Chicks Ahoy!

Chicks in Chainmail #1-3

by Esther M. Friesner (Editor/Contributor)

It's time to take sword-swinging amazons more seriously. Well, maybe not too seriously. After all, the popular Chicks in Chainmail series wasn't known for stark drama and solemn think-pieces. In fact, they made a lot people laugh. And now the first three books in the series are combined in one volume.

Chicks in Chainmail
(The look at the lighter side of amazons that started it all.)

Did You Say Chicks/
(Smile when you say that, you wimpy noncombatant!)

Chicks 'n Chained Males
(Those men just can't take care of themselves, so send in the amazons!)

It's all right to have a laugh or two. These rambunctious swordswomen like a good laugh as much as the next amazon. Just don't make them think you're laughing at them, instead of with them — if you know what's good for you...

Stories of fierce female fighters by Harry Turtledove, Roger Zelazny, Elizabeth Moon, Jan and S. M. Stirling, K. D. Wentworth, Barbara Hambly, Elizabeth Ann Scarborough and more — including Esther Friesner herself.

Genres: Fantasy, Anthologies, Fiction, Short Stories, Humor

870 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Esther M. Friesner was educated at Vassar College, where she completed B.A's in both Spanish and Drama. She went to on to Yale University; within five years she was awarded an M.A. and Ph.D. in Spanish. She taught Spanish at Yale for a number of years before going on to become a full-time author of fantasy and science fiction. She has published twenty-seven novels so far; her most recent titles include Temping Fate from Penguin-Puffin and Nobody's Princess from Random House.

Her short fiction and poetry have appeared in Asimov's, Fantasy & Science Fiction, Aboriginal SF, Pulphouse Magazine, Amazing, and Fantasy Book, as well as in numerous anthologies. Her story, "Love's Eldritch Ichor," was featured in the 1990 World Fantasy Convention book.

Her first stint as an anthology editor was Alien Pregnant By Elvis, a collection of truly gonzo original tabloid SF for DAW books. Wisely, she undertook this project with the able collaboration of Martin H. Greenberg. Not having learned their lesson, they have also co-edited the Chicks In Chainmail Amazon comedy anthology series for Baen Books, as well as Blood Muse, an anthology of vampire stories for Donald I Fine, Inc.

"Ask Auntie Esther" was her regular etiquette and advice column to the SFlorn in Pulphouse Magazine. Being paid for telling other people how to run their lives sounds like a pretty good deal to her.

Ms. Friesner won the Nebula Award for Best Short Story of 1995 for her work, "Death and the Librarian," and the Nebula for Best Short Story of 1996 for "A Birth Day." (A Birth Day" was also a 1996 Hugo Award finalist.) Her novelette, "Jesus at the Bat" was on the final Nebula ballot in the same year that "Death and the Librarian" won the award. In addition, she has won the Romantic Times award for Best New Fantasy Writer in 1986 and the Skylark Award in 1994. Her short story, "All Vows," took second place in the Asimov's SF Magazine Readers' Poll for 1993 and was a finalist for the Nebula in 1994. Her Star Trek: Deep Space Nine novel, Warchild, made the USA TODAY bestseller list.

She lives in Connecticut with her husband, two children, two rambunctious cats, and a fluctuating population of hamsters.

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do you remember Xena? Wasn't she awesome?

Of course, the all men are scum shouting woman warrior are equally annoying.

So Esther M. Friesner went and put the fun back in scanty clad female warriors. It's not her fault if you think of something like:




This book is a collection of the first three Chicks in Chainmail collections. The first two books tend to be a bit better than the third. Additionally several characters appeared in stories that continue in the volumes.

Stand out stories include:

"Ladies of the Club" about warrior women and a tax.

A great retelling of "Cinderella". Fan of Hilary Clinton, watch her outfox Thor in "Exchange Program". Fan of Barbara Hambly? Her Starhawk makes an appearance.

There is a wonderful gender reversal where the men give birth. Baba Yaga appears in several tales and even meets Slue Foot Sue.

While the emphasis is on humor, the emphasis is also on strength. In many ways, this is a light hearted response to Marion Zimmer Bradley's Sword and Sorceress series. Totally enjoyable. Even down to the metal bra metaling!

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

A massive collection of three collections. I found most of them to be good reads, so the collection on the whole is pretty enjoyable. Some of the authors had provided stories that offered some continuity in the sense that the same characters reappeared in subsequent collections. And some of them had great twists on everyday-themes and gender role-reversals.

Chicks in Chain Mail

Lady of Steel - Roger Zelazny - 2/5 - too short a story to really convey much
And Ladies of the Club - Elizabeth Moon - 5/5 - this was really fun
Exchange Program - Susan Schwartz - 1/5 - probably something only a reader familiar with the Clintons would "get"
Goddess for a Day - Harry Turtledove - 4/5 - love the humourous way it's told in
Armor-Ella - Holly Lisle - 4/5 - funny the way the inspiring story gets turned around
Career Day - Margaret Ball - 5/5 - love the humour in this one
Armor/Amore - David Vierling - 2/5 - a twist on Cinderalla; the humour in this one feels a little forced
The Stone of War and the Nightingale's Egg - Elizabeth Ann Scarborough - 3/5 - set in China; interesting, but didn't quite hit it for me
The Growling - Jody Lynn Nye - 4/5 - cute play on words and the everyday routines
The New Britomart - Eluki bes Shahar - 2/5 - had a lot going on but didn't develop to the point that you'd want to care
On the Road of Silver - Mark Bourne - 2/5 - about remembering past glories; didn't find it much enjoyable
Bra Melting - Janni Lee Simner - 3/5 - liked it but felt it was all too short and didn't quite conclude
The Old Grind - Laura Frankos - 3/5 - a somewhat typical coming of age story except that it involves giants
The Way to a Man's Heart - Esther Friesner - 4/5 - interesting twist on the frog-prince story
Whoops! - Nancy Springer - 5/5 - really funny portrayal of a guardian angel
The Guardswoman - Lawrence Watt-Evans - 3/5 - not quite sure how to take this story of a female soldier but it was kinda fun
Teacher's Pet - Joseph Sherman - 3/5 - fun story about shapechanging going awry, but a little clichéd
Were-Wench - Jan Stirling - 4/5 - interesting combination of several fantasy tropes
Blood Calls to Blood - Elisabeth Waters - 2/5 - elves, a policewoman, and her children; rather lacklustre for me
Maureen Birnbaum in the MUD - George Alec Effinger - 2/5 - it started off novel but it got tedious really quickly, what with the odd mixture between prancing bimbo and a funny take of MUD gaming

Did You Say Chicks?!

No Pain, No Gain - Elizabeth Moon - 5/5 - a sequel of sorts to And Ladies of the Club, brilliantly done; loved the humourous take on magical plastic surgery
Slue-Foot Sue and the Witch in the Woods - Laura Frankos - 2/5 - about a woman who got bounced into a faraway place and encountered a witch; didn't like it
A Young Swordswoman's Garden Primer - Sarah Zettel - 4/5 - I liked this liberating-the-old-family-inheritance plot; it was fun but felt that it ended too abruptly
The Old Fire, Jody Lynn Nye - 3/5 - nice tale about an adventurer coming out of retirement
Like No Business I Know - Mark Bourne - 1/5 - didn't like the first one, didn't like this one
A Bone to Pick - Marina Frants & Keith R. A. DeCandido - 3/5 - and so a witch is made; it's ok
The Attack of the Avenging Virgins - Elizabeth Ann Scarborough - 4/5 - interesting view points on a raid, and a very unexpected form of retaliation
Oh, Sweet Goodnight! - Christina Briley & Walter Vance Awsten - 5/5 - nice and simple; with a side about perspectives and presuppositions
A Bitch in Time - Doranna Durgin - 3/5 - the first one with a non-human POV, and it's ok
Don't You Want to Be Beautiful? - Laura Anne Gilman - 1/5 - couldn't relate at all; uses shopping urges and make-up as the themes
A Night with the Girls - Barbara Hambly - 4/5 - a rather fun-to-read all-girl hunt for a dark creation
A Quiet Knight's Reading - Steven Piziks - 4/5 - an enjoyable twist to the typical knight-questing-for-dragon-slaying quest
Armor Propre - Jan Stirling & S. M. Stirling - 3/5 - sequel to Were-Wench, this time on how the protagonist managed to defeat an invasion
A Big Hand for the Little Lady - Esther Friesner - 2/5 - a petite girl with strong arms finds trouble and love; felt rather forced to me
Blade Runner - K. D. Wentworth - 1/5 - the story went all over the place, like it's not quite sure what its central plot is meant to be
Keeping Up Appearances - Lawrence Watt-Evans - 5/5 - this was a fun read, a nice double-twist of an assassination attempt on a wizard
La Difference - Harry Turtledove - 5/5 - a rare sci-fi-themed plot that turned out to be a short and sweet tale of escape
Tales from the Slushpile - Margaret Ball - 5/5 - the same setting as Career Day; this is just awesome stuff

Chicks 'N Chained Males

Myth Manners' Guide to Greek Missology #1 - Harry Turtledove - 4/5 - a funny gender-swap to the story of Perseus
Chain, Link, Fence - Steven Piziks - 4/5 - a nice twist of a swindling act
Fool's Gold - Elizabeth Moon - 4/5 - a third take on that club of women warriors, this time tangling with a miser and a dragon
In for a Pound - Lawrence Watt-Evans - 2/5 - a werewolf who got mistaken for a wild dog and taken to the pound. Can you really mistake a wolf for a dog?
Death Becomes Him - Marina Frants - 2/5 - a follow-up from previous volumes about a witch-in-the-making
Straight Arrow - Susan Shwartz - 2/5 - not too sure how to take this story about Amazons lost in time, and getting a visit from modern day soldiers
Bad Heir Day - Rosemary Edghill - 3/5 - a rather irreverent look at well-known pulling-sword-out-of-rock episode
Why Do You Think They Call it Middle Earth? - Susan Cooper - 4/5 - funny parody of the well-known epics
Leg Irons, the Bitch, and the Wardrobe - Laura Frankos - 5/5 - a rather brilliant play on plays
Shiftless - Josepha Sherman - 5/5 - great take on shapeshifters
May/December at the Mall - Brian D. Akers - 2/5 - an odd setting of a meeting point of time travelers
Yo, Baby! - Jan Stirling - 4/5 - another episode of this odd, but interesting couple, as they get involved with a baby and royalty
Don't Break the Chain! - Jody Lynn Nye - 5/5 - a funny take on chain letters and Prince Charming
Cross CHILDREN Walk - Esther M. Friesner - 4/5 - getting back at corrupt and foolish people and an enterprising little girl; I just don't get the title
... But Comedy Is Hard - Kate Daniel - 3/5 - an Amazon and a comedy actor, and getting inspired by the muse
Baubles, Bangles, and Beads - Kevin Andrew Murphy - 5/5 - a really enjoyable African-themed tale of a sorceress, a warrior, and of curses coming true
Hallah Iron-Thighs and the Five Unseemly Sorrows - K. D. Wentworth - 1/5 - the plot was alright, but it just felt a bit too over-the-top
Miss Underwood and the Mermaid - Sarah Zettel - 5/5 - an enjoyable mix of role-reversal and a squabble between fey folk

[Michelle Howald · Rating 4 out of 5]

This series of short stories written by skilled authors about the joys and challenges of being a female warrior in. fantasy realm. I especially remember the one where noble ladies were magically trading their arms with apple pickers and their legs with shepherdesses, and their bellies with dancers, without asking, of course! Our heroine was called in by the dancer's guild to solve the mystery. there were many other stories, all playing with the stereotypes, the armor, and the baddassery required to be a chick in chainmail.

[Mary Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished -- FINALLY. Some good stories. Too many with female warriors who wind up with the guy of their dreams. Wasn't part of the point of these anthologies to have strong women who DON'T need to have a man? Sigh. Found so many type-o's that I kept a pen next to me while I read to fix them. Fun? Yes. Worthwhile? Maybe if one doesn't read the whole thing, but instead read one collection at a time. I don't feel as though I wasted my time.

[Benjamin Kahn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very long read, this book is an omnibus edition which combines the three books Chicks in Chainmail, Did You Say Chicks and Chicks 'n Chained Males. I thought it might be too much of a good thing, but the stories were all of very high quality with very few duds. I also feared that there would be a certain sameness to all the stories but Friesner has done an excellent job assembling a variety of top-notch stories, well-written and very humorous. A fun read.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realize this was an omnibus volume of three books, two of which I'd read already. But I like the stories, so I went ahead and read all three anyway. :)

[Thea Hutcheson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, nice range of stories. A fun romp.

[Nora · Rating 1 out of 5]

In the past I enjoyed the warped humor in the stories Esther Friesner chose to include in her anthologies, but not this one!

[Joanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short stories. Hilarious, meant to be dropped into and out of, not necessarily read straight through. Lots of fun here.

[Kenton Schassberger · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the best collections of short stories i have read in years and some i hope are also part of full novels.

[Craig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Read specifically for S.M. and Jan Stirling stories.

[Mike Klein · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like short stories. Particularly Sci-Fi/Fantasy short stories. I say that because I want to be clear, my bias is to like this collection. It ultimately was OK, but way too repetitive and sometimes boring. It wasn't the conceit--strong women warrior protagonists--it was the lack of enough creativity to sustain through the length of the book. The other problem is that it is sold as humor and some of the stories are funny or at least have a punch line. Only one made me do anything other than be a little amused. I think this is the part of the editor and marketer rather than the individual stories, but it did affect my enjoyment of the book.

[Mary Mackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fun read. A wide variety of viewpoints, and a lot of different genre, which surprised me.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful comic break from reality. I highly recommend it.