Nov 22

Nov 22 Even Greater Mistakes

Author: Charlie Jane Anders
Publisher: Tor
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover Description

In her short story collection, Even Greater Mistakes, Charlie Jane Anders upends genre cliches and revitalizes classic tropes with heartfelt and pants-wettingly funny social commentary.

The woman who can see all possible futures is dating the man who can see the one and only foreordained future.

A wildly popular slapstick filmmaker is drawn, against his better judgment, into working with a fascist militia, against a background of social collapse.

Two friends must embark on an Epic Quest To Capture The Weapon That Threatens The Galaxy, or else they’ll never achieve their dream of opening a restaurant.

The stories in this collection, by their very outrageousness, achieve a heightened realism unlike any other. Anders once again proves she is one of the strongest voices in modern science fiction, the writer called by Andrew Sean Greer, “this generation’s Le Guin.”

TL;DR Review

Even Greater Mistakes is a wide-reaching collection of stories that will have something for everyone. Anders is just so good at cutting to the heart of our humanity with bravery and compassion.

For you if: You like short stories with speculative elements.

Full Review

Thank you, Tor, for providing me with an electronic advanced copy of this book! I am a big fan of Charlie Jane Anders, as a person and as a writer, and I jumped at the chance to read her first official story collection.

As you might expect from a prolific SFF writer who hasn’t published a story collection before (what?), this book is absolutely packed — truly, there’s something for everyone here. Perhaps my favorite was “Six Months, Three Days,” in which a girl who sees many futures and a boy who sees one future fall in love, despite knowing it won’t end well. It raised so many questions about free will. There are also follow-up stories to Anders’ novels The City in the Middle of the Night and All the Birds in the Sky (which is one I especially loved). She also gives introductions and background on each story, which added an extra touch I really appreciated.

Anders cuts to the heart and humanity with clear-eyed compassion. These stories are not always comfortable (see trigger warnings), but the discomfort is always purposeful. She explores themes of transness and queerness, choice and identity, love and friendship, and so much more. I didn’t love every single story in this book, but I loved many and liked the rest.

If you’re a fan of speculative fiction, pick this one up!