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a_solemn_snail's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
sophievigeant's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
benburns's review
2.0
There are a few delightfully weird gems in this short story collection - like the one with religious terrorists attacking panda reproductive robot suits, or the one where aliens turn a truck into Margaret Thatcher - that showcase the author’s wild imagination. But it’s all weighed down by clunky writing and lots of characters saying things no one would ever say. Plus a fair amount of tell-not-show. 2.5 stars (I feel guilty about that rating though because a I can tell a lot of love went into the writing. Wish there was a “rate privately” feature.)
fisk42's review
5.0
What a wonderful and wholly engrossing collection of stories.
But first let me tell you that I typically do not read short stories. The idea of getting invested in characters and entering into their world for 20-30 pages at a time seems senseless. So much so that originally when I saw Quantum Santeria profiled on io9 I simply skipped past. However after seeing a chance to read it on NetGalley I decided to try it on a lark.
This book offers about a dozen meditations on the blurred lines of science fiction and fantasy, and a glimpse at a world where life and death are similarly blurred. In one story unicorns appear after the LHC opens up black holes to other dimensions. In another, someone's mother appears and disappears several times after her death.
An added bonus to these stories is that they all have a delightful Cuban/Latino flavor. One Hispanic reporter shows up across several of the tales. This lent substance to the world and had me thinking of the tales as a cohesive depiction of another world not too far from ours in the multiverse. This feeling gave a satisfactorily feeling of completeness to the whole ordeal.
But first let me tell you that I typically do not read short stories. The idea of getting invested in characters and entering into their world for 20-30 pages at a time seems senseless. So much so that originally when I saw Quantum Santeria profiled on io9 I simply skipped past. However after seeing a chance to read it on NetGalley I decided to try it on a lark.
This book offers about a dozen meditations on the blurred lines of science fiction and fantasy, and a glimpse at a world where life and death are similarly blurred. In one story unicorns appear after the LHC opens up black holes to other dimensions. In another, someone's mother appears and disappears several times after her death.
An added bonus to these stories is that they all have a delightful Cuban/Latino flavor. One Hispanic reporter shows up across several of the tales. This lent substance to the world and had me thinking of the tales as a cohesive depiction of another world not too far from ours in the multiverse. This feeling gave a satisfactorily feeling of completeness to the whole ordeal.
cosmic333's review
4.0
An unexpected journey of creative, original, and odd science fiction short stories with latin@ characters. I enjoyed these stories a lot for either the amount of imagination or fact of reading characters who are people of color.
megatsunami's review
4.0
These stories were really so delightful and fun, with poignant moments too. I was inspired to read this after I read my daughter's copy of "Sal and Gabi Break the Universe" (hilarious, BTW) which had some similar concepts to the title story of this book.
sil3nos's review
4.0
A very diverse collection of stories some of which were nice, some of which I didn't really get and some of which just had a weird ending. Had a few of the Ted chiang vibes I was hoping for though.
The aphotic ghost (3/5)
One of those that I didn't really 100% get. But I still really liked the setup.
Homeostatsis (3/5)
A lot of people really seemed to like this one but I think the conclusion was a bit rushed. Highly enjoyed the conversation between father and son towards the end.
Entanglement (4/5)
A bit melodramatic, especially at the end, but it kind of fit the Story.
The international stud book of the giant panda (4/5)
A really weird story. Maybe the weirdest one in here and it made me feel excited, a wee bit disgusted but overall really cool idea.
The macrobe conservation project (4.5/5)
Really liked the twist, didn't see that coming. Also cool idea.
Los simpaticos (2/5)
Didn't care much for that one and the mystery was not really executed well.
More than pigs and rosaries can give (4/5)
Eycept for the weird description of Jesús doing the ritual I highly liked this one.
Bone of my bone (2/5)
Okay what was that. The ending just confused me and the setup also was weird.
The magical properties of unicorn ivory (3/5)
Cool setup, questionable execution. Liked the worldbuilding though.
American moat (5/5)
My favorite story in here. Liked the whole "humans are so caught up in their ideologies that they won't realize good opportunities"
Fantaisie impromtu (4/5)
Another strong one. Cool concept, nice execution.
The assimilated Cubans guide to quantum santeria (3/5)
I liked the first few paragraphs but then the promises made there were kind of not fulfilled. The story itself is not bad, far from it, actually, but I just found the present to be a bit more interesting than the past the story played in.
The aphotic ghost (3/5)
One of those that I didn't really 100% get. But I still really liked the setup.
Homeostatsis (3/5)
A lot of people really seemed to like this one but I think the conclusion was a bit rushed. Highly enjoyed the conversation between father and son towards the end.
Entanglement (4/5)
A bit melodramatic, especially at the end, but it kind of fit the Story.
The international stud book of the giant panda (4/5)
A really weird story. Maybe the weirdest one in here and it made me feel excited, a wee bit disgusted but overall really cool idea.
The macrobe conservation project (4.5/5)
Really liked the twist, didn't see that coming. Also cool idea.
Los simpaticos (2/5)
Didn't care much for that one and the mystery was not really executed well.
More than pigs and rosaries can give (4/5)
Eycept for the weird description of Jesús doing the ritual I highly liked this one.
Bone of my bone (2/5)
Okay what was that. The ending just confused me and the setup also was weird.
The magical properties of unicorn ivory (3/5)
Cool setup, questionable execution. Liked the worldbuilding though.
American moat (5/5)
My favorite story in here. Liked the whole "humans are so caught up in their ideologies that they won't realize good opportunities"
Fantaisie impromtu (4/5)
Another strong one. Cool concept, nice execution.
The assimilated Cubans guide to quantum santeria (3/5)
I liked the first few paragraphs but then the promises made there were kind of not fulfilled. The story itself is not bad, far from it, actually, but I just found the present to be a bit more interesting than the past the story played in.
dasnet's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
I'm not sure, this book really didn't spark my interest. A collection of stories but I didn't really see the bigger picture, if their was one. Or even a central theme.
Each story is very black mirror and weird. But I found it very slow moving without a lot of payoff.
Each story is very black mirror and weird. But I found it very slow moving without a lot of payoff.
misssusan's review
3.0
interesting set of near-future sci-fi stories. hernandez ranges quite broadly in subject matter -- a story about panda sex! a murder mystery! semi-zombie-mostly-science story on alien symbiotes called macrobes! -- but he does have a one ongoing narrative thread with a reporter who narrates a few of the stories. his writing is strong throughout and consistently conceptually interesting
anyways, i quite liked it! also at some point i'm going to sit down and analyze what makes a narrative feel male to me because reading this like i was like 'ahh yes, definitely written by a dude' and i'm not sure what it was that pinged me as such because it's not about the narrator -- not all of them were men and besides i have read stories narrated by men that didn't hit that reaction -- and it didn't have the kind of pervasive narrative sexism that makes it obvious that the writer's never considered women's perspectives so like. idk. will calendar in that pondering soon
3 stars
anyways, i quite liked it! also at some point i'm going to sit down and analyze what makes a narrative feel male to me because reading this like i was like 'ahh yes, definitely written by a dude' and i'm not sure what it was that pinged me as such because it's not about the narrator -- not all of them were men and besides i have read stories narrated by men that didn't hit that reaction -- and it didn't have the kind of pervasive narrative sexism that makes it obvious that the writer's never considered women's perspectives so like. idk. will calendar in that pondering soon
3 stars