I honestly tend to loathe short story collections but this one was a lot of fun! Each author curated here by Lee Mandelo has a very distinct voice.

I particularly enjoyed “The Republic of Estatic Consent” which takes place in NYC but reminded me a lot of my friend group in Chicago... something comforting about thinking that your people could and can exist in any city.

&

“Forever won’t end like this” (“It doesn’t matter if a show is good as long as it’s fun”) I strive to let people enjoy things (even when I think it’s dumb)

I was unfamiliar with the authors except Neon Yang prior to reading but thankfully there is a wonderful bio section at the end of the book with hyperlinks to check out the queer and trans voices amplified in this anthology.

I'm not a huge fan of short stories but I am always so excited to find queer/trans stories and authors so I decided to give this one a go. Many of the stories were excellent but there were quite a few that I didn't really care for. I think this is a very important collection and for fans of short stories it will be a huge hit.

There is nothing a love than queer genre fiction, and the stories in Amplitudes more than deliver. Between deep scifi tales to adventurous fantasy journeys, this collection is a delicious presentation of how queer stories can traverse genres.

Loved it.
Amplitudes is a book about queer future, it explores the interseccional aspects of living in an increasingly advance world and how nuanced it is to be queer in this times (or in near future ones). Science fiction, magic realism, and dystopian are the three genres used as a medium to tell a story that is relevant now, especially in a political environment such as the one we're living in. I'm a Chilean queer woman and every story resonated with me one way or another, even the ones I'm not entirely part of. Lee Mandelo did a great job curating these amazing pieces of art. I could feel them in my bones and picture every scene like I was in it. The one-star less-than-perfect it's due to many of the stories blending together in my mind in the second half of the book, I had to take a day in between stories to stop that from happening.
My favorite ones were Moonwife by Sara Gailey, Forever Won’t End Like This by Dominique Dickey, and There Used to Be Peace by Margaret Killjoy.

I decided to DNF this after not liking the first 3 stories. The stories so far haven't been what I expected from the collection. I thought that they would be more sci fi futuristic.

What a wonderfully delightful collection! There is an unabashed optimism in exploring a queer futurity, even when some of those futures take place in dystopian settings, or under oppressive regimes, or in other less than ideal environments. I think the strength of this collection, for me, is that the stories share a kernel of hope, of possibility, which is a powerful and compelling response to the state of the world. The stories are diverse, not just in terms of characters and identities but in terms of genres and settings, from cyberpunk criminals to interstellar lovers to repressive high school classrooms, from cities living under the ocean to life-affirming dance parties in outer space. Regardless of the setting, dystopia or not, there is a spirit of resistance and solidarity, a sense of personhood and community that is inspiring and just fun to read.

The collection is curated really well, in terms of having a diverse set of stories that complement each other and are well-paced throughout the anthology. Obviously, similar ideas and underlying themes can be found throughout numerous stories, but it never once felt like simply reading the same story again and again with a new coat of paint; every story brought something new to the table. I personally enjoyed the front half a little more than the back half, but I think that is more to my reading preferences than to the individual stories or the way the anthology is mapped out. I think the size is just about perfect, too. There are enough stories to make it feel like a substantial collection but not so many that it feels like reading through it takes forever, with a good balance of story lengths, too. While there were not many stories that really blew me away there weren’t any that I would rate below three stars, and the overwhelming majority would be resounding four stars. That is to say not only were they well written but they had characters I felt invested in, rich world-building (especially considering the economy of words the format allows), and stories that gave me something to think about.

These stories are not content with how things are and instead are filled with an insistence on joy and potential, a celebration of strength, resiliency, courage, exploration, and passion. The collection is eclectic in tones but has a strong thematic resonance across stories, and it was not just uplifting but mobilizing to read.

I want to thank the editor & authors, the publisher Erewhon Books, and NetGalley, who provided a complimentary eARC for review. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

I think that in general, I am usually going to be rating an anthology with 4 stars just because there will always be stories that I like and those that I don't quite understand. This is one such anthology. I like reading short stories as bedtime stories, so this took a little longer for me to read than a novel of the same length.

This is a collection of 22 speculative short stories with queer and/or trans characters.

1. The Republic of Ecstatic Consent by Sam J. Miller- One day in the life of a giant polycule squatting in an old office building, this felt like a fluffy drabble to kick us off.
2. Trans World Takeover by Nat X Ray- A couple of teens get access to illegal hormones and start dealing to other trans kids at school.
3. The Orgasm Doula by Colin Dean- An orgasm doula gets a new client.
4. The Shabbos Bride by Esther Alter- A trans lesbian learns to welcome Shabbos as a bride.
5. Moonwife by Sarah Gailey- A digital medium helps a new client say goodbye to his deceased best friend.
6. Forever Won't End Like This by Dominique Dickey- An actor playing a fan-favorite trans character on a fantasy show thinks about what it means to represent a beloved trans character.
7. They Will Give Us a Home by Wen-yi Lee- An influencer in a lavender marriage won the lottery and now feels trapped by the very fame & rules that gave everything she'd ever wanted.
8. There Used to Be Peace by Margaret Killjoy- In a future America, the Elegian Knights fight against the fascist and Christian nationalist New Confederacy.
9. Fettle & Sunder by Ramez Yoakeim- A gay couple goes on the run from a homophobic militia.
10. Six Days by Bendi Barrett- Life in camp when one of our narrator's partners leaves for a week to help another camp.
11. The They Whom We Remember by Sunny Moraine- A person with a more futuristic body with the ability to change experiences what it's like to live in our bodies.
12. When the Devil Comes from Babylon by Maya Deane- A deeply closeted trans girl raised in a family cult worries that the Devil will tempt her into being trans.
13. Copper Boys by Jamie McGhee- A butch lesbian clearing the wilderness after a natural disaster discovers her coworker on the local dating app.
14. A Few Degrees by Ash Huang- Two lesbians are living and working at a Colorado monitoring station outpost that's monitoring for space station signals.
15. Where the World Goes Sharp and Quiet by Ewen Ma- Freak storms send literal iron stabby rain, and Avon has been brought back to life.
16. Circular Universe, an excerpt from the sequel to The Membranes by Ta-wei Chi- Climate change sent all the humans down to life at the bottom of the ocean, and now Mitsuko is using her dream memories of surface life to recreate holograms for the biosphere before she dies.
17. Blueprint for the Destruction of Solitude by Paul Evanby- I think this is about cyborg spies and technology and possibly mushrooms?
18. The Garden of Collective Memory by Neon Yang- Bridge is introduced to an archive of memories where you can once again smell or taste or experience something long gone.
19. Sugar, Shadows by Aysha U. Farah- A private detective bails a drug addict out of jail and discovers just how bad this drug is.
20. A Step into Emptiness by Aiki Mira- A neurodivergent (and medicated) Earth-dweller remembers their neurodivergent and free space-dwelling lover.
21. pocket futures in the present past by Katharine Duckett- A time traveler sends notes back to their friends in 2029 on "unfucking the future."
22. Bang Bang by Meg Elison- How to get to a secret queer party in space.

Circular Universe confused me but I enjoyed it so much that I ordered a copy of The Membranes, which was published in the 1995 but just translated into English in 2021. I guess The Membranes is about Mitsuko's estranged daughter who lives on the surface.

I requested this ARC specifically for the Sarah Gailey story, and it delivered. I thought this particular way of calling back a ghost was interesting.

They Will Give Us a Home was a fascinating story that could be expanded very nicely into a novella at least. It's perfect as is, but I want more!

And the teens trying to trans their teacher in Trans World Takeover made me giggle.

Thank you to Netgalley and Erewhon Books for this ARC. This was a good mix of stories in a genre I don't read a ton of, and I want to read more from some of my favorite authors in the collection.

Thank you to NetGalley, Kensington Publishing, Erewhon Books and Lee Mandelo for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I find it hard to review the entire collection as the stories are all so different from each other, while staying on theme. I didn't enjoy the majority of them unfortunately. I found them a lot heavier and denser than expected.

The stand-outs for me would have to be 'The Orgasm Doula' by Colin Dean, 'MoonWife' by Sarah Gailey and 'pocket futures in the present past' by Katharine Duckett (my favourite). However, 'A Step into Emptiness' by Aiki Mira, translated by CD Covington was so moving to me I have to gush. I have never read anything written in the second person before and was a bit weary but it worked so well here! I didn't expect to cry but I did! So beautiful and definitely worthy of reading even if the rest doesn't interest you.

Overall, kind of underwhelming for me as a relative newbie to Science Fiction. If you are more familiar with this genre, I'm sure it won't be as difficult to get through.

**I was provided an electronic ARC from the publisher through NetGalley.**

Lee Mandelo serves as editor for Amplitudes, a speculative anthology exploring the potentials of queer and trans futures. 22 authors contribute with a broad variety of takes on the theme. This anthology is definitely for an adult audience as it includes mature content and themes not intended for younger readers.

This anthology has a lot of variety in style and in approach, which absolutely means there is a high likelihood not all of the stories will strike true for all readers. Some stories I actively disliked where others I rather enjoyed. Some edged into very weird and strange areas of speculative fiction and others played things a little more upfront. My individual story ratings varied between 2.5 and 4 with the following stories being highlights from the collection for me:

MoonWife by Sarah Gailey,
There Used to Be Peace by Margaret Killjoy,
Copper Boys by Jamie McGhee, and
The Garden of Collective Memory by Neon Yang

Gailey, Killjoy, and Yang are all authors I have enjoyed work from previously, but McGhee is a new author to explore for me which is a win.

Ultimately, I enjoyed taking my time with this anthology and would happily encourage others to pick it up if the theme appeals. If the story you're currently reading isn't the one for you, the next one will be vastly different :)

There were several stories I loved in this anthology, such as "MoonWife," "Fettle and Sunder," and "They Will Give Us a Home" - delicious bite-size stories that drew me into their worlds. Others dragged on and never captured me, such as "Forever Won't End Like This" and "There Used to Be Peace." The sex in the book is just the right amount - I enjoyed "Blueprint for the Destruction of Solitude" for its innovative and immersive approach to it, while others treated sex more like part of the fabric of their worlds. Special thanks to the editor for including both queer AND trans stories, as many anthologies focus on only some aspects of the community, and as someone who is both I appreciate the opportunity to see myself in nearly every story.

This is an excellent short story collection. Each one has a different take on Queer and Trans futurity and overall the stories encompass a wonderful range of nuanced experiences and thoughts. My favorite story was MoonWife by Sarah Gailey, where a spirit medium uses technology to speak to the dead; and helps a queer couple find closure and revenge on another spirit medium who's been harmful to spirits. A huge thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for a copy of this eArc in exchange for my thoughts!

I recieved this from NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.

The average among all 22 stories is 3.4 out of 5 stars for me.

As with any short story collection, there are going to be stories that hit and stories that miss.
My absolute favourites in this collection were:

There used to be peace by Margaret killjoy
4/5
I really really enjoyed this one and the writing! It feels like a possibility that could be happening soon too which is always frightening but interesting to read about.

Forever Won't End Like This by Dominique Dickey
4/5
Please say Skeleton Key is a real novel series? I am begging for the story the author wrote within the short story is really because I will and want to read up that whole story right now. If it isn't an already published then, Dickey please write it asap!!

Blueprint for the Destruction of Solitude by Paul Evanby
4/5
I really liked the writing, as well as the tech and the sci-fi-ness of this one. I would be interested to see what else the author has written.

The Garden of Collective Memory by Neon Yang
4/5
This was really good! This is my second or third time reading something from Neon Yang and once again I really enjoyed the writing and story telling. The way the tech with the memories worked was good too!

Sugar, Shadows by Aysha U. Farah
3.5/5
The idea of the sugar and the ghosts(?) was really good. I also liked the grittyness feel of the story. I wish there had been a bit more to the overall story.

A Step into Emptiness by Aiki Mira and translated by CD Covington
4/5
This was really good but I wonder at the end if she actually [spoilers:] killed herself or just chose to move on.

Bang Bang by Meg Elison
3.5/5
Quite enjoyed this one a lot although I couldn't tell if the pov was from a rock, a planet, a spaceship or a person.

This short story collection started off a little rocky, but it got better the more stories I got into it and I found some bangers.

Twenty-two stories that describe a possible future with a queer and trans focus. An extremely interesting project, even if, as always when it comes to an anthology of stories, the quality is not entirely homogeneous. Alongside stories that are truly striking, and that wouldn't make sense if they were told in a heterosexual narrative, there are other less powerful stories that, above all, have no grounding in the queer and trans world. In other words, if the protagonists were straight, they would still work just as well. In my opinion, this is a rather significant flaw when you want to write a manifesto. In any case, it is a pleasant anthology, with the merit of making the world hear the voice of queer and trans authors, especially at a time like this when some people want to turn back the clock of human relationships to an assumed normality that, to all intents and purposes, only exists in the minds of those who have to deal with the fear of exposing themselves and being judged as “not normal” every day.

I hate to write a review for a book I simply did not enjoy, but unfortunately, I don't think I'm the target audience for this anthology. Meandering, directionless, incohesive, and a little disappointing, Amplitudes is a star-studded collection of stories that just... don't say much. I think this might appeal to a literary reader or someone looking for a collection of "bestsellers" but overall this curated anthology didn't have a strong foothold in its own identity. I had no idea what it was trying to do, or trying to say, despite being its target audience. I hope it finds its readers! But this one just wasn't for me.

Ah, I deeply wanted this to be a higher star rating for me, but alas, it was not. This is a mix of more traditional stories and then some more experimental stuff, and unfortunately, the experimental stuff was not for me.

There are some really good stories in here; some of my favorites were "The Shabbos Bride", "Sugar Shadows", "When the Devil Came to Babylon" (Maya Deane redeemed herself for me from Achilles/Agamemnon in "Wrath Goddess Sing"), and "They Will Give Us a Home". None of the stories were life-changingly good, but they were solid. It's always a treat to read about queerness and transness, so under just about any circumstance, I'll enjoy a collection based around that.

However, there were a lot of misses for me in this collection, hence the lower star rating. I think one of the biggest mistakes was the inclusion of "Circular Universe", an excerpt from a sequel to another complete book (Ta-wei Chi's "The Membranes"). I had a hard time keeping track of the characters and world-building in this story in a way that I didn't for the rest of the collection, and I reckon that was due to it being an excerpt from a larger sequel work. I am interested in reading "The Membranes" at some point, but this was really not a great introduction. Aside from my complaint with that story specifically, some of the theming was also REALLY on the nose, which didn't really do it for me. The worst offender on that front is the first story, "The Republic of Ecstatic Consent". The effect is worsened considerably because there are two other stories in the collection, "There Used To Be Peace" and "Six Days", that cover very similar themes in slightly subtler ways.

Overall, a collection worth skimming and reading what interests you, instead of reading from cover to cover.

This had everything I needed to fill my tank with love in these difficult times. The horrors may persist but as long artists continuing making art like this. I will survive.

Amplitudes is a collection of twenty-two stories written by LGBTQIA+ writers. Each chapter tells a wildly different story from diverse queer perspectives. This collection of stories is edited by Lee Mandela.

Many of the stories have a post-apocalyptic vibe, which for me, have been difficult to read given the world’s current societal climate. As a pansexual woman married to a trans woman, I love the queer perspective. Some stories are purely about survival in a new world, others bring the spice, which is more of my cup of LGBTea.

While the post-apocalyptic vibe isn’t for me, I think this book is great for those who enjoy those types of stories.

Immediately recommending this to my wife, who is always reading futuristic sci-fi novels.

Some of my standout stories included:
The Orgasm Doula, by Colin Dean
Moonwife by Sarah Gailey
Blueprint for Destruction of Solitude by Paul Evenly
The Garden of Collective Memory by Neon Yang
A Step into Emptiness by Aiki Mira
pocket futures in the present past by Katharine Duckett

This was a needed and creative collection of short stories that offer glimpses into the futures imagined by queer and trans authors. Some resonated more than others but I’m very glad this collection exists.

This is a great collection of stories from some incredibly talented individuals. As it goes with most short story collections, there were some stories I absolutely loved, some that were just okay, and some that were not for me. Each one however made me think and had me contemplating the future. I will absolutely be looking into some of the authors that stood out to me in this collection to read through their backlist.

Thank you for this opportunity to read and review this early.

A glorious collection that I am so excited I got to read as an ARC. As a fan of Lee Mandelo's work and as a queer nonbinary reader, this collections existence made me so thrilled that it exists.
All of the stories and poems in this collection were excellent and worth the read. My favorites that I found myself sitting with and going back to were
The Republic of Ecstatic Consent by Sam J. Miller
The Orgasm Doula by Colin Dean
and
pocket futures in the present pas by Katherine Duckett

A must have for collectors and fans of queer literature and strange media.