As a selection of fiction with an explicit political slant, Sisters of the Revolution runs the risk of being straitjacketed by its agenda. Fortunately, the editors have searched far and wide for source material, turning a collection that might have been worthy but dull into a diverse celebration of speculative fiction. The stories here were written between the 1970s and the present day, with emerging authors such as Nnedi Okorafor side by side with established voices including Angela Carter and Octavia Butler. Highlights include Kelley Eskridge’s tale of an actor equally at home playing John the Baptist or Salome, a story of gender fluidity heavy with desire; James Tiptree Jr’s “The Screwfly Solution”, a chilling account of society falling apart as men’s sexual and violent impulses combine; and Carter’s masterful examination of the Lizzie Borden case, a vivid depiction of life in the 19th century, when three women could be owned by one man through marriage, birth or contract. This is a fine anthology, regardless of genre or politics.
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