackassery. Recommended.
August 24, 2012
While these stories are all speculative fiction in some way, more than that they are all about people, people whose pain and happiness you become invested in shockingly quickly. The themes of music and the fluidity of sexuality and gender and gender roles permeate nearly all of the stories in the collection, and as far as I'm concerned there is not one weak link among them. Solid collection.
August 3, 2007
Book of short stories. Science fiction/speculative fiction seems to be the genre.
Eskridge is a glorious writer, subtle, and writing about things that I didn't even know about myself until I found them in her words. I was nodding and saying, "Yes, that's me, too." In my opinion, the best writers open up new understandings or awarenesses of the self and world. She is one of those writers.
Eskridge is a glorious writer, subtle, and writing about things that I didn't even know about myself until I found them in her words. I was nodding and saying, "Yes, that's me, too." In my opinion, the best writers open up new understandings or awarenesses of the self and world. She is one of those writers.
December 13, 2007
Maybe I'm just a sucker for her writing. I adored her first novel, Solitaire, and this is a collection of her earlier short stories. While not as good as the novel, the title story is simply amazing. Interesting science fiction based around music.
March 3, 2009
What a fantastic novella!
I love how you are never once told the gender identity of Mars. It really puts a lot of power into the reader. One of the best pieces of writing I've ever had the pleasure to read.
I love how you are never once told the gender identity of Mars. It really puts a lot of power into the reader. One of the best pieces of writing I've ever had the pleasure to read.
May 22, 2008
My review is up on The Short Review at http://www.theshortreview.com/reviews... along with many more reviews of short story collections and anthologies.
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