actual rating: 2.5

I hate to give this such a low rating, but I apparently was just not in the mood to focus on an anthology because I found this to be kind of difficult to get through. There were a few stories in here that I definitely enjoyed, but there were also several that I didn't even finish. Of course in any anthology there is going to be a difference in quality between stories, but I found my attention wandering more than usual here. It might have been more that I was in the wrong mood than anything else so don't let my review deter you from trying it if you generally really like anthologies.

Received via Netgalley for review

Unfortunately, while I was looking forward to reading this, I didn't end up liking it that much. It seemed very long (17 stories, which doesn't seem like much when I see the number, but really dragged on when I was reading them) and the stories themselves seemed to drag on.

Normally, in a short story collection, I expect there to be a fair amount of variation in the quality of the stories and some that I like better than others, but none of the stories in this collection really grabbed me. They all seemed to focus on similar themes (treatment of women, sexuality, romantic/familial/etc. connections, violence) and it got a little boring to read after a while. I JUST finished reading it, and while there are a few stories I remember without prompting, I know I won't remember them in the future.

• Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex by Tobias S. Buckell 2/5
Good enough for what it's trying to do and a good opener.

• Deer Dancer by Kathleen Alcalá 2/5
The premise left me intrigued, but there were just too many unanswered questions and I ended up lost.

• The Virtue of Unfaithful Translations by Minsoo Kang 3/5
Very much in an academic style, which works for some people and doesn't for others. I liked the gentle admonishment at the end, scolding the author for not really doing their due diligence. It did feel a little long, however.

• Come Home to Atropos by Steven Barnes 4/5
One of the few I liked! A darkly humorous ad about a beautiful Caribbean island full that has become the premier destination for the euthanasia of wealthy white people, in which the natives are only too happy to oblige.

• The Fine Print by Chinelo Onwualu 1/5
I barely even remember this one. The love of the father for his son was nice.

• unkind of mercy by Alex Jennings 2/5
A kind of confusing kind of ghost story.

• Burn the Ships by Alberto Yáñez 4/5
Another good one: the colonized and oppressed natives of a land finally rises up against their colonizers (who have literally burned their own ships so they cannot leave!) with hints of a dark god who demands their lives.

• The Freedom of the Shifting Sea by Jaymee Goh 2/5
I'm not sure how I feel about this one... I like the idea of an atypical mermaid, but the interplay beneath her relationship with all the members of the family was very strange to me.

• Three Variations on a Theme of Imperial Attire by E. Lily Yu 3/5
Some retellings of The Emperor's New Clothes, with a nice twist at the end.

• Blood and Bells by Karin Lowachee 2/5
A kind of star-crossed romance gangster story in some kind of violent future city, narrated in slang. Another example of a father's love for their child.

• Give Me Your Black Wings Oh Sister by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 3/5
Just long enough to tease you with the dark possibilities.

• The Shadow We Cast Through Time by Indrapramit Das 3/5
Another one that seemed a little too long, about a settled planet that is populated by demons who take human bodies sometimes. Surprisingly little happens.

• The Robots of Eden by Anil Menon 3/5
A "slice of life" story of a man finalizing a divorce while maintaining a friendship with his ex-wife's new husband, in a world where the privileged are "Enchanced" against certain negative emotions (...I think). The hints of strong emotions (rage, sorrow) trying to bubble up in the main character were well done, as was the difficulty of their daughter's adjustment.

• Dumb House by Andrea Hairston 1/5
This seemed like an excerpt from a larger story - there were pre-established settings and characters and attitudes that were never fully accessible to me. And nothing much happens.

• One Easy Trick by Hiromi Goto 2/5
Not terrible, but not for me. A woman loses her belly fat in the woods, and is lectured by a bear about how she doesn't deserve it back.

• Harvest by Rebecca Roanhorse 2/5
I wanted to like this one...! It's incredibly dark and melancholy, but maybe it was just too short to properly draw me in.

• Kelsey and the Burdened Breath by Darcie Little Badger
I have to admit, I was so ready to be done with this collection I didn't even read this one...

It's really a 2 star average, but just barely, so I don't feel bad rounding down to 1.

I got an ARC of this book.

I got this book because an author friend of mine kept saying speculative fiction and recommending short stories that she said were speculative fiction. I had no idea what it was and why she would be so excited by it. So I did my research. This book came up as an option for an ARC and I had to have it. 

I loved this book. I have never really loved an anthology before. Most anthologies are so all over the place that I can't ever settle into them. They range from stories that bore to me tears and stories I love, but this one squarely sat in the camp of love outside of one story. A single story in this whole anthology didn't capture me within the first paragraph. That is amazing for an anthology.

Some of my favorite stories were just so perfectly done. The story about the alien that dies during a cab ride? YES. The story about the least breaths? OMG. There are so many stories in here that really just grabbed at me and won't let go. I am thinking about so many things and can't organize my thoughts for a better review. I just really recommend this book. It has so many plots, so many deep thoughts, so many languages. It really is like getting new worlds with every story. 

I am not big on sci-fi or fantasy, never have been. These stories, while having elements of them, are perfect for me. There is just something here that I responded to in a way I never have before. I may have found a new favorite genre. 

Just read this book. My review could never do it justice. There are so many voices in this book and this review is just mine.

I very much enjoyed this anthology of speculative fiction. There were a few that went over my head and that I didn't understand, but there were a few I really enjoyed. There were funny ones and fantastic ones. I think my favourites were Dumb House, The Robots of Heaven, and The Freedom of Shifting Sands.

The collection felt very subtle but strongly feministic which I enjoyed. Also, I loved that there were so many stories that were LGBT+. it was great.

In relation to speculative fiction and my worries about what that mean int he beginning. This was a selection of paranormal, sci-fi (light and heavy), and light fantasy. I very much enjoyed the fantastical element to most of the stories.

I highly recommend this to people who enjoy anthologies, speculative fiction, sci-fi, and fantasy. 

My opinion on the individual stories:

The Galactic Tourist Industry Complex by Tobias S Buckell
Very interesting imagination! I liked the character and the world. It's clear that danger draws people and aliens in especially if it's mundane. The was a lot of information packed into this short story which made the world feel more real. Note taken

Deer Dancer by Kathleen Alcalá
Again I liked the world and the character and her "magic" but I felt it ended before it began. I'm not sure what the story is. Her finding a future? Wasn't there a bear coming for them, a talking bear? Yes, she dreamt of being a deer and she felt like one after the dream. So maybe yes the bears would come and take them all and her feeling of a future was her brain in denial? I don't get it.

The Virtue of Unfaithful Translations by Minsoo Kang
Well, that was something. Its a longer short story based on a fictional reveal of a historical account in a fictional world. But the world was colourful especially in terms of the names for people and things. Then the marginal notes at the end made me think about the entire story in a different way. Very interesting.

Come Home to Atropos by Steven Barnes
It starts off so sweet and light, then ends in the darkness of black humour. I did find the darkness of the topic funny. I won't spoil it for anyone, but I enjoyed it.

The Fine Print by Chinelo Onwualu
I was annoyed at the beginning of this story. Women had no importance and no value in this world. There were hardly any women in this story and the ones who were there to serve and please. Then the djinn spoke the truth in the end and I saw what the author was doing. Well played!

unkind of mercy by Alex Jennings
I'm not sure I got this. Firstly I struggled with the language. English isn't my first language. I'm fluent but that doesn't mean I don't struggle with English that isn't straight. It was a conversation-type language with some slang.

Burn The Ships by Alberto Yáñez
That almost felt real. It felt like the Aztec' point of view during the European invasion of central and South America but with magic, voodoo magic and zombies. Loved it. Women again saves the day

The Freedom of the Shifting Sea by Jaymee Goh
Interesting little LGBT+ story with alternative mermaids and feminism. This is one of few that still resides in my mind. It was very memorable.

Three Variations on a Theme of Imperial Attire by E Lily Yu
A cool retelling of the Emperors New Clothes. Very political but I liked them.

Blood and Bells by Karin Lowachee
This felt like an alternate gang story but I love the little details like the chimes in their hairs which made it so very different.

Give Me Your Black Wings Oh Sister by Silvia Moreno-Garcia
I didn't fully get this one but it does involve baby eaters...

The Shadow We Cast Through Time by Indrapramit Das
I think this went over my head but I liked the bit where two females gave sex and one became pregnant.

The Robots Of Heaven by Anil Menon
This starts off fairly normal but with a feeling, things are a bit off. Then it slowly reviles their true nature and it's weird but wonderful. I loved the style of writing and how the mystery unfolds like a bud in springtime.

Dumb House by Andrea Hairston
I really enjoyed it! The world was interesting and well built up. I liked the characters too; not young, not white, not straight, not your everyday kind of woman.

One Easy Trick by Hiromi Goto
Interesting way to lose your belly fat. very funny. I enjoyed this read.

Harvest by Rebecca Roanhorse
I love Rebecca Roanhorse's writing and this story was no exception. It's thick with native American lore weaves into a modern-day storyline.

Kelsey and The Burdened Breath by Darcie Little Badger
A new twist to "open the window to let the spirit out" and what happens if you don't. I enjoyed this very much.

New Suns is definitely an interesting collection of short stories, spanning from science fiction to horror and fantasy. Carefully selected stories create a variety large enough for all readers to find something that interests them. Although there were some very interesting stories, there were also some I struggled with and weren't engaging for me at all. All in all, it was an interesting read.

I wanted to love this one but most of the stories barely grabbed my attention. There was a good mix of diverse writers but I never quite felt a connection to any of the stories. I wasnt able to force myself to continue along with this anthology when most of the stories felt unfinished.

Maybe I just don’t like short stories? I’m not really sure. I LOVED the first two and then the fourth stories, but after that, I just couldn’t keep everything straight. Everything seemed well-written, but not a lot could hold my interest.

This anthology has a slightly punk feel to it. Some of the stories (I assume) drew from the different cultural backgrounds of the authors, it felt very much like reading folktales. Some of the stories felt too long to belong in an anthology and some felt unfinished but that’s the case when stories.

Some of my favourites were:

The Freedom of the Shifting Sea by Jaymee Goh: a story about a young Muslim woman who meets a half-woman half-centipede/worm creature and strikes up a relationship with her. This story was weird in a way that was impossible for me to stop reading it.

Give Me Your Black Wings Oh Sister by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: I’m not sure how to describe this story but it felt ethereal and scary at the same time.

Dumb House by Andrea Hairston: technology has advanced in unimaginable ways so of course it’s not all advantageous. Two salesmen try to sell Cinnamon a smart house but she’s not having it no matter how much they insist.

One Easy Trick by Hiromi Goto: a woman loses her belly fat while hiking in the woods. Yes, you read that right.

Three Variations on a Theme of Imperial Attire by E. Lily Yu: a different look into the Emperor’s New Clothes with a close look at the tailor and how he convinced the emperor he was clothed while looking at how he has tailored his own life.As a reader I’m excited to see a change in the sci-fi and fantasy stories when it comes to racial diversity.  Authors of colour have remarkable stories outside of the lines that publishing tells them to stick to that deserve to be heard

ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for a review. All of my opinions are my own, and are in no way affected by the exchange.

2.6☆ average

• Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex by Tobias S. Buckell 2☆
• Deer Dancer by Kathleen Alcalá 1☆
• The Virtue of Unfaithful Translations by Minsoo Kang 2☆
• Come Home to Atropos by Steven Barnes 2.5☆
• The Fine Print by Chinelo Onwualu 4☆
• unkind of mercy by Alex Jennings 2☆
• Burn the Ships by Alberto Yáñez 3☆
• The Freedom of the Shifting Sea by Jaymee Goh 2☆
• Three Variations on a Theme of Imperial Attire by E. Lily Yu 3☆
• Blood and Bells by Karin Lowachee 4☆
• Give Me Your Black Wings Oh Sister by Silvia Moreno-Garcia 3☆
• The Shadow We Cast Through Time by Indrapramit Das 4☆
• The Robots of Eden by Anil Menon 2☆
• Dumb House by Andrea Hairston 2☆
• One Easy Trick by Hiromi Goto 1☆
• Harvest by Rebecca Roanhorse 5☆
• Kelsey and the Burdened Breath by Darcie Little Badger 2☆

I was looking forward to reading this anthology as its not something I would usually pick up myself. While it started out promising, I found that as I progressed, the stories became less engaging. While there are some stories that are good, for me, I found them to be a bit hit or miss. It is definitely a diverse collection, and while the writing is fine, the stories weren't stellar.

Some of the stories are pure class and some only little gems either way it’s a book that is well worth reading

New Suns: Original Speculative Fiction by People of Color showcases emerging and seasoned writers of many races telling stories filled with shocking delights, powerful visions of the familiar made strange. Between this book’s covers burn tales of science fiction, fantasy, horror, and their indefinable overlappings.

These are authors aware of our many possible pasts and futures, authors freed of stereotypes and clichés, ready to dazzle you with their daring genius.- Goodreads

I am trying to expand my reading tastes; especially when it comes to Black or other authors of colors. It is so easy to pick up more white authors especially if they are the ones being promoted more.

So when I came across this book I was extremely excited for it despite my dislike for short stories. With that being said, I wasn't exactly disappointed in this book; there was a lot of good but then a lot of so so.

Dear Dancer written by Kathleen Alcala was the first short story that showed promise. The author was able to get me interested in the who and what the main character Tater was. There was a backstory that called for more and then ending left a 'well why' sitting at the tip of my tongue. This could be extended into a longer story or at least a novella leading to a full novel.

The Fine Print by Chinelo Onwualu is great as it is. I don't enjoy reading stories about Djinn as a Muslim they creep me out. This story was no different but beyond that it packed a punch. It was creative and there was a twist that was well thought out. *insert shocked gif* This was good.

Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex by Tobias S. Buckell gave me Fifth Element vibes. Was it as good as the movie, no but it was a solid read that deserves attention not only in the story but in the author.

The remaining stories weren't bad but they were not my cup of it. They didn't draw me in nor did they provide the wow factor.

This collection is worth reading because it brings attention to new authors that given a longer word count may be worth investing time into.

Overall, since there were more eh stories than good ones

2 Pickles

FOP: Fear of Pages. It's real. I swear! My time is precious, and I find it necessary to vet every one of my reads very carefully. The best cure? An anthology like New Suns. This book gives you new genres and POC authors in bite-sized portions. The commitment level is low, but the rewards are many.

I'm going to honest and say that I wasn't enthralled by every story in this anthology, but that's ok because twenty pages later is a new trip. Seventeen stories that range from the comical to the scary to the deep philosophical dives.

Here are a couple that got me: 

Rebecca Roanhorse's Harvest: I just like anything she writes and am really looking forward to the next installment of her series. This story is bloody and quick, and full of a couple serious threads.

Andrea Hairston's Dumb House: Two very forward salesmen show up to try to upgrade a woman's house. Great dialogue and a strangely realistic setting make for fun scene.

Tobias Buckell's The Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex: A cab driver is just trying to make it in a New York that is now infested with alien tourists. After a fare throws itself out of the car from 2,000 feet, Tavi is pulled into an intergalactic incident. 

There are some excellent SFF novellas being released these days, along with impressive anthologies like this one. Try something new!

3.5 out of 5 stars.

Releases on March 12th.

Thank you to NetGalley, Rebellion Publishing, and all the authors for the advanced copy for review.

Shawl has pulled together a star-studded (rising and established) group of authors for a fabulous collection of speculative fiction drawing on the experiences of people of color. It spans fantasy, science fiction, and horror--and everything in between--drawing on the experiences and mythology of it’s authors--Indian, African American, Asian, and Indigenous Peoples. Standouts include pieces by Rebecca Roanhorse, Steven Barnes, Jaymee Goh, and Tobias Bucknell--just to name a few--along with a fabulously political introduction by LeVar Burton. Everyone should give this a try.

This is an absolutely fantastic collection of short stories set in non-Eurocentric/white American worlds. I loved it and am recommending it to everyone i know who enjoys speculative fiction. The stories and settings include Asian-inspired cultures in which translators collude to save vast populations; a stunning South America under a Nazi-like rule by the Spanish; numerous tales in which colonizers get their just desserts (including a euthanasia-vacation tropical island); and erotic encounters that question traditional roles and cultural norms. I want to read more stories set in all of the realms introduced here. And LeVar Burton's foreword is a gem, a beautiful piece of writing about the long-needed support of non-white writers in the genre.

This anthology contains 17 original speculative fiction stories by authors of color. This isn't a light read; many of the stories verge on horror and they often handle difficult topics, such as colonialism. The stories tend to be rooted in a particular historical and cultural context. For instance, "Burn the Ships" by Alberto Yáñez appears to be an alt-history (with sci-fi and fantasy elements) about the Aztecs under colonial rule. "The Freedom of the Shifting Sea" by Jaymee Goh features a Malaysian Muslim protagonist. 

As with most anthologies, this was a mixed bag in terms of what appealed to my taste. My favorite story was "The Virtue of Unfaithful Translations" by Minsoo Kang. It was a lovely story about two translators from opposite sides of a conflict systematically mistranslating documents in order to avert what would have been a devastating war.

Other stories I particularly enjoyed were:

"Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex" by Tobias S. Buckell, in which rich, drunk alien tourists frequent Earth to get their fill of our primitive, quaint, dangerous lifestyle.
"Come Home to Atropos" by Steven Barnes, which is a satirical advertisement script about euthanasia tourism. (I swear, it is better than I make it sound.)
"The Shadow We Cast Through Time" by Indrapramit Das, which is an atmospheric tale about a human colony on an alien planet, and their relationship with death.
"The Robots of Eden" by Anil Menon, which examines the consequences of eliminating negative emotions.
Content warning: "The Freedom of the Shifting Sea" by Jaymee Goh had several graphic sex scenes in it. Just in case it needed to be said, this isn't really age-appropriate for teens.

I'm an anthology fan, and rating them is highly subjective and challenging because they're so uneven. This one was no exception. A good mix of adult horror, fantasy, sci-fi, and their combos. This is a little like reading stories by authors of other cultures; at least for me I find the varying perspectives interesting. I appreciate the advanced copy!

I'm thinking really hard about what I want to say in this review because I do want to be supportive about spec fic by POC but I also want to be real. And honestly, either my expectations were too high (most likely) or I don't know what I want (I never know what I want), because I finished the book with a slight sense of discontent.

I guess as anthologies go, this is a proper mixed bag. There were 5 that I really liked and 4 that I liked but had some reservations about? So that’s already 9/17, which is more than half. There were only three that I found very confusing or weird, which I guess just goes to say that it was a nice, interesting read, but nothing especially spectacular, no matter how much I was hoping to be blown away. I guess I really did expect too much. (You can see that inconsistency here, don’t you?)

STUFF I REALLY LIKED, in no particular order.
The Fine Print - Chinelo Onwualu
Djinn! Always here for the djinn. This has a kind of Aladdin feel, but also a very lawyer-y thing going on. I’m looking for a term to describe it but can’t think. Like the smart, fast-talking guy trying to get out of a contract. Oh. I know what I was thinking of. I was thinking of that scene in the American Gods TV series with the djinn. (I can’t recall the book well enough now to remember if that was in it too? I know the TV series did add some scenes.)

Burn the Ships - Alberto Yanez
THIS IS THE CONTENT I'M LOOKING FOR. Lush, rich worldbuilding, magic oozing out of every pore. There’s this intricate weaving of faith versus lore, a juxtaposition of male priesthood and women's magic; both doing what they believe to be right, letting the other go in love. Beauty and death. Anger and life.

Dumb House - Andrea Hairston
I don’t really know how to explain why I like this one. Most of it is just the Cinnamon trying to chase off these two annoying salesmen who are trying to make her upgrade her dumb house into a smart one. Nothing really happens at the end. But it was amusing. I suppose I liked the humour.

Blood and Bells - Karin Lowachee
Though the first prologue (?) threw me, the story unfolded in beautiful ways. An utterly charming story (it has an adorable kid) that ended in an unexpected way.

Kelsey and the Burdened Breath - Darcie Little Badger
I love the concept in this. It’s kind of bittersweet plus nostalgic with a side of ghostbuster detecting. I don’t think I’m explaining myself very well.


STUFF I KINDA LIKE BUT I DUNNO?
The Virtue of Unfaithful Translations - Minsoo Kang
I liked this, like a little Chinese historical story, but it was a little too wordy and repetitive at places. I think there was this bit which felt like they backtracked and retold part of the story and then there was this addendum about omitting the female point of view which just felt a bit awkward. Stylistically on point, but could have done with a little editing down.

The Freedom of the Shifting Sea - Jaymee Goh
Storywise, I liked it, but it was a little gross, honestly. It would honestly be in my “really liked” section if it didn’t have the weird (mandible?) sex.

Three Variations on a Theme of Imperial Attire - E. Lily Yu
A straightforward retelling of The Emperor's New Clothes. I see no lie here. Last variation sounded just a little bit too forced, but tone is a very easily misinterpreted thing, so it could just be my own biases.

The Shadow We Cast Through Time - Indrapramit Das
As much as I liked this, it was a little hard to follow. There’s a nice mythic storytelling feel to it, but it also came across like too much story in too few words. I had this overall feeling that I was missing something that maybe wasn’t being explained well enough? Or maybe like a myth that was just a bit too obscure and I’m too far distant to understand it.

I wasn’t going to mention the others I didn’t like, but I guess I’ll give One Easy Trick - Hiromi Goto a quick mention. I did like this in the beginning, but it got weirder and weirder until I was like.. uh, wth? So really, I’m quite ambivalent. I don’t know what to think.

1.5 stars rounded up to 2

I felt great anticipation in reading New Suns; Original Speculative Fiction by POC, bring it on! We definitely need more of that! However, this anthology of short stories was disappointing and somewhat puzzling. I couldn't fathom how the editor had picked some of the writers included which was supposed to showcase POC Science Fiction and Fantasy. In reading the foreword and then background of some of the 'writers', it becomes clear. Nisi Shawl is a board member of a writing workshop called Clarion West. Almost all the included 'authors' are graduates of this writing workshop. So to champion this book as a representation of diverse writing, Nisi Shawl confesses she did not put out an open casting nomination procedure, instead she just contacted these people of this writing workshop that she knew. Some of them are not even writers by profession, they are history professors, nurses, actors, scientists etc. And I am sorry to say that this is reflected in the quality of the writing.

The stories, by and large, are not captivating. Craft of writing has not been honed. 'The Virtue of Unfaithful Translations' by Minsoo Kang was extremely dry and took an inordinately long time to make a point about biased translations. Even the entry from arguably the most prize-recognized SFF writer of the group E. Lily Yu was quite uninspiring - 'Three Variations on a Theme of Imperial Attire' - which was a re-telling of The Emperor with No Clothes. In my view, she didn't really add anything new to the story except insert some obvious political commentary and a repetition of three variations. It is such a difference from her award-winning excellent short story 'The Cartographer Wasps and Anarchist Bees' which I had read in another fantasy anthology (more on this later). I know of Jaymee Goh as editor/author of The Sea Is Ours: Tales from Steampunk Southeast Asia - her story 'The Freedom of the Shifting Sea' was probably the more interesting one of the group but not enough to rescue this anthology.

I could go on to elucidate why this anthology was a disappointment but want to end this review on a positive note. As Nisi Shawl indicates, there are now many talented recognized non-white SFF writers. For those interested, one of the best fantasy anthologies I've read is The New Voices of Fantasy edited by Peter S. Beagle which is how I got exposed to E. Lily Yu's writing. Although it didn't expressedly set out to show-case POC writers, the short stories have all won some prestigious fantasy awards and contributors included Amal El-Mohtar, Carmen Maria Machado, Usman T. Malik, Alyssa Wong, Hannu Rajaniemi and JY Yang. The quality of writing is exceptional. Other anthologies I would recommend along the same lines are Not So Stories edited by David Thomas Moore and A Thousand Beginnings and Endings edited by Ellen Oh and Elsie Chapman. To put it bluntly, yes, we need more diverse stories but we need more excellent diverse stories rather than including them because they attended your writing workshop.

Thanks to Solaris and Netgalley for providing an ARC copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review.

I was thrilled to read a free eARC of New Suns. Speculative fiction is one of my favourite things, the cover looks great, and the mix of authors promised an eclectic mix of fantasy, horror, hard sci-fi and magical realism.
Unfortunately many of the stories felt unfinished and the desire to tell a clever story often came at the cost of creating memorable characters. I enjoyed the writing of the short stories by Karin Lowachee, Andrea Hairston, Hiromi Goto, and Rebecca Roanhorse and will check out the authors in the future. All in all, however, I missed finding true gems and the few solid works did not balance out the number of disappointing short stories.

1. The Galactic Tourist Industrial Complex - Tobias S. Buckell;
A cab driver on earth, which has become the new hip place of travel for all kinds of aliens, stumbles through an almost old-fashioned, humorous sci-fi short story. (2.5/5)
2. Deer Dancer - Kathleen Alcalá;
dystopian fiction with an "indigenous spin". I would have appreciated more magic or fleshed out characters. (3/5)
3. The Virtue of Unfaithful Translations - Minsoo Kang;
Asian fairy tale mixed with the faults of historical story telling? I can't be sure because I did not finish this short story that suffered from being overly wordy and leaving me emotionally totally uninvested. (1/5)
4. Come Home to Atropos - Steve Barnes;
Angry and cynical advertisement for euthanasia tourism- not bad. (3.5/5)
5. The Fine Print - Chinelo Onwualu;
Interesting imagery somehow wasn't followed through and taken to a satisfying ending, even though I was keen to like the story of a djinn granting wishes with a catch. (2.5/5)
6. Unkind of Mery - Alex Jennings;
Ghost story or not, the narrator gets side-tracked and I found the time line to be poorly executed. I remember nothing of the two main characters besides that they were a care worker and a professional comedian. (1/5)
7. Burn the Ships - Alberto Yáñez;
A story of war between two factions with an interesting magic system and characters that begged to be developed more. (3/5)
8. The Freedom of the shifting Sea - Jaymee Goh;
The story about the discovery of a "worm-woman" creature wants to explore themes of love and gender roles but seeks to shock and repulse the reader instead. (2/5)
9. Three Variations on a Theme of Imperial Attire - E. Lily Yu;
The Emperor's New Clothes retelling which ends up undecided about what was supposed to be changed in this version. (1/5)
10. Blood and Bells - Karin Lowachee;
Romeo and Juliet with gangs, a toddler and a twist I did't see coming. (4/5)
11. Give Me Your Black Wings Oh Sister - Silvia Moreno-Garcia;
Explores the feeling of feeling bad and wrong inside. It had a very different tone, which I appreciated but eventually meandered along not telling much of a story. (2/5)
12. The Shadow We Cast Through Time - Indrapramit Das;
Space travel, demons, and the beginning of time - too much bunched into a repetitive story for my liking. (2/5)
13. The Robots of Eden - Anil Lemon;
Interesting setup of "enhanced", psychologically super healthy people, but leaves things up in the air when it could have been fleshed out more. (3/5)
14. Dumb House - Andrea Hairston;
The characters in this one just drip with coolness and remind me of everything I like in "Station Eleven" by Emily St. John Mandel. (4/5)
15. One Easy Trick - Hiromi Goto;
Body image, loneliness and fat shaming rolled up in a funny little fable. (4/5)
16. Harvest - Rebecca Roanhorse;
Reminded me of "Let the right one in" by John Ajvide Lindqvist. Eerie but feels like the beginning to a longer story. (3.5/5)
17. Kelsey and the Burdened Breath - Darcie Little Badger
Spin on a ghost hunter story- even includes the lingering spirit of a ghost herding dog but the characters ironically did not come alive. (3/5)