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.

Amplitudes is a really fascinating and diverse collection of essays and stories. On a strange level, this feels very academic, and hard to access for some of the lay-readers. I enjoyed it, as someone aware of theories of queer futurity, but this may not be for everyone. I would recommend it to those looking to expand their perspectives and think towards queer futurity as a whole.

Really impressive collection and I'm grateful Lee Mandelo put this all together.

I liked 'They Will Give Us A Home' by Wen-yi Lee (and loved Lee's debut novel, which is why I picked up this anthology). However, I didn't get into the other stories.

I really loved this collection. It is a great set of stories that really gives some hope and optimism when it is very needed. Imagining a better and more advanced world technologically but also underlying a better and more just world for us all. I think this is a great collection and absolutely worth reading now more than ever.

Finding it hard to even describe how good this collection is! I truly loved all of the stories in this collection; they were all so powerful and full of hope, which is exactly what is needed. With some authors I already love and a bunch of new-to-me ones, I can't wait to dig in to the rest of their writings to discover even more.

It's so hard to summarize all my feelings and reactions to Amplitudes. When everything feels insurmountable and in a time of utter chaos, reading this was so joyful, even if the subjects weren't necessarily so. Each story takes a unique look at what our futures might be in a year, ten years, or even further. Though the entries are all short, all 22 take the readers on a ride and I can't wait for this to be out so I can make all my friends read it.

Some standout stories include Moonwife by Sarah Gailey, Forever Won't End Like this by Dominique Dickey, They Will Give Us a Home by Wen-yi Lee, Margaret Killjoy's There Used to Be Peace, and pocket futures in the present past by Katherine Duckett. Really though, every story is solid and I now have 20 some authors I need to read more works from!

I'm trans, I love Lee Mandelo, I love sci-fi and I love short stories, so when he edits a trans scifi anthology I have to read it. Like with most anthologies there were ups and downs for me, but some highlights in the order they appear:

The Republic of Ecstatic Consent
MoonWife
There Used to Be Peace
When the Devil Comes From
Blueprint for the Destruction of Solitude

So now I definitely have some new authors to check out!

I love a short story collection....I especially love queer, speculative fiction short story collections. This did not disappoint, and with the abhorrent dismantling of trans rights under the new presidential administration, we need these stories more than ever.

4.5 stars

i've been taking this absolutely amazing course at uni and we recently talked about the importance of having the freedom to imagine the future. we also talked about the idea of time not being linear, of the present having the past in it and through all that the possibility of conceiving a future. important to note, that this was in the context of Black imaginations. it is still, of course, relevant to this book. maybe even more so.

the idea is, that the future isn't a fact. no future is certain but that's not necessarily bad. the question is always who decides what's possibility and what's fiction, and that's the thing that is scary. what we have though, what we all have, despite how hard they try to restrain us, is the ability to imagine a world that isn't constrained by what they (white, cis, rich, straight) think is right. and that is why, reading this, especially with what's happening in the world, felt so hopeful.

it is, of course, about the writing, about the stories in this, futures i would never have imagined otherwise. but it's also about making you feel like you're a part of a future. like there's a possible future that was <i>meant</i> for you, that has a place for your pain and your hopes and your life. and that is, of course, something to hold on to.

so yeah. this was phenomenal.

What a ride! 22 special stories that bring us a kaleidoscope of new ideas and creativity. Many feelings were awakened, such as hope, belonging and power.
A fun time with these imaginative possibilities of another world.

I have kind of reconciled myself to probably not being a short story collection girlie. I struggle with always wanting the stories I connect with to be *more* and find myself feeling ultimately a little unsatisfied when it finishes suddenly.

I am however, a Lee Mandelo fan girl through and through and was fascinated to see what stories he would curate when given the opportunity to select the ones that resonated with him. Mandelo states that "my editorial aim with Amplitudes was to approach queerness and-or transness expansively: as lived politics, experiences, identities, and cultures; as resistance against oppressive systems of power; as sources of self-making and intense connection with others across time and space; as gateways to pleasure, sex, desire, and intimacy".

Mandelo also sets out with the intention that this collection of stories be committed to the goal "that Amplitudes gather stories from writers whose approaches varied in genre, content, and style— but also whose perspectives differed across many intersectional experiences of gender, sexuality, race and-or ethnicity, ability and nationality."

In that sense, I think that this short story collection very much achieves what it set out to do. This is a delightful and esoteric collection of sci fi, dystopian and futuristic stories of queerness and the trans experience.

Some of the highlights for me included:

"The Orgasm Doula" by Colin Dean, which was a sweet little romance about a sex therapist/sex worker who specialises in helping people who have difficulties with orgasming and her new client.

"MoonWife" by Sarah Gailey, a futuristic cyberpunk story where spirit mediums contact the dead through their digital footprint.

and

"Forever Wont End Like This" by Dominique Dickey, the experience of an actor who finds themselves playing a fan favourite trans character on a trashy fantasy TV show. (Maybe this is my own personal tv trauma showing, but this gave me some Castiel from Supernatural vibes)

This was a collection of 22 stories, which I personally found to be perhaps a few too many, I definitely thought the front half of this collection was stronger than the second half. I think, in an ideal world, I would have preferred fewer stories that were slightly longer. But there are some fascinating ideas, worlds and characters contained in these pages.

Given the current political climate in the world I think it's vitally important to support and uplift queer and trans stories and voices, and give them the space they deserve. I think that there is a lot of value in this collection for the right audience.

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC and provide my thoughts.

I loved this collection of 23 short stories or essays if you will. The cover caught my attention and I believe I first saw it shared by Harley, who is a fellow Kensington published author. I am so glad I took the recommendation and spent time reading a story each day. This is definitely a book I cannot wait to order and have on my shelf. These stories MUST be shared and told. Thank you!

It's rare for me to give an anthology five stars - regardless of quality, there will always be stories that don't appeal personally in quite the same way as the others. However, there was nothing below a three star read for me in Amplitudes - and there was a run in the middle of five-star story followed by five-star story. As an anthology, Amplitudes is exceptionally well curated - the stories flow well into one another in a nicely planned order, and the tones balance well.

My personal highlights were:
Sarah Gailey's Moon Wife
Dominique Dickey's Forever Won't End Like This
Wen-yi Lee's They Will Give Us A Home

With honourable mentions to the 4.5 stars:
Ash Huang's A Few Degrees
Meg Elison's Bang Bang

Of these favourites, only one was a writer I've read before - finding new writers to seek out further work from is often my main aim when reading a collection like this, so that's a favourable result!
Overall, Amplitudes provides many different takes and tones around the theme, but I found it consistently engaging and at times moving.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5

"And when we're truly free, we get to choose which we we are."

Each unique voice, telling a uniquely personal story. There's so much here! And each voice deserves to be heard!

The same is true, in fact, of each individual.

So many stories to be heard, each voice uniquely valid.

In so many respects, it's time to listen.

"That is your choice. Freely chosen."

The stories I ended up enjoying the most were those that I think incorporated the stated theme of the anthology the best. Didn't even realize that until I was tallying my ratings for averages. And even then, the "lower" rated stories still never dipped below 3s, which I always count as a win in a collection.

Stories rated 4¾+:

Trans World Takeover by Nat X Ray

MoonWife by Sarah Gailey

They Will Give Us a Home by Wen-yi Lee

There Used to Be Peace by Margaret Killjoy

pocket futures in the present past by Katharine Duckett

Bang Bang by Meg Elison

This is an important collection of novellas. They all hold a high level of quality and I enjoyed almost everyone. recommend! Thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for a chance to read this book.