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Sword and Sonnet
Sword & Sonnet contains twenty-three fantasy and science-fiction stories featuring battle poets. A poet in search of the dragon her mother banished. A labyrinth that is the last sanctuary against the hunger consuming the world. A gunslinger who kills with a single world. A machete-wielding poet defending her street against the children of revenge. A spaceship-devouring poet who sings to the stars.
327 pages, ebook
First published August 1, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
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September 19, 2018An anthology about women and nonbinary battle poets. I wondered if this might end up being a bit samey, given the highly specific brief, but it has stories by Cassandra Khaw and Alex Acks/Alex Wells so one click, and it was excellent. There are a lot of variations on similar themes--word magic and the silencing of women's voices in particular--but it's prevented from feeling repetitive in large part because of the diversity of the authors. There are a *lot* of different cultures and backgrounds here (and tons of queer rep) which means the stories go off in all sorts of fascinating directions using different histories, mythologies and approaches in the fantasy ones, and ranging from deeply emotional and fable-like to rock hard SF at the more SF end.
Far more hits than misses (any anthology that has more than 1/3 hits is doing pretty damn well in my book); I particularly liked Matt Dovey's bear bone-poet, Samantha Henderson's horrifying tale of a doctor inadvertently calling on a god, Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali's abused woman turning into a storm, and Alex Acks' Siren, about a dying human who merges with a war robot, but I could name a lot more. Recommended.
Far more hits than misses (any anthology that has more than 1/3 hits is doing pretty damn well in my book); I particularly liked Matt Dovey's bear bone-poet, Samantha Henderson's horrifying tale of a doctor inadvertently calling on a god, Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali's abused woman turning into a storm, and Alex Acks' Siren, about a dying human who merges with a war robot, but I could name a lot more. Recommended.
August 7, 2018
An interesting and engaging anthology with some excellent tales in it:
SL Huang's and Samantha Henderson's stories both made me sob unrestrainedly
Matt Dovey's story blew me away
Carlie St George's story was freaky in places, but utterly fascinating overall
Cassandra Khaw's was beautifully profane
Alex Acks' story was intriguing and made me cheer at the ending
A Merc Rustad, Anya Ow, and Suzanne J Willis all wrote intriguing stories.
SL Huang's and Samantha Henderson's stories both made me sob unrestrainedly
Matt Dovey's story blew me away
Carlie St George's story was freaky in places, but utterly fascinating overall
Cassandra Khaw's was beautifully profane
Alex Acks' story was intriguing and made me cheer at the ending
A Merc Rustad, Anya Ow, and Suzanne J Willis all wrote intriguing stories.
January 16, 2019
Extraordinarily strong collection. 23 stories. Even the few I didn't fancy were fascinatingly different. Five or so I want/need to read again because they are so densely imagined.
I misled myself to expect more historical stories, since the brief of battle poets called to mind historical examples. It turned out less historical -- although, for instance, there was a Tang China City God -- and more fantasy or science fiction.
I misled myself to expect more historical stories, since the brief of battle poets called to mind historical examples. It turned out less historical -- although, for instance, there was a Tang China City God -- and more fantasy or science fiction.
October 31, 2018
Sword and Sonnet contains fantasy and science fiction stories featuring women or non-binary battle poets. That theme might sound somewhat specific and narrow in scope, but instead, Sword and Sonnet is one of the strongest and richest anthologies I’ve read this year. Every story here is a gem and I can't recommend it enough for anyone who enjoys speculative fiction.
It includes a heart-stopping and uniquely imagined tale about a gunslinger who can kill with a word by A.C. Wise; the breathtaking “A Subtle Fire Beneath the Skin” by Hayley Stone; C.S.E. Cooney's devastating and beautiful “As For Peace, Call It Murder”; the lyrical lushness of A.E. Prevost’s “Labyrinth, Sanctuary”, and Khaalidah Muhammed-Ali’s powerful and compelling “She Searches For God in the Storm Within”.
It includes a heart-stopping and uniquely imagined tale about a gunslinger who can kill with a word by A.C. Wise; the breathtaking “A Subtle Fire Beneath the Skin” by Hayley Stone; C.S.E. Cooney's devastating and beautiful “As For Peace, Call It Murder”; the lyrical lushness of A.E. Prevost’s “Labyrinth, Sanctuary”, and Khaalidah Muhammed-Ali’s powerful and compelling “She Searches For God in the Storm Within”.
November 30, 2021
I heard Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali's story, "She Searches for God in the Storm Within" on a Podcastle episode and adored it. Now I've gotten the collection and am really looking forward to exploring the others. CW for domestic violence
January 7, 2019
A compelling idea for a SFF anthology - women and non-binary battle poets - which has produced a volume of outstanding stories. The editorial team have brought together a cadre of terrifically talented writers to put together one of my favourite anthologies of the year.
Some of the highlights for me were:
The Bone Poet and God (Matt Dovey) - a bear carrying the bones of her ancestors and loved ones ascend a mountain to confront God about the meaning of life (yes really! and it's marvelous!)
She Searches for God in the Storm Within (Khaalida Muhammad-Ali) - concerning suppressed fury and the bonds of love and loyalty between generations of Black American women
The Firefly Beast (Tony Pi) - poets compete over the right to be the city guardian of Song Dynasty Chengdu
And the Ghosts Sang With Her: A Tale of the Lyrist (Spencer Ellsworth) - A good old-fashioned revenge story of fire demons, singing assassins and abyssal pits of ghosts and smoke.
Some of the highlights for me were:
The Bone Poet and God (Matt Dovey) - a bear carrying the bones of her ancestors and loved ones ascend a mountain to confront God about the meaning of life (yes really! and it's marvelous!)
She Searches for God in the Storm Within (Khaalida Muhammad-Ali) - concerning suppressed fury and the bonds of love and loyalty between generations of Black American women
The Firefly Beast (Tony Pi) - poets compete over the right to be the city guardian of Song Dynasty Chengdu
And the Ghosts Sang With Her: A Tale of the Lyrist (Spencer Ellsworth) - A good old-fashioned revenge story of fire demons, singing assassins and abyssal pits of ghosts and smoke.
June 10, 2020
An enjoyable anthology with lots of different takes on the awesome theme of women or nonbinary battle poets. I really appreciated the diverse takes on a theme that at first glance might seem to yield similar tales.
In order of appearance, I particularly enjoyed "A Subtle Fire Beneath the Skin" by Hayley Stone, "As for Peace, Call It Murder" by C.S.E. Cooney, "Eight-Step Kōan" by Anya Ow, "And the Gods Sang with Her: A Tale of the Lyrist" by Spencer Ellsworth, "She Searches for God in the Storm Within" by Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali, and "A Voice in Many Different Forms" by Osahon Ize-Iyamu.
In order of appearance, I particularly enjoyed "A Subtle Fire Beneath the Skin" by Hayley Stone, "As for Peace, Call It Murder" by C.S.E. Cooney, "Eight-Step Kōan" by Anya Ow, "And the Gods Sang with Her: A Tale of the Lyrist" by Spencer Ellsworth, "She Searches for God in the Storm Within" by Khaalidah Muhammad-Ali, and "A Voice in Many Different Forms" by Osahon Ize-Iyamu.
April 17, 2019
Extraordinary collection of stories that both satisfy and challenge the notions of warrior, poet, and words as weapons.
The full spectrum of speculative (fantasy, scifi, other) fiction is covered.
Add this to your "Must Read" list.
The full spectrum of speculative (fantasy, scifi, other) fiction is covered.
Add this to your "Must Read" list.
May 10, 2019
An absolute delight of a collection
October 31, 2019
Here lies beauty and violence and warrior women
I could write a novel about how great this book is and still would fail to do it justice. Read it and experience this master piece.
I could write a novel about how great this book is and still would fail to do it justice. Read it and experience this master piece.
November 21, 2019
A beautiful anthology, as lyrical as the name suggests.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews