In the incisive and insightful introduction, Hurley vividly describes the kind of future worlds she imagines. “I don’t see logic and reason and clean, cool lines; I don’t see sterile metal spaceships,” she writes. “I see messy, bloody bodies, mutations, minds bathed in chemicals, renegade DNA, bacterial wars, and organic spaceships with regenerating skins and mushy interiors.”

Indeed, you will encounter all these things and more in Meet Me In the Future, and while that might sound like you’re in for an unrelenting tide of tales as unrelentingly grim as they are violent, that is not really the case. Rather, Hurley’s unflinching eye for visceral details, her skill at exploring fractured societies, and her preference for conflicted, flawed characters make her stories singularly compelling.

While Hurley’s future worlds might be fictional, the structures and dynamics at work in the societies she describes seem only too familiar: corrupt corporations, warmongering politicians; prosperous elites who lie and cheat to gain and maintain power—the stuff on life in the 21st century, spun into a weirder future. Technology and society might change, these stories caution us, we might even make it to the stars and other planets, but everywhere we go, we’ll bring our flawed selves along with with us.

When, and if, there is any hope of salvation in these grim and gritty stories, it is not bestowed from on high—certainly not by exalted leaders or benevolent saviors. What hope there is can be glimpsed in the interactions between ordinary people who choose, sometimes reluctantly, to treat each other with at least a modicum of mercy. In these small spaces—hairline cracks in the firmament of disaster and dystopia—Hurley finds glimmers of hope for the future. Meet Me In the Future is an outstanding showcase for her powers as a writer and storyteller, and it is surely one of the best short story collections you will read this year.

Kameron Hurley’s heart belongs to novels. <em>Meet Me in the Future</em>’s introduction tells the reader as much instantly. And yet this is her second collection (third, depending on whether you believe the book itself or Hurley’s Wikipedia). To that end, some parts of <em>Meet Me in the Future </em>are considerably stronger than others. These stories represent Hurley’s particular fascinations: womens’ place in society, the impermanence of bodies; plague and pathology. Some she communicates well in sparkling stories, but others collapse under their own weight.

The collection opens with one of its best stories, “Elephants and Corpses”. “Elephants and Corpses” is a vignette in the life of body mercenary Nev, who spends his days fishing up corpses to inhabit, even though his battlefield days are behind him. Nev shows up in the later story “The Fisherman and the Pig”, at a time when body mercenaries are even less relevant. Both stories speak to a rich character who exists in a curious world with unplumbed deaths. One could happily read a full novel either about Nev or the society that birthed him, and the satisfaction these stories provides is emblematic of the strongest elements of the collection.&nbsp; Hurley acknowledges the tricks that she performs to make Nev a sympathetic character in the body of the text, but it’s difficult to resent her for it.

The grounding of Nev stands out in particular against the multiple free-standing stories that have deliberately opaque settings. “The Plague Givers” is something of a novella in which there are four genders. Hurley presents her worlds as if they’re established, and maybe the reader doesn’t have time to get an entire history of the Plague society, but there’s no real entrée to any of these gender concepts. It wouldn’t matter so much if her pronoun system wasn’t utterly confounding. One of the genders is “pan”, and instead of he/his, she/her, they/them or even zie/zir pronouns, the pan have “per/per”. This stylistic choice renders multiple passages difficult to parse without repeated backtracking. Research suggests that this particular system was inspired by Marge Piercy’s <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woman_on_the_Edge_of_Time"><em>Woman on the Edge of Time</em></a><em>,</em> but one hopes that Piercy incorporated the per pronoun with more finesse than Hurley has here.

It’s unfortunate, as “The Plague Givers” is otherwise a workable story, although by the time that it appears it is starting to feel familiar within the context of the collection. Hurley oscillates between presenting disease as neutral or a force of evil, but the scope of the world is too large for the ground that “The Plague Givers” covers. We have context for the Bet, the protagonist, but it is difficult to know what anything in her society means.&nbsp;

This contextless existence carries across to the “The Corpse Archives”, potentially the weakest story in the collection. The communication of the protagonist’s existence is sketchy, and descriptors are withheld until it is too late for them to influence the story. It is set in something like a maze of interlocking hexagons, and it feels like the reader might never escape. Mysteries that cannot be resolved can only carry a reader so far; Hurley does not provide enough information for any gaps to be filled on the reader’s own recognisance, rendering “The Corpse Archives” more frustrating than arresting. Combined with “The Plague Givers”, both stories represent Hurley’s occasional confusion on a sentence level across the entire collection: names, pronouns and words are frequently repeated redundantly and, even when the ideas are solid, the prose does not provide the momentum needed to propel a reader from one story to the next.

Outside of those two stories, <em>Meet Me in the Future </em>is a more assured mixture of science fiction and fantasy pieces, and Hurley is clearly skilled in both registers. “Garda” is a deep dive into the life of an alcoholic private eye whose two wives left her for each other and, and the character and planet that she resides on are fascinating; the investigation is functional enough, but it is window dressing for the world building it enables.

Special mention also goes to “The Women of our Occupation”, the description of a society occupied by an exclusively female foreign force. This is the example of a story that is able to stand on its own while raising a series of titillating but unanswerable questions. If much of <em>Meet Me in the Future </em>is variations on themes, “The Women of our Occupation” is the platonic ideal of many of them.&nbsp;

<em>Meet Me in the Future: Stories </em>is a collection that errs on the side of the positive. The best concepts on display here could be fleshed into novels — two of them, in fact, were published in novel form before being collected here — and there is only one story that could stand to have been cut entirely. Hurley is an author of no small talent, but one suited to a larger scale. <em>Meet Me in the Future: Stories </em>is a diving off point for bigger things: an escape pod dreaming of being a star destroyer.&nbsp;

<I>An ARC of </I>Meet Me in the Future: Stories<i> was provided by Tachyon Publications. It was published internationally on August 20, 2019.</I>

Any time I can get my hands on new Kameron Hurley, I'm all over it. Ever since I read The Stars are Legion, Hurley has quickly become one of my favorite authors. Her view of the world in which we live calculating, messy, and true, and the stories she writes hit me right in the feels and make me want to help lead the revolution.

What I've liked most about Hurley's writing is that her women are allowed to be messy, morally grey, and emotional without feeling like these women are losing their "worth" or "humanity" for being any of those things. The themes of war and resistance she explores in her stories are heavy, unrelenting, and often gruesome, but there always manages to be some threads of hope winding their ways through the stories. War is central to the story in the sense that it informs the trajectory of the characters. War has either happened, is happening, or will happen, but it's the individual themselves who really tend to make a difference in the grand scheme of war's grandiose effects.

The stories that I enjoyed the most were "Elephants and Corpses," "When We Fall," and "The Corpse Archives;" but all of them were so good, and I couldn't wait to read the next one. Her introduction is sublime in exploring what drives her to write the stories she writes as well, so don't skip that. Sometimes I feel as if it's very rare for a single author's collection of stories to be so cohesive and yet so diverse, but Kameron Hurley knocks it out of the park with this one.

Whether or not you've read Hurley before, if you're a sci-fi reader and want to read something that will leave you thinking about the what-ifs, definitely check this out.

Meet Me in the Future is a collection of 16 works of short fiction by Kameron Hurley. Released 20th Aug 2019 by Tachyon, it's 288 pages and available in paperback, audio, and ebook formats. All of the stories are previously published between 2006 and 2018, but collected here for the first time. The author has also written an erudite and thought provoking introduction (not previously published elsewhere) in which she discusses the writing process, some history, what things really mean (hint: don't be lazy, we should figure it out ourselves), and shares other thoughts about creativity, the writer's life, and the world in a really personal conversational style. I felt as though we were talking about deep stuff over the last half bottle of wine at 3 in the morning.

These stories are top shelf fiction. Every story I read was the best one yet. I had planned to read them slowly and savor them. That certainly didn't happen. I wound up reading late into the night and almost missed my work bus stop the next morning. It's difficult to pick out a standout story from the collection, but if forced, When We Fall was amazing and made me sniffle (in a good way).

It's unclear from the publishing info available online, but the eARC I received has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references. I hope the ebook release version does also. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately. Presumably that feature will carry through to the final release version.

Five stars. Beautifully curated collection of extremely well written stories.

As I am a big fan of Kameron Hurley maybe this review is biased ;) but honestly the collection is both alarming and amazing at the same time. Everything contained in this collection is beautifully written. If I had to relate this to something I would say it's close to Karin Tidbeck's Jagganath collection. Eerie, delicate, and at the same time a bit violent in parts. Almost like a grotesque interpretive dance that you cannot drag your eyes away from.

Some of these stories are tiny little bursts of fiction, some are longer tales. Works well for not sitting down to read them all at once if you like that sort of thing. I read this from beginning to end in the order they were listed in, and found the layout to be satisfying. It was to experience the short version of The Light Brigade.

Short stories usually aren’t my genre of choice, but I love Kameron Hurley’s writing. She didn’t disappoint! These stories are imaginative, exciting, quick-paced and full of the visceral descriptions of violence and human (or alien) anatomy that are her marker. As with her novels, there are feminist overtones to her stories and inclusive takes on gender and sexuality. The collection is at times poignant, at others emotional, generally thought-provoking, and always entertaining.

Some of the stories interweave or take place in the settings of her novels, but this shouldn’t prevent newcomers from reading – while I enjoyed seeing more of the world from The Stars are Legion, I haven’t read all her books so they only made me want to seek these out.

The tales share a lot of the same themes – disablement, betrayal, sacrifice, people being controlled/held down by those in power, xenophobia, false history, and war. Not only that, but the majority of the characters are female or female-identifying. The fantastic thing about Hurley’s characters is that these women aren’t all young, beautiful, intelligent (what female protagonists seem to have to be). Her women are ugly, stupid, selfish, old, career-focused, mothers, sisters, lovers. They are, as women are in real life, varied and complex. You can identify with almost all of them on some level. It’s a powerful, poignant collection.

In truth, while I give this collection 4 stars, the best stories are in the first half. It’s possible I was fatigued by the time I reached the end (because Hurley’s writing can sometimes be a mental exercise to understand the worlds she creates), but my favourites were the stories with Nev (“Elephants and Corpses” and “The Fisherman and Pig”). I wish those had been novels! I also very much enjoyed: “When We Fall”, “The Red Secretary”, “War of Heroes”, “Warped Passages”, “Tumbledown”, and “The Light Brigade”. I found “Enyo-Enyo” and “The Corpse Archives” the least interesting (perhaps because I had trouble following them). The rest were solid stories I enjoyed but they either moved too quickly, their theme was a little obvious, or what she was attempting didn’t work for me.

Overall, I very much enjoyed this collection and will be buying it in physical form!

It's the first work I read by this author and I found it amazing, entertaining and full of food for thought at the same time.
I liked the style of writing and how the author manage to create fascinating and meaningful stories.
I look forward to reading other works by this writer.
Highly recommended!
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

An enjoyable collection of sci-fi short stories that can be read as standalones. If there's one thing Hurley excels at, it's jamming novel-sized creativity into short stories without making them feel too brief to be enjoyed. I specifically like that despite how dire her worlds are, how twisted the stories can get, there somehow remains a touch of hope. My personal favourites would have to be "Our Faces, Radiant Sisters, Our Faces Full of Light" and "The Light Brigade".

Kameron Hurley is a treasure. I first heard about her on Ann Leckie’s blog a few years ago, when Leckie had gushed about Hurley’s The Stars Are Legion several months before it was published. When it finally came out, I got a copy from the library and was blown away. Her worldbuilding was so intricate and her characterization so amazing. I still find myself, years later, thinking about different scenes and being haunted by some of her imagery. (Also, I never stop smiling when I think of the alternate title: http://www.kameronhurley.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Lesbians-in-Space-Poster-v2.jpg)



Earlier this year, I just had to buy Hurley’s The Light Brigade, which I found to be unputdownable. A masterpiece! It’s going on my Hugo nomination ballot next year for sure.



So I was thrilled when I saw that her new short story collection, Meet Me in the Future, was coming out this summer! I received an eARC from NetGalley and tore through it! If the Stars Are Legion was a banquet, this collection of Hurley’s short fiction was like a chef’s table of small, delectable plates that leave you wanting more.



This collection is filled with a wide range of different kinds of stories – fantasies and science fictional tales, adventures and dramas, small character moments and big wows.

Two of the stories are in the same universe, following a body-swapping soldier who can upload his mind into corpses and reanimate them when they feel that they are about to die. Once again, Hurley’s worldbuilding skills are top notch. In a short story, an author has so much less space with which to create a fully realized universe, but time and again Hurley managed this monumental task.



Some stories were quite emotionally moving, such as the one where a child has to accompany her mother to a war memorial.



Even in her serious pieces, Hurley’s trademark humor shines through. I nearly chortled out loud on my morning commute reading her hostage negotiator’s reasoning for requisitioning a dog.



For Fans of The Stars Are Legion, there is a story here that is a possible prequel, explaining a bit about how that universe came to be. The collection also includes the original short story version of The Light Brigade that Hurley later developed into her novel. It is a fascinating read after having enjoyed the novel – it is like an unpopped kernel of corn, just waiting to explode.

I cannot recommend this short story collection enough. If you are not familiar with Kameron Hurley’s work, it is an excellent introduction and jumping off point. After reading this, I am going to check out her Worldbreaker Saga and the Bel Dame Apocrypha series. If you have read her novels before, then you definitely should buy this collection.



I’d like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC I received – all opinions are my own. I’ll leave you with the table of contents to peruse.



Buy this book!


“Elephants and Corpses”
“When We Fall”
“The Red Secretary”
“The Sinners and the Sea”
“The Women of Our Occupation”
“The Fisherman and the Pig”
“Garda”
“The Plague Givers”
“Tumbledown”
“Warped Passages”
“Our Faces, Radiant Sisters, Our Faces Full of Light!”
“Enyo-Enyo”
“The Corpse Archives”
“The War of Heroes”
“The Light Brigade”
“The Improbable War”

Single-author collections tend to be, in my experience, less cohesive and less consistent in some way than multiple-author collections curated by an editor or editorial team; this is because editors have the advantage of nearly unlimited material to start with, and can winnow down to just those bits and bobs that are synchronous in style or subject or otherwise meet the editors' collective impulse. Single-author collections tend to have a smaller pool of potential bits and bobs to choose from, and they tend to be collected for no other reason than that the author still likes them, or at least likes them enough not to mind that they will forever stand as testament to their short-form skills.

Kameron Hurley's collection is one of the most consistent I've ever read. The style holds steady, yes, and the voice too, but it's the way the characters are thrown into their worlds that is perhaps most consistent of all. Hurley drops hints here and there, whether it's a direct quote from a certain Senate Majority Leader or it's a story which talks to certain failures of the United States healthcare system, that her futures are rooted in an almost unbelievably horrific present––and she's not playing coy about the biographical elements of certain stories. (The book's introduction is a must-read for context.)

On the one hand, a cursory read of "Meet Me in the Future" might seem to convey a singular message: Treat your fellow-travelers with kindness, because you never know what shit they've been through. On the other hand, despite powerful loves and an equally powerful range of friendships and other relationships, Hurley's characters always end up facing their demons alone and mostly unaided. 'When We Fall' is an exception to this, of course, and its early placement in the book might just be to offset the existential dread of the stories which sandwich it, 'Elephants and Corpses' and 'The Red Secretary.' Whatever the case may be, it's a bit of a joyful tease in the midst of the general order of Hurley's shorts. So: treat your fellow-travelers as well as you're able, but take no shit from the universe, unless you have to, and if you have to, you might as well make an art or a science out of it. And have a drink afterward.

There are a LOT of whiskey metaphors, similes, and ... well, actual shots of whiskey.

My personal favorite stories from this lineup are 'The Red Secretary' (because DOGS! which ... is part of the point, I guess?) and 'Tumbledown.' Two stories are seeds or hints at what would become "The Stars Are Legion" ('Warped Passages') and "The Light Brigade" (story of same name). And of course it's always interesting to see a story grow a bit from its seeds. Each story is shot through with a vein of hope, but each story is also grim, grim, grim. Consistently grim. Each story is a window to a future I don't mind witnessing, and in fact find utterly fascinating, but wouldn't much like to visit in person.

But maybe, just maybe, that's because we're all living in a present that I wouldn't visit, either, if I could help it. If that didn't spark yet another deep existential crisis.

I admit that I was perhaps predisposed to not like this book. I don't really like scifi as a genre. However, I was persuaded by the angle of this one. I thought that short stories would be more easily read and digested by a scifi novice like me. I'm glad I gave it a go, but it's perhaps not for me. Having said that, it was an enjoyable read all the same. I like Hurley's writing and voice, and I found the treatment of issues like gender fluidity really interesting. As in all short story collections, some stories are standouts; 'The Plague Givers' was mine for its unique heroine (a woman who isn't 21 and athletic? Sign me up!)

For people who actually read scifi, this is a complete winner. It might even be a winner for those who don't. It's a really great book and I can think of dozens of people off the top of my head who'll be all over it.

This was such a refreshing collection of sci-fi short stories. I love the ideas that were explored no matter how vague or precise and spelled-out. There is something out there for everyone but I can tell you already that it pulls on your heartstrings, engages your mind and is a great conversation starter. I want to delve deeper into all these stories, dissect their meaning and find out what they convey for us personally.

This collection of 16 stories, three of which are new, explore themes of what it means to be human whilst trying to survive disease, disaster, war and genocide, and oppressive governments. The stories are dark and gritty, set in worlds with strange diseases, weird biotech and bioengineering, and societies that subvert expectations.

Hurley doesn't write conventionally pretty, dainty women. Her women are battle-scarred and haunted, strong and rough. They're grizzled swamp-dwelling sorceresses. They're disabled plague survivors making an Iditarod-like serum run on an alien planet. They're hostage negotiators talking down desperate rogue soldiers. They're a terrifying conquering army.

If you've been looking for a place to start with Hurley's work, this is a great entry point. This collection showcases her edgy, incisive, visceral approach to sci-fi.

An interesting collection of stories carrying Hurley's signature bio-horror- sci fi style and preoccupation with war, gender, and squishy things. Not exactly to my taste, but if you're a fan of her writing then I can highly recommend this collection.

I got this e ARC from Netgalley after requesting it.

I enjoy short stories or anthologies, "Meet Me in the Future" asks how futures could play out - both ours and for worlds in fiction. What's the future if not something of a reflection of history's many nows, like a glimpse in a mirror or still water, a the kaleidoscope of possibilities, changeable still because every person carries their history and the history of imagined and dreamed stories. A lot of these short stories understandably dance between biology and technology.

Elephants and Corpses - Nev, a old "body mercenary", someone who if they die in one body can - if they've touched a dead body nearby - swap their "soul" or "spirit" into the dead body and animate it. He holds onto humanity though a animal contact, a elephant and later a turtle given to him by Tera his "body manager". Occult religious business and body mercenary workshop mix and Nev sorts out what he can from the mess left.

When We Fall - I'd love to have a much longer story on Aisha, a jack of all trades and her fleet of warship's avatars Mirabelle and others of the Komani Enterprises freed by a tomato.

The Red Secretary - Arkadi negotiates and must make a connection with a soldier who knows their end, because they've killed the enemy and gotten their hands dirty, who hold a weapon hostage, with nothing to lose because the end of the war means all who have bloodied their hands get incinerated.

The Sinners and the Sea - Arret must choose the truth, the story, he can live with, the one that tells of a sea burying sinners hundreds of years ago and being a Guardian means containing ancinet relics - or that the relics are from people murdered by Guardians only a generation ago, and his people living in the sky survivors chosen by no god at all.

The Women of Our Occupation- I had a little laugh with this story, when the world Feminazi comes up, likely I'll be showing this story to someone.

The Fishermen and the Pig- Another Nev story, after living as a old fisherman for years with only a pig and a turtle for company, he gets caught up in a nercomancer plot to bring back the dead with black toxin from a long ago war, although I didn't like Branka's cliffhanger ending.

Garda-A who done it mystery with a serial killer involving alien "boys" after a future war; focus is on Abijah's divorce to two wives and how she works with Pats, who she's known in that war.

The Plague Givers - I would love a whole novel on Elzabet Addisalam, swamp dwelling stuffed hydra making former Plague Hunter with her history of a former lover a Plague Giver Hanere, their son Makdas, her partner Kelab -and later Lealez.

Tumbledown- Sarnai, who got plague as a child and lost her legs and her fathers and mother to it on a alien world where dogs and bears don't seem to look as the ought to, uses a sled to get tumbledown plague serum to a distant village.

Warped Passages - Malati and pilot and Kariz a engineer are siblings who lost their mother to the anomaly that holds their generation ships of the Legion still, caught in space, trapped, their choices are to change themselves or be changed.

Our Faces, Radiant Sisters, Our Faces Full Of Light!- Moria follows generations of her mothers, grandmothers, and likely sisters, aunts and other women who fight monsters, for one less monster they'll trade their lives a sacrifice for the promise of generations of women to come.

Enyo-Enyo -A fascinating dark take on how a ship takes to life among the stars and how time passes and acted out in "snapshots" of different futures.

The Corpse Archives - Anish and Chiva make and unmake a history of aliens, their people, and their stories written on bodies, textbooks of "history".

The War of Heroes - Yousra, a midwife, makes a choice to take the war to the alien "heroes" who have made her people monstrous.

The Light Brigade- The war, a corporate one against aliens, people from Mars who turned barren Earth to free paradise, turned soldier who fight them into light, who can see glimpses of the future and can travel, like light, anywhere - and possibly, any when.

The Improbable War - Khiv uses the wall, a engine of memory to the souls of soldiers, to fight a old enemy and end war, forever.
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Meet Me in the Future is a collection of brilliance filled with powerful central characters and staggering inventiveness. Hurley is undeniably one of the best science fiction authors of any time as evidenced by the punch each of these stories packs. There’s no time for dalliances in these works. They strike at the heart immediately, throwing us into any number of worlds that immediately make sense. It’s a treat to see this comprehensive glimpse into Hurley’s imagination.

A few of my favorites:

Elephants and Corpses is an enthralling look at death and what comes after. We get a dual perspective: one from a body mercenary who can transfer into dead bodies, the other from a body manager who can speak to the dead. The delicate balance of life and death is blatantly ripped apart, leaving behind a conversation on the importance of living your life.

Our Faces, Radiant Sisters, Our Faces Full of Light! is a great bit of flash fiction, detailing the making of a hero. A woman ventures out into a monster-filled wilderness to protect her city. We see her bravery on display as she refuses to give up even though the odds are impossible. It’s a quick story but it tells so much about the timeline of a legend. We see that initial sacrifice, the rise to greatness, and the eventual faded reminder that still inspires even though the person is long forgotten.

The Light Brigade is a mind blowing tale examining alternate perspectives of the same war. We see the 24-hour news cycle convincing mankind that aliens are their doom when, in reality, we are our own worst enemy. The concept of traveling by light is fascinating, leaving stunning visuals amidst this fast-paced narrative. I was floored at how much character development was packed into this short of a space. It’s a true testament to Hurley’s abilities as a storyteller.

Review to be published on 8/22: http://reviewsandrobots.com/2019/08/22/meet-me-in-the-future-book-review

I've been a fan of Kameron Hurley ever since I read her short stories in Tor and was immensely surprised with this whole collection! Meet Me in the Future is a mishmash of voices that were all well fleshed out and somehow had this element of mystery and vagueness at the same time. What I love about this the most was how despite the trappings present in a short story she was able to bend it to her will. This was a delightful read!

Kameron Hurley es una autora de ciencia ficción y fantasía que ha ganado múltiples premios tanto por su faceta de novelista como por su obra de no ficción. En 2014 ganó el premio Hugo a mejor escritor aficionado por sus artículos en blogs y el premio a mejor obra relacionada por su artículo «Siempre hemos luchado» que está incluido en su colección de ensayos «La revolución feminista geek» editado en Runas con traducción de Alexander Páez y que gano el Locus y BFA en 2017 como mejor obra relacionada y está nominada este año a los premios ignotus como mejor libro de ensayo.

En castellano también podemos disfrutar de su novela «Las estrellas son legión», también editada por Runas con una traducción excelente de Alexánder Páez. Yo he leído tanto «La revolución feminista geek» como «Las estrellas son legión» y ambas me gustaron mucho, tanto como para nominarlas a los premios Ignotus en sus respectivos años.

Además, este año salen «La guerra de dios», en Cerbero con traducción de Blanca Rodríguez y «La brigada de luz», en Runas con traducción de Natalia Cervera de la Torre.

Tanto por el titulo, como por lo que había leído de Hurley en ficción, como por la introducción, me esperaba relatos más de ciencia ficción especulativa, pero en general son aventuras entretenidas y muy divertidas de leer. Aunque también hay algo de lo primero.

En lo que sin duda más destaca Hurley, es en la creación de personajes y mundos. Esta colección de relatos derrocha una cantidad ingente de imaginación y sentido de la maravilla, y es fácil que, si bien igual no que te caigan bien todas las protagonistas, y aquí uso el femenino genérico por un motivo (a Hurley le gustan los personajes malcarados y gruñones), sí que te gusten y te lo pases genial con sus aventuras. En general, si me tengo que quedar con una sola cosa de este libro es con que es tremendamente entretenido.

Hurley comenta en la introducción que su terreno natural no es el relato corto, que se siente más cómoda con las novelas y que los relatos le han enseñado a no irse por las ramas y centrarse en lo importante. Esto tiene mucho que ver con el resultado, ya que sus relatos tienden un poco a los «non sequiturs» y las soluciones argumentales un poco sacadas de la chistera. Cito textualmente del prólogo del libro: «No me preguntéis como funciona! Esto es ficción, gente».

Me da la sensación de que, para construir los relatos, la autora parte de una idea para una escena o una caracteristica del mundo que le atrae mucho y a partir de ahí monta la historia. Es por esto que los finales en general son algo más flojos. No puedo argumentar mucho esta pequeña crítica, porque tendría que destripar los relatos para ello, pero parece apoyado por una cosa que comenta la autora en el prólogo, que es que las historias cortas le han enseñado a no centrarse en, cito, «"mierda que ocurre" y "naves orgánicas y pegajosas" sino en las experiencias emocionales de los personajes y en como les afecta el mundo que los rodea».

Un tema muy importante que rodea a la mayoría de relatos es el de la muerte, y concretamente el de enfrentar la muerte, y la fragilidad del cuerpo. Esto es debido a la propia experiencia de la autora con el tema debido a su enfermedad crónica y al sistema sanitario estadounidense. Si queréis saber más sobre esto, es algo que explica en detalle en algunos de sus ensayos recopilados en «La revolución feminista geek»

Un ejemplo de esta temática es que Hurley comenta en el prologo que sus problemas con su propio cuerpo la llevaron a escribir Tumbledown, protagonizado por una persona en silla de ruedas, y que debido a ello, en sus historias «no vea lógica, ni razón, ni lineas limpias y claras, sino cuerpos sangrientos y sucios, mutaciones, mentas bañadas en químicos, ADN renegado, guerras bacterianas y naves espaciales orgánicas con pieles que se regeneran e interiores pulposos». Como os podéis imaginar, tanto los temas de su obra como su propia forma de escribir son tremendamente viscerales.

Otro tema central de esta colección de relatos, y en general de la obra de la autora, es el de las mujeres protagonistas que combaten un mundo que parece unicamente pensado para destruirlas o convertirlas en parias. Pero mujeres que perseveran a pesar de todo, y que escupen en la cara a la sociedad llena de monstruos en la que viven. De hecho, una de las historias recopiladas («Our faces, radient sisters! Our faces, full of light!») fue escrita por petición de Tor.com para su serie de relatos bajo la premisa sugerente de «Nevertheless, she persisted» (A pesar de todo, ella lo siguió intentando).

Antes de hablaros de algunos relatos en concreto, me gustaría cerrar esta opinión general de la colección comentando el otro gran núcleo temático del libro, que es, podríamos decir que la guerra, pero yo más bien diría el enfrentamiento con la otredad: como nos enfrentamos o como reaccionamos ante lo que nos es ajeno y, sobre todo, hasta que punto somos capaces de «alienizar» al Enemigo, ya sea un enemigo individual y personal, ya sea una raza distinta o ya sea un grupo de personas que piensan de forma distinta, para poder combatirlo sin preocuparnos por algo tan molesto e incomodo como la ética. Es un tema propiciado en parte por el clima político actual de Estados Unidos. El ejemplo más claro de esto es el relato «The light brigade».

Creo que uno de los mayores cumplidos que se le pueden hacer a este libro es que prácticamente con todos los relatos me quedo con la sensación de querer leer una novela en ese mundo o con esos personajes. O en algunos casos, más relatos cortos. Y quiero remarcar, que a pesar de que he dicho que muchos relatos acaban de formas un tanto bruscas o con escusas argumentales flojitas, curiosamente, esto no ha hecho que los disfrute menos. Sólo si me ponía a pensar en los relatos seriamente, pues para ver como los reseñaría o simplemente por darles unas vuelta, se me caían un poco de las manos. Pero durante la lectura funcionan muy bien y no molesta, precisamente por lo entretenidos que son y por lo que molan los personajes y los mundos.

Elephants and Corpses/The fisherman and the Pig

Ambos relatos están protagonizados por Nev, que es un «corpse mercenary» (mercenario de cadaveres.) Este tipo de «personas» pueden saltar a otro cuerpo al morir que ya haya fallecido y cuyo cadaver hayan tocado. Nev nacio en un cuerpo de mujer, pero se siente más comodo en cuerpos de hombres y en la actualidad así lo vemos. Esto es interesante porque para Nev sería mucho más cómodo utilizar un cuerpo de mujer debido a la sociedad en la que vive: un matriarcado en el que los hombres no pueden tener propiedades. Aquí Hurley juega de forma muy interesante con temas de género para los que la especie a la que pertenece Nev le sirve de metafora a las mil maravillas. El otro personaje que conocemos en este relato es Tera. Tera es la body manager de Nev, algo así como su gestora de cuerpos. La que aparece en las escrituras de sus propiedades y le ayuda a comprar cadaveres de ahogados en el puerto y a prepararlos para que Nev los pueda usar en el futuro si su cuerpo actual muere. De lo que ocurre en el relato no voy a decir mucho, más allá de que es una historia de venganza y redención y de que Nev se hace una especie de John Wick.

El segundo relato, «The fisherman and the pig» ocurre muchos años en el futuro o el pasado (esto no os lo revelo para evitar spoilers). La sociedad parece que ha cambiado y Nev vive en un pueblo en el cuerpo de un hermitaño y se dedica a pescar y vender lo que consigue en el mercado del pueblo. Hasta que un día ocurre algo que da un vuelco a la vida de Nev y le obliga a vivir una nueva aventurilla. Este relato es un ejemplo de final flojo o porque sí. No puedo explicarme por no destripar el cuento, pero digamos que da la sensación de que es un recorte de un relato mayor, porque acaba de repente y parece que le faltan trozos.

Esta ambientación es de mis favoritas de la colección.

Tumbledown (Colapso)

Este relato lo podéis encontrar traducido al castellano por Alexander Páez en la antología «Ciudad nómada y otros relatos» editada por Mariano Villareal. Es un relato de ciencia ficción en el que la humanidad a colonizado otro planeta, parece que escapando de un desastre, pero un planeta que es bastante hostil. Las distintas colonias tienen que vivir en habitats cerrados ya que la atmosfera contiene mercurio y otros metales pesados. Sin embargo, no quiere decir que sea un planeta yermo. Realmente hay una gran biodiversidad que evolucionó para adaptarse a estas condiciones. Y por tanto también hay bacterias y microorganismos que pueden acabar rápidamente con una persona. Una de estas enfermedades alienígenas es la que da título al relato «Tumbledown». La historia empieza cuando nuestra protagonista, Sarnai, una mujer paraplégica que trabaja con el suero que sirve de cura del Colapso, se ve obligada a ir a una de las colonias exteriores en las que a empezado un brote de esta enfermedad en un trineo tirado por perros modificados genéticamente para respirar la atmósfera de ese planeta. Durante el durísimo viaje somos testigos de los paisajes de fantasía que encontramos en este mundo y de las dificultades que tiene que superar Sarnai para llegar a la colonia en apuros. Estos paisajes casi oníricos molan un montón y creo que es lo que más he disfrutado del relato. Una vez más, es una historia con muchísimo sentido de la maravilla.

The red secretary

Otro relato que también tiende más a la ciencia ficción especulativa, aunque mezclado con bastante acción, es «The red secretary» que es el nombre de un arma inmensa en un mundo en el que la guerra es cíclica. Cada trescientos años la socidad de la protagonista debe erradicar algo que no voy a revelar. Con la consecuencia de que, al terminar el conflicto, cualquier persona que haya cometido actos de violencia debe morir. Da igual que sea del enemigo o no. Ahora mismo nos encontramos al final de uno de los periodos de guerra, y Arkadi, nuestra protagonista, una negociadora del gobierno, acude a la Secretaria roja para negociar con un grupo que se ha atrincherado dentro porque no quieren morir. Al haber participado violentamente en la guerra, están condenados y Arkadi debe conseguir resolver la situación.

No es la primera vez que ocurre, de hecho es muy común. Muchos pelotones se sublevan al terminar la guerra y, bien escapan e intentan vivir como parias (hasta que son cazados) o se convierten en terroristas. El argumento que justifica según esta sociedad este clímax de muerte al acabar la guerra, es que una persona que ha cometido actos de violencia no puede contribuir a construir una sociedad pacífica (aun cuando saben que el conflicto se va a repetir dentro de trescientos años).

Es un cuento bastante interesante que vuelve a tocar varios de los temas comunes que vertebran la colección de relatos.

Warped passages

Precuela de las estrellas son legíon que se supone que explica el origen de la legión. Y digo se supone porque esto es lo que comenta la autora en el prólogo sobre este relato: «"Warped Passages" es una de esas historias que casi lamento haber escrito porque cuenta demasiado. Funciona un poco como precuela de una novela mía, "Las estrellas son legión", y responde más preguntas sobre el origen de la legión de las que me hace sentir cómoda. Así que finjamos que esto es simplemente una interpretación. Una versión de la verdad. Una historia de la legión contado entre familias bien entrada la noche; contada entre dientes y posteriormente olvidada, para ser reemplazada por otro mito a su debido tiempo.»

Es por esto que no voy ha hablar sobre la historia en sí. Sólo diré que me gustado mucho, más que nada por volver al mundo de «Las estrellas son legión», que me encanta. Es un cuento bastante redondo que desborda sentido de la maravilla por todos lados.

The light brigade

Este relato fue la semilla de lo que posteriormente se convertiría en una novela homónima. Como comentaba antes, ya se ha anunciado que Runas nos la va a traer traducida como «La brigada de luz» este otoño. Trata sobre una guerra entre Marte y la Tierra: en el pasado, una parte de la humanidad fundó una especie de colonia comunista en Marte, que se desarrollo hasta sobrepasar la capacidad tecnológica de la tierra, que sigue su camino ultra capitalista y en la que parece que las macro-organizaciones han sustituido a los gobiernos. El relato cuenta la guerra entre estas sociedades a partir de que la tierra desarrolle una tecnología que permite convertir un ejercito en luz y enviarlo de forma casi instantenea a cualquier punto del territorio enemigo, en el que se reconstruye para realizar ataques practicamente imparables.

Vuelve a tratarse el tema de la otredad y de la deshumanización del adversario, esta vez de forma muy explicita y comentada por la protagonista del relato en primera persona. Además el relato aborda otro tema muy interesante relacionado con esto que es el de el no cuestionamiento de los motivos que hay detrás de un conflicto una vez este a empezado. Cito: «Salí con esta chicha una vez, esta chica realmente inteligente. Estaba haciendo su doctorado en una de esas ciencias sociales. Ella decía que existe esta cosa llamada "escalada de compromiso". Que una vez que alguien ha invertido una cierta cantidad de tiempo en un proyecto, no lo dejara, incluso si ya no merece la pena. Incluso si está perdiendo. La guerra es como eso. Nadie quiere admitir que está perdiendo. Ya han perdido demasiado. Sabes lo que eres. En lo que te estás convirtiendo. Y no puedes pararlo. Estás comprometida. No importa cuento grite la gente o a cuantos mates cuyos rostros se parece al tuyo. Este es tu trabajo. Esto es para lo que te has entrenado. Es lo que eres. No puedes separarlo».

Me gustaría cerrar la reseña recalcando que esta colección de relatos, «Meet me in the future», me ha resultado muy entretenida y me ha gustado bastante; la recomiendo sin lugar a dudas. Muchas gracias a Tachyon por el ejemplar y me gustaría pedir desde aquí que alguna editorial la traduzca al castellano: yo creo que puede dar mucho juego en el mercado Español.

Good stories even if I've appreciated some more than others.
The author's touch is always here, strong women who frequently have jobs, strengths and habits usually gifted to male characters, diverse sexuality and animals - with a special care about them (the reader doesn't need to be afraid that horrible things will happen to them).
He worlds imagined are all rather harsh and injust, this is not some bedtime stories !
I took time to read them all, because if all different they have many shared points (thanks to the author's personality) and Ì needed to pause regularly, not to get tired.

This is my first book of Hurley's short stories, the second book of hers that I've read, and I'm glad to report that she continues to wow and impress. Kameron invites us into her imagination, each story vividly realized with characters who are impossible to not care about. I have a few standout faves that, in my own future, I'll likely return to when I need a sci-fi pick-me-up. One of the things I really liked were the recurrence of themes throughout, tying each story to each other in a cohesive thread. Also, organic spaceships. I will never, ever tire of them!

Thank you for the review copy!