Aether Beyond the Binary

by Nina Waters (Lead Editor), Ellen Faye, Scarlett Gale

The core concept of Aether Beyond the Binary is simple and compelling: create intriguing main characters outside the gender binary and set them loose to explore the modern world twisted or unchanged, enhanced or destroyed by magical aether. This power source may replace technology, supplement it, or oppose it. These characters may be agender, genderfluid, bigender, or any other non-binary identity. The thread that unites these tales is exploration: of the world around them and of the self. We propose no final conclusions; instead, we demonstrate how far-reaching the questions are and how expansive the range of possible answers can be, thereby broadening the discussion about the nature of gender and the place of genderqueer characters in fantasy fiction. We hope you'll join us to explore the endless possibilities of these magical worlds.

Genres: Anthologies

350 pages, ebook

About the author

Claire Houck (she/they/he), pen name Nina Waters, fandom name unforth, is the founder and sole proprietor of Duck Prints Press LLC. She is queer, 40 years old, married to the lovely Lisa, and a mother of two. Claire has been writing fanfiction since the young age of seven, when she penned (well, two-finger typed and printed dot matrix) the timeless classic “the story of my littl ponies and the glob.” Since then, her spelling, grammar and prose have improved immensely. She has written over two hundred short stories, a number of novellas, and 16 novels—some original, some fanfiction—including “A Glimmer of Hope,” which was successfully Kickstarted and self-published in fall, 2016. She’s also had two short stories published. Before she became a full-time writer, Claire had a career as a professional grant writer and program evaluator, providing consultation services for the New York City Department of Education and other non-profit education organizations.

Reviews

[Deborah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Aether Beyond the Binary mixes a nebulous Something (aether) with an even more nebulous Something (gender). It’s the first time I’ve read a book that so heavily focuses on non-binary characters; all stories feature non-binary protagonists, and some feature additional non-binary characters. The experience made me question how I approach characters in fiction.

My favorite stories were “Mixed Dough” by Mikki Madison and “You’re Gonna Get Older” by Alec J Marsh. Both dealt with reactionary communities that use age of aether to assert control over their populations, though in very different ways. Madison’s story was a more mature, gentle story about healing and self-discovery; Marsh’s was a desperate chafe of discovering and concealing one’s truth, which made sense with the teen characters. Both were great. I think, as a reader, I’m always going to be pulled into the most dystopia-aligned stories I can find!

That said, it’s not just dystopias in this collection! There are questions of where we feel human—whether that is in connection, in music, in the world of growing things. What was especially fun with this one was that even the stories I didn’t especially like (bound to be a few in any collection) there were interesting explorations of identity and society, as both gender and aether.

[Luba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you to DPP for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Like almost every anthology there were some stories that I enjoyed and some that I didn't enjoy. Overall it was an okay read for me. I enjoyed some exploration of aether and gender more than others, but that was to be expected. My main issue was that many of the short stories did not work as short stories. The whole point of a short story is that you don't need to force an entire story arc with huge character developments into a 10 page story; you can just start in media res. Some stories felt like the authors were working against the form instead of with it.

Another small thing that did not make sense to me were the tags at the beginning of each story. I don't see the point of tagging a text in a set anthology (or in any setting that is not an archive like ao3), it would've been different if the tags just contained tw/cw, but most of the tags were just for fun. Especially the mention of the pov is really not necessary when you could just read the first sentence and get the information immediately.

With that being said, my two favourite stories were You're Gonna Get Older and Cadillac’s Bus and I also think that You're Gonna Get Older is a great choice as a first story within the anthology! I also really liked the variety of genres/subgenres within the anthology!

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

The possibilities of what might be and who we might be are extensive in the Aether Beyond the Binary anthology. The authors create worlds where characters deal with intersections of self, community, and the universe in tones that range from delighted to intense misdaventure. These stories were crafted to keep self/personhood at the front. As each story progresses, we get insights about the journeys of self-discovery that nonbinary, agender, and cisgendered characters went through, and we see how they draw on those experiences to get through new challenges that come their way.

The settings are places, times, and worlds affected by aether's influences. These may be informed by the consequences of human adaptation or natural happenings of a sort, and now our characters are in that world figuring things out. Those consequences can be intimate, mundane, wild, dangerous, or even comforting in their particular ways.

Where the stories include growth and discovery for characters, a story like "Finding Resonance" highlights how a skilled performer creates a novel relationship with aether and adds a whole new dimension to how performance art can be done. With "You're Gonna Get Older" comes a relationship to aether that is akin to modern fuels, but the manner it's secured relates to themes of colonization, family tradition, ill-fitting gender expectations, and found family.

Aether also scars the world in patches or like an ocean. Both "How Your Garden Grows" and "We Might Contain Multitudes" feature aether as a large ecological force, toxic to the environment and a trap for the unprepared. They have aether challenge and change a person, drawing on their own experiences of developing a self-identity to challenge and overcome difficult obstacles. Human forces are often the most difficult challenges across most stories, but the added thrill and horror that elemental aether brings elevates them above mundane matters into things that can genuinely affect the future of all life on the planet.

One of my favorites, which had me quoting it cheerfully in real life, is the coming-of-age adventure story "Cadillac's Bus." From hero worship to teamwork to the apprentice mastering the work, the tone of the story is bright and welcoming, even when the protagonist faces learning difficult things about how life works and how to turn beliefs into victories.