If you’ve ever found yourself a little frustrated with the state of female characters in fantasy fiction, then A Girl’s Guide to Guns and Monsters should prove to be a shining beacon of hope. This collection of short stories offers selections from Jane Lindskold, Jim C. Hines, Mickey Zucker Reichert, and Nina Kiriki Hoffman. Martin H. Greenberg has had a hand in editing many excellent anthologies, and this one is no exception.
The general theme is women kicking butt and triumphing over supernatural baddies, but it leaves plenty of leeway for the authors who contributed stories to create a diverse group of characters (from young, gorgeous women to a woman who’s middle-aged, sort of dumpy, and associates with an ancient Chinese mouse) and throw them into a very exciting mix of situations.
Jane Lindsklold’s ”The Drifter” is set in the Wild West. It’s the tale of Prudence Bledsloe, a woman who wears trousers and travels by herself in search of a very particular monster who is undeniably bad news. She’s a tough, smart woman who relies on her brain just as much as she relies on her gun and her horse. More importantly, Prudence isn’t a woman so hardened by circumstance that she doesn’t express any emotion. She’s forced to make difficult decisions, which make the story a bit of an emotional jolt.
“Elizabeth & Anna’s Big Adventure” by Jeanne Stein is told from the perspective of a very brave eight-year-old girl who readily accepts the bizarre series of events she experiences one night while she’s being babysat. This is one of the few stories in the anthology that has humans as the monsters. It isn’t necessarily a shockingly original tale, but it is a lot of fun to read, and since it does have a bit of a twist, it keeps the story entertaining through the finish.
Anton Strout’s “Lupercalia” is the story of a woman who is scorned by Cupid himself, which makes her decide to exact revenge on Valentine’s day. She decides to drag her roommate along with her, which, naturally, complicates things more than she could have ever imagined.
“Invasive Species” by Nina Kiriki Hoffman is more of a science fiction story, but it fits right into the anthology because it’s about a single mother who works as an exterminator on space craft. Random Delany thinks she’s being called on to do a routine extermination of metal mites. As soon as she’s on board the cruise ship, she discovers the infestation is something entirely different, and much, much worse.
Each of the short stories works well in the collection, but almost all of them feel like they could be the start to much larger works. To be honest, I hope that most of them are inspirations for novels, because all of the stories made me want to spend a little more time in their respective universe, just so I could find out what else happens.
It’s a good anthology to pick up if you’re looking for strong, decisive characters who take action. It’s also good for someone looking for an assortment of different kinds of monsters without having an out-of-control body count or gore factor. These are character- and plot-driven stories that don’t rely on shock value to be interesting. I highly recommend this one if you want the book equivalent of a really good (but not gory) action movie.
Thanks so much for the great compliment!