Dangerous Women (anthology)

(Redirected from Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell) Anthology edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois

Dangerous Women
First edition cover
Editors	George R. R. Martin Gardner Dozois
Author	Various
Original title	Femmes Fatale
Language	English
Genre	Science fiction/Fantasy
Published	December 3, 2013
Publisher	Tor Books
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print (hardcover)
Pages	784
ISBN	978-0-76533-206-6
Preceded by	Warriors
Followed by	Rogues

Dangerous Women is a cross-genre anthology featuring 21 original short stories and novellas "from some of the biggest authors in the science fiction/fantasy field", edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois, and released on December 3, 2013. The works "showcase the supposedly weaker sex's capacity for magic, violence, and mayhem" and "explores the heights that brave women can reach and the depths that depraved ones can plumb." In his own introduction, Dozois writes: "Here you'll find no hapless victims who stand by whimpering in dread while the male hero fights the monster or clashes swords with the villain ... And if you want to tie these women to the railroad tracks, you'll find you have a real fight on your hands."

According to Dozois, Dangerous Women was conceived as a "cross-genre anthology, one that would mingle every kind of fiction, so we asked writers from every genre—science fiction, fantasy, mystery, historical, horror, paranormal romance, men and women alike—to tackle the theme." The anthology was originally announced as Femmes Fatale. Martin noted that the works by himself, Brandon Sanderson, Diana Gabaldon, and Caroline Spector are novellas. The anthology won the 2014 World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology.

Introduction by Gardner Dozois
"Some Desperado" by Joe Abercrombie (The First Law)
In the wild west, a desperate woman is chased by bounty hunters into a derelict town and still manages to come out on top of the situation. Nominated for a 2014 Locus Award.
"My Heart is Either Broken" by Megan Abbott
A husband suspects his eccentric wife of their daughter's murder, but the truth turns out to be worse.
"Nora’s Song" by Cecelia Holland
A story about princess Eleanor and her observations of the royal household of Henry II of England and (future) Richard I.
"The Hands That Are Not There" by Melinda Snodgrass (Imperials)
A lieutenant in a dystopian future hears about a conspiracy theory about an alien race capable of genetically altering humans.
"Bombshells" by Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files)
A young wizard's apprentice finds herself caught between warring factions and must race against time to save a vampire.
"Raisa Stepanova" by Carrie Vaughn
World War II Russian fighter pilot with an ambition to become an ace. The tale of the Russian resistance and her plight are interwoven with her own struggle for recognition.
"Wrestling Jesus" by Joe R. Lansdale
Two wrestlers become spellbound by a woman and continue to wrestle each other even after retirement on the unspoken condition that the winner gets to keep the woman.
"Neighbors" by Megan Lindholm
In a scenic suburb of Seattle, Alzheimer's disease changes the way of life for elderly women. A bit of magic and time travel are thrown in for good measure.
"I Know How to Pick 'Em" by Lawrence Block
A contemporary crime thriller; a femme fatale crime story with a twist.
Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell by Brandon Sanderson (The Cosmere)
In a forest inhabited by supernatural evil beings called shades, an elderly inn-keeper turns bounty hunter at night.
"A Queen in Exile" by Sharon Kay Penman
Chronicles a little-known episode of late 12th-century Sicilian history; Constance of Sicily goes to great lengths to secure the support of the people for her son, (future) Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor.
"The Girl in the Mirror" by Lev Grossman (Magicians)
"Second Arabesque, Very Slowly" by Nancy Kress
"City Lazarus" by Diana Rowland
Virgins by Diana Gabaldon (Outlander)
In 1740 France, young Scottish Highlanders Jamie Fraser and Ian Murray become mercenaries.
"Hell Hath No Fury" by Sherrilyn Kenyon, a present-day Native American ghost story
"Pronouncing Doom" by S. M. Stirling (Emberverse), a "hanging judge" tale set "in a postapocalyptic America devastated by plague and machine failure"
"Name the Beast" by Sam Sykes
"Caretakers" by Pat Cadigan
Lies My Mother Told Me by Caroline Spector (Wild Cards)
The Princess and the Queen, or, the Blacks and the Greens by George R. R. Martin, a tale of "continent-burning warfare" that explodes between Targaryen Princess Rhaenyra and her stepmother Queen Alicent, set in the Westeros of Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series, 200 years before the events of A Game of Thrones (1996). Nominated for a 2014 Locus Award.

Reception

On The Omnivore, based on British and American press reviews, the book received an "omniscore" of 4.5 out of 5.

Both Abercrombie's "Some Desperado" and Martin's The Princess and the Queen were nominated for 2014 Locus Awards. The anthology as a whole won the 2014 World Fantasy Award for Best Anthology.

References

"Dangerous Women Arrives on Tor.com". Tor.com. July 24, 2013. Retrieved November 19, 2013.
^ Driscoll, Molly (July 31, 2013). "George R.R. Martin's new novella will be a part of the anthology Dangerous Women". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved November 21, 2013 – via CSMonitor.com.
^ "Fiction Book Review: Dangerous Women by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois". PublishersWeekly.com. October 7, 2013. Retrieved November 23, 2013.
Dozois, Gardner (December 3, 2013). ""Introduction"". Dangerous Women. Tor Books. ISBN 978-0765332066. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
Snodgrass, Melinda (December 2, 2013). "Deadlier Than the Male". TorForgeBlog.com. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
^ Martin, George R. R. (January 23, 2013). "Not A Blog: A Dangerous Delivery". GRRM.livejournal.com. Retrieved January 23, 2013. For those who like to lose themselves in long stories, the Brandon Sanderson story, the Diana Gabaldon story, the Caroline Spector story, and my Princess and Queen are novellas.
^ "2014 Locus Awards Winners". Locus. June 28, 2014. Retrieved September 26, 2014.
"Official site: Virgins (Dangerous Women)". DianaGabaldon.com. December 7, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2014.
Franlich, Darren (December 6, 2013). "Book Review: Dangerous Women". Entertainment Weekly. No. 1288. p. 81. Retrieved July 16, 2014.
"Dangerous Women ed. by George RR Martin". The Omnivore. Retrieved 17 February 2024.
"World Fantasy Awards Winners 2014". Locus. November 9, 2014. Archived from the original on November 10, 2014. Retrieved March 6, 2015.

v t e World Fantasy Award—Anthology
1988–2000	The Architecture of Fear by Kathryn Cramer and Peter D. Pautz (1988) The Year's Best Fantasy: First Annual Collection by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (1989) The Year's Best Fantasy: Second Annual Collection by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (1990) Best New Horror by Stephen Jones and Ramsey Campbell (1991) The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Fourth Annual Collection by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (1992) MetaHorror by Dennis Etchison (1993) Full Spectrum 4 by Lou Aronica, Amy Stout and Betsy Mitchell (1994) Little Deaths by Ellen Datlow (1995) The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women by A. Susan Williams and Richard Glyn Jones (1996) Starlight 1 by Patrick Nielsen Hayden (1997) Bending the Landscape: Fantasy by Nicola Griffith and Stephen Pagel (1998) Dreaming Down-Under by Jack Dann and Janeen Webb (1999) Silver Birch, Blood Moon by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (2000)
2001–present	Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora by Sheree Thomas (2001) The Museum of Horrors by Dennis Etchison (2002) The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (2003) Strange Tales by Rosalie Parker (2004) Acquainted with the Night by Barbara Roden and Christopher Roden (2005) The Fair Folk by Marvin Kaye (2006) Salon Fantastique by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (2007) Inferno by Ellen Datlow (2008) Paper Cities: An Anthology of Urban Fantasy by Ekaterina Sedia (2009) American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny from Poe to the Pulps/from the 1940s to Now by Peter Straub (2010) My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me by Kate Bernheimer (2011) The Weird by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer (2012) Exotic Gothic 4 by Danel Olson (2013) Dangerous Women by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois (2014) Monstrous Affections: An Anthology of Beastly Tales by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant (2015) She Walks in Shadows by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Paula R. Stiles (2016) Dreaming in the Dark by Jack Dann (2017) The New Voices of Fantasy by Peter S. Beagle and Jacob Weisman (2018) Worlds Seen in Passing by Irene Gallo (2019) New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color by Nisi Shawl (2020) The Big Book of Modern Fantasy by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer (2021) The Year's Best African Speculative Fiction by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (2022)

World Fantasy Award—Anthology

1988–2000

The Architecture of Fear by Kathryn Cramer and Peter D. Pautz (1988)
The Year's Best Fantasy: First Annual Collection by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (1989)
The Year's Best Fantasy: Second Annual Collection by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (1990)
Best New Horror by Stephen Jones and Ramsey Campbell (1991)
The Year's Best Fantasy and Horror: Fourth Annual Collection by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (1992)
MetaHorror by Dennis Etchison (1993)
Full Spectrum 4 by Lou Aronica, Amy Stout and Betsy Mitchell (1994)
Little Deaths by Ellen Datlow (1995)
The Penguin Book of Modern Fantasy by Women by A. Susan Williams and Richard Glyn Jones (1996)
Starlight 1 by Patrick Nielsen Hayden (1997)
Bending the Landscape: Fantasy by Nicola Griffith and Stephen Pagel (1998)
Dreaming Down-Under by Jack Dann and Janeen Webb (1999)
Silver Birch, Blood Moon by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (2000)

2001–present

Dark Matter: A Century of Speculative Fiction from the African Diaspora by Sheree Thomas (2001)
The Museum of Horrors by Dennis Etchison (2002)
The Green Man: Tales from the Mythic Forest by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (2003)
Strange Tales by Rosalie Parker (2004)
Acquainted with the Night by Barbara Roden and Christopher Roden (2005)
The Fair Folk by Marvin Kaye (2006)
Salon Fantastique by Ellen Datlow and Terri Windling (2007)
Inferno by Ellen Datlow (2008)
Paper Cities: An Anthology of Urban Fantasy by Ekaterina Sedia (2009)
American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny from Poe to the Pulps/from the 1940s to Now by Peter Straub (2010)
My Mother She Killed Me, My Father He Ate Me by Kate Bernheimer (2011)
The Weird by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer (2012)
Exotic Gothic 4 by Danel Olson (2013)
Dangerous Women by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois (2014)
Monstrous Affections: An Anthology of Beastly Tales by Kelly Link and Gavin J. Grant (2015)
She Walks in Shadows by Silvia Moreno-Garcia and Paula R. Stiles (2016)
Dreaming in the Dark by Jack Dann (2017)
The New Voices of Fantasy by Peter S. Beagle and Jacob Weisman (2018)
Worlds Seen in Passing by Irene Gallo (2019)
New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color by Nisi Shawl (2020)
The Big Book of Modern Fantasy by Ann VanderMeer and Jeff VanderMeer (2021)
The Year's Best African Speculative Fiction by Oghenechovwe Donald Ekpeki (2022)

v t e Fiction anthologies edited by George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
Songs of the Dying Earth (2009) Warriors (2010) Songs of Love and Death (2010) Down These Strange Streets (2011) Old Mars (2013) Dangerous Women (2013) Rogues (2014) Old Venus (2015)

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