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tancredquinn's review
4.5
This is the second short story of the author I read, and while I think "Anyway Angie" is still a notch about this one, both are worth a read.
I think the story strikes a good balance between self-contained and intro to a bigger world, which a lot of authors struggle with. The character of Kia is really solid and the world feels very much alive.
I think the story strikes a good balance between self-contained and intro to a bigger world, which a lot of authors struggle with. The character of Kia is really solid and the world feels very much alive.
katieinca's review
5.0
One of 2 short stories available (for free! go read it!) on Tor.com from the perspective of Kia, who'll be one of the narrators in Older's [b:Midnight Taxi Tango|25361852|Midnight Taxi Tango (Bone Street Rumba, #2)|Daniel José Older|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1435201999s/25361852.jpg|45105440]. I can't wait.
perpetually_reading's review
5.0
Older does a great job building a diverse and compelling world and characters in such a short story. The way Older describes the city is beautiful, even with the roughness that comes with living in a city. The way Older ties in descriptive imagery with a character's point of view does a great job of setting the mood throughout the plot.
I find new life in each moment like this: the midnight brownstones breezing past me, the siren song of something foul dragging me forward.
This work not only has an exciting, fantastical story, but it also brings up socially relevant issues such as Black Rights. Sometimes these little opinions could come off as irrelevant and can seem like the author just slapped it on for kicks. However, Older does a great job of making it part of a normal conversation and it didn't seem out of place. It was a great way of raising the issue, and giving Black characters their own point of view was a definite plus.
“Y’all brown folks don’t get got like us, C. You might get ya ass beat for being brown, especially gray-ass brown like you. But I’m black. Ain’t no kinda ambiguous either. Unambigously black. They shoot us for having a wallet or a sandwich or just walking down the street, how Imma roll with a medieval-ass ghost killing-ass dagger?”
This short story is a great way to see Older's prowess over urban fantasy stories, and I'll definitely look up more from him.
I find new life in each moment like this: the midnight brownstones breezing past me, the siren song of something foul dragging me forward.
This work not only has an exciting, fantastical story, but it also brings up socially relevant issues such as Black Rights. Sometimes these little opinions could come off as irrelevant and can seem like the author just slapped it on for kicks. However, Older does a great job of making it part of a normal conversation and it didn't seem out of place. It was a great way of raising the issue, and giving Black characters their own point of view was a definite plus.
“Y’all brown folks don’t get got like us, C. You might get ya ass beat for being brown, especially gray-ass brown like you. But I’m black. Ain’t no kinda ambiguous either. Unambigously black. They shoot us for having a wallet or a sandwich or just walking down the street, how Imma roll with a medieval-ass ghost killing-ass dagger?”
This short story is a great way to see Older's prowess over urban fantasy stories, and I'll definitely look up more from him.
octavia_cade's review
3.0
This novelette reads very much like it's the origin story for a longer work. It's pacy and zips along, and the use of language is great. I find myself less interested in the supernatural stuff than the everyday characters, though - Kia is certainly more interesting to me than Carlos, and I much prefer the parts of the story where the focus is on her. Although, given the ending, it appears that Kia is going to be confronted with the supernatural a lot more often in the future...
dr_matthew_lloyd's review
4.0
I don't read much urban fantasy - and when I do, I've preferred those set in London to those in the US - but reading "Ginga" reminded me of why I probably ought to read more. Certainly, I'm interested in checking out Older's Bone Street Rumba series (although I'd be more interested if the books were about Kia, rather than Carlos). It appears that Older deals with the realities of living in an urban environment through the supernatural - and, indeed, the difficulty of defending oneself against the supernatural as a black teenager - in a deeply engaging way. "Ginga" reads more like an introduction or pilot than a short story, so I hope that Older plans on incorporating Kia (and her friends) into future books in that series. Also, like Carlos I'd never heard of Capoeira before reading this story; it's great to learn something when reading.
keu482's review
3.0
This features the same character as Kia and Gio, also on Tor.com. I think this one is more of an origin story for something larger, which I will now be searching out.
janapbianchi's review
5.0
Um conto curtinho e uma escrita cheia de personalidade. A trama é muito, muito simples — parece inclusive um excerto de algo maior. Faz parte de um universo já experimentado do Daniel José Older, então acho que faz bastante sentido a impressão que boa parte do conto é apresentação de universo e de personagens. Mas o conto é SUPER competente nessas duas coisas — os personagens são ótimos, a mitologia é interessante e as descrições de ambientação são muito vívidas. Os diálogos são geniais e as falas são bem marcadas com regionalismo, maneirismos, gírias. Geralmente isso me incomoda, mas você vê desde o começo que a identidade dos personagens tem uma importância muito grande pro autor e pra própria história, então tudo soa muito adequado e até necessário. Bônus maravilhoso: os personagens são todos bem diversos e o final traz uma (inesperada, mas MUITO coerente) mensagem social. Fiquei com vontade de ler todas as outras publicações do autor agora mesmo (especialmente depois de ler as sinopses).
perpetuallyreading's review
5.0
Older does a great job building a diverse and compelling world and characters in such a short story. The way Older describes the city is beautiful, even with the roughness that comes with living in a city. The way Older ties in descriptive imagery with a character's point of view does a great job of setting the mood throughout the plot.
I find new life in each moment like this: the midnight brownstones breezing past me, the siren song of something foul dragging me forward.
This work not only has an exciting, fantastical story, but it also brings up socially relevant issues such as Black Rights. Sometimes these little opinions could come off as irrelevant and can seem like the author just slapped it on for kicks. However, Older does a great job of making it part of a normal conversation and it didn't seem out of place. It was a great way of raising the issue, and giving Black characters their own point of view was a definite plus.
“Y’all brown folks don’t get got like us, C. You might get ya ass beat for being brown, especially gray-ass brown like you. But I’m black. Ain’t no kinda ambiguous either. Unambigously black. They shoot us for having a wallet or a sandwich or just walking down the street, how Imma roll with a medieval-ass ghost killing-ass dagger?”
This short story is a great way to see Older's prowess over urban fantasy stories, and I'll definitely look up more from him.
I find new life in each moment like this: the midnight brownstones breezing past me, the siren song of something foul dragging me forward.
This work not only has an exciting, fantastical story, but it also brings up socially relevant issues such as Black Rights. Sometimes these little opinions could come off as irrelevant and can seem like the author just slapped it on for kicks. However, Older does a great job of making it part of a normal conversation and it didn't seem out of place. It was a great way of raising the issue, and giving Black characters their own point of view was a definite plus.
“Y’all brown folks don’t get got like us, C. You might get ya ass beat for being brown, especially gray-ass brown like you. But I’m black. Ain’t no kinda ambiguous either. Unambigously black. They shoot us for having a wallet or a sandwich or just walking down the street, how Imma roll with a medieval-ass ghost killing-ass dagger?”
This short story is a great way to see Older's prowess over urban fantasy stories, and I'll definitely look up more from him.
thekalebrussell's review
4.0
Kia is not to be trifled with! This has me anxious to get my hands on Midnight Taxi Tango.