Chicks in Chainmail is the first in a series of
humorous fantasy anthologies edited by the very talented
Esther Friesner. The original idea came to her as she realized that there was very little
humor in stories about
warrior women. While to some the mere idea of the
anthology may seem
sexist, the ability to laugh about being a chick in chainmail makes it empowering. After all, you have a
sword, a
bronze bra, and you look damn good with them-- you can take a
joke. This also prompted notes both on the cover of the
book and in the
introduction giving credit for the various titles; while Friesner herself insisted upon the title for the first book, her superior demanded the even more dirty-sounding third title.
The anthology was a success, and has been followed by Did you say CHICKS?!, which was named through a reader contest, Chicks and Chained Males, an anthology of humorous fantasy stories involving warrior women and men who had been taken hostage, kidnapped, or otherwise imprisoned, and The Chick is in the Mail, which follows in the proud tradition of the first three.