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ezwolf's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This was a very interesting compilation of sci-fi queer short stories.
On the whole, I found most of the stories really fun and intriguing but there were a handful of stories I wasn't a fan of. Most by authors I've read works of before and this kind of solidified my dislike of them. I think this also really showed that I am not a fan of open-ended endings. I need things to be wrapped up with a bow and short stories just aren't meant for that, but that's a personal opinion.
Sci-fi gives so much room for exploration in storytelling and that's what I like about it and the fact that the focus was on the sci-fi story and not on homophobia or transphobia was also refreshing (not to say that all of the stories were free from discrimination, like the one where the savior of the world was a black girl but the powers that be said "nope, we're picking the blond white guy as our poster child" was great commentary).
I loved the ones where the idea was "and then all the cis het people vanished" because that's just such a funny idea to play with, because it sounds ideal on the outside to a queer person, but then you still have to throw in all of the rest of the -isms and -phobias that are problems in the queer community to know it still wouldn't create an ideal world. That's not a criticism of the stories, they're short stories so it's limited time to work with, but they were just very thought provoking.
The one that stood out to me the most was the retelling of Sleeping Beauty, if only because Sleeping Beauty is my favorite childhood Disney movie and I love to read every take on it I can find, especially when it's queer.
And I especially loved the title of the last story, "Nobody Cares Who We Kiss At the End of the World".
Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
On the whole, I found most of the stories really fun and intriguing but there were a handful of stories I wasn't a fan of. Most by authors I've read works of before and this kind of solidified my dislike of them. I think this also really showed that I am not a fan of open-ended endings. I need things to be wrapped up with a bow and short stories just aren't meant for that, but that's a personal opinion.
Sci-fi gives so much room for exploration in storytelling and that's what I like about it and the fact that the focus was on the sci-fi story and not on homophobia or transphobia was also refreshing (not to say that all of the stories were free from discrimination, like the one where the savior of the world was a black girl but the powers that be said "nope, we're picking the blond white guy as our poster child" was great commentary).
I loved the ones where the idea was "and then all the cis het people vanished" because that's just such a funny idea to play with, because it sounds ideal on the outside to a queer person, but then you still have to throw in all of the rest of the -isms and -phobias that are problems in the queer community to know it still wouldn't create an ideal world. That's not a criticism of the stories, they're short stories so it's limited time to work with, but they were just very thought provoking.
The one that stood out to me the most was the retelling of Sleeping Beauty, if only because Sleeping Beauty is my favorite childhood Disney movie and I love to read every take on it I can find, especially when it's queer.
And I especially loved the title of the last story, "Nobody Cares Who We Kiss At the End of the World".
Thank you to NetGalley and Inkyard Press for making this available in exchange for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Racism, Homophobia, and Transphobia
Moderate: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Medical content, Medical trauma, Violence, and War
Minor: Cancer, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, and Torture
anniereads221's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
4.5
I got a review copy from harper360ya
I got a chance to read it on it's release day. But due to dental pain have had to take breaks and come back and forth between it.
Anthologies are always hit or miss for me. But this one i really enjoyed, there was only one story out of all of them that i did not vibe with at all.
My favourites have to be
H O M E by K. Ancrum
Fractal Eyes by Ugochi M. Agoawike
Concerto by Abdi Nazemian
Reshadow by Adam Sass
The Rift by Claire Kann
Doublers by Alex London
I am really thinking of getting the other Anthologies to read after reading this one 🤔
I got a chance to read it on it's release day. But due to dental pain have had to take breaks and come back and forth between it.
Anthologies are always hit or miss for me. But this one i really enjoyed, there was only one story out of all of them that i did not vibe with at all.
My favourites have to be
H O M E by K. Ancrum
Fractal Eyes by Ugochi M. Agoawike
Concerto by Abdi Nazemian
Reshadow by Adam Sass
The Rift by Claire Kann
Doublers by Alex London
I am really thinking of getting the other Anthologies to read after reading this one 🤔
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Murder, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Colonisation, Death, Cancer, War, Homophobia, Violence, Vomit, Bullying, and Grief
jenny_librarian's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
4.0
I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley, in exchange for an honest review.
Like all anthologies, it has its highs and lows. As a whole, I enjoyed most of the stories. However, some of them were really difficult to understand. Maybe it's because I've been in a reading slump, but some stories felt like they lacked proper details to be fully comprehensible. Also, a lot of them were really sad. Too many for my taste. I'm not a big fan of sad queer stories. They are necessary to have a wide diversity of stories that encompass as many experiences as possible, just not my cup of tea.
The stories I loved the most are:
Like Sunshine, Like Concrete by Z.R. Ellor - if The Boys was less violent...
The Department of Homegoing Affairs by Kalynn Bayron - the grief!
Present Tense by Jim McCarthy - all the Straights disappearing? I am HERE for it!
Concerto by Abdi Nazemian - the power of music
Nobody Cares who we Kiss at the End of the World by Leah Johnson - it just hits right there.
Like all anthologies, it has its highs and lows. As a whole, I enjoyed most of the stories. However, some of them were really difficult to understand. Maybe it's because I've been in a reading slump, but some stories felt like they lacked proper details to be fully comprehensible. Also, a lot of them were really sad. Too many for my taste. I'm not a big fan of sad queer stories. They are necessary to have a wide diversity of stories that encompass as many experiences as possible, just not my cup of tea.
The stories I loved the most are:
Like Sunshine, Like Concrete by Z.R. Ellor - if The Boys was less violent...
The Department of Homegoing Affairs by Kalynn Bayron - the grief!
Present Tense by Jim McCarthy - all the Straights disappearing? I am HERE for it!
Concerto by Abdi Nazemian - the power of music
Nobody Cares who we Kiss at the End of the World by Leah Johnson - it just hits right there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry
Moderate: Transphobia, Sexual harassment, Lesbophobia, Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Biphobia, Violence, Medical content, Bullying, Domestic abuse, and Grief
Minor: Misogyny, Death, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Stalking, and Murder
starrysteph's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It's difficult to rate anthologies because the stories tend to differ largely in quality, but this was a really strong collection. Young, queer-centered voices with a sci fi theme, all set in the future.
There was a huge amount of representation of identities and experiences across these 17 stories. I made a (probably incomplete) list here:
There was a huge amount of representation of identities and experiences across these 17 stories. I made a (probably incomplete) list here:
Rep:
- Achillean MCs
- Sapphic MCs
- Trans MCs
- Nonbinary MCs
- Main characters identifying as: gay, lesbian, bi, aromantic
- Supporting characters identifying as: pan, demi
- Indigenous MC
- Black MCs
- Indian MCs
- Iranian MC
- Colombian MC
I wish there was disability representation.
We get a range of plots – some were deeply emotional, some were witty & fun, and some were so sweet & hopeful. The writing quality is overall very high.
Some stories were pretty bleak (centered around climate struggle and apocalypses // and futures in which transphobia and homophobia feel just as extreme as our current reality). There is certainly joy as well, but please don't expect an entire collection of queer triumph.
My personal favorites were: Doublers, The Rift, Translating for the Machine, Present: Tense, Nick and Bodhi, Concerto, and H O M E.
CW: queerphobia, outing, misgendering, death, domestic abuse, murder, racism, bullying, climate disaster, medical content, classism, gun violence, dysphoria, military themes, grief, stalking, religious bigotry, mental illness, cancer
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Classism, Confinement, Child abuse, Death, Racism, Terminal illness, Bullying, Cancer, Colonisation, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Transphobia, Violence, Homophobia, Murder, Sexism, Stalking, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Hate crime, Physical abuse, Outing, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, and Gun violence
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