Women at War

A unique anthology of science fiction stories featuring women in military roles includes the work of award-winner Elizabeth Ann Scarborough, Campbell Award nominee Holy Lisle, Judith Tarr, Jane Yolen, and fourteen others.

The stories in this no-Y-chromosomes-allowed anthology go a long way toward answering the question raised by multiple-Hugo winner Bujold in her introduction: "What does it mean to 'write like a woman?'" In exploring that issue, Bujold and Green present 17 original stories that muster a regiment of women either born or borne to war. Consuelo in Elizabeth Ann Scarborough's "First Communion" is the most noble of these, but the narrator of Susan Booth's delightful "Edge of the Sword" is the most intriguing. While several stories are weakened by their too obvious portrayal of unsympathetic males, Melissa in P.J. Beese's "White Wings" proves that gender-switching doesn't make a character any more real. The gems of this collection are Margaret Ball's "Notes During a Time of Civil War," a compassionate and horrifying tale dedicated to "the Muslim women of Bosnia," and Elizabeth Moon's volume-closing "Hand-to-Hand," a downbeat but powerful piece that reconsiders the relationship between art and war. It's likely that most readers of this diverse, unexpected collection will answer Bujold's question in the same way that she finally does when she proclaims that "writers, if they are any good, write like themselves, and like no one else."
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From R.M. Meluch's intrigue-laden tale of the uses of treason ("Traitor") to Elizabeth Moon's exploration of the reasons for war ("Hand to Hand"), the 17 stories in this collection of military sf, written by and about women, prove that war knows no gender. Including contributions by Elizabeht Ann Scarborough, Judith Tarr, Holly Lisle, and other sf and fantasy authors, these stories confront the many faces of combat. Most libraries will want this for their sf or short fiction collections.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

(It is Booklist policy that a book edited by a regular contributor receive a brief descriptive announcement rather than a recommending review.)

Women in the military may be an issue nowadays, but in the future, it's no problem, as this collection of military science fiction stories by and about women attests. Contributing writers include Judith Tarr, Jane Yolen, and Nebula Award winner Elizabeth Ann Scarborough. Award winning, too, is coeditor Bujold; her Mirror Dance (1994) just won this year's Hugo for best novel. Ray Olson