Synopsis: Three short stories written by Judith Merril, a
pioneer in women and gender writing in science fiction. A prolific editor, she
helped shaped science fiction in its early stages. This collection contains:
Project Nursemaid: A military officer is in charge of
selecting candidates for a particularly Moon project and must deal with women
from all walks of life. He questions his ability to understand them enough to
complete his mission.
Daughters of Earth: A ling of women, mother to daughter,
engage in space exploration, each going farther in to the stars then the
previous generation.
Homecalling: A young girl, stranded on an alien planet with
only her baby brother, must contend with an Alien presence alien – and yet
familiar – to her own.
Review: While these stories all have different settings and
tones, the overarching theme is women in space. How do women, with their unique
gift/burden of motherhood, react to the stress and glory of space? Meril
handles this with a deft hand, creating real characters in real situations.
They aren’t characterization or tropes of women either. Her characters are
unique and as complex as real women. For anyone who enjoys solid science
fiction and the female greats of early sci-fi writing, this is the perfect book.
Worth reading.
Bookmarks:
Project Nursemaid: 3.5/5
Daughters of Earth: 4/5
Homecalling: 4/5
Awards: None
ISBN: N/A
Year Published: 1968
Date Finished: 7/3/2018
Pages: 256
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