Reviews

Recognize Fascism: A Science Fiction and Fantasy Anthology by Julie Capell, Octavia Cade, Lucie Lukačovičová, Jennifer Shelby, Leonardo Espinoza Benavides, Rodrigo Juri, Crystal M. Huff, Hal Y. Zhang, Jaymee Goh, Blake Jessop, Selene dePackh, Alexei Collier, Lauren Ring, Dianne M. Williams, Kiya Nicoll, Laura Jane Swanson, Meridel Newton, Phoebe Barton, Sam J. Miller, Justin Short, Nina Niskanen, Brandon O'Brien, Jonathan Shipley, Luna Corbden

fell4's review

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

moodreaderkat's review

4.0

Yay! I finally finished it :D


My favourite stories were ...
- A Disease of Time and Temporal Distortion by Jennifer Shelby
Scholar Mika's Brief Summary of Memories Imbued in Memory Object Exhibit Item 132.NW.1 by Jaymee Goh
-The Body Politic by Octavia Cade
-What Eyes Can See by Selene dePackh

ceilidhwilliams's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

I was apprehensive about this partly due to it's very unimaginative title, but the stories were excellent.
Unfortunately, the book ended on a bad note, hence 4.5 not 5 stars, the last story, Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life, let the collection down, it was dull, juvenile, and just badly written.

aimiller's review

emotional reflective tense medium-paced

3.0

I received a copy of this book through LibraryThing's Early Reviewers program, and I'd like to thank the publishers for the opportunity to read this book.

This was a good and interesting collection; in some ways the theme I think made at least some of the stories feel kind of similar in a way that made them blur together, and some of the recurring themes (we get it, "augmentation" is a metaphor and rarely about disabled people or reflecting how ableism works.) But I think it's still definitely an interesting read, and folks might appreciate seeing other people recognize fascism in fiction as we face it in our current moment. 

illegiblescribble's review

adventurous challenging reflective fast-paced

4.0

an eclectic collection of short stories centering around the theme of... recognizing fascism (surprise, surprise).

i don't expect short story anthologies to hit the mark with every story, and this collection was no exception. though i did not connect with every story in this collection, overall i enjoyed my time with this book. the range of genres and levels of realism ensure that there is at least one story for most readers.

special shoutout to "chicken time" for providing me the absurdist fowl dystopia of my nightmares.

thank you to netgalley and world weaver press for an e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

vortacist's review

reflective fast-paced

4.0

revslick's review

3.0

Creative, imaginative short stories depicting tales of realization and wonder confronting fascism. The stories are so short they could easily be a bedtime devotional. Huff finds a wide selection of authors and the bio lines were just as much fun to read and explore as their tales. Here are a few brief comments (hopefully without spoilers) to describe to the stories within:
Huff - sadness
Niskanen - please turn this into a novel
Goh - innovative
Swanson - I’ve lived there
Top tales - Benavides; Lukacovicova; O’Brien
Corbden - Rick Roll #3
Jessop - child’s play
Collier - mass choir
Ring - hope
Miller - after school special
Williams - Hef’s nightmare
Zhang - EIEIO
Shipley - loud news
Juri & Miller - graphic novel format would be cool

**This is a review copy given for an unbiased review.