The anthology opens with one of the strongest stories, ‘Dinkley’s Ice Cream’ by Effie Seiberg, in which Janelle, a queer single mom with two jobs to make ends meet, takes her four year-old daughter Shanti to an out-of-town fairground as a rare (and expensive) treat, and is herself surprised by the nostalgic force of the vintage ice cream flavors on sale at a small booth. Perhaps a little uneven in overall quality in places, this is nevertheless one of the more memorable SF/F anthologies I’ve read this year. Individual pieces vary in quality, offer stories that sit closer or further away from the central concept, span the spectrum from hard SF, high or urban fantasy, through near-contemporary social speculation, and include both gritty, tragic plots and more light-hearted, fluffy stories. It’s a beautiful concept, and this slim anthology of fifteen short stories does some lovely things with it, bringing an impressive breadth and range to play on the theme. Queer families, not dysfunctional, or tragic, or torn apart as so common in genre fiction, but standing together, loyal, strong, fierce. This anthology from the praiseworthy Crossed Genres small press, famous for the diversity as well as the quality of their short fiction output, has perhaps the most brilliant concept behind it that I’ve heard all year.
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