The Geek Feminist Revolution

The book gave me a lot to think about. The author is a hell of a writer. I couldn't give it a full five stars, though, because of the structure of the book. A lot of times she'll make references to something and, instead of giving context, will just put a reference in the back of the book and a link to some website. This is fine if I'm reading a web page, but cumbersome if I'm reading a physical book.

If you'd told me back in high school—hell, even back in college—that I'd be reading a collection of essays for fun, I'd probably laugh. I have enough fantasy and science fiction stories waiting in my To Be Read mountain to last a lifetime without seeking out essays about the genre.

But that would be missing the point.

In these essays, Hurley is telling a story. Like any good fantasy classic, it's a story of overcoming oppression, of fighting for what you believe in, and struggling to make the world a better place; and it's made all the more powerful by being real.

If you've never read Hurley's Hugo-winning essay “We Have Always Fought,” you should. It's available for free in both text and audio formats. I'd say it's the highlight of this collection, though many of the other essays are powerfully written and opened my eyes to issues I've been fortunate enough to avoid by virtue of being one of “the majority.”

Most of the essays relate to Hurley's experiences as a writer, but they carry a message that I think we all could benefit from hearing.