Heroes, Villains, and Other Women

by Kate Osias

Heroes, Villains, and Other Women is a collection of stories about women and the complicated spaces they inhabit, whether these be in a reimagined ancient Philippines, or in futures where reality and cyberscapes have merged. The author explores themes of heroism and villainy, and how women can be both, or neither, in their own narratives.

"There’s not much in fiction that can surprise me these days, which is why reading Kate Osias is such a delight. Whether it’s returning from a demon-infested afterlife, questing courageously for one’s stolen heart, or waging a war with adobo recipe-based magic, her excavation of the human condition always uncovers something startling and revelatory. I am so happy that this book exists." —Jason Erik Lundberg, author of Strange Mammals

Genres: Speculative Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

Published October 1, 2018

About the author

Kate Osias has won four Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, the Gig Book Contest, Canvas Story Writing Contest, and the 10th Romeo Forbes Children’s Storywriting Competition. She earned a citation in the international Year’s Best Fantasy and Horror for her story, “The Riverstone Heart of Maria dela Rosa”. Her writing has appeared in LONTAR: The Journal of Southeast Asian Speculative Fiction, as well as various volumes of Philippine Speculative Fiction, Horror: Filipino Fiction for Young Adults, Maximum Volume, and the WFC Unconventional Fantasy (2014). She co-edited the sixth and seventh volumes of Philippine Speculative Fiction. Kate is a proud founding member of the LitCritters, a writing and literary discussion group. Occasionally, she ventures out into the real world to hoard chocolate and shop for shoes. Her debut collection of short fiction, Heroes, Villains, and Other Women, was published by Ateneo de Manila University Press in 2018.
a.k.a. Kate Aton Osias

Reviews

[anj · Rating 4 out of 5]

More of a 4.5 even though I have no idea what's happening half of the time. I have always wanted to read a story that centers on Philippine mythological creatures and this book delivered, along with other stories that centers on powerful women.

I don't know which one's my favorite, but the Ghost Between Moments is definitely up there. It's just so heartbreaking, I can't imagine what the author's going thru while writing it. It's those kinds of stories I want to re-read when I want to have a good cry.

EDIT: I was working yesterday when I remembered the Ghost Between Moments story. As soon as I did I started crying. I love it when stories have that kind of impact on you that's when you know it's good.

[Ysha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm very happy to have found this book in a local bookshop as a huge fan of speculative fiction. Each story in this anthology gives me an otherworldly vibe, encapsulating my imagination regarding different realities in the Philippines—whether history or contemporary, pre-colonial or colonial, or mythology or fact. The plots are page-turning and unique, with the characters and world-building faithful to their genre.

[Sybyl · Rating 4 out of 5]

𝘏𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘦𝘴, 𝘝𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘖𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘞𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯 was a brilliant introduction to the speculative fiction genre for me. Although I've avoided sci-fi works for years (having been wholly convinced that any fictional work involving an extensive amount of technology, machinery, futuristic elements, and whatnot simply wasn't to my taste), some of the stories in this collection made me rethink my stance—most notably 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘜𝘯𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘶𝘢𝘥𝘳𝘰 𝘈𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘰𝘴𝘰, the cyberpunk conclusion set during the Spanish colonial period, which ultimately became my favorite.

These are stories I know will occupy a good chunk of my thoughts for an ungodly amount of time, so much so that I'm already planning to order a copy of 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘉𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘚𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘍𝘪𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 2005–2010, because this genre is my current hyperfixation, ig. 🤧

Anyway, here's a proper list of my faves:

1. The Unmaking of the Cuadro Amoroso
2. Rescuing the Rain God
3. In a Strange Tongue
4. The Goodlyf
5. The Maiden's Song

[meggy · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2.

[edreine ★ · Rating 4 out of 5]

BEAUTIFUL