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.

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.