Melissa Scott

Heiresses of Russ 2014: The Year's Best Lesbian Speculative Fiction Melissa Scott

A book such as this spins not only words but also worlds: eighteen of them, representing the best lesbian-themed stories of the fantastic or futuristic published the prior year. An artisan who tests the skills and wares of her friends in the hope of finding the ideal housing for an idealized love. A shape-shifting sidekick ensures that the heroine, who might not even be aware of her, saves the day. The device on a young girl's wrist that counts down the years until she will meet her soul mate poses the ultimate challenge of delayed gratification. A daydreamer wonders how she will face the coming Stone Moon and its gathering when her culture demands fertility yet her heart belongs to her best friend, who is not only female but of a higher caste. The women to be met in these pages will find themselves tested not because of their sexual identity but rather the identity they have composed, constructed, and spun.