Her Smoke Rose Up Forever - James Tiptree Jr.

Hi all,

For May, we will be reading another short story collection. Following April’s selection, Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2025, we’ll turn to an older anthology. This collection features stories by a science fiction writer who remained cloaked in mystery for years.

Book of the Month
Her Smoke Rose Up Forever - James Tiptree Jr. (1990)

Direct from this amazing Portalist article:
"James Tiptree Jr. left an enduring mark on modern speculative fiction — but she’s perhaps more mysterious and enigmatic today than ever before.

Tiptree was one of the pen names used by female sci-fi author Alice Bradley Sheldon (née Alice Hastings Bradley). The daughter of prolific fiction writer Mary Hastings Bradley, Sheldon may have been born with the gift of words, but her path to literary success wasn’t clear-cut.

Although Sheldon is best known for her sci-fi writing, she had an eclectic and accomplished career. At various times in her life, Sheldon was a research psychologist, painter, art critic, imagery intelligence operative, CIA operative, and more. In many of these fields, she was one of the few women in an industry dominated by men. "

Given this and Tiptree's well-known stories included in this collection, I don't think we can pass up this opportunity. As with any other collection we read for Book Club, if a story isn't speaking to you, go ahead and skip it! There are 18 selections in here, I'm sure we'll have plenty to discuss.

Below, you'll find a few notables and a brief description:

• “The Women Men Don’t See” – A classic feminist sci-fi story exploring gender, invisibility, and societal expectations.
• “Houston, Houston, Do You Read?” – A Hugo Award–winning story about time travel, gender, and post-apocalyptic society.
• “Love Is the Plan the Plan Is Death” – A highly acclaimed story told from the perspective of an alien species, exploring instinct, love, and survival.
• “The Girl Who Was Plugged In” – A groundbreaking cyberpunk-like story about identity, media, and corporate control of bodies.
• “And I Awoke and Found Me Here on the Cold Hill’s Side” – A dark, unsettling exploration of obsession and desire for alien contact.

There are a few printings of this collections. I think I'm going to pick up this one, as it includes some revisions from the author’s original notes.

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