Geek Elders Speak chronicles 20 different women from all walks of life and their journey into fandom before the era of the internet. While the details differ, the heart is the same: Fandom brings people together, inspires creativity, and can even change someone’s life. It was wonderful to read about how fandom inspired so many people to create: zines, filks, art, you name it.
There’s an almost interconnected aspect to the essays/interviews in this collection. One writer might namedrop another influential woman, and she (the latter) will have an essay later on. And the cycle continues. Looking at the collection as a whole, it’s like seeing a group photo, then focusing on each individual person.
I will say that while each essay was a delight to read on its own, they started to blend together after a while. I personally would recommend reading one or two essays at a time and taking it slow or else burnout could ensue. Honestly, a lot of times it felt like I was reading the same essay, just with minor detail changes. Gateway through Star Trek, might’ve gotten into Star Wars, MediaWest*Con or another con, dealers room, zines, made a zine or contributed to a zine via art or stories, still a fan today. And perhaps that was the point: Their stories are all similar because they’re all fans of sff/media, and that brought them together (physically or just metaphorically). However, reading them one right after the other (with maybe the occasional different one, such as one whose gateway was through the Oz books by L. Frank Baum), it felt a bit repetitive.
Geek Elders Speak is a remarkable collection of essays because it shows that women have been at the forefront of fandom since the beginning. It celebrates fanfic and fan art. Loudly and proudly. While I felt it was repetitive at times, I would still say to give it a go if you’re interested in reading about sff/media fandom.
(We received a digital copy from the publisher for review. Thank you to Forest Path Books for kindly offering.)
Buy the book: Bookshop.org | Forest Path Books | Misc.
