First of all, excellent overall anthology in terms of variety of stories and none I had to skip.
Now, I am sure it will shock no one who knows me thatFirst of all, excellent overall anthology in terms of variety of stories and none I had to skip.
Now, I am sure it will shock no one who knows me that my favorite story in this collection was "The Current Dumas" by L.D. Lewis. By a landslide. Post-apocalyptic community building! Magic! Sapphic flirting! Trains! Anthony Bourdain vibes!
Other favorites include: "When the Last of the Birds and the Bees Have Gone On" by C.L. Clark, which is modeled on "Girl" by Jamaica Kincaid, which is one of my favorite short stories of ALL TIME and also contains the immaculate line "this is how you choose a gender; this is how you cast one off;"
"The Descent of Their Last End" by Izzy Wasserstein, so short and bittersweet, about making art at the end of all things.
"Champions of Water War" by Elly Bangs, which is almost too wholesome (in the middle of a super brutal dystopia), but I loved it.
So many good ones! I couldn't possibly call them all out or I would be here all day....more
Slowly, but surely, I am getting better at actually READING anthologies, and not just collecting them without ever reading them because they stress meSlowly, but surely, I am getting better at actually READING anthologies, and not just collecting them without ever reading them because they stress me out. Mostly thanks to E.D.E. Bell, actually. Anyway, this one I bought because E.D.E. Bell & Carlos Hernandez & C.S.E. Cooney. There are a few other names here I recognize and was curious about, but that's what justified the ticket price for me.
A few of the stores in this collection are Not For Me but I ended up enjoying more than enough to be happy to have read it. "The New Pointillist Manifesto" (by Hernandez) did turn out to be my favorite, and I enjoyed Bell's and Cooney's stories as expected, and also loved Cat Rambo's, whose other work I really need to get around to reading.
The theme of "speculative fiction stories of art used for change" was lovely and the variety of tales here was definitely interesting. Adding a few new authors to my mental "authors to watch out for" list!...more
This anthology is a "spellbinding (and scrumptious!) collection of heartwarming queer stories." All of the stories feature magic, there is diverse repThis anthology is a "spellbinding (and scrumptious!) collection of heartwarming queer stories." All of the stories feature magic, there is diverse representation, and all center on a coffee or tea shop in some way. There are sweet, warm stories of people who feel on the edges of society for different reasons, and then find someone who appreciates them just how they are.
A few of the authors of the stories are people I follow as fan fiction authors, and it is great to see them writing original characters and stories as well.
These stories are so soft! It is absolutely the book equivalent of being wrapped in a warm blanket and brought a cup of hot tea. A feeling I needed, as I read many of these stories as I was traveling to and from my grandmother's funeral with my family. This was a perfect collection to bring along, and I really felt it was doing good things for my brain....more
I was sold on this almost entirely due to Carlos Hernandez's involvement. And I did not live to regret it.
Hernandez's story -- "Your Two Better HalvesI was sold on this almost entirely due to Carlos Hernandez's involvement. And I did not live to regret it.
Hernandez's story -- "Your Two Better Halves: A Dream, with Fairies, in Spanglish" was my favorite, as expected. The story is a choose-your-own adventure encounter with fey, with a personality quiz aspect as your story choices determine your options for the two halves of your fairy self at the end. I was so charmed by EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS. (I was half sturdy tree, half planetarium, by the way.)
That story would have been worth the price of admission alone, but I also loved "See a Fine Lady" by Seanan McGuire (a woman rides a unicorn into Target), "Or Perhaps Up" by C.S.E. Cooney (a woman takes an ill-fated river journey on a swan boat), among others. In general the collected tended to be a bit darker than my usual preferences, but I found enough delights here to be very happy with the book overall....more
Okay, I've been trying to get over my resistance to anthologies, so when I saw this lovely edition with tipped-in art from Air and Nothingness Press (Okay, I've been trying to get over my resistance to anthologies, so when I saw this lovely edition with tipped-in art from Air and Nothingness Press (who I've been meaning to support for a while), I jumped. Then my curiosity got the best of me and it quickly floated to the top of my TBR pile.
I ended up quite happy with my impulse purchase. I enjoyed each of the stories, and was particularly delighted by two: "Golden Risha" by P. Djèlí Clark (one of my most recent author crushes), in which a bard is adopted by a band of pirates, who discover the location of a fabled treasure (no spoilers, but very angry Efrit are involved), and "Someone of Her Skill" by Colin O'Boyle, which has a very fairy tale quality to it -- and a witch you underestimate at your own peril.
I wasn't particularly familiar with Dying Earth as a genre before this collection, but I do enjoy books with a blend of science fiction and fantasy that Dying Earth stories seem to have.
I highly recommend this one, particularly to those who love tiny books as beautiful objects and also fans of science fantasy. ...more
This had been sitting on my shelves unread for far too long because of my complicated feelings about anthologies, But once I finally picked this up, IThis had been sitting on my shelves unread for far too long because of my complicated feelings about anthologies, But once I finally picked this up, I was glad that I did. Like any anthology there were stories I loved and stories I failed to connect to, but the theme "exploring the connections between radical speculative fiction and movements for social change" is something I was deeply into.
Favorite stories were "the river" by adrienne maree brown (I really need to read more of her work soon!) and Tananarive Due's essay on Octavia Butler. ...more
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