Dangerous Women is an anthology of short stories that features female characters as its main protagonists. All of its stories have been written by some of the biggest authors in fantasy, being full of darkness and adversity while women struggle to protect themselves and those they love.
The collection also includes a novella based on A Song of Ice and Fire by George R. R. Martin called The Princess and the Queen! The story is relatively short, but it's full of depth and describes the events of the first Dance with Dragons where two rival factions of House Targaryen go to war for the Iron Throne. GRRM's addition to the book is by far its must read, but many of the other stories in Dangerous Women are extremely enjoyable and its contents are as follows:
- Some Desperado by Joe Abercrombie
- My Heart Is Either Broken by Megan Abbott
- Nora's Song by Cecelia Holland
- The Hands That Are Not There by Melinda Snodgrass
- Bombshells by Jim Butcher
- Raisa Stepanova by Carrie Vaughn
- Wrestling Jesus by Joe R. Lansdale
- Neighbors by Megan Lindholm (Robin Hobb)
- I Know How To Pick 'Em by Lawrence Block
- Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell by Brandon Sanderson
- A Queen In Exile by Sharon Kay Penman
- The Girl in the Mirror by Lev Grossman
- Second Arabesque, Very Slowly by Nancy Kress
- City Lazarus by Diana Rowland
- Virgins by Diana Gabaldon
- Hell Hath No Fury by Sherrilyn Kenyon
- Pronouncing Doom by S. M. Sterling
- Name the Beast by Sam Sykes
- Caretakers by Pat Cadigan
- Lies My Mother Told Me by Caroline Spector
- The Princess and the Queen by George R. R. Martin
The Good
As said above, The Princess and the Queen is the best story in Dangerous Women and is a must-read for all fans of ASoIaF! GRRM has written it in the beautiful prose I have come to expect of him and it's every bit as detailed as the larger books in his series. It's also extremely interesting to read about the history of Westeros and finally see what fully grown dragons are capable of as cities are burnt to the ground and how armies attempt to defend themselves against devastating attacks from the sky!
It's also nice to read stories where women are cast in strong, independent roles as the heroes (instead of men). Women are every bit as capable of greatness as men and it's refreshing to read about them finding the courage to stand against monsters like in Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell by Brandon Sanderson. I think too many fantasy authors are still casting women in non-roles (which is a shame for this day-and-age) and Dangerous Women goes a long way to help rectify this.
The Bad
As with any short story anthology written by different authors, some of the stories included are much better than others. The Princess and the Queen, Shadows for Silence in the Forests of Hell and Some Desperado were particularly good, but sadly some of the other stories were actually quite boring. All of the authors included in the book are highly accomplished in the fantasy genre and I think this is a shame since it easily could have been remedied with a bit more imagination and craftsmanship on their parts!
My Thoughts
Dangerous Women is definitely worth a read overall (even if it's only to glimpse a part of Westeros' bloody history) and will make a valuable additional to anybody's bookshelf. It's an entertaining way to spend a few hours and the good stories easily make up for those that are a bit more mundane. The book is a real collection of talent and won't leave many readers feeling cheated!
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