A group of girls study at a school for assassins, preparing for their wedding nights when they will kill their grooms. A lonely coffin maker finds company with the dead when she cannot have the living. Travelling holy women hunt down and capture all of the knowledge and stories in the world. These are just a few tales in the The Bitterwood Bible and Other Recountings.

Set in the same world as that of Sourdough and Other Stories, The Bitterwood Bible is a prequel comprised of thirteen short stories. Not all of them correlate to each other, but many of them have intersecting places, characters, or objects. As each piece of the story comes together, it creates a rich, vibrant world as compelling as any novel.

It’s going to be difficult to write a review that does justice to this wonderful book. Trying to explain the depth of world-building and the poetry of the writing style doesn’t do enough to convey the pull of The Bitterwood Bible.

Drawing on themes of fairytale lore and mythology, The Bitterwood Bible is explored almost solely through the eyes of women. Not all of these women are good, kind, or smart. And not all of them get their happily ever after. They are, however, fully realised and completely developed characters with strengths and flaws in equal measure. Every one of them is distinct and compelling, making the stories flash by.

While these are short stories, a plot arc emerges as the book progresses, culminating in a climax. Like most stories in the book, the ending leaves some things to the imagination and keeps some of its secrets, but is satisfying for all of that.

My favourite story in the collection, Now, All Pirates Are Gone, doesn’t tie in to the overall plot arc as closely as the others. Though it’s as ruthless as many of the stories in The Bitterwood Bible, it is hopeful. The main character, Maude, is also one of the best characters in the collection. She’s practical and resourceful without being too hard.

With its poetic writing style and gorgeous illustrations throughout, The Bitterwood Bible is a book that would have stayed with me anyway. The fact that it depicts a world that feels true, is a bonus. Now I’m going to have to find the sequel, Sourdough and Other Stories.

 

Bitterwood Bible – Angela Slatter

Tartarus Press (September 1, 2014)

ISBN: 9781905784653

 

Mesmerizing and addictive, Wildalone is a thrilling blend of the modern and the fantastic. Krassi Zourkova creates an atmospheric world filled with rich characters as compelling as those of Diana Gabaldon, Deborah Harkness, and Stephenie Meyer. 

Hardcover, 384 pages

Published January 6th 2015 by William Morrow

ISBN  0062328026 (ISBN13: 9780062328021)

 

Right before she decides which college to attend, Thea finds out a family secret that is connected to Princeton and becomes determined to go there for her studies. She can explore more about who she wants to become, learn new things about the world, and discover the deepest, darkest secrets of her own family. At her first piano concert, which gets immediate national attention, she sees a mysterious man who leaves a flower. Her thoughts quickly turn to meeting him again.

I went into the story thinking it would mostly focus on Thea’s search for answers like an amateur detective, but it soon turns into a complicated combination of a love triangle, mythology, and sex. There is a huge focus on the mythology surrounding Dionysus, and the sex is not graphic, but more about Thea’s continuing thought processes and the beginnings of her first intense adult relationships.

The writing has an equal mix of romance and mythological information. The mythology and lore, mostly from Bulgaria and Greece, has been well-researched and I enjoyed the way it sets the tone and pushes the story’s emotions beyond a traditional love triangle story. The narration gives a feeling of dream-like poetry and there is a mist-like feeling of not quite being able to see beyond what is happening in front of you. You can see enough to understand what direction you’re being taken in, but you are drip-fed information to build up anticipation for the next time the major characters meet.

As the story progressed, I started to find the characters very frustrating–especially Thea. I enjoyed the side characters and their impact on the story so much more. Yet when it came to the main focus of the story–Thea and Rhys–I found their encounters to be very hot and cold, indecisive, and at times infuriating.

As a reader, I felt emotionally drained after their encounters and found it hard to really come to terms with Thea’s thoughts and actions.

The book has been broken into two sections and by the end of the first I was already exhausted by the whirlwind of emotions. I was happy with the pacing and the climax of the second half of the story as it answered so many questions, but still left me a little breathless and wondering whether this story will continue on in another book.

Every once in a while I have a love/hate relationship with a book. I loved the plot, storyline, and writing style, yet I felt like I needed something more from the characters. I do hope that there is a continuation in another book that will help me understand these characters further. Overall, I enjoyed Wildalone and would recommend it; it was a rollercoaster of a read and I don’t think I will ever come across a more sensual scene of piano playing again in my lifetime. Who knew that playing the piano could be foreplay?

 

So here’s the thing guys… I need your help. I began my Research Masters on Future Feminism today, and I’m compiling a list of contemporary female SF authors (not fantasy, not YA, and not straight SF romance) who have been published in novel length work since 2000.

I’d love to hear who your favourite female SF (post 2000) author is so I can add them to my reading list. Please leave the names in the comments section and I’ll add them to my main list. I’ve made a solid start, but there are many more! I’ve alphabetised by surname.

Female SF novelists published post 2000:

Anne Aguirre
Nina Allan
Jo Anderton
Catherine Asaro
Rachel Bach

Kage Baker
Cherith Baldry

Elizabeth Bear
Jacey Bedford
Lauren Beukes

Jennifer Marie Brissett

Octavia Butler
Monica Byrne
Pat Cadigan

C J. Cherryh
Julie E. Czerneda
Aliette de Bodard
Sara Creasy
L Timmel Duchamp
Carol Emshwiller
Kelley Eskridge
Jaine Fenn

JM Frey
Mary Gentle

Carolyn Ives Gilman
Mira Grant
Kathleen Anne Goonan
Nicola Griffith
Andrea Hairston

Nalo Hopkinson
M. C. A. Hogarth
Sarah Hoyt
Tanya Huff

Kameron Hurley
Patty Jansen
Jean Johnson

Gwyneth Jones

Emmi Itaranta

Jacqueline Koyanagi

Mary Robinette Kowal
Nancy Kress

Kim Lakin-Smith

Larissa Lai
Sharon Lee
Anne Leckie

Karen Lord
Karin Lowachee

Helen Lowe
Maxine MacArthur
Maurenn F. McHugh

Lois McMaster Bujold
Julian May
Laura Mixon
Elizabeth Moon
Lyda Morehouse
Chris Moriarty
Meg Mundell
Pat Murphy
Linda Nagata
Emma Newman

Audrey Niffennegger
Lisanne Norman

Claire North

Nnedi Okorafor
Kate Orman
Helen Patrice

Cherie Priest

Kit Reed
Laura E. Reeve
Rhonda Roberts
Justina Robson
Kristine Kathryn Rusch
Stephanie Saulter

Melissa Scott

Johanna Sinisalo
Joan Slonczewski
Kristine Smith
Steph Swainston
EJ Swift
Tricia Sullivan
Sheri S. Tepper
Steph Swainston
Karen Traviss
S. L. Viehl
Jo Walton
Martha Wells

Kim Westwood
Liz Williams
Connie Willis
Janine Ellen Young

 

Self-Published

Cynthia Echterling
Andrea K Host
G. S. Jennsen
Jen Foehner Wells
Sandra Ulbrich Almazan

 

Mainstream Authors who have written SF

Kate Atkinson (Life After Life, 2013)
Margaret Atwood
Ioanna Bourazopoulou (What Lot’s Wife Saw, 2013 English trans)

Jennifer Egan (A Visit From the Goon Squad, 2010)
Lauren Groff (Arcadia, 2012)
Xiaolu Guo (UFO in Her Eyes, 2009)
Sarah Hall – The Carhullan Army
Liz Jensen (various, including The Rapture, 2009)
Joanna Kavenna (The Birth of Love, 2010)
Lydia Millet (Oh Pure and Radiant Heart, 2006)*
Jan Morris (Hav, 2007)*
Sarah Moss (Cold Earth)
Ruth Ozeki (A Tale for the Time Being, 2013)
Jane Rogers (The Testament of Jessie Lamb, 2011)
Scarlett Thomas (various, including The End of Mr Y)
Kit Whtifield (In Great Waters, 2008)*
Jeanette Winterson (The Stone Gods, 2007)
Juli Zeh (The Method, 2012 English trans)