Future Artifacts by Kameron Hurley


As I have said before, 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 just amazing. And then there is her book, The Light Brigade, which I found to be unputdownable. A masterpiece!

So I was thrilled when the publisher and NetGalley gave me a copy of her short story collection, Future Artifacts, in exchange for an honest review.

This collection, mostly consisting of stories from Hurley’s Patreon, is wonderful. 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 with aplomb.

Highly recommended!

Future Artifacts by Kameron Hurley is a thrilling, thought-provoking, and innovative science fiction novel that expertly weaves a tale of human resilience, political intrigue, and the impact of technology on society. Set in a distant future where Earth's resources are scarce and humanity relies on artifacts from a lost civilization to survive, the story follows Aria, a skilled scavenger, and Thorne, a cunning diplomat, as they navigate a world on the brink of collapse.

Hurley's world-building is nothing short of exceptional. She crafts a richly detailed and immersive landscape, combining elements of dystopia, post-apocalyptic fiction, and space opera. The intricate socio-political dynamics are reminiscent of Frank Herbert's Dune, drawing the reader in and demanding their attention. Hurley's prose is sharp, evocative, and engaging, ensuring that the story unfolds at a steady pace that maintains momentum without sacrificing depth.

The characters are multi-dimensional, each possessing their own motivations and secrets. Aria and Thorne's unlikely partnership creates a compelling dynamic, as they learn to rely on each other's strengths to survive in a world filled with treachery and danger. The supporting cast of characters is equally well-drawn, providing a diverse array of perspectives that enrich the narrative.

One of the most captivating aspects of Future Artifacts is its exploration of the ethical dilemmas surrounding the use and manipulation of advanced technologies. Hurley delves into the consequences of humanity's dependence on these relics, as well as the power struggles that ensue in the race to control them. The novel serves as a sobering reminder of the potential perils of unchecked technological advancement, making it a timely and relevant read.

In conclusion, Future Artifacts is a masterful work of science fiction that will leave readers contemplating its themes long after they have turned the final page. Kameron Hurley has crafted a captivating, multi-layered narrative that is sure to please fans of the genre and attract new readers alike. This novel is a must-read for anyone seeking a thought-provoking and engrossing story that combines the best elements of speculative fiction.

This is, understandably, the most Hurley-ass Hurley collection of short fiction. Military sci-fi in bleak feminist futures, cyber punk and dystopian, all of which examine the strengths and fragilities of human nature. If you loved ‘the Stars are Legion’ then this is definitely for you. A great collection.

Hurley has another installment in a what seems like a wider series of short stories that has woven throughout her anthologies about a body jumping mercenary, and I won't lie, that is always a huge draw for me. The collection is a quick, great read, and includes some gut punches about generations, war, guilt, collaboration with occupying powers, and resistance. She's always a solid writer and the ways she stretches into both sci-fi and fantasy here is always a joy. Pick it up if you're looking for a great winter's day read.

This book is a nice collection of short stories, most have behind a LGBT theme without shoving it on our faces, like having two mothers or two fathers, or we know that our present MC is female and is married to another female, and so on, but most important, most stories dwell around death and death is the future of all of us so I guess it is not that wrong.

I felt it had a very melancholic tone, and I did like it, most stories made sense going from one to the other, and I did like the best the ones that had more to do with sci-fi than fantasy, and that's OK, there’s plenty of space in the tales about the future.

I wont enter in details about the stories because that can spoil the experience, but I recommend this book, it brings that sadness of what we can expect of our unknown future and how this author sees that future.

Thank you NetGalley and Apex Book company for the free ARC and this is my honest opinion.

This is a collection of military science fiction short stories all set in a brutally feminist future. Altogether they serve to highlight the kinds of atrocities that new technologies that will allow advanced societies to continue to perpetuate great harm on people. While there are some elements that tie the stories together for the most part they are standalones.

Much like any short story collection, there are some stories that I really liked and others that I just didn't connect with. However, over they share the theme of being brutal. I think my favorite was Citizens of Elsewhen, which includes time travel and helping with delivery of babies. There were a couple of others that really stood out to me: Overdark about autopsies on a generation ship, The Skulls of Our Fathers about the long-term turmoil of war, and finally Antibodies about a war between people who turn of their emotions and those that don't.

However there are a lot of stories here and they began to run into into each other and I'm not sure how many will stay with me. They are all about the horror of war and the people that are living with it and through it, just in the brutality of a science fiction future.

Thank you to Netgalley and SFWA for the advanced copy of the ebook!

Kameron Hurley es una autora que se maneja muy bien tanto en las distancias cortas como en los relatos más largos. Ya tuvimos la oportunidad de reseñas una de sus recopilaciones con Meet Me in the Future y en esta ocasión vemos cómo se repiten algunas de sus obsesiones, aunque los relatos son distintos. Los escenarios distópicos que tan bien se le dan y la dualidad entre belicismo y pacifismo salpicado por manipulaciones genéticas también estarán presentes en estas historias, que recuerdan a God’s War.


Sky Boys

Reflexión sobre el trabajo esclavo y la maternidad con una fortísima crítica social.


Overdark

Hay que enfrentarse a lo desconocido sin miedo a lo que pueda pasar por que es la única forma de avanzar.


The Judgement of Gods and Monsters

Cuando una sociedad desea basarse en los principios pacifistas pero aún así sabe que periódicamente habrá de enzarzarse en guerras, puede dar lugar a contradicciones como las que se exponen en este juicio.


Broker of Souls

Relato ultracorto, con un final sorprendente.


The One We Feed

Me parece que en este cuento Hurley lleva demasiado lejos la dualidad entre guerra y paz y la metáfora del monstruo interior.


Corpse Soldier

Un soldado capaz de seguir peleando porque puede ocupar el cuerpo del enemigo justo antes de morir es un grandioso recurso para la guerra, pero su libertad individual queda en entredicho. Asistiremos a la búsqueda de un recurso que pueda hacer que esto cambie para el protagonista de la historia.


Levianthan

Me asombra mucho la capacidad de la autora para subvertir los temas más habituales de la ciencia ficción, en este caso, las naves generacionales, para usarlos como método de denuncia. Material para reflexionar.


Unblooded

Un vistazo a una futura sociedad matriarcal desértica dónde el poder se ejerce a través de la sangre.


The Skulls of Our Fathers

Este cuanto nos muestra cómo se construye el relato por parte de los ganadores de la guerra y cómo difiere de la realidad con la connivencia de los oyentes.


Body Politic

La tortura como forma de obtener información del enemigo vuelve inhumano al propio torturador, una interesante mezcla con la presencia de inteligencias artificiales.


We Burn

El fuego como elemento purificador también en la guerra.


Antibodies

Dos enemigas condenadas a entenderse para sobrevivir con el trasfondo de la guerra bacteriológica.

The Traiter Lords

Quizá el más convencional de los relatos por su estructura episódica para narrar una historia de venganza.


Wonder Maul Doll

Una representación de la terrible indiferencia que causa la destrucción de una ciudad a un grupo curtido de soldados, casi un día más en la oficina.


Our Prisoners, the Stars

Muy pero muy atractivo este relato sobre una nave espacial habitada por clones que saliéndose de la norma crean un bebé humano en vez del clon de reemplazo correspondiente. La curiosidad innata de la niña hará que se enfrenten a un pasado que habían decidido olvidar.


The Body Remembers

La reintegración en la sociedad de los militares que han luchado en una guerra es el eje central de este relato, ya que aquellos en el poder quizá no desean la plena integración de un recurso que puede ser valioso en un nuevo conflicto.


Moontide

Un cuento muy corto sobre las mareas y su relación con un pueblo costero que vive de recoger los restos que las olas dejan en sus costas.


Citizens of Elsewhen

Un buen punto final para esta antología, con una historia sobre matronas que viajan en el tiempo para facilitar los partos complicados cuyo resultado puede cambiar la historia.

Si ya conoces la obra de Kameron Hurley y te gusta, disfrutarás de Future Artifacts. Sin embargo, si es tu primera aproximación, te recomendaría que espaciaras la lectura de los relatos porque puede ser contraproducente

Stories of endless fantasy and sf wars fought for no reason known to the combatants; stories of violence amidst environmental degradation, consuming one’s own history and seed corn because there’s nothing else to consume. Maybe don’t read if you’re already feeling despairing about human nature.

I liked other stories by Kameron Hurley and was curious about this anthology of short stories.
It's not a fun or heartwarming read: the stories talk about war and dystopia, they're often grim and brutal.
But the author is a talented storyteller and kept me reading.
A good read if you want to read some interesting dystopia stories.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Hurley has a following, although I don't her stories appeal to a huge audience. Nonetheless, she writes well, and these stories, while largely bleak are well done. Lots of sci-fi fans will like these, particularly fans of her past work.

I really appreciate the free review copy for review!!

This is a short story collection of dystopian like sci fi stories. Most of them involve war in some way.

I picked up an ARC of Future Artifacts because I loved the Light Brigade back in 2020 and I was excited to pick up something else by Kameron Hurley. I really enjoy how Kameron approaches gender in her stories. Its always very fluid and often women show stereotypical male traits of strength and aggressiveness. There are also often polyamorous relationships but sex isn't ever a forefront of the story. The approach to gender and relationships is similar to Becky Chamber's writing but often dark instead of wholesome.

Because I read an ARC I'm not going to remove any starts due to the formatting issues I came across but the formatting was horrible. For some reason all the "fi" and "fl"s were removed from the text so words like "fly" "fire" or "affiliate" showed up as "y" "re" or "af liate" and often took effort for me to figure out what the word was supposed to be. I hope that issue was fixed before publishing.

"Future Artifacts" by Hugo award winning Kameron Hurley is a memorable, dark, and all too realistic collection of speculative/science fiction stories. Each story gives us (usually) the foot soldier's point of view in a variety of dystopian scenarios. Hurley builds believable and though provoking worlds, leaving just enough unsaid to allow the reader much to dwell on the content long after finishing each story.

This collection builds on common understanding to create new and creative milieus. I look forward to reading more by Kameron Hurley. I thank both the author and Apex Book Company for kindly providing a temporary electronic review copy of this work.

(Netgalley exclusive comment: the Kindle ebook had formatting problems that made this an interesting challenge to read. Apparently conversion software tended to drop letter combinations such as "fi" and "fl". At the end of reading this I got pretty good at interpreting words like "re" as "fire" and "oor" as "floor", etc. I guess learning new words like this contributed to the alien nature of these cool stories. I am confident this will not be a problem with the published versions, so I will not include this comment on other review sites.)

Populated by former soldiers doing their best on mostly dead worlds, the stories in Hurley's Future Artifacts cement Hurley's reputation as a master of military sci-fi. Dark and heavy, the stories generally follow women war veterans in impossible situations, from a mother trying to solve a murder while protecting her daughter from her own past to a medical examiner discovering that life on her ship is not what it seems. Great reads, though not for the faint of heart or the optimistic of soul.

Free ARC from NETGALLEY

I quit reading these 'collections' after the last few were just "God-basher" stories and/or 'filler' material but I am glad a took a chance here.

The Skulls of Our Fathers, Leviathan, and Wonder Maul Doll were probably my favorites and made me want to try the previous work "Light Brigade".

I read Hurley starting form God's War. She is great at writing fantastical things and making them look down to earth. I've always liked her novels, but never before had the pleasure to sample her short stories. While the worlds here are not as well-developed, the ideas and characters are interesting enough. Still, she is better at long form.