Review: The Very Best of Kate Elliott

Kate Elliott

  • Author: Kate Elliott
  • ISBN: 9781616961794
  • Publisher: Tachyon Publications
  • Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy

I received this book from the publisher through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

There isn’t much in The Very Best of Kate Elliott that I didn’t love.  I’ve never read anything by her before, but I plan on reading more of her work.  I hope that it lives up to this “Best of” collection.  If it weren’t for a couple of the essays and one of the short stories, I would give this book 5 stars.  However, the 2 essays I didn’t care for came off more as personal rants than they did professionally written and well researched essays.  I appreciated her point of view.  I just wasn’t impressed by the way in which it was presented.  As for the one short story I didn’t like, it was an erotic story that felt way too much like amateur porn.  I know there are millions of readers out there that would have no problem with that, but I prefer my erotica to be a bit more elegant.  I’m not sure if that’s really the right word I’m looking for, but it’s the one I’m going with.

The rest of the stories, and the other 2 essays, are amazing.  They’re Feminist without being preachy or completely excluding men or making them all antagonists.  Most of the stories’ main characters are female, but there are a couple male narrators, which I found to be interesting and, in a way, refreshing.  I love Feminist female authors, but they tend to write exclusively from a female point of view.  While that’s perfectly fine, especially if that’s what they’re comfortable writing, I enjoy the attempt to get inside the head of a male character.  Male authors have been doing that with female characters throughout the history of the novel, so why not?

While the stories do fall into the Sci-Fi and Fantasy genres, they feel closer to speculative fiction than stereotypical genre fiction.  All of the characters are well defined and full of depth, but Kate Elliott doesn’t skimp on the world building, since that is just as important to her, as discussed in one of the essays.  There are only 2 stories that I would say are lighter reads, so be prepared for some heavy thinking, but definitely give this book a try.

Monday’s Minutes #5

Currently Reading: The Very Best of Kate Elliott, a review book, The Sparrow by Mary Doria Russell, Little Women by Louisa May Alcott for The Classics Club, 1536: The Year that Changed Henry VIII by Suzannah Lipscomb, for one of my college classes, and War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, because I’m insane.  Also, there’s a read-along for it.

 Kate Elliott Sparrow Little Women 1536 War and Peace

Winter 2014-2015 COYER Progress:  I’ve read 7 books towards my goal of 10, and participated in 2 read-a-thons towards my goal of 3.  I’ve been keeping up with the Facebook group, but I still need to do a mini-challenge.

Show Your Shelves Some Love, and Outdo Yourself Progress: 5

Netgalley/Edelweiss Progress: 4

SF/F Bingo: I may end up moving these around a bit, but so far I only need to read a book published this year.  The Very Best of Kate Elliott will qualify for that. I’ve read a book containing dragons (The Sunken by S.C. Green), a book by a female author (The Eterna Files), a book published prior to 2000 (Walking the Labyrinth by Lisa Goldstein) and an Urban Fantasy (The Kingdom Lights by Steven V.S.).  My “Free” book is Tommy Black and the Staff of Light by Jake Kerr).

S&S BingoUpdate3

Total pages read for the week: 151

Total number of books for the year: 7.  I’m still technically ahead of schedule, but unless I finish The Very Best of Kate Elliott by Friday, I’ll be behind by the end of the week.  I decided to cut Friday’s Fairy Tales down, again, to monthly, which is why there wasn’t a post on Friday, and I’m probably going to cut back Wednesday’s Words to every other week.  I’m already seeing a slight reduction in traffic, but earning my degree has to come first.  At this rate, I don’t think I’m going to complete most of the challenges I’m participating in, but we’ll see.  It’s only the 2nd month of the year, and last year started strong and then slowed around the same time.

Top Commenters: This week, my Top Commenter was Shaina from Shaina Reads.

What are you reading this week?