Genre: SFF anthology (indigenous)

Pairings: f/f

Queer Representation: across the entire spectrum

Warnings: none

Rating: 5 stars

 

Review

This book is a collection of indigenous SFF shorts, from both native and non-native authors. It has several introductions, and then a small handful of stories that break from the traditional Western European trappings of SFF and move ninety degrees from the ‘standard.’

The stories span the queer spectrum and are on the whole, refreshing. There’s a great deal of social commentary wound up amongst the stories (of course, what sci fi doesn’t have that?) but also offers readers a different understanding of the tropes they have come to love.

The book is short–only 117 pages, and the first 20 are introductions, but is well worth the read. The highlight by far is the story of the trans woman experiencing both a medical and spiritual transition, and how that plays into her community understanding.

The only downside to the book is how short the stories are. It’s unclear whether the contributors were given a word limit or whether the shortness occurred organically, but many of the shorts could have easily been brought into novellas, if not full novels. Something to hope for in the future!

You can buy LOVE BEYOND BODY, SPACE & TIME here in paperback here and ebook here.