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Short stories by
Marian Powell
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PWP Member Book
Reviews
 Uppity
Women of the (take your pick) series
by Vicki Leon
Review by
Marian
Powell
"Take
Your Pick" really isn't part of the title. Uppity
Women is a series of books: Uppity Women of Ancient
Times, Uppity Women of Medieval Times, Uppity
Women of Shakespearean Times and Uppity Women of The
New World.
What is an "uppity woman" of ancient or medieval times? It
was a woman who made it into the historical record by doing
something other than being a wife or a mother. For example,
who was the world's first author known by name? The answer
is Enheduana, the daughter of King Sargo of Akkad, who wrote
42 popular hymns that still survive.
While interesting, that's the sort of fact that makes a book
sound dull. In reality, most of the stories are about women
who led very lively lives. Vicki Leon is clearly most fond
of power mad murderesses. Perhaps she is redressing an
imbalance since history tends to be about power mad
murderers. She also only devotes one or two pages to each
women and writes in a sassy, in your face style. The amount
of research she had manage to find references for these
women is staggering. The stories read like fiction, for she
imaginatively fleshes out the gaps in real-life stories. I
couldn't help feeling that there are dozens of full-blown
novels just waiting to be written about these obscure women.
Marian
Powell has served as
PWP Membership Chair since
2004. A versatile writer, she has published online book
reviews, "Days Past" features in the Prescott
Daily Courier and on the
Sharlot Hall Museum website,
and short sci-fi in anthologies. Her most
recent story,
Categorical Imperative,
appears in
Sci-Fi Waxes Philosophical (ZC Books, 2008, edited by Ahmed Khan.)
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