erhaps inspired in part by the success of the comic-book and motion-picture adventures of the Uncanny X-Men, this anthology presents 16 tales of human beings possessing strange powers and abilities that separate them from the rest of humanity. In most of these tales, the powers are inborn; in one or two, which stretch the strict definition of "mutant," the powers were obtained through other means. Either way, many of these stories present their odd protagonists with the challenge of remaining hidden from a humanity that hates and fears them.
In "Freak," by Charles de Lint, a simple-minded homeless telepath sacrifices his freedom to protect a woman who’s been kind to him. In "Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice," by Tanya Huff, a brilliant young girl with the body of a child and the mind of an adult takes vengeance on the genetics researcher who made her that way. In Sophie Masson's "The Great Deep," protagonists confront seal people. An idealistic young artist on retreat encounters a strange young girl and her overprotective brother in Lisanne Norman's "Paint Box." In "The Killing of Bad Bull," by Alan Dean Foster, a Native American with the ability to predict payoffs at slot machines finds himself stalked by agents for the casinos. A young bride investigates the strange inhabitants of her new husband’s hometown in "In the Dark Valley," by Brendan Dubois.
In "Behind His Gates of Gold," by Karen Haber, a journalist investigates the strange inhabitants of an upper-crust compound. In "Interview With a Mutant," by Janet Berliner, another journalist investigates a dedicated young doctor with an unusual secret for his patients. A young mutant has to decide between duty and domesticity in Marc Bilgrey's "Lucky Guesses." In "Mutant Mother from Hell," by David Bischoff, a young man with too many mutations to list needs to confront a mom with vile plans for his family jewels. Fiona Patton's "Family" depicts yet another journalist, who investigates another group of cloistered mutants. In "Rite of Passage," by Jody Lynn Nye, mutants banished to offworld exile prove invaluable when the spaceship runs into serious problems. A young man has an odd relationship with pennies in "Sensitives," by Nina Kiriki Hoffman. In "Fire and Rain," by Janet Pack, a mutant with the ability to control weather deals with an office bully at the weather bureau. In "Trust," by Kristine Kathryn Rusch, another mutant with a special relationship to dogs investigates the case of an abused animal. A young runaway deals with her own mutant power in "Truth," by Michelle West.
Too many mutants spoil the book
Of course, mutants as science-fictional trope didn’t originate with the X-Men. They appear, prominently, in the stories of such SF masters as John Wyndham, Theodore Sturgeon and C.M. Kornbluth, among others. The persecution of mutants, by baseline humanity, is similarly prominent in such tales. There have been many great stories written on such themes. This anthology contains no tales of that caliber ... but there are several good ones, and only a few weak ones
Alas, even the best stories in this book suffer from a malady that afflicts many narrow-theme anthologies. As even the short synopses provided above indicate, the very dictates of the subgenre ensure that certain plot points come up again and again and again. The surfeit of investigative reporters has already been noted. But there are also two stories (printed, unfortunately, right next to each other) about people warned of dire consequences if they don't leave well enough alone, who of course don’t pay attention and who suffer awful fates because they didn’t listen. There are also a couple of stories about mutants who live cloistered in small communities, and mutants who consider themselves alone in the world, who, in the last scene, hook up with attractive partners who, surprise, turn out to be a mutants, too. These tales, which might have shone more brightly in more varied compilations, here simply italicize the conventions of plot machinery.
That said, there are treasures to be found here. Among the best: Tanya Huff’s "Sugar and Spice and Everything Nice" features a vivid, vengeful protagonist. Janet Berliner’s "Interview with a Mutant" is another memorable character study, this one of a protagonist driven by compassion and duty instead. Dave Bischoff’s "Mutant Mother from Hell" is just plain demented, with a wince or laugh-out-loud line arriving at the rate of once a sentence or so. "Family" by Fiona Patton is a gentle tale of a memorable, fully-realized mutant community, with well-realized characters and a genuine sense of magic. And "Sensitives" by Nina Kiriki Hoffman may not have a startling plot, but it does present a young protagonist with an original and fascinating power. The tales by Alan Dean Foster, Kristine Kathryn Rusch and Janet Pack also deserve mention. They just might have been better if they weren't all locked together in the same book.
