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Review: Never Too Old to Save the World
Oct. 18th, 2026 08:53 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stonepicnicking_okapiTitle: Never Too Old to Save the World
Editors: Addie J. King and Alana Joli Abbott
Genre: Short story anthology, science fiction, fantasy
This is a collection of 19 short stories which explore what would happen if The Chosen One were called in midlife. So, the premise is the protagonist is middle aged or older. Some are science fiction or fantasy set in alternate universes (apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic) and others are set in realistic settings with fantasy/science fiction elements. As with any collection, there are hits and misses. Here are thoughts on a few of the stories
"Lean In: The Lord of Hell is Coming" by Erica Kahler sets the tone for trope subversion. The hero is a CEO middle aged-divorced woman skewering the idea of what destructive demons would and could do.
"Utopia" by Vaseem Khan had an original Star Wars feel to it. I enjoyed the style, which was different from many of the others.
"Jackalope Wives" by Ursula Vernon. A fable exploring women who dance that can shift by putting on rabbit skins and what happens when a thoughtless boy 'falls in love' with one of them. The ending surprised me, and I liked that.
"Granny" by RJ Sullivan was fun. An old lady who lives in a neighborhood that's gone down spies on her criminal neighbors and calls the cops on them. I liked the ending, which surprised me.
"Launch Day Milkshakes" by Jim C. Hines is typical of the collection where you can see what trope or idea they were trying to subvert (that demented old cat ladies aren't important, useful, heroic) but it's still a cute story.
There were two portal stories and a few which read like preambles or parts of larger fantasy works.
All in all, a good collection, but I was surprised there wasn't an introduction to it.
Editors: Addie J. King and Alana Joli Abbott
Genre: Short story anthology, science fiction, fantasy
This is a collection of 19 short stories which explore what would happen if The Chosen One were called in midlife. So, the premise is the protagonist is middle aged or older. Some are science fiction or fantasy set in alternate universes (apocalyptic or post-apocalyptic) and others are set in realistic settings with fantasy/science fiction elements. As with any collection, there are hits and misses. Here are thoughts on a few of the stories
"Lean In: The Lord of Hell is Coming" by Erica Kahler sets the tone for trope subversion. The hero is a CEO middle aged-divorced woman skewering the idea of what destructive demons would and could do.
"Utopia" by Vaseem Khan had an original Star Wars feel to it. I enjoyed the style, which was different from many of the others.
"Jackalope Wives" by Ursula Vernon. A fable exploring women who dance that can shift by putting on rabbit skins and what happens when a thoughtless boy 'falls in love' with one of them. The ending surprised me, and I liked that.
"Granny" by RJ Sullivan was fun. An old lady who lives in a neighborhood that's gone down spies on her criminal neighbors and calls the cops on them. I liked the ending, which surprised me.
"Launch Day Milkshakes" by Jim C. Hines is typical of the collection where you can see what trope or idea they were trying to subvert (that demented old cat ladies aren't important, useful, heroic) but it's still a cute story.
There were two portal stories and a few which read like preambles or parts of larger fantasy works.
All in all, a good collection, but I was surprised there wasn't an introduction to it.